It is always interesting to have dinner with an old friend.
After we parted ways, I took some time to examine the themes of the conversation. Little stuff, his job interview, apartments in NYC, Virginia Tech, humorous stories about mutual friends and long lost pals. The usual. When it came to ultimate, he of course asked how everything was, how competitive the team was and the like. Like good friends are known to do. Or at least polite ones. I suppose a bad friend could be polite much like a good friend could be rude.
In any case, this guy was my roommate during my first truly obsessive year of ultimate. He was quite confounded as I bounded off to practice on Saturday morning as he came home from a night of whatever. This was much like when I would get up in the morning during the week as he was putting himself to bed. Not a party animal per se, but he was/is certainly a night owl. As it became apparent that my hobby was growing into an obsession, we, of course, talked about it all at some point. He was even game to come out and throw or play pickup back home (not only were we roommates sophomore year, but we went to the same junior and senior high schools) even though it was clear that I was the one caught up by the game. He just liked getting out and playing [insert game here] with friends.
Back at the present dinner: I found myself saying that "It's really a good thing that I happened upon ultimate. It's good for me to have an outlet for, well, me."
Back to the contemplation after dinner: I started thinking about why it was a good thing, exactly, that I chose to spend so much time playing ultimate, or why I was drawn to it. There were a whole bunch of thoughts concerning my somewhat obsessive nature and the need to be active and competitive in a meaningful way and that sort of thing. And then it hit me. The phrase "ultimate is like a girlfriend" suddenly meant something. (Perhaps it was fresh in my mind because of Zagoria's horrific article on sex in ultimate to which I refuse to link)
It wasn't just that you spend all of your time playing ultimate, you pour your dedication into it. Your energy. How often have you heard a team described as having great heart? Or that a someone is the heart and soul of a team? The thing is that unlike a relationship with a person, a relationship with a sport is static. People change. They become interested in different things, end up with different goals. A sport does not. The rules are defined, and the game isn't going to leave you. The rules might adjust slightly, but the end goal remains the same. In the case of ultimate, you'll always need to complete more passes in the endzone than the other team, no matter how the rest of it works out. Score more points.
The rules in relationships are not so simple. Nor are the rule changes revised by a committee of people who have studied them. Instead they change without warning or concern. People grow together, people grow apart. One of the slew of reasons that so many friends have tired of the dating scene is because they put their energy into one person, only to repeat that same exertion with someone else. To go through the same introductions all over again. To iron out the same problems again and again. With a sport or a hobby or whatever, you’re always moving forward. You don’t need to go back and do things a second time—you can build upon what has come before. Your affection and dedication are never questioned because you are the sole arbiter of the terms of your relationship. You can break it off and come back a year later. You can make it your absolute obsession. You can see other sports on the side.
Anyway, I think the analogy has run its course.
--
Workout Total:
Extensive Shoulder Stretching/Rehab
Missed other workout stuff
Thursday, April 19
From the Past
Wednesday, April 11
Seven Seconds or Less
While I haven't had any strategic thoughts based on Jack McCallum's book about the 05-06 Phoenix Suns, the read was particularly fun due to sequences like this:"I'll tell you right now," says Gentry, "nobody's tougher than that boy right there. Temeber when he got into it with Kirk Snyder, that young player from Utah last year? Here's what happened. Stackhouse tells the kid 'I'm going to kick your ass,' but the kid doesn't think anything about it. Game's over, Stackhouse, who dresses all GQ, goes to the equipment manager and asks for a warm-up suit, puts that on, goes out into the tunnel, sees Snyder, kicks his ass with a couple of punches, goes back into the locker room, returns the warm-up and puts on a nice blue suit. All in a day's work."
THAT is the kind of thing I want to read about when I read these hastily produced sports books. Insane stories about the players in the league, plus solid analysis of strategies and the like. I mean, I don't even particularly like Stack, but this fleshes out the picture of him a little better. UNC alum. All-Star. Dapper Dresser. Ready to kick your ass.
Perhaps we're leading up to a book about ultimate where, instead of glossing over the insane stories surrounding the sport, we get to read about a member of Ring vs a gator, the insanity that is "recruiting" and switching teams in club open, reasons why some ultimate teams are banned due to fire alarms and the top 10 spikes that lead to fights. There are literally thousands of quality stories in the ultimate world (the above just the first that came to mind). To flesh out the book, there are a bunch of players on elite teams who will talk your ear off about their preferred on-field stratagems.
Anyway, the ultimate community could use a good "Year in the Life" book. We already have a history book and a strategy book. This is the next step.
--
Missed workout
Wednesday, March 28
Team Cycles
...two teams merge, a second team sprouts up, two teams merge, a second team sprouts up...
It's only a matter of time before it happens to you. Rumors are widespread about a number of teams combining in Open, Women's and Mixed in nearly every region. There always are. Not just within one division, either. Between divisions.
Someone somewhere thinks that the competition in Division X is weak this year, so they're going to put together an all-star team from a couple of teams in the other divisions. A team starts becoming a legitimate threat to a heretofore dominant team in the area. One group sees the end of the line, the other sees a new beginning. They both see one team forming from two.
There's got to be something greener on the other side! We can get there if we work together and leave the dead weight behind!
Stay with this team? Why? I can instead play GM, coach and player all at once and attempt to orchestrate, run and execute my master plan!
There aren't exactly "trades" in ultimate, but there are mergers and acquisitions. There are layoffs and promotions. Ultimate is not structured like professional sports, it is structured like Corporate America.
--
Missed a workout due to obtaining country club attire for Fools Fest
Saturday, February 10
G'Day, Bruce!
Woke up in "the part of Philly that looks like Brooklyn" late this morning.
Much fun was had in the preceding evening. It was good to see most of the usual suspects at the lanes. Heckman and Nic seem to be the bowlers of the group. Neither is all that surprising, really. Entertaining comment from the evening courtesy of B-Lo concerned the similarity of bowling styles to throwing styles. Of course, this means that a large number of my teammates look exceedingly awkward on the lanes. Especially the ones with hitches in their throws. Some people have no touch at all, some have candy-arms.
It was a good time... I'm very excited for the season to begin.
Also saw Eugene who is on the Kaimana team. We, of course, expressed how we've been unable to contain our excitement about going since the plan was fleshed out in November or whenever. No way to say it other than: This is going to be the balls.
Going to dinner with the family tonight because my sister is leaving for Australia for the semester. She is, of course, taking a course in philosophy while there. She's the athlete of the family, by the way. Always good to see the family-- an evening of non-linear trivia-filled stichomythia.
Friday, February 9
I'm Throwing Rocks Tonight!
Pike's going bowling tonight. No time for a workout.
Maybe speed bowling will replace it?
Thursday, February 8
Hang a Wire Staurant
No workout later-- scheduled rest day.
Fill that gap with a trip to a crazy vegetarian restaurant with Julie, and hilarity will no doubt ensue.
I really don't like vegetarian food that much-- it is always lacking something essential. Something vital... some sort of burned flesh perhaps? It isn't the flavors so much, because good vegetarian cooking is, on average, very well conceived because you can't hide the taste with a slab of beef. Now, if I could just take a great vegetarian meal, and get a bit of taste-palette-matched meat to go with it, it'd be perfect. A wide variety of flavorful veggies/fruits, and an tasty, lean cut of something that used to be an animal is ideal.
Monday, February 5
Put up a Dub!
The basketball team is now winful! Thanks to a quality all-around game from one Zac Roy and some pinpoint passing by yours truly, the game was never really in doubt as we opened up with a quick run and led for the rest of the way. The team actually made shots and went to the boards this evening. I finished with about 8 points and 7 or 8 assists with no turnovers. The refs still called the game, uh, interestingly, but this time around they pretty equal from one end to the other, which is vital.
There was also a trash-talking incident that continued after the game between the best player on the floor (a guy on the other team) and one of our players (the athletic slashing fouler) that involved some, well, harsh words. I believe "ice-grill" came up a couple of times as well as "snuff you out." I, of course, paid this no mind because it's fucking rec-league basketball. After the game's over, it's over. Not important enough to continue it past the paint.
Ah well. Maybe this winning thing will take off as a popular trend as the season continues.
Skipped the workout today for the game. Back on the Hoss tomorrow.
--
Workout Total:
45 Minutes Cross-Training (Basketball)
Sunday, February 4
Super Peyton?
The question at our Super Bowl gathering was "Will it be more irritating if Peyton Manning or Rex Grossman wins the game?"
The answer was Peyton. He's so obsessive about the intricacies of the game that he misses out on the intricacies of being a great leader. If you were a firefighter would you choose to follow Ray Lewis or Peyton Manning into a burning building to save a child? I'll follow Ray any day. Peyton doesn't inspire that same level of visceral respect. He leads with his brain, not with his heart. Ray leads with his heart, brain be damned.
If you were walking into a streetfight, would you pick Peyton Manning to back you up or John Elway? I'd feel safer with Elway and I don't even like him much. The thing is that you need to feel like your leader has your back no matter what happens. He may dress you down later, but in the moment, he's there to help you win, no matter what happens. You have to believe, in a visceral way, that this person's goals are aligned with yours and that the goals are more important than blame or any other personal quibbles.
You never get that sense from Peyton. You can read it in the way he deflates after interceptions and looks at his receivers as if they messed it all up. Even if they did, what can you do to make it better?
I want to see more of Devin "I Fucking Dare You" Hester. He was fun as hell to watch at Miami, I'm happy his return game translated to the pros.
Congrats to the Colts. Can the Eagles win now?
Saturday, February 3
Take 'er Easy
Finally slept in today, what with it being TOO FUCKING COLD to play NJ pickup today. Must've gotten up as late as 10 or so. Very odd for someone who loves the sun rising slowly on cold fall/winter mornings.
Did some film review, looking for clues for dump defense. Watching a lot of foot placement at ECC to find out waht I can about successful/unsuccessful dumps and their defenders. Interesting but draining work. Gotta put in the time in order to succeed-- even if you don't feel like going outside in the bitter cold.
Thursday, February 1
Skipped the Interval Workout...
And went to eat some Ethiopian food with Julie instead.
Ethiopian food is highly recommended. Tasty as all get-out.
Tuesday, January 30
Sacred Hoops
Just finished reading Sacred Hoops by Phil Jackson. Very short read. Good concepts though.
Skipped an interval workout, as planned, so that I would have a day off after pickup. I really don't want to push myself in terms of forcing quick recovery in the offseason. Intense workouts, but more than ample rest is one of the offseason goals. The season's length combined with tournament formats will give me enough of that during the summer/fall. Training will replicate this as rarely as possible for a couple of reasons:
- It just isn't that good for you.
- I'm generally very strong in terms of endurance.
- It makes you tired in a grander sense than "I can't workout today." It stresses your life to train hard without adequate recovery. Stresses your defenses, your brain and your muscles. No need for that just yet.
Saturday, January 27
UCPC
No workout today.
Jamie and I went up to Boston for the aforementioned UCPC.
When we arrived, we parked in what was clearly the wrong parking lot and left Zac in the car to fend for himself in the cold. He wasn't coming in, he was just waiting for his brother to pick him up in a random HS parking lot in Newton, MA. Of course.
As we entered the building, we wandered around amazed by the modernity and size of the high school. Honestly, it was like a space cruiser. I went to a shitty run-down high school in PA which was preceded by an older and even more run-down middle school. We had band lessons in the goddamn boiler room. Then again, we were a very reputable music school. Maybe all classes should be in the boiler room.
This place, however, was shiny and huge. Great facility but very impersonal on both an architectural and personal level. Everything was separated by space and nether the exterior nor interior were of any great artifice. No joy conveyed in the craft therefore none to impart on the students. No warmth to the institutional setting therefore none conveyed to students.
As we got to the cafeteria, some familiar Metal faces were seen and some surprises from Texas and elsewhere. Nice to see them all, good to know that we weren't the only club players not presenting. The two best represented age-groups were definitely high school kids and coaches. Perhaps this is the draw of Tiina. Speaking of ARHS, NYU lost to them while I was a captain there. It wasn't surprising, really as they owned every matchup in terms of: Taller, faster, more athletic, better-skilled, better-prepared, less hungover, more focused and taller. Damn. That was embarrassing.
Anyway, the welcome presentation was too long (more than 5 words and is likely generally too long). We then got to the Keynote with Dr. Goldberg. That was pretty solid, though not particularly new. I did find that when listening, the reasons I don't get bad cases of the nerves became less obscured. Talk of focusing on what you can control versus what you can't was very familiar to me. Once I started thinking about sports instead of just playing them, I've had a knack for remaining calm and focused during the most intense moments. This is because of the way my mind tricks me into staying in the moment. All I'm thinking about when I'm playing is "What is the best way to react in this moment to everything I am aware of?" I generally try to beat my defender by reacting appropriately to what he does (and what my team is doing) as opposed to doing what I prefer. This takes a lot of focus and is my way of adapting Bruce Lee's quote from Enter the Dragon: "You can call it the art of fighting without fighting." It's the art of cutting without cutting. It isn't setting my man up that makes me dangerous, it is letting him set himself up and then attacking. Occasionally, I'll need to deviate from this course of action because a defender will have a good sense of anticipation or has matched up against me regularly. Then, all bets are off. I try to be the opposite of the sort of player he's used to me being. With all of that going on in my head, how can I have time to think about past failure or future success?
The next thing concerned observers in ultimate. This was okay. It basically explained what observers are in ultimate. Nothing new or groundbreaking. Not much discussion. But I do have some thoughts that came out of my own head on this one. The backing notion is taking the concept of "Best Perspective" and applying it to all of the players and observers on the field. In doing so, couldn't one determine who is in the best position to call each of the myriad of calls? Contact seems best observed by the players. Up/Down/In/Out should certainly be linesman. "Who caught the disc first?" seems like it would be observers and so forth. I think there could be something to this, but it will require premeditated thought. Not doing that now.
Then we went to Bryan Doo's fitness in ultimate thing. This was nothing groundbreaking either, if you play good club ultimate, but nonetheless, the presentation was excellent, and you can really tell that Bryan loves doing this sort of thing. He's got a contagious attitude. there were also some quick thoughts from him that are good to keep in the back of your head. No need to recap, really.
Parinella's Decision-Making bit was next. He spent a lot of time talking, no surprise there. Again, the content was good, but not shockingly original. If you haven't thought that regularly about your decisions, you should. If you have and have thought different things that what Jim went over, you either have a warped system or y'all should have a discussion to better the knowledge-base for ultimate.
Marking by Wiggins was the last presentation. Ben is a good, animated and knowledgeable presenter. I've not seen his mark be particularly powerful (Perhaps Jaeger was booked?), but he has always "done his homework" so to speak. The groundwork for team-level strategic decisions were the basis of his presentation, along with some marking techniques and thoughts.
I say that team-level strategic decisions were the core of the presentation because Ben would consistently take the different choices that a team could make on the mark and then talk about how they related to the defense played on the rest of the field. This is the only way to think about the game, really. Nothing exists in a vacuum. Not marking, throwing, cutting or anything. Nor do an individual's marking tactics. The effect that your strategic decisions have on the rest of your team (as well as the other team) is vital when choosing complimentary team-level strategies. A second "big idea" from this presentation is that defense in an elite club game must be unpredictable in order to create chances. Often, the other team will score no mater what you do. You need to gamble in order to create situations that are turnover prone. In doing so, you may offer up an easy score or two as sacrifice to the turnover gods.
Jamie and I then skipped out on the closing panel and film and started the drive home. A thought-provoking day, overall. Criticism: The presentations needed to be more conversational and less, well, presentation-like.
Saturday, January 20
Massage Works.
Had my first massage in a couple of months today. Boy, that 90 minutes is like a completely different world.
The woman I go to does an excellent job of locating the over-worked muscles and working to calm them down. My upper back seemed to be the most out of whack this time around, likely due to the pullups and pike presses which are very stressful at this point because I'm still learning the motions and strengthening the muscles at those angles.
I was pretty out of it after the massage, so I went home and slept. I felt more clear-headed afterward.
Nothing of real ultimate note here other than skipping an Interval workout today, but I'm sure that I benefited from that particular choice.
Saturday, January 6
The Mythical Two-Day Hangover
Well, I've managed to talk myself out of Pickup in Red hook today due to a two-day hangover.
I knew I should have stopped at the 13th scotch. I always thought this was a rumor perpetuated by scared parents or those who need excuses. I now have evidence to the contrary.
Friday, January 5
Lost Day the Second
Wow. What a way to start the year off. I'm 5 days into 2007 and I've missed 2 days already.
I got lost going home last night in the following completely familiar places:
I lost the following things last night:
I got home at ~4am and went to work at ~11am. It should have been more like 2am and 9am. Well, on to tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 3
No Training? Satsuma!
No explosive strength today-- instead I spent the time traveling to 102nd street for a basketball game that was canceled.
Fucking A. Missed the workout and the game. Well, I think I'll buy myself a couple of Satsuma Mandarins (defined in 3-D wikiality here) and call it an evening.
Monday, January 1
Already off the Plan
Well, I'm not surprised, but January 1st has been entirely useless for ultimate anything. I ended up at no fewer than 4 parties last night, had to be carried home and narrowly managed to convince a police officer that I didn't, in fact, need to go to the hospital.
Of course, the evening wasn't without ultimate-- I ran into some former teammates, some rival players and some potential new teammates. Much talk was had, some of it was definitely of the trash persuasion.