"Used, abused without clues
I refused to blow a fuse
They even had it on the news
Don't believe the hype..."
Public Enemy - Don't believe the hype
With the draft schedule up, and my one league game of the week out of the way (Poach won!), I thought it was time to hype BigFish's last tournament of the summer: Mixed Up. Although I'm not sure why I get to play (maybe Glenn is taking the tournament off?), I'm still looking forward to it. Of course, if you want a better analysis of the pools, please see the Steve's superior ulty blog.
Pool A has two teams I'm familiar with (BFC and Tundra), and three teams I've never heard of (including Gecko who are the overall #1 seed). At times like these when uncertainty abounds, I'm going to be a homer and pick BFC to come out on top on Saturday. You might think this is a shameless act to suck up to Ottawa's A-team, and you wouldn't be entirely wrong. However, I'll provide a bit of a scoop that BFC has made a few AWESOME pick-ups in the last two weeks while they prepare for nationals.
Pool B has three teams I kinda know (Monster, Phella, and Liquid), and some ONYX team (who are seeded #2 overall) that Steve raves about. Having played Monster and Liquid, I'll continue my highly suspect prognostication method of picking the local team Phella to go undefeated on Saturday. Phella consists of some local open players (Phoenix) and local women comp players (Stella), who will magically combine forces to rule the school.
I love the fact Steve calls Pool C "filler". Knowing Practice (Spence's band of locals), Zen, and Rockstar, and thinking Les Chiefs and Polatouches are from la bella provence, I'll predict Rockstar will sing the most creative songs and finish middle of the pack. Semi-seriously, I predict Practice takes the pool, and then slags the TD for not seeding them higher :P Good luck to Zen, who will no doubt be crunching numbers most of Saturday in an effort to avoid BigFish on Sunday ;-)
Pool D will be where the real action (i.e. high-jinx, high-lights, and nudity) takes place. Personally, I can't freaking wait for another shot at The Company...anticipation that is shared by at least two other "women scorn" on BF. Our teams match up so closely, so let's hope it's a replay of the first game at Regionals, with the same outcome (Gavin's Callaghan on universe point). I'm also really looking forward to playing local team Solid, in no small part due to a number of hotties who play for them. Tabasco and Sabotage, a word of advice, beware of the Fish!
Pool E seems to be the recreational pool. Only being familiar with Arrested Development, and having some vague recollection of Mars Meets Venus from Northern Flights (BF might have beat them on day 2?), this is the hardest pool for me to predict. I'll go with Jimi Handdisc over XUM 3000, mainly because I like their name the best. Might as well put this out there - I really hope Arrested Development picks up their first tournament win of the season. They've worked so hard, and deserve the boost/validation/respect that the win will provide :)
Pool F features five junoir teams, and will be henceforth be called the "Run Your Buns Off" (RYBO) pool. Of course I like Obviously Juiced, whoops, I mean the Ottawa Junoirs to take it all. I think Dirt out of Toronto will give pool E teams fits on Sunday in the cross-over. My favourite junoir team name is a toss-up between PUF (the magic dragon? or could this be a creative MJ reference?) and O2 (Ottawa's B-team).
Since only teams in Pool A & B have a chance to win it all, I'll predict a BFC/Phella final. I'll prognosticate that BigFish will accomplish our objective of beating our seat this weekend (despite me being uber distracted when we play Solid).
In terms of prop bets, I'll go under 5 games before Gavin gets naked. I'll also go on the record as saying that Zen WILL NOT "spank" BigFish, but will cower in fear of playing us instead. Rockstar will win the spirit award and possibly the party. Gold hotpants will be spotted at Barrymore's (hopefully not on Glenn *shivers*). Arrested Development will win at least 2 games. The pool F teams will make four players from pool E teams puke after chasing them on Sunday. Lastly, I'll predict that after the tournament there will be at least seven complaints on the OCUA forums bitching about seedings, food, parking, and other trivial shit.
With the hype entry coming to a close, I'd like to remind you of Public Enemy's views on such hype. Games are played on the field, and whoever brings it both days will come out on top. A quick reminder to thank Vanessa and her band of volunteers this weekend any time you have a chance, since they will be working their buns off to enjoy you have an enjoyable experience. Until next time, happy hucking!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Homework
"Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals."
- Aristotle
Everyone on BigFish was given some homework at the end of our practice last Tuesday. Since BF isn't heading to nationals, and because the goal of our team is player devolpment, we were to think of goals to work on during the remainder of the season. Tanya, a fellow practice roster player who has studied sports psychology gave us examples of short-term and long-term objectives, and how they should be linked, measurable, and acheivable. Even though I've been taking it easy on vacation for the past couple of weeks, I took the assignment seriously and thought I'd share the results with you.
Long-term goal: Make the BF roster next year.
Rationale: I'll level with you, even thought I didn't expect to make the team, getting cut hurt. More importantly, I got hooked on competitive ultimate at Regionals this year. I want to make the roster so that I'll have the opportunity to play every tournament with the team next summer (especially Regionals where we will totally dismantle Zen and Tundra and earn a trip to Winnipeg).
Short-term goal #1 (Defense): Do not allow any easy throws to my man.
Rationale: Even though my man-to-man defense has improved, I still get lazy sometimes and allow in-cuts, or dare the handler to throw deep on me. This isn't acceptable on a competitive team. All throws to my man will be discouraged and challenged.
Short-term goal #2 (Offense - cutter): Catch every catchable disc thrown to me.
Rationale: If I can get a hand on it, I should catch every disc thrown in my direction. I've proved to myself that I can string together no-drop games, now it's just taking it to the next level. A big part of acheiving this goal will be improving at reading high hucks. Reading the disc wasn't something I had worked on during the last year, mainly cause I've spent so much time handling.
Short-term goal #3 (Offense - handler): Only attempt 100% throws in games.
Rationale: In order to minimize turn-overs, I'm comitting to only trying throws that I know I have the ability to complete. No more hammers, push-passes, and difficult break-force throws until I can make them consistently in practice/warm-up.
Short-term goal #4 (Fitness): Be in better shape next year at tryouts.
Rationale: My hips, quads, and hamstrings were killing me this year during tryouts. After being injured the majority of last winter, I have to work hard doing preventative exercises, stretches, and cardio to keep healthy.
Short-term goal #5 (Fun): Have fun.
Rationale: This isn't a super serious sport. I need to keep things light in order to maximize my enjoyment, and that of my team-mates.
C'est toute mes amis. Of course time and circumstances might adjust the above goals, but I think they'll provide me with a good road-map over the next nine months. If I have time later this week, I'd like to post a little pre-Mixed-Up entry. For whatever reason, I'll be playing with BigFish during our last tournament of the summer, and am definitely looking forward to kicking some ass, and beating our seed. Until next time, happy hucking!
- Aristotle
Everyone on BigFish was given some homework at the end of our practice last Tuesday. Since BF isn't heading to nationals, and because the goal of our team is player devolpment, we were to think of goals to work on during the remainder of the season. Tanya, a fellow practice roster player who has studied sports psychology gave us examples of short-term and long-term objectives, and how they should be linked, measurable, and acheivable. Even though I've been taking it easy on vacation for the past couple of weeks, I took the assignment seriously and thought I'd share the results with you.
Long-term goal: Make the BF roster next year.
Rationale: I'll level with you, even thought I didn't expect to make the team, getting cut hurt. More importantly, I got hooked on competitive ultimate at Regionals this year. I want to make the roster so that I'll have the opportunity to play every tournament with the team next summer (especially Regionals where we will totally dismantle Zen and Tundra and earn a trip to Winnipeg).
Short-term goal #1 (Defense): Do not allow any easy throws to my man.
Rationale: Even though my man-to-man defense has improved, I still get lazy sometimes and allow in-cuts, or dare the handler to throw deep on me. This isn't acceptable on a competitive team. All throws to my man will be discouraged and challenged.
Short-term goal #2 (Offense - cutter): Catch every catchable disc thrown to me.
Rationale: If I can get a hand on it, I should catch every disc thrown in my direction. I've proved to myself that I can string together no-drop games, now it's just taking it to the next level. A big part of acheiving this goal will be improving at reading high hucks. Reading the disc wasn't something I had worked on during the last year, mainly cause I've spent so much time handling.
Short-term goal #3 (Offense - handler): Only attempt 100% throws in games.
Rationale: In order to minimize turn-overs, I'm comitting to only trying throws that I know I have the ability to complete. No more hammers, push-passes, and difficult break-force throws until I can make them consistently in practice/warm-up.
Short-term goal #4 (Fitness): Be in better shape next year at tryouts.
Rationale: My hips, quads, and hamstrings were killing me this year during tryouts. After being injured the majority of last winter, I have to work hard doing preventative exercises, stretches, and cardio to keep healthy.
Short-term goal #5 (Fun): Have fun.
Rationale: This isn't a super serious sport. I need to keep things light in order to maximize my enjoyment, and that of my team-mates.
C'est toute mes amis. Of course time and circumstances might adjust the above goals, but I think they'll provide me with a good road-map over the next nine months. If I have time later this week, I'd like to post a little pre-Mixed-Up entry. For whatever reason, I'll be playing with BigFish during our last tournament of the summer, and am definitely looking forward to kicking some ass, and beating our seed. Until next time, happy hucking!
Monday, July 21, 2008
No Borders 2008 - A Mule's Perspective
"Jack strikes long and scores once a year....usually at this tournament"
- Dave Brown (after Jack Webb turned on the afterburners to catch a beautiful huck for a point against Demon in our last game)
Playing in the 24th annual No Borders tournament for Mule was an awesome experience. Not only was it lots of fun to play with talented veterans, but getting a taste for the Open game through Ottawa's premier tournament felt like a right a passage as an ultimate player. Below are some brief notes about Mule's six games last weekend.
Double Dragon 13, Mule 6
Double Dragon was a young, fast team from the States (NY or Vermont I think?) that played the theme song from the Double Dragon arcade game on a continuous loop on a ghetto blaster all weekend long. Better yet, they all had two dragon tattoos on their arm (temporary one hopes), and some of the guys even had bands tied around their biceps. For me, this game was about getting to know my team-mates preferences, and figuring out my role on the team (mid-cut or striker). Although I got burned by the young kiddies a couple of times on D, I scored my first competitive Open point on a nice throw from Buckshot.
Roy 13, Mule 3
After jumping out to a 2 - 0 lead, Mule succumbed to the boundless energy and speed of Roy. Roy plays a very disciplined, quick disc movement style, that worked well against a generally older Mule team. Plus, the Ottawa Junoirs from OJ that Jack managed to procure for the prior game mysteriously disappeared before the Roy tilt. Even though I caught another point, I made a note in my little black book that reads "Shitty D". Enough said.
Mule 13, Magma 7
Jack managed to motivate the troops prior to this contest against Montreal's "C-team" by explaining it would be the last game of the day if we won, but we'd have to play another game if we lost. On a totally related note, Jack volunteered to do a beer run, further adding fuel to the team's fire. We managed to pick up a couple of experienced, Mule subs (Jake...and some guy who smokes before/after games and yet manages to outrun almost everyone) that greatly helped out. Despite the presence of the subs, I made a note saying I was on the field for five points in a row. How did that happen? On the bright side, this was probably my most balanced game of the tournament, throwing three scores and catching two. What can I say...I really didn't feel like playing a fourth game on Saturday :P
Outsiders 15, Mule 8
The Outsiders were a mix of Toronto's mixed Zen and Tundra teams, that proved to be far too quick for a group of late rising Mules on a Sunday morning. I'll take responsibility for this loss, as I misread 3 discs that would have been points had I caught them in the early stages of this game. Later in the game, I semi-redeemed myself by catching a pair of points, and throwing one to Pete. It was fun to guard Frogger, who seemed intent on throwing swill to his team-mates once the game was well in hand. It was during this game that I realized that Dave Brown loves to throw breakforce hucks, and took advantage of that knowledge the rest of the tournament. Props to Shawn/Batman from TO if he is who I think he is, as he had a rock solid game on both sides of the disc.
7 Car Pile-Up 14, Mule 13
This loss hurt since it was on universe point, in a game that could have easily went the other way. 7 Car Pile-up had numerous Ottawa pick-ups (including BF team-mate Ahmad who played spectacular as a handler), and a very strong core group of players from upstate NY (I beleive). Mule had picked up some Arrested Development players (including my former coach Gord) and had a pretty big roster including some OJs. It was probably the big roster, and lack of chemistry that held us back a bit. Offensively, this was definitely my best game catching five scores. On D, I had trouble with a big blonde guy, giving him in cuts since he was faster/taller/more talented than me. Anyway, it was a fun game, just wish the score would have been reversed.
Demon 15, Mule 6
Demon is a freakishly fast and tall team out of Montreal. They also play the Open style of quick disc movement, with lots of fast pop passes and give-and-go's. Personally, I was exhausted during this game, but still managed to catch a pair of scores. However, the two high-lights clearly belonged to Jack, who threw a beautiful huck to an Arrested Development player (those OJs bugged off again before this game), and then struck deep and caught a long pass from one of the many talented Mule Handlers. This was a fun last game, and we ended up beating our initial 26th seed, finishing 24th (I beleive?). The obligatory team-picture taken after this game is included below for your viewing pleasure (Who's that dashingly handsome guy standing second from the right?). Andrew Leach, a Mule regular, and talented photographer managed to capture some amazing shots (including a few of me *gasp*) during the tournament. The links are on the OCUA forums, and I have a few in a Facebook album for any of you who are deranged enough to want to see more of me ;-)
Volunteering on Saturday and Sunday with field clean-up, and tear-down was eye-opening. I had no idea how much work goes into such a huge tournament (26 Open teams, 16 Women's teams). Steve (he of the superior blog) did an excellent job as a tournament director, Vanessa filled all the volunteer spots, and then BF captain Sandra worked sooooo hard coordinating all the volunteers on site. As always, there were some minor complaints about things, but these three individuals deserve HUGE props for almost pleasing everyone.
The other high-light of the weekend was watching the Open championship game between Phoenix and Torontula. A 15-14, universe point, thriller of a game, that had all the drama, athleticism, and mind-blowing plays that one expects between two Elite teams (even though Torontula was more or less a pick-up team). The only drawback to the memorable affair was two completely unnecessary fouls between a pair of players on either team. Intensity is one thing, but unnecessary and dangerous plays shouldn't be the result in a sport that depends on 'Spirit of the Game'.
All in all, I loved No Borders, and hope to play it again next year. Rather than finding out how much goes into organizing such a production, I think my biggest personal lesson learned was that I have enough speed to play against Open players (huge surprise for me), but lack the endurance (an equally huge surprise). Physically, I was much more tired than I was after playing more games at Regionals. Maybe it was all the cutting/striking, and guarding faster Open players, but I need to up the running to better prepare for this tourny next year.
Now back to my vacationing. Until next time, happy hucking!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Ultimate: The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man
Which type of ultimate player are you?
Do you play ultimate for the glory of winning, for the satisfaction of defeating your opponent, and because you're naturally good at it?
Yes: You are an Athlete.
Is ultimate one of many strange, random, and passionate pursuits in your life?
Yes: You are an Oddball.
If you're willing to dig around a bit, there are some excellent ultimate frisbee books in circulation. One of these books Ultimate: The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man, was recently suggested by one of my BF team-mates. Since I trusted this team-mates assessment that I would enjoy the book since the author writes sarcastically ("just like you"), I ordered a couple copies. The author, Pasquale Anthony Leonardo sent me a note the same night, indicating that he'd ship the books as soon as he got back from the Potlatch tournament.
After previewing the book at the author's website, and flipping through a few pages of my team-mates copy, I wasn't sure how much more to expect in the 130-page publication. To say that I was pleasantly surprised after determining how complete of a guide the book is to all things ultimate is a huge understatement. Confidentially, I'll call this book The Greatest Book About The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man (TGBATGSEIBM).
My favorite element of the book are the eight profiles that ulty players can be categorized into (the two I'd fall into are included above). Having played ulty for a tad over two years, it's amusing to categorize my various team-mates and acquaintances into each of the categories.
The book also contains tips from legends of the games about the things they do best. Tips regarding getting layout D's, skying taller players, and throwing 30 foot scoobers for goals are all informative and will be helpful on the field (ok....so maybe not the scoober tip in my case).
Other laugh-out-loud sections are the 40 most common ultimate nicknames, pick-up tips for tournaments, formulating team names, on/off field ultimate related games, alternate Ro-Sham-Bo games, common responses people give when hearing you play ultimate, how to play on little to no sleep, how to know if your co-worker is an ultimate player, and a brief history and future of the sport. It's also great that Ottawa gets mentioned three or four times throughout the book (yay OCUA....and PROUF!). Lastly, there is a pretty comprehensive glossary of ultimate terms that covers everything from "Throwing Fire" to "Land Sharks".
What makes this such a great read is the fact that the author really knows the sub-culture of our sport. He has been to the great tournaments, he obviously has the contacts to write the informative tip sections, he has figured out what makes ultimate players tick, and yet, he doesn't take the sport too seriously. If you're a beginner, intermediate, or full-fledged ulty addict, you need to order this book. Although I have an extra copy, there's no way you're getting it :P
Sidenote, as mentioned in previous posts, I'm on vacation, and won't be updating regularly. I'll try to do a weekly recap, and look forward to writing a bit about No Borders, but make no promises. Until next time, happy hucking!
Do you play ultimate for the glory of winning, for the satisfaction of defeating your opponent, and because you're naturally good at it?
Yes: You are an Athlete.
Is ultimate one of many strange, random, and passionate pursuits in your life?
Yes: You are an Oddball.
If you're willing to dig around a bit, there are some excellent ultimate frisbee books in circulation. One of these books Ultimate: The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man, was recently suggested by one of my BF team-mates. Since I trusted this team-mates assessment that I would enjoy the book since the author writes sarcastically ("just like you"), I ordered a couple copies. The author, Pasquale Anthony Leonardo sent me a note the same night, indicating that he'd ship the books as soon as he got back from the Potlatch tournament.
After previewing the book at the author's website, and flipping through a few pages of my team-mates copy, I wasn't sure how much more to expect in the 130-page publication. To say that I was pleasantly surprised after determining how complete of a guide the book is to all things ultimate is a huge understatement. Confidentially, I'll call this book The Greatest Book About The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man (TGBATGSEIBM).
My favorite element of the book are the eight profiles that ulty players can be categorized into (the two I'd fall into are included above). Having played ulty for a tad over two years, it's amusing to categorize my various team-mates and acquaintances into each of the categories.
The book also contains tips from legends of the games about the things they do best. Tips regarding getting layout D's, skying taller players, and throwing 30 foot scoobers for goals are all informative and will be helpful on the field (ok....so maybe not the scoober tip in my case).
Other laugh-out-loud sections are the 40 most common ultimate nicknames, pick-up tips for tournaments, formulating team names, on/off field ultimate related games, alternate Ro-Sham-Bo games, common responses people give when hearing you play ultimate, how to play on little to no sleep, how to know if your co-worker is an ultimate player, and a brief history and future of the sport. It's also great that Ottawa gets mentioned three or four times throughout the book (yay OCUA....and PROUF!). Lastly, there is a pretty comprehensive glossary of ultimate terms that covers everything from "Throwing Fire" to "Land Sharks".
What makes this such a great read is the fact that the author really knows the sub-culture of our sport. He has been to the great tournaments, he obviously has the contacts to write the informative tip sections, he has figured out what makes ultimate players tick, and yet, he doesn't take the sport too seriously. If you're a beginner, intermediate, or full-fledged ulty addict, you need to order this book. Although I have an extra copy, there's no way you're getting it :P
Sidenote, as mentioned in previous posts, I'm on vacation, and won't be updating regularly. I'll try to do a weekly recap, and look forward to writing a bit about No Borders, but make no promises. Until next time, happy hucking!
Friday, July 11, 2008
Tragedy of Errors
"What's love got to do with what you got?
Don't let a win get to your head, or a loss to your heart."
Public Enemy – He Got Game
In my el-jay, I've described my support for the Seinfeld philosophy that life tends to even out. A great week, like last week, is inevitably followed by a tough week, like this one.
- Poached Motel lost 15-10 to a veteran filled PUMP team on Monday. The fact I was running on empty was obvious during two defensive sequences when I physically couldn't keep up with my player. On the plus side, we achieved double digits in points for the first time since May.
- Personally, the low-light of the Poached game was not effectively challenging for three high disks thrown my way. I got out jumped and out positioned by a 6'3 veteran with fresh legs.
- My personal high-light of the Poached game was throwing a bunch of points (4-6) for our team. They weren't all "smart throws", but found their targets for scores.
- Tuesday's practice was cancelled and since I was feeling sorry for myself (more on that later), I decided to take a day off. I briefly considered subbing for Disco Fever, but a night of eating ice cream, chips, and chocolate sounded more appealing.
- Turns out I don't have to buy a round of drink for Urban Sprawl, as they got hammered 15-3 last week by the Gullwings. Losing by so many points bumped us way down the latter (from 5th to 8th), behind a bunch of teams we've already beaten. My fingers are crossed for a rematch this summer, since I'd like to dismantle the Gullwings who will undoubtedly underestimate us.
- For whatever reason, I arrived uber early to Thursday's practice. Glenn was there, and we had a nice chat. General observation: Glenn knows everything about BF/ultimate/life.
- Tom's ladder workout was the high-light of practice. In running terminology, it was an inverse ladder, which means more reps of challenging exercises at the start and end of the progression. - Personally, the low-light of practice was my inability to read long/high discs during the modified huck drill and in the scrimmage. I MUST improve at this.
- Gav talked about how we need to show more confidence after we do something well on the field. Outwardly, this is unlikely for me. However, inwardly, I gave myself a pat on the back for attempting a forehand huck after an in cut during the scrimmage. Even though my receiver didn't catch it, I have the throw, it was a decent put, the captains saw I can make the throw, and I'm glad I tried it.
- Nick from BFC was nice enough to bring us Creamsicles to thank us for cheering on his team during Regionals.
- Random practice observation: Nikki has game throws that I wouldn't even think of practicing. There's probably a valid reason why she's not on BFC, but it's a mystery to me.
- Although I try to keep my mouth shut and ears open during practice, sadly, I found myself repeating "I'm not going to Montreal this weekend" when team-mates asked or incorrectly assumed. It hurt to keep saying it, but, it'll drive me to push myself harder to make the tournament roster next year.
- Friday's Sprawl game was interesting in that our opponent Sky Sky Sky Branch Tree was a complete unknown to me. I'd never heard of the team, nor did I recognize any of their players. When they were warming up, I noticed a Chess Club player who was at the open pre-tryouts. The game turned out to be way too much of a one-on-one battle between the two of us, and sadly, and fittingly given the events of the week, we lost 15-12. Even though I threw a pile of points on offense, I blame myself for the loss in that I couldn't stop the Carleton player's beautiful hucks on defense. It was fitting that he burned me for the winning point.
Coming off the high of competing with BF at Regionals, this week was a big reality check. Since it was my last week at work before 3 weeks of vacation, my reality there was rushing to complete a number of projects. Away from ulty, partially because of ulty, I have been putting friendships on the backburner, and had a non-ulty friend call me on that. My ultimate reality check came when I realized I wouldn't be joining BF at the Comedy of Errors tournament in Montreal this weekend. Despite playing with the team at NF and Regionals, I'm still only a member of the practice roster. Since Glenn can compete with BF at the rest of their tournaments this summer, and because he adds so much experience to the team, I'm back to playing hard at practices trying to impress the captains enough to make the actual roster next year. Oh well, the two tournaments were phenomenal experiences, and I fully intend on busting my ass in practice (not in a Duffy-sense). Plus, with No Borders only a week away, reality is I have a lot of work to do to prepare.
This brings me to this week's lesson learned: Don't get ahead of yourself. On the field, if you think about making a throw before you catch the disc, you're bound to drop it. Off the field, if you're a practice roster player, don't think that a decent performance at one tournament changes anything. Hopefully that doesn't come across too negative, but instead realistic. Until next time, happy hucking!
Don't let a win get to your head, or a loss to your heart."
Public Enemy – He Got Game
In my el-jay, I've described my support for the Seinfeld philosophy that life tends to even out. A great week, like last week, is inevitably followed by a tough week, like this one.
- Poached Motel lost 15-10 to a veteran filled PUMP team on Monday. The fact I was running on empty was obvious during two defensive sequences when I physically couldn't keep up with my player. On the plus side, we achieved double digits in points for the first time since May.
- Personally, the low-light of the Poached game was not effectively challenging for three high disks thrown my way. I got out jumped and out positioned by a 6'3 veteran with fresh legs.
- My personal high-light of the Poached game was throwing a bunch of points (4-6) for our team. They weren't all "smart throws", but found their targets for scores.
- Tuesday's practice was cancelled and since I was feeling sorry for myself (more on that later), I decided to take a day off. I briefly considered subbing for Disco Fever, but a night of eating ice cream, chips, and chocolate sounded more appealing.
- Turns out I don't have to buy a round of drink for Urban Sprawl, as they got hammered 15-3 last week by the Gullwings. Losing by so many points bumped us way down the latter (from 5th to 8th), behind a bunch of teams we've already beaten. My fingers are crossed for a rematch this summer, since I'd like to dismantle the Gullwings who will undoubtedly underestimate us.
- For whatever reason, I arrived uber early to Thursday's practice. Glenn was there, and we had a nice chat. General observation: Glenn knows everything about BF/ultimate/life.
- Tom's ladder workout was the high-light of practice. In running terminology, it was an inverse ladder, which means more reps of challenging exercises at the start and end of the progression. - Personally, the low-light of practice was my inability to read long/high discs during the modified huck drill and in the scrimmage. I MUST improve at this.
- Gav talked about how we need to show more confidence after we do something well on the field. Outwardly, this is unlikely for me. However, inwardly, I gave myself a pat on the back for attempting a forehand huck after an in cut during the scrimmage. Even though my receiver didn't catch it, I have the throw, it was a decent put, the captains saw I can make the throw, and I'm glad I tried it.
- Nick from BFC was nice enough to bring us Creamsicles to thank us for cheering on his team during Regionals.
- Random practice observation: Nikki has game throws that I wouldn't even think of practicing. There's probably a valid reason why she's not on BFC, but it's a mystery to me.
- Although I try to keep my mouth shut and ears open during practice, sadly, I found myself repeating "I'm not going to Montreal this weekend" when team-mates asked or incorrectly assumed. It hurt to keep saying it, but, it'll drive me to push myself harder to make the tournament roster next year.
- Friday's Sprawl game was interesting in that our opponent Sky Sky Sky Branch Tree was a complete unknown to me. I'd never heard of the team, nor did I recognize any of their players. When they were warming up, I noticed a Chess Club player who was at the open pre-tryouts. The game turned out to be way too much of a one-on-one battle between the two of us, and sadly, and fittingly given the events of the week, we lost 15-12. Even though I threw a pile of points on offense, I blame myself for the loss in that I couldn't stop the Carleton player's beautiful hucks on defense. It was fitting that he burned me for the winning point.
Coming off the high of competing with BF at Regionals, this week was a big reality check. Since it was my last week at work before 3 weeks of vacation, my reality there was rushing to complete a number of projects. Away from ulty, partially because of ulty, I have been putting friendships on the backburner, and had a non-ulty friend call me on that. My ultimate reality check came when I realized I wouldn't be joining BF at the Comedy of Errors tournament in Montreal this weekend. Despite playing with the team at NF and Regionals, I'm still only a member of the practice roster. Since Glenn can compete with BF at the rest of their tournaments this summer, and because he adds so much experience to the team, I'm back to playing hard at practices trying to impress the captains enough to make the actual roster next year. Oh well, the two tournaments were phenomenal experiences, and I fully intend on busting my ass in practice (not in a Duffy-sense). Plus, with No Borders only a week away, reality is I have a lot of work to do to prepare.
This brings me to this week's lesson learned: Don't get ahead of yourself. On the field, if you think about making a throw before you catch the disc, you're bound to drop it. Off the field, if you're a practice roster player, don't think that a decent performance at one tournament changes anything. Hopefully that doesn't come across too negative, but instead realistic. Until next time, happy hucking!
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