USBC coaches launch instructional bowling Web site
8/21/2006
By Patrick
Brettingen
USBC Communications
Bowling lessons are now as close as a personal computer thanks to a new
Web site created by three top United States Bowling Congress certified
coaches.
MyBowlingCoach.com
is a Web-based, personalized coaching program offering 24 hours-a-day,
seven-days-a-week access to world-class bowling instruction from leading
USBC coaches and top professional and amateur bowlers. From any computer
with broadband Internet access, bowlers can watch streaming instructional
videos, print out personalized lesson plans, take interactive quizzes and
more. Continued ...
In cooperation with USBC, the innovative site was created and launched by
three of the world's most respected bowling coaches, USBC-certified Gold
level coaches Jeri Edwards, Fred Borden and Ron Hatfield. Edwards is the
current USBC Team USA head coach. Borden is a former USBC Team USA head
coach and founder of the USBC Coaching (formerly USA Bowling)
certification program. Hatfield is a former USBC Junior Team USA assistant
coach, head coach of the highly-regarded Westerville South (Ohio) High
School bowling team and three-year captain of the Ohio State University
bowling team.
"It's like having your own certified coach inside your computer," said
Edwards, a former Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour champion. "Even if you
don't have a coach nearby, you can have your own private coach right at
your fingertips online through your computer."
Subscribers to
MyBowlingCoach.com (which is not controlled by USBC) pay a $49.95
annual membership fee and have access to video and audio instructional
lessons categorized in three different ability levels (novice, skilled and
elite) based on bowling average. Each lesson comes with a printable
checklist and summary that bowlers can print and bring with them to the
bowling center as a reference. Audio lessons can be downloaded onto an
iPod. Lesson content is planned to change weekly and will cover such
topics as timing, arm swing, release, lane play, the mental game and
making adjustments. The site also includes a blog and an online shopping
section.
"It's like building your own personal bowling library," said Edwards, who
plans to offer on-site teaching clinics with Borden and Hatfield. "This
opens up a whole new realm to use technology to support bowling. Teaching
one person at a time is terrific, but there are only so many people you
can affect. We can reach so many more people with good information about
bowling and help them get better at something they love to do."
In addition to Edwards, Borden and Hatfield, USBC Sport Bowling
spokesperson and top professional bowler Chris Barnes currently is
featured in the online lessons. Other top coaches and amateur and
professional bowlers expected to be added to the online teaching lineup
include: USBC Youth spokesperson, nine-time USBC Team USA member and 2006
U.S. Amateur champion Diandra Asbaty; former professional bowler Anne
Marie Duggan; and top amateur bowler Bill Hoffman.
Future plans call for incorporating lesson content dealing with the USBC
Sport Bowling program, Edwards said.
"As the national governing body of bowling, USBC supports
MyBowlingCoach.com
because we believe coaching is essential to growing the sport," said
Director of USBC Coaching Bob Maki. "As bowlers improve their skills, they
want to continue to participate. We believe in the future of online
coaching and the potential of the Internet to bring coaching support to
more bowlers and coaches."
The idea behind
MyBowlingCoach.com is to supplement traditional on-lanes coaching from
USBC-certified coaches who can be located via the "Find a Coach" option on
the Coaching section of bowl.com, USBC's official Web site.
"We want to give people the opportunity to get better and to encourage
different ways to improve," Edwards said. "Our Web site is not the only
piece of the puzzle; it's the one that we haven't had. This is the start
but certainly not the end."
Questions about
MyBowlingCoach.com should be directed to
info@mybowlingcoach.com.
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