Bowling Better with
Coach Brian
Go for The Gold: “Go Camping”
By Brian Dodds
One way many youth bowlers can improve is to attend a bowling camp. There are many available throughout the late spring and summer months. The October 2005 issue of “Bowling This Month” had reviews of several bowling camps throughout the states. I am going to attempt to give you an idea of what to look for in a camp by critiquing, as objectively as I can, the noted WNYS Junior Bowling Camp.
Disclaimer: It would be unfair to my readers if I did not first tell you that I am very familiar with this camp having volunteered to coach in the past and having several acquaintances and friends who will be coaches this year. I have known Director Westfield several years and support what he and others who promote these types of camps are trying to do for our sport and in particular our youth. This column is timed to give every parent and youth bowler an idea of what to look for in a camp and time to make a choice among the many camps that exist. Coach Brian
This year’s camp will be the 8th event that Director Mike Westfield has produced and promises another great lineup of coaches. Another plus for this year’s camp is the timing and location. The camp takes place June 30th and July 1st in Cheektowaga, NY just prior to the Junior Gold Championships to be held July 7th – 13th in Cheektowaga and in nearby Williamsville, NY. If you have a child who has qualified for the Jr. Gold tournament a camp like this camp might be what you are looking for because it is going to focus on Sport Bowling and Junior Gold bowling conditions.
I recommend you first prepare a list of things that are important to you when considering a camp for your daughter or son. For example, do you want name coaches and bowlers, do you want individual instruction, is food part of the package, is root cause analysis done for each bowler, how long is the daily camp, is the camp structured, is there on-lanes coaching, is there classroom instruction accompanying the on-lanes coaching, is the mental part of the game taught along with the physical game and are lane play adjustments explained? Do previous participants recommend the camp? My review also brings my coaching perspective as well as being a parent into my critique.
The WNYS Jr. Bowling Camp is a good model for any camp to follow. It is comparative to and/or ranks above many camps that I have been told about or know about personally. If you can access the Bowling This Month article I referred to you will see that it was well rated. Check the camp out at their website and follow along with my critique.
First, consider a camp’s tenure. Growing bigger year after year says a lot about positive word of mouth advertising. Check out a camp in your area by asking about its reputation in your local bowling center. The WNYS camp brings repeat bowlers as well as new bowlers year after year. And check out whom among previous campers has had tournament success and national acclaim. The list for this camp is almost endless with three past Teen Masters Champs on the alumni list as well as many other national award winning bowlers including Stars of Tomorrow and this year’s boy and girl NYS representatives in the Denny’s All-American High School Championships. No, their success did not result just because they attended this camp, but check out your areas’ camp alumni list to see the caliber of bowler that has thought your camp to be of value.
Another of the many reasons for repeat attendance and growth of this camp is the long list of pro and local name bowlers. Last year Doug Kent, Bill O’Neill, Ryan Shafer, and Jack Jurek from the PBA tour were coaches at this two day camp. There were several other well known name bowlers including High Roller Dave Guindon, match play great Nin Angelo, Hall of Famer Cindy Coburn-Carrol, former TEAM USA members Mike Faliero, Brad Angelo, also currently on the PBA tour, and current TEAM USA member Shannon O’Keefe as well as many other great name bowlers and coaches. That’s right, this camp has women coaches with great credentials.
Everyone at the camp receives both group and individual instruction. Each coach has her/his own teaching style and several like to take on-lanes instruction breaks by sitting their groups down to take a physical break while they continue to teach by explaining delivery techniques or how to read ball reaction. Some have more formal classroom sessions.
Next is food, often an additional expense to bowlers and/or their parents. With this camp, lunch is included each day. And the daily schedule is a full day, not a four or five hour baby-sitting service. Many bowlers will admit to being tired at days’ end just as you’ve heard mentioned by bowlers attending the famous Ritger Camp.
The weekend definitely has structure and focus and this year will be no exception. Generally there are several lane conditions available throughout the two day session and this year will focus on the sport shot and Jr. Gold conditions. The timing could not be better as Jr. Gold competition is a week following this year’s camp.
Each coach will try to assess a part of every bowler’s physical game and give them tips on improvements each student should be working on to elevate her/his skill level. Herein lies my only caution, but also let me say this caution applies to many a bowling camp. Seldom will you find more than a coach or two that is able to identify the root cause of an issue to enable the student to understand what must be first changed in order to take advantage of an improvement suggestion and further, be able to tell you how to make the change. Not to worry though. There will be a sufficient number of improvement suggestions from the coaches that learning only one or two will make the camp weekend well worth more than the cost. If your daughter or son has difficulty making a change, please know that each bowler will also have an opportunity to work with at least two coaches. Sometimes we have to hear the message from another voice to get it. Director Westfield has all the bases covered.
Another reason to like this camp, and a reason for this camp’s growth, is the help each camper gets with adjusting to the various lane conditions. That will have to play a large part of this year’s camp especially due to the difficult conditions that bowlers will experience. And, let’s not forget that the most important asset any bowler can have after establishing a skillful physical game is a sound mental game. Every coach at this camp can and will provide valuable mental game tips that will help every camper improve faster and perform better in competition.
Well that’s about it except for the question I am asked every year. As a parent, would I pay for one of my kids to attend this particular camp? My answer is yes, any camp that measures up to the level I have described will provide a lot of value for your investment. If the camp in your area does not have all this camp does, but still compares well with most of the qualities that Mike Westfield’s WNYS Junior Bowling Camp has, sign your junior bowler up for it…Now!
Oh, there is one huge negative to this camp, and only one that I haven’t mentioned….I can’t sign up! ? Like the camp name says, it’s only for junior bowlers! Good luck at camp and this year’s Junior Gold Championship.
“If you like bowling, pass it on!”
Bowlers Journal 100 Top Coaches, USBC Master Bronze Instructor & USBC Silver Coach
e-mail Coach Brian@:: bdodds@computer-connection.net
Ó March 2007