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. *
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Alumni: Thanks
Nick Rivers put it best when he said, the Alumni are why and how we play. If it wasn't for Sean, Brent, Fraggle, Talle, Stu yada yada yada.... we wouldn't be the team we are now. Not as successful, not as funny, not Pittsburgh Ultimate. This post is just a strong appreciation for all those who came before me, and all those that will precede me: thank you.
Mourning Aftermath
Lately, I've been listening to Sage Francis. He's actually one of my favorite rappers, mainly because he is lyrical and very different. I don't like the whole gangster rap, bitches and hoes, rich bitch shit; I'm about actual music, not the ridiculousness behind them. But i digress. The reason i say all of this is that all my titles have come from his music, titles, and CD's. I don't actually think this is pertinent to my blog post, but just a fun little factoid.
So here's my deal. I feel like ultimate itself has been on the back burner recently. It's weird to say and think about, but when i take a step back, i can't say that i have progressed in ultimate at the moment. My throws have gotten exponentially better, my fitness has gotten better, and my knowledge of the game has gotten better. But i still haven't improved as a player. I know i sound retarded right? But bare with me.
Cutting, playing defense, throwing to space, skying, laying out is what ultimate is about. I have learned about it, but i have not done it. It's like that philosophical example. Jane learns everything in a bubble, she only knows about things through books, she lives in a black and white world, no color, nothing but books. When she steps outside and sees a red apple, does she learn something new, even if she has "learned" about it. The answer is yes. And it's an obvious one. It makes sense right, experience and knowledge together will build.
So this is my deal, i will probably not transform as a player until maybe, hopefully sectionals. I'm honest with myself. I know i won't play at Stanford, at Centex, and i know it's because I'm not a great player. I understand that. I know I'll play maybe 5 or 6 points total at a tournament and that i should take it to heart and take as much as i can from them all. But the thing is, playing 5 points were no one expects much from you does not a player build.
Here's my point or remark. Rob, Nick, Wes, Brent, Sean were all like me at one point. Maybe they were better, maybe they were worse, that's not the point. What I'm saying is, they were inexperienced players; they threw a throw behind someone as they cut to them, they may not have layed out when they could have, they maybe have been beaten deep, skyed, ded whatever; but they learned, from each of those experience you learn something. Each of those games, where they won or lost, they learned something about themselves, their opponents, tendencies, anything. But now as the team gets better and better, the stakes grow and there is less room for error.
Some will say practice is that time for you to grow and learn. Which i agree with completely, the more that you practice the better you get. Yet here's the deal. You will eventually guard everyone on the team, you will learn about them and they will learn about you. It becomes monotonous and monotony does not promote growth. Which is why tournaments become, maybe, the most important thing to the growth of a player.
From playing at Collegiates i learned so much. I played maybe nine or ten points in those first few games before getting injured, but i learned so much. I learned a bit about how to cut, i learned how to play ho-D, i learned some things about guarding in cuts, out cuts, deeps, everything. And it all happened in those first two games. It was amazing, i felt like i had learned a whole new facet of the game. I was exposed to new players, new tendencies, new cuts, new threats, and from each of those things i gained at least one valuable thing.
I may have made this remark in a prior post, but it's a valuable one. I had talked to Weasel at Collegiates, and had told him that when i attempted to restart playing on the Sunday of the tournament, and had made some obviously freshmen mistakes and dumb ones, that i beat myself up about, i felt as though it was because of the time i had been injured the other day. It sounds odd right. How can i say that the time i had missed from the day before could possibly affect me? Easily. We played 5 games. That's 5 opponents with different players, different plays, different tendencies, different everything.
Honestly, i think i have the best attitude about my situation now. I admit i was pissed after QCTU because i had played 4 points on the weekend, and i had every right to be. I understand i had just come back from injury, but i couldn't grasp how i didn't play in the first game where we had beaten VU by 8 or 9? Whatever I'm over it. This isn't the attitude i was talking about. I had an idea that i wouldn't play a lot of points, i told Nick that weekend that we weren't going to play like the veterans, and he was shocked, i actually just hadn't recognized the magnitude that this was true. My wave length was this, "I will play enough points to learn things and be able to take ways of changing my game to improve it." What i ended up with was a shaky resolve and a disheartened out look.
That was my attitude after QCTU. But, after the first week of being mopey, of being a little pissy, i said to myself, "fuck that, I'm not breezing through my freshmen year, being pissy and sitting around not caring." So what did i do. I worked my ass of at practices and still have. I started retraining in swimming. I've started running at nights to make up for missing track practices. I've done everything shy of skipping classes to lift, to improve myself. My backhand is now very respectable, i can fight through an Eddie mark. I can pivot better (it's really not that impressive, but it's better then ever before). I've learned a lot more about cutting and defending. I've regained a sturdy resolve, I've realized being a bitch isn't going to get me playing time. Work is.
This all brings me back to my first point. I've worked hard outside of ultimate. I've improved myself as a player, but does my play actually follow suit? I don't think so. Sadly, i know this. I won't get better at throwing a backhand unless i get a stiff mark and have to throw to a player who is being guarded tight. I won't get to defend unless I'm fighting with a guy to get a disc in the air. But does that dishearten me like it did after QCTU. I'd like to say no. I know I've worked hard prior to this coming season, and i know i can say that I'm not ashamed or regret anything i did - following my injury - and hopefully it gets me somewhere.
So here's my deal. I feel like ultimate itself has been on the back burner recently. It's weird to say and think about, but when i take a step back, i can't say that i have progressed in ultimate at the moment. My throws have gotten exponentially better, my fitness has gotten better, and my knowledge of the game has gotten better. But i still haven't improved as a player. I know i sound retarded right? But bare with me.
Cutting, playing defense, throwing to space, skying, laying out is what ultimate is about. I have learned about it, but i have not done it. It's like that philosophical example. Jane learns everything in a bubble, she only knows about things through books, she lives in a black and white world, no color, nothing but books. When she steps outside and sees a red apple, does she learn something new, even if she has "learned" about it. The answer is yes. And it's an obvious one. It makes sense right, experience and knowledge together will build.
So this is my deal, i will probably not transform as a player until maybe, hopefully sectionals. I'm honest with myself. I know i won't play at Stanford, at Centex, and i know it's because I'm not a great player. I understand that. I know I'll play maybe 5 or 6 points total at a tournament and that i should take it to heart and take as much as i can from them all. But the thing is, playing 5 points were no one expects much from you does not a player build.
Here's my point or remark. Rob, Nick, Wes, Brent, Sean were all like me at one point. Maybe they were better, maybe they were worse, that's not the point. What I'm saying is, they were inexperienced players; they threw a throw behind someone as they cut to them, they may not have layed out when they could have, they maybe have been beaten deep, skyed, ded whatever; but they learned, from each of those experience you learn something. Each of those games, where they won or lost, they learned something about themselves, their opponents, tendencies, anything. But now as the team gets better and better, the stakes grow and there is less room for error.
Some will say practice is that time for you to grow and learn. Which i agree with completely, the more that you practice the better you get. Yet here's the deal. You will eventually guard everyone on the team, you will learn about them and they will learn about you. It becomes monotonous and monotony does not promote growth. Which is why tournaments become, maybe, the most important thing to the growth of a player.
From playing at Collegiates i learned so much. I played maybe nine or ten points in those first few games before getting injured, but i learned so much. I learned a bit about how to cut, i learned how to play ho-D, i learned some things about guarding in cuts, out cuts, deeps, everything. And it all happened in those first two games. It was amazing, i felt like i had learned a whole new facet of the game. I was exposed to new players, new tendencies, new cuts, new threats, and from each of those things i gained at least one valuable thing.
I may have made this remark in a prior post, but it's a valuable one. I had talked to Weasel at Collegiates, and had told him that when i attempted to restart playing on the Sunday of the tournament, and had made some obviously freshmen mistakes and dumb ones, that i beat myself up about, i felt as though it was because of the time i had been injured the other day. It sounds odd right. How can i say that the time i had missed from the day before could possibly affect me? Easily. We played 5 games. That's 5 opponents with different players, different plays, different tendencies, different everything.
Honestly, i think i have the best attitude about my situation now. I admit i was pissed after QCTU because i had played 4 points on the weekend, and i had every right to be. I understand i had just come back from injury, but i couldn't grasp how i didn't play in the first game where we had beaten VU by 8 or 9? Whatever I'm over it. This isn't the attitude i was talking about. I had an idea that i wouldn't play a lot of points, i told Nick that weekend that we weren't going to play like the veterans, and he was shocked, i actually just hadn't recognized the magnitude that this was true. My wave length was this, "I will play enough points to learn things and be able to take ways of changing my game to improve it." What i ended up with was a shaky resolve and a disheartened out look.
That was my attitude after QCTU. But, after the first week of being mopey, of being a little pissy, i said to myself, "fuck that, I'm not breezing through my freshmen year, being pissy and sitting around not caring." So what did i do. I worked my ass of at practices and still have. I started retraining in swimming. I've started running at nights to make up for missing track practices. I've done everything shy of skipping classes to lift, to improve myself. My backhand is now very respectable, i can fight through an Eddie mark. I can pivot better (it's really not that impressive, but it's better then ever before). I've learned a lot more about cutting and defending. I've regained a sturdy resolve, I've realized being a bitch isn't going to get me playing time. Work is.
This all brings me back to my first point. I've worked hard outside of ultimate. I've improved myself as a player, but does my play actually follow suit? I don't think so. Sadly, i know this. I won't get better at throwing a backhand unless i get a stiff mark and have to throw to a player who is being guarded tight. I won't get to defend unless I'm fighting with a guy to get a disc in the air. But does that dishearten me like it did after QCTU. I'd like to say no. I know I've worked hard prior to this coming season, and i know i can say that I'm not ashamed or regret anything i did - following my injury - and hopefully it gets me somewhere.
Introspective Look
I've been a little upset over the last few days. I can't believe i stopped swimming. I mean, wow. It was my life; i had lots of friends, had lots of fun, and was very good at it. I recently looked over the Pittsburgh top times and other non-sense, and saw the 100 butterfly top times of this year. God fucking damn it my best time would have been like 3rd or maybe 4th. This all comes at the light of Ricky and his stardom at the moment. For those of you who don't know who i am talking about google "Ricky Henahan." He's a good friend of mine, who iv'e sadly not been in superb contact with. We are really best friends, we can hang out anytime and just good around. The thing is Ricky has been, even though he is younger, kinda of someone i looked up to. He was bigger, faster, and an all around better swimmer. He inspired me. Ricky and I always talked about the most random shit and had insane things to talk about; i remember drives to Fairport during which i taught Ricky the proper way to tell a girl to leave him alone, and the proper way of burning a bridge - both of these are obscene sexual gesture, which i care not to discuss.
The thing is, I've decided i love Ultimate. I love it so much. But swimming is still there. My unrequited love. How pathetic, ha. It's not so much that i miss working my ass of 2 hours in the morning and afternoon, to be tired and not be able to do anything with any one, but it's that i miss being great and being apart of a team that was exceptional. FAST (Fairport Area Swim Team) was the club that i swam for 3 years and had devoted a good portion of my life. My best friends were from there, my best memories are there, my greatest moments are there. I gained some of the best friends from swimming; Ricky, Todd, Brad, Dan, Hailey, Will... the list goes on. They were people i loved to be around: they would call me up, i would call them up, we'd have bon-fires, hang out, play halo, drive around for hours, eat ice cream.... everything. I lived a grand and hilarious life. Elias, our whipping boy, reminds me of the best story bar none:
Traditionally, after home/away meets we would celebrate our win, or drown our sorrows at our local BK. It had been a tradition followed for around 7 years, and was a great one. The thing about Elias Homerin is that he isn't normal. He has 3 balls, is somewhat disturbed, has a foot fetish, and is an absolute retard- but he was so loyal and annoying it hurt. He is Ricky's bitch, and was mine for the ladder half of my swimming career. On a side note, he has actually gotten a hell of a lot better, he made states and is becoming a decent swimmer, even though he has no form and is annoying as ever. But, i digress. BK, Elias, mischief. It all started after some meet we had lost, probably a meet Ricky and i had won in our events but the rest of our shit team couldn't even swim in, we got there before Elias and his van of people, and set down to eat our Grilled Chicken Sandwiches. Out of the corner of my ear, i hear an Elias retard noise (he makes wierd noises, and there is no point to them), so i ignore it. Two minutes later Elias and the rest of the people with him come back in tears, Elias was foodless, and everyone else couldnt stop laughing. What had happened? Elias had 7 dollars to spend, Elias is not normal, he spent 10 dollars, he asked if he could borrow the rest of the money.... from the lady at the counter. "I just need three dollars, can i just borrow it. I come here often, i'll pay you back." This story was awarded the "I'll Pay You Back" paper plate award.
Yet, why... why in a semi ultimate related blog, do i bring this up? I haven't had any of these moments yet. I feel a bit adrift in college life and i feel a little isolated. I think it's due to my nature. When i was at FAST i was forced into being with people, High School was an obvious duh, and i didn't worry about much. Now i am forced to think about my FAFSA forms, my next year living condition, working hard, working for money, making sure i had enough money, paying for tournaments, it's become overwhelming. I don't think it's so much overwhelming as much as i am just distressed. I need a friend to vent to, someone willing to put up with shit and help motivate me. With Ricky gone, and swimming for the moment on retainer, i feel empty and feel that i need something or someone to push me. Personally self motivation for me doesn't work. Seeing someone in lane 2 swimming next to you, and saying "fuck that I'm not losing to him" does push me. Ricky, for no particular reason other then being good and being a friend, pushed me to being a great swimmer - something i regret now completely giving up. Yet now i search for someone to push me to become a great ultimate player. Someone who will push me, care about me, and care about my struggle. I'm not clingy, I really don't think I am, I just want to be able to say, "Yeah he's my friend, he pushes me hard, and i really appreciate it."
The thing is, I've decided i love Ultimate. I love it so much. But swimming is still there. My unrequited love. How pathetic, ha. It's not so much that i miss working my ass of 2 hours in the morning and afternoon, to be tired and not be able to do anything with any one, but it's that i miss being great and being apart of a team that was exceptional. FAST (Fairport Area Swim Team) was the club that i swam for 3 years and had devoted a good portion of my life. My best friends were from there, my best memories are there, my greatest moments are there. I gained some of the best friends from swimming; Ricky, Todd, Brad, Dan, Hailey, Will... the list goes on. They were people i loved to be around: they would call me up, i would call them up, we'd have bon-fires, hang out, play halo, drive around for hours, eat ice cream.... everything. I lived a grand and hilarious life. Elias, our whipping boy, reminds me of the best story bar none:
Traditionally, after home/away meets we would celebrate our win, or drown our sorrows at our local BK. It had been a tradition followed for around 7 years, and was a great one. The thing about Elias Homerin is that he isn't normal. He has 3 balls, is somewhat disturbed, has a foot fetish, and is an absolute retard- but he was so loyal and annoying it hurt. He is Ricky's bitch, and was mine for the ladder half of my swimming career. On a side note, he has actually gotten a hell of a lot better, he made states and is becoming a decent swimmer, even though he has no form and is annoying as ever. But, i digress. BK, Elias, mischief. It all started after some meet we had lost, probably a meet Ricky and i had won in our events but the rest of our shit team couldn't even swim in, we got there before Elias and his van of people, and set down to eat our Grilled Chicken Sandwiches. Out of the corner of my ear, i hear an Elias retard noise (he makes wierd noises, and there is no point to them), so i ignore it. Two minutes later Elias and the rest of the people with him come back in tears, Elias was foodless, and everyone else couldnt stop laughing. What had happened? Elias had 7 dollars to spend, Elias is not normal, he spent 10 dollars, he asked if he could borrow the rest of the money.... from the lady at the counter. "I just need three dollars, can i just borrow it. I come here often, i'll pay you back." This story was awarded the "I'll Pay You Back" paper plate award.
Yet, why... why in a semi ultimate related blog, do i bring this up? I haven't had any of these moments yet. I feel a bit adrift in college life and i feel a little isolated. I think it's due to my nature. When i was at FAST i was forced into being with people, High School was an obvious duh, and i didn't worry about much. Now i am forced to think about my FAFSA forms, my next year living condition, working hard, working for money, making sure i had enough money, paying for tournaments, it's become overwhelming. I don't think it's so much overwhelming as much as i am just distressed. I need a friend to vent to, someone willing to put up with shit and help motivate me. With Ricky gone, and swimming for the moment on retainer, i feel empty and feel that i need something or someone to push me. Personally self motivation for me doesn't work. Seeing someone in lane 2 swimming next to you, and saying "fuck that I'm not losing to him" does push me. Ricky, for no particular reason other then being good and being a friend, pushed me to being a great swimmer - something i regret now completely giving up. Yet now i search for someone to push me to become a great ultimate player. Someone who will push me, care about me, and care about my struggle. I'm not clingy, I really don't think I am, I just want to be able to say, "Yeah he's my friend, he pushes me hard, and i really appreciate it."
Racing Like a Pro
All righty. Here is the deal. I think I have had a mega injury for the better part of 5 years now.I'll give you the background story, before i continue....
So the year was 2005. It was my junior year and i was going to my first tournament. It was late September and i was going with the newly formed BlueREY. We had begun practicing mid to late august and were planning on going to this tournament with a full 20 person roster. It featured some stars such as Charlie, myself, and a girl who plays for Cornell now. We ended up like 5th out of like 10 or something. We did decent but we were completely newly formed and were totally reamed by Noah's high school team Peyote.
Well a few Friday practices before hand we were practicing flick breaks and just throwing with a mark. So new to the whole getting low and throwing away from the mark i did the silly squat throw, some of you may not know what this is and that's great, but since i was basically self teaching myself everything i tried a lot of random shit. So i did it for a few throws and then one of my coaches looked at me and said, i'm paraphrasing, that doesn't do shit, you're wasting your time. I listened half heartedly and threw one last squat flick, as i got really deep into it i felt something in my quad sort of snap. I didn't know what it was, and i didn't know if it was hurt or what, because i felt fine. It hurt momentarily and i just kept on playing. Never to do that damn flick again. The next day i looked at my leg, the right leg to be exact, and still to this day, it looks 'sagging.' The part of my quad closest to my knee is, for the lack of a better term, fucked up.
So today as i ran my first of many miles i began to hurt. It wasn't a regular burn or shin splint; it was a painful leg immobilizing pain. I finished my mileage and contemplated doing some arm stuff, after talking to Hogan about core and other shenanigans, and realized i shouldn't really do much until i get that checked out. The weird thing though is i have never had a real bad problem with my knee. I'm wondering if i have ever really been at 100% since that day. This means one of two things a) its a bad injury and i should have rehabbed it so long ago or b)i'm just over analyzing shit and just need to man up and keep going. The ladder of the two is actually the one that concerns me more.
If a) is true then i can get my knee patched up over the summer or whenever it's appropriate, and then i can train and see what my true full potential is. If b) is true i guess i have forgotten how bad conditioning sucks, and i need to get my mental will power back up and keep going through the pain.
I haven't mentioned this before, but i have never - prior to this year - been injured. It may be the fact that high school sports are in themselves not very painful, or it means i have never been in a position to get hurt like i have. But having one injury, and one that may be injured, i still don't know the signs of a bad injury, and therefore i feel as though i am more susceptible to get a terrible injury stemming from a very silly little one. That's why i am not taking chances and am going to go get some x-rays or whatever you have for this pain and see if its fixable. Oh and i've never had surgery, so let's not start this year.... or ever for that matter.
So the year was 2005. It was my junior year and i was going to my first tournament. It was late September and i was going with the newly formed BlueREY. We had begun practicing mid to late august and were planning on going to this tournament with a full 20 person roster. It featured some stars such as Charlie, myself, and a girl who plays for Cornell now. We ended up like 5th out of like 10 or something. We did decent but we were completely newly formed and were totally reamed by Noah's high school team Peyote.
Well a few Friday practices before hand we were practicing flick breaks and just throwing with a mark. So new to the whole getting low and throwing away from the mark i did the silly squat throw, some of you may not know what this is and that's great, but since i was basically self teaching myself everything i tried a lot of random shit. So i did it for a few throws and then one of my coaches looked at me and said, i'm paraphrasing, that doesn't do shit, you're wasting your time. I listened half heartedly and threw one last squat flick, as i got really deep into it i felt something in my quad sort of snap. I didn't know what it was, and i didn't know if it was hurt or what, because i felt fine. It hurt momentarily and i just kept on playing. Never to do that damn flick again. The next day i looked at my leg, the right leg to be exact, and still to this day, it looks 'sagging.' The part of my quad closest to my knee is, for the lack of a better term, fucked up.
So today as i ran my first of many miles i began to hurt. It wasn't a regular burn or shin splint; it was a painful leg immobilizing pain. I finished my mileage and contemplated doing some arm stuff, after talking to Hogan about core and other shenanigans, and realized i shouldn't really do much until i get that checked out. The weird thing though is i have never had a real bad problem with my knee. I'm wondering if i have ever really been at 100% since that day. This means one of two things a) its a bad injury and i should have rehabbed it so long ago or b)i'm just over analyzing shit and just need to man up and keep going. The ladder of the two is actually the one that concerns me more.
If a) is true then i can get my knee patched up over the summer or whenever it's appropriate, and then i can train and see what my true full potential is. If b) is true i guess i have forgotten how bad conditioning sucks, and i need to get my mental will power back up and keep going through the pain.
I haven't mentioned this before, but i have never - prior to this year - been injured. It may be the fact that high school sports are in themselves not very painful, or it means i have never been in a position to get hurt like i have. But having one injury, and one that may be injured, i still don't know the signs of a bad injury, and therefore i feel as though i am more susceptible to get a terrible injury stemming from a very silly little one. That's why i am not taking chances and am going to go get some x-rays or whatever you have for this pain and see if its fixable. Oh and i've never had surgery, so let's not start this year.... or ever for that matter.
Grit Your Teeth
So as expected the change from College Ultimate from Youth Club mixed has been a drastic one. From being the go to guy to becoming a pion, from being the best to being one of the worst, everything has changed. Yet my role on the team and my level of craptitute is not what leads me to blog. Attitude.
Attitude is the name of the game. For myself i have gone from being a very lazy, no-work ethic kind of kid to some one who busts his butt. It may have been the college change of atmosphere, ie courses and standards and all that business, but i blame it on En Sabah Nur. The fact of the matter is i have never been so behind in anything that i loved. I sit here a rookie on a chopping block surrounded by great players who have the knowledge, skills, and speed that i want to possess.
Practices have gone from being a social event to more of a burst your lung and break your hand event. Before, ie BlueREY, i would be one of few who attends practice mainly because i loved Ultimate and wanted more and more, and because i wanted to be the best. Here and now, i am one of many who has a passion for ultimate and one of many who are on a path to become great. Everyone i play with is better at me in one or multiple fields, usually the ladder. From simple drills to scrimmages the people who mark up on me and who i mark up on are impervious to me.
So I'm on Geoff. He gets the disc off the line and i put a stiff mark on him and get him to stall 9 before he dumps it. A quick background story; i have been sick for the last three weeks from a combination of strep cold? It feels like strep but doesn't make you sick enough to be one. Since i live in the freshmen dorms when one person gets sick everyone does. So the point was a long one. I was feeling like complete and utter shit. Jeffy was working my ass off from the handler position, after all he does have to keep his "Practice Player of the Week." I had alot of lame lunging hand bids but nothing actually worth anything. Finally i got a chance as a disc went over his head from a bad read and we both had big bids on the disc so i layed out and tried to knick it. No luck.
Here is the point of my entry. When you're playing against a national level player nothing matters; how sick i am, how many points i've played, how hard my workout is, nothing. You play as hard as you can. You grit your teeth and you lay it all on the line at practice. Practice is just that, practice for the game. What you do in practice is what you do in a game. I was tired all practice today, but i never did anything lazy i made my cuts as though i was fresh. I may not have been as fast or as threatening as before but i defiantly worked my ass off. Grit your teeth and work as though your life depends on it.
Attitude is the name of the game. For myself i have gone from being a very lazy, no-work ethic kind of kid to some one who busts his butt. It may have been the college change of atmosphere, ie courses and standards and all that business, but i blame it on En Sabah Nur. The fact of the matter is i have never been so behind in anything that i loved. I sit here a rookie on a chopping block surrounded by great players who have the knowledge, skills, and speed that i want to possess.
Practices have gone from being a social event to more of a burst your lung and break your hand event. Before, ie BlueREY, i would be one of few who attends practice mainly because i loved Ultimate and wanted more and more, and because i wanted to be the best. Here and now, i am one of many who has a passion for ultimate and one of many who are on a path to become great. Everyone i play with is better at me in one or multiple fields, usually the ladder. From simple drills to scrimmages the people who mark up on me and who i mark up on are impervious to me.
So I'm on Geoff. He gets the disc off the line and i put a stiff mark on him and get him to stall 9 before he dumps it. A quick background story; i have been sick for the last three weeks from a combination of strep cold? It feels like strep but doesn't make you sick enough to be one. Since i live in the freshmen dorms when one person gets sick everyone does. So the point was a long one. I was feeling like complete and utter shit. Jeffy was working my ass off from the handler position, after all he does have to keep his "Practice Player of the Week." I had alot of lame lunging hand bids but nothing actually worth anything. Finally i got a chance as a disc went over his head from a bad read and we both had big bids on the disc so i layed out and tried to knick it. No luck.
Here is the point of my entry. When you're playing against a national level player nothing matters; how sick i am, how many points i've played, how hard my workout is, nothing. You play as hard as you can. You grit your teeth and you lay it all on the line at practice. Practice is just that, practice for the game. What you do in practice is what you do in a game. I was tired all practice today, but i never did anything lazy i made my cuts as though i was fresh. I may not have been as fast or as threatening as before but i defiantly worked my ass off. Grit your teeth and work as though your life depends on it.
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