So i'm going to turn the focus of this blog onto myself. Thinking of it as a self medicating writing experience. A way to vent frustrations, think deeply, and pursue betterment. The other blog will focus on the team, results, recaps, and thoughts.
Each year, i've titled the Blog something new. Last year was Getting Better - basically chronicalling, sporadically, my improvements as a player - and the first year was something about being a rookie - basically, the first time i was on a real ultimate team - odd that i can't remember. So now, this year i intend to step up. Be a big target and provider for the team. Stars have left and new ones will be made, will i be one? Fuck yes.
Finally
The anticipation of our first FULL tournament was killer. Prior to Sectionals we were a team without a purpose, in a somewhat literal and metaphorical way. We practiced, hung out, worked out, pushed each other, laughed together, yelled, fought, drank together but hadn't experienced the point of it all: playing ultimate. Now obviously we played ultimate, but when you play three times a week with the same people, it doesn't really count. So we did our best, as a team we strived for perfection from each other but were still missing the most vital component. Because of four cancelled tournaments, we hadn't become cohesive and hadn't played to any of our potential. People were getting angsty to play other teams, practices came a bit drearier, and the soul of the team hadn't come out. Let me say that, when Pitt plays well, with heart, friends, teammates, brothers - hand in hand - we are a force to be reckoned with; a team that plays some balla' ass ultimate. We hadn't had the chance to do that yet, and
we were begging for it.
To reiterate, we were REALLY excited to play. I don't remember much of what happened in the first games other then the fact that we were having fun, running our system and because of it running train. I don't remember much other then it being beautiful outside and just being really
happy and excited to play. Playing was phenomenal. What struck me as i started to cut and move, go deep, go in, whatever was the fact that my teammates are really fucking good. I remember a point at which i literally made five or six incuts and got the disc each time, moved it quickly and got it right back. In practice people are all over my back, getting an incut is - for the most part - a bitch to do, a defender draped on you, a tight throw, basically you have to be perfect. Here i was just jogging around getting the disc at will - an exaggeration, but the point is valid. I do remember getting a breakside cut and pulling a sweet ass drop step for the goal: first drop step evaaaa, definitely invoked my inner Chow.
The Edinboro game was another story; aka not a cake walk. They're a good team. They are dangerous on every possession of the disc because of the ability of each person on the disc: this is mostly Taft or Tad, but it's still a huge threat. The main contributors to the offense can all huck pinpoint hucks and have recievers all who range from 6' to 6'5"; hence, the deep was a bit of a threat. The downside is their total lack of depth. I think they played an eight or nine man rotation the entire weekend, and this is for sectionals. Apparently it ended up working as they got the final bid to regionals beating Penn State - LOLlerskates - badly, something like 13-9. Our game against them seemed really close, but with a second glance at the score it apparently wasn't. They're defense really isn't anything special and it really confused me why they kept running it when we figured it out and were moving the disc with ease.
Sunday was a cake walk for the most part. Bucknell, in the finals, was a team that just couldn't hang with us. They had a solid handler and one cutter - everyone else was really just fodder. They may have bagged the game against us, but still aren't anywhere close to the level of play we were bringing.
Which brings me to a thought about our play. The thing i noticed about this years team is that we are not flashy. We do not get lots of layout Ds or sky tons of people - unless your Tyler and Chris literally throws it 30 feet in the air for no reason whatsoever - we play hard and we play with tons of pressure. That is by no means saying we are not capable, but alot of the turns come from stall 8 or 9 tight throws that are behind the guy or into one of our defenders. The offense seems to be running smoother as the days went on O line looked solid and i think was broken 1 time all weekend (against Edinboro?). The D line offense at points was amazing. My dropstep point was a pinnacle (not to brag or anything). We moved the disc from the opposite goal line to our goal line in probably 15 seconds with at least 10 throws. Moving the disc that fast made us literally unstoppable.
Now on to the real matter of the day. Who is the front runner for the FOTY?
Alex Thorne
#21
Pros: Doesn't turn the disc over. Alex will not turn the disc over and will still make the big throws when it counts. He throw a goal line to goal line huck for a score and threw a ridiculous high-release bullet-flick breakside for another. He is also great in the air and is a scary little cutter when he wants to be. When this dude bids, it's pretty.
Cons: Doesn't get any love. With our star studded offense, it's no wonder this little pull catcher doesn't need to do much. When Alex wants to he can kill bitches, but most of the time he really doesn't need to.
Colin Connor
# 5
Pros: Colin is the glue to our offense. When Colin isn't getting
the first pass, he is getting the second. He knows the right spaces to find, and knows how to get to them. He can also sky the fuck out of mad bitches. His name is the Coroner for a specific reason. On defense he is tenacious on the mark and gets layout Ds (even on me, i still blame Rakers). He is also a big thrower. If a flick side break huck is open he will throw it to space: ask Tyler.
Cons: Being a glue man doesn't constitute lots of praise. He works hard and consistently, but unless you're getting the disc every other throw and being a bit of a show off, its hard to get kudos. Also likes to start fights? Kansas, Edinboro, any others?
Tyler Degirolamo:
#81
Pros:
Freak athlete. Not only is he the fastest kid on the team, he can jump the highest, is the tallest, and has a fucking INVISIBILITY CLOAK. I swear to god, against Bucknell Tyler jogged through the endzone, wide open, yelled 'Hey I'm open,' of the three defenders in the area no one decided to pick him up. So he clap caught the goal as me and the rest of the sideline were baffled. Oh yeah and then he also gets lots of D's. Hopefully this weekend is more of whats to come from Tyler, but he did get a shit load of sky Ds.
Cons: Still a bit of a freshmen. Throws need to be worked on, but are always improving. Needs to keep his head up when things don't go his way. Tyler needs to keep his cool a little bit more. During the Edinboro game he got a sweet D on some dude (not pictured) and freaked out at him for calling foul. Yes it wasn't a foul, yes we know it was a bitch call - but he did take it back. So just take a breath when someone calls bullshit and call them out on their shenanigans.
Personal frontrunner. A-Theezy. Though he hasn't needed to show up yet, i feel like when he gets a puuuuurdy layout snag for a goal at regionals people will be all up on his jock... fo' sho. Tyler could steal it away if he plays out of his mind like he did at sectionals. And Colin is one back motha fucka, so i can't discount him. Plus he's got the Bird's endorsement.
The Faces of Pitt Ultimate
So i've had the urge to introduce the scary and frigthening faces of Pitt Ultimate for a while. Hopefully, a motivational and fun tool to get people pumped up for the series and the end of the season. If you guys haven't seen so far there are pictures attached to each person. They are a bit candide, but me and Tyler really took the time to search them out and post them here. Problem is it doesn't look like it due to my crappy color choices.
Let's start off with the tenacious handler unit. In the back field we have #8 Michael Plunkett, a big thrower with a knack for finding a layout d when needed. This dude will spike it so hard when he is totally uncovered, possibly cause he is like... really fast?... and scores a goal, it'll make not only taco the game disc but will taco any discs within earshot. When he can't find the room to throw a big huck you gotta' watch out for Alex 'A-Theezzy' Thorne. #21 loves throwin' the big huck or the high release break flick: watch out though when he isn't throwin' he's skying bitches and 'GIVIN' SOME' to the other team. Another weapon in this versatile arsenal of handlers is none other then Kyle Baynes, he's been breaking ankles and breaking marks since he was born: low release flick huck to the break side in stride is what Mr. Baynes has been doing since his high school days. And you can watch it rain on dem' hoes when he teams up with his former roommate Geoff Zettel.... this shit is bonkers... A little bit on him, when Geoff isn't actually making people fall down from his fakes, he's pulling into the back of the endzone, floating it there for about 5 minutes, and then getting the first d. Goodness forbid you have to gaurd him: honestly... honestly, just take a seat and let him score, save yourself some embarrasment. While we're on the subject of being nasty, one angry and ferocious little man comes to mind: Jake 'the Living Paradox' Christan. Not only does he throw huge flicks and backhands, but the man, the myth, the legend never stops running. # 35 is grinding away at your handler long after he's called foul. On the other side of the spectrum is Brad 'Boo' Bellinger. Not only is he the best looking, nicest, and debonair Pitt Ultimate player, he is also one of the best defenders on the North or South hemisphere. Ask Sherwood how much fun he had.
Always knowing where his man is going - because of his always thinking ultimate mind - Nick 'Killz' Kaczmarek proves on and off the field the meaning of dedication. He works hard for the team and pushes the best from each player: if this lovable lefty isn't preaching team philosophy, he is probably wrapping around his man and getting gnarly blocks to demonstrate. Being sick doesn't mean speaking a lot and although what #23 may say doesn't make a lot of sense, what does make sense is that he is a baller. When Eddie Peters sets his mind to a block or a layout, you know it's going to happened: it doesn't matter if its a world's player or a chump - he's getting the D. And while we're on the subject of laying out your best player, Mike 'Pants' Pannone has a knack for getting sick Ds on the best players and having them called back. Not because of a foul, but mostly because it hurts there feelings... and that just ain't nice. If he could only learn to harness he's ridiculously fast speed he'd be the scariest dude who knows how to hack a Wii.
Now the people that burn you for goals come from all corners of this team. When Colin 'the Coroner' Connors isn't murdering everyone and anyone, he is with his girlfriend: oddly enough no one knows her name? Sup with that Col? But seriously, this dude skys the living shit out of people and then throws lefty high releases for nonchalant goals. Not only does Colin dominate the airways for Pitt but so does Tyler 'Ty-Lord' Degirolamo. With a plethora of sick ass freshmen this year it's hard to say who is the best, but it's easy to say who is the most ridiculously athletic. Tyler not only catches all of his goals while in the air 47 inches above the ground, clapping them in his bread basket, he also scores all of the goals. A-L-L. On the defensive side of this swooping falcon like team comes Nick Rivers, number twenDEE. The DEE standing for the Ds that he gets at will: god forbid you throw a swilly huck or even something remotely not-perfect, cause he will out jump, out run your player and then mack on his girlfriend. Ask Julian 'the House' Houseman. After makin' out with a girl, #20 took his gal and banged her. In the room J-House was sleeping in. With him there, ten feet from the deed. BOOM roasted. But seriously, Julian is sick - and if he wasn't totally passed out and like at a thirteen, he might have gotten with that girl - not only does he negate your best handler, he also makes him look foolish, by either point blocking him and then throwing a huck, or point blocking him and throwing a HUGE huck.
The underneath defense is also unreal on this team. Not only can everyone get you inside, but if you have one of your unlucky non-deep players guarded by #4, your shit out of luck. Ravi 'the Dalllah' Ved not only can save your player from a sudden brain hemorrhage, he will also lay them out... maybe he caused, maybe he didn't ask him, he knows: he's going to be a doctor. Another shortman with huge potential and dedication is #3 Allen Rakers. Not only can he do an up-down or mountain man faster then you, he will throw his 3'2" body around and layout d the shit out of you. What he lacks in height he has in heart, strength, and the phrase, "C'MON ALLEN." On the flip side of this dynamic duo of vertically challenged is our big man with the knack for a sick layout D: Patrick 'PHamm' Hammonds. Roasting your dude under or deep, Patrick will rip it for a goal shouting AND1 and drawin' the foul. This big dawg has it all: including the most lovable girlfriend, how that happened... i don't know. (Love you Pat)
On the current IR we have David 'Hogan' Hogan. Oh god, the Metro East- and the Nation for that matter - is both happy and relieved that Hogan isn't ready to cleat up yet. Not only does this dude layout D anyone, everyone he also skys, puns, and quotes Futurama better. If only he had a fuller beard, then he'd be the all American ultimate player. Jason 'not-a-Pokemon-master' Kunsa, has recently been signed off the IR list, or so we hope. This kid is one of the hardest working players on the team. When he isn't running, lifting, or throwing, he's sleeping or playing pokemon. School? Who goes to school when there's ultimate/pokemon to be played.
Thanks to CCCs and a certain captain we now have a way of starting the other teams offense on our call, "tap it in! tap it in! tap it in!" Chris 'Christo' Brenenborg has been hucking and breaking with the best of them since he was on impulse and that little thing called Team USA. #21, i mean #2 has been on many magazine covers considering his hollywood status, most notably the WUGC 2007 DVD. Did i also mention he went to World's? He won and i think he drank like a liter of Dr. Pepper between each game. He's sponsored by them and Patagucci. Truth. Speaking of World's the coaching staff is start studded. Robert 'Dulabeard' Dulabon has played at the Club World Championships with one of the most elite teams this side of the east or west of the mississippi: Deathstar (?). When he was with Pitt he was a fundamental player on offense and defense, and now he brings the defensive hurt on teams with his knowledge of zone and man. On the offensive side we have David 'Vatzer' Vatz. Not only was he like this [-] close to making the Junior world's team, this dude was also a FOTY and all star cutter with Pitt. Now he sits on the side line making the offense move like a fluid machine. Finally, we have David 'Weasel' Lionetti. The man with the plan, the man with a future sight. I mean this dude went to nationals, I think as many times as Jim Parinella: this has yet to be verified. Nonetheless, working diligently Wease has pushed this team to new levels of sick nasty in recent years; once a regionals wanna-be, to a scary nationals threat Pitt has moved up because of his guidance and tutelage.
And that's the faces of Pitt Ultimate.
Andrej Ababovic* #10
Pictures provided by Andrej and Tyler.
It's dumb to write one for yourself, so if anyone has some witty commentary i'm all ears. *
Let's start off with the tenacious handler unit. In the back field we have #8 Michael Plunkett, a big thrower with a knack for finding a layout d when needed. This dude will spike it so hard when he is totally uncovered, possibly cause he is like... really fast?... and scores a goal, it'll make not only taco the game disc but will taco any discs within earshot. When he can't find the room to throw a big huck you gotta' watch out for Alex 'A-Theezzy' Thorne. #21 loves throwin' the big huck or the high release break flick: watch out though when he isn't throwin' he's skying bitches and 'GIVIN' SOME' to the other team. Another weapon in this versatile arsenal of handlers is none other then Kyle Baynes, he's been breaking ankles and breaking marks since he was born: low release flick huck to the break side in stride is what Mr. Baynes has been doing since his high school days. And you can watch it rain on dem' hoes when he teams up with his former roommate Geoff Zettel.... this shit is bonkers... A little bit on him, when Geoff isn't actually making people fall down from his fakes, he's pulling into the back of the endzone, floating it there for about 5 minutes, and then getting the first d. Goodness forbid you have to gaurd him: honestly... honestly, just take a seat and let him score, save yourself some embarrasment. While we're on the subject of being nasty, one angry and ferocious little man comes to mind: Jake 'the Living Paradox' Christan. Not only does he throw huge flicks and backhands, but the man, the myth, the legend never stops running. # 35 is grinding away at your handler long after he's called foul. On the other side of the spectrum is Brad 'Boo' Bellinger. Not only is he the best looking, nicest, and debonair Pitt Ultimate player, he is also one of the best defenders on the North or South hemisphere. Ask Sherwood how much fun he had.
Always knowing where his man is going - because of his always thinking ultimate mind - Nick 'Killz' Kaczmarek proves on and off the field the meaning of dedication. He works hard for the team and pushes the best from each player: if this lovable lefty isn't preaching team philosophy, he is probably wrapping around his man and getting gnarly blocks to demonstrate. Being sick doesn't mean speaking a lot and although what #23 may say doesn't make a lot of sense, what does make sense is that he is a baller. When Eddie Peters sets his mind to a block or a layout, you know it's going to happened: it doesn't matter if its a world's player or a chump - he's getting the D. And while we're on the subject of laying out your best player, Mike 'Pants' Pannone has a knack for getting sick Ds on the best players and having them called back. Not because of a foul, but mostly because it hurts there feelings... and that just ain't nice. If he could only learn to harness he's ridiculously fast speed he'd be the scariest dude who knows how to hack a Wii.
Now the people that burn you for goals come from all corners of this team. When Colin 'the Coroner' Connors isn't murdering everyone and anyone, he is with his girlfriend: oddly enough no one knows her name? Sup with that Col? But seriously, this dude skys the living shit out of people and then throws lefty high releases for nonchalant goals. Not only does Colin dominate the airways for Pitt but so does Tyler 'Ty-Lord' Degirolamo. With a plethora of sick ass freshmen this year it's hard to say who is the best, but it's easy to say who is the most ridiculously athletic. Tyler not only catches all of his goals while in the air 47 inches above the ground, clapping them in his bread basket, he also scores all of the goals. A-L-L. On the defensive side of this swooping falcon like team comes Nick Rivers, number twenDEE. The DEE standing for the Ds that he gets at will: god forbid you throw a swilly huck or even something remotely not-perfect, cause he will out jump, out run your player and then mack on his girlfriend. Ask Julian 'the House' Houseman. After makin' out with a girl, #20 took his gal and banged her. In the room J-House was sleeping in. With him there, ten feet from the deed. BOOM roasted. But seriously, Julian is sick - and if he wasn't totally passed out and like at a thirteen, he might have gotten with that girl - not only does he negate your best handler, he also makes him look foolish, by either point blocking him and then throwing a huck, or point blocking him and throwing a HUGE huck.
The underneath defense is also unreal on this team. Not only can everyone get you inside, but if you have one of your unlucky non-deep players guarded by #4, your shit out of luck. Ravi 'the Dalllah' Ved not only can save your player from a sudden brain hemorrhage, he will also lay them out... maybe he caused, maybe he didn't ask him, he knows: he's going to be a doctor. Another shortman with huge potential and dedication is #3 Allen Rakers. Not only can he do an up-down or mountain man faster then you, he will throw his 3'2" body around and layout d the shit out of you. What he lacks in height he has in heart, strength, and the phrase, "C'MON ALLEN." On the flip side of this dynamic duo of vertically challenged is our big man with the knack for a sick layout D: Patrick 'PHamm' Hammonds. Roasting your dude under or deep, Patrick will rip it for a goal shouting AND1 and drawin' the foul. This big dawg has it all: including the most lovable girlfriend, how that happened... i don't know. (Love you Pat)
On the current IR we have David 'Hogan' Hogan. Oh god, the Metro East- and the Nation for that matter - is both happy and relieved that Hogan isn't ready to cleat up yet. Not only does this dude layout D anyone, everyone he also skys, puns, and quotes Futurama better. If only he had a fuller beard, then he'd be the all American ultimate player. Jason 'not-a-Pokemon-master' Kunsa, has recently been signed off the IR list, or so we hope. This kid is one of the hardest working players on the team. When he isn't running, lifting, or throwing, he's sleeping or playing pokemon. School? Who goes to school when there's ultimate/pokemon to be played.
Thanks to CCCs and a certain captain we now have a way of starting the other teams offense on our call, "tap it in! tap it in! tap it in!" Chris 'Christo' Brenenborg has been hucking and breaking with the best of them since he was on impulse and that little thing called Team USA. #21, i mean #2 has been on many magazine covers considering his hollywood status, most notably the WUGC 2007 DVD. Did i also mention he went to World's? He won and i think he drank like a liter of Dr. Pepper between each game. He's sponsored by them and Patagucci. Truth. Speaking of World's the coaching staff is start studded. Robert 'Dulabeard' Dulabon has played at the Club World Championships with one of the most elite teams this side of the east or west of the mississippi: Deathstar (?). When he was with Pitt he was a fundamental player on offense and defense, and now he brings the defensive hurt on teams with his knowledge of zone and man. On the offensive side we have David 'Vatzer' Vatz. Not only was he like this [-] close to making the Junior world's team, this dude was also a FOTY and all star cutter with Pitt. Now he sits on the side line making the offense move like a fluid machine. Finally, we have David 'Weasel' Lionetti. The man with the plan, the man with a future sight. I mean this dude went to nationals, I think as many times as Jim Parinella: this has yet to be verified. Nonetheless, working diligently Wease has pushed this team to new levels of sick nasty in recent years; once a regionals wanna-be, to a scary nationals threat Pitt has moved up because of his guidance and tutelage.
And that's the faces of Pitt Ultimate.
Andrej Ababovic* #10
Pictures provided by Andrej and Tyler.
It's dumb to write one for yourself, so if anyone has some witty commentary i'm all ears. *
Series Time
Cool thing about this picture is that at no time was the grab not within my grasp. I knew from the moment i was chasing it down to the moment i bid, that i would get the disc: it was just a matter of when and where - and to be honest that was the last moment i could have grabbed it. I could have bid sooner and caught it at that three foot horizontal period...eh, you live and learn.
There's not really much else to say... I've been working hard. The team has been working hard. I played well. The team played well. With the series coming shortly... not this weekend, what the fuck... we'll be in prime shape and condition to dominate at regionals.
I'm a bit hurt right now, my wrists got effed up, but i am going to be working hard on my legs to make sure i am in great shape. I also need to buy some medicine to get better, cause i've been sick like a motha for the last few weeks. So all's well in the Andrej camp, hopefully getting better.
Work Hard.
Play Hard.
The Week in Review
All in all, this was a bad week (9 days) of ultimate for myself. But it was a great social week in ultimate for me.
In both tournaments i went to Terminus Club edition and Terminus College edition i played poorly. Why? I don't know. For the club one with Forge, it was a totally different experience. I played with some guys i knew and some i didn't, so i was very happy and excited to see old faces and also excited to meet some new people. But in all this is the strickening feeling that your being judged and that it's a tryout tournament. Not to say this is a bad thing, in fact i thought it was going to be awesome; i wanted to do things people don't usually see me do, perhaps get a chance to make a nice play or two. But continuing...
We played Chain and Ring back to back, both games were an event, yet uneventful (if you understand what that means), in themselves. I don't remember much about the Chain game other then covering my guy and playing good defense on them, i probably screwed up at some point or another, but i felt as though i was hanging - if not more - with Nationals caliber players. On the converse i remember the Ring game pretty well. They were good, not as good as i had imagined - but damn good at that. Three things stick out in my mind.
- Rob is like pretty good at ultimate.
- We threw a really shitty turn and a guy broke deep. No one picked him up, and instead 3 guys surrounded the thrower and hassled him. Neither the thrower nor anyone on the field cared, he simply took his time and found an opening and jacked it to the WIDE open player for a goal. After the point, some guy on the Ring bench yells, "Nice intentional fouling, douchebags." To which both the thrower (Ring player) and everyone else collectively says, I'm paraphrasing, it's not like we've never done it?
- This has been a really reoccurring theme for this week and been pissing me off. I'm getting beat by shitty ultimate. I cover my guy deep, he stops, i stop, begin to front him - since we're 40 yards deep and a huck seems retarded - the huck goes up and with me in a standstill waiting for a movement forward my defender takes off deeper only to receive the disc in the back of the back endzone for a goal. In total this happened to me 4 times on the weekend most notably twice against Penn St.
Against Ring this happened once, i began fronting the guy, i'm guessing they were playing some kind of handler weave nonsense and my guy stops i look at him, turn my head back for the disc, here 'UP,' look up for my guy and mutter words i hate, "Fuckin' balls." I caught up to him, bid over his back, he comes down with it. He said nice play, which made me a feel a bit better (?), but knew i fucked up. It was annoying on two levels. He was 5 inches shorter then me and that was the play i wanted to make and i didn't do it. I hoped the intensity i showed was good, but i was still really disappointed. Later in the finals i saw the same dude grab a disc between two, much bigger, bidding Chain defenders.
Now the week in between was awesome, Spring Break in a fuckin' mountain top mansion. I'm not going into it, but a lot of fun stuff happened. The team officially knows every good line of 12 oz. Mouse and the Chappelle Show, without ever needing to watch them. I've found a new appreciation for hot tubs. I hate baseball world series. I'm not good at poker and Eddie's crazy ways of getting me to pay are awesome. And i need to stop falling asleep at 3AM. But on the Ultimate side of it, it was not good... I think a few of us actually ran around when we found the time. I had a restless morning on Tuesday and went for a jog. It was nice, if not bland, but other then that and throwing a disc 130 yards off the porch of our house, that was the extend of my ultimate training.
This did not pay dividends when it came time for Terminus 2nd ed. I felt slow and i didn't have my 5th gear. The 5th gear used for getting that second acceleration and that second quick step for a D or for a finish to a disc, i just couldn't muster. I remember during the first game against Georgia Tech, Chris threw me a disc deep when i just began a cut in and in my usual motif, i would turn quickly and try to find the gear to go get it, but when i turned i just couldn't do it. It was not a good way to start the weekend.
From there it was a muddle of busying work in the midst of a few good things done well. I thought my zone offense was good, i got a lot of touches and moved the disc efficiently. But other then that, i was out of rhythm and not seeing lanes on the offensive side of the disc. Defense was also poorer then with Forge. I was getting beat to spots i wouldn't have and i was losing match ups that i shouldn't have. I had a few really good spots against Penn and some really low ones. Against Georgia Tech and Tuffs i played well, if not memorably, i remember that anytime my player caught the disc it was a 71% chance of a turnover against Georgia Tech (5/7 total, 3/4 on their main handler/cutter dude), and against Tuffs it was 50% (2/4), Dayton it was 3/5 or 60%. That's not a lot of statistics, but i think that also does show something within itself and i did keep very specific note, considering i didn't make any key plays that i wanted to. Against Penn i didn't have that kind of success i think the guy i covered for most of the game threw back field and the other guy i covered for a point did break me for a goal, lowest point of that game.
I also got really unlucky with that mother fucker. This is the shit i was talking about before, huck went up, i got in position, in this case a bit behind him, pushing forward, the disc is high so i'm going to get the D, and then all of a sudden it dips literally right into his bread basket. I tried to grab it, but he caught it as well, i'm guessing first cause i ended up tangled with him and the disc. I thought for a moment to try to argue, but between his yelling and my embarrassment i let it go saying, that i was going to get the D on him the next throw. I over commit to stop the dump throw to him, find myself on the wrong side, bid for the breakside, and Boom, break goal.
I'm not really going to say much about the team. I thought we had moments of beauty amongst a busying performance overall. I was disappointed in two tactical things. The first being our total lack of physicality. There were not many fouls called against us, and even less so bids. The former may sound like a good thing, but a team built on aggressive under defense, pressure and containment can not be doing it's job if someone isn't pissed off at either the cutter defenders, the handler covers, or the marks. The second is our total lack of defensive cutting and our lack of offensive endzone. Our defensive offense is let the handlers do some shit, and hopefully we'll get a huck off and score, if we get to the endzone we're kinda screwed. Our offensive endzone was impatient at best. Everyone wanted the break side cut and everyone wanted the force side cut. I tried to bring calm during our games against dayton and whatnot, but i don't know if that translated well. Needless to say, it sucked.
Goals for myself now.
Run.
Around a month until the series starts, so that means for the week i took off i need to work harder to get back into shape and get back into great shape.
Throw.
No need to explain, be better, throw better.
Agility.
I've had some good ideas about cutting motions that i want to translate into some individual drills and exercises. I need to get my directional change into top gear.
Without going further, i need to refocus, get my shitty performance out of the way, and start working hard. I will be great.
In both tournaments i went to Terminus Club edition and Terminus College edition i played poorly. Why? I don't know. For the club one with Forge, it was a totally different experience. I played with some guys i knew and some i didn't, so i was very happy and excited to see old faces and also excited to meet some new people. But in all this is the strickening feeling that your being judged and that it's a tryout tournament. Not to say this is a bad thing, in fact i thought it was going to be awesome; i wanted to do things people don't usually see me do, perhaps get a chance to make a nice play or two. But continuing...
We played Chain and Ring back to back, both games were an event, yet uneventful (if you understand what that means), in themselves. I don't remember much about the Chain game other then covering my guy and playing good defense on them, i probably screwed up at some point or another, but i felt as though i was hanging - if not more - with Nationals caliber players. On the converse i remember the Ring game pretty well. They were good, not as good as i had imagined - but damn good at that. Three things stick out in my mind.
- Rob is like pretty good at ultimate.
- We threw a really shitty turn and a guy broke deep. No one picked him up, and instead 3 guys surrounded the thrower and hassled him. Neither the thrower nor anyone on the field cared, he simply took his time and found an opening and jacked it to the WIDE open player for a goal. After the point, some guy on the Ring bench yells, "Nice intentional fouling, douchebags." To which both the thrower (Ring player) and everyone else collectively says, I'm paraphrasing, it's not like we've never done it?
- This has been a really reoccurring theme for this week and been pissing me off. I'm getting beat by shitty ultimate. I cover my guy deep, he stops, i stop, begin to front him - since we're 40 yards deep and a huck seems retarded - the huck goes up and with me in a standstill waiting for a movement forward my defender takes off deeper only to receive the disc in the back of the back endzone for a goal. In total this happened to me 4 times on the weekend most notably twice against Penn St.
Against Ring this happened once, i began fronting the guy, i'm guessing they were playing some kind of handler weave nonsense and my guy stops i look at him, turn my head back for the disc, here 'UP,' look up for my guy and mutter words i hate, "Fuckin' balls." I caught up to him, bid over his back, he comes down with it. He said nice play, which made me a feel a bit better (?), but knew i fucked up. It was annoying on two levels. He was 5 inches shorter then me and that was the play i wanted to make and i didn't do it. I hoped the intensity i showed was good, but i was still really disappointed. Later in the finals i saw the same dude grab a disc between two, much bigger, bidding Chain defenders.
Now the week in between was awesome, Spring Break in a fuckin' mountain top mansion. I'm not going into it, but a lot of fun stuff happened. The team officially knows every good line of 12 oz. Mouse and the Chappelle Show, without ever needing to watch them. I've found a new appreciation for hot tubs. I hate baseball world series. I'm not good at poker and Eddie's crazy ways of getting me to pay are awesome. And i need to stop falling asleep at 3AM. But on the Ultimate side of it, it was not good... I think a few of us actually ran around when we found the time. I had a restless morning on Tuesday and went for a jog. It was nice, if not bland, but other then that and throwing a disc 130 yards off the porch of our house, that was the extend of my ultimate training.
This did not pay dividends when it came time for Terminus 2nd ed. I felt slow and i didn't have my 5th gear. The 5th gear used for getting that second acceleration and that second quick step for a D or for a finish to a disc, i just couldn't muster. I remember during the first game against Georgia Tech, Chris threw me a disc deep when i just began a cut in and in my usual motif, i would turn quickly and try to find the gear to go get it, but when i turned i just couldn't do it. It was not a good way to start the weekend.
From there it was a muddle of busying work in the midst of a few good things done well. I thought my zone offense was good, i got a lot of touches and moved the disc efficiently. But other then that, i was out of rhythm and not seeing lanes on the offensive side of the disc. Defense was also poorer then with Forge. I was getting beat to spots i wouldn't have and i was losing match ups that i shouldn't have. I had a few really good spots against Penn and some really low ones. Against Georgia Tech and Tuffs i played well, if not memorably, i remember that anytime my player caught the disc it was a 71% chance of a turnover against Georgia Tech (5/7 total, 3/4 on their main handler/cutter dude), and against Tuffs it was 50% (2/4), Dayton it was 3/5 or 60%. That's not a lot of statistics, but i think that also does show something within itself and i did keep very specific note, considering i didn't make any key plays that i wanted to. Against Penn i didn't have that kind of success i think the guy i covered for most of the game threw back field and the other guy i covered for a point did break me for a goal, lowest point of that game.
I also got really unlucky with that mother fucker. This is the shit i was talking about before, huck went up, i got in position, in this case a bit behind him, pushing forward, the disc is high so i'm going to get the D, and then all of a sudden it dips literally right into his bread basket. I tried to grab it, but he caught it as well, i'm guessing first cause i ended up tangled with him and the disc. I thought for a moment to try to argue, but between his yelling and my embarrassment i let it go saying, that i was going to get the D on him the next throw. I over commit to stop the dump throw to him, find myself on the wrong side, bid for the breakside, and Boom, break goal.
I'm not really going to say much about the team. I thought we had moments of beauty amongst a busying performance overall. I was disappointed in two tactical things. The first being our total lack of physicality. There were not many fouls called against us, and even less so bids. The former may sound like a good thing, but a team built on aggressive under defense, pressure and containment can not be doing it's job if someone isn't pissed off at either the cutter defenders, the handler covers, or the marks. The second is our total lack of defensive cutting and our lack of offensive endzone. Our defensive offense is let the handlers do some shit, and hopefully we'll get a huck off and score, if we get to the endzone we're kinda screwed. Our offensive endzone was impatient at best. Everyone wanted the break side cut and everyone wanted the force side cut. I tried to bring calm during our games against dayton and whatnot, but i don't know if that translated well. Needless to say, it sucked.
Goals for myself now.
Run.
Around a month until the series starts, so that means for the week i took off i need to work harder to get back into shape and get back into great shape.
Throw.
No need to explain, be better, throw better.
Agility.
I've had some good ideas about cutting motions that i want to translate into some individual drills and exercises. I need to get my directional change into top gear.
Without going further, i need to refocus, get my shitty performance out of the way, and start working hard. I will be great.
Genius
I'm too pissed to write about the tournament so i'll leave everyone with this jem...
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/gbo/984476074.html
I'm going to have to start doing this.
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/gbo/984476074.html
I'm going to have to start doing this.
Attack
Personally, tomorrow i think i need to go out and dominate. One of my last chances before this tournament to show guys what i can do and that i'm a good player. After watching the TiV video my previous thoughts were very accurate. I was hesitant and i lacked an attacking edge. On a total digression, it was funny that i was guarded by Dusty at one point, and during the time i didn't even realize it was him, until i had to mark him. Severly unimpressive.
But continuing... Tomorrow and Thursday's points of interest for myself are in being physical, imposing, dominant, and tireless. I need to get the notion of being perfect out of my head, i don't need to make perfect cuts, get the disc alot, or clear space for other people. Obviously i can't be a deterent in those fields, but i know i shouldn't over think or place them on a pedastool. Whether or not this is a good choice, possibly Weasel, Chris, Eddie and whoever want to see a player who does those things exceptionally, but i don't know. What i do know is that i need to be active and powerful. On the TiV tape as soon as it turns on you see me marking, as the disc gets swung the camera zooms in on the action of marker and thrower, sadly not paying attention to shut down defense i placed on the main handler. It's this kind of thing that i want people to now take notice.
What that takes is a commitment to be tireless. This is something i hold in high, high esteem. Rob, Josh, and Jake are players that i loved to watch and loved to play with: they also emmulate the one thing i need to do now. They're quick, smart, and intelligent with their cuts - but they are also athletic and commited as fuck. Commited to the team, the workouts, their teammates, and they're roles. Now, with this last few waning practices i need to push myself, my body, and my mind to keep moving, cutting, defending, and bidding to show to the team, to myself, that i am worthy of a spot on this team and a spot on the line.
It's late. Time to get mentally focused and well physically.
But continuing... Tomorrow and Thursday's points of interest for myself are in being physical, imposing, dominant, and tireless. I need to get the notion of being perfect out of my head, i don't need to make perfect cuts, get the disc alot, or clear space for other people. Obviously i can't be a deterent in those fields, but i know i shouldn't over think or place them on a pedastool. Whether or not this is a good choice, possibly Weasel, Chris, Eddie and whoever want to see a player who does those things exceptionally, but i don't know. What i do know is that i need to be active and powerful. On the TiV tape as soon as it turns on you see me marking, as the disc gets swung the camera zooms in on the action of marker and thrower, sadly not paying attention to shut down defense i placed on the main handler. It's this kind of thing that i want people to now take notice.
What that takes is a commitment to be tireless. This is something i hold in high, high esteem. Rob, Josh, and Jake are players that i loved to watch and loved to play with: they also emmulate the one thing i need to do now. They're quick, smart, and intelligent with their cuts - but they are also athletic and commited as fuck. Commited to the team, the workouts, their teammates, and they're roles. Now, with this last few waning practices i need to push myself, my body, and my mind to keep moving, cutting, defending, and bidding to show to the team, to myself, that i am worthy of a spot on this team and a spot on the line.
It's late. Time to get mentally focused and well physically.
Icky
This weekend/week have been unproductive. I've been sick, I've been overworked, and I've been down in the dumps. I'm guessing the last is because of the previous, but it really doesn't help. The team practices I've done so far have been going well. I played exactly how i said i wanted to: i used my body, threw myself around and got a few Ds and a few weird ass catches. I could have had a few more but i was still feeling a bit off and a bit unmotivated.
My cardio has gotten worse though - possibly just stunted, not actually worse. I've been very sick, so much so that the congestion really hurts me when i'm doing hard and continuous work. Cutting, playing D, marking, accelerating i felt great, but when i had to do the tumble rolls i was dead as fuck. Chris asked me if i was okay to which i gave him a wheezing, "I'm just sick, I'll be fine." Honestly, it's difficult to breathe when one of your nostrils is working at half capacity, the other dead, and your throat congested with some kind of sickness. On the other hand it is pretty cool to be able to shoot a snot rocket for 10 yards... gross, but cool. My goal for this week is to get better before Ultimax. Whether that means wearing things to keep me warm, or just not playing outside when it's ridiculously cold, or even simply eating better I'm going to have to do it.
Focusing on the team now, i think we're progressing pretty well with defense and offenses... mentality lesser so. Jake called some pretty... Jake-like calls and got the other team aggravated and riled up: i liked it. Everyone started hating each other and the level of the game definitely picked up. The only fear i have is that some people take Jake's and even other team's calls too personally, get to amped up, and then take things beyond themselves. We need to gain a tougher mentality, something i feel like the team has never really had. Whether it's been a bullshit call or getting broken a few times, Pitt has really struggled staying focused in games and making sure that we continue doing things that make us better - the pillars. This goes as far as a team wide mentality and as small as individuals motivations and thoughts. If one person is stuck in their head, they will inevitability affect the teams cog like offense or defense. Whether we need to gel more, get more wins under our belt, or just sit down one on one and make sure our heads are in check our mentality is key to success.
I definitely need to do this. Yet, for me its not a matter of ultimate. I need to be mentally in check before this tournament. I'm getting to work as soon as i finish this post, finishing late homework, finishing late essays, and going to get started on homework due later this week. I've bullshitted for a while now and i need to do my work. I also need to prioritize my financial situation, this is really my one only fear right now. Money sadly doesn't grow out of trees and definitely isn't free. Hmmm... i think what i need is a study buddy, for lack of a better phrase. I need someone who i can motivate to do work (school related) and someone who'll motivate me. Finances are being worked out by me and my mother so it's nothing that anyone can help me out, but someone definitely needs to help me out with my study habits. Then i think everything will start streamlining and start working for me, instead of against me.
My cardio has gotten worse though - possibly just stunted, not actually worse. I've been very sick, so much so that the congestion really hurts me when i'm doing hard and continuous work. Cutting, playing D, marking, accelerating i felt great, but when i had to do the tumble rolls i was dead as fuck. Chris asked me if i was okay to which i gave him a wheezing, "I'm just sick, I'll be fine." Honestly, it's difficult to breathe when one of your nostrils is working at half capacity, the other dead, and your throat congested with some kind of sickness. On the other hand it is pretty cool to be able to shoot a snot rocket for 10 yards... gross, but cool. My goal for this week is to get better before Ultimax. Whether that means wearing things to keep me warm, or just not playing outside when it's ridiculously cold, or even simply eating better I'm going to have to do it.
Focusing on the team now, i think we're progressing pretty well with defense and offenses... mentality lesser so. Jake called some pretty... Jake-like calls and got the other team aggravated and riled up: i liked it. Everyone started hating each other and the level of the game definitely picked up. The only fear i have is that some people take Jake's and even other team's calls too personally, get to amped up, and then take things beyond themselves. We need to gain a tougher mentality, something i feel like the team has never really had. Whether it's been a bullshit call or getting broken a few times, Pitt has really struggled staying focused in games and making sure that we continue doing things that make us better - the pillars. This goes as far as a team wide mentality and as small as individuals motivations and thoughts. If one person is stuck in their head, they will inevitability affect the teams cog like offense or defense. Whether we need to gel more, get more wins under our belt, or just sit down one on one and make sure our heads are in check our mentality is key to success.
I definitely need to do this. Yet, for me its not a matter of ultimate. I need to be mentally in check before this tournament. I'm getting to work as soon as i finish this post, finishing late homework, finishing late essays, and going to get started on homework due later this week. I've bullshitted for a while now and i need to do my work. I also need to prioritize my financial situation, this is really my one only fear right now. Money sadly doesn't grow out of trees and definitely isn't free. Hmmm... i think what i need is a study buddy, for lack of a better phrase. I need someone who i can motivate to do work (school related) and someone who'll motivate me. Finances are being worked out by me and my mother so it's nothing that anyone can help me out, but someone definitely needs to help me out with my study habits. Then i think everything will start streamlining and start working for me, instead of against me.
Be Better
I have to run harder, jump higher, and accelerate faster then anyone i am playing. I know i can do it and i will. I have plenty to prove to myself and my teammates: i will be a great player.
Push Up Logger
I saw this on the Forge forum and decided that it was a great idea.
http://www.pushupslogger.com/
But, on another note... Forge forum? I guess it's because i'm going with them to club Terminus.
http://www.pushupslogger.com/
But, on another note... Forge forum? I guess it's because i'm going with them to club Terminus.
Fuck That
I'm bringing this shit back. My tumblr is going to be for myself - to make sure my academics are in line - while this one is going to be a public, more ultimate based forum.
And with that, i need to blog a bit. So as i've realized my academics have really been slipping. Right now that has no true impact, cause all my class are piss easy and - oddly - not moving quickly at all. On the other hand, my body, mind, and ultimate abilities have personally sky rocketed. I've been working hard with Christo and Eddie - spare this last week - and have really seen noticeable improvements in how i play. My cutting has been a bit hesitant and i've been working on that.
During the Oregon game i started as a cutter and it was great, but one thing plagued me the entire time. 'Don't fuck up.' And that really held me back from cutting full speed and working to maximum efficiency. When i did get the disc i was cool, calm, and knew what to do. The problem was the cutting: i wanted to do everything right. I wanted to make space from players, i wanted good hard cuts, i wanted to make my guy to be chasing me, i wanted too much. What i think people saw from this was a lack of play for me. My mind was going a million miles an hour and my body was moving at two. This wasn't true at CCC.
At CCC i played balls to the walls, i remember in the Wisconsin game just making striding cuts up and down the field, defender behind me, always a step behind, moving the disc, making the space, and i think it all came from the fact that i played with confidence. The Oregon game was the first game of the Spring, against a good team, in a big tournament, it was over my head and i was in my head. I don't want to say it showed in the beginning break mark drill, but it obviously did. I didn't throw well, i didn't do the things i usually do with ease.
So now i make a decision. I am confident. This sounds absurd, you can't just tell yourself to be confident. But you can - it's easy. I know i can work hard, i know i can beat my guys, i know i can do it: so i will.
On a quick other note. I need to throw my body around more. It felt great to do it in practice last Thursday, i nearly had it (mostly because Jason didn't realize the importance of D-ing a disc as soon as you can). My one goal right now is to get some great layout bid for a D. This fall i was amped up to do this, i remember repeatedly hitting the ground in the Space Bro tournament: I also got some pretty sweet D's this summer with Zebra. So I know i can do it, i've done it before: let's do it again.
And with that, i need to blog a bit. So as i've realized my academics have really been slipping. Right now that has no true impact, cause all my class are piss easy and - oddly - not moving quickly at all. On the other hand, my body, mind, and ultimate abilities have personally sky rocketed. I've been working hard with Christo and Eddie - spare this last week - and have really seen noticeable improvements in how i play. My cutting has been a bit hesitant and i've been working on that.
During the Oregon game i started as a cutter and it was great, but one thing plagued me the entire time. 'Don't fuck up.' And that really held me back from cutting full speed and working to maximum efficiency. When i did get the disc i was cool, calm, and knew what to do. The problem was the cutting: i wanted to do everything right. I wanted to make space from players, i wanted good hard cuts, i wanted to make my guy to be chasing me, i wanted too much. What i think people saw from this was a lack of play for me. My mind was going a million miles an hour and my body was moving at two. This wasn't true at CCC.
At CCC i played balls to the walls, i remember in the Wisconsin game just making striding cuts up and down the field, defender behind me, always a step behind, moving the disc, making the space, and i think it all came from the fact that i played with confidence. The Oregon game was the first game of the Spring, against a good team, in a big tournament, it was over my head and i was in my head. I don't want to say it showed in the beginning break mark drill, but it obviously did. I didn't throw well, i didn't do the things i usually do with ease.
So now i make a decision. I am confident. This sounds absurd, you can't just tell yourself to be confident. But you can - it's easy. I know i can work hard, i know i can beat my guys, i know i can do it: so i will.
On a quick other note. I need to throw my body around more. It felt great to do it in practice last Thursday, i nearly had it (mostly because Jason didn't realize the importance of D-ing a disc as soon as you can). My one goal right now is to get some great layout bid for a D. This fall i was amped up to do this, i remember repeatedly hitting the ground in the Space Bro tournament: I also got some pretty sweet D's this summer with Zebra. So I know i can do it, i've done it before: let's do it again.
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