Sunday, January 31, 2010

Acromioclavicular

Strained AC joint. Thanks to my lucky stars something wasn't broken.
Sometimes in Ultimate you just get injured. Not really anyone's fault, but its gonna take a while to recover fully. Basically I suck at anything that requires two hands or the left hand exclusively.

I don't hold any grudges vs Cal because of this and look forward to actually getting to play them at PresDay.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Lei Out 2010

So let me get this straight:
Your team name is "Hazed and Confused" which is a riff on last year's "Hazing" (which was a nod to the famous Psycho "hazing" of 2007) using the Led Zeppelin song "Dazed and Confused"?

Yes.

And your shirts have a purple Jimmy Hendrix on the front... because his song "Purple Haze" has the word "Haze" in it? And you didn't actually use Led Zeppelin in any way?

Yes.

Talk about a well thought out theme. Synergasm.

This year I was the captain of our team of UCSD players at Lei Out which basicly meant I fronted the money and got the emails from the TD. Thanks to Ariel "Ziggy" Whitman for doing much of the actual leadership stuff like "enforcing" our after-game hazing of the other team. I did make one important leadership decision though: originally the TDs had placed us in the B-bracket and I was kinda miffed about that; we were all UCSD A team players and were gonna whomp on the B-bracket teams. At the captain's meeting before the first round there was a team looking to switch from the A to the B so I jumped at the chance. Every single one of my teammates was really mad at me: this was supposed to be a fun tournament! It did not help that the first team we played had the famous Beau on it and crushed us 11-3. Here's the thing though: we drank just as much as if we were in the B, we actually won a game in our Saturday, and we got to be next to the 2 other SD teams and play 1 of them while if we had stayed in B we would be on the field farthest away from everything and near no one we knew.

Here is my last word on it: "fun" frisbee tournaments should not be just drinking events. We paid a lot of money to compete. I like trying hard. I have more fun losing a good, hard-fought game than winning a blow out. We are all good players who are serious about the sport. We can "have fun" and goof off but still play at a high level.


And you played a team named "Vurple Haze"? That must have been confusing.


After a pretty serious "ordeal" we finally made it back to the hotel (The Huntley), showered, and rallied for party with plenty of time to enjoy the tourney bar tab and dance the night away. I really really enjoyed the party. I was perfectly drunk to the level when I am an amazing dancer, everyone is my friend, I don't care much about how sweaty I am, and I couldn't get too pissed about my beer breath when I made out with those 2 girls because ... well... what could I do?

Party Highlights:
6 People complemented my shirt
5 People complemented my dancing
4 24oz Four malt liquor/energy drinks drunk
3 People mentioned that they read my blog.
2 Girls
1 Ben Wiggens coming up to ME and said hi. OMG HE KNOWS MY NAME OMG *Faint!* hahajk

Downstairs at the Monsoon (sorry LPC folk: the cool people partied upstairs)

One last note about the party. I have been making a conscious effort to NOT take my shirt off at parties recently. I think that while I have certainly been a big fan of it in the past, I realize it is sometimes (read: often) tacky - a thinly veiled attempt to increase the sexuality and nakedness of the party. It seems unbecoming, if you will. But I just couldn't resist when I found my way to the shirtless LPC team. Sometimes you just gotta take your shirt off and wave it in the air. When in Rome...

Sunday we walk to the fields from the hotel, play a really close game verse Joe Kersher's team (2nd Callahan-winner's team we've played) and lose because... well... many people didn't recognize we were in a close game until double game point. I tell Kersher how much I like him and everything he did for Arizona and for how classy Arizona is.

Then we beat some team by a lot. Then most of the team leaves to watch the Charger's game. Then the remaining people play the best game of the weekend. I finally get a sweet layout D, a sweet reaching layout huck score, and complete the best trick throw ever for a score to Meg. We win 12-10 but let the other team advance because we want to go meet up with the rest of the team.

In the end, most people had a really good time, only one toe got broken, and Im out a ton of money until my teammates pay me back.

Congrats to the Polar Bears for an awesome run to the Championship!

See everyone next year.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Things I've Learned about Being on an Ultimate Team

I've been around this sport on various teams for a while. Here are some of the tidbits of wisdom that I've learned about being on a team.




-The way to build your teammates trust in you is to let others throw scores. Make passes to them that put them in very good position to throw easy scores. Instead of trying to impress them with the craftiness of your basketball-assists, make them look good with the selflessness of your hockey-assists. Holster the 80%-20% huck and throw a break to a teammate on the other side of the field so they can throw the 95%-5% 15 yarder. It wont show up on the stats sheet, but people will notice over time.

-The second way to build trust is to NOT tryout those tricky throws in the end-of-practice-scrimmage. Be solid, save the 40 yard hammer for warm-ups and hammer drills. When teammates see you taking a practice scrimmage seriously, they will know you can take a game seriously.

-When you do something good - throw a critical break, get a layout D, and especially catch a difficult score - its necessary to celebrate in the appropriate way. People often say "act like you've been there before" but this DOES not mean you must act like its no big deal or be diminutive or shrug it off like it was lucky - look at how football and soccer players celebrate. Perhaps a more apt analogy is volleyball players: when they score they fist pump, scream, high-five and jump. The key is to demonstrate your high energy level to motivate your team and NOT direct anything at the other team. Look to Moses Rifkin on Sockeye for how to celebrate with class.

-This next point is really a continuation of the last. Learn to take a complement and you'll be much better off. When someone says "Nice throw/catch/shutdownD/ect.!" don't reply with "Yeah, well I could have.... and really it happened that way because .... so it wasn't really that good". The correct way to respond to a complement is "Thank you." That goes for the rest of life too. It does not feel good to complement someone and be told you were wrong to commend them.

-Learn to take criticism and you'll be much better off. This is a big one in the Ultimate world that we all need to work on. Your teammates just want to help you and help the team. They are just trying to share their knowledge. Accept that the person giving the criticism, even if they are your captain or coach, is no expert on the subject. Don't get mad because you are being told that you're wrong, don't argue because things look a lot different to the person actually on the field than to the criticizer watching from the sideline. Simply listen and think about it. If there are things you want to discuss, do it AFTER the commenter is completely finished with his comments - he probably has a specific train of though that he wants to express without interruption - its better to let the moment pass and then discuss it 5 minutes later after both parties have given it some thought. This is especially hard when your blood and your ego are pumping quick from getting scored on but no one is helped when teammates argue: just listen. Even if you completely disagree at first, think about what was said and then decide if its helpful or not. If it does not help you, just disregard it: again, no one is really an expert on anything so even if we say "This is the way to do ..." what we really mean is "In the past, I have had some success with..."


-Learn how to give constructive criticism and you'll be much better off. 1 on 1. Stationary, not walking. No yelling. Keep it short and directly relevant - the sideline is no time for a rambling blog post. Understand that you are not the expert - you are simply sharing your experience. Say "thanks for listening" at the end. Don't get your ego hurt if they get mad, just let it go: no one is helped when teammates argue. Be open to talking about and debating the advice later. You can learn a lot too by making your criticism the beginning of a thoughtful discussion.


-Its OK for there to be silence in a huddle. Better that there be 1 constructive thing said and nothing else than lots of people talking just to say something. Look at people in the eye and show them you want to win: that's the best thing you can do in a huddle.

-If you are not playing well you can get out of your slump and help the team by focusing on other players. Be positive about others' good play, yell from the sideline, give high fives and smiles. Rush the field after goals even if you are getting benched. Focusing on your own bad play will not help you that much to fix it, and doesn't help the team at all. Often I have felt that I must curse myself and act mad when I screw up to SHOW my teammates that I am appropriately upset about my poor play - that I care enough about turnovers. Fuck that. Just let it go, the rest of the team wants to think about the next point and you should too.


-The best way to get to know people is to travel to a tournament with them. I absolutely LOVE long drives up the 5 because I can really get to know my teammates. Don't put on your headphones; make a mix CD of your favorite music and share it with the rest of the car. You'll be amazed at how much better your team plays together after they all know about each other's girlfriend situations, high school shenanigans, and philosophies on life and politics.


-Its good to get really really drunk with your teammates. Throw hockey-assists to build on field trust, stumble around plastered to build off the field trust.


-You must try to include the newer members of the team in fun stuff. We've all been on the other side of the equation and it sure feels nice to get invited to the after-practice lunch. Even if they have made the roster, they will not feel fully "on the team" if they are not part of the extra-frisbee activities of the team.


-Enjoy your team for what it is even if you are striving to be better. Take some time every now and then and say to yourself: "I am on a team with my good friends and we try hard and have fun." Even if everyone around you is dying of heat exhaustion and loosing to your rivals or on the verge of vomiting in the middle of a track workout at least you are doing it together.

-Live with your teammates. Its awesome. No one else can put up with or understand all the muddy stuff by the door after each practice like your fellow teammate who just dumped his sogging wet cleats next to yours.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Some Nonstandard Drills

Is your team in a rut? Doing the same drills every single practice? Mix it up and try some of these. Let me know how it goes.

Breakmark with Intentional Fouls

Same as regular 3-person breakmark, but from stalls 1-5, the marker is allowed to foul in any way except for bear-hugging. From stalls 5-10 there is no fouling allowed. 2 points for completing a throw before 5 and subtract a point from the marker, 1 point for any D, subtract a point from the thrower for getting blocked or stalled. Most points wins. Teaches throwers to pivot through chest fouls and throw through arm fouls. This drill is not about teaching how to foul but how to deal with them. Don't mislead yourself, even if you are a saint, you will still get fouled at the elite level.

2 Person Quick Toss

2 people stand 5 yards apart and toss the disc to each other. The kicker is that you must catch the disc with only one hand and must throw with the same grip you caught it with. This will quickly show the value of throwing with the goal of accommodating your teammates' quick releases and the value of catching palm-up.

Keep Away
I don't get it, every soccer team does this but I have never ever seen a Ultimate team doing it. Whole team in an endzone, try to string the most consecutive passes without a turnover.Double team is legal. Stall 5.
Fun variations: Strips (but not fouls) are legal after stall3, 2 discs in play at same time.
Teaches quick movement and short passes.


Quick conversion
4 players: 2O 2D;

D1--5yards--D2,O1 ----Disc----10yards-------O2 ----------------------ENDZONE

On a whistle or "Go", all players run in the same direction toward the endzone. O1 picks up the disc and looks to put a flat huck out in front of O2 while D1 puts on a no-huck mark and before D2 catches up to the receiver. This teaches no-huck mark dynamics, huck-recieving body positioning, and catching up and coming from behind to D a huck.

Mini
3on3, Field is 20 yards wide, by 30 yards long, with six yard endzones. Make-it-take-it. A goal is worth a point, a turnover i.e. drop, disc thrown out of bounds, stall, block, counts for negative one. A game is won when a team reaches 3, a game is lost when a team reaches negative two. Teaches quick movement and fast thinking with lots of touches for everyone. A mini-Mini tournament would be a perfect competitive warmup before practice.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Plugged In

The double latte is connected to the...
5'oclock shadow which is connected to the...
Ears which are connected to the...
Iconic white ear buds which are connected to and bumping tunes from...
The iPhone which downloaded those tunes from...
The laptop connected to the internet...
That is now connected to Facebook...
Which is now burning the stati of my high school acquaintances into my retinas.

Im Plugged In baby! But I don't know the frist name of anyone around me.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Problem With Self Officiation In Ultimate...

... is differential understanding and application of the rules.

Lets face it, some players call pick if they even have to think about any other body on the field besides their mark - some only call it when there is contact between players and have no problem running through the stack to follow their guy so long as they don't have to clobber anyone. Some call a travel on the fast breaking give-goer, some don't. There is a wind range of violation criteria in our players' minds. Further, call selection tends to change as the game gets closer to the end.

Compare this with soccer officiating. I have been a referee for 11 years. Yes, different referees call things differently. There even is a change in call selection when the ball is in the penalty area and depending on requirements of game control. One referee will even call a foul in one game that he let go in a previous game. The difference, is that all the decisions are left to one mind who applies the rules equally to all players and both teams. Even if one team completely disagrees with the foul selection, at least both teams know the standard.

With 14 different referees on the field, it is very hard to have a consistent standard for what is deserving of a call and what is not.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Spring Break Jokes


06: ToNIGHT!, Smegma go get Booker - Booker go get Hutch - Hutch go get Smegma
07: You don't want the last drop - NO! You DO want the last drop!, Leave room for Jesus, Tall Horney Bitch, Stealing flags successfully


08: ROLFADARO! Water balloon attack on "Irene!", Getting fire extinguished, Stealing flags unsuccessfully

09: Shitting on the girl's van, Threevadro! Fish suck at throwing eggs. Pissing on the girl's van.

10: ???