Bowling Progress is Opening New Doors!

Yesterday was definitely one of our better sessions! I am seeing consistently huge progress in his bowling technique. We finally received permission for Junior to use the Fitness Facility at SUNY Cortland which Junior has really been looking forward to. I told him straightforward that if we get some efficient bowling practice in first, we will get into the weight room. Instantly Junior was on the ball. He could tell me all the cues for our form, "palm up, stepping with opposition, and release low!" Not only could he recite the cues but he executed the skill with all 3 critical elements on our modified bowling alley in the racquetball courts. We spent about 25 minutes practicing bowling and then we moved onto the weight room which Junior was really looking forward to as you can see with his face of intensity on the exercise bike!

Before entering the weight room I had to talk to Junior about rules including safety, etiquette, cleanliness, intensity and progression. We started off on the bike to warm up nice an easy for 6 minutes. Then we moved onto the elliptical since he was ready to increase his intensity and work on his cardiovascular endurance. After about 5 minutes of work and a push to give me 1 minute of a cool down speed, we were going to move onto some lifting. We worked on the shoulder press, triceps extensions and some biceps curls. Compared to other average 15 year old males, Junior is a lot smaller and is lacking muscular strength and endurance so we had to start very light. I was able to get Junior to agree that we should be focusing on form, more than the weight being lifted.

He became fatigued very easily so I think he is starting to see how much he can improve. The struggle we have to overcome is the fact that he is not used to being physically active. While we are being active, he frequently tells me how he doesn't like getting hot, he doesn't like to sweat, and when he actually starts feeling his muscles working, he thinks his leg or arm fell asleep. He clearly demonstrates a lack of physical activity but Junior can improve by starting out small and progressively moving up the intensity ladder. Our Project Dream goal was to bowl a turkey so we are continually working on that and Junior is definitely making progress, but I am also trying to expose him to other forms of activity so he can find one that is right for him where he will pursue it on his own! I am able to show him with bowling that he can improve when he puts the effort in as he has showed already! My goal is for Junior to realize that he can open his own new doors and be actively successful by putting in the time and effort!