The Double-A Zone is excited to introduce Coaches??? Corner, a new feature that will give readers the unique opportunity to see intercollegiate athletics from the eyes of head and assistant coaches across the country.

Today, Coach Andrejak describes last week???s experience in Houston.

"The things we do for the kids! Four A.M. wake-ups, 18-hour days, box lunches, lost luggage, posh hotels.......posh hotels? Well, maybe it's not all bad as coaches and student-athletes from a half dozen universities found out when we volunteered to work with kids for the YES (Youth Education through Sports) clinic in Houston, Texas. Two of my student-athletes and I were lucky enough to be invited to the NCAA Women's Bowling Championships to participate in the YES bowling clinic early Saturday morning. What a trip it was!

"It started out with a four in the morning wake up to make the hour drive from Dover, Delaware to Philadelphia for a 6:30 flight on Friday. Traffic on I-95 that early in the morning wasn't too bad and lines at the airport were going fairly smoothly. We arrived in Houston three hours later and made our way to baggage claim to wait for our bags. And we waited. And waited. Finally when the carousel stopped we resigned ourselves to the reality of the situation and trudged over to report our lost luggage -- along with six other people from the same flight.

"After receiving our claim number and a promise from US Air that our luggage would be at the hotel that evening, we piled into a taxi for the half-hour ride to the hotel. It was the first time any of us had been to Houston and I was impressed with our view from the interstate. I knew Houston to be one of the largest cities in the US area-wise but I was still surprised at the incredible tangle of roads and ramps near the center of the city.

"After checking into the hotel, we immediately took another taxi to Emerald lanes to watch the last two rounds of Friday's championship competition. It was amazing to see how much work had gone into creating a studio venue for the next evening's scheduled ESPN taping of the championship match. Bleachers had been placed behind all the approaches and the first 14 lanes were sectioned off by large black drapes. The cameras were in position and everything was ready to go. The championship match was to take place on lanes 9 and 10.

"That night, we attended a meeting for all the coaches and student-athletes to go over the next morning's schedule and to make sure we were all on the same page. The next morning, we arrived at the bowling center promptly at 7:00 in time for continental breakfast and another meeting to decide the logistics of the morning's undertaking. We found out that we would be working with more than a hundred youth ranging in age from 10-16. And what a group they were! I was shocked to see so many kids had crawled out of bed so early in the morning to get a few hours of instruction from college students. But show up they did and the enthusiasm was certainly there. The skills of these kids ranged from those who had only occasionally been in a bowling center to those who rolled in with their four-ball bags along with all the accouterments of the serious bowler.

"The game plan was for the student-athletes to do the instruction while each coach monitored their progress. The kids from Texas are a different breed. I haven't heard so many "Yes, ma'ams" since my own days of youth growing up in Mississippi. It was great to see how well they listened to what the college bowlers were telling them. They listened hard and they tried hard, but for many, making changes did not come easily. They would enthusiastically agree, nod in agreement, and then much of the time, bowl exactly they way they did before. But you could see them trying and looking for feedback from the college bowlers. All in all, the interaction between the two groups was very positive and I know the kids had a good time. And isn't that what it's all about after all?"