At 17, Andrew Koff of Pinecrest has spent more than half of his life bowling. And his love for the game has certainly paid off.

The Gulliver Preparatory School senior has won nearly $70,000 in national scholarship awards for bowling and academics, most of which have been earned in the last four years. His latest prize, the 2010 Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow Award, comes from the U.S. Bowling Congress.

The $6,000 scholarship award is presented annually to a male high school senior or college student who has excelled in bowling on the state and national levels. For the better part of the last 10 years, Andrew has been doing just that.

The bowling whiz recently capped off a summer full of accomplishments, including winning seven gold medals at the Lee Evans Tournament of the Americas in Orlando as part of the Junior Bowling Team USA.

Andrew placed second at the USBC Junior Gold Championships to earn a spot on Team USA for the second year in a row. He is the youngest member of the team.

``I love to bowl. I always have,'' Andrew said. ``I'm not sure how I picked up the sport but it's what keeps me busy, besides school, for six days a week.''

Andrew isn't kidding. He belongs to his high school bowling team, a program he helped form his freshman year at Gulliver. He also practices almost daily at Bird Bowl in Westchester, his self-proclaimed ``second home.''

His average is 240.

``I'm always trying to get better,'' he said. ``Every other week, there is some competition I'm going to.''

Andrew returned Wednesday from the Florida High School Athletic Association State Bowling Tournament in Orlando, where he finished eighth in the state for the boys' division. His sister, Ana, a junior at Gulliver, won the state championship for the girls.

Andrew had previously won the individual state championship in 2006 and finished second in 2007 and 2008.

His coach, Richard Cheney, has been there for him every step of the way since he was 7. Cheney calls Andrew the ``Tiger Woods of bowling.''

``From the very beginning, Andrew showed a natural ability,'' said Cheney, a teacher at Kendall's Oliver Hoover Elementary who used to bowl professionally. ``He has a good blend of power and skills that have taken him far in the sport. He also adapts to changes quickly and takes good direction, which is a good sign that he will only get better.''

Andrew's parents don't bowl. But they have supported his love of the sport -- as long he doesn't let his grades slip in school.

``We've always encouraged him to do what he loves and Andrew has a true dedication to the sport,'' said father Steven Koff. ``He is an example of what hard work and dedication can really accomplish.''

Aside from competitions, Andrew spends his time promoting high school bowling and the scholarship opportunities available in the sport through BowlForAll, an organization he co-founded as a sophomore.

He hopes to major in engineering at Rice University in Houston.

``Not many kids are aware of the many scholarship opportunities that are out there for bowling,'' Andrew said. ``My goal is to move forward with this and do this professionally some day.''

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