Two days of 4-hour tryouts. The plan for each day was lots of scrimmaging, a few drills, and a bit of conditioning at the end. I felt pretty good, though could have been in better shape. My pulls were kinda weak, but I did take some time to work on my flicks. I also did pretty well in the conditioning, but I think I def need to work on fitness. Lifting is good, but I gotta get shuttles/shuffles in, and more metcon work as well.
Another year, another nationals. This year it was back in Sarasota. The weather was hot, but the location is the best - the fields were beautiful, the ocean was amazing (even at night, and even despite the jellyfish), and the Daquiri Deck was even better than I remember it. The only thing lacking was our game. We lost all our games on Thursday (9-12 Blackbird, 11-12 AMP, 11-12 Toro), then won the next 4 games and clawed our way back into the top 8 before losing the 7/8 game to Drag'n Thrust (13-10 Love Tractor, 14-11 Steamboat, 12-11 Blackbird, 15-9 shame, 9-15 Drag'n). So, no finals appearance this year, but we did win the spirit award, which is almost as big.
Personally I played fairly well. I was only in 2-4 points a game, so I was fresh overall. I had 3 turns total - a drop against AMP and two throwaways on hucks. Both were good decisions, decently well-thrown, and just a little off the mark. We talked about taking calculated risks, so I stand by them. I scored 5 goals, threw one, and got a D. I felt I could have contributed more, esp filling in as an O line cutter when our O was tired (like the last game on Thurs), but we ran a fairly tight rotation so I did my best to help from the sideline.
Another nationals highlight was watching AMP make it to the finals for the first time ever. They played really well, but ended up losing on universe to Mixtape in a very exciting game. Despite that, I’m really happy for them. Their team is very young and they’ll be strong for a few years at least (if they stick together).
Finally, the best part (as always) is spending time with people you know and like. I had a great time bonding with the team (chai time, skinny dipping every night, getting kicked off the beach at 4am, dirty dancing at the Daquiri Deck, spikeball vs Truck/Scandal) as well as people I don’t get to see that often (again at the Deck, and at the fields, and the beach, and random places in between).
Hope to do it all again next year.
We came, we saw, we conquered (except for Slow). We started the weekend off in classic Metro North fashion: by ignoring everything we practice and jamming it in the jamhole repeatedly. But we eventually got our shit together, moved the disc well, and raised our game. The crossover with Slow was an epic back-and-forth game, and we even got the D on the goal line on universe and had the opportunity to win it, but a nice D by Todd got them the disc back and they converted for the win. On Sunday, we had a really close game with Xist - another universe-point game, but this time we won it and qualified for Nationals. We played Slow again in the finals, but it was just for seeding and half our team sat the game out.
Peronally, my main errors were on hucks. When I’m rushing my huck or I feel like I have to throw it (when we call Sausage), it never goes well. When I’m throwing in a power position or it feels natural, I’m great. Besides that, my game was great - solid defense (including several points where not only did my guy never touch the disc, but I felt like he was never open at all), strong cutting, and consistently moving the disc to the breakside. My only turns were 3 hucks, and only one of them was a bad decision. I even felt strong and fast all weekend, never feeling like I cannot keep up with my defender or cannot keep cutting well.
Practice practice practice. We worked on chips and the breakside, reviewed and pracitced our plays, and focused on good throws and decision-making while tired. We go to battle next weekend. #choochoo
Feedback from captains: On-field, everything is good. I’m a fairly veteran player and my instincts are right most of the time. Off-field, I should lead more and teach the younger players more.
A weekend in Boston with Metro North 2017. I’m in the worst shape ever going into a season, with several nagging injuries. Despite that, I still played pretty well. My two turns were both poor-decision, poor-execution hucks. I also had some mistakes on D, getting beat badly a few times. On the upside, I had 3 Ds including a fall-over handblock on the mark, I threw some nice throws and hucks, and my legs felt ok at the end of Sunday. Even running the nine 40s at the end (one for each OB pull all weekend) felt pretty good.
Went to the first weekend of Metro tryouts. I didn’t play much, because I’m still rehabbing my knee. But I did warmups, participated in a few drills, and spent a lot of time stretching and slow-squatting. I also helped out where I could, collecting discs and dispensing advice. Tryouts went well - there are some promising new players, old vets, and friends who I haven’t played with in a while. Best of all, my knee feels pretty good. I didn’t do much, but its the first workout I’ve done in a while that didn’t leave my tendon sore.
On the downside, I’m months behind in fitness. I’ll have to work hard over the next few months to catch up, but be careful not to overdo it. I’m really looking forward to having a squat rack in my basement.
An exciting weekend for Metro North. We won the region, beating Slow White (the top seed, and #2 in the country) 15-13 in the finals. That game was one of the cleanest and most focused games I’ve ever played. Our O line only had two turns, and only let Slow convert one of them. Our D line converted two breaks (I caught both of them :-) ), and had a chance to convert at least one more. I felt like I was completely in the zone and focused on the game. I did talk to people on the sideline, but I barely remember what I said.
Before the finals, we had a few close games with 7X and Wildcard. I played fairly well in those too, though I had one or two turns on Sat and missed some D opportunities.
Practice 3-6 Saturday and 10-1 Sunday. Worked on a lot of things, talked about mental toughness, played lots of slap cup.
As far as ultimate goes, I did not play that well. A lot of turns - rushed throws, bad decisions, just not there mentally. I need to focus on taking an extra second before every throw, even the easy ones. It may feel slow, but I think it will up my percentage. And NO HUCKS unless its obviously the right throw.
Off the field, I killed it at slap cup.
6 games across 2 days. We didn’t have many players, and lost some to injury as the weekend went on, so I got a lot of reps. I tried out KT tape for my knee, and am happy to report that it did not bother me at all on Saturday and only hurt a little on Sunday (whether this correlation implies any causation or not, I still don’t know). I had more turns and less Ds this weekend than I did in Colorado, but I also had to handle more since Lucas wasn’t there and Liz is out for the season. I esp played poorly against Amp and Drag'n Thrust, with several turns in each game that were caused by rushing a throw - my main problem area. If we converted just a few more breaks, we could have won those games (or at least kept them competitive).
I threw the longest huck for a goal of my life - an 80-yard endzone-to-endzone huck to Mari. To be fair my mark was slow to get set so I had a wide-open backhand, but it’s still a nice achievement.
Two days of ultimate at 6000ft. Actually, the altitude didn’t bother me nearly as much as I thought it would. I felt fine the whole time. We did bring a full roster, which helped keep everyone fresh and well-rested.
On the whole, a solid weekend for the team. We lost in the finals and played some games closer than we should have (e.g. Platypi, Blackbird). But we also had a lot of good moments and some strong comebacks. Our D was especially solid, digging us out of holes a few times.
Personally, I ended the weekend with a +3 on my score-o-meter (Ds minus turns). My only turn was my first throw of the tourney - a dump to Lucas that I threw a bit too hard and too wide for him to get to. I think this might be my highest score in a few years. I must be getting old. I even called a timeout once.
Off the field, this was one of the best tourneys we’ve had. Hanging out with Squeege and others in CO was great. The highlight was our 2-hour-long game of Crazy Grapes in Squeege’s pool. I also went motown dancing, explored downtown Denver, celebrated Kerry’s birthday, played Dominion, and watched lots of people catch lots of Pokemon.
6 games over 3 days at the US Open. We did really well, winning our pool (despite a last-game loss to Polar Bears) and then losing a close game to Slow in the semis. Personally, I wasn’t at the top of my game because my toe was killing me, but it actually got better throughout the weekend and I played my best game against Slow. I even got a shoutout after games on Saturday for continuing to cut hard even late in the day/tournament.
Besides the ultimate, I had a lot of fun hanging out with the team. We drank beer, went swimming in the ocean, played games, watched ultimate, and enjoyed each others company. It was a great start to the season.
Two long, hot days of ultimate with not many subs. The D line guys were practically savage all weekend, especially Saturday. DJ left halfway into the second game, so the four of us (Lucas, Billy YoungJo, and I) played every D point after that. Occaisionally one or two others would sub in and help out, but that was basically it. On top of that, I did a bad job taking care of myself (not enough water, salt and sunblock, not enough sleep and food the day before). In one of the very last points of the fourth game, I cramped up super-hard (both hamstrings and a calf) and had to lie on the ground for 10 min before I could get up again. Thankfully the game ended and we were done for the day.
On Sunday, I took extra care to eat and drink a lot (I also ice-showered the night before), and felt way better. We were still low on numbers, but DJ returned and John G’s hamstring felt better so he played a few points. Despite playing the whole previous day, I felt less tired after Sunday than I did after Saturday. The caffeine and electrolyte pills probably helped too.
Game-wise, I guess I played well. I’m not happy about my lack of forced Ds and how tired I felt, but its hard to compare that to a normal game where I’ll have proper subs. I didn’t throw many turnovers, which is great for me, but I did make several fatigue-induced mistakes (not helping out on a few discs, getting beat upline, dropping two discs that I had my hands on, some throwaways). Then again, I played solid defense the vast majority of the time. Even in the last game, I stuck close to my guy a lot and ran a few nice switches with Billy. I guess my main problem was summoning the will to cut hard after a turn, esp late in the day. On the points where I forced myself to go hard, we usually did well and scored quickly. On the points where I was too tired, it was hard to make things happen. I gained a lot of respect for the other guys on the line (esp Billy) and their nonstop effort after turns.
I picked up a few minor injuries (a bruise under my big toe nail, some soreness in my tendons), but my tendonitis doesnt seem to be bothering me today. I hope it still feels good after US Open next week, and continues to hold throughout the season.
Tryouts went 3-6pm Saturday and then 9am-noon on Sunday. The format was mostly this: warm up, a bit of cutting/throwing drills, 3v3 mini, 4v4 full-field, 7v7 full-field. I had a lot of fun both days, playing against good players and being outside. The weather was a bit cold and rainy today, but it really was not a problem.
Personally, I feel a bit more tired that I should (and felt somewhat more tired throughout the weekend then I think I should). I’m chalking it up to early-seasonness, but I don’t think I’ve felt this way in previous seasons (even last season, when I took 5 weeks off in April-May). However, my flick hucks were pretty good for most of the weekend (only had one mistake), my breaks were solid, and my D was good for the most part. I had a lot of trouble with Korber and Match, but did a good job on just about everyone else. My main problem was my backhand hucks (I’m 0-for-2) and timidness in the air (got skied a few times when I shouldn’t have). My I/O flick was also a bit shitty at times during mini, but that’s probably due to fatigue for the most part.
An hour of mini with the FFLD people. My throws were better and my D was reasonably good, but I still get tired too quickly and need more recovery time between points than I’m used to.
While we were playing, a guy came up to us and started talking to us. Turns out he used to play for Sockeye back in the late 90s and is now coaching a local high school. I think we’ll be seeing more of him.
Played mini with the crew. Felt better about my fitness, but got really cold and couldn’t throw well. Great day to be outside.
Session two of BAD. Very similar to session 1, but we worked on jumping instead of sprinting.
First day at BAD (Better Athletic Development). Some of the Metro North ppl got a class to themselves. It’s pretty similar to the Spinners workout sessions from last year, though I think Ben’s stuff was better (but it’s too early to judge). We worked on sprint form and power, core stuff, and then overall fitness circuit. Core was the worst for me, but I’m sure I’ll get better at it. The sprinting work was good. I learned that I need to swing my arms higher (“cheek to cheek”), which will cause my stride to lengthen and I’ll run faster. I have good turnover, but dont gain as much ground on each step as I could. It’s probably because I play defense all the time.
Record low attendance (4 guys, 6 girls) meant lots of PT for me. I was extra tired by the time we finished. Maybe its the two tough games yesterday, maybe its the focus on lifting over the past few months. Either way, time to take a day off tomorrow.
1.5 hours of metro north indoor. Only had 5 guys, so I got to play a lot.
Feedback: my decisions are good in general, but sometimes I do something stupid. Diana called it my “let’s see” throws.
Highest-level Trumbull game yet. Didn’t have many subs, and everyone was going pretty hard on both sides of the disc. I got new cleats right before too (my first pair of lacrosse cleats) and they felt pretty good. One of them gave me a bit of a blister, but hopefully that goes away soon.