"We are the champions my friends,
And we'll keep on fighting 'til the end."
Queen - We are the Champions
Although this week only contained three days of ultimate, they were three very important days relating to OCUA league playoffs.
- On Monday, Poached Motel played Get-A-Grip in an effort to keep our tier 3 seat for the quarterfinals the following week. Not only did we hold our own against the slightly higher ranked team, we held the lead for the majority of the game. With a hard time cap of 8:10, Get-A-Grip tied it up at 11, and Poached couldn't strike quickly enough before the cell phone alarm went off indicating the hard cap had be reached. A tie against a strong team like Get-A-Grip is a great accomplishment and meant Poached stayed in tier 3.
- The personal high-light of this game was a chance to play against former coach Gord, who's one of my ultimate idols. I wish I could say that I held my own, but reality is that the "teacher" had some moves that he simply did not teach the "student". Although I played solid, Gord burned me for at least 3 points on D (the personal low-light of the game).
- Playing without my G4's is a pain in the ass. I wish Gaia online would stock my size, or the local rep would put down his ridiculous price.
- Friday's quarter final game was rained out, which was probably for the best. I think it's safe to say that the gap between Urban Sprawl and a coached 16th rank team would have made for a very lobsided score.
- On Saturday, I hooked up with Disc-o-Fever to play in the tier 5 finals. Despite my being heavily heckled, jeered, and slagged by a bunch of Fish and other ulty friends in the near-by disc central tent, Disco-Fever won 2 games (both about 15-10) to claim the tier 5 "chumpionship". Talking about highlights and lowlights in tier 5 games would be somewhat useless, but I had lots of fun. I'll continue to show up whenever Chris R calls me, since he deserves so much credit for any handling ability I can lay claim to possessing.
- I volunteered with other BigFish members before Friday playoffs on Sunday, parking cars and providing a helping hand around disc central. The TD for the day was the infamous Rigid, and I'd like to think we've officially buried the hatchet :)
- Friday playoffs were bittersweet. We won the tier 2 championships by beating the Dirty Birds and Without Warning. I made a miscall in the Dirty Birds game, got a clarification from Gavin about "disc space", and apologized to the other team for not knowing the rule. I think we won by about 15-7? There was also a bit of controversy over a receiver foul in the game against Without Warning, which we won 15-8 (after leading 8-7 at the half). Again, I take full responsibility for the controversy as I called for the disc to be returned to thrower instead of letting the two players involved in the foul sort things out.
- I was very proud of my Sprawl team-mates for stepping it up in the second half after being challenged by Without Warning. In particular, Wes deserves much of the credit after going absolutely insane on defense in the cup, D-ing at least 7 discs that I counted. Our ladies all played spectacullary, and proved they are the best group of women on Friday night. Although picking one or two is tough, I'd have to give credit to Tania, Steph, and Holly, for making great decisions, hard cuts, and playing their butts off on D. Our other three ladies: Mel, Amy, and Cheryl all played very solid, which is a tribute to their hardwork this year.
- One of my off-field high-lights of the weekend was a short conversation with IID coach Stu before the Sprawl games. Without Stu, I wouldn't have made the Fish practice roster, and I have him to thank everytime I dump the disc instead of forcing a pass. He was surprised to hear that I played Fridays, and was understanding when I let him know I was having a hard time enjoying it as much as I used to. I can't remember if it was him or his wife Sue who said that "You move on as a player". Sadly, those are very true words.
My lesson learned this week is that ultimate means different things to different people. When volunteering today, I saw ultimate players of all ages, walks of life, and athletic backgrounds. Not all of these individuals "love the game", but they all show up to play. For some it's a release, for some it's time with friends, and for some it's serious. No matter what night of the week, tier, or tournament I play in the future, I need to remember that not everyone is out there to improve and be competitive (my two aims). I'll have to do a better job trying to find teams and team-mates who share common ground, and respect those that don't. Until next time, happy hucking!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
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!
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!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The Golden Post
"In the hood, in LA, they sayin "50 you hot",
They like me, I want them to love me like they love Pac."
50 Cent - In Da Club
As I approached 50 entries, I started to re-evaluate the "raison d'etre" for this blog. As previously noted, at first, this was simply meant to be neutral location to appease my el-jay readers who complained about too many ultimate related entries, and my non-ulty Facebook friends who wondered about all the ultimate pictures. It's safe to say, the blog has evolved a fair amount over the last five months.
Having recently figured out how to see my profile views (at around 40, a tad too high for my liking) and site views (shockingly high), one of my biggest mistakes was choosing the "ottawaultimatefrisbee" url for this site. Not being smart enough to figure out how to change the name, or energetic enough to move the entries, I can't think of a way around this nasty little problem. A related issue is that Google searches tend to pick up a few words from my entries (i.e. "Ottawa", "frisbee", BigFish, etc.), and lead surfers here. For these unlucky readers, I'll give the disclaimer that the entries simply contain an average player's ramblings, and your better bet would be to visit www.ocua.ca to find out about the "official" Ottawa ulty scene.
Another downside about accidentally attracting more readers is that my entries are becoming more censored and edited. Overall, this is probably for the best. However, the result is fewer entries since it takes me longer to draft a politically correct post. With more readers, there's also some pressure to keep the entries verily ultimate specific. Looking back to the first few entries, the days of random poems, personal observations, and bitchfests are probably behind me.
One of the biggest changes of late is that I've started to feel guilty about using personal pronouns and writing about myself. This isn't a problem for Steve in his superior blog (which you should read instead of this one), as he does a much better job staying objective. Admittedly, I've tried to address broader issues and areas of interests (tournament recaps, popular OCUA threads, etc.), but still fall into using "I", "me", and "my" often.
There's also a small fear that by being rather candid about my own goals and current shortcomings on the field, I'll open myself up to smarter opponents who might try certain strategies to limit my effectiveness. However, I'm always up for a good challenge, so to all those smarter opponents:
a) Why aren't you reading Steve's smarter blog? and
b) Just bring it.
How will the blog change going forward? Well, I can't imagine hiding the entries in another address, or figuring out a way to avoid Google searches. The entries will continue to be semi-PC, with a low probability of poetry :P BUT, I'm not going to worry too much about overusing personal pronouns. Call 'me' crazy, but this is 'my' blog, so I'll write in the first person and about 'my' experiences as often as I'd like. In the immediate future, this means there will be recaps of Monday, Tuesday (picked up with Disco Fever when a Tuesday practice was cancelled), and even lowly Friday night league playoff games. As long as BigFish continues to practice, there will probably be some low-lights and high-lights of those nights as well (P.S. A high-light I didn't cover during my vacation – "The Aggressor" drill Jer invented!). Hell, if something semi-ulty related strikes my fancy, and even if it has little relevance to random readers, I'll probably include it anyway.
If there's ever something you don't like in my blog, I'll apologize in advance, since I still haven't figured out how to edit an entry after it is posted. If there's something you'd like to know more about (i.e. landsharks (ha), rules interpretations (ha ha), dangerous plays (I'm an expert on creating them), ultimate accessories (oohhh, great topic for a future post), etc.), feel free to comment, email, or ask in person. Oh, and if you feel like slagging me or Fish, just make sure you're able to back it up on the field ;-)
Looking back at the entries, when combined with my detailed BigFish practice journal, I've managed to capture a lot of my thoughts, lessons learned, and feelings about my first season of competitive ultimate. As stated in a previous post, it's nice to know that those types of memories won't be lost forever. Here's to the next 50 entries! Until next time, happy hucking!
They like me, I want them to love me like they love Pac."
50 Cent - In Da Club
As I approached 50 entries, I started to re-evaluate the "raison d'etre" for this blog. As previously noted, at first, this was simply meant to be neutral location to appease my el-jay readers who complained about too many ultimate related entries, and my non-ulty Facebook friends who wondered about all the ultimate pictures. It's safe to say, the blog has evolved a fair amount over the last five months.
Having recently figured out how to see my profile views (at around 40, a tad too high for my liking) and site views (shockingly high), one of my biggest mistakes was choosing the "ottawaultimatefrisbee" url for this site. Not being smart enough to figure out how to change the name, or energetic enough to move the entries, I can't think of a way around this nasty little problem. A related issue is that Google searches tend to pick up a few words from my entries (i.e. "Ottawa", "frisbee", BigFish, etc.), and lead surfers here. For these unlucky readers, I'll give the disclaimer that the entries simply contain an average player's ramblings, and your better bet would be to visit www.ocua.ca to find out about the "official" Ottawa ulty scene.
Another downside about accidentally attracting more readers is that my entries are becoming more censored and edited. Overall, this is probably for the best. However, the result is fewer entries since it takes me longer to draft a politically correct post. With more readers, there's also some pressure to keep the entries verily ultimate specific. Looking back to the first few entries, the days of random poems, personal observations, and bitchfests are probably behind me.
One of the biggest changes of late is that I've started to feel guilty about using personal pronouns and writing about myself. This isn't a problem for Steve in his superior blog (which you should read instead of this one), as he does a much better job staying objective. Admittedly, I've tried to address broader issues and areas of interests (tournament recaps, popular OCUA threads, etc.), but still fall into using "I", "me", and "my" often.
There's also a small fear that by being rather candid about my own goals and current shortcomings on the field, I'll open myself up to smarter opponents who might try certain strategies to limit my effectiveness. However, I'm always up for a good challenge, so to all those smarter opponents:
a) Why aren't you reading Steve's smarter blog? and
b) Just bring it.
How will the blog change going forward? Well, I can't imagine hiding the entries in another address, or figuring out a way to avoid Google searches. The entries will continue to be semi-PC, with a low probability of poetry :P BUT, I'm not going to worry too much about overusing personal pronouns. Call 'me' crazy, but this is 'my' blog, so I'll write in the first person and about 'my' experiences as often as I'd like. In the immediate future, this means there will be recaps of Monday, Tuesday (picked up with Disco Fever when a Tuesday practice was cancelled), and even lowly Friday night league playoff games. As long as BigFish continues to practice, there will probably be some low-lights and high-lights of those nights as well (P.S. A high-light I didn't cover during my vacation – "The Aggressor" drill Jer invented!). Hell, if something semi-ulty related strikes my fancy, and even if it has little relevance to random readers, I'll probably include it anyway.
If there's ever something you don't like in my blog, I'll apologize in advance, since I still haven't figured out how to edit an entry after it is posted. If there's something you'd like to know more about (i.e. landsharks (ha), rules interpretations (ha ha), dangerous plays (I'm an expert on creating them), ultimate accessories (oohhh, great topic for a future post), etc.), feel free to comment, email, or ask in person. Oh, and if you feel like slagging me or Fish, just make sure you're able to back it up on the field ;-)
Looking back at the entries, when combined with my detailed BigFish practice journal, I've managed to capture a lot of my thoughts, lessons learned, and feelings about my first season of competitive ultimate. As stated in a previous post, it's nice to know that those types of memories won't be lost forever. Here's to the next 50 entries! Until next time, happy hucking!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Letterman Eat Your Heart Out!
"And now, from our home office in Wahoo Nebraska..."
- David Letterman
The Top 10 Signs You Might be a Competitive Mixed Ultimate Player in Ottawa
10. Glenn has yelled at you during a tournament, league game, practice, tossing session, or while walking down the street.
9. You taught yourself how to drive a golf cart during the fulfillment of your volunteer hours.
8. Seeing Gavin naked is amusing, not shocking.
7. Practicing with your comp team is more enjoyable than league games (which are absolute anarchy).
6. Jack has added you as a Facebook friend, and asked you to play with Mule in their next tournament (*Note: This applies equally to women mixed comp players as well).
5. Actual names of team-mates escape you on occasion, but you never forget a nickname.
4. Your in-depth rules knowledge has cost your league team Spirit points *gasp*
3. Whenever the temperature drops below 15 degrees, you wear your team hoodie.
2. KJ’s pre-game and post-game stretching routines are memorized and used every game.
1. You’ve been the subject of at least one rumor relating to hooking up with a member of a comp team.
*Note: With the 50th post coming up, expect something BIG....but beware that I'll have trouble meeting your lofty expectations ;-) Until next time, happy hucking!
- David Letterman
The Top 10 Signs You Might be a Competitive Mixed Ultimate Player in Ottawa
10. Glenn has yelled at you during a tournament, league game, practice, tossing session, or while walking down the street.
9. You taught yourself how to drive a golf cart during the fulfillment of your volunteer hours.
8. Seeing Gavin naked is amusing, not shocking.
7. Practicing with your comp team is more enjoyable than league games (which are absolute anarchy).
6. Jack has added you as a Facebook friend, and asked you to play with Mule in their next tournament (*Note: This applies equally to women mixed comp players as well).
5. Actual names of team-mates escape you on occasion, but you never forget a nickname.
4. Your in-depth rules knowledge has cost your league team Spirit points *gasp*
3. Whenever the temperature drops below 15 degrees, you wear your team hoodie.
2. KJ’s pre-game and post-game stretching routines are memorized and used every game.
1. You’ve been the subject of at least one rumor relating to hooking up with a member of a comp team.
*Note: With the 50th post coming up, expect something BIG....but beware that I'll have trouble meeting your lofty expectations ;-) Until next time, happy hucking!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
BigFish Mixed Up Recap
"One night, and one more time
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories"
Fall Out Boy - Thanks for the Memories
As Mixed Up was the last tournament of the summer for BigFish (there are a couple in September), the above quote seemed appropriate. The fact that the song was on a mixed CD that G played to pump us up on our way out to UPI today kept it top of mind. Even though I loved playing Regionals with Fish, this tournament was definitely the winningest one for the team, and produced a lot of positive memories. It's at times like this when I'm glad I started this blog, since hopefully it will keep some of the great memories alive. Below is a little summary of our six games.
BigFish 14, Jimi Handdisc 9
Even though they were ranked third in our pool (we were ranked first), Jimi Handdisc gave us the biggest challenge on Saturday, and really pushed us. Despite JH taking the half 8-7, BigFish showed so much character by dominating the second half 7-1. This was a back-and-forth game, until our onfield leaders (Glenn, Tommy, Jules, Jer, and the Greatest Handler Ever) showed us how much they wanted this game, and led us by their stellar example. Props to JH for keeping it close, but "GLUM Ford" would not be denied this win.
BigFish 15, Flying Saucer 6
The first half of this game was much closer than the final score would indicate. Flying Saucer came to Mixed Up with a pretty tiny roster, but had enough speed and huckers to keep things interesting. Personally, I loved the fact that FS had flying cherry pies on their jerseys. I remember Ariel making an absolutely sick catch and then getting squished by FS's biggest player. Luckily, Ariel bounced back to have a huge Sunday. Also of mention in this game, was Stevie and Tanya's spectacular cutting and catching. Their hands should have been checked for glue!
BigFish 15, Arrested Development 2
Honestly, I felt awful for AD during and after this game. The after is easier to explain since the score was reported as 15-1 to UPA, and I hope that gets changed. As for "during"...well...the gap between the two teams was a lot bigger than I would have expected. Gavin talked to us before the game about ignoring personal issues with players on AD, and instead focus on executing our plays, showing them what our co-ed development program is about, and playing with Spirit. Having been on the flip side of lopsided games, I can only hope that AD will take away some lessons and use the experience as motivation in future tournaments. Even though they might have went winless this weekend (not sure about their last game today), I'll predict they have an excellent SPIRIT tourny in September :) If any AD players read this (nasty rumor I heard lol), my little peice of advice would be to huck once in a while, as it will help open up your short game. Personally, after this game, I made a couple of very nasty notes to myself about learning how to read high discs in windy conditions.
BigFish 15, XUM 3000 8
Our captains talked about what a challenging game this would be for us, since XUM was ranked second in our pool, and included a bunch of young, fast, tall, huckers from Kingston. Their were a fair number of Queens University "Mothership" guys on the team, but Tommy's Thursday night workouts seemed to pay dividends in this last game of the day on Saturday. Personally, this was my best ever game with Fish, scoring four points (couldn't match the 5 I had with Mule against 7 Car Pile-up). All credit goes to Tommy, who has me in shape to run hard in the fourth game of the day, when other players are cramping/smoking/looking forward to the party. For my money, the game's MVP was Tanya from BF, who caught a tonne of discs despite very windy conditions. A close second goes to Alex, who had several skying catches over equally tall players.
Practice 15, BigFish 4 or 5
Ugh, what a crappy way to start off Sunday morning. I take responsibility for this loss. While most of the my team-mates were psyched to play some of our peers from Ottawa, I completely stunk the joint up on defense, getting scored on 5 or 6 six times. How bad was it? After getting scored on for the second time in two shifts, I was hoping Gavin would notice I was having a rotten egg of a game, and bench me. Personally, what made this suckfest even harder to swallow was the fact that the other team was assembled by the guy (Reza) who's Advanced league I'll be trying out for this winter. Damn....what an opportunity blown. To all Fish team-mates who read this, I'm sorry....
BigFish 9, Rockstar 6
This was a great way to end the summer season for BigFish. Rockstar came in tired after losing on universe point against Sabotage. Having never beaten Rockstar before, outlasting them was another testament to the quality of Tommy's workouts. I'll remember several things about this game, but Glenn's layout D was absolutely beautiful, as was a layout catch for a point by Michael. Ariel and Alex played spectacularly, not dropping a disc between them. Despite being under the weather, captain Jules played "shit hot D", and displayed her amazing decision making ability when handling. I also was inspired by Jer's intensity, he clearly wanted this win.
BigFish/XUM 3000 - Did not play 19/20th place game.
Props to Jer for using his negotiating skills to convince the kids from Kingston that catching RedBull Flugtag would be more fun than battling things out in a meaningless game.
Additional notes/memories from Mixed Up
- My predicting ability sucks, since my pick to take it all, BFC went 0-4 on Saturday (granted their were a couple one point losses in their).
- Having caught a bit of Phella's first game on Sunday, I would NOT want to play them....so much talent on one field.
- Props to Zen who managed to successfully dodge BigFish this weekend ;-)
- Chatting it up with Stevie during lunch Saturday was cool. She's a team-mate I didn't really know that well, and it was nice to get to know her better.
- Riding to/from UPI, racing around the fields on a golf-cart doing clean-up on Saturday, and catching Flugtag with G was a blast. You can't help but have fun when you're with G....
- During the Practice game, when I was mentally falling apart, Jer's kind words brought me up.
- The whole "family" aspect of being on BF was re-enforced a couple of times this weekend. Having played more than my share of team sports, I've never had such great team-mates before this summer....
- Julie the TD deserves props. Even though the seats were kind of...debatable, everything else seemed to go off very smoothly.
- Speaking of seatings, BF accomplished our goal by finishing ahead of our 21st seat.
- If I'm going to cut on a competitive team, I need to have the sports hernia surgery. Everything below my waist hurts like a mo-fo today.
- Quebec ulty girls are indeed hotties.
- Some of the UPI fields (like #11) are toast and should be taken offline for the year.
- I'm enjoying the volunteer aspect of competitive ultimate. The free food associated with volunteering is a nice perk.
- Having slept through the party at Berrymore's (sorry, retro 80s isn't my thing), the off-field high-light of the weekend was probably G's roster sheets containing our nicknames. The best nickname by far: Ooops, I'm InJered.
There we have it. BigFish's best tournament of the summer, and except for one game, my best performance with the team. I'll echo Glenn's words and say that we proved with our win over Rockstar that we are competitive ultimate players....and should be proud of ourselves. Until next time, happy hucking!
Thanks for the memories
Thanks for the memories"
Fall Out Boy - Thanks for the Memories
As Mixed Up was the last tournament of the summer for BigFish (there are a couple in September), the above quote seemed appropriate. The fact that the song was on a mixed CD that G played to pump us up on our way out to UPI today kept it top of mind. Even though I loved playing Regionals with Fish, this tournament was definitely the winningest one for the team, and produced a lot of positive memories. It's at times like this when I'm glad I started this blog, since hopefully it will keep some of the great memories alive. Below is a little summary of our six games.
BigFish 14, Jimi Handdisc 9
Even though they were ranked third in our pool (we were ranked first), Jimi Handdisc gave us the biggest challenge on Saturday, and really pushed us. Despite JH taking the half 8-7, BigFish showed so much character by dominating the second half 7-1. This was a back-and-forth game, until our onfield leaders (Glenn, Tommy, Jules, Jer, and the Greatest Handler Ever) showed us how much they wanted this game, and led us by their stellar example. Props to JH for keeping it close, but "GLUM Ford" would not be denied this win.
BigFish 15, Flying Saucer 6
The first half of this game was much closer than the final score would indicate. Flying Saucer came to Mixed Up with a pretty tiny roster, but had enough speed and huckers to keep things interesting. Personally, I loved the fact that FS had flying cherry pies on their jerseys. I remember Ariel making an absolutely sick catch and then getting squished by FS's biggest player. Luckily, Ariel bounced back to have a huge Sunday. Also of mention in this game, was Stevie and Tanya's spectacular cutting and catching. Their hands should have been checked for glue!
BigFish 15, Arrested Development 2
Honestly, I felt awful for AD during and after this game. The after is easier to explain since the score was reported as 15-1 to UPA, and I hope that gets changed. As for "during"...well...the gap between the two teams was a lot bigger than I would have expected. Gavin talked to us before the game about ignoring personal issues with players on AD, and instead focus on executing our plays, showing them what our co-ed development program is about, and playing with Spirit. Having been on the flip side of lopsided games, I can only hope that AD will take away some lessons and use the experience as motivation in future tournaments. Even though they might have went winless this weekend (not sure about their last game today), I'll predict they have an excellent SPIRIT tourny in September :) If any AD players read this (nasty rumor I heard lol), my little peice of advice would be to huck once in a while, as it will help open up your short game. Personally, after this game, I made a couple of very nasty notes to myself about learning how to read high discs in windy conditions.
BigFish 15, XUM 3000 8
Our captains talked about what a challenging game this would be for us, since XUM was ranked second in our pool, and included a bunch of young, fast, tall, huckers from Kingston. Their were a fair number of Queens University "Mothership" guys on the team, but Tommy's Thursday night workouts seemed to pay dividends in this last game of the day on Saturday. Personally, this was my best ever game with Fish, scoring four points (couldn't match the 5 I had with Mule against 7 Car Pile-up). All credit goes to Tommy, who has me in shape to run hard in the fourth game of the day, when other players are cramping/smoking/looking forward to the party. For my money, the game's MVP was Tanya from BF, who caught a tonne of discs despite very windy conditions. A close second goes to Alex, who had several skying catches over equally tall players.
Practice 15, BigFish 4 or 5
Ugh, what a crappy way to start off Sunday morning. I take responsibility for this loss. While most of the my team-mates were psyched to play some of our peers from Ottawa, I completely stunk the joint up on defense, getting scored on 5 or 6 six times. How bad was it? After getting scored on for the second time in two shifts, I was hoping Gavin would notice I was having a rotten egg of a game, and bench me. Personally, what made this suckfest even harder to swallow was the fact that the other team was assembled by the guy (Reza) who's Advanced league I'll be trying out for this winter. Damn....what an opportunity blown. To all Fish team-mates who read this, I'm sorry....
BigFish 9, Rockstar 6
This was a great way to end the summer season for BigFish. Rockstar came in tired after losing on universe point against Sabotage. Having never beaten Rockstar before, outlasting them was another testament to the quality of Tommy's workouts. I'll remember several things about this game, but Glenn's layout D was absolutely beautiful, as was a layout catch for a point by Michael. Ariel and Alex played spectacularly, not dropping a disc between them. Despite being under the weather, captain Jules played "shit hot D", and displayed her amazing decision making ability when handling. I also was inspired by Jer's intensity, he clearly wanted this win.
BigFish/XUM 3000 - Did not play 19/20th place game.
Props to Jer for using his negotiating skills to convince the kids from Kingston that catching RedBull Flugtag would be more fun than battling things out in a meaningless game.
Additional notes/memories from Mixed Up
- My predicting ability sucks, since my pick to take it all, BFC went 0-4 on Saturday (granted their were a couple one point losses in their).
- Having caught a bit of Phella's first game on Sunday, I would NOT want to play them....so much talent on one field.
- Props to Zen who managed to successfully dodge BigFish this weekend ;-)
- Chatting it up with Stevie during lunch Saturday was cool. She's a team-mate I didn't really know that well, and it was nice to get to know her better.
- Riding to/from UPI, racing around the fields on a golf-cart doing clean-up on Saturday, and catching Flugtag with G was a blast. You can't help but have fun when you're with G....
- During the Practice game, when I was mentally falling apart, Jer's kind words brought me up.
- The whole "family" aspect of being on BF was re-enforced a couple of times this weekend. Having played more than my share of team sports, I've never had such great team-mates before this summer....
- Julie the TD deserves props. Even though the seats were kind of...debatable, everything else seemed to go off very smoothly.
- Speaking of seatings, BF accomplished our goal by finishing ahead of our 21st seat.
- If I'm going to cut on a competitive team, I need to have the sports hernia surgery. Everything below my waist hurts like a mo-fo today.
- Quebec ulty girls are indeed hotties.
- Some of the UPI fields (like #11) are toast and should be taken offline for the year.
- I'm enjoying the volunteer aspect of competitive ultimate. The free food associated with volunteering is a nice perk.
- Having slept through the party at Berrymore's (sorry, retro 80s isn't my thing), the off-field high-light of the weekend was probably G's roster sheets containing our nicknames. The best nickname by far: Ooops, I'm InJered.
There we have it. BigFish's best tournament of the summer, and except for one game, my best performance with the team. I'll echo Glenn's words and say that we proved with our win over Rockstar that we are competitive ultimate players....and should be proud of ourselves. Until next time, happy hucking!
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