"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."
-Yoda
It's starting to get nice in Ottawa, with less humidity, and the wind turned down a notch. This has led to a great week of ultimate, recapped below.
- Poached Motel's game this week was disappointing. We were evenly matched with our opponents "Mean People", but all of us were exhausted from CHEO. Personally, I got broken twice by a very experienced handler, and oddly, couldn't flick more than 10 meters without blading. On the bright side, I scored five of our nine points, including a couple off of continuation cuts (something I'm secretly working on *shh*). We couldn't overcome the 8-3 half-time deficit, and ended up losing 15-9.
- Wore my new 'You're the only 10 I see' shirt on Monday which yielded this quote from a team-mate "It's like you're trying to pick up the person who's reading the shirt".
- Got offered a chance to play the Mixed Up tournament in August with my CHEO team. Interestingly, Mehmet was also offered a spot on the team. After kinda overcoming the Mehmet curse this weekend (he watched a bunch of our games), I could kill the thing entirely in August.
- Due to some heavy rain on Tuesday, the BF captains cancelled practice. Since most of us were already out at UPI, Gavin mentioned that those who wanted to could practice with BFC (the coed A team). I jumped on that opportunity.
- High-light #1 of practice was Tron leading me with a pass out the back of the endzone, and into a bush during a slant-to-huck drill. The guy has a monstrous huck as the cuts on my legs and broken tree branches can prove. On the plus side, I held onto the disc!
- Low-light of practice was f-ing up the breakforce drill a couple of times. I twice forgot which side to cut to after breaking force, which was stupid.
- High-light #2 of the practice was catching the last point of the scrimmage on a continuation cut (ze work pays off!).
- There were some roster changes on BF announced Tuesday. Jamieson got promoted to the A team (well deserved, he's ridiculously fast and a great all around player), and Glen can't play with the team at Regionals since he'll be kicking ass in Masters. Luckily, Glen will still be practicing with us.
- I'll speculate here on what I think the roster changes might mean, just cause it won't cost me $20 in the "buy captains beer fund" to do so :P For my money, the two open spots should go to Tron (if he wants to play with BF, and is ready to play) and Ahmad (for his handling skills, and experience with the BF offense). Having said that, I'm glad I'm not a captain, as it's gotta be a tough decision....Peter and Jordan are also very deserving.
- High-light of Thursday practice was the short-arm / long-arm game at the end to celebrate Deirdre's b-day. Having played as a long-arm the first time I tried this game, I was happy to get a chance to try short-arm this time around. My conclusion is that long-arms have the advantage, since it's impossible to throw far short-armed.
- Tom put us through a really cool fitness circuit on Thursday's practice, and the weather was perfect for it. I get the feeling I'm one of the few who enjoys the fitness components of practice, but that's cool. On a related note, I'm going to try to build myself an agililty ladder.
- Friday's game was disappointing. Urban Sprawl got blown away by the first place team in the league 15-3. To be honest, I'm finding league more and more frusterating after having everything so organized at BF practices. I have to dial it down a notch, and make sure to spread the disc around better as a handler.
- A tad embarassing, but bruise inducing flick girl has a running group that I'm considering joining. The only downside, is it's a marathon group, and this Sunday's run would be 13km....hmmm...
- Steve's superior ulty blog has an interesting post about speed in ultimate. For my money, the fastest co-ed player in Ottawa in Lamo, and the fastest open guy is Bryce.
I thought I'd end these weekly wrap-ups with the main ulty lesson that I learned this week. This one was brought home to me at Thursday's practice, and it's probably obvious to most, but always go hard and keep playing. I ran back and broke up a 3-on-1 this week in practice, instead of letting the other team rack up a behind the back play. Last summer, I would have said fuck it, and resigned myself to the fact that the other team was going to score. I'm going to credit IID coach Stu for this, since he made this incredible layout catch in our last game this winter, that made me realize that if the disc is in the air, it's alive....so go for it! Until next time, happy hucking!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
The "Tall Guy"?
I wish I was little bit taller,
I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a girl who looked good
I would call her
I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat
and a '64 Impala
- Skee-Lo "I Wish"
When Gavin called to explain that I didn't make BigFish, he surprised me by talking about how many "tall guys" the captains had to pick from in 2008, and how I might have made the team in previous years as a "tall guy". Although he probably thinks that I was silent due to being disappointed, truth is, I was biting my tongue so that I wouldn't laugh at being called a "tall guy". As I've stated a few times before, I had no aspirations of cracking the competitive roster this year, and really only wanted to gain the tryout experience. Since a few team-mates and frisbee friends have been asking me over the past few weeks how I feel about being on the practice roster, I feel the need to re-affirm that I'm ecstatic and think it's a perfect fit. In fact, and this might not be the best thing to admit given a few BF on my FB list, I'm not sure I'd want to be on the actual roster given my current shortcomings as a player.
Back to the original topic – am I "tall guy"? What is a "tall guy"? How many "tall guys" does a team need? Is there any downside to being a "tall guy"? This post is taking me a while to draft, since I can't help but laugh every time I type "tall guy".
I believe that the average male height in North America is 5'9. This could be off by an inch or so, but let's go with it as a premise. Compared to the average, at 6'1, I'm relatively tall. But does 4 extra inches make me a "tall guy"? (must stop laughing). Granted, my dad (6'2) and "little brother" (6'4) are both taller than me, so maybe there's some funky, psychological, height complex I possess. Looking back, I also hung around with tall friends in high school (basketball players and other athletes), so that might impair my height judgment. After consideration, I'm probably the tallest guy on Urban Sprawl, and the second tallest on Poach Motel (we have a 6'4 handler). Further supporting Gavin's point, I usually make it a habit to cover the tallest guy on the opposing team (or the fastest…depending on who's more dangerous). Still, Nurple the "tall guy" just doesn't resonate with me.
The other "tall guys" on BF are noticeably (at least to me) taller. Alex must be at least 6'3, and Matt and Alstair are 6'2 or more. All three of them could sky me without much effort. I'll also readily admit that all three are more athletic than I am (i.e. faster and stronger). Out of the three of them, I'd only consider Alex a true "tall guy". Why? His height is the first thing I notice about him, and he uses it well as part of his game (extending while throwing, catching discs high, and getting up on defense). Matt's a kick-ass handler, whose skill is light years ahead of mine. Although his height helps him, it's not a big part of his well developed game. Alstair is the type of all around player that I'd like to be in a few years. He's too complete of a player to only be considered a "tall guy". I can't think of any other "tall guys" on the roster, but Peter and Ahmad on the practice roster are both about the same height as me, and much, much more skilled.
How many "tall guys" does a team need? At least one. Having a big target for inexperienced throwers, to cover the other team's "tall guy" on defense, or even for pure intimidation purposes makes sense. Having said that, if you're keeping a player purely because of their height, you might want to consider if they're ok with that. I'd much rather be thought of as a cutter or handler, as opposed to a "tall guy". Like most sports (even basketball), height isn't as important as skill. It's simply a "nice to have".
There's actually a downside to being considered a "tall guy" in league play. The reason I wear wrist bands is that I constantly get hacked when I sky for a disc and while throwing. This punishment is explained by using the little man's "Hack-a-Shaq" mentality. Since I'm a tad taller than a defender, they feel they can hit me and it's not a foul. It's a general attitude like that, coupled with a lack of rules knowledge of league players that leads to me having to wear long-sleeves to work everyday to cover my bruises (and to hide my girlish arms...but I digress).
In summary, if my height played a role in earning me a spot on the practice roster – great! However, one of my goals for the summer will be to have the captains think of me as a "tall guy with skill", as opposed to just another "tall guy" :P Until next time, happy hucking!
I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a girl who looked good
I would call her
I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat
and a '64 Impala
- Skee-Lo "I Wish"
When Gavin called to explain that I didn't make BigFish, he surprised me by talking about how many "tall guys" the captains had to pick from in 2008, and how I might have made the team in previous years as a "tall guy". Although he probably thinks that I was silent due to being disappointed, truth is, I was biting my tongue so that I wouldn't laugh at being called a "tall guy". As I've stated a few times before, I had no aspirations of cracking the competitive roster this year, and really only wanted to gain the tryout experience. Since a few team-mates and frisbee friends have been asking me over the past few weeks how I feel about being on the practice roster, I feel the need to re-affirm that I'm ecstatic and think it's a perfect fit. In fact, and this might not be the best thing to admit given a few BF on my FB list, I'm not sure I'd want to be on the actual roster given my current shortcomings as a player.
Back to the original topic – am I "tall guy"? What is a "tall guy"? How many "tall guys" does a team need? Is there any downside to being a "tall guy"? This post is taking me a while to draft, since I can't help but laugh every time I type "tall guy".
I believe that the average male height in North America is 5'9. This could be off by an inch or so, but let's go with it as a premise. Compared to the average, at 6'1, I'm relatively tall. But does 4 extra inches make me a "tall guy"? (must stop laughing). Granted, my dad (6'2) and "little brother" (6'4) are both taller than me, so maybe there's some funky, psychological, height complex I possess. Looking back, I also hung around with tall friends in high school (basketball players and other athletes), so that might impair my height judgment. After consideration, I'm probably the tallest guy on Urban Sprawl, and the second tallest on Poach Motel (we have a 6'4 handler). Further supporting Gavin's point, I usually make it a habit to cover the tallest guy on the opposing team (or the fastest…depending on who's more dangerous). Still, Nurple the "tall guy" just doesn't resonate with me.
The other "tall guys" on BF are noticeably (at least to me) taller. Alex must be at least 6'3, and Matt and Alstair are 6'2 or more. All three of them could sky me without much effort. I'll also readily admit that all three are more athletic than I am (i.e. faster and stronger). Out of the three of them, I'd only consider Alex a true "tall guy". Why? His height is the first thing I notice about him, and he uses it well as part of his game (extending while throwing, catching discs high, and getting up on defense). Matt's a kick-ass handler, whose skill is light years ahead of mine. Although his height helps him, it's not a big part of his well developed game. Alstair is the type of all around player that I'd like to be in a few years. He's too complete of a player to only be considered a "tall guy". I can't think of any other "tall guys" on the roster, but Peter and Ahmad on the practice roster are both about the same height as me, and much, much more skilled.
How many "tall guys" does a team need? At least one. Having a big target for inexperienced throwers, to cover the other team's "tall guy" on defense, or even for pure intimidation purposes makes sense. Having said that, if you're keeping a player purely because of their height, you might want to consider if they're ok with that. I'd much rather be thought of as a cutter or handler, as opposed to a "tall guy". Like most sports (even basketball), height isn't as important as skill. It's simply a "nice to have".
There's actually a downside to being considered a "tall guy" in league play. The reason I wear wrist bands is that I constantly get hacked when I sky for a disc and while throwing. This punishment is explained by using the little man's "Hack-a-Shaq" mentality. Since I'm a tad taller than a defender, they feel they can hit me and it's not a foul. It's a general attitude like that, coupled with a lack of rules knowledge of league players that leads to me having to wear long-sleeves to work everyday to cover my bruises (and to hide my girlish arms...but I digress).
In summary, if my height played a role in earning me a spot on the practice roster – great! However, one of my goals for the summer will be to have the captains think of me as a "tall guy with skill", as opposed to just another "tall guy" :P Until next time, happy hucking!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
A Busy Week of Ultimate...That Paid Off
"The miracle isn't that I finished...The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
-John Bingham (Runner's World columnist)
Another eventful week of ulty to recap. Including…*drum roll*…the first outdoor tournament of the season!
- Monday's game was unique in that I found out what the second half of OCUA's 30/30 rule meant. When lightning is in the area, players have 30 seconds to get off the field. The second 30 refers to the captains' discretionary power to decide to continue the game after 30 minutes if the storm has passed. The second 30 minutes should be used to eat ice cream at a nearby McDonalds / Quickie Mart while the storm passes.
- Remember how I thought we might get pummeled on Monday night? My predictive powers continue to amaze. We lost 15 – 5 to a comp player filled team. Personal high-light of the game was marking an open player who is 6'7…and not letting him scorch me. Personal low-light was turfing a pass well short of a cutter and having captain Chris comment "That reminds me of last summer". Sad, but true.
- I continue to love practicing with the Fish. Since it was Glen's b-day on Tuesday, Jameison brought a 24 of Lakeport and captain Sandra brought home-made brownies.
- Despite perfect layout conditions on Tuesday, I managed to refrain from taking the plunge. The soggy field conditions made cutting tough.
- Speaking of field conditions, my arch-nemesis Rigid got slagged by MHJ in the OCUA forums. Apparently Rigid's post regarding field conditions was "ignorant". After considering being a gentleman and coming to Rigid's defense, I thought better of it and decided to let MHJ do his thang. MHJ is as amusing as his hammers are accurate.
- Apparently I'll be without gravity defying backhands to chase down during huck drill at BF practices til later this month *sigh*.
- Thursday's BF practice was optional, since the team was preparing to head to Gender Blender. Even for an optional practice, it's impressive to see how the players step up their intensity close to a tournament. In particular, the veterans bring their game up a notch and aren't afraid to call out others who don't follow their example.
- During warm-up stretches, I confused a physio stretch and a BF stretch *gasp* After being questioned about it, I'll have to ensure that never the two sets of stretches shall meet again!
- My favorite parts of Thursday practice were "cone golf" at the end (3 over par) and the scrimmage with the Red Devils (a Thursday league team) against BF. Julie, Tron, Rowboat and I played with the Red Devils. I had a blast! My first BF scrimmage pull wasn't half bad, I hit Tron with a 20+ yard O/I flick for a score, fell on my face when I jumped too soon to D a disc against Matt, and completed a few longish back hand breaks.
- Glen mentioned that a few of the Red Devils players were in Coached League, but didn't play on the team he captained. Coached League represent!
- Friday's game against the Ultimate Warriors was odd. We were down 4-1, and ended up taking the half 8-5, and winning 15-7. With the temperature around 30, we had four male and four female subs, while the UWs had one of each. Survival of the fittest!
- Saturday's CHEO tourny with House of Representatives (Poach Motel + a few) was a blast. We went 4-0 in pool play, then took on a comp player fortified squad in the finals of the rec. division (Arrested Development went 0-3 in the competitive division). No excuses, I ran out of steam after a day of cutting, and only caught 3 or 4 goals in the final. We lost 15-11.
- One of the nicest compliments I got was from Carl Sharpe (pretty sure that's his name) who's an open player who picked up with our opponents. He commented that I had a "hell of a game". Coming from him, that really means a lot to me.
The ulty high-light of my week was an e-mail Friday morning. Due to some injuries (including one team-mate's "broken ass"), and my continued presence at practice, I got offered a chance to play the Northern Flights tourney with BF! A few weeks ago, Julie had mentioned it might be a good idea for me to travel with the team to North Bay and see what multiple day tournaments are like. Although I was considering the idea, I'd been offered a spot on a decent Brittania Beach team that same weekend. Luckily, I hadn't committed (my fear of commitment pays off once again!). To say I'm excited about getting to play a tournament with BF as a competitive player is a huge understatement…ecstatic is more like it. My only reservation is work related, in that I'm trying to get done a bunch of stuff before vacation, and the week before and after the tournament are heavy. Having said that, there's no way I'm passing up this opportunity. Although I'm more than happy to be a member of the practice squad, having a chance to play with the team at a tournament is the proverbial cherry on top of the delicious sunday.
Now I'm going to drink a flavoured water and sleep for 12+ hours. Until next time, happy hucking!
-John Bingham (Runner's World columnist)
Another eventful week of ulty to recap. Including…*drum roll*…the first outdoor tournament of the season!
- Monday's game was unique in that I found out what the second half of OCUA's 30/30 rule meant. When lightning is in the area, players have 30 seconds to get off the field. The second 30 refers to the captains' discretionary power to decide to continue the game after 30 minutes if the storm has passed. The second 30 minutes should be used to eat ice cream at a nearby McDonalds / Quickie Mart while the storm passes.
- Remember how I thought we might get pummeled on Monday night? My predictive powers continue to amaze. We lost 15 – 5 to a comp player filled team. Personal high-light of the game was marking an open player who is 6'7…and not letting him scorch me. Personal low-light was turfing a pass well short of a cutter and having captain Chris comment "That reminds me of last summer". Sad, but true.
- I continue to love practicing with the Fish. Since it was Glen's b-day on Tuesday, Jameison brought a 24 of Lakeport and captain Sandra brought home-made brownies.
- Despite perfect layout conditions on Tuesday, I managed to refrain from taking the plunge. The soggy field conditions made cutting tough.
- Speaking of field conditions, my arch-nemesis Rigid got slagged by MHJ in the OCUA forums. Apparently Rigid's post regarding field conditions was "ignorant". After considering being a gentleman and coming to Rigid's defense, I thought better of it and decided to let MHJ do his thang. MHJ is as amusing as his hammers are accurate.
- Apparently I'll be without gravity defying backhands to chase down during huck drill at BF practices til later this month *sigh*.
- Thursday's BF practice was optional, since the team was preparing to head to Gender Blender. Even for an optional practice, it's impressive to see how the players step up their intensity close to a tournament. In particular, the veterans bring their game up a notch and aren't afraid to call out others who don't follow their example.
- During warm-up stretches, I confused a physio stretch and a BF stretch *gasp* After being questioned about it, I'll have to ensure that never the two sets of stretches shall meet again!
- My favorite parts of Thursday practice were "cone golf" at the end (3 over par) and the scrimmage with the Red Devils (a Thursday league team) against BF. Julie, Tron, Rowboat and I played with the Red Devils. I had a blast! My first BF scrimmage pull wasn't half bad, I hit Tron with a 20+ yard O/I flick for a score, fell on my face when I jumped too soon to D a disc against Matt, and completed a few longish back hand breaks.
- Glen mentioned that a few of the Red Devils players were in Coached League, but didn't play on the team he captained. Coached League represent!
- Friday's game against the Ultimate Warriors was odd. We were down 4-1, and ended up taking the half 8-5, and winning 15-7. With the temperature around 30, we had four male and four female subs, while the UWs had one of each. Survival of the fittest!
- Saturday's CHEO tourny with House of Representatives (Poach Motel + a few) was a blast. We went 4-0 in pool play, then took on a comp player fortified squad in the finals of the rec. division (Arrested Development went 0-3 in the competitive division). No excuses, I ran out of steam after a day of cutting, and only caught 3 or 4 goals in the final. We lost 15-11.
- One of the nicest compliments I got was from Carl Sharpe (pretty sure that's his name) who's an open player who picked up with our opponents. He commented that I had a "hell of a game". Coming from him, that really means a lot to me.
The ulty high-light of my week was an e-mail Friday morning. Due to some injuries (including one team-mate's "broken ass"), and my continued presence at practice, I got offered a chance to play the Northern Flights tourney with BF! A few weeks ago, Julie had mentioned it might be a good idea for me to travel with the team to North Bay and see what multiple day tournaments are like. Although I was considering the idea, I'd been offered a spot on a decent Brittania Beach team that same weekend. Luckily, I hadn't committed (my fear of commitment pays off once again!). To say I'm excited about getting to play a tournament with BF as a competitive player is a huge understatement…ecstatic is more like it. My only reservation is work related, in that I'm trying to get done a bunch of stuff before vacation, and the week before and after the tournament are heavy. Having said that, there's no way I'm passing up this opportunity. Although I'm more than happy to be a member of the practice squad, having a chance to play with the team at a tournament is the proverbial cherry on top of the delicious sunday.
Now I'm going to drink a flavoured water and sleep for 12+ hours. Until next time, happy hucking!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Revenge of the Nurple?
"That that don't kill me,
Can only make me stronger"
Kanye West
"Unfortunately, we are not able to offer you a spot on the "A" roster at this time".
That's what I've been reading every time I open my gym and ultimate bags for the last month. It's proven helpful in motivating me to push through an extra set of lifting, run a little faster, and focus more on making perfect throws. Looking back, being cut from Arrested Development turned out to be fantastic. It made me to go to the second and third BF tryouts, which led to me making the BF practice squad.
That's not to say that being cut doesn't still hurt me.
It does.
That's not to say I won't continue to use that e-mailed rejection as motivation.
I will.
That's not to say I won't play my ass off this weekend at CHEO to lead my team to a game against AD.
Bank on it.
Granted, my team, the House of Representatives is in a different pool than AD. The only way we'll face them will be in the finals or consolation finals. Due to the scheduling, we'll have to win at least 3 of 4 back-to-back-to-back-to-back games to make either of the finals, and hope AD does the same. Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. The HoR will have seven strong ladies, five experienced men, and one fired up Nurple.
Apparently, the AD coach, who wrote the rejection note, has a sprained ankle, but wants to play on it anyway. I'll have to see if those ankle breaking cuts that Tom taught at BF practice actually work ;-) Kidding. Until next time, happy hucking!
Can only make me stronger"
Kanye West
"Unfortunately, we are not able to offer you a spot on the "A" roster at this time".
That's what I've been reading every time I open my gym and ultimate bags for the last month. It's proven helpful in motivating me to push through an extra set of lifting, run a little faster, and focus more on making perfect throws. Looking back, being cut from Arrested Development turned out to be fantastic. It made me to go to the second and third BF tryouts, which led to me making the BF practice squad.
That's not to say that being cut doesn't still hurt me.
It does.
That's not to say I won't continue to use that e-mailed rejection as motivation.
I will.
That's not to say I won't play my ass off this weekend at CHEO to lead my team to a game against AD.
Bank on it.
Granted, my team, the House of Representatives is in a different pool than AD. The only way we'll face them will be in the finals or consolation finals. Due to the scheduling, we'll have to win at least 3 of 4 back-to-back-to-back-to-back games to make either of the finals, and hope AD does the same. Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. The HoR will have seven strong ladies, five experienced men, and one fired up Nurple.
Apparently, the AD coach, who wrote the rejection note, has a sprained ankle, but wants to play on it anyway. I'll have to see if those ankle breaking cuts that Tom taught at BF practice actually work ;-) Kidding. Until next time, happy hucking!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Fantasy Ultimate
"Let me show you what it's like beyond your fantasy"
- Timbaland (Fantasy)
If you ever find yourself bored while watching a game of ultimate (impossible, no?), the contents of this post might come in handy. Fantasy ultimate was brought to my attention during my first outdoor tournament (Spirit 2007) by a random team-mate of mine (Stacie something). Although I'm sure there are various versions, I'll explain the variation I'm most familiar with below.
Each fantasy ultimate player (you need at least two, but more people = more fun) pick an actual ultimate player on each team for a given point. Some versions require you to pick a male and a female if it's a mixed game. If one of your players does something…I have to search for the right word here…noteworthy / fancy / cool / impressive you earn a point. On the other hand, if one of your players does something…stupid / amusingly wrong / embarrassing / Nurple-eseque (that's the right word!) you lose a point. After a point is scored, the fantasy ultimate players must pick different offensive and defensive players for the next point, but can pick their original players for the subsequent point. The fantasy ultimate game can go up to a certain score, or just follow the actual game and the highest score wins when the actual game is over.
The most interesting aspect of fantasy ultimate from my perspective is ultimate player selection. Although I respect ultimate players who are solid, smart, and mistake-free, I enjoy watching inconsistent players such as myself who regularly mix the spectacular with the stupid. For example, I have no qualms about laying out for a D (+1 fantasy ultimate point) as long as I'm not playing in the Carleton Carpetdome. On the other hand, after catching a layout D, there's a relatively good chance I'll stand up and throw the disc out of the back of the endzone (-1 fantasy ultimate point), or blade a forehand 20 yards to the right of my intended receiver (-1 fantasy ultimate point).
My brief experience playing fantasy ultimate this winter indicates that picking the inconsistent players is more rewarding than picking the solid players. Knowing I've been bet on by some fantasy ultimate veterans supports my theory of picking inconsistent players. Solid players rarely attempt the types of throws / catches / defensive plays that earn points.
Another interesting quandary relating to player selection is male vs. female players in mixed games. Although you might THINK that guys are more likely to doing something remarkable, don't underestimate the fairer sex. A couple of obvious examples pop into my mind. One of my ex winter team-mates (and former Fish) played smothering defense, and put more effort into defensive points than I do into games. Another lady I competed against on Friday night last winter…pretty sure her name was Draza…could toss textbook hammers that would almost make Mike "Hammers" Jones jealous. Which reminds me, picking players who are known for hammers is a winning strategy for fantasy ultimate. Lastly, there's this one lady on Fish, who I've almost called by her OHUA nickname that I gave her (Go-lentement!), who BURNS people on deep strikes. We're talking juiced up Ben Johnson acceleration and separation from her opponents. All these ladies would be much better picks than your average male, who tends to be slightly better coached via clinics and criticism / suggestions from male team-mates.
The next time you see me on the sideline of a low-tier game, and I seem a little too invested, chances are there's another fantasy ultimate player on the sideline who I'm competing against. If you happen to be on the field, I strongly encourage you to try for a sky, greatest, footblock, Callahan, or anything funky you can perform…and then watch my reaction. Who knows, you might have just earned me some fantasy ultimate points! Until next time, happy hucking!
- Timbaland (Fantasy)
If you ever find yourself bored while watching a game of ultimate (impossible, no?), the contents of this post might come in handy. Fantasy ultimate was brought to my attention during my first outdoor tournament (Spirit 2007) by a random team-mate of mine (Stacie something). Although I'm sure there are various versions, I'll explain the variation I'm most familiar with below.
Each fantasy ultimate player (you need at least two, but more people = more fun) pick an actual ultimate player on each team for a given point. Some versions require you to pick a male and a female if it's a mixed game. If one of your players does something…I have to search for the right word here…noteworthy / fancy / cool / impressive you earn a point. On the other hand, if one of your players does something…stupid / amusingly wrong / embarrassing / Nurple-eseque (that's the right word!) you lose a point. After a point is scored, the fantasy ultimate players must pick different offensive and defensive players for the next point, but can pick their original players for the subsequent point. The fantasy ultimate game can go up to a certain score, or just follow the actual game and the highest score wins when the actual game is over.
The most interesting aspect of fantasy ultimate from my perspective is ultimate player selection. Although I respect ultimate players who are solid, smart, and mistake-free, I enjoy watching inconsistent players such as myself who regularly mix the spectacular with the stupid. For example, I have no qualms about laying out for a D (+1 fantasy ultimate point) as long as I'm not playing in the Carleton Carpetdome. On the other hand, after catching a layout D, there's a relatively good chance I'll stand up and throw the disc out of the back of the endzone (-1 fantasy ultimate point), or blade a forehand 20 yards to the right of my intended receiver (-1 fantasy ultimate point).
My brief experience playing fantasy ultimate this winter indicates that picking the inconsistent players is more rewarding than picking the solid players. Knowing I've been bet on by some fantasy ultimate veterans supports my theory of picking inconsistent players. Solid players rarely attempt the types of throws / catches / defensive plays that earn points.
Another interesting quandary relating to player selection is male vs. female players in mixed games. Although you might THINK that guys are more likely to doing something remarkable, don't underestimate the fairer sex. A couple of obvious examples pop into my mind. One of my ex winter team-mates (and former Fish) played smothering defense, and put more effort into defensive points than I do into games. Another lady I competed against on Friday night last winter…pretty sure her name was Draza…could toss textbook hammers that would almost make Mike "Hammers" Jones jealous. Which reminds me, picking players who are known for hammers is a winning strategy for fantasy ultimate. Lastly, there's this one lady on Fish, who I've almost called by her OHUA nickname that I gave her (Go-lentement!), who BURNS people on deep strikes. We're talking juiced up Ben Johnson acceleration and separation from her opponents. All these ladies would be much better picks than your average male, who tends to be slightly better coached via clinics and criticism / suggestions from male team-mates.
The next time you see me on the sideline of a low-tier game, and I seem a little too invested, chances are there's another fantasy ultimate player on the sideline who I'm competing against. If you happen to be on the field, I strongly encourage you to try for a sky, greatest, footblock, Callahan, or anything funky you can perform…and then watch my reaction. Who knows, you might have just earned me some fantasy ultimate points! Until next time, happy hucking!
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