Andy (and you should listen, this is valuable experience coming from your own namesake...lol),

It has always been my goal to be as versatile as possible.  To be as comfortable playing 5th-6th arrow as playing the twig.  I would MUCH rather have multiple "A" or "B" games than one "A" game and a whole bunch of "C" or "D" games.  This is coming from the perspective of someone who bowls 3 leagues in 3 different houses with 3 VERY different lane conditions.  Also from someone who bowls a tournament here or there and has aspirations of joining the Regional tour.  If you have the same (or at least similar) goals in mind of not only bowling in tournaments, but being competitive in them, I would keep the many releases and versatility you have and concentrate on making each one of your "B" games into an "A" game.  Who's to say that you can't have more than one "A" game?  Look at Duke, Barnes, WRW, etc.  

The more confidence you have in each of your games helps you in a tournament setting where you run into something you may not be used to seeing before.  What happens if you can't play the twig and all of the sudden you walk into a tournament, plunk down the $80-$250 entry fee, get in $50 worth of brackets, and find that the shot is on the twig.  You're done before you've even finished your first game.

It is IMPERATIVE to know how to play each part of the lane.  Ball speed is huge as well, and obviously so is tilt.  There are just so many variables that go into being a successful bowler that it would be a poor decision to just concentrate on one area and pray that you find that at a tournament.

Good luck to you, and keep up the versatility!
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Andrew Loose
"Evolutionary. Revolutionary."

Strider, I know I'm really inconsistent.  Most of that is due to the fact that I don't have just one game to play like most people.  I have too many things (an overstatement) that I can do, so I never have really settled on one thing to get better on.  It's strictly a mental thing.  It's in my head that from an outside standpoint, it'd be bad to just become strictly a stroker/cranker/tweener and abandon everything else.  For some reason I'm the opposite of almost everyone.  Most everyone starts out with literally only one style they can do, become good at that, and then expand and learn new things.  For me, I have everything I can do, but have yet to master any of them.

It's just a mental thing, but I hate the idea of "confining" myself to one style.  I know, it's ridiculously stupid, but I severely dislike the notion that I'm not doing all I can do.  I enjoy being able to change my routine up.  Like the other day in league, I was playing from about 20-8 the first game, then I noticed that the line was starting to disappear.  I tried moving left and right, using the same exact shot, but it didn't really work.  So, I decided to put forward roll on the ball, and played straight up 8 the rest of the time (and it worked).  Those kinds of things are what enters my mind when I think of only becoming one style, that I wouldn't have been able to make that huge jump, and I would have been stuck trying to switch balls and use a new line anyways.

BTW, I've changed since I last put vids up.  I'm pretty consistent in my strike routine, my spares just leave a lot to be desired.  Usually because I'm thinking about what I should have changed in the strike shot, and I don't even focus on the spare.  Maybe I can take some new video at the JBT's I'm going to this weekend.

Oh, I hope you don't think I was criticizing you at all.  I was merely explaining why that's so difficult for me and my twisted little mind, to accept the notion of dropping everything and becoming a typical one release bowler which would make the most sense.  I want to do that, but I know for a fact that if I did, my confidence would drop a lot knowing that I'll have to rely on ball changes and dealing with bad reactions, rather than just switching up.  But, if I don't, there is the chance I'll never master anything, and just be a hack and never progress.  Err..
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- Andy


Brunswick...........'nuff said.

Edited on 4/20/2005 9:35 PM

Bowlitup, thanks for the advice.  I think I might just work on my fundamentals, and try incorporating the different shots into that, and see what works.

You know what, I think I'll force a family member to bring the video camera and tape some shots of me at the JBT's this weekend.
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- Andy


Brunswick...........'nuff said.