Bill Spigner, a professional bowler and coach with over five decades of experience, has long believed that video is an essential teaching tool.
He’s integrated video into every professional lesson since 1979, transitioning from bulky VHS tapes and Beta Max setups to digital software like BowlersMAP to modern, cloud-based mobile apps such as Onform.
“Visual feedback is non-negotiable for athlete progression,” Spigner said.
USBC Gold Certified Coach Mike Dias leverages modern technology to transcend the limitations of a physical bowling center, using Onform to coach bowlers in-person and in-between lessons.
“Onform has been a game-changer for me and my business,” Dias said. “It’s the future of how we’re going to teach this game.”
Bridging the ‘Feel’ vs. ‘Real’ Gap for Bowlers
Spigner believes that communication is the coach’s primary responsibility, and video serves as an essential bridge to effective communication with his students.
“They wouldn’t understand the words unless they relate it to a picture, and then you’re planting the seeds, and then they can grow, and then eventually they will understand,” he said.
Dias calls video the “ultimate truth-teller,” noting that bowlers often have a sensory perception of their throw that does not always match their actual physical movement. Visual evidence allows his students to quickly understand what needs to be improved, which significantly accelerates the correction of technical flaws.
“Seeing is believing,” Dias explained. “When a student sees themselves on video, that light bulb goes off and they finally understand what I’ve been telling them.”
Onform as a Remote Coaching Tool for Bowling
Dias has utilized technology to transcend the limitations of a physical bowling center. He uses Onform to stay in touch with his students outside of lessons. He’ll regularly send drills for his bowlers to practice in between lessons and uses the Chat feature to guide his athletes through the physical and mental sides of the game.
Onform also allows him to maintain a consistent relationship with students across the country, providing them with real-time feedback and strategy without requiring travel. So even with students that he may only coach in person once a month or less frequently, he can maintain an “accountability loop” that prevents students from reverting to old habits between lessons.
“The biggest thing is accountability,” Dias said. “It bridges the gap between lessons so they aren’t just out there practicing the wrong things.”
For Spigner, he’ll use Onform to send his students articles between lessons, so they are always learning. He also has an extensive library of videos from professional bowlers that he’ll use as reference materials for his students.
“If I see a style, I could pick out a part of somebody’s game and compare it to that in their own game,” Spigner said. “It helps them understand what they are doing. So when you recommend something, they have a better idea of what I mean.”
Real Results Powered by the Use of Video
Dias and Spigner work with bowlers of all ages and skill levels. Both believe in personalized roadmaps for their students. Just like there is no “perfect” form in a golf swing, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to throwing a bowling ball. You have to account for factors such as age, body makeup and physical limitations.
Dias uses a combination of voiceover analysis, side-by-side comparisons and a library of videos of elite bowlers to help every student understand the unique parameters of their own game. He recalled a success story of one bowler who consistently added 50 pins to their average score within a six-week period through consistent video feedback and technical refinement.
“You’re not just guessing anymore,” he said. “You’re looking at the data and the footage. It takes the guesswork out of coaching.”
Spigner relies on video to assess a bowler’s strengths and weaknesses, and identify opportunities for improvement such as transitioning to a two-handed throw to produce more power and spin. His philosophy is to focus on fundamentals like timing and balance first, then progress to more advanced aspects of the game such as increasing power and navigating the mental aspects of tournament play.
“My mindset is to establish or refine those fundamentals and then progress to power as soon as possible and then we’ll build a game around the power and then build the mental mindset around the power of how to play the game better,” Spigner said.