Ulti Goals for Summer 2008

1. Lengthen and sharpen the aim of my backhand
2. Make better decisions when handling (100% throws)
3. Play more intense defense
4. Have fun out there…it's only a game

With the summer season soon upon us, I decided to formalize what I'd like to accomplish in the next 4 months. Afterall, goals help focus effort to facilitate achievement.

The backhand goal might sound strange, so let me explain. When I first started ultimate, I almost exclusively threw backhands. I'd break force to throw backhands, travel to throw backhands, and fake long forehands just to make throwing backhands easier. Fast forward 6 months to when I learned a proper forehand in Coached League, and I basically stopped backhanding. For the better part of a year, with most teams forcing flick, I happily obliged and prospered as my forehand developed. However, once you get to a certain level in ultimate, teams mix up defenses, and even force backhand for games at a time. The problem? My once strong backhand has become a shell of its former self. Although I tried to lengthen and improve the aim of my backhand this past winter, the opportunities were limited unless I made a conscious decision to break force. In warm-up when everyone else worked on their flicks and hammers, I'd try to throw 75% backhands. After throwing last week outside a few times, although my backhand is slightly stronger and more precise, it still needs work. Needless to say, my fellow Urban Sprawlers should be prepared to see a lot of O/I backhands this summer since Friday will be my best night to practice throws.

Making better decisions was my main goal for the winter, and I'll carry it through to the summer. My indoor intermediate coach Stu Ginn was excellent at helping me identify good vs. bad throws. Just because someone catches one of my endzone to endzone cross-field flicks, it doesn't mean it was a smart throw to make. Stu talked about only attempting "100% throws". These are throws you know you are physically able to make, and that the cutter is expecting. For me, this means no hammers or long backhands until I can make them consistently. Stu's point was that as you grow older, you have to play smarter since physically, you won't be able to keep up with younger people. Since I'm pushing 30, this seems like solid, practical advice to follow. Stu also told our team that the biggest difference between intermediate, advanced, and elite players was decision making ability. After watching games at different levels, I couldn't agree more. One of the best Zip Tips is that you should look to advance the disc for the first two stalls, improve field position for the next two stalls, and reset ("dump") the disc with stalls 5 onward. If I can commit to following these pearls of wisdom, I should be playing smart (or at least smarter) ultimate by summer's end.

Admittedly, my intensity on defense is practically not existent. Being tall and semi-fast, I tend to poach just a tad off the person I'm marking, and try for the spectacular defensive play (7 Callahan's baby!) instead of denying them the disc in the first place. I've also been known to give my man in cuts, and then try to force a turnover through an overly aggressive (and illegal) mark. If I get cut from BigFish (likely), but can make the intermediate development team (decent likelihood), the coach is an awesome defender, who I know will serve as a good defensive model for me. Regardless of what happens, I'm committing to putting as much effort into defense as I do on offense.

One of the patterns I have with sports is picking them up pretty quickly, getting "good" at them, taking them too seriously, and stopping them altogether when they cease being fun. I don't want this to happen with ultimate. Regardless of the level I end up playing this summer, I have to continue to enjoy the game. Hopefully the "spirit of the game" and the "community" aspect of the game will help in this regard. However, I know this is largely up to me. As long as I don't get caught up with winning and losing, keeping the game fun on Fridays with Urban Sprawl shouldn't be a problem. It's the potential Tuesday/Thursday teams I'll play with where it might get challenging. Playing with better players, will push me to improve, and get my competitive juices flowing. Therefore, I have to find a way to balance this increased competitiveness with increased levels of fun. Any suggestions in this area would be more than welcome…

Anyway, I'll update with the progress of my ultimate goals throughout the summer. Feel free to let me know if I'm shanking my backhands, throwing low percentage passes, slacking off on D, or taking the game too seriously. Until next time, happy hucking!