Tricks of the Bowling Coaching Trade – Part 2

It’s time for the second installment of my Tips of the Bowling Coaching Trade series. In these articles, I am sharing some of the coaching methods I have developed and used in my 25 years of coaching at the professional level.

As I go through these articles, I will share a little of my philosophy along the way. One philosophy that goes along with today’s coaching tip is that natural is often better. I have found that the more natural I can make a bowler’s game, the easier it is to learn and to repeat. In this case, natural means that the body can do things it already knows, rather than something it has to learn from scratch.

Trick-of-the-trade #3: the walkabout

I wrote about “the walkabout” a few years ago in Bowling This Month, but this time I am covering it from a coach’s point of view. The walkabout is absolutely the best teaching tool I have ever come up with. I use it in nearly every teaching session and in every clinic or camp. I have had famous professional bowlers do it, as well as brand new bowlers. Just about everyone can benefit from the walkabout.

The walkabout starts off the approach by at least two feet. In a group setting for entertainment purposes, I will go back five or six feet and start my approach from there. I put my hand in the ball and start ...