I started bowling when I was four years old. I would go the the bowling alley and watch my dad in his company league. I was pretty good at math and when I was about 6 or 7, I could keep score for both teams. The men all liked this because it gave them more time to drink beer. As I got a little older, I would cut grass in the neighborhood and take the money and go bowling on my own. With no coaching, I started bolwing off the wrong foot. When I started in the Junior Leagues, I was better than most of the other kids because loved the game so much. The coaches tried to change my wrong foot style, but my dad raised hell with them and they let me go.
By the time I reached high school, I had a job working at a bowling alley and was bowling about 50 games a week. I had around a 185-190 average when I entered college and started men's leagues. I startred area tournaments and winning some money but most people kind of laughed at me because of the way I bowled. That only fueled the fire inside me more and I pushed my over 200. I really wanted to give the pro tour a shot, but my family didn't have the money to fund my expenses, and I couldn't get a backer.
If I was going to coach bowling to someone today, I would teach the the traditional way. Just because one person does it well his/her way, doesn't mean it will work for you.
Ray
