Author Topic: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18) (Read 2287 times)

Raven829 · « **on:** March 22, 2009, 06:57:41 PM »

I took a trek up to Sheboygan Falls on Friday to work with Steve. I have been struggling mightily with every aspect of the game for about 2 months. It had gotten to the point where after 25 years I didn't even want to bowl anymore. I didn't know where else to turn to so I emailed him.

Steve graciously took 2.5 hours out of his extremely busy schedule to work with me. This was more than just your basic lesson. He asked me a bunch of questions about not only what I was struggling with, but also with what I was feeling physically. He broke down my entire physical game from set-up to release to find out what he could do to make me better. He listened to my feedback and was open-minded enough to trust me and willing to scrap changes instantly that weren't going to work with my game. We talked about how the new stuff felt and why it was needed/worked. As an added bonus, I got to test out a VG, Rogue, and 2nd Dimension. He also took the time to look at my hand and equipment since I have about 283472394 different span/pitch combos in my arsenal.

It truly felt wonderful for a guy with a family, business, and hectic travel schedule to set aside some time to fix up a hack like myself. I think he really believes that I can be an excellent bowler, and that in itself made the trip worthwhile.

Thanks Steve. I'm going to work my butt off at the changes and have fun and success. I promise you that.

Don

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"You cannot change the stripes of a leopard."
~Emmitt Smith

Edited on 3/30/2009 3:32 PM

Edited on 6/18/2009 10:07 PM

scotts33 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 23, 2009, 04:48:06 AM »

One of the great teachers in all of the US. Great to hear your experience Don.
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Scott

mainzer · « **Reply #2 on:** March 23, 2009, 08:08:31 AM »

I have had the pleasure of bowling against Steve in a few tourneys and I must say he is a super nice guy. It was an honor to bowl against him
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''If their is a life after death,
then their is no death,
and if their is no death,
we do not live''

Progressive Metal Band
EVERGREY

MainzerPower

rotomike · « **Reply #3 on:** March 23, 2009, 11:28:27 AM »

He is very very good and does not get near the credit he deserves!!!!
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Mike Sinek
Roto Grip Staff Manager
Kingdom member for life

Steve Richter · « **Reply #4 on:** March 28, 2009, 07:52:14 AM »

Raven:

I just gave you the road map, you drove the car bro...All the credit goes to you for having the sack to say something's wrong and coming to get it fixed. I see far too many who just FRY on bad performance and don't have the courage to look into their own heart to see that it's time to get help.

Your comments are very nice and I appreciate them, but you don't give yourself enough credit for risking the gas $, time, lack of sleep, etc to drive 5 total hours to come see me.

PS - shoot me an email if you have any questions on the report I emailed you. I know it's long, but I hope it has some good pictures in there to reinforce what we talked about.
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Steve Richter
USBC Silver Level Coach
IBPSIA Certified Technician

LuckyLefty · « **Reply #5 on:** March 28, 2009, 08:17:10 AM »

this is a great post....dying to hear the results over time!

I find "coaching" in all areas of life to be the key along with "Mastermind"...as evidenced by this joint activity!

Bon appetit.

Hope your results are wonderful....bowling is so fun when you are doing it well!

REgards,

Luckylefty
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Open the door...see what's possible...and just walk right on through...that's how easy success feels..

Jay · « **Reply #6 on:** March 28, 2009, 07:24:49 PM »

quote:
All the credit goes to you for having the sack to say something's wrong and coming to get it fixed. I see far too many who just FRY on bad performance and don't have the courage to look into their own heart to see that it's time to get help.

I'm proud to say that I'm not one of those people. There are some things in my game that I think might be problems but not many people seem to think so. I'll admit I'm modest so it might just be me but I'm always looking to improve on something, especially in the physical game.

I'm also interested in knowing about your progress, Don.

gerryojr · « **Reply #7 on:** March 30, 2009, 11:14:05 AM »

I would also like to second the comments made by Raven829. I went to meet with Steve on a Tuesday and worked for a little over an hour on a couple of itmes that need to be corrected like arm swing, balance, and tempo. He worked well with me and helped me understand what he was suggesting and how it would help. I have only bowled 3 games since working with him and I like what changes that have been made. Now I just need to get them to be automatic and go from there.

Again thank you Steve for your time.

Raven829 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 30, 2009, 03:32:13 PM »

I figured that since it's been a little over a week that I could post an update.

The day after my lesson I bowled a tournament here in town. I by no means advocate using a tournament to practice changes that you are making, but I feel very comfortable bowling this tournament with these bowlers. It also helped to see immediate improvement during my lesson so I felt pretty confident.

I honestly scored higher that day than I had in 2 months. I qualified for match play in 6th with a 731 set. I got run over my first game of match play by a guy that has always had my number. My ball reaction was night and day from what I had been seeing for the previous 2 months. A wonderful side effect of Steve's coaching was the way I was able to adjust to transitions. If I came up a bit light, I had the confidence in my physical game to know that it wasn't me that made the errant shot. I would adjust correctly and confidently and be right back in the pocket. Before I would make what was probably the right adjustment, but because my physical game was inconsistent, I couldn't get a proper read.

Monday came around to my PBAX league. The pattern was Viper, which has been my 2nd worst next to Shark. This night felt great. I was in a good frame of mind, was loose, and having a good time. The results showed. I had a great look, but more importantly, I was confident in everything I did. I lost the left lane in the 2nd game early, but made a move on the approach that Steve taught me to battle carrydown. I was right back in the pocket. I ended up with a 645 set with a poor last game. It's not huge, but I was extremely happy.

This past Saturday the same tourney rolled around again. I decided to simplify things on myself by having an older piece fixed up to fit my hand. I have used this Epic for almost 4 years and I know the ball's characteristics. One of my myriad of issues was constantly punching up new stuff hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. So with my trusty Epic in hand I went 243-267-222 for a 732 which qualified me in 7th. I won a match this week before losing.

My plan is to get out on the lanes for practice 3 times a week, along with bowling 2 leagues and the Saturday tourney. It's not easy due to my work schedule but I'm dedicated to improving my game. I have used my own videotaping to make sure I am staying true to the changes that Steve and I made. I have never really set any defined goals for myself, so I thought I would change that. There is a regional in Madison coming up that I am going to bowl. My goal is to cash. I may or may not achieve it, but I won't know unless I man up.

I got a report today from Steve that included text and visual stills from the video that he took of me. It is going to prove to be an excellent asset in my evolution since I now have reference points to go off of. My game is by no means complete, but I know I'm on the right track now thanks to Steve's guidance. When the changes get comfortable, I'll make another trip up to work on taking my game another step.

It feels good to be back!

Don
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"You cannot change the stripes of a leopard."
~Emmitt Smith

Raven829 · « **Reply #9 on:** June 18, 2009, 10:07:38 PM »

It has been awhile since I posted and a couple of you were interested in my progress.

I haven't been able to practice as much as I want due to a killer work schedule, but I still bowl 2 leagues and a tourney on Saturdays. I decided to simplify my game even farther by only carrying the same 4 balls with me every week instead of picking between 10 or so.

I recently started to incorporate a type of "lead with the balance arm" that Steve suggested in my follow up notes. I have always stayed inside the ball pretty well for as square as my shoulders are. By opening up and then closing I've really been able to get a handful and open up the lane. One of the odd things is that before my hand would be VERY open at the top and thru my downswing even with the square shoulders. That is one thing we worked on to correct. Now with the new approach my hand stays only slightly inside even though I'm very open.

I'm still somewhat inconsistent but my scoring has been great. I've had 3 300's since my trip up with the latest one coming tonight. My carry has improved a ton while I haven't lost anything on my pretty good spare shooting. I hope I can keep improving until I see Steve and the guys at the end of August.

Don
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"You cannot change the stripes of a leopard."
~Emmitt Smith

Author Topic: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18) (Read 2287 times)

Raven829

A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

scotts33

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

mainzer

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

rotomike

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

Steve Richter

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

LuckyLefty

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

Jay

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

gerryojr

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

Raven829

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)

Raven829

Re: A thank you to Steve Richter (updated 6-18)