The best thing about Sean Ryan this year (besides being held at the best fields an Ultimate player can find) was that it was effectively a preview of Region 2 (The new California + desert region) regionals. The only top tier teams missing were SDSU (got their bid in too late) and Arizona (have never attended Sean Ryan to my knowledge). I would guess that regionals in May will have an almost identical top 8 teams as Sean Ryan. The only difference that I foresee is that UCLA will be out and SDSU will be in. The ordering of the 8 teams may very well be different in the spring time, but it is clear who is in the top tier of teams.
Notes about Sunday’s play:
The quarter finals saw UCSC playing Cal State Long Beach. It was a mostly upwind downwind game in which Long Beach made strong athletic plays to take the early advantage. The Slugs made up the deficit in the second half by keeping their sideline energy high, mixing their D looks, and playing smart O. Final score 12-10 UCSC.
The wind picked up significantly for the Semi Finals. UCSC played UC Davis in a game that saw only two goals scored upwind. UCSC scored upwind in the first half, and Davis did so in the second half. The game came down to double game point with UCSC receiving going downwind. UCSC punched it in without any turns and won the game only because they won the flip.
UCSC then faced Cal Berkeley in the finals. The wind had died down significantly for the finals, and at 5-5 the wind went away completely. UCSC took half 8-7 and up one break. They then ran away with the second half to win 15-9. The second half showed UCSC’s depth and athleticism, and also showed that Cal was missing some key players.
Scouting reports on the teams I saw in order of finish:
Santa Cruz: The Slugs have a very deep squad that is hungry to improve on last years 4th place finish at Northwest regionals. They lost only 2 rotation players from the 2010 team and have gained valuable experience playing club over the summer. A key to late season success will be finding ways to get both Cassidy and Russell out from behind the disc so they can do damage with their legs. Missing Players: Jordan Sheffield, Devon Anderson (for the finals)
Cal: California did exactly what was expected of them at Sean Ryan. They ran a disciplined vertical stack offense that utilized the width of the field and got young handlers playing time. I only watched them during the finals when it was clear from their lack of dynamic play that they were missing Andrew Hagen, Sam Kanner, and a couple of other injured players. If they have Kanner hucking to Hagen come spring time, Ugmo will be very dangerous. Missing players: Andrew Hagem, Dalga Surofchy, Sam Kanner (Sunday), that guy who played with End Phase and isn't James (Sunday)
Davis: Davis plays a very dynamic game. Taylor Lahey still runs the show, and picking up the top recruits from around Northern California has things looking up. Their O revolves around quick movement out of a close horizontal stack. It looks like they will be relying on freshman to handle along with Taylor, and will probably start three freshman on their O line. They look to huck off handler movement and breakside incuts, and I would bet that they’ll let Taylor and Eli Kerns do most of the hucking. Unfortunately, I didn’t see them playing in calm conditions so I don’t know too much about how things look. Missing Players: None that I know of
Long Beach: Long Beach has more athletic depth then almost all of the other teams I saw. The question is how well will they use it. For now they are running a vert stack with very quick movement. They seem to like the long ball, but are okay with working the under when the deep shot isn't there on count one or two. They had the best team chemistry of any team I saw all weekend. Missing Players: None that I know of
UCLA: They look very young, but are well coached. They run a horizontal stack and are mostly a faceless army. It seems like they’ve lost a lot from last year and are going to use this season to rebuild. Missing Players: None that I know of
SLO: It’s a shame that Jake Juszak plays for Cal Poly SLO.
Also of note: UCSD was missing Josh "Forge" Nickerson and Daniel 'Roget' Cox
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Backcountry Backpacking
I recently went on a sweet backcountry backpacking adventure, for more info check out my shared blog with some old college friends.
Word.
Word.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Bay Area Club Restructuring
SF Bay Area ultimate promises to look a lot different for this club season than it has for the past two seasons. In the past there have been two top level teams, Jam and Revolver, and then at least two second tier teams. With the disbanding of Jam this year, and Revolver's addition of Bart Watson, The Bay now officially has one commanding team and a bunch of leftover talent. It appears that a lot of that talent is looking to join up with a new team "Wolf" which will be conducting tryouts the weekend of the 24th (April).
Here's the interesting thing about Wolf, while Revolver draws it's talent from all around the bay area, it looks like Wolf will be primarily an east bay/SF team, with not much representation from Davis, the South Bay, or Santa Cruz. I believe this will lead to strong regional teams from these locations. From conversations I've had with friends around the area it sounds like there will be local teams in Davis, Palo Alto, and Santa Cruz. If you count Wolf as an SF/Berkeley/Oakland team, that would make 4 regional teams competing behind one super team.
I predict that Wolf will have a strong enough roster to compete for a bid to nationals, but I think the days of the Bay having two teams in the quarters is over. I wonder how having one top dog again will suit bay area ultimate.
Joaq
P.S. I wonder why I didn't post this April 10th when I wrote it.
P.P.S. More funk. I wish the sample game was still as tight as it was in the late '80s / early '90s
Here's the interesting thing about Wolf, while Revolver draws it's talent from all around the bay area, it looks like Wolf will be primarily an east bay/SF team, with not much representation from Davis, the South Bay, or Santa Cruz. I believe this will lead to strong regional teams from these locations. From conversations I've had with friends around the area it sounds like there will be local teams in Davis, Palo Alto, and Santa Cruz. If you count Wolf as an SF/Berkeley/Oakland team, that would make 4 regional teams competing behind one super team.
I predict that Wolf will have a strong enough roster to compete for a bid to nationals, but I think the days of the Bay having two teams in the quarters is over. I wonder how having one top dog again will suit bay area ultimate.
Joaq
P.S. I wonder why I didn't post this April 10th when I wrote it.
P.P.S. More funk. I wish the sample game was still as tight as it was in the late '80s / early '90s
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Notes from Stanford Invite Sunday
I made it out to the invite last Sunday with Daniel "DMC" Max Chazin. Good times were had, beer was consumed, and ultimate was observed.
So, scouting reports:
On the Woman's side there are four good teams this year and they will all make semis at nationals: Oregon, Santa Barbara, Washington and Wisconsin. I'd put my money on Oregon winning nats, their height and athleticism is hard to handle even for the other top teams.
Open is a little less clear cut. There are two legit teams who probably would have made club nationals out of the Central or South West last year (Carleton, Oregon), then there are a bunch of teams on the level. My observations (alphabetically)
Cal: A strong team with great fundamentals, and a great coaching staff. I'd say their strengths are end-zone O, d-line O, and decision making. That's really all you need as a college team.
Carleton: They look like a club team based on their team speed and the speed they play at. The youth on their O-line hurt them a little at Stanford, but I think they'll right the ship by nats. They'll be in the semis at worst.
Colorado: They're big and they play physically which is hard for college teams to handle. Still, they're very much a college team. Still, I'm not even sure they'll win the SW.
Florida: Didn't get to see much of them, and Brodie wasn't playing while I was watching. The one observation I have is that while on the field they looked more like a collection of athletes than a team.
Oregon: They're experienced and fast and their O line has at least 4 5th year players on it. They're going to win the NW and take one of the top 4 seeds at nats. They should make Semis at worst.
Those were all the teams I got a good look at. Quick note, there should have been more qualifying spots and the following four teams should have gone to the "Stanford Open" instead of the invite: Texas, Stanford, UCSB, Brown. I guess having a good history as a program helps you stay at the top.
P.S. I'm know 808 is a proponent of adding pictures to posts. I not so much of a picture guy, so I'll try and throw out some funk instead:
Word.
So, scouting reports:
On the Woman's side there are four good teams this year and they will all make semis at nationals: Oregon, Santa Barbara, Washington and Wisconsin. I'd put my money on Oregon winning nats, their height and athleticism is hard to handle even for the other top teams.
Open is a little less clear cut. There are two legit teams who probably would have made club nationals out of the Central or South West last year (Carleton, Oregon), then there are a bunch of teams on the level. My observations (alphabetically)
Cal: A strong team with great fundamentals, and a great coaching staff. I'd say their strengths are end-zone O, d-line O, and decision making. That's really all you need as a college team.
Carleton: They look like a club team based on their team speed and the speed they play at. The youth on their O-line hurt them a little at Stanford, but I think they'll right the ship by nats. They'll be in the semis at worst.
Colorado: They're big and they play physically which is hard for college teams to handle. Still, they're very much a college team. Still, I'm not even sure they'll win the SW.
Florida: Didn't get to see much of them, and Brodie wasn't playing while I was watching. The one observation I have is that while on the field they looked more like a collection of athletes than a team.
Oregon: They're experienced and fast and their O line has at least 4 5th year players on it. They're going to win the NW and take one of the top 4 seeds at nats. They should make Semis at worst.
Those were all the teams I got a good look at. Quick note, there should have been more qualifying spots and the following four teams should have gone to the "Stanford Open" instead of the invite: Texas, Stanford, UCSB, Brown. I guess having a good history as a program helps you stay at the top.
P.S. I'm know 808 is a proponent of adding pictures to posts. I not so much of a picture guy, so I'll try and throw out some funk instead:
Word.
Monday, November 23, 2009
More about Sean Ryan (a birthday present for the Jughead)
I didn't get to see all the teams, I did watch: Santa Cruz, Cal, Claremont, UCSD, Chico, Humbodt, and Santa Barbara. From what I saw graduation hit a lot of these teams hard. I'd say the level of play was slightly down at this years tournament, Daryl commented "I think the Slugs were playing at the same level as they have in the past at Sean Ryan, the other teams just looked bad."
Anyway, team by team:
Cal: Mateo played well, as did Hagen. They lost a lot of guys to graduation, but they still play smart and break the mark well. They have good coaching and team speed, they're still a presence in the NW.
Chico State: The Hops looked much better than they have any of the past three years. They have throws and athleticism, we'll see if the work ethic is there come spring. They'll make regionals, but I'm not sure how far they'll go. Oh, and they still love hucking.
Claremont: Is back to the level of competition of 2006 or so, but they aren't a similar team. The team is smart on O, and committed to having a system. Although they had a good weekend, Maniac didn't play well. If he and Markham can start connecting on hucks for their D line they'll be really scary. In classic Claremont fashion have to work on not playing down to the level of competition.
Humboldt: The Ben Carlson show!
Santa Barbara: Didn't get to see much of Tide, but they look to have the same intensity and discipline that they're known for. They peak really well, and I didn't recognize more that three faces from years past.
Santa Cruz: The Slugs have a lot of potential, but they'll have to make sure they don't get complacent after winning their home tournament. I think Cassidy, Russell, and Max will lead by example well. If they can avoid the injury bug that bit the team both of the last two years they could have a very successful spring.
Jay, let me know if you need more.
Anyway, team by team:
Cal: Mateo played well, as did Hagen. They lost a lot of guys to graduation, but they still play smart and break the mark well. They have good coaching and team speed, they're still a presence in the NW.
Chico State: The Hops looked much better than they have any of the past three years. They have throws and athleticism, we'll see if the work ethic is there come spring. They'll make regionals, but I'm not sure how far they'll go. Oh, and they still love hucking.
Claremont: Is back to the level of competition of 2006 or so, but they aren't a similar team. The team is smart on O, and committed to having a system. Although they had a good weekend, Maniac didn't play well. If he and Markham can start connecting on hucks for their D line they'll be really scary. In classic Claremont fashion have to work on not playing down to the level of competition.
Humboldt: The Ben Carlson show!
Santa Barbara: Didn't get to see much of Tide, but they look to have the same intensity and discipline that they're known for. They peak really well, and I didn't recognize more that three faces from years past.
Santa Cruz: The Slugs have a lot of potential, but they'll have to make sure they don't get complacent after winning their home tournament. I think Cassidy, Russell, and Max will lead by example well. If they can avoid the injury bug that bit the team both of the last two years they could have a very successful spring.
Jay, let me know if you need more.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Post Sean Ryan NW and SW all Region Preview
The Slugs won Sean Ryan for the first time in a long time. This means Sean Ryan is over and we have a better idea of who's good in the NW and SW. As such, here goes my all region preview.
NW - A lot of this is speculation
1. Cassidy Rasmussen - UCSC
2. Russell Wynne - UCSC
3. Andrew Hagen - Cal
4. Eli Janin - Oregon
5. Eli Friedman - Oregon
6. Jordan Mcphee - UBC
7. Taylor Lahey - Davis
SW - None of this is speculation
1. Dominic Sheehy - Cal Poly San Louis Obispo
2. Dom Captan of SLOCore - Cal Poly San Louis Obispo
3. D.C.S. - Cal Poly San Louis Obispo
4. Dom "Cunnilingus" Sheehy - Cal Poly San Louis Obispo
5. Dom King of SLOCore - Cal Poly San Louis Obispo
6. "You can't spell dome without" Dom Sheehy - Cal Poly San Louis Obispo
7. To Be Determined
Word.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Cal States 2009
Cal States is one of my favorite tournaments and provides an interesting early season glimps at the best west coast teams. I only had a chance to watch Open and Mixed this past weekend, so here's what I got.
Notes from the Open Division:
NW:
Tier 1:
Jam: Didn't get so see much of the defending champs, but I did notice a lot of roster changes. Gone: Bruss, Cissna, Gabe, Husak, Scow?, Steets, Woody?. more?
In: Julian (Kansas/CLX/Monster/BCBC), Tommy (Cal), Fast Asian Guy (MagnUM), Johnny Hester (Condors), Ian Ranahan (Revolver), Will Chen (Harvard, Stanford Coach). Maybe more?
As long as Damien is around, the team will be strong.
Revolver: This years Revolver team has the most team speed I have ever seen. An already very fast team with Chapman, Weisman, Martin, and Jit has added Ashlin (Davis), Cassidy (Santa Cruz), and BEAU (word on the street is that there might be a late addition). Damn. It didn't look like they were challenged all weekend. Oh, and Cassidy was unstopable in the finals (while being guarded by a high school tryout on Sockeye). He played every O point and had 2 goals and 2 assists with 0 turns and 1 awesome spike.
Sockeye: Looks like they should be keeping Skip and adding BJ and Kurt Gibson. I hope they take The Sultan, and we'll see if Seth chooses to play club or just focus on team USA. There were some other no shows this weekend, but I have no info on that front.
Tier 2:
Portland: Looks like Thompson High from regionals with more bodies. More skilled then Rhino, less desire // work ethic. Their fate depends on Aaron Richards.
Rhino: A fast hard working team. Didn't see any UO guys, but they do have finals next week, so Solstice might show a fastly differend Rhino team. They seem like the team most prone to runs, either for or against.
Scumbags: Looks like they had a lot of fun. This team was sharing a bid with the Slugs, so there were a ton of players, with lots of them coming and going. It will be interesting to see what the roster looks like at Solstice, and how it changes at tournaments closer to the bay.
Shark (YR): It looked like their O line rotation wasn't nearly as tight as in years past. I think having Will the Thrill captain will really help that, and I think it could change the culture of the team. Loosing 808, Joey D, Corey Lee, and Charles also changes things. They had a strong showing, but it looks like some of their stronger tryouts decisded to play elswhere (Fedi from Arizona, Kissman, and Jamison from tide).
SW:
Tier 1: Only contains Bravo until proven otherwise.
Tier 2:
Condors: AKA Black Tide alum from '06 or later with some SLOCore. Look for them to improve as the season goes on, while having the best fundimentals of any tier two team. The SB isolation will help the Tide, especially if Husak and Steets decide to come out for the later half of the season. Word on the street is that Dugan will be around to help, but will be playing masters with DoG come fall time.
LA (Strike-Slip): LA is once again full of talent, but it's all from different college programs that teach different things. The team will take time to jell, and they need to get on the same page ASAP. The team also seems short on blue-colar type players. To many people who are used to being the star. Until their downfield cutters work hard consistantly, they are going to have issues. I predict Dr. Buel will bring it all together. Also, a lot of their hopes rest on where Matt Welsh decides to play.
SD (Street Gang): The actually united Sand Diego team looked very strong, and a lot less like a Squids Only club than either PBR or SD United looked. They also emerged as the potentially dominant team in SoCal for the season. If this weekends results (and team rosters) are any indicators, I'd expect SD vs LA in the Game to Go come regianls with SD going back to Nationals for the first time since '05.
Notes from the Moxed Devision:
A lot of teams in the Mixed devision are waiting on Womans teams to anounce their rosters. Mischeif and CTR are not among those teams. Scotty Conway was playing with the home town people after playing with Flycoons last year and Family Style before that.
Personal: I played co-ed this weekend working on my recovery from ACL surgery. I felt faster than last time I played (Memorial Day), but I think I was limping a bit more. I've decided to stop climbing for the next two weeks and focus more on rehab. Hopefully I'll be able to play Open come Solstice, if not, maybe I can find a co-ed team to take me.
Notes from the Open Division:
NW:
Tier 1:
Jam: Didn't get so see much of the defending champs, but I did notice a lot of roster changes. Gone: Bruss, Cissna, Gabe, Husak, Scow?, Steets, Woody?. more?
In: Julian (Kansas/CLX/Monster/BCBC), Tommy (Cal), Fast Asian Guy (MagnUM), Johnny Hester (Condors), Ian Ranahan (Revolver), Will Chen (Harvard, Stanford Coach). Maybe more?
As long as Damien is around, the team will be strong.
Revolver: This years Revolver team has the most team speed I have ever seen. An already very fast team with Chapman, Weisman, Martin, and Jit has added Ashlin (Davis), Cassidy (Santa Cruz), and BEAU (word on the street is that there might be a late addition). Damn. It didn't look like they were challenged all weekend. Oh, and Cassidy was unstopable in the finals (while being guarded by a high school tryout on Sockeye). He played every O point and had 2 goals and 2 assists with 0 turns and 1 awesome spike.
Sockeye: Looks like they should be keeping Skip and adding BJ and Kurt Gibson. I hope they take The Sultan, and we'll see if Seth chooses to play club or just focus on team USA. There were some other no shows this weekend, but I have no info on that front.
Tier 2:
Portland: Looks like Thompson High from regionals with more bodies. More skilled then Rhino, less desire // work ethic. Their fate depends on Aaron Richards.
Rhino: A fast hard working team. Didn't see any UO guys, but they do have finals next week, so Solstice might show a fastly differend Rhino team. They seem like the team most prone to runs, either for or against.
Scumbags: Looks like they had a lot of fun. This team was sharing a bid with the Slugs, so there were a ton of players, with lots of them coming and going. It will be interesting to see what the roster looks like at Solstice, and how it changes at tournaments closer to the bay.
Shark (YR): It looked like their O line rotation wasn't nearly as tight as in years past. I think having Will the Thrill captain will really help that, and I think it could change the culture of the team. Loosing 808, Joey D, Corey Lee, and Charles also changes things. They had a strong showing, but it looks like some of their stronger tryouts decisded to play elswhere (Fedi from Arizona, Kissman, and Jamison from tide).
SW:
Tier 1: Only contains Bravo until proven otherwise.
Tier 2:
Condors: AKA Black Tide alum from '06 or later with some SLOCore. Look for them to improve as the season goes on, while having the best fundimentals of any tier two team. The SB isolation will help the Tide, especially if Husak and Steets decide to come out for the later half of the season. Word on the street is that Dugan will be around to help, but will be playing masters with DoG come fall time.
LA (Strike-Slip): LA is once again full of talent, but it's all from different college programs that teach different things. The team will take time to jell, and they need to get on the same page ASAP. The team also seems short on blue-colar type players. To many people who are used to being the star. Until their downfield cutters work hard consistantly, they are going to have issues. I predict Dr. Buel will bring it all together. Also, a lot of their hopes rest on where Matt Welsh decides to play.
SD (Street Gang): The actually united Sand Diego team looked very strong, and a lot less like a Squids Only club than either PBR or SD United looked. They also emerged as the potentially dominant team in SoCal for the season. If this weekends results (and team rosters) are any indicators, I'd expect SD vs LA in the Game to Go come regianls with SD going back to Nationals for the first time since '05.
Notes from the Moxed Devision:
A lot of teams in the Mixed devision are waiting on Womans teams to anounce their rosters. Mischeif and CTR are not among those teams. Scotty Conway was playing with the home town people after playing with Flycoons last year and Family Style before that.
Personal: I played co-ed this weekend working on my recovery from ACL surgery. I felt faster than last time I played (Memorial Day), but I think I was limping a bit more. I've decided to stop climbing for the next two weeks and focus more on rehab. Hopefully I'll be able to play Open come Solstice, if not, maybe I can find a co-ed team to take me.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Notes From Bay Area College Sectionals
I went to my first Bay Area sectionals this past weekend to help out the Slugs and watch the first suspenseful college sectionals in the Bay Area in a while. I was with the Slugs pretty much the whole time, so I don't have much insight on either Stanford or a non-tiered LPC. So, notes from the teams who are going to regionals (and a little on LPC).
Cal: The team nobody seems to want to play. They have a ton of versatile players that are conservative and break the mark well. They play to their strengths as a possession team, and communicate better on D than most teams. They have a lot of depth and work very hard, but from what I saw, they don't have a ton of team speed (note, when the Slugs played Cal, Choongil wasn't playing). Also of note, Ryo seems like an evil genius sort of coach.
Davis: The Davis Dogs are a very fast team. They have lots of height and athleticism to go along with strong leadership from Taylor Lahey. In the game against the slugs the did a good job possesing the disc amongst their handlers on both D and O. They also run a lot of called huck plays on the D line. Look for the Dogs to be strong again next year returning their top two players, and geting a lot of cub experience.
Stanford: I only watched them a little so my observations are limited. First, props to Will Chen for rocking the suit on Saturday, baller. I was surprised by the inconsistancy of their O, especially considering the individual skill of their players. Look for them to play much better at regioanls. Also, Alex "Glass Eye" Drlica-Wagner
UCSC: What a difference a day makes.
LPC: Watching their game against Davis it was clear that they were puting all their regionals eggs in that basket. As the game went on, and as the heat ramped up LPC's regionals hopes grew dimmer. Still, they stuck to their guns, and played their top guys almost the entire game in the game to go to regionals. If Adam, Zip, 808, Ernst, and Sticks are indeed done, I wonder what comes next for their program.
That's all I got for now. I'm intending on going to NW club regionals, so maybe I'll write something about that. Hell maybe I'll write somehting about all region hype again. Or maybe I'll not post for 4 months. Honestly though, I think I'll post more as I satart to play again.
Cal: The team nobody seems to want to play. They have a ton of versatile players that are conservative and break the mark well. They play to their strengths as a possession team, and communicate better on D than most teams. They have a lot of depth and work very hard, but from what I saw, they don't have a ton of team speed (note, when the Slugs played Cal, Choongil wasn't playing). Also of note, Ryo seems like an evil genius sort of coach.
Davis: The Davis Dogs are a very fast team. They have lots of height and athleticism to go along with strong leadership from Taylor Lahey. In the game against the slugs the did a good job possesing the disc amongst their handlers on both D and O. They also run a lot of called huck plays on the D line. Look for the Dogs to be strong again next year returning their top two players, and geting a lot of cub experience.
Stanford: I only watched them a little so my observations are limited. First, props to Will Chen for rocking the suit on Saturday, baller. I was surprised by the inconsistancy of their O, especially considering the individual skill of their players. Look for them to play much better at regioanls. Also, Alex "Glass Eye" Drlica-Wagner
UCSC: What a difference a day makes.
LPC: Watching their game against Davis it was clear that they were puting all their regionals eggs in that basket. As the game went on, and as the heat ramped up LPC's regionals hopes grew dimmer. Still, they stuck to their guns, and played their top guys almost the entire game in the game to go to regionals. If Adam, Zip, 808, Ernst, and Sticks are indeed done, I wonder what comes next for their program.
That's all I got for now. I'm intending on going to NW club regionals, so maybe I'll write something about that. Hell maybe I'll write somehting about all region hype again. Or maybe I'll not post for 4 months. Honestly though, I think I'll post more as I satart to play again.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
I Love This Game (Warriors Basketball)
It's true.
I'm a big time fan, and have been through bad times and good. The current state of the team is a bit depressing, but it doesn't mean I'll jump ship, it only means that I have a lot to say (and that I'll be able to go to more games because people will be StubHub-ing their season tickets like hot-cakes).
Over the next week or so I plan on breaking down my thoughts about the team. I'll start with the summer // going into the season, then move on to the early season and the play, and finally move into what I'd like to see happen. A lot of change within the organization appears eminent over the next few months, I just hope it goes down at all like I'd want it to.
My current top 5 favorite Warriors:
5. Capn. Jax (More so when there is a real play maker to bring the ball up, he's not a point forward. Loved him the last two years).
4. Marco Belinelli a.k.a. poor man's Manu
3. Andris a.k.a. Drago
2. BWright (I really liked him last year, and he seems to do good things for spacing and ball movement when he's out there. Sure he'll make some mistakes, but he's young let him develop.)
1. Monta (I don't care that he hurt humself in a freek accident, kid is sick. I was going to buy a mid 90s throwback Monta Jersey if the Ws made the playoffs last year.)
More to come.
I'm a big time fan, and have been through bad times and good. The current state of the team is a bit depressing, but it doesn't mean I'll jump ship, it only means that I have a lot to say (and that I'll be able to go to more games because people will be StubHub-ing their season tickets like hot-cakes).
Over the next week or so I plan on breaking down my thoughts about the team. I'll start with the summer // going into the season, then move on to the early season and the play, and finally move into what I'd like to see happen. A lot of change within the organization appears eminent over the next few months, I just hope it goes down at all like I'd want it to.
My current top 5 favorite Warriors:
5. Capn. Jax (More so when there is a real play maker to bring the ball up, he's not a point forward. Loved him the last two years).
4. Marco Belinelli a.k.a. poor man's Manu
3. Andris a.k.a. Drago
2. BWright (I really liked him last year, and he seems to do good things for spacing and ball movement when he's out there. Sure he'll make some mistakes, but he's young let him develop.)
1. Monta (I don't care that he hurt humself in a freek accident, kid is sick. I was going to buy a mid 90s throwback Monta Jersey if the Ws made the playoffs last year.)
More to come.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Questions for the Upcoming College Season
Okay loyal fans, I'm sorry that I'm a bad blogger. It happens. There is no way I can catch up on all the post ideas I've had in recent months, so instead I'll throw out something quick to try and get me going again. So, with all the controversy this fall over the '09 college season, and all the eventual inactivity, I figured I'd review some things to think about going into winter break.
1) Who will emerge as the Open devision front runner in SoCal? We should get the answer to this question post SB invite. UCSB has historically performed very strong at their home tournament, but I don't know if that can be expected from them in this rebuilding year. As I see it now, Claremont, UCSD, and UCSB seem to be relinquishing the hold they've had on the section of late with a Semis birth at Sean Ryan for SLO and a SoCal Warmup Championship from CSULB. My instinct tells me this is SLO's year (they've got this guy Dom, Captain of SLO-Core, and I think he'll wind up being the difference maker).
2) How strong will Arizona be? Sure, they lost a lot of guys, but they've built dedication, and their younger guys got great experience last year. I predict they make semis at SB Invite.
3) Will any SoCal team make semis at SB? Right now I'd go with no.
4) How strong will the NW be this year? After a recent low in strength as a region last year, can the NW rebound? I think it will, and I think there will again be a top 10 team left out of Nationals because of the current bid allocation process.
5) When will the Stanford invite happen? Well?
6) Where will the competition go? In a way, this was the question that defined the fall, and it can still define the spring. Most of the teams invited to C1 were prepared to go where the competition went. Now the question is, where will they go next. I think Vegas, Stanford, and Centex will prove strong again this year, but I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of teams defected from Centex for Southerns or Easterns (tournaments where the men's and women's teams could both play, and then spend the week together). Also, I wonder how many teams can really afford to travel across the country all the time anymore.
and the big one for me:
7) What does the separation of Women's Centex from Open Centex, and the emergence of Pres Day as the choice tournament for top women's teams early in the season mean for the future of college ultimate tournaments? Will we see more single gender events with the creation of a regular season.
I do like the evidence of growth in the women's devision this year. With the expansion of Women's Centex and the addition of a Qualifier for the Women's devision at the SB invite. Maybe we'll see more college women's tournaments this spring.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Co-ed Scouting Reports
Last weekend I attended the one day co-ed thing in the bay as a member of Brown Chicken Brown Cow (BCBC say the name with a 70s porn bow chica bow wow melody), but wound up being a spectator. My plan was to have fun for a day, and maybe right something in the blog about scouting reports, my thoughts on co-ed, and why I'm playing open this year. Well, I don't really feel up to all of that, so I'll just stick with the scouting reports thing. Honestly, I wasn't as observant as I usually am, instead focusing on drinking and being obnoxious (I call it heckling). Still, I'll try and dig through the fog to say something useful.
Australia: I'm not sure about the ethics of giving stuff about a National team away right before worlds, but in reality, this probably won't help anyone. They run a vert stack and the dump goes up the line when activated. After that they like to hit the inside to the front as a space throw. Off the break the love to continue down the line. Even when you think you've cut off the around, they'll still take it, especially if you're forcing backhand. Aside from that, their cutters aren't the strongest throwers, but they are all good athletes. Employ hucker calls.
Night Train: I think loosing Nilla hurts them, they seem like they could use another set of hands. They still love the deep game, and Will DeBello is still the go to cutter in terms of the guys. Bethany is good, don't let her go deep on you. Doug needs to do more, he just doesn't have enough ego to assert himself like he should. Brian Yoxall is so married.
Mischief: They're a very different team at these things then they are once the series rolls around. They're also a very different team this year without Kevin 'Dollar' Smith and Tyler Grant. They still rely heavily on their athleticism, and seeing as most teams in co-ed can't match it, they probably won't regret their strategy any time soon. Chucky needs to sack up and drink more, I don't acknowledge 'I've been drinking for the past three nights' sort of excuses; sometimes it's 10 am and you need a beer.
CTR: They're a very meat and potatoes type of team. They move the disc well, and don't really take many chances. Still, if Shasta is indeed not back with them, they've lost a lot of the possibility for big plays (from the thrower end). Mateo is a nice pickup for them, super consistent, and has the ability to dominate as a give-go handler in co-ed.
All I can say about Monkey and AIR is that they have some beastly athletes. Don't underestimate Lil' Tom James or Beach.
Hope that was interesting, and good luck to all these teams as the season continues. Extra good luck to Australia at WUGC.
Word.
Australia: I'm not sure about the ethics of giving stuff about a National team away right before worlds, but in reality, this probably won't help anyone. They run a vert stack and the dump goes up the line when activated. After that they like to hit the inside to the front as a space throw. Off the break the love to continue down the line. Even when you think you've cut off the around, they'll still take it, especially if you're forcing backhand. Aside from that, their cutters aren't the strongest throwers, but they are all good athletes. Employ hucker calls.
Night Train: I think loosing Nilla hurts them, they seem like they could use another set of hands. They still love the deep game, and Will DeBello is still the go to cutter in terms of the guys. Bethany is good, don't let her go deep on you. Doug needs to do more, he just doesn't have enough ego to assert himself like he should. Brian Yoxall is so married.
Mischief: They're a very different team at these things then they are once the series rolls around. They're also a very different team this year without Kevin 'Dollar' Smith and Tyler Grant. They still rely heavily on their athleticism, and seeing as most teams in co-ed can't match it, they probably won't regret their strategy any time soon. Chucky needs to sack up and drink more, I don't acknowledge 'I've been drinking for the past three nights' sort of excuses; sometimes it's 10 am and you need a beer.
CTR: They're a very meat and potatoes type of team. They move the disc well, and don't really take many chances. Still, if Shasta is indeed not back with them, they've lost a lot of the possibility for big plays (from the thrower end). Mateo is a nice pickup for them, super consistent, and has the ability to dominate as a give-go handler in co-ed.
All I can say about Monkey and AIR is that they have some beastly athletes. Don't underestimate Lil' Tom James or Beach.
Hope that was interesting, and good luck to all these teams as the season continues. Extra good luck to Australia at WUGC.
Word.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
My Future in Ultimate
I've spent a lot of time this summer facing obstacles in the advancement of my ultimate carrier, at least, in how I saw it going while I was in college. I always thought I'd make an elite club team within the first two years I graduated from school, and that I'd be traveling around the western US playing high level disc. Well, by the time DUI ended I had been cut from both Jam and Revolver, and I had to settle on how to spend my summer.
If I was still in school at Claremont, the decision of where to play would have been easy. All I would have to do is find the best way to get better individually over the summer off season. Well, seeing as I no longer have a college team as a reason to devote myself to individual improvement, I had to reconsider my reasons for playing competitively. I thought about my personal goals in Ultimate, and decided to by into Yeager's desire to improve the UCSC program.
I agreed to co-captain a team with him, and once again became excited about the game. I wanted to help the Slugs, and have an outlet for playing quality disc with friends (of course, being in a position of leadership wasn't a downside). I also told Yeager that, seeing as I was helping to captain a Slug centric team for the summer, I'd be more than happy to help the Slugs prepare for the college series in whatever capacity I'd be useful. Even with these new reasons for playing the club season, I was unsure of my individual aspirations.
After a couple of practices with our fledgling team, Yeager and I led a rag tag bunch of 14 to solstice and wound up winning the open devision. This promising result, combined with picking up some Stanford kids and a couple more Yay Area club players started to get me reall stoked about the team's potential, and I dedicated myself to actually getting in good shape for Ultimate. Then, right as I had started to get into a grove in terms of workouts, feeling a little in shape, and even climbing reasonably strong (flashing easy 11s, redpointing some harder 11s and working on some easier 12s, still only climbing v5 though, I hadn't broken back into the 6s) I tore up my knee.
Injuring my knee brought me out of focusing on the short term success of SCUC (the Santa Cruz Ultimate Club, sort of what we settled on for a club name, we can still have different team names at tournaments), and back to thinking about my long term plans for ultimate. When I told my boy Robin I was no longer sure of why I play the game he responded "I think I get it. You've invested a lot of time in the community and you're well respected within it. You also have a lot of potential to advance your standing."
Robin is right, it's easy to know I'll continue to play ultimate for a long time just from the fun I have playing, and my involvement in the community. The real question is what are my competitive aspirations. I guess in every short term situation I play for my teammates (and therefore will remain dedicated to the SCUC guys this summer), I've just been struggling with finding a reason I play for myself.
I understand that at 22 I'm still young and have a lot of disc still ahead of me, but I'm no longer sure I'll need to play on the absolute best teams to fill my competitive aspirations. I'll still want to push myself athletically, and playing elite is one way to do that, but wanting to play elite is no longer the main reason I play competitive ultimate. I guess what I do next summer will really answer the questions I have about my competitive aspirations. Either I push myself to get in shape for the tryout season and dedicate myself to the process, or I show up in not the best shape again, and wind up playing with a second tear team for another summer (and likely many more). It seems that in the end I can't come up with the answer just sitting at my house and over-thinking it. I do know I want to make it back to open club nationals, and I would enjoy playing playing with the best. I also know that I don't have to play with the best to be satisfied, I just need teammates.
Word.
P.S. I really appreciate the concept behind Bob's WDUPU series.
If I was still in school at Claremont, the decision of where to play would have been easy. All I would have to do is find the best way to get better individually over the summer off season. Well, seeing as I no longer have a college team as a reason to devote myself to individual improvement, I had to reconsider my reasons for playing competitively. I thought about my personal goals in Ultimate, and decided to by into Yeager's desire to improve the UCSC program.
I agreed to co-captain a team with him, and once again became excited about the game. I wanted to help the Slugs, and have an outlet for playing quality disc with friends (of course, being in a position of leadership wasn't a downside). I also told Yeager that, seeing as I was helping to captain a Slug centric team for the summer, I'd be more than happy to help the Slugs prepare for the college series in whatever capacity I'd be useful. Even with these new reasons for playing the club season, I was unsure of my individual aspirations.
After a couple of practices with our fledgling team, Yeager and I led a rag tag bunch of 14 to solstice and wound up winning the open devision. This promising result, combined with picking up some Stanford kids and a couple more Yay Area club players started to get me reall stoked about the team's potential, and I dedicated myself to actually getting in good shape for Ultimate. Then, right as I had started to get into a grove in terms of workouts, feeling a little in shape, and even climbing reasonably strong (flashing easy 11s, redpointing some harder 11s and working on some easier 12s, still only climbing v5 though, I hadn't broken back into the 6s) I tore up my knee.
Injuring my knee brought me out of focusing on the short term success of SCUC (the Santa Cruz Ultimate Club, sort of what we settled on for a club name, we can still have different team names at tournaments), and back to thinking about my long term plans for ultimate. When I told my boy Robin I was no longer sure of why I play the game he responded "I think I get it. You've invested a lot of time in the community and you're well respected within it. You also have a lot of potential to advance your standing."
Robin is right, it's easy to know I'll continue to play ultimate for a long time just from the fun I have playing, and my involvement in the community. The real question is what are my competitive aspirations. I guess in every short term situation I play for my teammates (and therefore will remain dedicated to the SCUC guys this summer), I've just been struggling with finding a reason I play for myself.
I understand that at 22 I'm still young and have a lot of disc still ahead of me, but I'm no longer sure I'll need to play on the absolute best teams to fill my competitive aspirations. I'll still want to push myself athletically, and playing elite is one way to do that, but wanting to play elite is no longer the main reason I play competitive ultimate. I guess what I do next summer will really answer the questions I have about my competitive aspirations. Either I push myself to get in shape for the tryout season and dedicate myself to the process, or I show up in not the best shape again, and wind up playing with a second tear team for another summer (and likely many more). It seems that in the end I can't come up with the answer just sitting at my house and over-thinking it. I do know I want to make it back to open club nationals, and I would enjoy playing playing with the best. I also know that I don't have to play with the best to be satisfied, I just need teammates.
Word.
P.S. I really appreciate the concept behind Bob's WDUPU series.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Solstice Recap
This is the latest recap I've ever written. I guess I just have to post it so I can move on to writing about other things.
I am now officially part of the leadership of a team again. We were called the Yeager Bombs at Solstice in Eugene, but we're not settled on a name as of yet (okay, the program said Jaeger, but we all know it's with a Y). It seems like being a captain has potential to change how my tournament recaps go. Well, here is the first chance to see if it does. Game by game:
Game 1: UOish
Both teams looked horrible to start, with a 5 turnover point to start the game. Both teams were clearly learning to play with each-other, and I think they had a bit of a head start on this. Things that stick out: Us having bad zone points (these were gone by the end of the weekend), and Kevin Stout getting an amazing D on what looked like a great hammer from Yeager to Jughead. We wound up wining, and thus started and undefeated season (or so we joked).
Game 2: UWish
This was the game we played our poorest in for the weekend. Jughead played maybe 2 points due to a sore hamstring, Laurent was out due to a gimpy calf, and Aman reinjured his rotator cuff. Anyway, they wound up winning a close one. Our shorthanded roster couldn't keep up with their deeps, and we continued to learn to play with each other. I guess our undefeated season was over. We were down to 11 at this point, and we could have mailed it in for the tournament but we resolved to stick with it.
Game 3: Predator (Tacoma)
They looked really organized, and had a really tall receiver. It was our third game of the day and they came in really confident, we came in really tiered. Well, the wind picked up a tad and made the game noticeably upwind downwind. I think it was in this game that Yeager hurt himself getting a huge layout D. That Injury brought us down to 10 guys which was pretty devastating considering how out of shape we were (people have been taking a small break since hard college seasons, I was just out of shape). It seemed like we were loosing the whole game, mostly because we were working so hard for the points we scored. Somehow, it turned out the game was really close, and we wound up wining by about 2. We were surprised and excited. The reward was #1 in our pool and a crossover with the Seattle 3rd team.
Game 4: 3rd (Seattle)
We were exhausted. Sitting on the sidelines, sitting during time outs and half, stalling for more rest. It was just bad. It felt like we were being crushed the whole game. Still, somehow half was on serve, and we won on universe point. It wasn't glamorous or pretty, but it felt damn good.
After finishing an exhausting day we went back to the house where we were staying (3 blocks from the fields! sick). And gathered to plan the evening festivities. We were able to grab showers at the Y then head over to the showcase game and dinner. After dinner we regrouped and eventually made our way to the party.
The party was really good. The beer wasn't great, but I enjoyed to local. And of course, any party with Alex Wells will be great. We stayed pretty late, I got good and toasty, and Yeager rocked the dd status seeing as he had hit his head on a bid earlier in the day.
Game 5: Kirkland Frisbee Club (KFC)
Day two started with us playing a young team from the Seattle area. They wound up scoring one or two points, it was a nice warmup, and even better than a bye. Winning this crossover put us in the semis against the UWish team.
Game 6: UWish
Our second game against UW was also really close and contested. We commited to taking away Sean's flick, and we tried to keep the disc out of Gabe's hands. Well, we wound up winning by a couple this time, but not before letting our out of shape-ness catch back up with us. Winning this one put us in the finals against a local team.
Game 7: Eugene Open
Our seventh and final game of the weekend was against the team formerly known as Darkstar. The game was close, with us up one or two the whole time. I don't remember that much because I tweaked my back early in the game, and was relegated to sitting on the sideline trying to stretch out. I do remember Aman dropping one huck because he had to go left handed, then deciding to do the sure thing and catch the game winner two handed.
It was great to win Solstice, even if it was just the open devision. We had victory cigars thanks to Aman (they were for Spain winning in the UEFA Cup), and everyone on the team got excited for the upcoming season. Anyway, we've got Chico next weekend. Maybe having a larger roster can help us throw down.
I am now officially part of the leadership of a team again. We were called the Yeager Bombs at Solstice in Eugene, but we're not settled on a name as of yet (okay, the program said Jaeger, but we all know it's with a Y). It seems like being a captain has potential to change how my tournament recaps go. Well, here is the first chance to see if it does. Game by game:
Game 1: UOish
Both teams looked horrible to start, with a 5 turnover point to start the game. Both teams were clearly learning to play with each-other, and I think they had a bit of a head start on this. Things that stick out: Us having bad zone points (these were gone by the end of the weekend), and Kevin Stout getting an amazing D on what looked like a great hammer from Yeager to Jughead. We wound up wining, and thus started and undefeated season (or so we joked).
Game 2: UWish
This was the game we played our poorest in for the weekend. Jughead played maybe 2 points due to a sore hamstring, Laurent was out due to a gimpy calf, and Aman reinjured his rotator cuff. Anyway, they wound up winning a close one. Our shorthanded roster couldn't keep up with their deeps, and we continued to learn to play with each other. I guess our undefeated season was over. We were down to 11 at this point, and we could have mailed it in for the tournament but we resolved to stick with it.
Game 3: Predator (Tacoma)
They looked really organized, and had a really tall receiver. It was our third game of the day and they came in really confident, we came in really tiered. Well, the wind picked up a tad and made the game noticeably upwind downwind. I think it was in this game that Yeager hurt himself getting a huge layout D. That Injury brought us down to 10 guys which was pretty devastating considering how out of shape we were (people have been taking a small break since hard college seasons, I was just out of shape). It seemed like we were loosing the whole game, mostly because we were working so hard for the points we scored. Somehow, it turned out the game was really close, and we wound up wining by about 2. We were surprised and excited. The reward was #1 in our pool and a crossover with the Seattle 3rd team.
Game 4: 3rd (Seattle)
We were exhausted. Sitting on the sidelines, sitting during time outs and half, stalling for more rest. It was just bad. It felt like we were being crushed the whole game. Still, somehow half was on serve, and we won on universe point. It wasn't glamorous or pretty, but it felt damn good.
After finishing an exhausting day we went back to the house where we were staying (3 blocks from the fields! sick). And gathered to plan the evening festivities. We were able to grab showers at the Y then head over to the showcase game and dinner. After dinner we regrouped and eventually made our way to the party.
The party was really good. The beer wasn't great, but I enjoyed to local. And of course, any party with Alex Wells will be great. We stayed pretty late, I got good and toasty, and Yeager rocked the dd status seeing as he had hit his head on a bid earlier in the day.
Game 5: Kirkland Frisbee Club (KFC)
Day two started with us playing a young team from the Seattle area. They wound up scoring one or two points, it was a nice warmup, and even better than a bye. Winning this crossover put us in the semis against the UWish team.
Game 6: UWish
Our second game against UW was also really close and contested. We commited to taking away Sean's flick, and we tried to keep the disc out of Gabe's hands. Well, we wound up winning by a couple this time, but not before letting our out of shape-ness catch back up with us. Winning this one put us in the finals against a local team.
Game 7: Eugene Open
Our seventh and final game of the weekend was against the team formerly known as Darkstar. The game was close, with us up one or two the whole time. I don't remember that much because I tweaked my back early in the game, and was relegated to sitting on the sideline trying to stretch out. I do remember Aman dropping one huck because he had to go left handed, then deciding to do the sure thing and catch the game winner two handed.
It was great to win Solstice, even if it was just the open devision. We had victory cigars thanks to Aman (they were for Spain winning in the UEFA Cup), and everyone on the team got excited for the upcoming season. Anyway, we've got Chico next weekend. Maybe having a larger roster can help us throw down.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Lifting
I lifted for the first time in a long time about a week ago. Anyway, I remembered how fun it was. Anyway, I did some easy lifting today after playing a round of disc golf with some friends. So, as a tribute to all of those who post their workouts, here was mine today (I'm also just trying to be a good blogger, look at me!).
Warmup (10 min run, stretch)
Lift:
Bench (3 x 10 @ 100 lbs.)
Lat Press (3 x 10 @ 70 lbs.)
Lat Pull-down (3 x 10 @ 70 lbs.)
Curls (20 per arm @ 20 lbs.)
Leg Press (3 x 10 @ 155 lbs.)
Calf Raises (3 x 50 @ 90 lbs.)
Hamstring Curls (3 x 8 @ 60 lbs.)
Core (all tups done on an incline bench holding a 6 kg med ball, all pushups done with feet on a yoga ball):
(30 situps, 20 pushups) x 2
(20 twist situps, 15 pushups arms wide) x 2
(15 situp then twist side to side, 10 diamond pushups) x 2
lower back thing with 10 lb wait (20)
Shits and giggles:
Campus pullups x 10 (The gym where I workout is the climbing gym I work at. Anyway there is this chinup bar that has another chinup bar a foot and a half above it and maybe 6 inches out. Well, do a pullup on the lower bar and explode to grab the upper bar with both hands, then go down with both. It's fun.)
Anyway, I didn't really push myself on the lifting front, I guess I'm just building a bit of a base. I'll probably do this again later this week, then go a little harder next week. The best part of lifting today was the shower-sauna-shower combo I got in. Word.
Warmup (10 min run, stretch)
Lift:
Bench (3 x 10 @ 100 lbs.)
Lat Press (3 x 10 @ 70 lbs.)
Lat Pull-down (3 x 10 @ 70 lbs.)
Curls (20 per arm @ 20 lbs.)
Leg Press (3 x 10 @ 155 lbs.)
Calf Raises (3 x 50 @ 90 lbs.)
Hamstring Curls (3 x 8 @ 60 lbs.)
Core (all tups done on an incline bench holding a 6 kg med ball, all pushups done with feet on a yoga ball):
(30 situps, 20 pushups) x 2
(20 twist situps, 15 pushups arms wide) x 2
(15 situp then twist side to side, 10 diamond pushups) x 2
lower back thing with 10 lb wait (20)
Shits and giggles:
Campus pullups x 10 (The gym where I workout is the climbing gym I work at. Anyway there is this chinup bar that has another chinup bar a foot and a half above it and maybe 6 inches out. Well, do a pullup on the lower bar and explode to grab the upper bar with both hands, then go down with both. It's fun.)
Anyway, I didn't really push myself on the lifting front, I guess I'm just building a bit of a base. I'll probably do this again later this week, then go a little harder next week. The best part of lifting today was the shower-sauna-shower combo I got in. Word.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
My Ultimate Life
So, tryout season in NorCal has come and gone and I didn't make the team I was trying to make (Revolver). The week after that happened I hurt my knee at work randomly, and for a number of reasons I was really close to not playing competitive ultimate this summer. Luckily, James Yeager of UCSC came along with the perfect opportunity.
Yeager realized that the best way to try and get the Slugs back to nationals next year was to have everyone play club together this summer. He also realized that simply turning your college team into a club team isn't amazingly effective, so he recruited me as a co-captain for this as yet to named* summer team. We invited all of this year's Slug A players onto the team, then, using our ultimate nerdy-ness and connections, Yeager and I started recruiting and trying to fill out the roster. Well, we eventually settled on having tryouts, and have been doing so for the past couple of weekends. As of now, we're really stoked on the potential our team has (I'll release a roster once we have a team name, it'll be on the Score Reporter).
So, after starting this team so late, we were stuck without a bid to CalStates, but we came up with an awesome alternative. We held tryouts in the form of a double practice on Saturday, then had tryouts in terms of heckling practice on Sunday. Because we weren't actually playing in the tournament, we were able to go huge at the tourney party Saturday night and bond as a team the next day.
On Saturday, Shy and I arranged to pick up with some LA homies for the first game Sunday morning so I could get in some hungover co-ed play in prep for Potlatch. We got to play against the team Shy left to play with Yeager and I for the summer, LA Metro. It was a lot of fun seeing as Shy and I had a bunch of friends on both teams. Basically we ran around the field doing give and goes until one of us jacked it to an open receiver (if felt like the good ol' days). 808 was supposed to pick up with us, but he overslept, what a bummer. I'll just have to wait until Discos and e-bay to play with Bobby.
That's what I got from the personal side for now. I'll try and get back to spreading rumors about the top teams soon.
*I was originally pushing for us to be the Yeager Bombs, but James has insisted on spelling it with a J, so we'll hold a team vote to settle on a name (hopefully it won't be Justice League**).
**Too Soon?
Yeager realized that the best way to try and get the Slugs back to nationals next year was to have everyone play club together this summer. He also realized that simply turning your college team into a club team isn't amazingly effective, so he recruited me as a co-captain for this as yet to named* summer team. We invited all of this year's Slug A players onto the team, then, using our ultimate nerdy-ness and connections, Yeager and I started recruiting and trying to fill out the roster. Well, we eventually settled on having tryouts, and have been doing so for the past couple of weekends. As of now, we're really stoked on the potential our team has (I'll release a roster once we have a team name, it'll be on the Score Reporter).
So, after starting this team so late, we were stuck without a bid to CalStates, but we came up with an awesome alternative. We held tryouts in the form of a double practice on Saturday, then had tryouts in terms of heckling practice on Sunday. Because we weren't actually playing in the tournament, we were able to go huge at the tourney party Saturday night and bond as a team the next day.
On Saturday, Shy and I arranged to pick up with some LA homies for the first game Sunday morning so I could get in some hungover co-ed play in prep for Potlatch. We got to play against the team Shy left to play with Yeager and I for the summer, LA Metro. It was a lot of fun seeing as Shy and I had a bunch of friends on both teams. Basically we ran around the field doing give and goes until one of us jacked it to an open receiver (if felt like the good ol' days). 808 was supposed to pick up with us, but he overslept, what a bummer. I'll just have to wait until Discos and e-bay to play with Bobby.
That's what I got from the personal side for now. I'll try and get back to spreading rumors about the top teams soon.
*I was originally pushing for us to be the Yeager Bombs, but James has insisted on spelling it with a J, so we'll hold a team vote to settle on a name (hopefully it won't be Justice League**).
**Too Soon?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Quick notes from CalStates
CalStates went down here in town this past weekend, and thus the hype machine for the summer has started. Here's my early contribution.
Condors:
They've been picking up a couple of LA guys per year for the past few years, this time they're just going bigger (also, with only two bids from the SW, the LA guys want to get back to the show). There are no '09 college players not from the SB that are still trying out for the Condors, so they're not poaching the young talent from LA. In fact, they're letting LA do the work in developing the young guys. Still, their roster is not set yet, and we'll see how big of an effect the new influx of personnel will have.
Furious George:
It was cool to see these guys at such an early tournament. It was also predictable because of Worlds. It looked like Lugsdin and Cruickshank both didn't make the trip down, and Oscar, while present, wasn't playing. Also of note, due to CUPA rules, they were trying out a bunch of non-Vancouver guys, 5 of whom were from GOAT. So remember, while Furious will be representing Canada at Worlds, GOAT placed higher at the UPA Championships last year.
Jam:
They took 3 new guys this year, and it wasn't to get younger (although they did a little of that). I don't know how much of the JL stuff is carrying over, seeing as JL ran a ho while Jam seems to primarily be a vert stack team. Their performance at CalStates was a little surprising, but I think it'll just light a fire.
Revolver:
Funny thing, of the new players they took, there is only one player who will be playing college ultimate next year, and none of the players they took were from Stanford. In fact, I'm not sure if any Stanford guys even tried out this year. They got a lot taller with their additions, picking up Seth Wiggins, David "Fetch" Janinis, Tyler Grant, Chuck Kindred, Alex "Dutchie" Ghesquire, and Patrick Sweigert. As per CalStates Seth Wiggins spent most of his time playing with Sockeye, and both Nan Gao and Nat Kinsky were out.
Sockeye:
They did their usual CalStates thing. Winning a lot of games, and getting the tryout guys a good amount of time. They moved all the tryouts onto the finals team to get a closer look. Seth didn't play for either team in the finals.
That's it for the 'Elite' teams. It's weird writing about people I know (and some I don't), but I guess I'm just trying to get some information out there. Does the public really have a right to know? I'll have to struggle finding the answer to that one.
Condors:
They've been picking up a couple of LA guys per year for the past few years, this time they're just going bigger (also, with only two bids from the SW, the LA guys want to get back to the show). There are no '09 college players not from the SB that are still trying out for the Condors, so they're not poaching the young talent from LA. In fact, they're letting LA do the work in developing the young guys. Still, their roster is not set yet, and we'll see how big of an effect the new influx of personnel will have.
Furious George:
It was cool to see these guys at such an early tournament. It was also predictable because of Worlds. It looked like Lugsdin and Cruickshank both didn't make the trip down, and Oscar, while present, wasn't playing. Also of note, due to CUPA rules, they were trying out a bunch of non-Vancouver guys, 5 of whom were from GOAT. So remember, while Furious will be representing Canada at Worlds, GOAT placed higher at the UPA Championships last year.
Jam:
They took 3 new guys this year, and it wasn't to get younger (although they did a little of that). I don't know how much of the JL stuff is carrying over, seeing as JL ran a ho while Jam seems to primarily be a vert stack team. Their performance at CalStates was a little surprising, but I think it'll just light a fire.
Revolver:
Funny thing, of the new players they took, there is only one player who will be playing college ultimate next year, and none of the players they took were from Stanford. In fact, I'm not sure if any Stanford guys even tried out this year. They got a lot taller with their additions, picking up Seth Wiggins, David "Fetch" Janinis, Tyler Grant, Chuck Kindred, Alex "Dutchie" Ghesquire, and Patrick Sweigert. As per CalStates Seth Wiggins spent most of his time playing with Sockeye, and both Nan Gao and Nat Kinsky were out.
Sockeye:
They did their usual CalStates thing. Winning a lot of games, and getting the tryout guys a good amount of time. They moved all the tryouts onto the finals team to get a closer look. Seth didn't play for either team in the finals.
That's it for the 'Elite' teams. It's weird writing about people I know (and some I don't), but I guess I'm just trying to get some information out there. Does the public really have a right to know? I'll have to struggle finding the answer to that one.
Monday, May 26, 2008
D-III Nationals - Why We Didn't Go
The first year of D-III nationals, captain Alex and I talked about attending it briefly after the tournament announcement and decided the we (Claremont) wouldn't go. We decided that the combination of school being out of session and the team not being accustomed to flying to tournaments was enough to not go. In addition, we thought we had a legit shot of making it to UPA Nationals that year, and we didn't want settling for D-III nationals to be okay with anybody on the team. Some people brought up the idea of going, but the majority of the team was in favor of out decision to focus on the UPA series.
The next year I was a senior and a captain and the team had almost no shot of making nationals (we wound up tied for 3rd in a region with one bid, but we knew Colorado and SB were better than us that year). We decided to have a team meeting about D-III nationals (it's not that hard to have team meetings when everyone lives on campus). My stance, along with that of many of the other seniors, was that we wanted to be as proud of our senior season as possible. To us, that meant finishing as high as we could at regionals, and pouring our harts into doing so.
At the team meeting, the general consensus was that because D-III nationals isn't hosted by the UPA, and because we knew other top level D-III teams wouldn't be there, any victory wouldn't be satisfying. We also wanted to put the team in a position to succeed in years to come, and we thought having people focus on regionals was the best way to do so. The team voted something like 16 to 3 not to go to D-III nationals that year. If the UPA hosted some sort of devision two event for small schools, we would have gone (especially because our club sports department would have paid for our trip).
So that's where Claremont stood on D-III nationals while I was there, and it seems like not much has changed. Also, as the team improves, I wonder if they'd even go to (or be eligible for) a UPA hosted D-II style event (still, it'd be hard to pass up the free accommodations).
Word.
The next year I was a senior and a captain and the team had almost no shot of making nationals (we wound up tied for 3rd in a region with one bid, but we knew Colorado and SB were better than us that year). We decided to have a team meeting about D-III nationals (it's not that hard to have team meetings when everyone lives on campus). My stance, along with that of many of the other seniors, was that we wanted to be as proud of our senior season as possible. To us, that meant finishing as high as we could at regionals, and pouring our harts into doing so.
At the team meeting, the general consensus was that because D-III nationals isn't hosted by the UPA, and because we knew other top level D-III teams wouldn't be there, any victory wouldn't be satisfying. We also wanted to put the team in a position to succeed in years to come, and we thought having people focus on regionals was the best way to do so. The team voted something like 16 to 3 not to go to D-III nationals that year. If the UPA hosted some sort of devision two event for small schools, we would have gone (especially because our club sports department would have paid for our trip).
So that's where Claremont stood on D-III nationals while I was there, and it seems like not much has changed. Also, as the team improves, I wonder if they'd even go to (or be eligible for) a UPA hosted D-II style event (still, it'd be hard to pass up the free accommodations).
Word.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The End of My Season
I drove Connor to the airport this morning so he could fly to Boulder and play in college nationals. It really happened, and I could have been there. I'm happy with my decision not to go to school. Anyway, I get to go to Claremont instead.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
NW Regionals
This was my first time ever as a spectator and not a player at college regionals. Man that sucked. Still, I got to watch the team I should have been playing with win regionals. It was great to see all the guys I call friends and used to call team mates step up.
What stood out to me:
All of Stanford's cutters not named "Ezra" or "Tom James" are willing and eager to loose yards to give the disc to Sherwood. They'll catch an in cut and turn around and give the disc to Sherwood loosing 5 yards. By now Mark must have a sore back.
Jeremy Nordan played great in the Whitman vs. LPC game. I thought that if Whitman was eliminated on day 1 things would be a lot easier in terms of FOTY voting, well, Whitman wouldn't let that happen. Of note, Daryl, the SC coach was kind of fed up with all the Cassidy vs. Jeremy talk and said "Why can't they just be co-freshman of the year? It's happened before, it should happen again. One as a cutter, one as a handler." Seeing as both were within 5 yards of him at the time I just said, "Maybe they should fight to the death."
Speaking of Daryl, he doesn't get enough credit for the development of the young players (and even the vets) on the Slugs (I know, he doesn't really want the credit, well to bad!). Yes Danny is the on field leader, and yes Danny is deserving of their callahan nomination, but he isn't responsible for the Slug's hard nosed D or team wide understanding of the rules, or their practicing calling marking violations in practice. Also, Daryl called all the lines at regionals, and is a great calming force to counter Danny's fiery-ness.
Um, it was 99 degrees when I got in my car to leave Davis. So yeah, as hot as SoCal Sectionals. People were talking about how they couldn't believe they were playing in that kind of heat, try playing in the desert section, or a lot of SoCal.
I know, it's not much, but who needs scouting reports now that the best part (regionals weekend) of the season is over?
Word.
What stood out to me:
All of Stanford's cutters not named "Ezra" or "Tom James" are willing and eager to loose yards to give the disc to Sherwood. They'll catch an in cut and turn around and give the disc to Sherwood loosing 5 yards. By now Mark must have a sore back.
Jeremy Nordan played great in the Whitman vs. LPC game. I thought that if Whitman was eliminated on day 1 things would be a lot easier in terms of FOTY voting, well, Whitman wouldn't let that happen. Of note, Daryl, the SC coach was kind of fed up with all the Cassidy vs. Jeremy talk and said "Why can't they just be co-freshman of the year? It's happened before, it should happen again. One as a cutter, one as a handler." Seeing as both were within 5 yards of him at the time I just said, "Maybe they should fight to the death."
Speaking of Daryl, he doesn't get enough credit for the development of the young players (and even the vets) on the Slugs (I know, he doesn't really want the credit, well to bad!). Yes Danny is the on field leader, and yes Danny is deserving of their callahan nomination, but he isn't responsible for the Slug's hard nosed D or team wide understanding of the rules, or their practicing calling marking violations in practice. Also, Daryl called all the lines at regionals, and is a great calming force to counter Danny's fiery-ness.
Um, it was 99 degrees when I got in my car to leave Davis. So yeah, as hot as SoCal Sectionals. People were talking about how they couldn't believe they were playing in that kind of heat, try playing in the desert section, or a lot of SoCal.
I know, it's not much, but who needs scouting reports now that the best part (regionals weekend) of the season is over?
Word.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Re: I'm not feeling the love
I guess I'm writing this because Cassidy Rasmussen is my boy, but also because I feel like the FOTY* award isn't discussed enough. The guidelines for the awards are laid out pretty well on the UPA website (and I wish they weren't, screw them, I'm sticking with my definitions. Also, can we get a search function UPA? thanks.) but the chatter is definitely pretty low quantity (and low quality, I don't pretend to help there) regarding FOTYs.
I think the FOTY award isn't about the best individual freshman in the region, but instead the freshman that contributes the most to a relevant team (that's right, I don't think a FOTY should come from a team that isn't competitive at regionals, same with all-region players).
In my All-Region post (column? maybe when I get an editor) I talked a little about FOTY candidates, but I didn't want to distract from my real purpose. Anyway, I wrote:
[NW] FOTY: Jeremy Norden, Whitman - I think he's had this locked up since Vegas. That being said, I think Cassidy Rasmussen should get some dap if UCSC wins regionals.
I stick by my statement, still, I'd like to explain. I think Cassidy is an exceptional player, and if I had to choose between the two, I don't know who I'd take, (but I do know I'd have Cassidy play D). The thing is, I think Jeremy has had to do a lot more for Whitman than Cassidy has for UCSC. Also, I think Whitman stepping up and being better than expected has helped Jeremy, while UCSC underperforming for much of the season hasn't helped Cassidy. If UCSC wins regionals and Cassidy plays huge, I think people should consider him for the award. Still, I expect both players to make the all region team in the coming years, probably as soon as next year.
As far as the SW debate goes, I just don't know enough about Hylke Snieder from Colorado to comment. I guess I'll let The Pulse (that nickname was for you, Conor) do the talking for me:
I've played against both Markham and Hylke, and Markham, while I do think he's the better player, also means so much more to his team than Hylke. . . . He's a big part of [Claremont's] rise to contention in the SW.
Okay, there you have it.
*Can we all agree to pronounce FOTY like E-40 when he calls himself 40 Water? Just listen to Yay Area, and focus on the chorus.
I think the FOTY award isn't about the best individual freshman in the region, but instead the freshman that contributes the most to a relevant team (that's right, I don't think a FOTY should come from a team that isn't competitive at regionals, same with all-region players).
In my All-Region post (column? maybe when I get an editor) I talked a little about FOTY candidates, but I didn't want to distract from my real purpose. Anyway, I wrote:
[NW] FOTY: Jeremy Norden, Whitman - I think he's had this locked up since Vegas. That being said, I think Cassidy Rasmussen should get some dap if UCSC wins regionals.
I stick by my statement, still, I'd like to explain. I think Cassidy is an exceptional player, and if I had to choose between the two, I don't know who I'd take, (but I do know I'd have Cassidy play D). The thing is, I think Jeremy has had to do a lot more for Whitman than Cassidy has for UCSC. Also, I think Whitman stepping up and being better than expected has helped Jeremy, while UCSC underperforming for much of the season hasn't helped Cassidy. If UCSC wins regionals and Cassidy plays huge, I think people should consider him for the award. Still, I expect both players to make the all region team in the coming years, probably as soon as next year.
As far as the SW debate goes, I just don't know enough about Hylke Snieder from Colorado to comment. I guess I'll let The Pulse (that nickname was for you, Conor) do the talking for me:
I've played against both Markham and Hylke, and Markham, while I do think he's the better player, also means so much more to his team than Hylke. . . . He's a big part of [Claremont's] rise to contention in the SW.
Okay, there you have it.
*Can we all agree to pronounce FOTY like E-40 when he calls himself 40 Water? Just listen to Yay Area, and focus on the chorus.
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