i want to know who else has had a coach that has fixed something that is not a problem or is not developing into a problem.

my experience is my back foot i am keeping it down but not planting it and it is not being a problem but the coaches are trying to get my to keep it down and that is losing my at least 4 mph in ball speed and that 4 mph has lowered my scores by up to 50 PINS. for instance yesterday i threw a 190 in game 1 then the coaches told me to keep it down then my scores dropped to 136 and 131.

i also want to know any ways i can raise my ball speed back up with my foot planted

and who else has had something fixed that is not really a problem

another experience i have of this is also my backswing i have a a righer backswing like the backswing of Robert Smith and they are trying to get my to keep it below the shoulder and this also cuts down on alot of my ball speed

another experience is my loft, i have a natural 4-6 feet loft and i am not silently laying down the ball and they are trying to get my to silently lay down the ball which makes my raise my back foot and then im told about that lol

i personally see bowling as a personal game there is no textbook way of teaching people to bowl well teach them the basics then let them do what comes natural, for instance dick weber and pete weber dick taught pete the basics and then let him go his own way and pete is a great bowler with such a different style to his dad.

Well most times coaches have reasons for the changes that the student may not be ready to hear. But if you have a question about some exercise or change, ask.

Couple things come to my mind when you mention your flying trail leg. 1. usually caused by popping up at the line which looses leverag as does over lofting the ball. Popping up at the line is a sure sign of over muscling the ball. Leverage is a good thing as it usually goes hand in hand with more revs and power. 2. Accuracy. A trail leg that rises and flayles (sp?) around is extra motion that is not needed. When you have extra motion you have inconsistecy. 3. Its usually a balance issue, which looses leverage and accuracy.

But if you don't want to change that part of your game don't. Tell the coach you are not willing to change that. If they say "fine then I can't teach you anything" try another coach. You are right in that everyone has their own style. But sometimes that style is limiting. If you see 5 or 6 coaches and they all want to change this one issue then you would probably have to re evaluate your opinions. But most coaches when you start out with them ask you questions about your game and where you want your game to go. If you cannot get there without changing this one thing, then the coach should explain why.

But your initial question about have I ever had a coach want to change me game. Of course. That's why I went to him/her. I wanted to make changes. You may not see certain things about your game as a problem but if you did, and could fix them yourself, then you wouldn't need a coach right?

As for scoring. Its irrelavant when you are learning new things. Of course you are not going to get instant results nor are you going to be able to execute the changes at first. A lot of people cannot handle this aspect of coaching. So I suggest that you only make major changes in your game during summer when league play competition and averages are not usually a top priority. I have to admit if I got a student that I suggested changes to, and every one of them, or just about every one, they didn't want to change then I would probably suggest they find another coach.

Erin

Bowling centers are full of people who want to do things their own way with no coaching (which is fine) and the vast majority of them you will never hear about. A good coach will only have you make changes that are necessary, things like "dropping your shoulder" and "lifting with your fingers" and "your back swing is too high" are clues that a coach doesn't know what he/she is doing.

It is not necessary to keep your back foot on the approach in fact 90% of the pros don't have their back foot on the floor, but they are balanced and they get good knee bend going into the slide which gives them the majority of their power. If your slide knee is not bent enough, then that may be what they want you to do. Like Erin said it is always a good idea to ask why they want you to do things.

A bowler has a journey to make from beginner to the pros and a good coach can help you get to the level you want to be at faster, a bad coach can make your journey longer than it needs to be. You have to trust your coaches and have faith that they know what they are doing, that being said you need to learn as much as you can so you know that what they are telling you is sound advice.

Post a video from behind and form the side and we can help.

I think there are a couple of things to consider here. The first is like Coach said, ask your coach why he or she wants you to change something. Don't be so quick to reject something new, there is usually a good reason. I mean take Robert Smith for example, just about every time he bowls he is in pain. It could be from his technique or some outside accident, but regardless it would still be benifical to bowl without as much or any pain as possible (that's what I consider a right way to bowl).

However, at the same time, your coach needs to be laying solid fundamentals for you to build on but not creating a bowling clone of themselves. What works for some doesn't work for others. Are you sure your coach understands that? I mean Ron C. says it I think in his first tip: there isn't a wrong way to bowl.

Coach is right though, a video would be nice.

im gona do one when i get my rev rate vid done

As others have mentioned, coaches making robots or clones is very common. A good coach can take anybody, give them one or two items in a session, and the bowler will ALWAYS walk away with an improvement to their game and score. If a coach is saying that your scores will go down first before they get better, I would treat that has a red flag also.

When you start working with a coach, if they don't ask, be sure to express what YOU want out of your time and where you want to go with bowling. Do you want to be a PBA player, bowl more tournaments, work on spares, increase/decrease revs, balance, more/less hook, etc... The coach should adjust to meet your needs and desires and be able to explain the cause/effect of suggestions to the result.

Not if the bowler is unwilling to try and stick with the changes until there is some chance at executing them. Depending on the level of the bowler its true that there might be some very simple things that will instantly improve a bowler. But improving takes work, effort and desire. And eventually that will lead you to making changes that are not always easy or instant.

You have to trust that the changes they are trying to get you to do, will help your game and that you will learn to exectute them to the better of your game.

Erin

Whenever my coach makes a change in something I am doing wrong it never feels right ar first. It is almost always uncomfortable and awkward and would be easy to abandon. But the bowler that sticks with it will eventually benefit from it. Erins right, it takes patience, work and desire to elevate your game by applying a coaches advice. Not everything is instantly gratified as we sometimes expect these days, somethings are still achieved by applying some effort. I see people all the time try something a few times, and quit when things do not work out immediatly.

I agree with the notion that not all changes will show positive results right away. Sometimes you have to take steps backwards before you can go forward.

To the OP - From the way you describe your game, it sounds like you try and over power the ball. Lowering your back swing and not lofting the ball are probably good things. With the loft, it is most definitely a good thing. Just becauuse you don't want to change doesn't mean it wouldn't be better for you to change either.