Seven Hour Fuel

The roster for the trip down to Jersaaay ended up being myself, Thomas, Meg, and our faithful driver Stiggles. After making a stop at Remie's we didn't even get lost on the way and got to my cousin's around 6, and by 630 the dinosaur food was a-flowing. Stiggles and my cousin escaped briefly to pick up a 30-rack of Silver Bullets, and by 830pm I don't remember.

I do remember struggling with Dominos online ordering, and I had to have my cousin talk to the dude on the phone so we could get enough pizza. That pizza was delicious.

I remember again around 1030 only for Stiggles to pass out at 11 despite the fact that we were supposed to stay up all night on Friday so we can actually stay up all night on Saturday. Regardless, Meg went to bed around 1 and Thomas and I went to be around 2.

I woke up about a million times because the basement was colder than outside was and I slept on the floor. At some point, Stiggles moved from his couch and I leaped at the opportunity to sleep on a cushioned surface.

The next day we awoke around noon, and my other cousin showed up at roughly 2 to take Meg and I to Ihop, but after a missed turn and Jersey not allowing you to make a left turn we ended up at White Manna, a White-Castle esque establishment with lines out the door. We eventually got our order and boy was it delish lish. However, I immediately regretted my decision, as these burgers had roughly a million onions on them each, and I texted reinforcements for Tums.

I returned to our sleeping place and found no one except a Burger King bag full of trash and feared for the worst. Fortunately, Stiggles and Tom just decided to become Dinosaurs and go back out to Sonic.

Eventually, 7pm rolls around and we depart. We stop at CVS for supplies -- I came in looking for 5-hours and some powerbars, but left with 7-Hour Fuels and some nut/rasin/oat bar thingies. I downed a 7-hour in the car ride over and mentally prepared myself with some Eminem in the car.

We arrive at nearly the exact same time as the other car, which carried Rob Ben Tricia and Danielle. They had my care package, and we went inside to register and all that stuff. They had discs and jerseys on sale for $5 and some other team was selling discs as well. I picked up two discs and a jersey and after being placed on the yellow team began getting geared up for way too much Ultimate.

Stiggles and I were on the same team with Nick from Marist, and we were matched up against Chetti for the first round. After getting down a quick three everyone on the team figured out their roles and we cruised to a 3 point win.

Game two was against some team who were not very good, and we won by like 5. I don't really remember much -- I don't think we trailed.

We had a third round bye, so I bummed around and heckled a bit and drank a lot of water.

In our last game of the first set of pool play we won by something like 9. At this point we were really clicking, but unfortunately Nick, after playing three games with a dislocated shoulder, had to check out. This didn't prove detrimental at the time, but we knew that we'd miss his legs at the very least.

This is where the report gets really shady, since all I know about my next two games is that we won by over ten and I threw a lot of blades for points. I also shut down a black guy until his team yelled at him to clear out of the end-zone.

After going 5-0 we played the 2nd place team in our re-seed pool and our lack of legs showed ( we were down three total subs). We kept it close most of the game but they pulled away at the end and took it by 4, giving us our first loss of the night.

We got ten or fifteen minutes before the single-elim bracket went up. Again, we went down early but kept in it until the last ten minutes of the round when they pulled away and we were handed our second loss of the night which knocked us out of contention for the championship. At one point my legs just could not move any faster.

We could have played a few more games get into 5th place, but most of the team did not seem interested. The crew waited out for Ben and Tom to play out another round, and then we jacked some pizza and soda and headed out. I somehow stayed awake the whole ride and even showered when I got home.

I personally played the best Ultimate I have ever played, and I ran a surprising amount. I even heard that someone on an opposing team said "I have never seen a fat man move like that". I can only imagine what 6 weeks of not smoking will do for me. Stiggles also played extremely well; neither of us dropped a disc until our seventh game, and both of us were making solid throws and decions.

That's all the recap I have the desire to write. The tournament, while fun, was not something that leads to in-depth analysis.

Time for some din-din and napping.

This body is a temple.

So much for dry season.

This weekend was a veritable eel breeding ground, although in retrospect I'm not sure we should have expected anything but. It was practically the perfect storm of eels: 21st birthdays, drinks that are blue but claim to taste like orange, and people on the frisbee team. In fact, I'm pretty sure we got out of this weekend relatively unscathed.

Three hour practice the next day was three hours long. 'Nuff said.

I apparently injured my hip, but it should be good enough for Vitamin I to get me through Nocturnal.

I ended up sitting for the game against Marist, showing up 30 minutes late (had to watch LSV go 17-0) but actually showing up exactly on time to see the game start. We went down a quick 7-1, rallied three straight, and ended half still in contention at 8-4. 2nd half was much of the same, and we ended up losing convincingly, 15-6.

Same problems as always -- we drop an unreal amount of passes. Decision making with the disc was better than usual. Not to say it was perfect, far from it, rather it was an improvement for many people on the team. Playing indoors against only each other showed, as we lacked the aggression (especially in the air) needed to come down with discs that inevitably float for longer than they should.

We straight up don't have an offense. We can't play conservative if no one can catch. We really don't have a zone offense. Stack-wise we have the age-old problem of never cycling back in the stack. Zone is a much bigger problem, as the people downfield literally have no idea what they are doing and thusly we are forced to swing among our handlers a million times. Speaking of which, if our gameplan in Zone O is to swing it a million times, we need to swing it before the cup settles, since that is how you actually tire them out AND you are giving your wings more opportunities to get open.

We are getting more athletic as a whole, but we clearly do not present enough, if any, matchup problems for any team that we need to beat to get to regionals. Being able to "run with Marist" is a fine goal if all of our players are fundamentally sound, but seeing as the dropsies are still in season I don't think we should really be patting ourselves on the back for being able to run for 21 points.

There should never be a point on a windy day where we do not call out our potential zone offense line, as getting blindsided by a "surprise" zone is basically just asking to turn the disc over. That is an inexcusable mental error.

People are so afraid to make excuses that they don't want to list reasons why we played so poorly today. It is not an excuse if you attribute the correct amount of blame to it and take something away from it. Chalking up the entire loss to drinking for two nights and writing it off is an excuse -- understanding that drinking the night before a game is a hindrance to your play as a whole is a reason.

A lot of the lines called today seemed jumbled -- too many people who play the same position out on the field at once. These lines need to be sculpted. This is somewhat a product of the lack of specific roles for many players.

We need to play outdoors.

We need to get back to the fundamentals that we never actually learned.

We need to decide on what we are going to run (both offensively and defensively) and commit.

I'm not playing until Nocturnal, and hopefully the time off will help my hip enough that once we move outdoors I'll be fine. I'm pretty beat up all around, and I bet a week off would do a lot of people on the team some good right now.

Don't forget to drink water before you go to bed at the very least.

Revelations

It has become clear to me that this isn't our year.

No one wants it nearly enough for us to overcome everything. No one.

We started trying too late. We pushed back our deadline too many times. We got our recruits in too late.

I think we need to get bageled a few more times before we actually want it.

Indoor Blues

My blagging has been lackluster lately. Since a new challenger for best blag in the universe has entered the arena, I gotta step my game up.

Indoor has only gone downhill since the first practice. The intensity has stayed pretty high, but people are getting grumpier and grumpier and injuries are becoming commonplace. I'm attributing my injury to it, but it occurred on the first day of indoor so I'm not sure how much merit that has. Regardless, someone is going to get hurt going into the boards or bidding and I cannot wait to move outdoors.

I mean, constantly getting open under is fun for a (long) while, but when the only way you can score is through ten-thousand little passes you eventually end up on the wrong end of a 99% throw. Every other house has a big-play threat, be it Huckindor with everyone, Hufflepuff with Ed Too-Tall Jones, or Satanclaw with Mitch. Creeperin, without BJC, only has a short game, and a mediocre one at that. Our throws outside of me and Hazelnut are average at best and even I am coming down with a case of the dropsies (4 today that I can remember).

Right now our two n00bs are a liability, but I think if they keep on showing up they have a pretty high ceiling. Both clearly have no problem leaving their feet, and Kevin today cleared out really well. They've both played sports before so they know what goes into being on a team and seem to be picking up concepts pretty well. I think they will play much better outdoors rather than inside, as knowing how to clear the fuck out of the lanes is a lot more important when six people are trying to use them rather than two. We gotta get them to a party before they figure out we're weird.

Huckindor won 20+ games today on the back of Brad getting back to how he played in his prime last semester, Ben getting jacked and running forever, and Kool-Aid just tooling on people. Kool-Aid in particular is playing well this semester -- I think he's starting to understand what he's doing, plus hes getting some ridiculous hands and is getting his athletic ability back. He's going to be a force to reckon with come sectionals.

Huffle is looking pretty good too. Andy is playing out of his mind and is even learning some discretion with the disc. Tom is starting to play to his height a bit more and his hands are starting to grow some glue on them.

I'd talk about Satanclaw, but there's not much to say besides MC is old and Mitch and A.Pinn are still really good. Oops, I forgot that E.Herbst isn't hurt anymore. Did we really give them all these studs?

We thankfully ended up getting a sick freshmen class, with multiple players showing leadership qualities and dedication. GUNX might be here to stay.

I'm gonna do high weight on Tuesday. high rep on Wednesday, indoor on Thursday from now until I inevitably have a conflict.

I can't wait to move outdoors for practice, as that means I can finally do some cardio without doing something ridiculously boring like running for funsies. I can barely play Magic for funsies and you expect me to run?

I think I'm gonna start the brownie plan in the beginning March (rather than exactly a month before sectionals), as the limited material that I've read suggests that the earlier the better, although after being a month removed from smoking (I've only found material for smoking cigarettes, so while I would presume the damage to my lungs is less, I cannot be sure) your lung capacity increases 30%, so that is the bare minimum I suggest to anyone currently on the "smoke everyday plan".

That's all I got for now. My plan is to create a fire for frisbee by creating a fire for blagging, but if that doesn't pan I'm just gonna have to suck it up and play like I know I can.

Word.

P.S. Channelfireball is buying Goyfs at 80. L. O. L.

"I've always been a big fan of playing full games that have one tweak to emphasize a certain idea. For example, if you want to work on moving the disc off the sideline quickly, make a count of six be a turnover. Alternatively, if you want to work the sideline, make any dump throw before stall seven a turnover. Small changes like these seem silly and contrived when you first try them, but work very well if they are implemented correctly and limited to a specific goal."

-- http://www.the-huddle.org/issues/16/the-extra-defender/

I went to indoor today. I learned a few things:

1) I can get open under
2) Ben is a lot harder to cover than Charlie.
3) Hasbrouck gives me heartburn.

Yesterday

I went to the gym. My quads were tired.

Today I threw for two hours. I am tired.

Happy?

Facebook just changed

Facebook just changed. I like it better after the initial "WHAT THE FUCK"

Didn't do a real workout today, kinda just did whatever I wanted but I made sure I was either drinking water or lifting weights the entire time. Power Cleans are going to be the new fad -- You heard it here first.

Not a lot of numbers, only three Satanclaw, one Hufflepuff, two Huckindor. AND A FULL 5 CREEPERIN.

EAT IT.

All I'm sayin'.

Gym

The fire is close, but I'm not sure if it matters if I keep going to the gym.

No fire means no good blagging, though.

I just want to play more mini.

Double Post

That workout destroyed me.

Single sessions tomorrow.

2nd semester

No fire, but double sessions has to count for something.

Egg sandwiches in the morning really get you through your day.

As do Women's Mutlivitamins.

About to be 4/4 on classes so far. Gotta be a world record.

Looking for cleats but probably just gonna get Speed TD's again, but one pair of 3/4's and 1 pair of normals.

Goal

We need goals. Specific, attainable, reasonable goals.

Don't look at me, though.

RA David and I tossed a bit last night. I threw with the elbow brace on for the first time and while it was a bit doofy it made my arm REALLY tired. We'll see how it goes. Time for more Wii fit!

So

I did some Wii Fit today.

Baby steps.

I always have a problem with titles

Zero. Fire. Sir.

I'm trying, but not even the combined powers of Patrick Chapin and Arctic Monkeys can't turn it back on right now. At least I'm trying, though.

I am an excellent example of why you should never take time off.


Resolutions:
50/50s
Water (Everyone should)
Walk to class at least once a week
Actually learn how to throw
Blag everyday
Use tags when I blag
No boozing until Regionals
Rep' Creeperin

Only miss 1 class a week (combined)
Read for at least one class every day

Remember all the cards in a pack before passing it
Mulligan more (Everyone should)



Baby steps.

Up to 60/100/150, but I gotta start doing those workouts.

I want to run but I'm a baby and it's too cold. /frown

Shitting Fuck

I hate laying down and then remembering I have to do my 50/50s.

Today

Today I got:

New Glue
Cold Gear
2x compression shorts
Elbow Brace



Good day.

No, water is better.

Don't forget to drink at least two cups before you go to bed and two cups when you wake up. Make it part of your 50/50s.

Fuck titles

50/50s
Golds Gym
Chess before Beer

you know.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Challenge

I tapped out of the eggnog challenge. Mitch bought tortilla chips and anyone who's anyone knows that Nachos are my weakness.

So, lifting tomorrow it is.

Never

I never want to hear "I want to get better" unless you showed up to Snertz today.

First rule

The first rule of Vassar is, you do not talk about Vassar.

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.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Swelling was way down this morning. We'll see how it takes the walk to and from class.

Oh boy

When I can't play frisbee I can't handle anything going wrong.

This will be a rough couple of weeks.

Oh boy

My ankle is gigantic. I hope that's a good sign.

2009 Mets

Sometimes injuries are flukes and there is nothing you can do about them. Sometimes there is a problem with the training staff.

Sometimes.

Busted ankle musings

It hurt a lot when I woke up. The swelling is down a bit, perhaps a Handball ball now. Definitely out for the week, we'll see about next. If it doesn't greatly improve by the weekend I am going to need to see a doctor.

When Trentinton and I were tossing post-injury today he pointed out that I have an unusal flcik motion. I had him throw with david for a few throws and it occured to me that I snap my elbow hard on every flick I make. That would probably be the reason why I was getting elbow problems. I tried altering my motion and it seems impossible. When I can walk I'll find some grass and a person and just try to figure it out for an hour. Once I get that done I can start practicing my flick-hucks again and get that back under control.

Ice is cold, by the way.

Let the blagging season commence!

So,

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.

Zone

All I knew how to do was drink beer and flip cups.

didn't write it

"You're never a finished product."

-Larry Fitzgerald

Still didn't write this.

"It like when you buy a drink for someone; you may think that it is they who care more about you, since you bought them a drink, but the reality is that it is you who will care more about them, since now you are invested in them. This is a fundamental element of human behavior."

-Patrick Chapin

If people aren't invested in the team in some way, they're not going to care.

Get people invested.

Doin' Work

Check back in later for the report. It'll be at least mediocre, I promise.

Edit: Slept 19 hours ish. Time to do actual work. Blag'll happen later.

So. I fall asleep at around 9 the night before to be a responsible frisbee player and get a good amount of sleep before a tournament the next day. Plus, I was supposed to go drop my car off at the mechanic before the tournament, so I had to wake up extra special early. Of course, one of my friends also playing in the league called me at 1am to see if he could get a ride, and I couldn't fall asleep until 5. Thanks to some creative scheduling I got my sister to take my car to the mechanic for me, so I got an extra hour out of that.

Breakfast was a chocolate chip muffin and some diet pepsi, because fake sugar is how champions are made. After trolling the SCG forums and stealing my sister's socks, we were good to go.

Game 1 was the social league semis against Powder, the 2 seed (by 1 point in the point differential). We were a bit short staffed, especially on men. We started about fifteen minutes late. I started off alright with a early layout grab to save possession (I don't layout for points obv.) and solid play. Unfortunately after taking the first point of the game we gave up three straight to go down 1-3, and the game ended up going to hard cap with us losing 9 - 6. Our big studs (B-Ri, Ercan, Will) didn't really put up a fight against Dasky, and it showed. I think if we were allowed to play the game out until 15 we would have made our comeback, but we have to play by the tournament rules and my social league team was knocked out. On the opposite side of the bracket Green knocked off White, meaning that Edson was the only player left that could get the fabled double win.

I had about fifteen minutes between games and decided to spend it sitting on bench under an umbrella drinking water. No, it wasn't raining. It was completely clear and about 90 degrees, and it was only noon, meaning it would get hotter.

Not much to talk about in Game 2. We took half 8-2 and won 14-8 after getting soft-capped. I didn't play much -- I really only came in on D-points to keep our studs fresh for offense. I got torched one or two times but other than that played alright. Pete started getting really pissed around point 3 and that was really the end of that game. Once than man learns to control his anger he'll be a far better player. Regardless, we advance to the finals and keep Edson's dream alive.

Both leagues got a bye to eat pizza and hear league awards. On my team Sonny got best handler for the men, Caitlin got MVP for women, Liv got best cutter for men. Can't disagree too much, although Ercan put it best when he said that Sonny wasn't even the best handler on his team.

I got recruited to play some pickup in between games and decided I would play as a Standler in order to keep my throws fresh but not get too tired before the finals. My pickup team ended up crushing the other one, but they weren't really fair teams.

Finals. Orange vs. Green. On paper Orange definitely has the advantage. Squeege, Q, Flash and Will match up favorably against Sonny, CG, Ercan and Liv, although not by much. We had the MVP for women so we had the advantage there. We had one or two more subs than them.

The first half was definitely Orange's, and if you only watched that, it'd be easy to think that the game went as the first half did and they won. Squeege had his way with Liv in the first half and made some very impressive skies and deep runs. We stayed in the game with CG taking Q deep when Squeege was out a few times and Caitlin doing the same on their women. Half ended at 6-8 them but it felt worse.

Ercan said that the only way we are going to beat them is to start putting a body on Squeege because if he gets a clean jump off there is no way we can beat him, or them for that matter. We received on half and it was all Green from there. We won the game to three with an amazing layout D by Liv against Squeege and we rode that momentum the rest of the game. Our 1-2 subs normally would not have mattered, but Will, after playing two games earlier but needing to play more points than I did, started getting calf cramps. He played through them the best he could but almost every other point was stopped by him needing to come out. Their lack of depth showed, as they had to put 2% in for way too many points (imagine a slower, worse version of me) and me, Edson, and Chip had our way with him. Liv made an impressive layout grab on a huck by Ercan and later skied Squeege on the penultimate point. The game was tied at 9's and we ended up running off 6 straight to take the game and the championship, 15-9. Edson lives the dream of being a double champ. Sonny survived the best handler heckles all game, as did Will, who won the spirit award (every time he caught it it was a "spirit catch", every time he threw it it was a "spirit throw", and he used the power of Heart). For winning we got a bottle of champagne and a trophy to drink it out of. Pictures, handshaking, etc. There was also way too much pizza so I got to take one home. We don't get to keep it because they are going to get the team color and year of every winner etched into it.

I'm excited to try to repeat next year, and to outperform my draft position. Hopefully I did enough work this year to earn some respect -- its tough to break into this crowd.

Let me tell you, it sure feels nice to win. Quite honestly, I'm hooked. There won't be any question next season if I want it, trust me.

Quarters report + more

K so,

Quarterfinals against Navy. 3 seed (us) vs. 6 seed (them).

On paper we definitely have an advantage. Their big players are some Italian kid who thinks he is good but is just fast, Matt Martin, and Cara Martin. Ours are Me, Will, B-Ri, and Airjohn, and some tall kid.

We went down a quick 4-1 after a few careless plays but rallied to bring it to 5-4 them. My play was pretty bad as I threw a push/backhand instead of a flick on an upline dump and Airjohn threw a Callahan and then blamed it on me. I also had a matchup problem as Matt Martin was just too old for me and he toyed with me on while I was on defense and could not get open at all on offense for a reset. I took a point off and we evened it up and then ended half at 8-6 us.

I played much better in the second half, but that might be attributed to not marking their best player and therefore getting a worse player on me after turns. Regardless, I picked up my throws and we came out strong in the second half. It was not much of a game after half as we won it 15-8(ish). Next up in the semi's is 2 seed Powder, which will be quite the show. I plan to meet David's team in the finals.

I had envision the "more" part of this blag entry to be a bit more useful, but thinking about it now makes it seem pretty not. Anyway.

In Lacrosse you could look at the score sheet and tell who one the game by two stats -- the score(obviously) and loose balls. 50/50s. Almost without fail the team that got the most would win the game. This is indicative of not only how many the team came down with, but also of their effort in that game. This is true in Ultimate as well. People are going to turf how ever many throws they turf, drop however many they drop. These are things that are going to happen and there isn't much you can do about them. 50/50 discs, however, is where the money is made. If you run harder than your opponent, you'll come down with more. They're really the only way to get ahead of a "better" team.

Yeah that whole thing sounded better in my head. But I ain't one to deny content to my 4 person (plus my anonymous admirer) readership.

Word.

PS - Puca's Mischief + Colfenor's Plans. It works.

Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

Who the fuck are you?

Sincerely,

Doober

Hype

Blah blah blah emo, blah blah blah annoying, blah blah blah not my fault blah blah blah don't want responsibility, blah blah blamestorming blah blah

HYPE.

DO IT.

The more I think about Magic strategy the more I think about Ultimate strategy

I'm pretty sure at least half of this makes sense, but it is 520am and the oxy is mostly worn off, so bear with me.

There are two things you need to do if you want to play well. One is to do what you're supposed to do according to your offense or defense. The other is to do what the other team doesn't want you to do.

I might know exactly what I want to do as a middle handler in a zone offense, but that is only half the battle. I need to know exactly what the cup doesn't want me to do as a middle handler in a zone offense. Often times you will be doing the textbook definition of your position and not getting anywhere. That is because you are doing the textbook definition of your position and the defense is built to stop that. You need to find a way to do whatever the defense is built to stop.

As a quick example, against a force-based defense that is playing man-on-man, simply throwing to the open side will often times not result in a point. The defense wants you to do that; it is designed for you to do that. You need to break them. No, not with a break-mark throw. Those are difficult. A dump -> swing is a safe version of a breakmark throw that accomplishes the same thing. You open up the field and, if your stack is paying attention, get a deep look.

As always, in moderation. Exclusively trying to break a mark or force their handlers deep is asking for trouble.

BONUS PRO TIP -- Think about what your offense or defense is trying to do. Think about why it is trying to do that. Think about how your team's scheme interacts with your opponents. Think about how each one of your actions helps or hinders that scheme. You have strengths as a player, but this is a team game. Your job is to fit into an offense or defense.

PS: Spellcheck didn't alert me of any misspelled words. I bet I'd go all E.Herbst on the Verbal portion of the SATs right now.

EDIT: God dammit I think I used the wrong bear.

Back

As much as I don't want to go back to school, I'm just gaining weight and playing poorly here.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is, that I'd rather be good at ultimate for the 3 hours a day that I play than be enjoying the rest of my day.

I didn't write this.

At some point over the weekend, someone asked the hypothetical question "Why are there so many terrible Magic players who think they’re good?" The answer, I think, is a combination of true incompetence and ego. There have actually been studies that show that individuals who perform well below the average on various tests tend to vastly overestimate their own abilities – individuals who test in the 12th percentile estimating their abilities to be in the 62nd percentile, for instance. Seemingly paradoxically, as their actual performance on the tests improves, their perception of their own abilities decreases – their increased knowledge about the subject allows them to recognize their limitations. Additionally, they are less able to recognize competence when they see it, whether in themselves or others. It’s called the Dunning-Kruger effect, and I’m certain it’s in full force among Magic players who think the game is based largely on luck.

-Brian Kibler

Just replace "Magic" with "Ultimate". If you want it to hit closer to home, replace "Magic" with "Everyone on GUNX"

One Day.

Yesterday we were down 8-2 at half. We decided to start playing defense and won 15-12.

Today we were down 8-2 at half. We didn't change anything. We lost 15-4 after they kept on D'ing the little kid on our team. I did throw a nice giant backhand to Will but it was jumpy and he couldn't pull it down. No one on the team played well and we tried llike 5 different handlers but we just couldn't put it together. Plus some old dude on our team kept on being really really slow.

I don't have a forehand anymore. But I have a backhand. One day I will have both throws at the same time and become quite the big-throw-slow-moving handler that I dream to be. One day.

For about three days I thought about becoming a professional eater, but for dinner last night I had three hamburgers and was full and gave up.

Subway closed early. I'm pissed.

Dear

Dear Diary,

Today I played 33 points straight at summer league. We won 17-16 (hard cap). My everything hurts.

Motivation

I am much more motivated when the gym is only a 5 minute walk from my room.

I don't want to go back to school, but I think I need to.

Blagging

People need to blag more.

I've barely posted this month.

Coward

"Doobs you make me sad. Sometimes you play like a man and are right on your man's hip and other times you play like a coward. Don't be a coward."

Threw a full field flick for game point today. It was mediocre, but it got there. I have it, I should stop being a coward and use it more. I should also play in front of my man and let the last back cover his deeps so I don't look worse at defense than I already am.

Stuff

When I don't play ultimate I feel the need to talk like I know something about it. I also like to read articles written by other people and then try to expand on it like it's something I wrote. I also refuse to believe in transitions.

Anyway.

The biggest problem with the team last year was dedication. Dedication to the team and dedication to get better. Not a single person on the team went without a period of time when they were questioning their priorities and where they stood in regards to the team. This doesn't mean you can't take a week off if you're feeling burnt out, but a lot of improvement was lost when people just didn't show up for a month, or something to that effect.

This starts with the captains. They're captains for a reason -- they lead. When the captains don't show up because they just don't feel like it, other players on the team see that as acceptable behavior. Captains set the tone for the rest of the team. This goes for practice attendance, intensity, and injury management. A good portion of the team walks through practice, plays through injury, and that's even if they show up. It is no coincidence that some of the captains have those habits. As a captain you cannot expect people to listen to you if you don't even listen to you.

The tone of next season from the beginning must be dedication. If practices start at 5, that means the captains are there at 430. If it ends at 7, that means the captains leave at 730. You show the team that you are willing to put in the extra time. Similarly, if you establish that practice starts on time, people will show up on time. It's awkward to have to run around when everyone else is doing stretches.

A course in time-management would be a good idea for many of our players who feel they are among the best on the team. Last semester I registered far after all the freshmen and the worst conflict I had was class going to 420(LOL) twice a week. And I had two additional days off every week. And my earliest class was 1050. So don't act like you can't schedule around practice. Sure, some classes are only offered at a certain blahblahblah. That one class isn't five times a week and if it is then I don't know why you are complaining about going to tournaments if you can't go to practice. You get papers and projects assigned at least weeks in advance with almost all teachers handing out a syllabus with the due dates for EVERYTHING on it on the first day of classes. That means, with proper scheduling, you should never miss a practice due to homework. Ever. You know when everything is due ahead of time, there is no excuse. You know when your midterms are, you know when your finals are. Don't act like a teacher told you to do a 20 page research paper in 2 days, because they don't.

I said this before, but the only perfect mindset is one that is set on being perfect. You work 100% in practice because you want to get better. You show up early, stay late, throw during the day, go to the gym (OOPS WELLNESS CENTER) because you want to get better. You are not satisfied with how much you improved (Although you are happy with it) because you are not yet perfect.

I don't expect everyone to show up to practice 5/5 times a week (even though its very possible), but anything under 3/5 means you simply aren't trying to come. I understand it is too late to redo your schedule now (kinda), but next semester is a different story.

I don't want to waste another freshmen class by having a bunch of veterans show up and set a tone of goofing around and not trying to get better. That is what pickup is for (PS we desperately need to have pickup on Sundays). Even if the first few practices aren't gung-ho ultimate (lets not scare them away), people should still be at least running 100%. We don't want to establish a culture of jogging during practice. We are going to get 50 people next fall that want to play Ultimate, it is our job to keep them interested.

Practice is to make the team better. You should practice throwing on your own time -- when we can only get our full roster to a practice once a week I'd rather not spend 30 minutes of that on breaking the mark when people can do that by themselves or at a less than full practice. Strategy and team cohesiveness are something that can really only be practiced with everyone there. I don't want to cut 20 minutes out of every practice by throwing around -- we already do a warm up drill to start every practice, why do I need to warm up again. If you want to warm up your throws even more, show up early.

Also, my biggest pet peeve is the "take a few minutes and stretch whatever else you need" after we do team stretches. What else could you need to stretch? We stretch everything, that's why everyone stretches. At most two people will do an additional stretch and for the rest of the five minutes people mess around and cool down. It seems like the time is just used to plan the rest of the practice. If someone really needs to stretch something else out, there should be time from when people run their lap to when we start stretches or even during the normal transition time between things. If multiple people are finding a problem with having something not stretched enough, then they should bring it up with a captain and get it integrated into normal stretches.

I think an issue with a lot of the players is that they don't feel like they're a part of something bigger. They are only concerned with themselves. They don't realize that they are part of a team. Personally, I get better for two reasons. To make myself better, and to make the team better. I am driven by two separate motivations, and I think that helps me stay focused. A lot of the team doesn't have the second drive. If we can make them feel more a part of a team they will put more into it.

I think that's it. I always think of more ideas and then forget them because outlines are for squares.

And I took the airbounce out of my backhands. They are much nicer now.

And I didn't re-read this for glaring grammatical errors like I normally do. So eat it.

PS http://www.the-huddle.org/features/college-ultimate-a-review/what-defines-a-nationals-level-team/

PPS It just occured to me that for every point you are down (EX: 11-7), your defense has to score that many points(4 in this case). I guess that means if we are down a good amount we would need to put another O player or two on the field for D-points in order to make sure we get our breaks.

PS

My crab arm is growing.

Left Ankle

IS INJURED YAUS

CAPS LOCK

PS -- I left before half and we probably got our first loss of the season. Oh well. There like isn't a difference between 1 and 2 and 3rd place going into today was 3-5 (to our 7-0) and was -13 to our +35. We're fine.

Everytime someone writes "Blog" I think they are spelling "Blag" wrong.

I don't think my last post was explained well enough.

Every person has strengths and weaknesses to their game. Enlightening, I know. There is no problem in recognizing what you're good at and what you're bad at, and in fact it is essential. The problem occurs when you become complacent (still funny) with what your strengths and weaknesses are.

I was having a problem trying to figure out why I was so bad in the past few weeks. I would walk off the field and be dumbfounded; I thought I had done everything correct and still played poorly. What I was failing to realize was that things I considered to be my strengths were not strong enough. I would analyze the point I had just played and say to myself "My throws were good, he just dropped it." I knew it was my fault but I couldn't figure out why.

I had dismissed my strengths as possible things I could be doing wrong. I'm clearing out wrong even though theory is one of my strongpoints. I could have gotten an assist if I could throw forehands into the wind, even though I have a good forehand. Just because you are good at something does not mean you are good enough.

Don't just say "Alright, I added fifteen yards to my backhand, time to learn something else." There is always room for improvement. The only time where there is no room for improvement is when you are perfect.

Similarly, you understand what you are bad at. I know I am bad a backhands and that I am slow. I ended up letting my playstyle be defined by what I cannot do. I just don't throw backhands. Because I never attempted a backhand, I didn't make a mistake. It didn't get to show up on my game report because it never happened. When I think over a point or a game and don't realize that my backhand is bad, I don't practice it. It becomes something "I just don't do." I simply focused on my forehand.

The only perfect goal is perfection. Everything else is subjective. "I want to be the best" is a trap of a goal. By definition being the best is just being better than everyone else, and we all know people's skill levels vary. Because of that you do not have a concrete goal. You can do a pro/con list and figure out why you are "better" than someone else or you already have a "good" backhand. Perfection is a definite. You can't argue with perfection. Either you are or you aren't. You can't make excuses against perfect.

If your goal is to be perfect, you will be motivated until you are perfect.

I'm gonna eat goldfish and read starcity now.

PS - E.Herbst thread needs some work.

Someone puked on my floor last night

I lost two discs to the trees today practicing backhand hucks.

Draw your own conclusions.

"With the perfection mindset, you remain thankful for any material rewards that come from winning. You are also thankful, win or lose, for the enjoyment of playing and for the opportunity to increase your skills. This is automatic and doesn't require you to psyche yourself up when you lose, in order to feel good. You don't have to trick yourself. You don't have to tell yourself that you don't care."

-Patrick Chapin, Next Level Magic

7-0

7-0, but it's probably been two weeks since I've played at a passable level. I'm not sure I've been this bad since early Freshman year. I dropped another pass today.

I have found only one possible solution.

Sideburns.

Blech again

Turned it over probably ten times, threw bladey forehands into the wind, played far too aggressively(especially into the wind), closed my eyes while laying out and therefore didn't cathc any, and dropped a disc.

This needs to stop.

Blech

I played poorly. Was slow, clogged lanes, and got beat deep (jk he dropped it).

But we're 6-0.

Another title.

"As obvious as this might sound, people spend so much time and emotional effort trying to prove to themselves that they are already 'good enough.' The proper question is, 'How can we become better?' The ultimate question is, 'How can we become perfect?'"

"People who make excuses in attempts to tell themselves that they are already good enough will never have the results of someone who humbly accepts that there is always more to learn."

-Patrick Chapin, Next Level Magic

Tryouts/practice/funtime

Got there at 955 with David. We were the first people there.

Ended up with 8, then 9, and finished with ten.

Started with 3-man weave twice, then 4-man weave (Designated Dump and Swing, downfield cutters alternate in-cuts and deep cuts, with only in-cuts being thrown to and only thrown by the "swing"). Ate some water, and then did Big Dick drill with everyone doing an in-cut and then everyone doing a deep cut. Played some 3v3 winners stay on, and then some 5v5.

Lastly, and the bestly as well, was two cone suicides. One about 10 yards out, and the next one about an additional 10 yards out. You make a cut at the first cone and come back under and catch the disc. You make two cuts per cone (To Cone1, back, Cone1,Back,cone2,back, etc.) and after you make your second cut on the last cone you book it deep and they hit you with a lead pass. That is my new favorite end-of-practice-conditioning-thing. It was recommended that you split it up into teams and its a race and the winner gets to come off. That is some conditioning.

I played alright, but my lack of stamina showed. I doubt they are taking me to jazzfest, but I don't think they mind if I show up to the practice once a week. I definitely don't have the throws to handle for the team, but I feel that I am dangerous out of the power position, especially if I get a cut to my flick side.

Also, the Canadian (and I think a captain for the team) gave me some tips on reducing the number of unintentional airbounces I have on my backhands. I think the advice would be useful for many of the players on the team. I can't quite articulate it that well, but involves moving your thumb closer to the rim of the disc, pivoting out before you turn your body, and keeping your core straight.

I also found out that every one of my bad flicks are when I tilt my core. Form is key.

This needed a title.

"The best cure for ego is ambition"

-Oliver Ruel

And I just can't hide it.

Ben got whiteboards.

I'm so excited.

Rain

Game in the rain in 40 minutes. Just ate some oatmeal.

Edit: You're lucky I'm not trying to unnecessarily bolster my post count.

Games started almost on time, but we had to play savage and they had 1 sub. Went down a quick 4-2 and decided to start playing defense and made it 6-4. At that point some bro had to pick up his wife, and then the other team had to play 5-2. Since we only had one girl, we had to play mandown 5-1. We then took half 8-4. We got to play 7's again after half, and we ended up winning 15-10. Unfortunately, their captain (who plays on Mamabird) got a disc or a hand or a something to the face and his teeth went through his lip. Thats pretty hardxcore. The one girl on our team played savage, had 3 layout D's and probably 6 points. She is good.

Speed TD's really don't care if it was raining. I broke my defender's ankles several times.

David heard about someone starting a club team around Albany with only 8 guys and volunteered himself. And then he vouched for me. So I have to wake up at some ungodly hour for tryouts/practice/funtime on Sunday AKA day after my birthday AKA when I should be hungover. Such is life.

uhhhhhthatsitfornowIthink.

PS: Lightning Bolt is in the next coreset.

editpps: 5-0

PPS

Sore from yesterday. Can't wait for tomorrow.

Mediocre

Full extention layout catch, full-field forehand huck, solid D, 13-15 loss.

PS: Shoulder jerk is misleading -- it's all in the hips.

IMO

4-0

4-0. Monday is for first place against Orange. I hope I'm not too hungover.

Caught a point. It was when Zac Hilton had to cover me deep in a zone. And on a 3 v 1.

Two posts in one day. Can't get much better than that.

PS -- 50/50's are paying off.

Blag

The captain for my Albany team is a powerful blagger. I hope to one day blag as proficiently as he does.

Hill

"But I resolved to myself right before match number one, sitting outside the waterfall-sculpture that flanked the Convention Hall, that whatever happened in this tournament I would not make excuses. That I would evaluate everything honestly. And the truth, in this instance, was that it was me, not the universe, who was creating this narrative, and it was me who insisted upon making it true at all costs." *

Also, I think when I catch. I figured that out when I was throwing a water bottle around with Tom and David last night. I was dropping the easiest two handed ones until I started actually looking at the bottle and how it was moving. I'm guessing the same thing applies to Ultimate. The mantra "eyes on the disc" doesn't just mean to simply look at the disc, it means to know exactly what it's doing. Knowing exactly how much that hammer is going to rotate and how exactly to place your hand on it. You might not necessarily need to think about that exact moment, but you have to be concentrating on the game. Concentrating on how you're gripping the disc, how you're setting up your next cut, everything. "Get your head in the game" may be cliche, but it's also true.

Throws aren't at a person, they're at a window. A lot of times the best window is right at their chest, but one has to recognize that even though the pretty play is to squeeze a disc in right in front of them, the percentage play is often a throw to the side of the receiver.

This flows nicely into knowing your teammates, because knowing exactly how fast David strides down the field is pretty important when you have to hit the 1 square foot window of his hands. This game, even at its lowest level, is a game of inches. Whether those inches come on 80 yard hucks or 5 yard barbecue backhands is largely irrelevant. Layout D's come on throws that are inches too close to their defender.

Just because you have the ability to make a throw doesn't mean you need to make it. Just because you are a better thrower than the other handlers doesn't mean you have to throw it. Just because you are the tallest person on the team doesn't mean you have to be the only deep. There is a lot of merit to running an offense (or defense) as a system rather than a bunch of players running an offense. Know what the object of your offense is and execute. Sure, you've got a 50 yard hammer, but is that what your offense is trying to do? If your offense is trying to Iso you so you can unleash it, perfect. Just because you complete an ill-advised throw does not mean it was the correct play. You need to know what your offense is trying to accomplish and then make a play based on that. This holds true on defense -- biting on a certain cut because you are in a man-defense mindset or poaching a lane because you're in a zone mindset can be crippling. Know how your defense is trying to force a turn and then play for that.

"I allowed it to stop being about me, and start being about the game, how I could play it, what I could do. I focused on what I was doing right now. I allowed myself to win. I refused to be afraid of the vulnerability that success implies. I allowed myself to be hurt, to be crushed even, by the possibility of impending loss. Only then could the competing possibility be realized."

Read it. Especially the 90% of you that both read this and play Magic. Zac Hill helps my Ultimate game more than he helps my Magic game. Both of the quotes are from this one.

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/17595_Chatter_of_the_Squirrel_Honolulu_and_a_Hole_in_the_World.html

PS -- This one is probably better. Definitely better if you don't play Magic.

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/2005_Stuck_In_The_Middle_With_Bruce.html

I think that's it..

Nothing

Slept through all of my frisbee obligations today.

FML

(Untitled)

That's actually a title.

3-0. Obv.

This just in -- I actually enjoy playing defense.

Who woulda thunk.

What up.

"I was impressed with the guys I did not know coming in, Matt, Dubes, and Caitlin. Solid play, I remember one instance where Caitlin skied her girl but smacked the disc right into her chest, as well as a lay out D attempt by Dubes that was inches away from getting the jam on his cutter."

http://ectocoolwhip.wordpress.com/-- Sonny's Blag

Thats my second one. I'm gonna get it on Monday. I'm literally only going to play D points from now on, offense is boring as fuck. Helps avoid the whole elbow problem, too.

You guys best be working hard to avoid being shat on by me next semester, btw.

Eh

Won 15-11 (I think) against yellow team, but Red beat them 15-5 on Monday. David's team (Baby Blue obv) beat red today (16-14) though. Looks to be a pretty even regular season until Green(me) pulls away at the end.

Played pretty poorly today, mostly too slow to move. I could blame it on a lot of things, but I was just slow. My backhands look pretty, though.

I'm excited to go to a doctor so I can really throw again.

Thats it, I think.

Update

I'm trying to set a world record for blag posts in a month. Have fun.

Social league team (Purple obv.) won 15-12. 

I might have a backhand now. Might.

New house is pimp.

Ben and 2x4 are living with Trent next year.

I now wear a trucker hat backwards instread of my doober-rag.

That is all.

Albany Debut

Should have had a layout D if I led with the correct hand. Snertz is making me have actual ups. We have a kid on our team that would put Zephyer to shame. We might win the Summerleagueionship. Won first game 15-13 after playing savage for the first 7 and having our girl play savage the whole time, and without our captain.

About it.