Man, talk about overlap . .
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HAH!  I don't know ANYBODY now!

Being in adult leagues teaches you many things.  

1.  You're not on top anymore, but there are a lot more people that suck worse than you do now.  

2.  The myth about the youths having an easier shot is NOT TRUE.  I'd have an entire ring collection if it was.  

3.  Drunk adults are a lot funnier than drunk youths.

David Lee...  what if Chevy only made one car and never made another new model and you were stuck always getting the same model every year???  Ball companies are continually trying to "reinvent the wheel" in my opinion and create the best possible equipment to make available to their customers.  I have like 10 balls in my possession now and the fear factor on order, but I only carry 4.  My most recent purchase was the reloaded and I find this ball to be the most versital ball in my bag right now.  These balls do wear out over time and need to be replaced.  I've gone thru two of the x-it's.  My trauma response is now polished to a shine and used for dry conditions because it died out.  I agree with you to a point, BUT if you come to my house where they have been flooding them this year and don't have a heavy oil ball, I don't see you scoring as you can only move so far right with your medium ball.  I bowl at many houses now during tournaments and having 4 balls along with me helps me to adapt to conditions and cash more often.  I think that if you just bowl in one or 2 houses though, you only need 1 strike ball and a spare ball, but if you travel, you need a go to ball and a couple others to fit certain specific conditions.  Oh and as far is the # of boards covered, I don't believe that is the most important aspect.  Entry angle is FAR more important than # of boards covered, it just so happens that sometimes a harder hooking ball is needed to get optimum entry angle.

Kmitch

Yes the houses i bowl in tend to change thier oil or pattern every yr, I dont really know what they do in that respect for two of the leagues i am in because they are new leagues for me, wed/thurs.  

But my monday nite league i have been in since 96.  And yes the shot is different every yr.  3yrs ago in this house people couldnt keep Reactives on the lanes cuz the new owner put out a pattern similar to a PBA type, with Sandpaper backends, and some people brought out thier old Nitro's and Urethane balls, I know i brought out a old Blue hammer, i had from JR leagues.  

But since then its been more of a easier pattern.  But last yr, it was super easy and everyone who scored played the track and we had several guys average over 230 or very close.  But this yr, its different, there is less hold in the middle.  

And to answer your questions about tournaments, i do bowl a scratch tournament series in my area and one of the houses does put down a sport shot, and i know some of the PBA pro who bowl in them do pull out the low performance balls on the sport shot.

Last yr, one of the houses i bowled leagues in was known for having a FLOOD of Oil from 10-10, well the owner messed with everyone, and put down a very demanding shot, basically a light oil Crown.  And a friend of mine who needless to say is very good, said he took out his old Thunderstorm and went right down 17.  

And i have been a loyal Storm user since 96 when the ThunderStorm came out.  And still have the El nino, Trauma, Eraser, Eraser boost, Trauma Response, Two-X-factors, X-factor Reloaded, Trauma Recovery.   And i have gone through or gotten rid of, the La nina, Trauma ER, El nino 2000, ThunderStorm, Erase-it, Big Hit, Tour Power.  

So its not like i dont know about Storm. And i would say the Response is a True Heavy Oil ball.  

And no i didnt goto TN for nationals, but from what i heard, alot of the guys from my area who did go, used the Duece alot and it worked for them.  

And I know i can pull out my El Nino, and still use it on most conditions put out today.  And for the La Nina, when that ball came out it was considered a Heavy Oil ball.  But now its just a Med oil ball.  

But i know the only place you will ever find a true tough shot is either at Nationals or the US Team Challange, or on Tour.  But if you look at alot of the guys on tour and what they use, they are using the Mid-performance balls, on most conditions because u can use the Heavy Oil balls, unless u are on 50ft of oil.  

Anyways i dont wanna seem like i am yelling, which i am not, i am just making a statement about what i notice in bowling.  

Oh and one more thing, i dont think i have ever had a ball die on me, except for the La Nina, and i dont think it really died, its just the house i only used it in changed the shot, to a heavy oil pattern than what it was, so the ball, wouldnt even move.  

So i figured it was dead.  And like i said My El Nino still hooks as much as it did when i first got it, and same with my old Thunderstorm.  But anyways i shall end this.