Hank Boomershine of Brigham City, Utah, and Joe Slowinski of Lake Wales, Fla., have been awarded Gold level coaching status after successfully completing certification requirements through the United States Bowling Congress Coaching Certification and Development department.

Gold level is the highest certification a coach can achieve through USBC. USBC recently conducted coaching recertification and, with the addition of Boomershine and Slowinski, there now are 16 USBC Gold coaches worldwide.

"To reach this prestigious level as a coach takes a tremendous amount of dedication," said Neil Stremmel, USBC Managing Director National Governing Body. "We congratulate Hank and Joe for their hard work and commitment to the sport of bowling."

Boomershine, 41, is vice president of sales and marketing for Storm Products, Inc. He started bowling at age 10 and began working in the industry at age 15. He has been involved in almost every aspect of the bowling industry during his career.

"This is the final piece to a puzzle," Boomershine said. "You've worked your whole life putting all these elements together. To be certified as a Gold level instructor means a great amount."

Slowinski, 44, is the administrative head coach for the Webber International University bowling program and the men's head coach. He is a Master Teaching Professional at the Kegel Training Center and is a contributing writer for Bowling This Month magazine.

"For me, it validates your hard work," Slowinski said. "I've really tried to help the sport by making people better and by contributing and sharing ideas. When I get excited about something, learn about it and share it so other people get excited - that's it. It's just validation of hard work."

His father was a youth director, and when Slowinski was 17 he decided to take a coaching course through the Young American Bowling Alliance (YABA).

"It was exciting to learn about the sport and how to coach," Slowinski said. "That's where the seed was planted."

The process of becoming a USBC Gold coach is similar to obtaining a doctorate in a field of study. Candidates are required to demonstrate knowledge through practical application and discussion. The final review program requires a coach to conduct a class, participate in an oral exam and give lessons to bowlers of various skill levels. The final review board consists of active USBC Gold coaches and USBC staff.

Candidates recently went through the final review at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington.

"You put so much effort and time into building the presentation - your philosophy and your thoughts on teaching," Boomershine said. "Then presenting it, defending it, knowing you are going to be graded on your output. And then everything else that went with it - all the certifications you had to do over your career, the long hours of coaching, teaching and doing lessons. It's a long process."

Click here for the updated list of active USBC certified coaches broken down by certification level.

Visit BOWL.com/coaching to learn more about USBC coaching certification programs.