Coaches’ Corner: Getting Started

Bowling This Month is excited to introduce a new recurring feature that is aimed mostly at coaches. For years, a significant portion of our readers have been coaches and pro shop operators, and we’re proud to provide technical resources that can be used by coaches and bowlers alike. To provide even more support to this important group, we’re launching Coaches’ Corner as a series of articles aimed primarily at helping bowling coaches.

In this feature, we’ll provide not only technical information, but also context and guidance to coaches who are seeking to improve their own skills. We’ll discuss physical game elements, lane play strategies, and mental game tools, as well as how to train them so your bowlers can see fast improvements. We’ll also include some of the “soft” skills that will help you improve as a coach.

For this inaugural article, we’ll place our attention on those coaches just getting started in the world of bowling coaching. However, don’t tune out just yet if you’re an experienced coach, because this will still likely serve as a valuable refresher for you.

Look for training

The first step for new coaches is to look into the training options in your area. For most readers, that will be a USBC Bronze-level course, but international readers will have options local to their geographic region as well. Some of these courses might even be available online or in webinar form.

It’s important to note here that even after initial training, coaching is about continual learning. This can come in many forms, including experiential learning (which we’ll get to next) and non-bowling education. While sport-specific courses will give you the foundation of bowling knowledge, all-around knowledge that ...