Recap & SHOCKING Ulty News

"I want to know where my confidence went
One day it all disappeared.
And I'm lying in a hotel room miles away
Voices next door in my ear."
Til I Am Myself Again - Blue Rodeo

After Northern Flights last weekend, this week of ultimate got off to a strange start when my alarm woke me up at 7:43 Monday morning, and I proceeded to sprint to the bathroom and embrace my commode for the next three hours. As I started to feel better in the afternoon, Monday became one of my best ultimate days ever. Why? You'll have to keep reading to find out.
- Feeling dizzy, noxious, and nursing a massive Charlie-horse from NB, I've never been happier to read that OCUA cancelled league games than on Monday night. I was going to try to suck it up and play, but I would have been a mess.
- Tuesday's practice wasn't as brutal as Ariel, Matt, and I had predicted during the ride to UPI. Even though it was supposed to be hard, I loved the throwing gauntlet.
- Another favorite drill of mine is the "quick hands" one. Note to any BF readers, Deirdre has developed a powerful flick. There was a verbal exchange during D's masterful performance of the drill that made me laugh.
- We scrimmaged BFC at the end of practice for the first time this season. Even though BFC beat us (duh, they're the A-team and had some of our stars), we played well. Covering Glenn was educational as always. On one point, I had the misfortune of marking Jamieson on D…which resulted in an inevitable quick score for BFC.
- On Tuesday I offered one of the organizers of Arrested Development a ride to UPI after she posted that she was looking for one. One of her team-mates came through in the end, but we exchanged a couple of emails and my personal grudge over being cut from AD is over. I'm happier with BF, and AD was looking for a commitment...which I wasn't ready to offer.
- Also on Tuesday, former practice squadder Jordan got promoted to the BF roster. It was well deserved as he's one of those rock solid, experienced players.
- While off on Wednesday, captain Sandra did a Facebook post looking for No Borders volunteers. Since I've never been to Ottawa's premier tournament, I offered to cover two 4-hour shifts (hopefully Saturday and Sunday). I'm really looking forward to my first ulty volunteering experience.
- Tom set up a wicked fitness circuit that was the high-light of Thursday's BF practice.
- Amusingly, I think my ultra-tight, nipple chafing, how can this possibly be a medium, sleeveless shirt was the low-light of Thursday's practice. Ah well, as long as everyone got a laugh out of it, it's all good. (Note to self: Try shirts on before purchasing…or at least before wearing to practice).
- Since I enjoy a good quote, Duffy's reaction to the shirt was "Hey James, I really think you should save something for the wedding night.".
- Here's a random Facebook observation that shows just how weird my life has become: I made the mistake of clicking on the "People You May Know" list, and 75% of them are competitive ultimate players. The other 25%? I don't know them…but they very well could play ultimate.
- Friday's game against the Pylons was my best of the year with Urban Sprawl. Despite getting broke a bunch of times by Pete Hook while in the cup (didn't know he was a lefty til late in the game), I kept the turnovers to minimum on offense (2 or 3), threw a bunch of goals (6 or 7), and caught a few as well. The goal was to get everyone involved in the offense, and it worked well as we won 15-6 against a pretty highly skilled team. An added bonus? I didn't have to break out my trusty BF rulebook!

Ready to be shocked? While completely out of it on Monday, I was checking the weather forecast on the net when I noticed a message from Gavin. Despite playing below par in NB, the captains offered me a chance to play with the team at the Regionals where BF hopes to qualifies for Nationals. After supper, I remembered the message, but wondered if I had halucinated/dreamt it (I alternated between puking and sleeping Monday). After double-checking, I quickly responded that I'd love to play. So, yah, apparently I'm off to Waterloo next weekend? Sadly, this good news does come at the expense of Ahmad and Peter, both very deserving, more experienced players, and genuinely good people. Honestly, that makes me feel guilty. On the bright side, this is an incredible opportunity, plus I might be able to help BF qualify for Nationals, which would mean my "mystery tournament tipper" would get to play with the team when she's back for a while from down under. Since she's one of the people that encouraged me to try out for the team in the first place, this would be a great way for me to pay her back.

This week's lesson learned is not to be too hard on yourself. I tend to pick holes in my game, and envision shortcomings that others don't see. Even though I was less than proud of my play at NB, the captains must have seen something they liked. Sadly, my own critical attitude is shared by some team-mates, who also got down on themselves after losing games last weekend. BF has this awesome cheer, and my favorite part is when Gavin asks "Do you love this game?" and everyone shouts "Hell ya!". I have to let that love over-ride my innate negativity and self-doubt. With lots of work ahead of me in the next week, I better get to it. Until next time, happy hucking!