“I am very excited to take on this new challenge and am looking forward to the move to Texas and working with everyone at USBC,” said Ross, whose title will be Coaching Specialist.

Plans call for Ross to focus on researching and helping develop specific approaches to coaching female bowlers to help their performance.

“I would like to start doing some research on women bowlers and their strengths,” said Ross. “We all know that men and women differ physically. Creating strategies that benefit women to help them improve is a logical step.”

“We are thrilled to have Teresa join the USBC Coaching staff,” said Co-Director of USBC Coaching David Garber. “Teresa’s knowledge and experience as a coach and a highly competitive bowler will be key assets to USBC.”

Ross is the wife of USBC Junior Team USA head coach and USBC Gold coach Rod Ross, who was recently named head coach of the USBC International Training Center that will be constructed in Arlington.

Teresa Ross has been teaching bowlers from beginners to professionals for 30 years. The 2006 USBC Developmental Coach of the Year and nominee for the United States Olympic Committee’s Developmental Coach of the Year award is a Bowlers Journal International “100 Top Coaches” selection and past USBC Level I Instructor. Teresa and Rod own and operate Bowlers Connection, Inc., a pro shop and high-tech training center at Manteca Bowl in Manteca, Calif., considered the premier bowling training facility in the western United States.

By Patrick Brettingen
USBC Communications

Rod Ross, one of the most respected and innovative coaches in the sport of bowling, has been named the first head coach of the United States Bowling Congress International Training Center that will be constructed at the national governing body’s new headquarters facility in Arlington, Texas.

Ross, 52, is the current head coach of Junior Team USA – the national youth amateur bowling team – and one of just 30 bowling coaches in the world certified at the USBC Gold level, the organization’s highest. He has coached numerous professional and world-renowned amateur bowlers and has helped revolutionize coaching in the sport by developing cutting-edge computer and video training technology that have become industry standards. He will use these resources at the new training center along with recently developed and patented USBC coaching technology.

“It is an extreme honor to be named the first head coach of the new USBC International Training Center,” said Ross, who is expected to begin his new position in January 2009 and will continue as Junior Team USA head coach. “I am very excited to be part of what promises to be a truly state-of-the-art facility for bowlers and coaches worldwide. The technology we will have available will lead coaching and the sport of bowling into the future. We’ll be the leader, studying bowling as a sport. It’s an exciting opportunity for advancing the sport.”

Ross, who as a Master Instructor with USBC Coaching advises coaches as well as bowlers, will direct the training center that will be located adjacent to the new USBC headquarters in Arlington. Groundbreaking for the facility is expected in late summer, with the building expected to be completed by June 2009. Plans call for the facility to have 20 bowling lanes, 14 for training and six for research and testing of bowling equipment.

Advanced technology and teaching tools will be a key component of the training center to help improve the skills of coaches and bowlers alike. The facility will be a coaching and training destination for Team USA, Junior Team USA and national teams from countries around the world. In addition, the training center will be available for a fee to any bowlers who want to take high-tech coaching lessons.

“For more than a decade, Rod has been a pioneering force in bowling coaching technology, which is a major focus of USBC as it moves forward,” said USBC Vice President – National Governing Body Neil Stremmel. “Rod’s background and expertise in coaching and technology makes him the perfect fit to make the USBC International Training Center the premier coaching and research center in the world.”

Ross and his wife, Teresa, a USBC Silver coach, have owned and operated Bowlers Connection, Inc., a pro shop and high tech training center at Manteca Bowl in Manteca, Calif., considered the premier bowling training facility in the western United States.

Ross, a native of Pocatello, Idaho, has served on the International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association board of directors. He trains and advises pro shop operators around the world with his extensive knowledge of modern bowling equipment.

When Rod Ross takes over as head coach of the USBC International Training Center planned for Arlington, Texas, next year, he will have an abundance of high tech equipment at his disposal. The USBC Gold coach and his staff will use cutting edge bowling technology to train and coach bowlers from around the world.

That equipment includes USBC patented biomechanics technology systems called grip pressure, foot pressure and motion capture that use a network of cameras, electronic sensors and computers to measure exact movement of the body during the approach and delivery. Motion capture is similar to the technology that video game-makers use to record Tiger Woods hitting a golf ball or NBA star and USBC spokesperson Chris Paul shooting a jump shot to make their game characters look realistic. Ross also will oversee the use of the Computer Aided Tracking System (C.A.T.S.) to record the exact location and velocity of bowling balls on a lane.

In addition, Ross and his colleagues will use DigiTraxT ball motion tracking software that measures the accuracy, consistency and transitions of a bowling ball on a lane and BowlersMAPT software that provides coaches the ability to analyze students utilizing computers and video analysis. Ross designed and developed both DigiTraxT and BowlersMAPT.

The sophisticated technology will be put to use during coaching sessions for Team USA, Junior Team USA and national teams from Federation Internationale des Quilleurs and World Tenpin Bowling Association countries around the world who want to train in the facility. In addition, the training center will be available for a fee to any bowlers who want to take high-tech coaching lessons. Ross also will be tasked with developing new technologies to keep the training center on the cutting edge in that important area.

“The goal of the USBC International Training Center is to have the most advanced teaching tools that will provide hard data about bowlers during their approach and delivery,” said Co-Director of USBC Coaching David Garber. “As one of the most respected coaches in the bowling industry, Rod will lead the training center to be the preferred place to train athletes from around the world that, in turn, will make it a financially sound project and investment for USBC.”

Long-term goals of the training center include: advanced development of bowling coaches and coaching programs for youth bowling, high school and college bowling; developing training techniques for different bowler styles; the improvement of bowling federations around the world; and to improve the sport worldwide with an eye on securing a place for bowling in the Olympic Games.

“If we’re going to be a sport in the Olympic family, we should give our athletes the facilities they need,” said Ross, who was bowling’s nominee for the 2004 United States Olympic Committee National Coach of the Year award and the 2005 USOC “Doc” Counsilman Award for advanced use of science and technology in bowling. “We’ll be the leaders, studying bowling as a sport. It’s an exciting opportunity for advancing the sport.”

By Patrick Brettingen
USBC Communications

Participants from the Junior Gold Clinic held by Bowlers Connection in Manteca are panning for gold in Detroit.

The Junior Gold Clinic held in Manteca California on June 7, 2008 was a success with forty two youth bowlers in attendance. The eight hour clinic was run by Teresa Ross with lead instructors Sports Physiologist Dean Hinitz and Gold Coach Rod Ross, on lane instructors included: Mark Benavidez, Debbie, Haggerty, Leanne Barrett-Hulsenberg, Gary Hulsenberg, and assistant Gary Hafelfinger.

Twenty seven of the participants are traveling to the Junior Gold Tournament in Detroit this summer to try and win a spot on Junior Team USA 2009. The other fifteen are future Junior Gold hopefuls and a few of those will be competing in the Teen Masters tournament this year in Las Vegas.

The seminar consisted of three classroom sessions including a manual and three sessions on the lanes. The first classroom session started with Dr. Dean Hinitz motivating the students as well as how to prepare for the upcoming competition. The bowlers then went to the lanes and bowled on modified PBA patterns, Cheetah 35′, Chameleon 39′ and Shark 44′ moving every fifteen minutes so they could experience all the patterns and work with the different coaches available. The coaches shared their knowledge on the lanes to give the students insight on how to play the patterns. Three pairs of lanes remained fresh for later in the day. The bowlers also received a C.A.T.S. analysis, with a review of the report at the end of the day.

The second and third classroom session given by Rod Ross covered lane play at Junior Gold, surface adjustment for ball motion and converting spares. During the next session on the lanes with help from the coaches the bowlers were able to experiment and learn about ball reaction by changing the surface of their bowling balls using abralon pads. The final session on the lanes the bowlers worked on spare drills and different ways to convert them, also at this time the fresh pairs were put into play and the bowlers were able to put their new knowledge to the test.

With forty two bowlers bowling across the lanes during the day we were able to create a similar break- down and transition that they could possibly encounter at Junior Gold. This should have given them a better understanding on lane play and the transitions they will face. The coaches were impressed by the field and how strong it was; we believe that the bowlers are better prepared for the challenge ahead and know that California is going for Gold.

A one day clinic featuring Sports Psychologist Dr. Dean Hinitz, USBC Gold Coach and Head Coach of Junior Team USA Rod Ross and USBC Silver Coach and coach for Junior Team USA Teresa Ross has been scheduled for Saturday June 7^th 2008 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Bowlers Connections Training PIT located inside the Manteca Bowl.

Assisting with this All Star Clinic are USBC Silver Coaches Debra Haggerty, Mark Benavidez, Leanne Barrett-Hulsenberg as well as PBA Regional Champion Gary Hulsenberg.

Attendees will train on three different sport patterns while receiving instruction and tips from the coaches. Sports Psychology, Lane Play, Spare Shooting along with Equipment Analysis and adjustments will be covered. A manual will be included along with either a CATS or DigiTrax analysis for each student.

For more information flyers and handouts can be viewed and printed from the download section of our site. Space is limited, to hold your spot sign up now. Cost is $75.00 for pre-register, and if space is available $90.00 the day of the clinic. (Note: SMART Funds can be used for this clinic, see handout for more information)

For more information use the contact us section of the website, or if you are ready to sign up click the Add to Cart button below to pay by credit card using PayPal to reserve your spot.

Sorry, the clinic is Full!

We were hoping that we could ride this out, but after this week our patience was exhausted. We went for most of this week with very little, if any email capabilities, along with this site being down more than it was up. So for the second time in just over a month we moved again. It took the better of two days just to move what we had done to the new site and get some of it working. Good thing we had a 90 day money back guarantee. Now we just need to figure out how to get the refund!

For some good news, we were able to save a lot of the old original sites articles, and plan to publish some of them soon. The podcasts and video casts are progressing, and once we have a stable hosting site, we can focus on how and where to post them.

So stay tuned, signup up for the RSS feeds (get notified on new stuff) or sign up for email alerts, as we have a lot of great things in store for bowlers, coaches and proshop operators.

However, this created a new opportunity for us at Bowlers Connection, we get to start over and create something new, different and hopefully exciting for the bowling community.

Stay tuned!