Some Thoughts about Ultimate

2 Good Fundamentals for Defense

2009-02-25T15:56:00.004-05:00

Here are some rules from the 11th edition to set the stage:

Fouls (II.E): It is the responsibility of all players to avoid contact in every way possible.

Contact resulting from adjacent opposing players simultaneously vying for the same unoccupied position, is not in itself a foul.

1. When the disc is in the air a player may not move in a manner solely to prevent an opponent from taking an unoccupied path to the disc and any resulting non-incidental contact is a foul on the blocking player which is treated like a receiving foul (XVI.H.3.b).

2. A player may not take a position that is unavoidable by a moving opponent when time, distance, and line of sight are considered. Non-incidental contact resulting from taking such a position is a foul on the blocking player.

Reckless disregard for the safety of fellow players or other dangerously aggressive behavior (such as significantly colliding into a stationary opponent), regardless of whether or when the disc arrives or when contact occurs is considered dangerous play and is treated as a foul. This rule is not superseded by any other rule.

Dictate where you man goes. If your man wants to make a cut, he should have only one option, which is to cut into the open space that the defender is allowing him. If you are a couple of steps off of the cutter, he can go wherever he wants. However, if you are nearly touching them, constantly positioning for position right behind him, he can only cut one way, and that is in. By lining up on one side of the man, you are taking away a cut he could do, or half of his options.

Force the player to do the opposite thing they want. After a couple of points, you will know what kind of player each man is on the other team. If you are guarding the guy throwing deep bombs to the deep receivers, make him go score by forcing him to cut deep (position yourself in front of him.) If you are guarding the speedy/athletic guy who jumps over you, position yourself more behind him in order to force him to cut in. This isn't to say that you are giving the player the in cut. Your priorities should be

1. force him one way with your body
2. beat him to the disc on the way you are forcing him

Thoughts from Queen City Tournament

2009-02-16T11:28:00.005-05:00

Hey,

Good weekend in Charlotte, NC. Those fields are perfect for laying out, making huge cuts, and at the end of the day, walking back to your car barefoot.

Here are my reflections from this weekend

1. Sidelines - When our sidelines were in the game, we were unstoppable. Our team was excited to play as an entire team again, and you could see this excitement during the first game. While the defense was on the field, the offense was extremely helpful in the sidelines. Every person on the field had someone yelling at them, "up" calls were yelled, and our defense was stopping every type of cut. The defense was aware of all things happening, which is a scary thought for an offense. While the offense was on the field, the sidelines whenever they turned the disc over. Also, we went crazy when they scored and congratulated them for making the easy passes. This sideline effect allowed us to keep playing at our level throughout the tournament, except for a couple of times when the sideline went quiet.

The sideline effect helped us in the UNC Darkside game and the Notre Dame Papal Rage game. However, in each of those games, we saw what happened when the sideline goes quiet. When there is little sideline support, it only takes a couple of passes to break a defense. We saw a lot of easily executed deep hucks happen.

What we need to learn is how to better communicate as the sidelines and how to sustain our high level of sideline energy. I think the best place to learn this would be at practice. At practice, the gimps and subs on our team usually bundle up and hang out right next to coach. We need to be more intentional about our time at practice.

2. We can get in better shape. We outran a lot of our opponents this weekend, but I still think we can get in even better shape. Our core workouts for track haven't happened in a long time. Also, I think some of us (including myself) need some work in the weight room when it comes to the squat machine. I want to be in the type of shape where I can sprint down on a pull and play great defense for 10 throws, then maybe start fatiguing after that. It seemed like getting down on the pull and the first 4 throws was about all some people could manage this weekend. Also, our pulls can improve A LOT from some upper body workouts.

3. Stagnant defensive offense - The defense needs help with the goal line offense a lot more than our offense. For some reason, when we get on the goal line, everyone wants to score the goal. This causes a lot of clutter in the open lanes. If we learn to stick to our game plan, we could be a lot more effective. I need to learn this especially. It's hard to be the guy who stretches the stack to the back of the endzone. It's hard to be the guy who doesn't get a lot of scoring stats because you're helping the team open up lanes. It's hard to be equally as explosive cutting back to the stack as your cut to the open side. It's hard to be the guy who knows he's not going to try his cut because it's not his time to. Every member of our team will benefit a lot if more of us are willing to be become that guy.

Slam Dunk Contest - Dwight Howard's first dunk wasn't worth a 50. Rudy got duped, his first dunk was awesome. The man who won deserved it.

What makes a team successful?

2009-02-10T11:58:00.005-05:00

An email had me thinking about team chemistry. For a team to be successful (where success is defined as the number of wins you have), does a team need team chemistry? What does a team need to be successful?

For a team to win, they need to score more points than the other team.

Offensively, a team must do this by throwing and catching the disc. If you throw a disc to someone, you trust them to catch it. If I don't trust my cutters, I will never throw to them. If I don't throw to them, I get stalled for a turnover. If you are cutting, you trust that the handler will throw it to you(if you are open). If the handler constantly looks you off when you are open, you won't cut as much for handler. If you don't cut as much, the handler won't have someone to throw it to.

Good offenses - The handler can accurately predict which way the handler is going to cut before they make the cut. The cutter knows what the handler is looking for just by looking at the current situation. If there are a lot of people cutting on the open side, they will go break. If there are a lot of cutters cutting for the break cut, you might need to make an open side cut. If there are a lot of people making in cuts, you might need to go deep. You trust that the handler is looking at these situations, and act on them knowing that they are looking for you to make the right decision.

Defensively, a team must stop the other team from throwing and catching as they wish. If I am the mark, I trust that the downfield defenders are taking away the open side by lining up on the open side. If I am a defender, I trust that the mark won't give up a break mark throw. In a zone, you have to trust that the other players are in their positions so that you are making the offense throw over the cup.

Good defenses - They trust that they can poach the lane knowing that their teammates will help you deep. A good defender can trust that his teammates will take care of his man if he goes and crashes a huck or if he helps out someone.

The word trust comes up a lot in both offense and defense. Trust is something that says you have faith in your teammate over the opposing team. You know your teammate is better than the other team's designated match up. Also, the better teams have more trust in their teammates. You can build trust with your teammates in a number of ways, which I'll discuss later. The more you trust your teammates, the more you will act on that trust.

Mudbowl Reflection

2009-02-09T11:32:00.004-05:00

From the perspective of Georgia Y, the team I played for this weekend:

This past weekend had its share of highs and lows. The highlight of the weekend was winning the tournament over Tennessee. The low was losing our first game of the weekend to Kennesaw State. Between those two moments, there was a lot of great play from our rookies.

This was our first tournament win since Sectionals last year. Even though it was Mudbowl, there were still some competitive teams playing in Talladega this weekend. Our Georgia X team beat North Park, whom I considered to be the best team there. Tennessee proved that they are strong team with some crazy throws. I hope to see them at Regionals. A tournament win was good for this team, especially the defensive unit. After getting crushed by the offense the past couple of practices, we were all thinking that this Mudbowl was going to be a hard one (especially because we were playing with only 9 guys).

What helped us the most was playing mini-games to 3. After we lost to Kennessaw State, we started the games to 3 system. We won every single game to 3 except 2 the entire tournament. That was an accomplishment, especially because Davis drank a beer for every game to 3 we won, which caused him to drink over 15 beers.

Georgia Y's offense wasn't consistent. The goal of the weekend was possession. This was important because of having only 9 people on our team. If we didn't value possession, we would of had to play more points. We stressed possession and games to 3 almost every point. I don't think you can achieve the goal of possession, but I do think we put an emphasis on it. For me, I remember 3 hucks that I felt uncomfortable with before I even threw them.

Here are some things we did well: Ran down on the pulls, threw high percentage hucks, allowed cuts to develop, end zone offense looked better, and playing some inspired defense at all times.

Things we will improve on: Dictating where the cutter goes, holding the mark, taking match-ups more personally, throwing into the wind, and our zone and transitioning into man.

Mudbowl 2009

2009-02-06T13:29:00.007-05:00

This weekend is Mudbowl. This will be my third Mudbowl in my career. The first time I went with the B-Team, we capped off our Mudbowl experience with a loss to Birmingham Southern. Saturday night was filled with rookies doing their discs and drunken ultimate culture (BOOOOO). I have never seen a hotel completely taken over by a party.

UGA has 4 teams entered into this weekend's tournament. That's a lot of Bulldawgs in Talladega. When UGA goes to Talladega, the world (or Coach Mark Richt) better watch out.

http://deepsouthsports.blogspot.com/2007/05/talledega-days.html

Splitting our A team into two teams is a great idea. It allows our defense to find its grove on offense, and our offense to continue dominating as they have so far. Because of injuries, our teams will have around 9 guys on each team. Playing almost savage at this tournament will be a great time for players who don't play a lot to get a lot of experience. The teams in our pool aren't pushovers, especially with the lines we will be throwing at them. Every player on our A team will be given a chance to play every role on the field. The guys who don't cut a whole lot in the stack will be forced to cut. The guys who are scared about handling will be throwing breaks. The guys who like to handle a lot will be cutting in order to provide the cutters some rest.

The most critical part of the game I want our defensive team to work on is not turning the disc over. We tend to not appreciate possession. When a team has possession, they control the tempo of the game and don't have to run as much. This weekend, if we don't take care of the disc, we will find ourselves exhausted by the third game. If we huck the disc away, we have to play more defense. If we take care of the disc, we will play less points and gain a valuable skill.

What does valuing possession mean? It means playing with discipline and smarts. Commit to the dump when the stall count hits 5. When you don't get the disc on an incut, clear the lane QUICKLY. During endzone offense, stick with the plays we have. When you get the dump pass, look to swing it immediately. Finish your cut. Also, allow your teammates to get open. A lot of times, 30 yard in cuts don't happen quickly, they take time.

I'm hoping to see UGA v UGA in the finals on Sunday... But then again, it is a party tournament.

Team Defense Video.

2009-02-03T17:25:00.000-05:00

Check out this video:

Team Defense Part 2

2009-01-30T13:37:00.005-05:00

Continuing with the topic of Team Defense, here are a couple of other things that are important to team defense.

Flashing - This is a quick poach that usually involves taking a couple of steps into the open lane acting like you are going to make a play. The point of flashing is to make the handler believe you are guarding someone. This will help out a defender who is trailing his man on an in cut.

Perfect Scenario to Flash - The man you are guarding is jogging (not trying to cut) away from the handler to get back into the stack. While he is jogging, an in cut forming near you. The guy defending the in cut is way behind his guy, so you step into the lane for a couple of seconds facing the open cutter. While you step out, raise your arms and make it look like he's temporarily covered. Most of the time, the handler will have to dump it.
Should you face the thrower or cutter? I tend to face the cutter that way I can keep an eye on the guy I'm guarding in the stack. Also, if the handler throws the disc to the cutter you are preoccupying, your arms are up and you are in front of him, which means you have a high percentage of making the block.
Your goal is to make it look like you are making a play or trying to guard that guy, when in fact you are only guarding him for at max 4 seconds.
I rarely ever flash the open lane when it is off a set play. On set plays, I believe the best defense is to dictate where your man goes purely based on body positioning. If he's a deep receiver, force him under. If he's a handler, force him away.

Center Fielder or Last Back - This is just the defenders (not singular) furthest down field or the defenders guarding the off side cutters (which may happen in the H-stack). Their mindsets have got to be:
1. Stop the huck
2. Take care of my individual match-up

Most set plays are supposed to end up with a huck off the first, second, or third throw. If you know that, and your man does not move during those throws, chances are you should be looking to help our your teammates.
In the H stack, if you are guarding an off side handler (if the disc is in the middle or the open side), put yourself in the center of the field, five yards back than your man.
Be patient, you will see a man cut in, and then go out.
Have someone on the sideline talking to you about where YOUR man is.

Team Defense

2009-01-29T13:36:00.009-05:00

Team defense takes time and patience. I define team defense as every person actively defending the biggest threat on the field first, and then taking care of your individual match-ups. Team defense prioritizes the biggest threat over your individual match-up. If every defender on the field was able to shut down their man, then I don't think you would need team defense. In my opinion, team defense is not just shutting down your man. It requires you to be actively looking for the threat, constant communication from the sidelines and others on the field, helping out other players who get in bad positions, and temporarily getting out of position to stop a play from happening all while keeping your man from getting the disc or making a big play. Here's an element to team defense:

Poaching - Poaching can delay or stop the offense from doing their called play. You can poach by standing in the open lane, or you can be sneaky about it and dart out when the cutter is making an open-side cut. Here are some tips on team poaching:

In general, the defenders in the front of the vertical stack should look to poach. They should keep an eye on the cutters in the back of the stack. If you are guarding a non-threat, clog the open-side by standing in it early in the count.
If you see someone poaching, watch his guy. For every poach, there MUST be someone watching his back. The defenders in the back of the stack should always be looking for this. The poacher's guy can become the largest threat to the defense quickly. If he makes a move for the end zone, communicate the switch and start getting in position.
On an open-side in cut, if the man you are guarding does not get the disc, poach the lane for a couple of seconds. Look to see if there are any other in cuts happening or about to happen.
In H stack, poach the lane if you are guarding a handler without the disc. I will always do this unless the guy I'm guarding is an "every other" kind of player (a player that gets the disc every other throw). Poaching will most likely result in a throw to the handler you are guarding. By then, the primary cut will no longer be open in the middle of the field and may likely get the disc near the sidelines.
The danger or poaching is obvious - you are no longer guarding a person, but a dangerous option. You can get caught if the handler and the dump work together quickly to dump and swing the disc. Earlier in the season, you may get caught more because your team is looking to help you out. However, the more the defensive team plays together, the more likely they will look for opportunities to poach and help out.

Fall 2008

2008-07-21T15:50:00.003-04:00

This past season was a historic year of Jojah.

1. We went 3-0 for the first time in pool play at Nationals.
2. Our defense was nasty. Thanks to Ben Morrissey and Peter Dempsey.
3. I started a blog, which is critically acclaimed as one of the lamest things I have ever done. Point taken.

At last year's CCC in DECEMBER, we played Wisconsin in the finals and got beat. I was frustrated with the outcome of the game. Our team, which was selected a week earlier, couldn't come together and win. To console my emotions (which I have a lot of because I have a blog), someone said to me, "You shouldn't be that made Taylor, Wisconsin has been practicing since August/September." That made me feel a little better. Then, I started thinking aloud, "Why don't we practice during the Fall?"

During the Fall, we have always had intramural Fall League. This is a great way to recruit talent. In fact, a couple of our team members made the team through this event. We split our A team up onto different teams, and then fill in the rest of the teams with members from the B and D team, as well as newcomers.

This Fall, we will have Fall League as well as two morning practices a week starting at around 7 am. During the morning practices, we will be focusing on conditioning more than anything, so when it comes time of the college series, we will [hopefully] be beasts from the easts. I am writing this because I am sincerely interested in hearing what other big teams do during the Fall. What type of fall practice do you have? When do you start practice? When do you have tryouts? Do you like turkey sandwiches?

Turf Shoes and Athletic Apparel Websites

2008-06-22T22:17:00.004-04:00

Let's be honest. I haven't posted in a while because I don't have anything THAT good to post about. College ultimate season is over. I'm on my break from ultimate (although I am playing on a summer league team in Atlanta). I want to write something about my experience with turf shoes.

If you are not from Atlanta, you first need to know that there is a drought problem. We have been going through a drought for years. Each summer, it seems to get worse, says the newspapers. We cannot wear cleats anymore because the fields would suffer too much wear and tear. So, on top of the $65 I am paying for registration, I have to spend more money to buy Turf Shoes.

So, I asked people where to buy turf cleats. Some people ordered them online, and some people got them from Dick's Sporting Goods. Apparently, Dick's doesn't have that great of a selection, but at least you could try them on and know what they feel like. I wanted a variety to pick from and a good deal, so I chose the Internet.

I am going to warn you about how lame the next couple of things sound, but it's okay. I don't mind looking stupid in order to help some people out choosing where to buy their cleats.

1. Eastbay - Use Eastbay only to search. I ordered my cleats from Eastbay and wish I hadn't. After paying nearly $20 for 2-3 days shipping on SATURDAY, I got them on THURSDAY. Apparently, Eastbay doesn't ship until MONDAY. Anyway, I found the same cleats for cheaper on another website, so the moral of the Eastbay calamity is to not order from them.

2. Zappos - Zappos has free shipping and free returns 365 days. This site has a lot of different shoes, but I found Eastbay to be more user friendly in their search for turf shoes. Check out the price differentials between Eastbay and Zappos.

3. Endless - Endless is where I would definitely buy shoes because the shipping is FREE and OVERNIGHT. Once again, use Eastbay to look up the shoes you want, and then search for them on this website. They have cheap Diadora Turf Shoes for $34. Also, there isn't Sales Tax (at least there isn't in Georgia).

4. Use Google Shopping whenever you find the turf shoe/cleat you want. Google shopping is how I found endless.com.

Wisconsin Website

2008-06-22T20:42:00.004-04:00

I just want to flat out say, DANG. I love the Hodag website. It's is freakin' awesome. I love the videos, the pictures, the long and rambling write ups, the hodag jerseys for sale, the support from fans, and everything. It is awesome.

They have 45 minute videos from Centex. How do you have time for school when you are in the middle of ultimate season and editing videos for hours on end. I enjoy watching them (haven't seen all of them) and learning about the Hodag style of ultimate.

Congratulations on winning Nationals.

What this Sport Needs: Stats!

2008-05-10T22:22:00.002-04:00

This is Part 1 of things I think ultimate needs to become a more popular sport:

Today, I was on ESPN.com reading about Chris Paul's 61 point performance in high school. I was curious about what number pick he was in the NBA draft. The Hawks could have had him, but instead we picked Starvin' Marvin Williams. Then, I flipped through some Major League Baseball stats to see where Chipper Jones' bat put him relative to the rest of the MLB (he is still number 1 in batting average). After that, I missed Game 3 of Jazz-Lakers, so I checked out the box score to see how Deron Williams, Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, and other players did in their game yesterday. While reading those stats, I became curious about the playing time of NBA players. I looked that up. Allen Iverson led the NBA in this statistic during the season, with Joe Johnson right behind him.

Do you see where I am heading? We need statistics in our sport. We need a centralized place where we can go and look up different stats from the weekend's tournaments. Statistics are entertaining. They are helpful for improvement, scouting, and determining the best players in the game. They also help record history. For example, what is the most goals one player has caught in a game? In a tournament? In a season?

Last year, our assistant coach kept statistics to help our team. We can see who stood out in a tournament, and who did poorly. It was very helpful.

The kind of statistics I would like to see for ultimate would be: Points played (offense or defense), throwing turnovers, catching turnover, assists, scores, hockey assists, breaks, hammers, poach D, layout Ds, sky D, hand blocks, fouls. Also, I would want this on a point-by-point basis, so we could take the statistics and come up with a game flow and perhaps a recap. We need to come up with a standard statistics template for ALL TEAMS to use. Then, teams need to get a teammate (preferably a rookie) to fill out the stat sheet on the sidelines. Then, after every tournament, every team would turn in a stat sheet to a central website where they would imput the statistics, organize them, and then publish them. With all these statistics, we could come up with different ratios and percentages that reflect players' skills. Also, if we decide to keep statistics, then we should do player profiles as well, which I will talk about on another day.

The addition of statistics would be great for a number of reasons:

1. Prepare Teams to Play Other Teams - Currently, the main way we prepare for teams is to listen to how other teams describe them. We ask other teams about their good players, their strategy, what type of offense they run, and what type of defense they run, who to put our best defenders on, etc. Also, since our coach plays club ultimate, he usually tell us what players he has seen before and their levels of athleticism. However, there are a lot of teams out there that don't have any club players/coaches to help teams get prepared for other teams.

If the ultimate community had stats, we would know which players are their "play makers", handlers, cutters, dunces, jumpers, best defensive players, etc. This would definitely help out with strategy and getting your team prepared before the tournament. Also, the early points wouldn't be filled with mismatches and quick scores off of hucks.

2. To Show Dominant Players - Numbers never lie (unless they are recorded poorly). It would be neat to see the statistics for the dominant players and how they stack up against each other. We can only argue who is the best handler, who is the best receiver, who is the best defender, etc. Also, with these statistics, UPA could give out more awards other than MVP - such as best handler, best receiver, best handler defender, best deep defender, etc.

Also, you can do team awards too with this. Which teams had the most D's? Who has the best defense in the country? We don't know unless we have statistics.

3. Help People Improve their Own Game - There are a lot of different things that get lost while you are playing ultimate. Since there won't be a recap, stats recorded, or whatever, people REALLY only remember if you won or lost a game. However, what about that stupid huck you had that went out of bounds on that first point. Turnovers are easy to forget. We don't want to remember them.

If we had statistics, people would be able to see where their game needs improve. If they don't get any D's, they need to rethink the way they are playing defense. If they are not catching any goals, they need to rethink the way they have been cutting (not all cutters are goal scorers). If you have been dropping discs, you need to work on your focus and concentration. Statistics are very easy to interpret.

4. It will help encourage teams to play hard in every game. If there is a team title at stake, teams won't be content winning close games with lesser teams. This is pretty debatable though.

Things to Think About: Teams can play in tournaments that will fluff their statistics or simply play teams that aren't as good. Would Centex and Nationals' statistics be weighted differently than small tournaments with bum teams? Who would put all these statistics together? We could have a Regional Statistician, which would be responsible for submitting the statistics for each team in their Region. Some teams play in more tournaments than other teams, which would then give them a higher amount of statistics. But, we could do statistics based on tournaments or even games. D's per game or D's per tournament. Also, different teams play a different amount of games in a tournament.

A Brief Note on Sportsmanship

2008-05-02T18:07:00.007-04:00

At high levels, Ultimate is an extremely competitive endeavor. It's very difficult to be mindful of capital-S Sportsmanship during close games that significantly impact the rest of your season.

However, last Saturday, before the biggest game of either of our seasons-to-date, Jojah of UGA and Darkside of UNC-Chapel Hill met at midfield to share a moment of silence in memory of Eve Carson. Before the AC Regionals Semi-final match--a game that would give its loser a considerably more difficult road to Nationals--Jojah and Darkside transcended competition and reflected on the comraderie we share with our teammates and as an Ultimate community.

The game did not suffer for this reflective pause; both it and the game-to-go the following afternoon were extremely close and hard-fought 15-13 games, with no punches pulled between the competitors. But it was a game of respect--a game embodying "Spirit of the Game" in the highest sense of the term.

Eve passed away a couple of months ago. She was student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill, and she grew up in Athens within a few blocks of the UGA campus. Her absence is an unimaginable pain for those who knew her.

Eve would be proud that a game preceded by a silence in her memory would be one characterized by intensity, competition, and respect between teams of the two towns she influenced so greatly.

As I reflect, I realize it couldn't have been any other way. This realization is a testament to my teammates at Jojah, my bretheren at Darkside, and the AC Region as a whole, in which we can balance the highest competition with the understanding that fraternity is, ultimately, more important. Eve's brother Andrew plays for DUFF of Davidson, and no doubt the virtues he shares with her will further contribute to the strength of Sportsmanship in the AC, as well as Ultimate as a whole. I am proud to be an Ultimate player, I am proud to be in the Atlantic Coast Region, and I am proud to play for Jojah.

Amble

Thoughts on Cutting

2008-05-02T17:13:00.008-04:00

Cutting serves as one of Ultimate's most fundamental and important skills. With well-made cuts, you can win even if your team doesn't have dominant throws. A familiar refrain on the Jojah offense the last two years has been, "beat them with our legs." That said, here are a few cutting philosophies from frisbee players and elite athletes which I try to apply. I apologize for the Jojah-centrism of this article, but my lack of interaction with great cutters outside of UGA requires it.

"Cut Mean": Greg Swanson relayed this to me. He heard it in a Terrell Owens interview. Whatever your opinions on TO, the man makes a living cutting up some of the best defensive athletes in the world; we would do well to listen to anything he says. There are a lot of ways this idea is phrased. I use "cut downhill", Coach AJ Tiarsmith repeats "just get the disc", and I've heard a ton of others("beat him to the cone", "don't be denied", etc.). It seems to me to be the most basic advice on cutting: when you cut, just get open. Sometimes, we hold back just a little bit when we're running cuts; we're not a hundred percent sure that we're going to get open. TO tells us to BE a hundred percent sure. Swanson gets a look of such determination on his face when he's cutting that you know he's going to get open. It's a matter of having aggression and a mentally tough approach to the game, and it's a piece of advice that, despite its obviousness, many of us stand to learn from.

"Run Forever", aka "The Louis": Louis, the standout Jojah receiver, owes much of his unheralded cutting success to phenomenal (yet somehow underrated) athleticism and field presence. But he's able to maximize those abilities by simply never stopping. In this, a cut from Louis is never "shut down"; if a defender stops an in-cut, Louis turns it into a set-up for a deep cut. Every step Louis takes brings him closer to openness. In fact, the most consistently effective cut I've ever seen is also among the simplest: Louis runs deep, his defender commits to the deep throw, Louis cuts under, Louis gets the disc. It is effective because Lou turns the corner better and faster and more sharply than just about anybody, but it is unstoppable because the defender must overcommit to the deep (otherwise, easy goal). By the end of a point guarding Louis, it feels like riding a bull--his movement is so constant that keeping him shut down the whole time is simply impossible.

"Break the String": this comes from Jerry Rice. Rice was never the fastest or the most athletic receiver in the NFL, yet he's widely considered to be not just the best all-time at his position but also the greatest player at ANY position the league has ever seen. When asked how he gets open, Rice said that he imagines a string on his chest connecting him to his defender. To get open, he visualizes breaking the string through jukes, fakes, and hard route-running. This brings up an interesting point: one common link among elite athletes in team sports seems to be their ability to utilize visualization. These athletes see themselves accomplish something, then they do it. Their success indicates that they might be onto something; we should try to follow their lead.

"Beat Him with Your Shoulder" (aka, "The Great Name" philosophy): Ben Bain is the king of this concept. An undersized former Jojah receiver lacking in blazing speed, Bain is revered around the frisbee fields of Athens for his constant ability to get open on open-side in-cuts. I asked him about it once, and he said it's all about positioning--just find a way to get your outside shoulder in front of the inside of the defender. (So, if they're forcing flick, get your left shoulder around your defender's right side.) From this position, you've got the inside track. The thrower just needs to give you a good lead, and you'll get it every time, because the defender must now go THROUGH you to get the d.

That's what I've learned and try to apply from TO, Jerry Rice, Louis G., Ben Bain, and Swanie. Do any of y'all--especially other successful cutters--have tools or strategies YOU use to get open? Dusty, Noah, Paul, Frank, others? Please post them in the comments; insights from these guys has proven invaluable, and I need all the help I can get.

Amble

More Pictures from AC Regionals

2008-04-29T17:24:00.007-04:00

A UNC dad took these pictures this weekend. This guy really got some good shots. Check out his pictures of the tournament at: http://www.pbase.com/mgrome/acc_regional

This was before the first game with UNC. We had a moment of silence before the game to honor the life of Eve Carson, a UNC student from Athens, GA.

This picture is our little angry rookie named Allen Jarvis. I don't think he made the block, but it was a great attempt. Nice arm sleeve.This guy on the bottom of the pile looks pretty upset. It looks like he got lost on his way up. This was a goal caught by Peter Dempsey during his 3 Ds and 3 goals caught stretch.

This is Kurt Gibson skying me (legally/illegally?). He and I share the same jersey number. Notice his gloves.

Peter Dempsey's D

2008-04-29T11:59:00.006-04:00

Here's some pictures of Peter Dempsey doing his thing for Georgia against UNC. Thank you Chad Borer. Mike Gerics is in the highlight orange shirt in the background. Gerics is a weird dude.

Playing Sick

2008-04-26T19:19:00.002-04:00

Short post.

It doesn't matter how much medicine you take, if you are playing sick, you are pretty much useless after 30 seconds of running. Running down on a pull takes away most of your energy, breath, etc. I haven't been sick ALL YEAR LONG until this past Wednesday. Great timing body...

Anybody have suggestions on what to take for the common cold while playing ultimate ? I am loaded with Afrin, Zicam (the nose applicator thing), and Tylenol. Please hook me up with some suggestions...

Best Tournament Results

2008-04-23T11:35:00.002-04:00

I don't have much time to write today.

We had 234 voters select which tournament they thought was the best. Here are the results for the best tournament for 2008:

1. Centex - 93 votes
2. Trouble in Vegas - 81 votes
3. Southerns - 38 votes
4. Stanford Invite - 36 votes
5. CCC - 34 votes
6. Roll Call - 28 votes
and so on...

Centex
Why was it such a fun tournament? Centex is a preview of what Nationals will look like. At Nationals, there will be 16 teams. At Centex, there was 24. The smaller amount of elite teams at a tournament, the more fun. The teams that went to Centex had two days of worthy competition. The fields we play on awesome. Laying out on defense was a lot more fun compared to our dried up fields in Athens, GA. I remember having to pull out grass from my cleats multiple times in order to make cuts efficiently. For the past two years, Centex's highlight games have been blow outs. Fortunately this year, BC and UNC made it interesting with some pretty awesome layout D's. The dance off during the highlight game has become a fun event to watch as well. Other good things - the organization of the tournament, having a giant place to put the scores of the game, the amount of Nutella and bagels, the warm weather, the music (Radiohead In Rainbow's remix was a nice choice), the amazing place to get burritos in Texas (I believe it is called, "Freebird"), and the gear.

What can improve? Something that bothered me was the bathroom situation. I got nervous that I would miss a couple of points in the game because there were only two urinals and two commodes. Think about Port-o-Johns! Also, it would be cool to have a similar photographer booth like the one at Nationals. During the day, the photographers would take pictures and print them off in small "preview" shots. I think that would be a cool addition.

Dang, Just Missed the Size Bid

2008-04-21T23:38:00.004-04:00

AC Regionals will only see two teams advance to Nationals this year. Dang it! Thanks GCSU. Click here to read the article: http://www.upa.org/college/2008_wildcards

Here are my opinions:

1. The Metro East Region has 80 teams. Here is a list of the teams. The teams in bold are the teams I have seen in a tournament or heard of from other people. Teams in italics are teams that I have never heard of until I just read through them.

*1 - Maryland
*2 - Delaware
*3 - George Washington
4 - Salisbury
5T - Catholic
5T - Towson
7 - Georgetown
8 - American
9 - St Mary's
10 - Maryland-B
11T - George Washington-B
11T - Goucher
13T - Johns Hopkins
13T - Delaware-B
13T - Salisbury-B

*1 - Pennsylvania
*2 - Lehigh
3 - Swarthmore
4 - Franklin & Marshall
5 - Drexel
6 - Millersville
7 - Villanova
8 - Haverford
9 - Eastern
10 - Bloomsburg
11 - Pennsylvania-B
DNF - Drexel-B
East Stroudsburg did not attend

*1 - Princeton
*2 - Vassar
*3 - Hofstra
4 - College of New Jersey
5 - Rutgers
6 - Columbia
7T - NYU
7T - SUNY-Stony Brook
9 - Monclair State
10 - Rowan
11 - Rider
12 - Rutgers-B
DNF - Adelphi
DNF - Drew
DNF - Vassar-B

*1 - Carleton University
*2 - Cornell
*3 - Rensselaer Polytech
*4 - Queens
5T - St Lawrence
5T - SUNY-Buffalo
7T - RIT
7T - SUNY-Oneonta
9T - Colgate
9T - Skidmore
9T - SUNY-Albany
9T - Union
13T - Ithaca
13T - SUNY-Binghamton
13T - Cornell-B
13T - Syracuse
17T - SUNY-Geneseo
17T - Clarkson
17T - Rochester
17T - Bard
21 - Siena
Hamilton did not show up.

*1 - Pittsburgh
*2 - Edinboro
*3 - Bucknell
*4 - Penn State
5T - Carnegie-Mellon
5T - Dickinson
7T - Indiana (Pennsylvania)
7T - Shippensburg
9T - Allegheny
9T - Gettysburg
9T - Pittsburgh-B
9T - Pittsburgh-Johnstown
13T - Bucknell-B
13T - Carnegie-Mellon-B
13T - Grove City
13T - Messiah
13T - Penn State-B

Wow. That is a lot of teams. Who knew Carnegie Mellon and Salisbury had B teams? Why are we giving this region TWO BIDS? Someone please explain it to me. I'm pulling for Rensselaer Polytech in their Regional tournament.

2. South Region. I am excited to see another Texas v. North Texas game, but I think only the winner should advance to Natties. Sorry South. Also, I am pulling for Truman State to upset everyone.

3. Alternative to Size Bids - I think the current system is only decent. I would like to see the average RRI of the region to be the factor for "elite bids" rather than "size bids". Click Here for RRI information. The UPA is just trying to award the Region that sends the most money to their office.

4. My solution - Disclaimor: I don't know if this is possible. I am simply going on the assumptions that Trouble in Vegas and Mardi Gras brackets were fair for all the teams that played and that every pool had a chance to win it all.

I would like to see the Sectionals tournaments deleted. I know Sectionals helps to decide what the seedings are at Regionals, but we should already have enough information about teams before Regionals to figure out the seedings. If we can have 80 team tournaments in Vegas and at Mardi Gras, we can definitely combine the Sectionals to make big Regionals tournaments around the country. The amount of bids per region would depend on the RRI of the teams.

My plan would encourage teams to play in a couple of tournaments with teams from their region as well as National tournaments. The weaker regions couldn't get more than 1 bid unless they started sending their better/best teams to competitive tournaments (and won some games).

What do you think?

The Importance of Playing Summer League Ultimate

2008-04-18T10:07:00.003-04:00

Playing college ultimate is something I showed interest in doing before I got to college, but like many others that end up playing, I didn't play in high school, and therefore had almost zero accessory ultimate skills: I could run...woohoo. Most freshmen that stick out are the ones who get their throws down quickly and also have athletic ability to go with it. I was not one of those guys, and the irony in my ultimate experience lies in the fact that I mastered my flick way before my backhand. It took me the better part of a year and a half to get solid throws down, and it was because I wanted to get better and make in impact in future years. I was also tired of working hard in practice and only playing a few points a game in tournaments, especially when I saw us in situations where I knew I could help right the ship and fix whatever offensive problems we were having at the current time during tournaments.

A good idea, especially for younger guys (but also for older guys, too) is playing summer league ultimate wherever you're going to be this summer. In order to get to where I am now offensively, I had to keep practicing and actually focus on areas to work on when I was out playing. For example, my backhand huck used to be very inconsistent when I had a tough mark because I got afraid I would get handblocked since the come-through motion was way too slow. Therefore, I worked on getting the disc out faster when we warmed up for summer league games, and made sure I took a few deep shots during the games when they were open. It also helped that one of the guys I play college ultimate with was on my summer league team, and he loved for me to make it rain, even into triple coverage, which I hope I didn't do more than once.

Setting goals for yourself is one way to get better. My goal(s) this summer: lose the beer gut that now tags along under my jersey when I play and get better on defense. I really need to get better on defense, mostly reading the disc and not getting caught out of position when my guy busts deep. That never results in anything but me getting embarrassed (in a tournament) or lectured (during practice). Everyone has flaws in their game, however, and it's important to recognize what you're good at and what you're not so good at. Highlighting those areas will allow you to play within yourself and not overextend beyond your abilities. Decision making plays a huge role in improving your game. Summer league ultimate is a chance to play with a completely different group of people (or the same group of people if you sign up with a team) and can honestly make you exponentially better for the fall and subsequently spring seasons. It also lets you extend yourself a little bit further than your comfort zone and provides an environment in which you can test out parts of your game you aren't fully confident about.

Why summer league is helpful:

1. you stay in shape
2. you don't lose your throws by not playing over the summer
3. you can work on areas you need to improve on
4. there's no real penalty for making risky decisions
5. you can learn from the more experienced players on your team

So if you're going to be in one place for the entire summer, look into signing up in one of the leagues near you. This summer, I'll actually be in Atlanta, so I plan on playing in the AFDC leagues. I almost guarantee you that you will come out a better player. Set some goals for yourself and try to reach them. You'll be very happy when you do.

Pickup Ultimate around Campus

2008-04-18T09:40:00.003-04:00

Playing pickup ultimate around campus is always fun. When I say pick up ultimate, I am talking about playing ultimate with people who can't throw flicks, who think you can take three leaps after catching the disc, and don't know anything about spacing. I enjoy being able to control the game just by walking down the field. I no longer run whenever I play pick up. Well, only when there is a 50-50 disc.

I love the funny things that always happen when playing ultimate with people who don't play a lot. I love it when someone throws it to a girl who hasn't played a lot. She usually bends over hugging the disc, and all the guys on her team crowd her because they don't think she can throw far. I remember playing one time with a girl from the girls ultimate club team at UGA, and all the guys on her team swarmed her after she caught the disc. That made me laugh. She hucked the disc as far as she could (out the back of the end zone) to prove that she can throw better than most of the guys.

One thing makes me laugh every time I play: Why do people yell "Ultimate" before they pull? Who started that? People think this is a universal rule. I have played pickup games with Christian organizations, Honors students, outdoorsy people, and guys in fraternities. All of them think it is necessary to yell this out before they pull. Oh well, I don't correct them.

Thanks for reading. Fee free to contribute funny pick up stories/rules/etc.

AC Regionals Poll

2008-04-17T09:21:00.005-04:00

According to the polls for, "Which two teams will advance to Nationals from the AC Regionals," we will have Florida and UNC's Darkside representing the AC Regionals. I know this poll might be inaccurate simply because the ultimate community does not know who got the "Size Bid". We will not know who got this bid until this weekend due to a lot of teams not turning in their rosters on time.

We had 265 people vote. Here are the teams you thought would advance to the next round:

1. Florida - 227 votes - 85%
2. UNC - 106 votes - 40%
3. Georgia - 74 votes - 27%
4. NC State - 44 votes - 16%
5. UNC-W - 32 votes - 12%
6. Duke - not even in the Regionals tournament.
7. JMU
8. UCF

I know these rankings are pure speculation and just for fun, but it gives me something to write about. Good luck to every team that is training for this tournament. I hope it is as good as it is hyped to be.

10 Ultimate Celebrations That Take It Too Far

2008-04-16T11:14:00.009-04:00

I'm angry. If you've ever seen ultimate played competitively, you know that people often celebrate after scoring. Sometimes these celebrations take it way too far, and frankly, it's just annoying. All all of us that aren't going nuts after catching an easy push pass in the end zone will agree that it's time these guys got called out.

The 10 Worst Ultimate Celebrations:

10. The No-Look Toss: Catching a score while barely getting a foot in bounds and then throwing it over your back with the hand you caught it with toward the end zone right after you catch it.

Why it's bad: Do it too quickly, it might be a turnover. Do it too late, and you may have missed the chance to celebrate. Do it at all and I'll punch you.

9. The Clap Spike: Catching a wide open score may seem like the sweetest thing in the world, but for no reason should you ever clap spike.

Why it's bad: It actually is a turnover in the 11th edition rules, and your celebration is clearly not creative enough to warrant any sort of respect. You're basically pushing the disc to the ground with two hands. In fact, it's probably the same as dropping it with two hands. Either way, everyone else on the field still dreams of strangling you in your sleep.

8. The Dance: Everyone's seen the guy who does the prime-time leg kick when he gets a wide open huck that just floats and floats into the end zone and he just runs with it until it's good for a score. More often that not, this idiot usually follows that move up with the Heisman pose.

Why it's bad: Who is this guy kidding? I'm waiting for the day that someone two-steps into the end zone. He might challenge this guy for the "Biggest Moron to Ever Play Ultimate Award. " If a guy does this against your team, tackle him on the ensuing pull. Then do the Heisman pose.

7. The Inverted Skip: After catching a score, the person who does this move looks like an idiot by lining up and then skipping the disc as hard as he can while it's inverted.

Why it's bad: There's not really a lot of wrong involved with this celebration, but the reason it's so bad is because of how purely lame it is in the first place. Just give the disc to the guy who's pulling it, unless you're the guy that always pulls. Skipping the disc makes you look like an idiot because of how unoriginal you are. It's like stealing jokes that still aren't that funny, and that puts you on the same level as guys like Dane Cook. Dane Cook.

Dane Cook.

6. The Callahan Over-Celebration: Nothing is more rewarding than catching a Callahan against a team. Nothing ruins it more than celebrating like you just won the presidency because everyone hates the president.

Why it's bad: I respect the guy that makes a huge play and gets pumped for achieving something most people never do in the game of ultimate. One of the guys on my team actually thought he caught one this weekend and started running around (which was hilarious by the way and something that will not be forgotten because of how hilarious the timing was), arms fully out like he was doing the Leonardo DiCaprio "I'm the king of the world" pose from Titanic. He didn't look bad until someone called travel. He was 10 yards out of the end-zone.

5. The Heave: Catching the disc for a score is awesome, but is it really necessary to throw the disc up as high as you can in the air? This guy obviously has something on his agenda that no one else in the world knows about.

Why it's bad: Everyone looks at this guy with a very confused look. Launching the disc up in the air is just bad news, because it's going to get tacoed when it lands straight down . When it's your disc, you get even more angry because the guy who throws it just watches to see how high up it goes in the air. Drop kick this guy while he's watching and you've done your job well.

4. The Late Celebration: Nothing makes me laugh more than the guy who gets protected by the new rule change. He catches the disc on the line, sets a pivot foot, throws, and then gets d-ed in the end zone and then takes a step forward and says he was already in. I absolutely hate that guy.

Why it's bad: Very few things are more enraging than a guy who sets a pivot foot (which basically means he acknowledges that he's not in) gets his throw d'ed, and then claims he's in. Everyone usually gets in an argument with this guy. For the record, nothing says "I'm an idiot" more than the 30-second delay in which this guy tries to do some kind of mathematical explanation as to how the angle didn't look right or something was wrong with the placement of the cones and then tries convince you that he should have actually called himself in. The only thing worse, of course, is the manner in which this guy celebrates: a loud yell followed by some jumping around while his teammates stand around confused by his actions. This guy is probably the guy who fingers cups in beer pong and says it's legit. Nobody wants to be this guy's partner at parties.

3. The Kick: Here's an idea... let's do something no one should ever do: kick the disc after a score.

Why it's bad: Unless you're going for a foot block, I see no reason to kick the disc. What is tempting you to attempt a field goal through the back cones? Seriously, recreating the Doug Flutie drop kick is so two years ago. Everyone wants to see this guy pull a Bill Gramatica and tear his ACL after nailing a 12 yarder through the back end-zone cones with absolutely no crossbar for the height measurement. This guy got cut from his middle school football team. He's always the "older gentleman with a rough past" in your summer league ultimate games.

2. The Punch: This move might be one of the less frequented celebrations in ultimate, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the most hated. What happens here: catching the disc in front of your opponent, then holding it straight up to his face and punching it out of your hand right past him.

Why it's bad: No move says "if I do this you should probably get in a fight with me" more than this one. After seeing this done, there was almost a "benches clearing brawl." And you'll never guess who did it (if you really want to know, you can ask)...just know it's been done, and yes it actually happened in a game in NC Sectionals my freshman year. That's one of those things that you never forget on an ultimate field, and might be the reason for this post. This guy clearly needs some kind of release to bring him back to reality because he clearly has no idea how bad he looks. Any guy who does "the punch" is the serious version of the "My New Haircut" guy, except he's not as jacked and actually showers in Jager bombs. Kudos to you, "brosky."

1. The Spike: Everyone knows spiking the disc is the most hated celebration in all of ultimate, so let's examine this further.

Why it's SO bad: Spiking the disc might be the action that demonstrates the least amount of respect for the game of ultimate. It's not a football, so just stop. I always joke about people spiking the disc and yell "spike it, spike it" when they score on a long point. In fact, I almost expect it when I play certain teams. When a guy spikes the disc, I just want someone to clothesline him or table-top him afterward. Take comfort in knowing that if you ever get to score the disc when he misses a layout and is lying there on the ground, you have a free shot to spike it in his nuts. You owe him one. Maybe two.

Honorable Mention:

The Swipe: Sky your opponent and get him on the way down with the disc. That's just embarrassing and if you got skyed, you probably deserved it if you got beat that badly.

Boxing Out

2008-04-16T10:10:00.004-04:00

I've always loved skies in frisbee. There's nothing as exciting as watching two guys with an equal shot at a disc go up high for it, and seeing one come down with it. When you make a sweet sky, a wave of adrenaline instantly floods your body. And when you're on the receiving end of a sky, it's miserable--you want to get it back with every fiber of your being.

The first year I was on the Georgia team we made Nationals ('05-'06), and the time between exams and Natties challenged this exaltation of the sky. Over those three weeks, I probably spent a total of around ten hours playing 500 with Dylan Tunnell, Noah Eden, and Peter Dempsey. Two guys would line up at one side of the field, two guys on the other, and one side would toss it up high and long for one-on-one skying. At first I tried my normal "strategy" for catching it deep--read the disc and try to get it at my highest point, ignoring my opponents. The problem was that the three guys I was playing with were all noticably more athletic, taller, faster, and could jump higher than me. Soon, I realized that I HAD to take into account where they were; otherwise I might as well just drink a Coke and watch them.

So, despite the undeniable electricity of skies, I now have the opinion that skying is an overrated skill to have (especially on offense). More impactful (to me) is the ability to BOX OUT--to put yourself in between the defender and the frisbee. When a deep shot is put to me now, when I'm one-on-one with a defender, I have a very specific post-up routine:

1. Find the disc and take several sprinting steps to where I think it's going to land.
2. Find the defender and put myself between where he is and where the disc is headed.
3. Body--slow down my pace to long strides so that I'm still able to catch the disc but that now, if the defender wants to d it, he has to run through me. When the defender gets closer, I change to shorter, choppy steps to help keep balance, letting the defender bump against my back. If he tries to go around, I shuffle over to keep myself between him and the frisbee. It's best to keep your back to him when you seek this contest, because you can't use your hands to foul from that position.
4. Make a play on the disc as late as possible, so your defender has the lowest chance to also have a play.

Often, this strategy results in catching the huck around chest level--the defender loses his footing trying to get around/through you, and is therefore in no position to make any play. That has replaced skying as a play that jacks me up when I make it. It doesn't look as cool, so you might want to do a little dance to make up for that.

Sometimes, your defender will foul you by trying to go through you, then lose his footing, and then you catch the disc anyway. That's pretty tight, too--to call foul as a receiver and catch it anyway. Chants of "and one" ensue.

In general, if you get a good initial read on the disc, you will either get an uncontested foul or you will have a vastly better play on the disc than your defender. Ultimately, concentrating on boxing out seems to utilize the receiver's initial positioning advantage better than just trying to out-jump somebody.

Amble

Cleats

2008-04-15T16:11:00.006-04:00

The first two years of my ultimate career (began as a Freshman in college), I wore cheap cleats. Now, I wear awesome cleats.

1. Here is a link to my first cleats: click here. Adidas men's bracara iv.
Pros: They cost $25 bucks. You can find them at most athletic shops.
Cons: They hurt your feet, you can't cut well because the spikes are very defined (so you slide around on the field), the shoe is made of plastic, they get wet quickly, everyone has them... Pretty much everything - you can read about my experience.
Experience: You can read their description of the shoe, which makes the shoe sound like it has something to offer your feet. Well, it is a lie. Adidas calls them the Men's Bracara IV TRX FG. I call them crap. These things killed my feet. During tournaments, my feet would be sore by the end of Saturday; but when I put them on my feet on Sunday and warm up, my feet screamed at me. Every time I change directions, I felt like I was walking on glass. Playing defense was painful. I had three pairs of these. I bought them twice on purpose, and once because I forgot cleats to a tournament (rookie mistake). It's funny because I see people wearing these cleats all the time because they forgot to bring their cleats to a tournament.

2. Now, I am wearing the Nike Speed TDs: click here. (go to Nike Speed TDs)
Pros: You can customize the colors and logos, they provide great traction on the field, they look cool, they are comfortable to wear. As a defensive player, I enjoy wearing these because the spikes on the bottom of the shoe are structured so I can cut with the person I am guarding. You can jump at least 2'' higher. They cost around $80 if you don't Nike ID them, and $100 if you do Nike ID them.
Cons: People with skinny legs look like they have REALLY skinny legs. It is a high top shoe, which means it weighs more. The exterior leather detiorates quickly. If you buy them at a store, they come in weird colors rather than than just black and white.
My Experience: The leather starts to detiorate pretty quickly.Go to the cleats and check out the Nike Speed TDs. I "nike id'ed" my cleats, and they are awesome. I put a bulldog on the tongue of the shoe just to show people how passionate I am for the Bulldawgs. I am seeing more and more of these. Also, I put my name on them. I have a dream of laying out past someone and them reading the name on my shoes. What sucks though is that Nike messed up my shoes so my name is unreadable because it is in black text on a black background. These shoes are great. I have also heard the Super Speed TDs are good too.

Here are some additional cleats that I have never worn, but are still awesome:
1. Adidas Copa Mundial - This shoe costs about $90.
Pros:I have always wanted to wear a pair of these, but never had them in a store when I was cleat shopping (cleats in Athens, GA are hard to come by). These low-top shoes are comfortable thanks to kangaroos. These babies are also very durable. I had a friend wear the same pair for 3 years in a row.
Cons: They are bad because: they don't provide enough ankle support, the in soles wear out quickly, and the shoes tend to be very narrow.

2. GAIA Vapors - click here - These shoes cost $75.
Pros: They are made for ultimate frisbee, which means they were meant for cutting in different directions. They reinforce the toes, which usually sustain a lot of pressure whenever you cut in different directions. The base of these shoes are beneficial to people who are cutting.
Cons: The cleats are too close to the middle of the shoe, they need to be towards the edge of the shoe.

3. Nike Total 90 Laser - click here - These shoes cost $180.
Pros: You bought the most expensive cleat, they help keep your feet dry, they are super light, they are great for cutting.
Cons: Getting punched in the nose, people stealing your cleats, someone on the other team saying "I got Richie Rich".

4. Kelme Turf Shoe - click here - These shoes cost $85.
People might be playing in these if droughts continue in Atlanta. haha. You can read about them on their website.

Here are some other cleat articles:
AJ's Blog
RSD's Cleat Discussion

Sectionals Notes

2008-04-14T13:47:00.005-04:00

1. North Texas UNTill over Texas TUFF. These teams destroyed the teams in their Saturday pools. In fact, both UNT and UT blanked two teams each. When these teams met in the finals though, North Texas poured it on the Sectional rival. This was a big chance for Texas to prove themselves as a powerhouse and fell short. Congratulations to both teams for advancing to the next round. This from Rec Sports Disc poster MC:

"All kidding aside, the UNT team was very good. Every player on that
team has improved immensely from last year and they play solid team
ultimate. I haven't seen a team this fast and tall in quite a while.
Almost the entire team plays very spirited and with class. I'd say
there is only one glaring exception to that rule, but that's for
another discussion I guess.

KRich played well and so did his brother, Drich. KRich has become a
much more complete player who can handle more and still be a very
legitimate deep threat. Drich has a nasty high release backhand break
and his handles are smooth. Jake has stepped up as well. We all knew
he was athletic, but this weekend he showed that he can be consistent
with the disc and can run with some of the fastest players on the
field.

As a whole, I think UNT played out of their minds in the finals. The
semis game they played was much sloppier with a lot more turns. Much
credit is due to them for preparing well for the finals and bringing
it. Texas just couldn't managed to get over the hump. They were
plagued by drops, turfs and a hamstrung offense that refused to huck
it. Franchise played well and belted out some amazing upwind backhand
hucks at the beginning of the game, but we never saw them again for
some reason. Needless to say, it was an entertaining game, and I
think both these teams will be a force at Regionals. "

2. UNC - Wilmington's Seamen over NC State's Wolfpack. Congratulations to UNC-W for their second win over the NC State this season. UNC-W has established themselves as a major contender this season. I am excited to seeing them play in a couple of weeks at AC Regionals.

3. Santa Cruz's Slugs over Stanford's Bloodthirsty in the finals. Stanford did not follow my Sectionals prediction, and ended up beatng Los Positas for 2nd place.

4. Colorado having trouble against Colorado State. After blanking three teams this weekend (which is a major feat in itself), Colorado had trouble against its in state rival Colorado State in the Sectionals final game. Although Colorado escaped 15 - 13, this is not a promising game for last year's Nationals Runner-Up team. Colorado needs to take some time off and figure out how to get all of their "star players" back in the swing of things.

5. UNC Darkside dominates. No need to say, "I told you so." It is hard to doubt UNC after their performance this weekend. Big wins over NC State and UNC Wilmington proved that UNC is a clear favorite for the AC Regionals tournament.

Carolina Open Sectionals
April 12	North Carolina-Greensboro	17-2
April 12	Elon	13-7
April 12	North Carolina State	15-4
April 13	North Carolina-Wilmington	15-6

This from RSD poster CrazyChris:

"darkside has found a way to play at their
best at regionals in the past few years, and with a strong group of
seniors this year i dont think there is any reason for this to change
this season. darkside played well this weekend despite the absence of
super freshmen noah saul and won most of their games with a wide open
roster. word through the grapevine is matthew thomas has a bad hand
injury and may not play at regionals; only time will tell if he can
sack up and play through the pain at regionals."

NC Sectionals

2008-04-14T11:12:00.009-04:00

Teams Advancing to AC Regionals from NC Open Sectionals (in order of finish):

1. North Carolina (3)
2. UNC Wilmington (1)
3. NC State (2)
4. Davidson (4)

So...let's start at the top:

1. North Carolina

Results this weekend:

April 12	North Carolina-Greensboro	17-2
April 12	Elon	13-7
April 12	North Carolina State	15-4
April 13	North Carolina-Wilmington	15-6

What makes them a strong team: Very few turnovers on offense: they make you earn d's and will not give you the disc often, experienced lines of veterans on both sides, and some tough man defense that can get in your head if you're not running full speed on offense.

I didn't get to see UNC play much over this weekend, but it looks like they are going into AC Regionals with a ton of confidence, especially considering their Centex results. They pretty much had their way with everyone throughout the entire two days and might have a shot to sneak in the door and earn a Nationals bid.

2. UNC Wilmington

Results this weekend:

April 12	Appalachian State	17-6
April 12	Wake Forest	17-2
April 12	Davidson	15-11
April 13	North Carolina	6-15
April 13	North Carolina State	13-12

What makes them a strong team: Experienced handling from guys like Rusty and cutters who keep the offensive timing very balanced...they can crack a zone relatively easily if there's not enough wind and love to shatter the marks and run it down the break side for scores. They also commit very few mistakes on the goal line and take deep shots on mismatches on Condor.

What to look for: Hard loop cuts from the front and middle of the stack that start force side and then go break side to start their offensive flow. They love handler cuts and using the front guys in the stack. End zone offense had a zipper coming out of timeouts...they ran the same play multiple times on the goal line, where [in a vert stack with 5 guys] the first guy goes either break/force side, the second guy does his opposite cut, and the third guy comes straight to the disc for an easy score. THEY WILL RUN THAT IF GIVEN THE CHANCE, and it's usually Adam Pflaumer making the cut from the 3-spot. Did I mention hold the force? They will have their way with guys who put on weak/lazy marks.

Things to be weary of: These guys are playing like there's no tomorrow, which is fine because I respect that kind of intensity, but sometimes it went too far.

Examples:

On the first point, I got into an argument with one of their guys (he wears a Dallas Cowboys hat) who clearly used his elbows to push off and create space on several cuts, one of which he got the disc on. When I called a foul in the end zone after he drove both elbows into my chest, nearly knocking me down, and then made a break side cut, he flipped out and literally lost his mind (keep in mind I didn't call it the first few times he did it). I explained what he was doing and told him not to put his elbows into me anymore because I would keep calling it and he told me to go f myself and kept his bitching going.

After getting a d on a very windy day, the disc was rolling and one of our guys knocked it down. Because of the wind, it hopped when he hit it. What ensued was a 5 minute discussion about how they thought it was a turnover because they claimed he picked it up and dropped it, even though they were up by like 5 or 6 at the time. But, in order to maintain their stellar reputation as nice guys, they finally let it go once we assured them that nothing of the sort happened. One of the guys walked away saying, "I hope you can live with yourselves after that call." This guy should split a hooker with the above Dallas Cowboys guy.

On the whole, however, these incidents were pretty isolated and didn't affect the over game play. Playing these guys is always a challenge but something I enjoy because the game will always be intense and they will not play to your level, so you have to bring your A-game.

3. NC State

Results this weekend:

April 12	Warren Wilson	17-7
April 12	East Carolina	11-9
April 12	North Carolina	4-15
April 13	Duke	15-11
April 13	Davidson	15-9
April 13	North Carolina-Wilmington	12-13

What makes them a strong team: First and foremost, they got their UPA forms in on time. These guys are athletic and fast on all accounts, especially their main O-line handler and a few of their other cutters. They keep the disc moving fast and aren't afraid to put it deep when their guys have a step or two on defenders. We played them at Easterns and ran with them, but there was this one guy who made one of the most incredible throws I've ever seen in an actual ultimate game: not only did he break one of our best marks (forcing flick on right handers), he spun around, make a full pivot and put a crossfield backhand huck maybe 50 yards straight into his cutter's hands into the wind. It was dirty as hell.

What to look out for: Against tougher teams they tend to turn the disc over a bit more and their defense is solid but strong offenses should be able to work right through their pressure, as evident by UNC rolling them 15-4.

4. Davidson

Results this Weekend:

April 12	North Carolina State-B	13-0
April 12	Duke-B	13-2
April 12	Duke	13-6
April 12	North Carolina-Wilmington	11-15
April 12	Elon	15-9
April 13	North Carolina State	9-15
April 13	Duke	15-11

What makes them a strong team: Davidson plays a tough zone defense (I hate trying to handle when they throw their cup), and I would advise teams playing them to pray for no wind. One of their greatest strengths has to be their offensive patience. They will take a hundred throws to work it down the field if that's what it takes and they rarely hand the disc over on a freebie. They were apparently down 3-1 on Elon this weekend and threw zone and rattled off 7 straight points...in a moderate wind. Imagine what their zone will do to teams when the wind is heavy. On offense, I watched them make about 60 throws v. Elon's zone and then make a rare turnover on the goal line when an Elon defender made a sick bid on one of their throws. On the first point of AC Regionals last year, we ran zone and they had like 82 throws in what was a 6-minute point. There were no turnovers and they led 1-0 after the first point. The lesson here: they will wear you down and then score to ice the cake.

What to look for: These guys play hard but have great SOTG. Playing them is fun because they are a tough team to beat when you're not playing your best, especially when its windy. Craig Stewart will lead the team well and probably make you pay if you throw it deep on their zone. Oh, and if he turns you around with one of his fakes, you won't be the first. I think Davidson will definitely surprise some people.

GA/SC Sectional

2008-04-13T21:56:00.007-04:00

Moving on from GA/SC Sectionals are Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Emory. The only upset this weekend was South Carolina beating Clemson. Here are some notable things from this weekend:

1. The fields at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA are NIIICE. The university added some more fields to their intramural complex. Although they were not as plush as the field on Centex, I still enjoyed laying out on them. It poured for a solid 45 minutes and the fields drained perfectly in a matter of minutes. Whoever made it to the Atlantic Coast Regionals tournament is in for a treat.

2. Georgia Tech is a competitor. Today, we beat Georgia Tech 14 to 13 on double game point. Defense was the story of the game for both teams. Both teams got at least 5 breaks on the other team's offense. Georgia Tech's Will Moore took over the game for Georgia Tech, eluding the people guarding him by going upline, throwing huge break throws, and getting in the head of Georgia's defense. However, Georgia's defensive victory proves that this team has a lot of character.

3. Georgia needs to get healthy. Georgia's offense had 5 out of their 7 starters either injured or sick: Greg Swanson (shoulder), Amble Johnson (leg?), Charlie Herrig (Hamstring), Louis Gutchenritter (sick), and Matt Ashe (sick). With so many veterans hurt this year, our rookies have stepped up, especially on offense with Grant Fiddyment and Matt Bailey. Will McDonough, Match Diesel favorite Georgia player, could not attend this weekend's tournament.

4. All finals should have observers, even Sectional finals. There were some calls that both teams thought should go their way, so we ended up having to re-do the plays. I am sure there will be observers for the AC Regionals tournament.

Congratulations to all the teams that made it to the Regionals tournament. Also, I didn't feel like it was necessary to write about any specific games in our Sectionals because it was not very exciting. If you feel inclined to write something, leave it as a comment and I'll post it. I am excited about participating in the best Regionals tournament in the country.

Note: the Poll for who will advance to AC Regionals showed Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and KSU advancing. Emory, way to prove the voters wrong.

Exciting Matchups this Weekend

2008-04-11T12:21:00.010-04:00

Here are the exciting games to watch this weekend:

Bay Area Open Sectionals

Stanford v. Las Positas - I don't know anything about Las Positas except for their exceptional victories this season. They only played in two tournament (according to UPA's Score Reporter). They have beaten Central Florida, Brown, Oregon, Colorado, California, UNC Wilmington, and Arizona. They played very well at Stanford, breaking seed to play in the Champion's Bracket on Sunday. Can anyone comment on Las Positas? Their star players? Who to watch for? Do teams just not give them any respect until they're losing at half?

Stanford is another story. Stanford is athletic. To beat Stanford, you have to get in their face and be physical on defense. Look for their excellent cutters in speed demon Steve Scardato and Ben Keningsburg this weekend. Also, look for their star player, Mark Sherwood, who is simply one of the best in the nation right now. His speed, jumps, and shut-down defense is fun to watch. Stanford will have to fight hard for this victory.

My prediction: Las Positas over Stanford 15 - 12.

Big Sky Open Sectionals

They only have four teams! This is ridiculous. The teams from Utah and Montana have to drive ALL THE WAY to Idaho for a tournament to play three other teams. I hope all of them the best. Utah, BYU, Montana, and Montana State.

My prediction: Utah with the SWEEP!

Blue Ridge Open Sectionals

James Madison v. William & Mary
JMU, the fourth team in AC Regionals last year, returns a strong and tall team. I remember last year looking at their line and thinking, every person on that line is at least 6' tall. Look for their stud #87 Chris Barker to make long distance calls to people on the other side of the field via his flick.

Look for William & Mary's explosive players Alan Kolick and Arthur DeAnna. They can beat anybody with their sheer athleticism. I was skied by Arthur DeAnna, he helped me up after I fell down. It was nice of him. Will Spangler, their primary handler, has a couple of years of experience under his belt. I hope there are a lot of 50 -50 discs in this game to make it REALLY interesting.

My prediction: JMU over W&M 15 - 9

Carolina Open Sectionals

UNC v. NC State
This game will happen during the semifinals in this tournament. I love watching both of these teams play. I hope both of these teams don't wear black because that would be confusing for them. Sorry. UNC's defense is their biggest weapon. I wish I could watch this tournament, but I will have a friend at the tournament who is going to write about the different games he sees (He plays for Wake Forest).

NC State already has the advantage in this game, taking both of their previous matches easily with the scores 12 - 7 and 15 - 6. NC State has an arsenal of players which I know nothing about. We played them in Athens and ended up beating them, but I think some of their players went home. Anyway, this will be the match of the day across the nation.

My prediction: UNC over NC State 15 -13

GA/SC Sectionals

Georgia v. Georgia Tech
I don't want to talk about this game because I am way to biased. Georgia Tech is a worthy opponent and have great players in Will Moore and Russell Snow. Look for Will Moore's speed up the line and flick hucks to his tall receivers. On defense, just take notes on Russell Snow. If a receiver slows down, little Russell will fly past them and catch the disc in his mouth. He really is a fun player to watch. They had a great showing at Centex.

On Georgia, we have a lot of injuries. Look for Peter Dempsey and Ben Morrissee on defense. Both of these players are great in the air, love to crash the deep throws, and love to lay out. On offense, watch for Tom Morris and Louis Louis Gutschenritter as receivers. Matt Ashe will be our primary handler, who has plenty of experience. It really comes down to this - can Georgia remained focused throughout the entire weekend?

My prediction: Jojah over Tech 15 - 12

So Cal Sectionals

Claremont v. California - Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara had the twin towers last year. Claremont has upset a couple of teams this year. The only reason I am putting this game in this article is because of Santa Barbara's history in greatness and Claremont's win over UNC and Pittsburg. Claremont has already beaten Santa Barbara this year! Look for Santa Barabara's tall kid to destroy kid's this weekend.

My prediction: Claremont over Santa Barabara 15 - 8

Texas Sectionals

Texas v. North Texas
This is the only game worth mentioning here. I think Texas has a great opportunity to make a statement about their program with this game. If both of these teams win out, like they should, they will meet in the finals on Sunday. Look for Stephen Presely to take over this game.

My Prediction: Texas over North Texas 15 - 8

Good luck to all teams this weekend. A lot of seasons will be ended this weekend, which sucks, but use that as some motivation gosh dang it. If you want to post anything for this website, email me or comment with your email address.

Jersey Numbers

2008-04-10T14:33:00.007-04:00

I have never understood why people select different jersey numbers. I was always # 10 because the kid before me chose #9. In middle school, I remember someone picking #10 before me, so I picked the next available number #20. Why? Because it was the next number available.

I never wanted to be #23 or #1 because the people that wore those numbers tried too hard to be flashy, which did not match my game type. Why was #1 always the coaches son? Why did the coaches son never pass the ball to anyone else? Well, while picking numbers this year, a large debate stirred concerning which numbers are good/bad and how people get their numbers. One guy on our team has changed numbers every year because he has the same belief that I had. Some people on our team thought he was dumb for doing it. I thought it was funny.

One rookie asked the team on our listserv, "What is involved in a good jersey number exactly?"

The first response was, "The absence of bad numbers." Duhhh.

The second response was, "symmetry, a back story, number aesthetic , being good at frisbee (the last one is the most important)." This response started to shed more light on things. Unless you have the number 69 or 00, you can make any number good as long as you play well on the field. That's what I take from this.

The third response was the best by far. The first email said, "Allow me to elaborate... Bad numbers:
1,4,6,9
12,14-16,18,19
26,28
30,35-39
41-43,46,48
51-54, 56-59
60-69
70-76, 78 (unless a major baller), 79
82, 86, 87,
91-94". That didn't explain much, there was no rhyme or reason behind these bad numbers (except 69).

In the second email he sent out, he explained how people go about picking numbers. He said:

"Option A) Pick the best player in your sport that plays your position, take his number.
Example: DeAngelo Hall is a corner back, when he was growing up Deion Sanders was the best corner back and wore #21. Thus, D-Hall wears #21.

Option B) Figure out who your favorite player in your sport is, take his number, regardless of his position in relation to yours
Example: Every 5'9" point guard who wears #23 because Jordan did

Option C) Figure out who your favorite player in any sport is, take his number
Example: Colin loves Ray Lewis so he wears #52 (which is still a stupid number)

Option D) Figure out what kind of player you think you are, pick a number of a prominent player with similar skills:
Example I: If you fancy yourself the quarterback of the team, pick #13 like Joe Montana
Example II: If you're a mean son-of-a-bitch that can lock down any player on D, take #91 like Dennis Rodman
Example III: If you are fat, take any number between 50 and 79 because thats what offensive linemen and fat kids who only fit in the XXL youth basketball jerseys wear

Option E) Figure out what number your dad, brother, grandfather, etc wore when he played youth sports; continue the lineage.

Option E) Take your lucky number, or a number with personal significance.

Option F) If you still haven't found a number do NOT take 00, 1, or 69
Example: 00 is for retards and looks like boobs, #1 is for over-rated ball-hogs, and wearing 69 curses you to a lifetime of 69'ing dudes."

For a better source on how to choose your next number or to realize what your number means, you should visit this site: http://bestbythenumbers.blogspot.com I hope this helps people understand what number they choose and the significance/athlete behind their number.

Thank you Dusty Smith for your number knowledge. Dusty was the third response.

April 9, 2008 - Top 10 Rankings

2008-04-09T22:36:00.018-04:00

Here is my first shot at a top 10 rankings.

1. Florida - Florida and their unlimited amount of jerseys, shorts, and 6'4'' kids stand on top of my first rankings ever for many different reasons. They sent a message to the country by destroying the competition at Sectionals. Only one team, UCF, was within 11 points of Florida. That is awesome. The last time I saw this team play was at Centex, where they decided to sport their orange alligator skin jerseys. One thing people know about this team is its height and its domination in the air. With 5th year Cyle Van Auken running the show, he has an unlimited amount of tall receivers in Junior Brodie Smith, 5th year senior Kurt Gibson, and Sophomore Cole Sullivan. Kurt Gibson, the all star that can beat you with his throws, legs, defense, and two gloves, dismantled UNC with his 70 yard hammers. On defense, Florida puts their 4 tallest players in a cup. The only way through the cup is backwards, backwards, swing, and forwards (only for a loss). Florida's stars are standing tall on the world of ultimate. If anyone wants to calculate the average height of the team, please leave it as a comment.

2. Wisconsin Hodags - Wisconsin is known on our team as "The Machine". I put them here because they have only lost to Florida, Michigan, and Pittsburgh. Wisconsin seems to have an unlimited supply of people who can run for days. They all look alike, they are all pale, and they have video cameras at every tournament capturing their sweet D's. Wisconsin's defense is ruthless, as they match up well man-to-man with every team. Their defense plays great help defense, crashing every huck with at least two players it seems. On offense, they are constantly cutting, and if they can't hit an open cutter, they don't hesitate to take you upline. While one dump cuts upline, the dump on the other side of the field sprints straight at the handler and usually cuts back. When we played them at CCC, they had been practicing for 2 months, and seemed to be on their way to an undefeated season.

3. Michigan MagnUM - Michigan, with only four losses this year to top 25 teams, is looking explosive. Led by lanky #1 Will Neff, Michigan surprised everyone at Centex by beating Wisconsin on Saturday. I played Michigan this year at Mudbowl. Here are my scouting reports, they play a man defense and a horizontal defense. Neff played both sides of the disc, throwing 70 yard back hands at will. His backhand and flick are both experienced and strong. As a defensive unit, I wasn't impressed. I think this is where they can improve the most. They have a small handler in Senior Matt Marcum, who touched the disc every-other on offense. UGA split their offensive team and defensive team up at Mudbowl. Our defensive team lost 13 - 8 to them, and the offensive team lost 15 - 12. Michigan is tall, but unfortunately they all have mohawks, which makes them look pathetic.

4. University of North Carolina Darkside - With the departure of Zach Washburn last year, I asked myself, "How is UNC going to make it? They are such a shallow program." UNC has been anything but shallow. This is a controversial pick, but I am putting them so high up here because of their showing at Centex. On defense, they swarm man to man match ups, they hustle when the disc is up in the air, and after they get a D, they huck it for a score. Senior Mat Thomas embodies the word explosive. He is an exciting player to watch. Also, Darkside has a reliable handler in 6'5'' handler Nate Hood. I remember guarding him at Queens City and how much land there is between marking his flick and backhand. His throws are quick and they go far a lot of the time. I think Darkside's defense is better than their offense.

5. Arizona Sunburn - Sunburn wins this year's "Where did this team come from?" Award (also known as Most Improved). I apologize to Arizona for saying that. I have only been playing ultimate for two years. Seniors #49 Erik Gafni and #77 Joe Kershner (he has a "Play Ultimate" tattoo on his leg) are my two favorite players on this team. The handlers on Sunburn use a variety of upside down throws and and have spring loaded receivers to throw to. We played them at Centex and could not stop their offense enough. I think their offense is second behind Florida's.

6. Colorado Mamabird - I put them at 6 because of their losses to Oregon, Carleton, Illinois, Colorado is in a rebuilding year after losing both Beaufort Kittredge and Rabbit. This team is another tall team. I wish they had their heights right on UPA, and a current roster, but I know a few things about them. They LOVE to break teams using their height. They will throw it right over you head. Jolian Dahl, the team's MVP, is excellent and one of a kind. His game reminds me of Dylan Tunnell's. Other than Jolian, they have a couple of other 6'3'' guys that can dunk on an 11 foot goal. The team lacks in mentality, as well as experience in key positions. I feel that they were still teaching some of their kids the basics of ultimate at Centex. I don't know as much about Mamabird as I should apparently because the comments suggest that they are stacked and it is not a rebuilding year. Whoops.

7. Texas TUFF - Texas has my favorite player in the country on it - Stephen Presley. Stephen pulls, handles, plays shut down defense, jumps over people twice the size of him, breaks, and holds his team together. This Texas team is playing well this year, with wins over Arizona and Colorado. Other than that, I don't know much about Texas. We played them at CCC, but I don't think it was their entire team. Did I mention Stephen Presley for Callahan? He should be in the top 7 at least. I am looking forward to see how they handle North Texas and Texas A & M this weekend at their sectionals tournament.

8. Minnesota Grey Duck - Minnesota is a team that has a guy you should not test deep in any circumstance. I called him Powder, but his real name is Tallis Boyd I believe. He is literally 6'4'', and his skin color is pale. Other than him, I remember them having a shorter, skinny kid who reminded me of a cheetah. Check out my friend getting a lay out D on him. HERE Their spring break was literally ultimate frisbee. They traveled to Terminus to play on one weekend, then drove to a beach in Texas and played Centex the next weekend. This is a very spirited team and they fight hard. Their offense is tough to break.

9. Carleton CUT - These team has some great experience with handlers; however, they seem to under perform in the big games this year. They lost to UNCW, Wisconsin, Oregon, California, Georgia, Arizona, and Texas. Their big wins this year have been to Illinois and Colorado. This team has played a lot of good teams and is competitive, but that is about it. They remind me of last year's Brownian Motion. They have a lot of potential, but so far have not been able to put it together when it counts.

10. Notre Dame Papal Rage - This is my bracket buster. Daniel Reimer is my favorite player on this team. Reimer has skills, athleticism, and a lot of posts on RSD. I want to go ahead and call Notre Dame upsetting Illinois in their Sectionals tournament.

Honorable Mentions: Oregon, Illinois, Georgia, Pittsburgh, NC State, UNCW, UCSB, Stanford

Florida's Sectionals Tournament

2008-04-09T16:03:00.004-04:00

Here are the results for the Florida sectionals tournament:

Results From the Florida Sectionals

Going to Sectionals
1. Florida
2. UCF - Dogs of War
3. FSU/UF-B

Florida and Dogs of War are headed to Statesboro, GA to the Regionals tournament. Due to lightning, the third place game will be postponed until this upcoming Saturday. Florida's B Team is a game away from going to the Regionals tournament. UF-B, AKA High Level, upset Miami and South Florida to sit at this position. They have to play FSU's DUF, who was up 7 to 5 when the game was postponed.

Polls on the Right

2008-04-09T14:30:00.004-04:00

I put some polls up yesterday on the rights side of this page, but I forgot to put GT and Clemson on the second poll to go to Nationals. I didn't mean anything by it. Sorry, I can't change it because someone has already voted.

Last Year's Callahan Award

2008-04-09T13:01:00.031-04:00

This year's winner: Greg Swanson.

Just Kidding, Greg wanted me to say that.

Now on to the meat and potatoes of this article. I wanted to share my experience with Ultimate's Heisman candidates and winners last year. This drunk guy at Nationals told me to interview the different candidates. So, I chased down some big names from every team and took pictures with them. Here is a picture of the award being given out last year in Columbus, Ohio.

1. Dan Heijman - Wisconsin - I saw Dan for the first time when we played Wisconsin at CCC two years ago (when it was in Athens, GA). Other players on my team said there were three people to look out for Heijman, Man Bear Pig, and Muffin. I was more interested in Man Bear Pig and Muffin because of their funny names and because they were larger than Heijman. Heijman ended up being the star of that game, leading his defensive offense to break Jojah's offense last year. For the record, Dan Heijman was athletic as balls.

On a personal note, I always thought Dan looked more like Popeye the Sailor Man rather than an ultimate frisbee player. Check out the difference between him and Popeye. Congratulations to Dan for last year's victory.

Above: Popeye
Below: Dan Heijman on the right

2. Dylan Tunnell - UGA - Dylan was two different people. Off the field, he was like a competitive older brother who wanted to always prove people differently with his athleticism. I really enjoyed testing Dylan's athleticism. For example, we told Dylan that he couldn't lay out on this dirt mound in Orlando. Also, we told him that it would he couldn't do a flip either. Here are some pictures of the results.

Pictures of Dylan doing weird things courtesy of Chad Borer.
Dylan Laying Out
Dylan doing a flip - This looks like a Calvin and Hobbes pose when they were falling off a cliff after going down a mountain on a wagon.

On the field, he was focused entirely on the game. Dylan has been playing ultimate since he was like 7. He was a poster child for Paideia, playing ultimate all four years, playing Chain, etc. Dylan could take control of every game he played in. I enjoyed playing with him.

3. Kurt Rook Gibson - UF - This year, I helped Gibson warm up his throws for our game against Florida in Orlando. While throwing with him, I realized that he was wearing gloves. It was a little bit cold, but I remember how much crap people gave me for wearing gloves to a cold tournament on the B Team. Also, I remember Travis Smith saying, "If you ever wear gloves, I will throw a disc at your face."

So, I said to Rook, "Hey man, do people make fun of you for wearing gloves?" He responded, "No why?" And I said, "Because if you did at Georgia, you would get made fun of."

I think Kurt Gibson is a nice guy. I didn't get a picture of him unfortunately.

4. Beaufort Kittredge - Colorado - Beaufort was like my dad who died in a war. Let me try to explain that statement. I never knew Beau personally, but everyone I knew told me crazy stories about him. All I had were the stories to try and figure out what this guy was like. One story was - Beau tried a year of being a magician in Ireland. After a year, he came back to Ultimate. I think someone told me Beau went out for the track team telling the coach, "I want to be on the track team. I will race your fastest person. After beating their fastest person in the 400 or 200 or 100 or something like that, the coach let him on." That story was fascinating. When I first saw the "Bo jumps over a guy" video, I was amazed once again.

Here's a picture with Beau and I. He was tall, goofy, and couldn't figure out how to react after I revealed that I was his long lost son.

5. Robbie Cahill - Stanford - Robbie looks like an older man. I'm tired of writing. Here's a picture of me a K Hill. I noticed his shoe needed tying. I honestly think I scared him. Oh well.

Also, I wanted to mention Jojah's favorite person at Nationals last year - Matt Lane. First of all, if you don't know Matt Lane, you can read about him and his work here:

http://www.mattlanephotos.com/

Matt Lane, one of the best photographers in the world, wears a yellow shirt with his name on the back. He travels to ultimate tournaments for those sweet action shots. Believe me, they are sweet. After chanting Matt Lane enough, he had someone take a picture of him with our entire team. Here is Matt Lane, making us happy:

Notice the shirtless kid. That's called "one beer too many".

To come, predictions for Callahan 2008, Nationals 2008, and AC Regionals 2008.

An Educated View on Ultimate Culture

2008-04-08T00:48:00.010-04:00

Likes (not in order)

Spirit of the game – This is really on and off the field. The humility it takes to make/agree calls, the respect people have for the rules, and the passion displayed with ultimate is unbeatable in this sport. This is why I love this game.
That one guy who plays in business clothes every now and then – Every now and then, someone gets off work and doesn’t have time to change or doesn’t have spare clothes. This happened two years ago during AFDC. It was awesome.
Making Rookies do funny things- Self Explanatory. You can comment about funny rookie stories.
Ultimate Tattoos – The guy on Arizona has one. He’s serious about ultimate. He wanted people to know that.
Cigarette Points – I heard at College Easterns this year, Wake Forest went up against a team that had an all smoking point. They were not smoking pot, just cigarettes. Everyone on the Mary Washington team was playing with a lit cigarette in their mouth. I want to repeat that sentence. Everyone on the Mary Washington team was playing with a lit cigarette in their mouth.

Dislikes (In order)

Mixed Teams (and the guys that actually enjoy playing with girls) – Nothing against girls, but there is no way playing with girls is as competitive as playing with guys. I love women; I just do not like to play competitive ultimate with them. Why do guys play Mixed Teams? They obviously haven’t mastered regular ultimate frisbee with other guys. Here are my theories about guys who play Mixed Teams: 1. They are married and they want their spouse to play. 2. They are single and play better with women around because they are trying to impress them. 3. They are mentally weak and will become middle school PE teachers. I could go on all day about this...
People that yell SCOOBER, HAMMER, THUMBER, or CORKER during an all star game – Just because you have vocal cords does not mean you should use them. Who wants to see a cool throw in an all star game? Is a cool throw exciting? For me, I want the 50-50 throws, the hospital passes, and the layout D’s. Throw your corker on the sideline and enjoy the display of athleticism.
Stupid team uniforms (plaid/Hawaiian shirts aren’t funny, neither are jean shorts) – Nothing original about this one guys. If you want to go with stupid team uniforms, please be creative. I haven’t seen a firefighters team, or a Baywatch team, or even a dress like a slutty mom team. There are creative uniform ideas out there, if you can’t find one, have everyone on the team Google Image their name and dress like the first thing that shows up.
Roshambo during time outs (rock papers scissors) – I have never understood this. My rookie year, our team called a time out and everyone ran out onto the field excited. Why? To play rock papers scissors. There is nothing more embarrassing than inviting your family to come watch you play a sport you have been practicing for the entire semester and then to have them all run out onto the field and play rock papers scissors. I know its fun, but it looks so stupid. Also, there is ALWAYS that one guys who runs out and starts it before everyone else. That guy sucks.
Team hair cuts – Mohawks, numbers in the hair, all skin heads – I’m looking at Michigan at Centex and Florida at Sectionals. Team hair cuts are weird. Let your teammates get excited and pumped before tournaments the way they want to, not the way the captain wants to.
The guys team + 1 girl – Self Explanatory. Who guards the girl? You get booed if you D her and you get laughed at if you let her score. There's no where to go but downhill.
People with multicolor hair – The guy from Dartmouth at Terminus scared me. While he was warming up around our field, I felt like he was a dirty hobo/clown/rusty robot. That is the only way to describe him. That should never happen again.
The shaved head look for girls – What is the point? I am not used to this yet. I hope this does not become a trend. Please don’t shave your head. You look like a chubby adolescent boy. Please keep this in mind, I can still like the girl, just not her silly look.
People who confuse heckling with screaming HAMMER – Never funny yet always heard. You aren't actually teasing anyone when you say Hammer, unless that person doesn't have arms.
Beer on Sidelines/Beer Points - I'm ambivalent towards this. It depends on the person. If Nick Brown does it, I hate it. If Chad Borer does it, I love it. Sorry Nick, your funnier when you are sober. The Beer Points during shitty ultimate tournaments are lame as hell. Drinking beer while playing ultimate hurts. There is nothing enjoyable about it. Playing Hung over is funnier than drinking and playing ultimate, HANDS DOWN.
Bad Nicknames - Colorado has a guy on their team named Pebbles. Georgia Tech's coach is named Frito. Wisconsin has Muffin.

I really do love everyone equally.

Playing Teams that Aren't as Good

2008-04-07T15:45:00.003-04:00

Hey Again. I will give 15 minutes to this entry.

Yesterday, we asked a team (Kennesaw State University) to come up to Athens, GA to scrimmage. Kennesaw State University, AKA KSU, is going to be in our Sectionals tournament coming up this weekend. This scrimmage was an opportunity to try new defenses, practice our defenses/offensive plays, and simulate a game where we are favored to win. At Centex, we lost to Harvard, a team that we were favored to win because we got lulled into their game plan. Yesterday, we beat KSU, but only by 3 or 4. Also, we lost our second scrimmage to them simply because we did not care enough.

I am predicting that our team loses a game at Sectionals because of this chronic syndrome of everything is going to be okay come time for the tournament.

1. "We are content with losing because we always have excuses for it." This was a statement by Travis Smith. At Queens City, we excused our loss because it was "early in the season". At Mudbowl, we could excuse our play on Sunday because we had split teams. At Centex, we made excuses because we had some hurt players. Against the B Team, we made the excuses we had some players that weren't here. Against KSU, what excuse did we use? We were hung over? We have exactly one week until Sectionals arrive. All excuses are going to be left in Athens, GA. We are going to Sectionals without any excuses. I am interested to see how we respond to this.

2. We become distracted easily. The first thing I noticed at the scrimmage was the presence of girls on the sidelines and how my teammates focused at times more on the girls than the game they were playing in. Instead of getting playing defense after someone turfed the disc, they turned and looked to see if the girls saw it. This killed us during the scrimmage.

3. We are content with ONLY beating them, and not destroying them. Championship teams love to play hard ultimate frisbee every time they get the chance. This requires effort. Just as we prepare mentally for the tough games against ranked opponents, we must prepare for the easy games as well. We are no longer the Jojah team with Dylan, Shraft, Frank, etc. with natural talent and high absolutely everywhere. Instead, we are now a team that must work hard for everything we get. We must throw smart throws that our receivers can catch. We must run hard and box out the big guys on the other team. Yeah.

4. We must focus on our goals during these games. We have to focus on mini games to 3 or no turnovers. Whatever goal we decide, we must continually remind ourselves of it.

That's all the time I have for today.

SC/GA Sectionals

2008-04-04T17:42:00.001-04:00

Hey Again -

I have a lot of free time today, so I guess I'll spill my brain on ultimate, which is my passion. These are my opinions on the SC/GA Sectionals tournament in Statesboro, GA.

1. The third strongest section in our region. That's like saying, we're the NIT Champions. The stronger sections, which are NC and FL, are loaded with talent and will actually have some competition in each other sections. In ours, Jojah, Tribe, and the Joint Chiefs of Waft? are pretty dominant, based on their track records. Also, we are missing GCSU from our section. It's pretty pathetic that they couldn't turn in a roster on time. Maybe next year, Disconnected.

2. UGA, GT, Clemson, and then WHO? There is not a dominant fourth team. This one is up for grabs. The top 3 are pretty much determined. Emory's Illeaguels (or whatever the hell it is) , the current fourth seed, is a pretty good pick, but seem pretty weak at times, especially when they got BLANKED by Tufts, beat by Edinboro, and Maryland.

There is no dominant fourth seed to our pool. I am going to pick Kennesaw State as this year's fourth team. Why? No reason at all. I like their coach, their scrappy players, and their tall guy named Tree. They will be underestimated time after time, and they will win game after game.

2. Will Georgia's B Team make the cut? I felt like I had to support them in some way.

3. UGA v. GT final. Who will shine in this game?

Offense - Jojah - With graduating seniors Matt Ashe, Louis Gutschenritter, and Amble Johnson and star Greg Swanson, Jojah's offense seems pretty high strung with many different weapons. Down field receivers 6'3'' Michael Slade, Tom Morris, and rookie 6'3'' Matt Bailey have proven to be able to be effective on the ground and in the air. The biggest weapon this offense has is the backhand of Greg Swanson and the unending cuts of Louis Gutschenritter

Defense - Jojah - With graduating seniors Travis Smith and Ben Morrissey, this defense is getting more and more rugged as time goes on.

Best Flick - Will Moore

Best Backhand - Greg Swanson

Best Defender - Biggie (Ben Morrissey) and Russell Snow

Best Athlete - Peter Dempsey

Best Sleeper Player - Matt Acuff and Michael Slade

B Teams

2008-04-04T17:11:00.001-04:00

Hey! I wanted to write a journal entry about B Teams.

I started out playing Ultimate on UGA's B Team, AKA the Chili Dawgs. I played on the B team for one year before trying out for UGA's A Team, AKA Jojah, and making that. Whenever I play B teams from other schools, I notice a couple of things.

1. They always have players that should be playing/starting on the school's A team. We scrimmaged the Chili Dawgs yesterday and were surprised by a couple of their players - Oliver, Kenny, and a taller guy I don't know the name of. These guys obviously are on the B Team because of the larger time commitment (our B team does not have track practices during the week). There are guys on the A team that don't have a lot of time and therefore miss a lot of practices. I would rather have people who play their heart out on the field (the B team all stars) rather than people who can make it to every practice. These guys could possible end up moving their schedule around to make Ultimate a higher priority. So, for next year's tryouts, I want to encourage all people with limited schedules to try out for your school's A Team. You might make it, and they might let you stay on.

2. They drop the disc a lot. For some reason, I have noticed that they cannot just hold on to the disc. It is as if all B teams forget the shape of a Frisbee, which ends up in countless turnovers. The B team's flow can be great at times, until it comes to that one player who comes in too hard on an in cut and doinks the disc. I learned the word "doink" quickly on the B Team. It seemed like every time we worked the disc against a zone defense, we would be 10 feet from the endzone and somebody would doink the disc. This is the second most frustrating aspect of B Teams. I remember doinking a frisbee in practice and just being completely upset with myself. I asked my coach how I could stop doinking the disc and he recommended that I just carry a disc around all day, gripping it in different ways, and switching my grip from the flick to the backhand. After two weeks of this, I saw how much better I got with catching. I concentrated much harder on the disc as it came to me, and every time I touched the disc, it would feel more and more comfortable.

3. They lose games not because they are bad, but because they think they should lose games. This is the most irritating aspect of being on a B Team. They are so caught up in other things rather than their own game. They are too worried about other teams in the tournament rather than focusing on the games they are going to play. They say stuff like, "This is how the A Team does it" or they name drop from the A Team. When I was a freshman, before we scrimmaged the A Team, our B team captains huddled us up together and psyched us all out. He said something along the lines of, "You can't screw this up. You have to play well. These guys are going to capitalize on everything we lose. We have to be extra loud on the sidelines. These guys beat teams X, Y, and Z. Do you understand how good they are?" I was just thinking the entire time, "These guys aren't monsters, machines, olympians, God's gift to man, etc. They're just a bunch of college kids like us but with more confidence in their skills." That night, we lost to the A team 15 - 3. Why? Because we had no confidence. Oh, and I didn't play but 2 points. Just kidding, but seriously.

If B Teams just focused on their game, on their strengths, on their weaknesses, and their game plan, they would beat teams more often. You can't tell me that Chicago, Georgia Southern, Valdosta State, etc. are better than our B Team? Sometimes, all it takes is confidence and passion to turn a team around.