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.

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.

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.

Blessing in Disguise

For my epically cunt-acular, emo, shit post. I feel the need to redeem myself with yet another interesting thought i just had.

Could my ankle injury be a blessing in disguise?

My groin injury has persisted even though it's been over 6 months- possibly because i didn't do any physical training, and didn't give myself the proper recovery time. So what does this 2 week static Andrej phase mean, or could possibly mean? A fully recovered Andrej! Woah. I haven't actually thought of that in quite a long time. I have been at 80% speed for the last few months even with my brace and nonsense: so this could be an unprecedented fully recovery for me. Yet i feel as though if i remain completely idle i will only recover half way. Much like what happened over the first half of winter break, which led to a second repulling after i attempted to do 2 a days.

What this means is I'll be going to the gym and swimming pool area over the next week to keep as inshape as possible, but also to try to recuperate my groin and ankle. Sadly i will most likely not be in functioning form for Sectionals but will do my best to be 100% for Regionals and Nationals. I realize missing Sectionals is big, but with the idea of PT i have for myself, I'm hoping it will show in practice that i am a fully fit and fully capable defender.

I also have my camera and am hoping to film as much of the series as possible and make highlight videos of everything ASAP. Current idea, one week after every event have the videos done.

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.

Complacency

Complacency is my school life right now. I'm at an attitude of "I don't really care and I'm fine." That's not good. A few weeks ago i was a head of the game, working hard, everyday, got my homework done, studying all the time... etc. The thing is, it wasn't bad. I didn't feel overwhelmed and i didn't not like it. So why am i now being a bitch, and not doing my work? Why? I think it's very simple. I fell one step behind. One step behind, and i said fuck that. It's weird i worked really hard, but then totally forgot to watch a movie and write a summary, so i got dismayed. The thing is, I've made up my mind. I'm done being a little pansy and this shit happening. I'm starting my hard work ethic in school and busting my ass. I'm behind in a few classes and have skipped one too many classes of Math Theory; so now i know that i have to work.

On the contra positive, i'm not complacent with ultimate and practicing. The diesel and myself have been to the pool, he loved it and so did i. It got my shoulder and biceps and triceps really working, and DZ was complaining about it a day after the fact, so he knows its a good thing. Swimming is going to be my alternative to hardcore lifting; my schedule at the moment has been hectic and will most likely stay that way. Therefore i've decided swimming will become one of my main exercise routines. Running is top priority, then my throwing, then my overall size. Size is not really a factor right now, i'm huge and am comparatively to everyone else on the team. Running and my cardio has been hurting real bad because i have been sick, but i'm constantly working on it. I haven't really been able to breathe well/at all and when i ran 800s it really showed; i was drained, mainly because i didn't have enough oxygen and my muscles didn't feel fatigued but like near failure. Swimming is going to help me a) rebuild some lost muscles, b) work on my cardio, c) get me back into great shape. It was great watching DZ really struggle but still try to push through and keep working. I helped him learn some stuff about form and stroke and he really enjoyed the total workout.

On another note: I quit the BBoard.

Going Back to Rehab

So I'm making up a little swim practice for a few cripples and myself. I'm trying to focus it on abs, and am reasoning through a bunch of different drills to do to work them. Anything italicizes if just for me. And anything in red is just for the crips, and not me.

Warm Up
200 yds - swim
200 yds - kick
200 yds - drill

Legs: 45 seconds rest in between each exercise
100 - kick
2X50 kick (15 seconds rest)
4X25 kick (15 seconds rest)
(2 min rest)
50 fly kick
2X25 fly kick (15 seconds)
50 fly kick

200 easy kick choice

Abs
{
8X 25 reach drill (1:00)
8X25 tarzan drill (1:00)
50 easy
hard kicks from wall X2
} X2

Last Set:
Boot Camp (non stop) X 5
2 X 100 pull
4 X 50 pull
200 pull
4X50 pull
100 pull
45(+5 sec for 50) second base

Warm down:
300 easy

Total Yards ~3500 (2 miles)

Honestly. This is a cake practice. I don't know how i'll do considering this is one of my first interval trainings.

Bump

So here's the deal. I have 110 posts on the bboard.To my knowledge i didn't know there was "post stuffing." I mean isn't anything written in a forum to some effect post stuffing. I understand that if someons is just saying "k" or "hahah"or "lol", then they're just bullshitting posts and their total count, but as far as i've known i haven't been that ridiculous. There are maybe two that i actually think i have to take credit for, and one was because Brad asked if there was a cost difference to our two spring break choices, and i came along and just said "Jake says they're negligible." I realize now that he probably could have read the forum to find out the answer to this silly question, but i responded. Another one i did just in spite of this nonsense, the post i responded was the following:

Ben_Ristau wrote: It's polite and cuts down on bboard clutter.

David_Lionetti wrote: But then how can you possibly expect to artificially inflate your post count?

David_Vatz wrote: Good point

To which i eloquently responded "bump." I mean come on. HILARIOUS!

Alrighty, now that i've got that off my chest. I've been kind of aggravated considering i haven't been able to run or do some of the leg things with the team. I've realized that i need to heal up and that i shouldn't push myself just because i want to do something. Meaning, i shouldn't force myself to run, if i know I'm going to hurt myself, just because i need to get into better conditioned shape. So i've done a vast amount of abs, which is doing my good and i've been throwing plenty. The ladder is great. My backhand has finally come to be a respectable throw and my huck is actually really nice, both backhand and flick. Needless to say i've been working my ass off. I do the nine minute abs routine a few times a week and i do push up regularly. I don't know how everything is going to fall into pieces, meaning my season and my workouts, but i know that if i just keep working throw, rehab my groin, get to full speed, that everything will workout one way or another.

On another note, i've had this reoccuring... sort of... horror moment. I don't know why, but i know that it's not true and it's literally never going to happened. I have this ridiculous idea, possible because of my lack of playing in along time, that i am going to suck REALLY, REALLY bad. It all boils down to me being like completely incompetent, the horror scenario. It plays out something like this: D-line, running down the pull i am totally out of breathe and can barely run down, my man is fast, deadly, and smart, and i can't touch him, and to top it all off i get lay out d-ed a whole bunch. The thing is, the last time i played was at the UNC tournament, i was injured and i couldn't run, i was half dead, and was not prepared for good defenders, so i just got wiped all over the field. Me and weasel had talked about it after the game; i told him that i felt like the rookies that got to play all the games on Saturday (of the tournament) and contribute in some minor way gained an abundance of experience and knowledge about how good the teams were. When i jumped in half way through the quarter final game on Sunday i was totally out of my league: and we were playing some chump team... I've realized i just need to scrimmage and play my best and hardest during practices and tournaments (for the few points a may play).

Finally, jerseys. I'm a big fan of Nick's designs. I loved the Pitt man in the block lettering, i thought it was a really good idea, but apparently it's "too busy." Well at the moment our jerseys are too boring. The deal with the colors, as i had told the Bird, was i was going to vote for blue or gold, it would be together, and if i was going to vote for white and black, i would once again vote for them together- but to my surprise it came out half and half, which may or may not be bad. We're also taking a big page out of the Sockeye book. Currently it looks like we may have numbers on the front too, which i am a proponent of and think looks very professional; along with that there are the sick shorts which also seem vaguely sockeye-esque. Overall i am a big fan, and i can't wait to see/wear them.

It's like i told Charlie, i feel like we're a team right now, but when we get our jerseys we ARE a team.

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.

Word to the Wise

Don't run 4 miles of sprints and runs, and follow it up with a 2 mile run expecting to do well. Which brings me to the quote.

"I ran. I ran until my muscles burned and my veins pumped battery acid. Then I ran some more."
-Fight Club

That was my day in a nutshell. I feel as thought that will be a quote to live by for a while. It's a good test for my body, but it shows me that i need to do more conditioning.

Recap of the Month

Alright, it's the end of the month and i wanted to recap as i wait to figure out when the fuck i get my paycheck. Alot has happened, I've made the A team, we played at Collegiates, I've started strenuous workout regiment, Josh's dad kicked our asses, and we're doing team workouts.

So i made the A team. A big whoopy! That wasn't a joke, i don't know how to express joy over the internet. I digress. Charlie was talking about how he was on the "bubble" when before the final cuts and we both chatted about our chances and how hard we had worked. But here is the deal, i felt like i was on the bubble more then Char. He is a solid handler, reminds me of Chowder minus the muscles, and i am a ______ . Exactly. My game has improved seriously from defense, to offense, to intensity, but improvement doesn't mean i have a specialty. So before and after cuts i've had a very strong sense of "i need to be able to do something?"

I've loved playing defense as much as i would hate my self a year ago for saying something like that, but it's true. I find offense quite boring, watching Rob and Christo and the other cutters literally make 2 or 3 cuts and then score. Which is amazing, literally amazing, but i find it boring and see that it is a much tighter rotation on the O line. Defense on the other hand, you don't know what you're doing, you just know that you have bust your ass down the field and shut down you're guy.

Which brings me to Fall Collegiates. We played very well as can be seen on the UPA score reporter, and there was nothing much to say, considering i had a groin injury. Hmm, when i did get to play i felt as though i was making a difference, ie not letting my guy get the disc, but as soon as i got that pesky injury along with sitting for a game or two, i couldn't do the same: couldn't sprint, keep up, or bid, i felt terrible. So i sat the rest of the time, the next day i felt better and still realized that i couldn't play [at all] so i just sort of sat and watched.

Workouts and Mr. Suskin. I feel as though Mr. Suskin has taught us a lot in his short 7 hour (cumulative) stay. I learned i don't have baby making muscles. I learned i need to strengthen those bad boys and i learned that i will never do martial arts. First off, a lot of what he showed us was great the leg lifts and the things for the core; all the things he showed us reminded me of swimming and how i use to be absolutely dominate at them and how i need to get back in that shape ASAP. Second, i think some of the stuff is great but useless, no offense to him, he showed us many different styles of kicking and bobbing and weaving stuff which was fun and hilarious [Chowder the Ewok]. The thing is, he is a martial arts sensai (?), he knows his martial arts backwards and forwards, he can teach me how to kick higher, punch faster, hit stronger and roundhouse kick some into next Thursday; but i feel like some of the things don't correlate extremely well to ultimate. People say, well it makes your muscles stronger which is always a benefit, but that would be like me training a rower by showing them how to box, there muscles would be stronger but they wouldn't know how to utilize them. I understand the metaphor was a big wild and ridiculous, but my point is this: making muscles stronger and utilizing muscles on the field are two different things. I could show everyone on the team a great water workout that would work your upper body and back and core, but i know that using something in the water and using it on land are two different things.

Bringing me to workout regiment/team workouts. Both are great. I've gotten into a rythm at the moment, MWF i do lifting on machines and things at night - this is the only free time i have and i personally hate free weights - and i am running and rehabbing my groin/lower back on T&T, this is feel is going to be the most beneficial for me: i am doing the stuff i am bad at (running) and i working the muscles i have lost. The team workouts (for me at least) lack exhaustion. Last tuesday i fell apart, not literally, doing stairs and that was great, i felt like shit and was ready to do it again, but we were done. I later realized i was wearing a heat shirt and that was making me overheat and die. When we got to the core i started to feel the burn at bits at a time, but nothing actually amazingly helpful. I feel my abs whenever i wake up, meaning they are getting worked, but if it would be more helpful if we did more repetitions, not just one. I return once again to swimming, drylands (core) for us was absolute hell/fun. We did everything with a partner. Medicine ball work and we did tandem core stuff, but then we did everything else to a time. So planks we did to two minutes, leg lifts to two minutes, abs for minutes at a time. And that's the mentality people don't have yet: Rob says, "go til you drop," well i could drop at 5 seconds or i could drop at 2 minutes; we need people to push themselves if they have it or not: planks for 2 minutes, no question, no bullshit, if you fall get back up.

At least that's my mentality. Bust your ass, grit your teeth.

Conditioning

Conditioning has started; i love it. I've been working my ass off... running five times a week, doing core, and working hard with the team. All i need now is a training partner for lifting. In all honesty i feel as though everyone is lifting now and that i am one of the few mainly running. Which is fine, i need more base then most people - being a swimmer and no real land legs - but i still need to lift a little. I feel like i can neglect it a little bit considering i am... huge... but i still need to get less lopsided. Oh and i am rehabbing my groin.

Well that's it for now.

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.