With Compliments

"And there it goes, my innocence
While gathering up a compliment
And here I lie with words to swear
Theres something more than the world out there"
Collective Soul - Compliment

Instead of writing about the need for refs and observers, I thought I'd go with something more positive heading into tryouts. Just for the record, I think observers (who call lines, and settle disputes) are a good idea at regional/national tournaments, but would be against the spirit of self-refereeing and total superfluous in league play.

Remember the first compliment you ever got on your ultimate game? Maybe you made a nice cut, got a huge D, or caught a big point for your team? Then someone congratulated you on a job well done? Didn't it feel great? Don't all compliments feel awesome? Maybe that's what makes ultimate so addictive?!

What triggerred this post was a really touching, and totally unexpected compliment I got tonight at the library of all places. I managed to tell a joke, to deflect it....but...it really made my day. The fact that the compliment came from a person I really respect, made it even better.

It got me thinking of how many crazy compliments I've received in the past year. Some of them, like the one I wrote about from Carl Sharpe after a game against him at CHEO were overt and memorable. Others, are more implied, but just as special.

If I had to pick a favorite verbal compliment, it was from one of my Poached team-mates last summer when I drove her home. She knew I hadn't been playing the sport for long, and told me that she's never seen anyone progress as quickly as I had. The fact she was playing/practicing with a semi-competitive team, and had come a long way herself, really made me cherish that compliment. She knew the hard work I had put into making myself a better player.

In terms of implied compliments, once this summer, when practicing with BigFish and BFC, Damian assumed I was a handler. Not sure why he assumed that, since he hadn't seen me throw since he taught me to extend on flicks over a year beforehand. Still, to have one of the players I respect most in the city assume I'm a handler for a competitive team....I'll take that any day!

Having received a lot of compliments, and knowing how sweet they are to get, it's my job (and yours) to give them out to others. Don't just tell someone they had a "good game", or something generic, make it specific to the person. Did you see them busting their ass on D? Then tell them they put in an awesome effort on defense! Did they make a gutsy throw that paid off? Then tell them you respect their courage and skillful tosses! Did they make a good clearing cut that opened up the field for someone else to shine? Tell them that role players are important and are needed to make the stars shine brighter!

Anyway, this was a nice post to head into tryouts on. Hope everyone enjoys some well deserved rest and turkey this weeend. Until next time, happy hucking!