As director of coaching for USBC, one of the questions I'm asked most often is how to become a USBC-certified coach. Whether you're looking to make a career out of it, help a kids high-school team or just learn more about the sport of bowling and make yourself valuable to your local bowling programs, becoming certified by USBC Coaching gives you the knowledge and credibility to move up the ranks.
Registered Volunteer Program
The first thing to get certified is to enroll in the Registered Volunteer Program. You'll go through the U.S. Center for SafeSport online training course designed to create a safe and respectful environment for athletes.
Level I
Our Level I program offers the fundamentals needed to begin coaching, many of the topics covered can apply to any sport. We deal with safety, etiquette and what it takes to be a coach, then get into some of the basics of bowling, such as lane courtesy, keeping the ball between the gutters and scoring.
The entire Level I curriculum is online, so you can go through it at your own pace on your way to becoming a coach.
You can purchase access to Level I, or you get it free through a promotion with our USA Bowling Youth program.
Bronze
Bronze certification requires a two-day course that puts you in a bowling center and on the lanes with students so you can apply your knowledge in a real-world environment.
For coaches of high-school teams, Bronze certification gives you very specific information regarding the game and coaching players looking to improve their averages.
Silver
Silver certification is a three-day conference building on the information shared during the Bronze course. Training includes in depth evaluation of the physical game, bowling equipment and lane play. This course prepares coaches for college level athletes or bowlers of a similar skill level.
Once someone reaches Silver their coaching options expand greatly. Silver coaches have created their own successful coaching businesses or connected with pro shops to share their knowledge to students in local bowling centers.
Gold
To achieve Gold certification, our highest level, you'll work through a guidebook of disciplines and standards while submitting examples of your knowledge and ability to apply them. After completing the guidebook, you'll schedule and visit the International Training & Research Center (ITRC) to be evaluated by a validation panel of current Gold coaches.
As part of the Gold validation you'll conduct presentations, Q&A sessions, on-lane lessons and ball motion analysis. In our opinion reaching Gold certification is coaching's PhD.
There are many opportunities for coaches within bowling and the USBC Coaching certification program is accessible to all levels. We encourage everyone to get started with the self-paced Level I program and help bowlers enjoy the sport by turning bowling into fun for everyone.
Stephen
comments