After losing to BSX in the last round on Saturday, we had BSY on Sunday morning.
The weather was a touch windier/chillier and the warmups didn't make me quite as, well, warm. I think I'll need to make sure I have warmups in which to get the sweat going no matter how warm I expect it to get.
This Boston team included Batten, Funboy, Mullen, Teddy, Fortunat and more (at least I think all of them were a part of this split-- some of this might actually be me combining memories from Finals with this game). Notes are sparse, but we continued working some specific combinations in upwind and downwind zone D points. I don't remember exactly what was going on with the O team here, but we found ourselves down 4-8 at half. I had a nice sequence of throwing a downwind backhand goal against a Boston zone (Batten almost got a fantastic D on this one-- When Julie puts the pictures up, there's a good shot of this one) followed by an upwind backhand goal on the next point. Overall, this was one of the first games in which I really started to get in a groove being on the field with the D team. I actually started to anticipate the way my teammates were going to react to things. Had another goal thrown at some point (Floaty IO to Ringo) and another throw that should have been a goal was dropped. I need to regain touch on my short, downwind flicks. Game ended with an 8-15 loss.
Next round would be the semis. Since we had 6 teams, two of whom were split squads, all teams formed like Voltron for regional matchups Boston vs PoNY and Pike vs Truck Stop. I have no idea what happened in the Boston/NY game other than a Boston victory.
Our game against Truck started off with trading to 3-3. Then TS made a little run to take half 6-8. At some point during this run, I had the disc after a turn and launched a huck to what I thought was a wide-open Ringo (of all people). Turns out that "Wide-open" in this case roughly translates to "Completely Covered." I didn't see his defender at all. Bad Dusty. Of note: Someone on TS let evelKeven call subs. I found this unendingly entertaining. Then again, I'm an asshole.
Second half, our D team made a nice run to go up 15-14. I have no details as I think I spent most of the time encouraging my brother from the sideline. At 15-14, I got back in and had quite the sequence with shifty lefty Sean: I'm covering him as TS is going upwind. I luck myself into a point block. Sweet! I get downfield, cut back under, go to throw a flick and I hear that most peculiar of noises: The unmistakable thock of plastic against hand. I got worked for a point block! Sour! As I look to see who the defender is, I realize that it is Sean, and I can't help but smile and laugh. TS turfs a throw, we work it up with some dumps/swings and completions and I find myself trapped on the sideline being forced flick. I hold the disc a touch too long, look tot he dump and see that the biggest George I've ever seen is covering the dump. Not so good. Daylight in the back left corner of the endzone. Blade, goal, game: 16-14.
There are so many things to work on from this game--we're so far from our potential right now. Similarly, TS has a bunch of good players to choose from and it looks like they're hungry after Nationals last year. I'm betting that MA Regionals will be an all-out war this year.
As for the finals against Boston, well, we were down 4 or 5 to 8 at half, we dropped the O point out of half, some young guy named Watson (for you Dartmouth readers) worked me over on a nice cut (I'm still learning this whole "defense" thing), I managed a D on a huck to someone else, threw two turnovers and remarked that Seigs moves *very* strangely and is kinda spastic in the Boston zone. We ended up losing 11-15 or something, so we had a better second half, but there was really nothing particularly good about this game. It looks like the Boston team is going to be very talented, drawing the obvious Twisted Metal and DoG guys as well as pulling guys from Slow White and the plethora of area colleges. I wonder what their identity will be as the season progresses? It'll be interesting to see them at Boston as they start finalizing their roster a little more. Some good players are going to be left in the lurch, for sure.
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Workout Total:
8 Hours of ultimate
Sunday, May 13
Pike Invite, Day Two
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15 comments:
Whatever gets the job done...
Absolutely.
Other defenders who have very non-standard motions and spring immediately to mind:
John Hammond
Jason Simpson
Oddly, both are on Chain. I'm sure there are others who aren't coming to mind at the moment.
Must be an Atlanta thing...
Non-Paideia Atlanta thing? It seems like coaches weed that sort of behavior out. I'm not all up on which guys played in HS and which didn't becasue I'm convinced that HS ultimate is cheating. Not that I'm bitter.
Oh, Matt Schmucker of Pike moves like a freak too. I think he's some sort of nearly extinct prehistoric animal.
Simpson went to Paideia.
It's really tough to change someone's running form. It takes time and one-on-one training. I'd be surprised even Baccarini works too much on his kids' form.
I have been working with a trainer on my form, actually. I am trying specifically to lean forward more, bring my knees up higher, and keep my elbows at a 90 degree angle and close to my body. The results speak for themselves - habits you've developed for 20 years are tough to break. I am not sure, though I suspect my slight case of scoliosis plays a role. (My right shoulder is higher than my left, and I tend to overuse my traps and have really, really tight shoulders in general.)
(Also, I am easily not the funniest runner in Boston. You're forgetting about Sammy, too.)
Interesting. Rosenthal blames it on HS volleyball. I don't buy that because I played HS volleyball and while I look odd, it has little to do with volleyball. I assume that's the Sam you're talking about at least because he does move strangely. Especially at Mars.
Batten is a prime example of 90 degree arms.
I find that the differences I notice are not straight-line running form but rather in the context of non-linear athletic moves. The way that defenders counterbalance themselves while reacting or anticipating something is what sticks out to me. Sometimes (Simpson) it is most noticeable when defending a cutter, with Hammond it's most noticeable when in the cup, with you it was most noticeable when you were covering the dump or in that top role of whatever zone you were playing against us. If Schmucker is marking or throwing, well, nothing looks normal.
I suppose it is more a lesson that everyone can move differently to achieve similar results, though it seems that human motion is more similar than dissimilar. Then there'sthe topic of the many ways that people throw flicks...
There are many roads to enlightenment.
wait, how is high school cheating?
High School isn't cheating, playing ultimate in High School is.
Next year will be my 10th year playing ultimate. Four of those years were for an awful college team. I'll be 28. I've played against guys 22 years old who have been playing for 10 years (and up in some cases...)
I'm screwed.
Oh, and it is stone-cold cheating because I prefer my grapes sour.
Mike B. actually spends *tons* of time working with his kids on running form. To wit: Dylan Tunnell, George Stubbs and Grand Lindsay have that perfect ankle lean and high kick that mark great runners.
I stand corrected. Kudos to Baccarini. Makes me regret even more than I didn't go to Paideia...
Playing high school is cheating just like throwing left-handed.
I throw left handed and run funny. Can't win 'em all.
Did I fail to mention that leftys are cheaters too?
Watson did say something to the effect of "deking the shit" out of you last week. I made allowances for you being an old man who doesn't play D.
Sounds like a good tourney for all involved; I wish I had come. Today actually marks my transition from finger splint to buddy tape; hopefully within the week I'll have full range of motion at the proximal knuckle on my pinkie. You don't appreciate how much you use it to grip things until it's gone.
I'm still flabbergasted to think of how a guy like Seigs ever manages to get anywhere quickly. The way I see it, if you can get by with freaky-looking form, you're more athletic than the equivalent smooth & efficient guy. I've had the good fortune to have come up from track and field, where running and jumping form have been practiced and learned the "right" way.
Sadly for Watson, he'll never be able to use that cut on me again. "Never the same way twice."
I'm more of an old man who was never taught how to play defense other than "run faster."
I think weird-ass form can actually help you in team sports. Your opponent never really expects you to do *that* exactly.
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