About
My specialties to teach are Bowling (the Big Ball) and Table Tennis (the Tiny Ball).
I am a Class I Certified Bowling Coach, excited to teach new bowlers the basics. Bowling is much harder than it looks, and much more enjoyable when you can reach your goals of high scores and consistency. I can coach beginners (ave 100) and intermediates (ave 150-180) and help them to be consistent.
I am a certified instructor from USATT. My passion is to help beginners to overcome the difficult strokes and have soild strokes in their "bag of tools" to use their games.
I teach TT classes from the Santa Rosa Recreation classes out of the Finley Center, and also privately at my home.
If you have a table I can travel to your home for lessons.
I feel really good when my students tell me they can feel the difference in their performance.
Highlights
Specialties
Experience level
Student's age
Reviews
Susan M.
Timothy Y.
Gary L.
Heather W.
Keith D.
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
For Bowling, I like to talk with the student and find out how much they know about bowling the physical game, ball technology, the lanes, etc. This gives me a starting point. Then I find out what they think they need. Sometimes what the student wants to do may not be acheivable right away, there may be some basic skills that need to be honed in order to get to the other goals. its important that the student understand that its not typically an easy fix.
For Table Tennis, I typically will watch the student hit balls back and forth either with a partner or with myself. I can then see what they are strong at and weak at. Then we discuss goals and how we can get there from here.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have been bowling for over 20 years, and now am a Certified Level I coach.
I have a certificate of coaching from USATT and 6 years of experience of teaching classes in Santa Rosa and privately.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Classes thru the SR Recreation classes are typically $90-100 for 8-10 classes.
Private lessons are $30-$40/hr for either Bowling or Table Tennis.
How did you get started teaching?
With the Santa Rosa Recreation classes.
What types of students have you worked with?
All types from age 12 to 65 and older.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
I am very proud of my student David who was 13 and started in my Intermediate class and showed much potential. He continued with his training with other teachers and now is an instructor himself.
For my recent Bowling student Keith, I spent an hour with him, made the recommendation that he get his ball redrilled to a fingertip. Keith threw a backup ball, and seemed very accurate, so I decided not to try and change him to a standard hook. But later I find out that he figured that out himself and now has a very nice average of 180-200 in practice. I am very happy I had maximum impact with minimal input.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Find a teacher who knows how to listen and gear his teaching to the student and not try to fit students into the same mold.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Scheduling flexibility, teaching methods, listening skills.
Also when working on new skills, not to focus on score, but working on outcomes. Example: Working on the spare shot of the 10 pin. When learning this, its best just to focus on that pin, rather than just waiting for it to come up in a game. The game score will be very low in this case.