Word

For the first time in GUNX history, I drove to a tournament. This is my story.

I was armed with a powerful car -- Matt "Makes out with Girls" Conti, Tall Tom, and Mitch the Scott. Mitch graciously provided music for the car since my normal vehicle is out for 2-4 weeks with a Constant Idle Motor injury and I am therefore unable to use my USB drive for said music. He basically just brought a lot of Led Zeppelin and then some other randos.

I was originally driving 2x4, meaning I would have to leave around 3 when he got out of class. GUNX being GUNX, I didn't have to drive him, but we left around 3 anyway. Mostly because Ben wanted to pregame the car-ride in my apartment. Plus make one for the road. Rob and Charles played some cross-apartment beer pong. You know the drill.

After being angry at Tom for being late he brought me a has bagel, so I was happy with him again. Got gas, a 5 hour energy, dodged some truck that tried to destroy my car, and we were on our way.

Car ride was fine, 1 stop, and 5-hour-energy kept me more alert than an exaggerated metaphor. We didn't even get lost.

After waiting about 30 minutes for the peoples to be ready, we entered the apartment, which was more like a palace. Giant TV, surround sound, Rush concert on, you know the deal. We ended up going out for beer and I got some red-dog. Then we went out to get fast food hoping there were more than Drive-Thrus open. There was not. MC tried to use his Charm skill to get us some Baconators, but the old lady resisted. We opted for chips and some sandwiches.

I got a bed in the captains quarters, where Ben, MC, Tom, and I all stayed. I had originally commandeered the bed all to myself, and then MC said he would share with me. Upon seeing the size of it, I kicked him out, only to have Ben take it. It worked out fine until the middle of the night where he was mostly ontop of me and I was overheating.

Wakeup time was at 730 (I think) in order to leave by 8 so we could get to the fields by 9 so we could be warmed up by 10. Didn't happen. Pretty sure we lost all our time at Tim Hortons, but in retrospect that was worth every penny. I got a Bacon Egg and Cheese sandwich, which was delicious.

We got to the fields a bit later than we wanted, I think like 915 or something. People took a really long time to poop and ready themselves, which is another reason why we didn't get to warm up too well. We ended up getting moved because the Alumni team had a keg and they didn't want it close to the road.

First game was against Albany/Buffalo Alumni, I think we just flipped for pull. Who knows. Exact scoring details are unknown, but they ended up playing a bunch of points with beers in their right hand and throwing lefty, or upside down points, or upsidedown lefty points. I got angry because no one wanted to change their playing style on offense to try to take advantage of their lack of defense but whatever. We lost something like 15-10, but the last 5 or so points were them just chugging beers on the field. At least we made them play long enough so we could stay warm for the next game.

Next up was SCAM, who is looking pretty good these days. We got bageled in the first half. I'm not sure if this had any strategy behind it, but they put their best players (Sonny, Brown) on our handlers (Myself and Ben) and just shutdown our offense. That coupled with poor play from everyone resulted in a 13-2 loss. Having to play and try to get open against Sonny for 7ish points was quite a learning experience.

Since we got beat so bad we had about 45 minutes to cool down before our next game, which was against Ithaca, a team that narrowly beat us in Sectionals last year. We started down 0-2 and then went 3-0 on our way to a 7-4 half. We then pulled a typical GUNX, turned it over on our end line a few times, and before you know it they were up 9-8. I think we tied it up once or twice, got soft-capped at 13, and then won 15-13. We don't often grit out wins like that, and it was sure nice for it to happen.

The last game didn't really happen. No one wanted to play and we lost. Nice to see Poonani, though.

We drove back, had a feast at Wendy's, and most people went to the party. They came back, we got some wings, they were delicious, and then we went to bed very late.

We didn't play day 2 -- Mitch was out, E.Herbst was likely out, and I had played far too many points day 1 for my own good.

The drive home was an issue but we made back it so its a boring story in retrospect.

The only game really worth commenting on is Ithaca -- the others either no one played or no one played well, so I'd just be repeated my ten thousand other angry blag posts.

The cup played extremely well and for a lot of points. Big props to Mitch, Alex, Brad, and Chich for doing work, especially at the end of that game. Alex in particular leveled up and played very well, especially for barely having played Zone or cup ever.

Ben played well in his new role, which was to get open to jack backhands, and if it wasn't open, to dump it and try again later.

Chich, MC, and Tom all stepped up and handled a bit which, especially so on D points where I played perhaps 3 all day.

Brad made a sweet toe-dragger to end the Ithaca game. Wouldn't have made that grab last year.

I thought I played pretty well. I played a lot more points than I normally do and touched the disc a lot more than I normally do. I also turned it more than I usually do, with several being completely my fault on botched throws. I had two or three layout grabs and one that is on my lifetime highlight reel. I also played at least one sweet point in zone on defense where I skullfucked their force-side wing.

I'm bored of blagging. Comment if you want something I missed.

PS -- This is what Sonny said in his blag about the game we played against him and SCAM

"SCAM 13 – New Paltz 2

This is a team we should have doughnut-ed as well, but Chip played some very poor defense on points. He has had some rough tournaments recently. He was responsible for both points. Got to see Doobs from summer league in this game, he played a good game, good conservative handling. They have one stand out player, who looks inexperienced but a solid player."

PPS

"Have you ever sat a stoplight and watched the light for the other direction turn from green to yellow to red? When your light finally turns green, it's just a confirmation of what you already knew was about to happen. How much quicker are you off that line if you're peeking at the other light versus waiting for yours to change? That's the difference between reacting and anticipating on D. When I hear that "up" call, I want to already know what throw is coming and already be poised to jump on it."

What

A speech.

1st day back

You know the drill -- show up ten minutes late and the only people there are JQ and Leah. Eventually we got enough for 3's with no subs after Hannah Leah and I ran and stretched. 3's was pretty uneventful, I threw the disc away on my first throw and while that is obviously my fault, no one came back to help and everyone had their back turned while I got stalled. I threw a OI flick to Leah that she misread. Ben and Remie then came on and played cripple vs. cripple. We played like 4 points and then everyone left.

We have housing for Buffalo, but it doesn't seem like anyone wants to go. I know I'm going to go and tool on some fools, but we'll see if anyone but Bradmeleon actually wants to show up and do work.

This just in

Requiring ten passes did nothing except frustrate the women's team even more.

Although it's not like that scrimmage should have happened in the first place.

One

More day.

I hope so.

I'm doing work.

Are you?

Yo

Hooked my computer up to my TV.

PS: Playing in Buffalo

X-Rays

T-Minus 10 hours 35 minutes until the moment of truth.

Oh boy.

You heard it here first.

Machreiner is slowly becoming the team's premier blagger.

PS -- I'm nervous about my X-Rays on Wednesday.

You said it yourself

STRAWMAN ARGUMENT.

I'm not sure if you have ever taught people how to play Magic, but you don't dive in with teaching the stack and layers. You get the basics down -- the things that are most important to play the game and most important to build the rest of the game off of.

"I see the logic in waiting say, a week or two before laying it on thick as not to scare away new players, but beyond that, why?"

Bolded for emphasis. That.

By far the most important things in any throw are the angle of the disc and wrist snap. It is important that they learn those things before moving on to advanced concepts.

I'm against micromanagement in the very beginning. Where are we for most if not all of our new players? The very beginning. Wrist snap and keeping the disc flat are things that need to be learned independent of your grip or shoulder jerk or hip swivel or whatever.

They won't snap their wrist more by you feeling obligated to say something every time they throw the disc. If you say something everytime they throw it it makes them feel like they aren't making progress. Your teacher in Kindergarden didn't say something everytime you made a stroke while learning your letters. Some things just take practice. Do not feel obligated to say something all the time. It is overwhelming and feels like you are being nitpicked when you get commented on so much.

It is tougher to keep the disc flat when you are getting your arm involved. Once they can keep it flat, however, I'm all for introducing the rest of the body into it. But if they can't keep it flat then trying to make them move more parts of their body to throw is just going to slow things down.

You can teach good form while still eliminating variables like keeping your arm in. In most short throws you don't use much of your body anyway.

It isn't an issue of waiting around for them to develop a forehand. Noobs can't really do much in practice without a forehand, so just set 1 teacher per 2 n00bs aside and have them throw for 20-30 minutes. And if they aren't throwing outside of practice they aren't going to be good enough for me to care anyway. Practice alone is not enough to hone your throwing.

There must have been a misunderstanding somewhere, but I agree that after a week or two it is essential to teach real throwing form. Let them get a basic forehand down anyway they can, and then teach proper form.

And yes, I would teach someone backhand that way if they were really struggling.

This might end up being a long one.

Alright.

Vampires might actually be good. Definitely in block.

The day really started the night before. I didn't really plan on having a party, but when Thomas brings ten people with him I don't have much of a choice. I recall losing to a Freshman in flipcup and saying I would wear a suit on the sidelines the next day.

At the time, a large plate of baked ziti seemed like a good idea. I ended up sleeping on the bathroom floor.

Mitch was the good alarmclock that he is and let me sleep 30 extra minutes after I hit the snooze. Chugged two cups of coffee and I was on the road a mere ten minutes late, which I later found out to be a world record. 2x4 was only a few minutes after that and brought me a Bacon Egg and Cheese. +10 points to Creeperin.

Car ride was largely uneventful besides some Dood Computer and someone's baby not being safe.

I think we had more cars than people, but we got them all there anyway. Marist had about ten thousand people to our twenty one. Machreiner and I got working on some sub thingys, and we were on our way. Of course, in typical New Paltz fashion (is there a different spelling of "fashion"?), we treated the first game like it was a warm-up game. There were lots of dropsies, icky throwsies, and we lost 15-6, or something icky. Pretty sure Eli tried to dropkick a disc. Just found Key Lime pie in my fridge.

I got to do my first Disc Flip and call and thing. E.Herbst demanded I call different, so I did, and we lost. That's alright, a wise man never bets against E.Herbst. They chose to play D (which I'm pretty sure is almost always wrong) so I chose the endzone that had the wind at it's back, which I think is the right one.

Game two was a different story. Benjamin, revitalized (probably because of his fledgling beard), rallied the troops and got us going for the game against Bard. We came out to a quick 3-0 lead (I think don't quote me). At half it was 8-4 and we were again reminded to not get complacent. At the very utterance (LOL UTTER) of the word 2x4 was amped, but not amped enough to play the first point after half. That fool. Kelsey demands more playing time and goes on in a slot for a guy and proceeds to catch two points and several D's. I'll keep that in mind for next time.

We trade points to make it 9-5, and then Bard rattles off 3 in a row to make it 9-8. After hearing the news, GUNX steps up and takes a point to go 10-8, and Marist announces hard cap, so it's a game to 11. Bard scores one, and I put in a powerful line up. Bard scores two and I put in E.Herbst. I almost subbed out Mitch, but Mitch was the first E.Herbst, and I knew that would be a foolish move. Of course, after a large 20-yard gainer to 2x4, he dumps (I think.) it to Treebeard who proceeds to take some Instant-Jack formula and launch a missile downfield to Mitch the Scott, who despite being double-teamed by two strong defenders, burns them all and brings it down for an 11-10 win.

Let me say this, if we had lost that last game, this would be a very angry Blag. We are simply a different team when we have something to win. Hazelnut literally touched the disc every other throw and then had the assist one point when he decided to skullfuck Travis. Against Marist, we all just dropped discs and turfed them and k;jsfhkjsf. BCams summed up the scrimmages well and made sure to try to get everyone to bring that kind of intensity that we had in the 2nd game to practice. I'll say it right now -- if we play like that at practice today we'll cruise through sectionals.

Machreiner and I definitely improved our sub-calling throughout the two games. I only truly messed up on one point. I need to maintain a tighter rotation on some of our players to keep them fresher later in the day. In the first game I ran through a handful of players and after two games of that kind of rotation they were pretty beat. I'm sure I'll get some more opportunities, especially with this spaceboot on.

Practice at 3. I'm missing the Rutgers game for it.

Wasn't that long I guess.

Blag

I'll blag later.

Pujols

Albert Pujols was supposed to have the day off on the 5th. He pinch hit in the 10th inning. He hit a home run. I need to know how to turn it on like that.

Still didn't write this

"If you do not make the best play possible then it's the wrong play, even if the results are still positive"

-Brad Nelson

He's an up-and-comer on the scene. If you know what I mean.

That rhymed.

Blagging

Am I the only one left who beleives in blagging?

: ' (

Ankle

Everyone knows the deal -- in a Prototype space boot for at least two weeks until more X-Rays.

At least I'm playing it safe.

Titles are for people who are professional Blaggers

Yeah.

Practice today was good. I didn't see any glaring mistakes. Perhaps David's cutting drill could have been split into two groups and with less cones because it was in two groups, but I'm just nitpicking. I thought it worked particularly well when both David and I would pull people aside after the 1-on-1 drill and breakdown their performance so they can improve within the same drill.

I would also like to have the warm-up drill be a bit shorter so we don't have to get a water break after it, then do a content drill, then a conditioning/content drill, water, and a scrimmage. It uses less time and makes the conditioning drill even more effective because people are tired going into it. It motivates people because once they power through the conditioning drill they are rewarded with water. Go-To should be 5 minutes in total between Backhand and Forehand (if we even want to do forehand at this point). If we let people get water before either the content or conditioning drill they might have cooled down too much (especially if the practice is not planned out) and if we have them do two drills before conditioning it will simulate the later points in a game or tournament, which is where you really need the conditioning.

I think we need to explain the point of every drill more. I don't think a lot of people understood the point of Go-To. I think we also need a goal for each scrimmage. That is, if during practice we do vert-stack drills then we should focus on vert-stack offense and defense during the scrimmage. I would assume things like that will come with more detailed practice plans that I hope are to come.

I would also explore the possibility of breaking down the practice into groups of 5 or so and letting them work with 1-2 people in small groups. For example, one group would go to David for cutting, one group would go to Ben for throwing form, etc. Obviously I have put about ten seconds of thought into what each person could teach, but it plays to everyones strengths and uses the resources of the group the best that we can.

It's even more important to use what you've got when the team is low on talent. It is extremely foolish to have people who know what they are doing and not use them to teach those things. It isn't like we have a team of fifteen all-stars with supreme knowledge of the game and 5 n00bs. We have a select few amount of people who truly know what they are doing, and it would be criminal to have their knowledge wasted for whatever reason. One of the key concepts in leadership is Knowing and Using the Resources of the Group. I'll give the powerpoint lesson to the veterans and captains if I have to.

This year is especially important for GUNX and we need a lot of people to step up. Doubly so for those in leadership positions.

Word.