The Times, They Are A Changin'

"To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven."
The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn!

With the last BigFish tournament of the summer completed, no practices on the horizon, and playoffs for league play quickly approaching, summer ultimate is coming to a close. Below is a summary of last week's ulty happenings. My apologies for the tardiness. Last week was my first back at work after three glorious weeks of vacation, and I was sick all weekend with a bronchial infection (still am actually).

- After six games at Mixed Up, knowing I had a league game Monday night, I demonstrated my ulty-addiction by playing pick-up for a couple hours Monday afternoon. Although this might sound completely moronic, it was with an ulty friend from winter who's heading off to BC later this month. Plus, one of my favorite BF team-mates came with, and some of us went up for gelato afterward.
- Monday's league game against "I Like to Huck" was much easier than I expected. Even though BF team-mate Michael was on the opposition, both of us were exhausted, and spent the game handling for our respective teams and not covering each other. I think the final score was 15-5 for Poached…but it wasn't that close. Michael was rock solid in handling for his team.
- Since there was no practice Tuesday (a reward for doing well at Mixed Up), I decided to pick up with Disc-o-Fever, my team from last year. This year's team is different, but quite a bit better in the standings. They didn't really need my help in winning 15-11.
- The low-light of Tuesday was tearing my right Gaia G4 cleat apart on a cut. Luckily, I had my back-up Ions with me. However, the fact they're a half-size too big, and not as supportive as the G4s sucks.
- I was going to order a replacement pair of G4s from Gaia online, but they didn't have my size. The local guy who sells them, had a pair, but was going to charge about $50 more than buying them online. Looks like I'm stuck with my Ions and old Nike soccer cleats until I can find a pair of reasonably priced G4s in my size.
- Thursday's practice was cancelled due to a down pour. However, I did something ulty related…but can't disclose any details since it's top secret ;-)
- Friday's game with Sprawl against SMAF was extremely frustrating. The kiddies beat us 15-3. After feeling like we played our best game in my three years with the team the week before, I can't understand how we fell apart. The loss dropped us out of tier 1 (5th to 9th) just in time for the playoffs :-(
- Instead of talking about high-lights and low-lights of the game, I'll admit failure in my ability to help Sprawl this summer. I haven't been doing a great job at getting everyone the disc, at leading, at teaching winning strategies...I've been useless. I think the team will do much better without me in the fall. Although it's too early to think about next summer, as much as I love my little purple team that started it all, coming back next year doesn't seem to be in the cards.
- As for fall, I was lucky enough to get asked by BF captain Julie if I'd like to play for her fall team. Of course I jumped on the opportunity to play with one of the strongest female handlers in Ottawa, and her BFC cutter boyfriend.

I've decided to re-introduce my "lesson learned" into this weeks' recap. This week's lesson is brought to you by the letter "G" and the number 24 ;-) When you find yourself feeling down on yourself during a game, remember to stay positive, set a good example of others, and continue to encourage your team-mates. Words of wisdom that I wish I would have asked for sooner and implemented on Friday nights.

Good luck to BFC, GLUM, Phoenix, Firebird, OJ, O2, Stella and Scarlett this week at nationals! I'll predict at least one of those local teams will capture the nature championship (Phoenix and GLUM are best bets, with Stella not far behind). Until next time, happy hucking!