Bowling instructor shares passion for sport through decades of students

Voted as one of the top 100 bowling instructors in the country twice by Bowlers Journal, and named bowling instructor of the year by the Indiana Bowling Centers Association, Purdue bowling instructor Doug Wiedman brings experience and achievement to his course.

Wiedman has taught Purdue’s bowling course for 29 years and has bowled for over 40, creating a place for students to try out a sport they might have never played before.

Among his credentials, he published a book called, “Bowling: Steps to Success” that includes different skills and strategies of bowling. It has sold around 40,000 copies.

Wiedman’s older brother introduced him to the game. As the youngest of seven, he enjoyed the competitiveness of the game. At 16 years old, Wiedman started to take bowling seriously by spending more time improving his skill.

He came to Purdue as a student in 1982, dropped out and changed majors. Then, he came back as an education major in 1984 and later worked on a minor in physical education.

After college, Wiedman revitalized the bowling class after it was discontinued because of a lack of funding, and created his own curriculum. The class didn’t require any skill improvement previously, and Wiedman wanted to change that.

“I created an entire curriculum of training practices and attendance requirements,” he said. “I created a bowling skill development program.”

Wiedman took bowling instructor courses offered by the United States Bowling Congress to help develop his class curriculum.

Grades in his bowling class are based on multiple factors.

Attendance is the most important factor. Other factors include papers, showing improvement and minor quizzes.

“About 60% is attendance, about 20% is improvement and another 20% is hitting a certain minimum performance standard.”

One of his students, Chelsie Rifkind, a senior in the College of Engineering, said she enjoys starting a stressful day of classes with something fun like bowling.

“Fun break from typical STEM-style classes. I like that I get to bowl pretty much every class. The professor is easy going and enthusiastic,” said Presley Armes, a senior in the College of Engineering.

“Like any other sport, you have to break it down into its component parts. Most people just grab a ball and go, and they think they’ll accidentally get better.”

In bowling, you have to spend time isolating each basic skill to improve, Wiedman said.

“Bowling, unlike most sports, has a running start. There is footwork involved that has to be synchronized with the overall motion of the swing. That’s how we generate momentum when you’re throwing a bowl that weighs 12 to 16 pounds,” Wiedman said.

Bowling has different ups and downs for each player.

“The most difficult part of bowling is mastering the basics,” said Holden McGuire, a senior in the College of Engineering.

McGuire said that he took bowling as a fun way to end his senior year. He enjoys Wiedman’s instructing and the way he is able to correct any mistake you’re making in the sport.

“My teaching mentality and my competitive mentality are different,” Wiedman said. He is serious when he plays competitively and encouraging and helpful when teaching.

“Most people who see me bowl do not like me at all. Most people who take the class do, so those two aspects of my personality I keep separate.”

He said he still enjoys teaching because the game doesn’t change but the students do. He likes to try and figure out how to connect with each student so they can improve, Wiedman said.

The satisfaction of seeing people become better bowlers by improving and reaching their goals is the main thing he looks for, Wiedman said.

Wiedman said his favorite thing about the sport is the individual aspect.

He said he likes the sport because he gets to be in control and is able to get into a focused zone where no one else exists.

“It’s just me against the pins without having to worry about teammates,” he said.