What should you look for when you need an auto mechanic, plumber, doctor, or other professional? If you're like me, you ask your friends for referrals, go talk to them directly, ask questions, feel them out, and when you feel assured that they will do a good job for you, hire them. You should do the same when you decide that a coach might be a good thing to help improve your bowling game.

Keep in mind, however, that just because your friends or everyone else around you went to a certain bowling coach doesn't mean that it will be the right fit for you. "Coaches are a dime-a-dozen; good coaches are at a premium."

My "Choc-List" for finding a good coach has the following suggestions:

1) What are your expectations and goals? Do you want to merely increase your average by 10 to 15 pins or do you want to become a 200+ average bowler? Will you be staying in your local center only or are you wanting to travel to different houses? Be realistic about what you want out of your coaching sessions.

2) Does your coach's experience and knowledge of the game cover everything from the basic fundamentals to current technologies? This should not only be bowling balls and lane conditions; but must include equipment specifications and rules. A coach with USBC certification generally assures all of these, but not always - a Ph.D. doesn't always equate to a good teacher.

3) Do you think he or she will have the patience and ability to "come down to your level?" It will not do you any good if your instructor talks to you at such a high level that his lesson is not conveyed to you properly. What's the use of him/her talking to you about using different hand positions to release your ball when this is your first reactive ball and you're just learning how to throw a hook?

4) Will your coach set realistic goals and plans for your progress and adapt them to your style of bowling? The word is, "flexibility." In the USBC coaching certification classes, we learn that, "the rule for coaching technique is that there are no rules."

No matter what advice you get, it all comes down to the simple fact that your bowling can, and will get better, only if you are feeling comfortable. Ultimately, it will be your own instincts that tell you which coach is best for you. "When the student is ready, the coach will appear."

A Hui Hou! (See You Again!)