Learn quicker from joining league or get some coaching?

[Ratt_bowling]

I am planning to join a TNBA travel league this fall.  I haven't bowled in a league since I was 11.  In the meantime I'm wondering if I could improve my game quicker with some coaching or joining a summer league.  I keep flip-flopping on what I should try.  I have until Tuesday night to decide.  What advice do you have?

[BallReviews-Removed0385]

Get some qualified coaching. 

In a league there are no shortage of people who want to help, but haven't the first clue as to how to go about it.  Some very good bowlers are not good teachers, and some average bowlers are very good at teaching. 

Great teachers will try to add to what you already do well, and help you without a "total overhaul" of your game (unless, of course, you need one).  They can take a complex idea and have it make sense to you. 

We are all different.  We all develop our own style, but if you can repeat shots you can find a way to score.

[batbowler]

I second what notclay says about getting qualified coaching! Make sure you get a certified coach and not somebody that thinks they are a coach. You'll save a lot of unlearning in the long run. Just my $.02, Bruce

[Aloarjr810]

Your talking two sides of the same coin.

Coaching is important, but practical experience is important too.

You should do them both

[batbowler]

Practice is only perfect, if it's perfect practice. If you're having any issues, the more you practice bad habits, the harder it is to fix! So get some coaching and what they want you to work on and have a bowling partner make sure you're doing those things. Video taping helps a lot and you have an Ipad you can use Ubersense free app to help with the videos! Just my $.02, Bruce

[Snakster]

Thumbs up on coaching. I just completed my first league (at age 47) started the season in mid 190s, ended the season in mid 190s. Formwise, if anything, I think I've regressed. I do pay for coaching for my son. His form is miles better than mine and his scores keep improving. The only thing that keeps me ahead of him is strength.

Get some coaching and then apply that instruction in practice sessions.

[byronk]

Speaking from recent experiance id do both. I started bowling in league 2 weeks after I threw my first ball, the wifes been bowling for 20 years so I just joined the league she was in at the time. Like notclay said they're be alot of people willing to help in league but not alot of help youd really want. I found a good coach right away and have been getting coaching ever since. I also practice a couple times a week and have since I started but like someone mentioned practice isnt good if your practicing bad habits. I golfed for 10 years before I got a lesson and had to struggle for a long time to fix all the bad habits id developed. So with bowling I got some coaching right away so id know what to work on in practice.

[xrayjay]

I got lucky when I returned to the lanes over 10 years ago. I bowled non sanctioned summer leagues prior to sanctioned winters ones. But, in all of the leagues I did join, there was someone there to guide me. When I joined my first sanctioned league, my teammate (now very good friend) was my coach. At the same time, a senior PBA bowler who practice the same time I did approached me one day. He became my coach too.

I'll never forget what he said after watching me throw a few frames...it's too bad I never became that bowler he said I could be....Life and career came first.

[EL3MCNEIL]

Question.
How long or how many balls do you take before deciding to make adjustments. I have a tendency to try and force shots because I'm not confident in either making the adjustment I believe needs to be made or I constantly think that maybe it was user error and not the ball or the lane.

[ccrider]

If I hit my mark, release it clean and don't get to the pocket or the ball hits flat, I either move or change balls, may do both. Of course, I sometimes change ball speed or release before changing balls or moving. I never change balls when I make a bad shot, even if what I see leads me to believe that I may need to use another  ball. I think that leads to bad habits and questioning your initial judgment.

[amyers2002]

I agree with CCRider I am analyze every good shot for what I expected and what I get make small moves early is better then trying to make a big move later. My wife just started bowling recently with a fingertip ball and hooking this has been one of the hardest transitions for her is paying attention to each shot and making adjustments. We are not always bowling together and when she first switched I would walk by and in the middle of the second game she is still exactly where she started and I would ask her what is going on usually get one of those looks its and adjustment to watch your shots. I try to visualize what I expect the ball to do before each shot and compare it to what happened. It takes a while but you will get there.