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.
Showing posts with label practice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label practice. Show all posts
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.
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.
Amp Energy: Overload
Alrighty, i have not much to say and i am just sort of killing moonlight.
Finals suck because they break my routine, which is basically how i have motivation to do anything, ever. Therein i have worked out less and ate more, which will change and i refuse for one week to truly deter me from my goals. On a more positive note i finally bitched out my shit T.A. and he began to whine about how he had too many students and he has a personal life and blah blah blah. To which i retorted, "is being a T.A a hobby, or do you get paid for it?"
Finally, the Bird has gained mad respect points for me in every category possible. A quick factoid about respect points: everyone has an infinite supply, and you can give them out accordingly for let's say witty comments, a dare, something hilarious, something bad ass; the counter opposite is also true, you can take them away for stupid shit. Bird has not only gained it as being a badass ultimate player, but also for being legitimately funny 24/7. If Bird doesn't have a gem to share he is literally sleeping. Overall + 20 respect points - i usually give them out in quantities of 1 or 2.
Positive note for Ultimate. I am consistently fixing my backhand and have - to my knowledge - sort of figure out my backhand. Thanks to Eddie and Christo. +2, +1 respect points to them respectively, and a definite +3 to Geoff for helping me practice constantly.
Oh, also. Fundraising, I've actually been super hardcore about this. I already realize that the team is going to cost a shit load of money and i have a plan of saying money from each pay check. But i also know that i hate spending money, so I've been pushing and giving lots of suggestions and all that good stuff, and have kind of been all over this. So if you read this check out one of three places facebook [which is a combination of the following two] or instead go to the donation page or the credit card page. Help out, and spread the word.
Finals suck because they break my routine, which is basically how i have motivation to do anything, ever. Therein i have worked out less and ate more, which will change and i refuse for one week to truly deter me from my goals. On a more positive note i finally bitched out my shit T.A. and he began to whine about how he had too many students and he has a personal life and blah blah blah. To which i retorted, "is being a T.A a hobby, or do you get paid for it?"
Finally, the Bird has gained mad respect points for me in every category possible. A quick factoid about respect points: everyone has an infinite supply, and you can give them out accordingly for let's say witty comments, a dare, something hilarious, something bad ass; the counter opposite is also true, you can take them away for stupid shit. Bird has not only gained it as being a badass ultimate player, but also for being legitimately funny 24/7. If Bird doesn't have a gem to share he is literally sleeping. Overall + 20 respect points - i usually give them out in quantities of 1 or 2.
Positive note for Ultimate. I am consistently fixing my backhand and have - to my knowledge - sort of figure out my backhand. Thanks to Eddie and Christo. +2, +1 respect points to them respectively, and a definite +3 to Geoff for helping me practice constantly.
Oh, also. Fundraising, I've actually been super hardcore about this. I already realize that the team is going to cost a shit load of money and i have a plan of saying money from each pay check. But i also know that i hate spending money, so I've been pushing and giving lots of suggestions and all that good stuff, and have kind of been all over this. So if you read this check out one of three places facebook [which is a combination of the following two] or instead go to the donation page or the credit card page. Help out, and spread the word.
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."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.
-Fight Club
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.
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.
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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