“If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are.  For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained.  Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing.”  ~Saint Augustine

Week in and week out I help readers out with their bowling game. I provide tips and articles for you to improve your game. These are minor changes in your bowling game to help you become a more effective efficient bowler. So with change, come a learning period, a transformation, and finally retention. So why do I see so many people who have either gotten a few tips, or a full blown lesson, to help improve there game go back and do all the things that they were doing before? The only answer I have for that is bowlers are afraid of change.

Change happens all the time. At work you may have a new software change. Your hours at work may be changed. You may have to relocate.  Do you conform to these changes? You have too. So what’s different about bowling? If you have a certified coach giving you his knowledge of the game, and applying it to you, the student, to help you become a better bowler, why do you resist the change? Based on the student’s ability to adapt change can come quickly. For some it will take more time. However, there is a third group that doesn’t want to change simply because it feels different.

When you encounter a lesson to change your habits, you need to be open minded and willing to make the necessary changes. The student has to be open minded and be willing to accept the changes recommended by the coach. Granted the coach must be able to convey his changes in a manner that the student can understand and apply them.   Often it is necessary to describe the “why”.

While I am on the subject of lessons and applying changes to your game, I thought this would be a great time to talk about what you should look for in the process of getting started with lessons.  I will use Bowling IQ and how they convey lessons as an example. If you would like to have a coach work with you on your game, Bowling IQ has made it very personalized. When you call to get started they will set you up with an evaluation session with one of their coaches. From there the coach actually calls the student personally to find out more about you, the bowler, and your goals and plans for bowling. After the phone assessment, you and the coach get together on your scheduled time, and go over an entire evaluation on lane with you. Every aspect of the game is evaluated including your equipment.  The coach then provides a detailed written evaluation. After the one hour evaluation is completed, you and the coach sit down together and plan out a lesson plan specific to your individual goals. How cool is that? If Bowling IQ is not an option for you seek out a professional coach that will apply this type of model to your lessons.

So remember, change is not a bad thing, it is necessary for the growth you need to become the bowler you want to be. There is no better time for you the bowler to get help on your game then in the “Bowling off Season” the summer.

Contact Bowling IQ or your local professional coach and get yourself set up for an evaluation today. Bowling IQ is located in Sterling Heights MI and you can reach them at 586-268-4001 or email them at events@bowlingiq.com

Next week will be my last week in Michigan before I make my trip out to nationals. For all my readers out there I will be blogging daily from Reno and give you a detailed article of my time at this year’s 2010 USBC Open Championships. Hope you tune in for it.

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. He is a USBC Certified Bronze Level coach.  You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com