Our annual city tournament is finally coming around again.  They take the top ten city averages for seniors (10 men, 10 women for each division), adults, and youth, and we have a tournament.  The seniors have to have a minimum of 70 games bowled, and so do the youth, but the adults have to have a composite average of 70 games apiece in at least two different houses.  

This year, the prebowling scum that I'm sure some of you have heard about qualified first with a 218.  He prebowled for 80 of the 132 games in the league that his average came from (if the youth bowl in more than one league, they just take the league they averaged highest in).  The league I qualified from I prebowled 6 of 96 (because of tournaments).  I averaged 216.  There was talk of compositing the youth averages, but they didn't do it, BUT announced in the paper that the averages represented for the youth WERE composite.  I bowled two leagues, averaged 216 in one, 211 in the other.  This guy averaged 218 in the league he prebowled for, and the league he couldn't find any decent explaination to excuse himself from, he averaged 205.  I'd have been at a little over 213, and he'd have been at 212.  

In any case, he's going to be getting the recognition for being the top qualifier from people that have no clue about what went on this season.  I fought and fought through the broken down conditions we had at my 211 house from the peewees.  I was second high in the league to mr. prebowler.  At the other house, my 216 house, I was fifth in average in the entire house, adults and everybody, and the next closest youth was mr. prebowler at 205.  I'm not trying to make this a bragging session, but I just don't feel like I'm receiving my dues.  I'm not saying I have to have the attention, but don't you just hate when you do all the work for something and somebody else slides right in and gets the reward?  I'm not looking for attention, and I already get respect from a lot of the adults, I'd just like my efforts to earn me the reward I should have received, just for myself.  I'm the kind of bowler that always bowls against themself, I love seeing other people bowl great, even if they're bowling against me.  I'm kinda the way Danny Wiseman is, I'm intense about my own bowling, but I can smile and still be cool about it if somebody beats me.  

I realize it's just a bunch of youth bowlers, but nearly all of them are going adult, and I've been bowling with a couple this summer in the adult leagues, so it's not like it's a super huge deal.  It really just irks me when mr. prebowler and his girlfriend have inflated averages and then have the nerve to say "You're just jealous of our averages," when anybody makes a comment to them about the prebowling.  They had to rewrite an entire set of league rules for next year because of these two.  Rant off, phew.
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Forget Kung Fu, I know Ron Bahr!!!

The only difference between youth and adult leagues are that the big boys are allowed to whine.  They're more entertaining anyway.

No.

Well, I said the attention wasn't the thing, and I'd have to be crazy to be jealous of this kid.  He's one dimensional, put us on a sport shot or reverse block or something, and I'll have him by at least 30 pins a game pretty easily.  If he has to play anywhere but 3rd arrow, he won't have a chance.  I know I'm better, but that's not the point.  It's just that all my work hasn't seemed to earn me anything.  I could have walked out of YABA with my ring collection if I'd have prebowled all year.  And also that's another thing, I'm not gonna be one of the ones that jumps up and surprises people by winning, I'm pretty much expected to win.  I'm not trying to sound cocky (like being the best out of a bunch of youths matters much anyway, but it's the principle of the thing), but that's just the way it is.  If those two weren't so damn proud of themselves, and if their parents weren't so arrogant, it might be easier to take.  I don't know, maybe you're right, maybe I'm just being a whiny little crybaby.  It's hard to keep working at something when you don't see results though.
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Forget Kung Fu, I know Ron Bahr!!!

The only difference between youth and adult leagues are that the big boys are allowed to whine.  They're more entertaining anyway.

It does not do any good to get upset.  I went through the same thing this year.  They had the State All Stars earlier this year.  I average in the 230s.  I was invited the year before, but not this year, and I averaged higher this year than last.  Last year, they took the top ten averages from each association to bowl.  I believe I was second in the book at 234.  This year, I was first at 234, and got passed up.  Why?  Because they decided to take the top 10 all events scores from City Tournament, which I did not get to bowl in.  Wait until you hit the men's leagues and get into brackets.  I was in a league this year where I was averaging 240 most of the year and second on the list was 226.  I barely won a thing, because anybody can shoot 250 or higher at any time.  In 36 weeks, I think I won maybe 6 weeks out of the 36.  I kept getting beat by people averaging much lower than I, because for the most part, I was consistently between 225 and 245.  But, it took high 250s to win from game to game.  There were many weeks where I went 250-240-240, and walked away with nothing.  On top of that, my team finished 6th.  So, I feel your pain.  You will get recognition where it is due.  There are other honors out there, such as Association Bowler of the Year, which I have gotten 3 times in the last 5 years.  I won Gold Medal at the Georgia State Games last year.  Believe me, you will get recognition.  But there are always going to be times where the results do not reflect how well you bowled.  Need to get used to it, because the times you do get recognized, will outweigh the times you don't.
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If anyone out there is worried about the scores being too high, try duckpin!!

Lol, I suppose.  He just can't miss on the house shot, he's got about 10 boards to work with.  High revs, high speed on the wall, just launches it down there, carries everything.  I could do the same thing, I just can't move far enough left on the right lane.  That's what I've been working at.  I can't miss on the left side, it's just that the pattern is short, and I can't exactly launch it down there, so when my track starts burning up, I get into trouble on the right lane.  The reaction is so soft that I can't go straighter, and the wall is so hard from 1-5 that it's really tough.  His shot matches up well with the conditions there, but that's about it.  Like I said, he can't touch me or anybody else on anything without a wall.  He plays 3rd arrow out to between 3 and 10, where ever the ball ends up at the breakpoint, he carries.
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Forget Kung Fu, I know Ron Bahr!!!

The only difference between youth and adult leagues are that the big boys are allowed to whine.  They're more entertaining anyway.

do what i did. find the oldest piece of equipment you can find, a urethane or something old, polish the SNOT out of it so it reflects like a mirror, and throw it straight up the track.

I had the same problem as you in a house shot, all me reactive equipment couldnt stay on the lane, i would be playing 25-30 every night with no area, so i got pissed and got an old ball and went out on the corner, i've got all the area in the world and my average went from 185-190 to 225.

Just try it in practice, see how it works. Dont play the oil, use the dry boards, go straight up it or with alittle swing. If you pull it the heavy oil will set it, and if you send it out, urethanes react hard early, so it will make it back. Just play with the shot some.
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am i still considered a lefty, i never get to play the left side of the lane

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Seems there is not much you can do about this now. Worrying about is only going to have a negative affect on your game. It is unfortunate that so many youth leagues still allow individual prebowling and for basically no reason at all. Several years ago the national YABA sent a letter out to coaches recommending they follow ABC rules on this issue, which would require the entire team to prebowl and with 48 hours notice, plus it requires a legitimate excuss. I instuted this change in my youth leagues and stopped nearly all of the prebowling. If the entire team had to make it, they were more than likely to show up. If one bowler was out, then they just carried the blind. I would recommend bringing this up. I might also mention that is our area a couple years ago we had a prebowling youth set a state record, only to find out while reviewing the recaps that he had bowled enough frames to have bowled around 10 games, not the three. He was using his knowledge of Brunswick scoring systems to manufacturer strikes without a correction showing up. SO, I think that center is approaching this prebowling a little different now.