Showing posts with label reflection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reflection. Show all posts

Raw Stuff: Reaction to Coaching

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I can't sleep; too much ultimate on my mind.


I realized that my life revolves around ultimate. It's clear and simple. I coached the Fukuoka University open team on Thursday. It made me realize how much I enjoyed coaching and teaching. I take a lot of pride in my playing, but at this point right now, I think I am taking a lot more pride in the Fukudai team. My mind is filled with things that they can do to improve. Drills that will help them understand. Strategies that can help them win. For the most part, the kids are the team have responded well to my feedback, and some even show excitement. But I think I outshine every single one of them in excitement.

I wish I had known all the things I know now. Obviously, the strategies, drills, and the lot are important, but also the things I've learned other than ultimate, such as effective feedback, team building, and how to lead. I can't help but to look back and reflect on how much better WM could have been: I still think, and perhaps I think even more now, that we had the personnel to do quite well in the college series. The talent was there. What wasn't, was the training. The strategy. Talents individuals, yes. Team, no. There is no way to know if I could have lead the team any better than the people who did; granted every single one had very large obstacles to face every year. I don't know if the way I would conduct practices now really would have an impact on the results. Moreover, it doesn't matter, because I didn't get my chance to prove it, so I have no results. But looking at the Fukuoka team now really makes me wonder, "What would it have been like?"

I see much potential in the Fukudai team; they have a number of individuals who are definite threats. Namely: Yuusuke, a quick handler with beautiful throws (especially his backhand). Shun, a smart player with height (amazing field sense). Kishin, a super intense defensive player able to lay out for anything on both O and D. Kani, a lanky handler with quick and intense cuts. Yuuji, a lanky cutter with speed and good timing. But the first three stand out by far. They are what the Japanese would call "keyman". Each holds an important role on their team as the guys who can reel in the win.

Yuusuke, by far, has the best throws, and his handling abilities would be equal to my own, if he were able to get some more knowledge under his belt. His throws, field sense, and awareness are all top notch; the only thing he needs to being a dominant handler is believing that he is, and acting like it.
Shun is the key offensive cutter; his height makes Japanese defenders scared of him taking off deep (especially if Yuusuke could learn how to better utilize him with floaty throws), and his throws are good enough to make him a threat with the disc. More than anything, his superb field sense and instinct to sniff out the most devastating move makes him an important asset as a game changer.
Kishin's intensity is key to pumping up a team. He is unwilling to give up and is aware that he can be the one to bring back the momentum with one big layout D. He is single-minded about improving, both himself and the team. Only being a junior, he is the future of the Fukudai team, and I expect him to step up quickly, and get large.

It is vital that these three further step up and grow into their potential. Their team depends on it.
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Niji: Tuesday Night Pick-Up 09/07/10

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Today I showed up with 45 minutes of pick-up to play. This, in turn, made me play a lot harder than usual, and was probably good for me. I played the best D I've played in a while:

I had poach D after poach D, as well as many D's on my man on in-cuts.

The down-side to my playing was that I would go and play help defense when the disc is near the endzone and there was a wide open open-side cut, which was good because it prevented the easy score; Obviously, that left my man wide open, which was utilized more than once. Aw shucks.

So what should I do in this case?
I'm not sure. I'd be much more frustrated if the other team scored on an easy open side cut, but it sucks to help out in that situation, and then get pwnd for it. In a perfect world, this wide open force side cut would never be open, and in an almost perfect world, who ever I am picking up for will pick up my man. But sadly, we don't live in either. :/

Another mistake I made was a huck from Yoshio to me. I burned my man deep, but Jei poached in on the throw. I could have jumped early and gotten the disc, but since I wouldn't have ended up in the endzone, I decided to divert my run to box Jei out and milk the disc into the endzone. This resulted in me slightly misjudging my run, and I set myself up for a very difficult catch, and missed the catch. Embarrassing.

Bulleted a couple of my IOs. Definitely a sign that I need to be throwing more.

Playing O was eh. Alright, but nothing stellar. I get frustrated when I'm open but people don't hit me. But its just pick up.
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Niji: Weeknight Ultimate 7/27/10

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I think the practice right after a tournament is when you show the most improvement, so long as you get to practice soon after said tournament. My motivation was much higher than it had been in a long while, and I played very good defense on strong players. I was definitely able to limit the range of what these players did, and in one case, was able to D an ever so slightly late throw. (It was a give and go up the line.) But that's what D is all about isn't it? Capitalizing on the slightest mistakes. Otherwise played solid defense, even followed my man well into the breakside lane and prevented those throws from ever going off. Rarely let my man get the disc on the open side, unless he followed into that space too far, but subsequently boxed me out. Got beat deep once on a curvy bladey throw and was skied by a guy a good foot taller than me. But, I was there, and had I read it better, I would have put more pressure on him, which I will be sure to do.


On offense, I was working it beautifully with CJ, whom I had trouble working with Saturday, but I guess third time is a charm. We were understanding where each other wanted it, and it worked great. I threw up a couple of bombs which were narrowly missed by CJ, but they were put with vision and to the right place, so I just need to adjust slightly for headwind and throw it slightly lower, because the placement was just right otherwise. And I think we had a considerable amount more connections than missed connections.

I've started to just put my head down and run to the spot instead of watching the disc fly, if I thought it was going to be close whether I could get to the disc or not, and it has mixed results. There are probably more times that it's allowed me to get to the spot quicker and then read the disc (which is easier) but there have been times that the wind affected the disc more than I thought and it in effect backfired. Tough.

Also, my stamina is returning. Yay.

Things to take away from other people's playing tonight:
1. The value of breaking the mark right away. If the other team is forcing line, the dump and thrower should work together to dump it off the line right away. Yoshio would capitalize by throwing it around to the dump right away. Or if I forced him upline, he would immediately hit the IO. BUT for this to happen, you need a) aware dump/front of stack and b) defenders who are poaching.
2. Thaaat's about it.
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Wildwood Revelations- Bobby

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I was thinking about writing a post about Wildwood cause it was such a sweet tournament and was definitely a lot of fun, but I really don't wanna talk about all the fuck ups I had (there were a lot) and overall i think I played pretty shitty for the most part, but there were a few good things that I gained from it which I realized today during my summer league game.

First thing is that I realized that I have become a little bit impatient/I am trying way too hard for big throws and cuts, instead of being more team oriented. This is really really shitty and i think one of the reasons that I feel i had such a crappy tournament. However, going into summer league today I was thinking about this and adjusted my play accordingly and I feel that I had a pretty awesome game. Worked more on looking off throws that were unlikely to be completed and focused more on working the disc more (still forced a couple things as I was getting tired but playing a little bit more chili definitely made me play better.) Though I didn't score as much or get as many assists as I normally do, i felt that I was instrumental to many of our scores, which i feel is just as good. I have determined to play defense in more of a role that myles took last year as opposed to the way Aric did in the sense that Myles was a great cutter all year but rarely took a huge risk and in general made really smart decisions to limit turns. Not to bash Aric's play style, but the amount of stupid turns i had at wildwood helped me to decide that i dont necessarily want to be as aggressive with hucks yet until i become more sure of my decisions and ability. I know I have the ability to throw pretty good flick hucks and i will still practice it among other things and may use them in the right situation, but I have decided to try to limit my usage of this and play a lot smarter. In general I want to work on focusing more on defense and contributing positively in smaller ways on offense.

Another thing that I found that is extremely important is the role of adrenaline in a game, as I had a hard time walking due to a cut on my toe but when I got into the game I found that I could run pretty easily. Also, in the last game of the day on saturday, I kind of got "on fire" a little bit, scoring or assisting i think 5 of our points in a row after just missing a layout d, but I was also a bit flat at other times during the games (dehydration also a big problem with this for me this weekend). I think for a team to do really well they have to rely on the boost that adrenaline can give you by striving to keep it pumping by keeping the team in the game and excited.

The conditions of the tournament were a bit difficult, as running in sand and throwing in strong wind are not easy at all, however they are really good for improving your game. Practicing throwing in the wind is the shit, after getting that down regular throws are ridiculously easy. Also, after cutting and running in sand, using cleats on grass makes everything so much easier and im pretty damn sure it has made me more fit. maybe we should have beach training days in williamsburg?

One thing i definitely appreciated from wildwood as opposed to summer league is the way that our team was much more enjoyable to play with than my summer league team which has a couple of real big douches on it. Made me realize the importance of team chemistry that I'm glad we have to a good degree but that we should continue to improve.


Thoughts on the A team players who were there:
i think fabio came in great shape to play and seemed to be kicking ass all over the field, bidding and skying real high. His throws could still use work i think but im looking forward to his play next year, and i need to get in a bit better shape too i think.
Sean your throws are damn tight now, maybe you need to be a little bit more chili with some of them, but it was not fully serious frisbee/the wind sucked balls. also great cutting
Fleming was awesome as usual not much more to say there
Kyle needs to not fuck up his shoulder

EDIT: due to being retardedly harsh on myself/ranting and forgetting stuff 2 comments

Shakaijin Open: 07/24+25/10

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I went to my first open tournament in Japan.

First off, I had a lot of fun. I just want to make sure that gets through, because this post is mostly about my failures during this tournament. Oh yeah, and we "practiced" once before the tournament.

I. Too many turn overs. A result of a lot of different things. I had probably about 8 turn overs a day. And not the apple kind. I didn't drop anything, which is good. I had too many throwaways though. Reasons why I turned the disc over:

A. Bad decision making. Actually wasn't too bad until day 2 but then it was not stellar.

1. Unable to adjust to various cutters' speeds. Threw some too far out for people to get. I threw away more than a couple on in-cut type stuff, which I haven't done in forever. Threw them out too far into space, even if it had a lot of touch and was floaty. Probably too used to playing with speedy Nittai kids. But its my fault for being unable to adjust enough.

2. Unable to trust the cutter. - Stemmed from 1. Because I became unsure of myself and the cutter's ability to get to the disc, I threw up some hucks that were short, or too floaty, and thus incomplete. I have to remember that if there is any doubt when throwing a huck, it should never ever be put.

B. Cutters did not know what I liked to throw. I didn't know what the cutters wanted.

1. More than once, I would make eye contact with the cutter, and start my throwing motion, only to realize that the cutter did not understand where I wanted him to go. This hesitation would either make me needlessly focus upfield or throw a scrappy throw because of the hesitation.

2. The cutter would make a move, but it was hard for me to understand where he wanted to go, so I would wait for a more obvious move, which would force me to hastily make throws.
3. The dump along with 2 other cutters would crowd me at stall 5 or 6. No one would cut break side for me. This would result in 3 not-so-good options and no space for me to throw anywhere.

C. Not trusting my teammates with the disc.

1. Honestly, I had a hard time trusting others with the disc, and it is something I need to learn to do, but also something other players need to prove to me.
2. Everyone had too many turnovers. Including myself.
3. Needlessly felt the pressure to punch it in myself. To make plays on offense so that we would have a better shot of scoring. Getting ahead of myself in trying to play above myself.
4. This will get better with more experience with teammates.

II. Defense.

A. Poaching.
1. Lesson learned: Against Japanese teams, poaching out on the force side lane does not work.
2. Why? They will run in towards you into the force lane (in a ho), and then cut to the IO breakside. Japanese throwers all have the ability of making this throw. This throw leads to more break side throws. WM should run similarly.
3. Poaching deep from the far side in a ho didn't really work either, I think. It's hard to say. I never got a D deep like that, but I also think I stopped the thrower from making that throw a number of times as well. But thing to watch out for is that throwers will quickly throw a hammer to my poached man, which is a pain in the ass. There were a couple times that I should have layed out and D'd that shit. I will. I have to.

B. Laying out (on D). Had some opportunities, but failed to pull the trigger.
1. Just do it.
2. Just. Do. It.
3. "Do not think, feel." - Bruce Lee
C. Playing loose versus poaching versus playing hard on.
1. I had more chances to lay out and/or make tight plays when I played loose, but would give up more throws, especially IO breaks. Also, when the mark would get broken, I would give up too many yards.
2. Poaching allowed me to stop easy scores, especially in the end zone. But sometimes this would mean that one easy score would be stopped in place of a slight harder, but still not-so-hard score because of my poach. It's hard to figure out what to do in this case... But I suppose I'd have to trust my teammates here as well. Now if people wouldn't get beat force side in the endzone, this would make my dilemma a lot easier :/
3. Playing hard on worked. I rarely gave up position on the force side, and forced tough throws to the IO break, or was close enough to discourage those throws. Problem: I can shut down people when I do this, but I can't get D's. Refer to playing loose.

III. Getting frustrated.
A. Don't.

IV. Need more structure in the endzone. Too many cuts. Stay the +$"#` out of the way. Let one person do the deed.

THINGS I DID WELL! WOOHOO

1. Zone breaker. I smashed zones left and right. Only one turn during Zone O, and it was because the throw happened right as my far handler moved into the dump position. So it was a miscommunication thing. Otherwise, Jei would put me on the line as the main handler and I would single-handedly destroy zones. How? Aggressively cutting and moving the disc quickly, throwing through the holes, finding space and making cutters run there, etc.

2. Only got beat deep once, on a break mark huck, which I almost got to. Probably my best defensive bid on a huck ever. Too bad I just missed the D (had a hand on it). sidewayzies face

3. Rarely was broken around. Sometimes IO, but not too much. Forced some turn overs, and rarely drew (once?) a foul.

4. Other stuff too. Put up some good hucks. Dictated the offense. Played a role when needed. Brought energy onto the field. Blah blah blah.

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Summer Update

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Ready to get back to college ultimate. Forgot how to play basic defense, for a time. I think this is because upperclassmen aren't always advising me on how to play. Didnt realize it till now but what they say is of immense help.

The league team captain told me how to play dump D. I needed it. Womp.

My right hand is trying to adjust to two different flick grips. The problem is my overall arm movement. Womp.

I threw two turns to the same woman. The second one I put as much spin on the disc as I could. Womp.

I was told to be the third handler twice. Both times for a vert formation. Womp.

I played slow in a game because I ate only Lucky Charms that day. Told someone later about it, she said no excuses. Womp.

Couldve bid for a D. For the zillionth time. Womp.

Womp. 3 comments

Niji: Nittai Recap 6/22 + 6/24

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Well, if you read the last post about them, you know how they are, generally. And interesting aspect they put together is that they scrimmage with sophomores/freshmen vs. upperclassmen. Kind of fun. It's a little hard to assess the way I've been playing because I'm basically just doing whatever the fuck I feel like. For the most part, it seems to be working. I've been just working the disc really quick, hitting upfield stuff by 3 or dumping it, and then getting the disc back right away if the opportunity is there. The Nittai kids trust me with the disc, so they all tend to dump to me at a low count, which makes my job easier, and I haven't really felt any pressure while on offense. I've also just been hucking it whenever, and they've been working at a surprisingly high rate. I feel like my deep throws have gotten much much better in the past 4 months. As Alan described it, I can pretty much put it wherever I want. So, I don't think I have too many turns. On defense, I've been playing pretty loose, and mostly just cutting off the most dangerous cuts. Obviously, I've been looking for poach D's at the same time, which I've been getting so that's fun too. I got one as the far handler D on the flick side (ho stack), on an incut throw. I just barely missed a D on an upline deep throw. I hesitated on the poach because the thrower hesitated on the throw, but I was close enough to get the D anyway, so I should have.


Abrupt ending, because I drifted away from this post, but yeah.
2 comments

Sean: WAFC Advanced #2

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Two reverse bookends, one bookend. Two fuck ups and one game winning play. Which matters most? The play that wins the game. Cause you play to win the game, right?

Reverse bookend #1: Dont know how I turned it, but got beat break side for the score.
Reverse bookend #2: Messed up an upfield throw (SIGH), got beat deep.

The latter was the worst. Both are terrible and harsh ways to mess up. Obvious things to improve upon. Fake throws more often in order to prevent a messed up upfield throw(less pressure from the mark) and position myself better and quicker for the jump D.

Bookend #1: Near Callahan, break cut from back of the stack for the game winning score.

I say near Callahan because I D'd the disc near the endzone. Looking back I am unsure of whether I could've caught the disc in the endzone for a Callahan. Nevertheless I am glad that I hit the disc instead of catch because our team had no more timeouts left. Our offense was able to setup a calm and structured offense and the go ahead game winner followed. Decision-making in frisbee can be complex because it depends on so many variables.

Final score: 15-14 2 comments

Setting your Goals High

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One of the most important things that you can do as an improving player is to set your goals as high as you possibly can, strive to be the best player on the field even if you are seriously under experienced or overcome by the athleticism of the players around you. One of the biggest shifts that I experienced last year that I think made a huge difference in my improvement was that after winter break I really stopped viewing myself as a freshman and stopped comparing my abilities to freshmen but instead I tried to compare my abilities to the players on the team that were above me. I wanted to play shut down defense like myles and vereb, have sweet throws and decision making like Niji and the rest of our senior handlers, and be a beast cutter like acie.

Obviously, I was unable to match up to the performance of these players best qualities due to lack of experience and probably general impossibility which made practicing and games slightly frustrating at times for me, a great example of this is that I would get down on myself if I perceived that I had made a bad decision even if it turned out well also I probably underestimate my own value to a degree. However, I know that this mentality enabled me to push myself really hard on defense and helped me become pretty solid on D. Furthermore my throws and decision making improved tremendously to the point that I got chances to handle in practice towards the end of the year, something that no one really envisioned to start the year and I hope that more experience will continue to improve. The biggest thing however was my focus on cutting as it was the thing that has given me the most trouble, I often watch the upperclassmen and feel that I could be able to get the disc with as much ease as them but when I'm on the field I somehow this does not completely translate. I set my goals high and I felt that was unable to reach them, however this does not mean that I set them too high as the drive to reach them definitely made me better as a player. Just now remembering back on looking at the stats for roll call I realize that I actually had a good amount of touches on the disc, and far more than I remembered having and I realize that this mindset helped me improve tremendously and I need to focus more on my accomplishments and progress towards these goals than my inability to reach them immediately as a freshman.

As my dad always cornily but truthfully says, "set your sights high, and you will go far" 2 comments

Niji: Nittai vs. WM

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Man to man top to down match up:


Speed: Nittai as fast or faster


Throws: Most of the sophomores have throws as good as AC, Almost all the seniors have better throws than AC, at least several probably have about the same ability as I do but have different throws.


Quickness: all or most are as quick or quicker than me


Ups: WM is better in the air in a man to man match up


Strategy: Hard to say. The older players are just kinda fucking around and they're missing a few key players.

Both Alan and I agree that as far as players go, they have the potential to be better than WM but they have no coherent strategy and throw it away far too often. If the top five players from Nittai played with WM, they would immediately make an impact. Moreover, they would be easily amongst the best players on the team, especially if they learned our system and played into it.

And for being so athletic, they don't play defense *that* well. But again, something that can be worked on.

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Sean: WAFC Advanced #1

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First game with a new team. Mainly older players. Not too many standouts. Handling core is weak. Our women are strong. I believe that I need to become a handler for the team after losing the game 12-8. Our captain has his head in the right place, firm yet not overbearing. This league will be fun!

One assist, three scores. No D's. One turn (early on, again).

Played as a cutter for the entirety of the game. When I got the disc I took a quick look up field followed by a quicker dump. Basically it for most of the game for me, offensively. When I got to the endzone I cut without thinking about it, looking for holes. This reflex didnt serve me in the area between bricks so much. Part of it was due to my indecision and another part due to a weak handler-cutter relationship. By this I mean they havent played enough with me to understand what I do. This will come with time, but it will come quicker if I am more decisive about cutting.

My assist was pure luck. Their teams best player against our teams fastest woman. He thought it was out the endzone, but she kept with it, perfectly timing her jump to just barely toe it in. She saved my ass and taught me a lesson: never stop attacking the disc, even when against great odds. Flick huck by the way. It slowly floated up, not sure if it bounced or not but it was certainly a low release so some bounce might have come into play.

I got broken way too often. Overconfidence in the mark and my fellow defenders. I'll play more conservative. For some reason I covered handlers most of the time. Their handling core was experienced and quick. I tried to force them to cut a certain way, which they would do, but then immediately cut where I wasnt expecting, where I didnt want them to cut. The way to improve upon this is quickness and experience. Really concentrate on staying on the balls of my feet.

I want to play defense more. Need to work on my body position and forcing my cutter to go where I want him.

If my man poaches off of me, cut deep immediately.

As usual, I want to get back on the field. Couldn't happen sooner. 9 comments

Sean: Wendigo Tryouts 6/2

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1) I almost passed out after warming up. I felt like i had just given blood. I sat out for awhile, missed the first and only drill. This all happened because I didnt get enough sleep, eat well or drink enough water beforehand. Never gonna make that mistake again.


2) On one turn (which I caused) I spent time regretting rather than getting into position to make the D. Essentially, reverse bookends. No fun at all. Next time transfer the intensity of regret into defensive intensity. I wouldve gotten the D if I had made the transition to D quicker.

3) So after turning the disc over twice, I came back and scored the next six of eight points. Almost all on D I believe. The points that I remember scoring on were the result of two things: 1. The beloved S-cut 2. and more importantly, positional awareness. Immediately after a turn, pivot towards the crowded space then cut towards the open space. Easy as that. Another time I was out of position behind the handler in a vert stack in the endzone. I sprinted to the front of the stack. No one was cutting from the back so I continued to sprint to the force side for an easy score. On a different point many of the opposing team clustered toward my handler because they were following their man in on an in-cut. I quickly cut deep for the score. All about positional awareness.

4) Starting to cut before the disc is in catches the defender unaware much of the time.

5) It is hard to put much else down because the team captains for Wendigo taught me a new offense: "Colorado Offense". As you might be able to glean, one of the captains recently graduated from Colorado Mamabird.

The offense is a hybrid of every defense we know at WM. Iso, vertical and horizontal.

There is a strong side of the field and there is a weak side of the field. On the strong side there are two iso's who take up all of the cutting space on the field. Their cutting works much like the 2 and 3 (middle guys) in a horizontal stack in that one man cuts in and another cuts out. On the weak side three players setup vertically, hugging the sideline in order to give the strong side room to cut. Only when a strong side cutter calls "fill" does a weak side cutter recycle into the cutting space. Theoretically a strong side cutter could cut forever because of this.

There is one handler in the middle of the field slightly behind the weak side stack, which is slightly behind the strong side cutters. A dump is 10-15 feet directly behind the handler. Rarely does he come into play. Same with the weak side. In a perfect world all disc movement is carried out by the handler and the two strong side cutters. Three guys.

Strengths: TONS of cutting space. Players who need rest in a game long and point long sense get to rest as dump or weak side cutters. If your cutters are really good, the point is over quickly. The best defensive players on the other team get tired out quickly.

Weaknesses: If your strong side cutters suck at cutting, the offense falls apart quickly. Chemistry between these cutters and the handler is a must.

Got to play this defense for two hours, not enough time to truly evaluate it. Regardless, it seems to have strong advantages. Something our team should experiment with next season.

I asked one of the captains about what I should do better next time. All stuff I have heard before, but as the Hagakure says never shun an elders advice even if you have heard it time and again. Don't round off cuts and work on throws. I thought I learned all this stuff awhile ago haha. An ongoing process for throws. Not so much for rounding off cuts.

6) Put a huck to space in which the cutter to run onto. Try not to throw the disc directly over the cutter, the one place he cant get it.

7) Having trouble with my flick lately. Tends to bounce. Experimenting with the grip. Throw it flat stays flat!

Might join two leagues (Advanced and Rec) and a club team this summer. The cost of traveling into DC a four times a week is a consideration though. Meh.




5 comments

Pickup is Shitty- 5/28

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Basically, I played in a really shitty game of pickup yesterday, good news is i got my brother playing for the first time, and although the vert stack we were running was complete shit he realized how cool real frisbee could be, now i just need to teach him to play cause he honestly kinda sucks (not an indictment of him, he just started, definitely could have some potential and hes starting far earlier than a lot of people). There were a few cool things to take away from the game though

1) Don't play too far off of your man at the back of the stack even if you can beat him in on an incut to either side from where you are. I realized this as this guy threw up a 50 yard hammer bomb that connected just in front of the goal line and was indefensible from where I was standing, i haven't seen this throw before and it was impressive to say the least and although im not sure most people could pull it off its something to be wary of, a break backhand huck could probably achieve the same effect

2) Had a SICK poach bid D at chest level in the endzone it was awesome, a guy said, "that was inspiring" haha sorry to brag but its a funny story i think maybe you needed to be there, on other bids i needed to bid just a step earlier need to readjust my mindset on how far i can get extension/explosion through the disc

3) People kept commenting on my speed which was nice, but i was neutralized in a way by an inability of my teammates to throw big hucks so i couldn't cut deep and people not clearing out was pissing me off, i could get open underneath at will if noone was in the way but the level of disorganzation/ lack of communication was bullshit, I prefer playing with non-noobs

4) Need to work on getting a quick read on the disc when playing D and retreating on a huck

5) My Mark still sucks a big one

6) Want to face better opponents as I could break the people in this game at will/ was getting lazy on in cuts and got run through when i stopped coming in

7) Better concentration needed too many stupid throws and dumb ass drops

8) Left this for the last cause its the most important thing I got from the day, I got to experience the world through Niji's eyes a little as I had NO cuts coming for me the entire day kept looking for hucks and noone ever gave me that cut which was awful (finally just threw one away in frustration) also like no in cuts, it is very challenging and frustrating to play handler when no cuts are coming, keep this in mind next year

Now for a quick question to our venerable Sensei: Is cutting deep on the breakside out of the middle of the stack if the lane is open a good idea? I feel like in general as it can cause confusion if the other team switches leading to poaches and your man will not be expecting it 4 comments

Thoughts On Pick-up/Practice 5/27

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Um.


Marks: people's marks suck. IE, its way too easy to throw through a mark.
- Point to take away: A team that prides itself on its marks will give opponents a really tough time. Really stress the importance of a good mark; it'll pay off.

Fitness: Mediocre, somewhere in between not wanting to hurt my knees and not being in shape, I'm taking it too easy on myself. Push myself a little harder. Also, playing good defense and shutting my man down for the first 4, 5 seconds doesn't count. Don't rely on the mark to let me play lazy. Smart does NOT = lazy. That being said, I was doing a good job of anticipating and choosing some points within the flow of the game to make some plays. Being able to make plays when I choose to felt good.
- Point to take away: Smart never equals lazy. No matter what.

Throwing/decision-making: Pretty good for the most part, only had one or two turns because of a throwing error. One turn on a miscommunication, one turn throwing deep. One huck went way farther than I intended, but still hit my man in stride. Otherwise, on point.
- Point to take away: Focus.

Offense (cutting): Good overall. Never had trouble getting open.

Defense: Just play harder. "Go for it!" mentality is lacking. Aka, too close to too many D's to not get them. One extra little push.

Quick movement: When McCoy, Ted?, and I were moving the disc, we worked it beautifully. Why? Quick movement of the disc. We never lingered on any one cut/cutter for more than a second or two. Defense never had a chance to even set up a mark, let alone get close to a D. This worked because we all saw where each of us were cutting and anticipated where the next open space would be, making it so that we all had easy options to throw to, while never clogging each other.
- Point to take away: Quick decision making + quick cutting to adjust to the quick movement + awareness/anticipation = flawless offense.

Deep balls: Experimented a bit with juking out my defender. If the disc was coming in a little slower and a little floatier with my man right on my heels, I would pretend to set up my jump a second earlier than I actually was going to, and thus, slowed down my man who also would try to set up his jump. Then, I'd just run under it for the easy catch.
- Point to take away: Little tricks can make it easier for you on offense: You don't necessarily need to play a disc straight up and sky your defender.
1 comments

Pickup, 5/26

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Finally relaxed a little. When that happens for me I play happy and efficient. Woot


O:

Cutting was irrelevant. The only cut that comes to mind is where I baited my D deep then cut in fast. My fake deep pushed at least two defenders deep, with no one to cover haha.

Handler movement was nonexistent.

Throwing. Got point blocked, thoroughly. Bleh. After that I threw fakes when the mark was straight up. It worked. As for the throw....well yeah haha. The few flick hucks I put up worked great. The backhands were mediocre. They had the distance every time though. The angle and positioning (in relation to the receiver) is something I can work on. Dont put it right over their head, and bank it into their position.

D:

Yay I got alot of D's. I learned to be patient with blade-y flick hucks and boxout the receiver. Worked like a charm. Got a bunch of poachy d's too. Got bored of playing man/being put on a jogger so I began to experiment with blatant poaches. Didnt work so much haha. Better to appear to stick to a man then poach from there.

Never let up whether horizontal or vertical.

Pulls:

Ehh. Too IO but I got the distance. Woot.
0 comments

A Year in Retrospect Pt. 2

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Here we go...


Athleticism

For the most part I am skeptical of any workout schedule or routine. Same goes for theories on when to stretch. Luckily my stretching suspicions are founded in a lack of science. Here's a good article on stretching:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/health/nutrition/13Best.html

Sadly, my workout doubts do not hold water. There seems to a certain way to workout/stay in shape. Even though the field of physical fitness adjusts to scientific discoveries pertaining to the development of muscle and such, this does not give anyone an excuse not to workout. This is what I tell myself haha.

So, Ill go on and do all the workouts doled out to me by my captains. It'll keep me in shape. But I will begin to change when and how I stretch. The variables will be types of stretches, whether to stretch after warmups after practices (or both), and for how long. My gut says to vary the stretches every two weeks, always stretch after practice ends and stretch for a moderate amount of time (around 10 mins maybe). Sidenote, I think a swimmer told me that you should stretch a quarter of the time you spent working out. Sidenote on that sidenote, I hate unsubstantiated workout advice. Pisses me off. For all we know they made it up.

Athelticism wins games. A team that has better athleticism can keep up/beat a team that has everything else but.

Bids

All mindset? Sure, at first. But once youre over that hump, I think it's more about physical not mental commitment. If youre running all out and your body is low youre more likely to bid successfully than when youre standing straightup. Of course body positioning and speed become irrelevant after youve done it a few dozen times on the worst surfaces imaginable (e.g. The Barksdale Desert)

"All about the toe" - Andy

Reading the Disc

"Decide where its going to go immediately after its thrown" - Niji
"Take a few steps back in preparation for the catch, then attack" - William
Only intentionally backpedal from the disc.
Oh and attack that shit.

Cuts

I dont like turtles I like cutting.
Stuff I need to work on:
1. Instinctively I know when to make a cut. Go all out when it occurs to me, and already be cutting when it occurs to me. Trust yourself Luke.
2. More than one fake is ok.
3. Try both playing off the defender's position and cutting where you want to cut
4. Alternate feet in which to pivot
5. For handler cuts, always move right after a throw. Quick.

The Mark

A certain demotivational poster comes to mind.
1. Staying close is key for the first six counts or so, after that backup.
2. Hold that force, dont get faked out of position.
3. On a turn it, depending on field position of the disc and players, it helps to go strike for two seconds max to cut off the huck.
4. Bring the condoms.

Conclusions for the year: I have learned alot, something Im proud of. Alot more to go, to put it simply. Looking forward to all of it.

Aight. Thoughts on high school pickup to come.




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A Year in Retrospect Pt. 1

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Fall '09


I honestly didnt expect to make the team. I saw more potential in so many other players. Because of this I felt as if I would not stick out (even though I threw a once in a lifetime flick huck). Sectionals left me satisfied, but I still thought I wouldnt make the team.

I wanted to make the team because of something I heard from a friend during sectionals. He said that you are as good as the people you play with. Even though I had heard this type of saying in other types of competitive settings it didnt make sense until I saw a dude named Max play. He's a handler with UCSB (who're now going to nationals I believe). To put it into plain terms he was awesome. Great throws, physicality and bids. Man his bids were awesome. He got all of this in three years I think. It all started with him throwing with Alan Kolick. All they did was throw with each other for a summer. And look at Max now. He was/is as good as those around him. I wanted to play with the best available for a purely selfish reason: to get better, quick. Luckily I got to do this and more.

So, I made the team. The first serious thing I heard from the upperclassmen was "freshmen dont get much playing time, and if they do its on defense." I was fine with that, it made sense. I never want to be put on the field unless I deserve to/am good enough. So I put it to myself, "Sean, work your fucking ass off and then you might get to play." And that's what I did. I worked my ass off haha. I never doubted myself because I felt I wasnt good enough yet. I still think "Sean, you can start doubting yourself AFTER you get the basics down. Then we can talk".

At the time the "basics" are as follows:
1. Throws
2. Field Awareness
3. Athleticism
4. Bids
5. Reading the Disc
6. Cuts
7. The Mark

In the first semester I picked up the "basics" of 1,2,3,6 and 7. For some reason I didn't think defense was something I had to learn, that I would pick up on it really quickly without too much practice. How wrong I was hahahaha.

So I located some talented people to play with, explored how far ultimate could take me (Max), arranged in my mind a good way to learn ultimate and rehearsed the hell out of it. I only had to demonstrate all of this in a serious setting, kind of a final test. I guess this either happened over time or hasn't happened yet. Some part of me still feels like I havent faced that final exam yet. Prolly a good thing. Maybe I never will. I'll just keep pushing myself, never allowing myself to think there is some ending to all of this. Mmmm warms the heart thinking about that. That me getting better at ultimate will never expire, only I will.

Spring '09:

I did a majority of the team assigned workouts over winter break, about a months length in between the fall and spring seasons. Through this I found out that I could run four miles, better yet that fact that I was in shape haha. That was and will be an important mental obstacle going into each season: "Am I in shape?". Back then I felt I was in shape, but not the best I could be. Luckily I have next winter to improve upon that. And the winter after. And after. And after. Haha :).

The best of the freshmen started to step forward. I think its safe to say Bobby and I were the ones to step forward first in the Spring season. It's also safe to say none of the upperclassmen saw this coming for either of us. We didn't either haha. I have tried my hardest not to let this fact get to my head. A few times it slipped out (like correcting a senior on how to throw), but I think I held it together.

The consistant absence of so many freshmen was something else I didn't see coming. WTF. So much potential yet the gotta go frat it up. Pussies. Fuckers. All frats get you is drunk as fuck (we do that too) and a bunch of really hot william and mary chicks (ugly by any other standard).
In conclusion, fuck you freshmen that didn't come to practice. Have fun trying out next semester with the rest of us.

One thing I found disappointing in myself was my fear to mess up. During important games, where deep down I knew I could have made a difference, I sat on the sidelines scared. I now realize that I have to make mistakes in order to learn. This is something I know I will overcome in the coming months. I have lost that fear of messing up. I feel like I have picked that up from two friends of mine, not from how they play, but how they face adversity. They laugh it off. At first I tried it jokingly, but then it started to help me brush unimportant things off. For instance, when i made an S-cut in the endzone during a game, I was similing/laughing while I read the disc. It floated above my head for awhile resulting in a misread. For some reason I was ok with it because of my laughter. I know Ill do better next time and at least I was having a good time when I messed up.

Here are some personal conclusions/improvements for the coming year. These are things I am not able to do yet to my liking. A "Con" section I guess.

Throws

1. Flicks
a. Flatten them out for better hucks and low releases
b. go easy on them, allowing the throw to flow from my hand. No jerking off.
c. Don't over-emphasize the angle of my IO low release break flick.
d. High release flick, get better at short throws then hucks can come after
e. Follow through my flicks with an upward open palm. Think about making it look like it possesses finesse.
f. work on the lefty flick
g. get the airbounce out (yeah I know, how the hell can you airbounce a flick. Well I can so fuck off haha)

2. Backhands
a. Get to the point where i can better control my high releases, i.e. be able to throw them in practice, not just during a game
b. work on the high release huck
c. learn to reach out as far as possible for each level of the throw
d. practice stepping out on my low releases in order to surpass Sami at his breaks. Goal: I will get better at them than him.
e. practice stepping out on the huck. straight out. curl the arm more. go out quick, not slow.
f. get the airbounce out of low releases.

3. Hammers
a. get to the point where I can do a bunch of different types of hammers (flatten out quick, distance hammers, higher than lower, lower than higher, quick release etc.)
b. get them game ready/actually get good at them haha
c. be able to throw one in any sort of footing (flick stance, stepping out etc.)

4. Scoobers
a. actually get good at them
b. flat ones and high ones and distance ones, all at different angles?

5. Misc.
a. Pushpass: Now that ive had fun with them, think of a situation in game where I need one. Do I need one? Can't I just do a lefty backhand instead? Something to experiment with.
b. Biscuit: start doing jumping biscuits, i.e. Greatest's
c. Jersey Wheel: purely to show up Kyle haha/i wont ever practice this
d. Thumber: I heard Conger uses these in game. Explore this. They defenitely have a different flight pattern than a hammer. If and what ways is the Thumber flight pattern better?

6. Hucks
a. experiment, experiment, experiment
b. practice putting them to different places on the field relative to where the cutter is
c. try every type of throw for a huck

7. Zone Breakers
a. blady flick? (e.g. "The Ankh" "The Key of Life" Ankoor Patel)
b. scoobers, improve in general (see above section)
c. quick release hammers??

8. Fakes
a. experiment, experiment, experiment
b. at this point fake even when you dont have to
c. remember faking isnt juking, it's using your body language to get your mark into a position advantageous to yourself
d. practice the grip transition in time with the pivot transition
e. workout for it maybe, get quick at pivots
f. think of throws just in the context of fakes

9. Experimentation
a. at times try to do stuff that is totally random. it might just work/be totally awesome

Field Awareness/Defense

This is where I need to improve upon most. This summer I should work on getting more D points that O points. I dont care if you think I need practice as a handler for next season.
There will be less in this sections because I feel I know less of this subject. Maybe you could expand upon/reorganize this for me Bobby.

1. Cutter D
a. all about body positioning, figure out when and where to better position my body
b. force the cutter where I want him to go, but not in wildly obvious ways maybe
c. always stay on the balls of my feet. marking too. thats where all the manliness is anyways. har har.

2. Handler D
a. experiment on when to look at the dump and when to look at the handler
b. never let the strike off, always push/body them back in
c. try to read the dumps body language i.e. eyes, center of gravity

3. 50/50 Discs
a. decide where the disc is going to go immediately and position myself accordingly
b. be confidant in jumping

-----to be continued-----



2 comments

Thoughts on Pickup Game- 5/23

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A few thoughts from my first game of pickup for the summer:
We had only 12 to begin with so we played savage 6's for the first 7-8 points, needless to say i played all of about the first 12 points that we played with very little down time, i was disappointed that i got quite tired after these points and my ability to make plays was decreased for the rest of the game, i guess this is somewhat expected considering i haven't played in about 3 weeks but i would like to improve my stamina and maybe learn to conserve energy more effectively, tips for this- remember to eat and drink before playing/ bring snacks and water as my lack of doing these obvious things definitely did not help. On another note, we ran a really sloppy vert for the most part (not wholly unexpected for a pickup game) and I found cutting to be challenging without a structured stack due to lanes being clogged, this really enforced the importance of having a structured stack

Good to take away from the day-
Threw some really good flick hucks, some that i thought were good were unfortunately not caught I'm assuming its because it was a pickup game
Threw a really good backhand huck for a score.
Worked on my fakes and break mark throws and definitely felt some sort of improvement as the game progressed
Played pretty good defense (on a random note I was called out for bodying up on a strike cut)
Made good short throws and dump cuts, played relatively good handler
Realized the extent of my improvement over the course of the year in both throwing, cutting, and defense playing against players that were not on a collegiate level as i was able to dominate the game until i became fatigued

Things I still need to improve-
My mark is still kinda shaky (though macked one or two, need to work on being lighter on my feet, got semi-broken a few times
better decision making with the disc, threw away too many discs of throws that i did not need to make; make sure communication has been established before throwing
Remember the rule of thirds

A lot of these observations are a bit basic but still vital to improving my ability on all levels going forward, furthermore pickup games are obviously not the place to improve on a lot of aspects of the game as hard man D and cutting deep are quite a bit easier due to an overall mismatch in athleticism. 0 comments

My First Year of Ultimate: Looking Back and Forward

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All things considered, my first year of playing ultimate went pretty well, as a team we were able to make it to our regional tournament and gave Tennessee a real run for their money, even though we backed into in a way, we definitely deserved to be there because given the chance we would have broken seed. Also, our sectional tournament was a lot of fun as we beat the teams we should have unfortunately falling just short twice against JMU, a team that we will definitely butt heads with in the future. Personally, I think that I played pretty well in the spring season, defense was definitely my strong suit and I hope to improve offensively to help the team more on that end next year. Over the course of the year, I feel that I improved my throwing significantly and have gained a greater ability to use my athleticism effectively to make plays. Though my awareness on offense still needs some help, I feel that I have good awareness on defense and when my man is not actively cutting I am always looking for the poach D's. I'm looking forward to the next year of Frisbee at W&M and wondering what it will be like without our seniors, the handling core of our team.

Goals for the Summer:

Defense: Work on dictating
Work on deep game
Increase Awareness
Work on my Mark

Offense: Improve cutting significantly
Improve Awareness of other cutters
Improve decision making and throwing while in possession of the disc
Better backhands
Improve the flick huck

Overall: I have to work on a more positive attitude/stop getting so down on myself after mistakes, live and learn but dont make the mistake again

Continue to Improve Athleticism and ability to use that athleticism effectively as i have noticed players such as fickley and niji, who I am probably a little bit more athletic/fast than, are able to play shut down defense and cut quite effectively, and if i can work on using my athleticism better I could undoubtedly increase my ability. Also, I want to play as much as possible next year and do not want to be tired while doing so

Lay out through bitches 0 comments