USBC Coaching makes impact at WTBA World Championships

ARLINGTON, Texas - The global reach of the United States Bowling Congress Coaching Certification and Development department was on full display at the recent World Tenpin Bowling Association World Championships.

The prestigious event, which took place Aug. 16-30 at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Henderson, Nev., not only featured the sport of bowling's top players but also its top coaches.

There were 24 active USBC certified coaches helping guide the world's best bowlers from 46 countries.

"We have made tremendous strides over the years to spread the word about USBC Coaching and encourage more coaches to expand their skills around the world," USBC Managing Director of National Governing Body Neil Stremmel said. "To see so many USBC certified coaches working with the sport's top athletes is really encouraging."

Of the coaches at the World Championships, five have reached Gold status, which is pinnacle level of USBC Coaching certification. Among them were Del Warren (Dominican Republic), Hank Boomershine (Korea), Joe Slowinski (Mexico), Rod Ross (United States) and Ron Hatfield (Ukraine).

In addition, there were 11 Silver coaches, seven Bronze coaches and two Level I coaches at the World Championships.

"The sheer number of USBC certified coaches at the World Championships proves that USBC Coaching is recognized around the world as the top training program in the world," Stremmel said. "USBC has spent a lot of time and put a lot of effort into building an elite coaching certification program and it's nice to see federations around the world recognize our efforts."

Here's a complete list of the coaches and the countries they were working with at the World Championships:

Gold coaches:
Del Warren, Dominican Republic
Hank Boomershine, Korea
Joe Slowinski, Mexico
Rod Ross, United States
Ron Hatfield, Ukraine

Silver coaches:
Geoff Browness, Australia
Thomas Tybl, Austria
Tim Mack, Bahrain
Jon Zadel, England
Eric Courault, France
Del Ballard Jr., Hong Kong
Yoshiyuki Arai, Japan
Holloway Cheah, Malaysia
Steve Kloempken, Singapore

Kim Terrell-Kearney, United States

Christer Backe, Denmark

Bronze coaches:
Tyrel Rose, Canada
Jorge Otalora, Colombia
Bill Hoffman, Hong Kong
Hordur Ingi Johannsson, Iceland
Ben Heng, Malaysia
Randy Raldiris, Puerto Rico
Xavier Ecoffey, Switzerland

Level I coaches:
Josephine Canare, Philippines
Shawn Ryan, Thailand