February 9 , 2004 - Interview with Bowling Press Pro February 9th, 2004:
BPP: You mentioned that you are providing private bowling lessons every day. What can someone who is thinking about taking lessons expect, if they decide to take them?
ALETA: You can expect to feel different than you normally feel when you bowl. It is important to have an open mind when you take lessons because to improve, you often have to think differently than before to enable your body to make a change to improve your game. Being open to making a change is very important. Once you are open to making the changes you need to make, and begin making them, you will see how your technique will lead to better scores. I have always had coaching throughout my career. But I have always been open to it. I think that has been key to my success as a bowler. Because I have had to make changes at times, especially over the years, I needed coaching to do that. It kept me winning.
MICHELLE: Well, expect to feel different, but in a good way. I frequently mention to bowlers I coach how much I respect them for taking lessons. It takes guts to do because you have to feel "different" than you normally do. That is hard. But, it is all for a better end, which is to bowl better than you already do. To take your game to its next level requires doing something "different". Frankly, it is just easier not to do. But, like I said, when you bowl better, it is all so worth it and very exciting. Besides, with repetition, which is the key, you end up feeling better than you did before. And something Aleta said is so true, and I learned it from her. So much of being better involves "seeing it differently." I see that so much more now than I ever did before as a coach. Fred Borden used to say that the way bowlers think is how they will bowl. Well, with 18 years of experience, I am beginning to truly understand his message. Sometimes, you have to change a bowler's perception to really open them up to making a physical change. Furthermore, you have to stay up on today's game to know the latest in techniques and lane play. As Aleta says, "Sometimes, you have to think differently" (to do it differently). She has lived by that over her 20-plus-year career. I see it more clearly now and see how important communication is between my student and me.
BPP: You mentioned that repetition is the key. What do you mean by that?
MICHELLE: Lessons are not magic, but lessons definitely help you bowl better. What bowlers have to overcome is the older muscle memory they came in with naturally. That is why, in a lesson, we focus on only 1 or 2 things, and work on repeating them, to get a better feel for them. After feeling differently, and with repetition, you feel better. And that is the key. And that improves your game. I cannot even tell you how many times bowlers are in the middle of feeling different, and though it is not yet automatic, they can just tell how much better it is. That is a treat for us. It is just amazing to me how well your body can just tell the difference when you use it better.
ALETA: So many bowlers want to muscle the ball. It is just human nature, to try to control the outcome. As we learn to swing it looser, sometimes we are inconsistent at first, because we are in between doing it the way we used to, and the way we know will make us bowl better. The key is to practice, to get the muscle out of the swing, so that we get more consistent, than we ever were. That is the ultimate challenge to a bowler. Learning to relax and trust the swing takes practice. But if every one of us had our best, most natural arm swing, we would bowl so much better. And lane adjustments would be easier to make.
BPP: Does one lesson make a difference, or a series of lessons?
ALETA: We have seen one lesson make a difference, but when someone takes a series of lessons, we really see a change. It is because we can monitor them weekly and keep them on their changes. Sometimes bowlers think they are practicing just like they bowled in the lesson, but because of their old muscle memory, they are not fully making the change. While they are moving in the right direction, seeing them each week, for a few weeks, really helps us keep their change current so that they really see a difference in how they bowl.
MICHELLE: We get that question every day when bowlers inquire about setting up time with us. Often, a single lesson can make a difference, especially if there is one thing that will make a big difference for you. But it depends on the bowler and how they accept the change and how well they maintain what we worked on. That is something we are not able to control. We do see the most concrete changes in bowlers who take a series of lessons, let's say weekly or so, because we are able to stay on top of the changes, and move forward from lesson to lesson, and really help their game take better shape. But people have differing priorities regarding their commitments to work on their games and their use of time and money, so everybody approaches it differently. And bowlers who take a lesson and see that they can improve learn to approach it differently. I know that given what I see, when I take golf lessons (and God knows I need them!) I will take a series of them so that I can really improve my game. But, I will practice, too!
BPP: How important is practice to a bowler's success in making changes to their game?
ALETA: Practice is the key to repetition. When I take a lesson, I work on what we worked on in practice. It helps me really incorporate the change in my game sooner, than later.
MICHELLE: Well, like we were talking about before, repetition is the key. We work on that in a lesson to get a better feel for the changes. But practicing is the key to making the change and getting comfortable sooner. We have that old muscle memory to overcome and practice is the best way to do that. We do give you drills and things that you can do at home to accelerate your change(s). We do understand that life is demanding on our time and finding time is one of the biggest obstacles to practicing. But, when bowlers decide they want to bowl better, they usually find that they can make the time to throw 3 games or so of practice in between lessons. More is even better. The ideal situation is to take a series of lessons on a weekly basis, say 5 or so, and practice at least once in between them. You will see your game take shape. Some sooner than others; but when it comes together, it is so worth it.
BPP: When you work with a bowler, do you work on what they decide they need, or what you think they need?
ALETA: Well, at first we talk with the bowler to get an idea of what they are thinking. Then we will take a video that really tells us where we need to work. The Bowler's Map software has really helped us see things, and it really helps our students see what needs to be worked on with our guidance. We have a library of pros and other students who have mastered the desired techniques and we can split screen them so that you can really see the difference. That picture makes such a difference, especially for people who are more visual. We guide you by doing an analysis and then we coach you into your changes to help you bowl better.
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