Lots of new womens showed up. Like, we could have had 6v6 in just women. We got 3 new men I think, plus the rest. We had 27-28 people.
We started off with some chalk talk, which although I can't quite disagree with completely, just didn't feel right. It definitely wasn't the worst choice -- it was a much better spot than the previous places we've put it. But kids showed up to play ultimate, not have chalk talks. I would have start with the customary "Who knows how to throw THE FLICK" before we even warm up. Then after teaching the flick I would have introduced EITHER vert or Ho, not both. There is very little reason to teach them both this early. The argument of which to teach is a complicated one, and I'm not sure if an answer can even come out of that one, but I know for sure we did not need to teach them both.
After that was go-to, which again I'd disagree with but it isn't the worst choice. First, no one had a flick. That is half the drill. Second, we didn't have enough discs to run the drill correctly. You are supposed to run through, no matter if you get the disc or not. We couldn't do that. Regardless, it was a good thing to try to drill the idea of going to into their head right away.
The scrimmage was a bit too slow-paced, but it was a good idea to just do one drill and then go into it. I think it would have ran better if we just taught Vert, but it ran fairly well.
I think if we had talked to the more experienced players beforehand it would have helped. Basically, whenever I cover a new player, I let them take the in-cut and get it, put on a very basic mark with a force, and don't slide to try to take away the dump. Likewise, when a new player has the disc, I make a cut that will require an easy throw and if I am on defense I don't play tight on the dump. Also, when I have the disc, I look to get the new players involved more and let them make plays. I think it is important to make them feel as comfortable and as part of the team as possible. If you play hard defense on them they may get intimidated and not feel good enough to be on the team. Likewise if you take away their dump throw, as one of the ways we console they freshies is by telling them to just look for the dump cut. It's like taking away their security blanket.
I have no major problems with today's practice. I would have explained vert and ho differently. I think it is very important to explain WHY you do everything you do. To be cliche, if you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish you will feed him forever, or some garbage like that. Essentially, if you start telling freshies basic ultimate theory and why you run offenses or defenses, eventually they figure it out for themselves. I still ask questions, but I can analyze my own play and see where some my weaknesses are. If you simply tell them that the cuts come from the back of the stack and that you line up in the middle that is all they will know how to do. When they find themselves in a new situation they won't know what to do. If you teach them the theory behind everything they will be able to make a better play when they are placed in a situation that they have never been in before.
I think that's it for now.
PS I hurt my ankle a lot. It looks like there is a tennis ball in there. Oh well, more time to heckle.
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