This is why, this is why, this is why we're hot

How I love thee….

…let me count the ways:
1. The way you make me laugh on the sidelines & between sprints
2. The way you motivate me with your inspiring plays & fired up e-mails
3. The way my workout partners are always pushing me
4. The way you stay positive
5. The way you wear that sexy pink skirt
6. The way those 50/50 discs I throw are now 80/20 (or even 90/10!)
7. The way you motivate me to become my best
8. The way you drink too much & get silly
9. The way you play each opponent with respect
10. THE WAY YOU WIN!!!!
11. The way Tai struts, flirts, and lays out!
12. The way Lana crazy-eyes, smiles, hucks, and is ALWAYS OPEN!
13. The way Jill is grounded, insightful, AND speedy!
14. The way Holarz breaks the mark, tries to act tough, and gives me couch burns!
15. The way Tobie continually pushes harder, does what she didn’t think she couldn’t do, and gives it ALL on the field!
16. The way Shel comes back from injuries, eats up discs, shuts down anybody’s Go-To Girl!
17. The way Amy is cute in any mood, flies by girls on her tiny legs, and runs down my swill!
18. The way XXX always has pomegranate lip balm for me, writes the best cheers, inspired me with her chest high layouts, and has a beautiful smile!
19. The way Noelle looks so nonchalant, goes to every disc, and attempts Greatests!
20. The way Gibbs pushes me in sprints, owns the skies, and throws me practice layouts!
21. The way Swartie is always cutting, has a big rack, and is coming up with lewd team cheers (and occasionally unlewd ones)!
22. The way Matey is always running, running, running, laying out on D or O, and never gives up on a disc!
23. The way Sam is quietly a stud, is too young to be so good, and double-hand grabs EVERYTHING that comes her way!
24. The way BK is open like a 7/11 (24/7, baby!), plays with no concern for her tiny body, looks like a little doll while playing like a monster!
25. The way KDubbs sends it deep, gets the disc when we need her, and generally plays like a badass!
26. The way Natalie hucks it deep (yes, I DO like it!), breaks the mark, pushes me in sprint workouts!
27. The way Duh lays it out on D at the last second, moves the disc so smoothly, looks so much like Gibbs!
28. The way Conrad fills any role, lays out like the textbook says (they are pretty!), and leads the mental game!
29. The way Kalli catches the uncatchable, rips it downfield, and looks like a supermodel!
30. The way MegHan Solo outreads every opponent, catches those discs that are already gone, and is a monster in the air or underneath!
31. The way Joggles got her nickname, can't get enough run-through Ds, and makes a mockery of any mark!

I've been waiting to unveil this post for awhile. See you all in Sarasota!-RJD

10 seed isn't so bad....

I don't really have time to post as I have an experiment starting tomorrow with the lambies, but....

Small Rackages is going to Nationals. No exclamation point not due to lack of excitement, but because I expected it. RSD preliminary seedings put us at 8 at the highest (and not by name, just "Central #1), usually around 10. Looks like (again) the central has to go earn some respect. I think we're up to it. Here is a little bit of the sting in the lower seed:

While Boston was the only time we got to play Layuma or Lady Godiva we ROLLED them, mostly with our athleticism; our speed just couldn't be matched by these older teams (I mean that respectfully). Ozone barely scraped a win over Layuma, and lost to them the day before (but, hey, it could be a lot different team). Our big loss to Brute Squad came in the 2nd round of pool play at Boston- that would be the game I (the captain) got there for the last 3 or 4 points due to flight mishaps. Many of the girls had met each other hours before (that's literal-I didn't meet some of them until after the Brute Squad game). The next day, we lost 11-15; pretty respectable. I've no doubt the Brute deserves to be ahead of us, but are they 5-7 spots higher? We then lost the 3/4 game to Backhoe on universe point. Backhoe, granted, was missing a few key players to injury, but our #1 handler & my co-captain had to take off for flights (someday you will learn, little Sheldahl). Just sayin'. But then, I am really just there because I LOVE to play Ultimate and this will be 4 days of matching up against some of the best players in the country- THAT is what I love, that is why I play.

And, as Jon said, there isn't that much difference in the pools for the 8/9/10 seeds. The women's division looks quite a bit stronger, with less parity overall this year (I think). We'll see how it all shakes down. Although, Jon also said "It is because the central teams never do well." My quick (and slightly heated) response: "Except my teams. My teams do well."

Oh, and Jon has the sweetest money throw I won't name here in case of those spies that are worried about the VBBs. He played awesome on Sunday, and was just one among many that were the reason The Van Buren Boys played the best games ever on Sunday. It was so sweet to finally see what they could really do. I will gloat a little by saying: I knew you could do it. Wolfpack leader M.E. has just crazy play after crazy play. Barrett ruled the skies. Stu Jack & Wimer handled like pros; I particularly like whatever it was that Wimer shoved towards Dave's chest in the Madcow game- I dont' even think there is a name for that pass. I was then wont to state, "That guy can complete ANYTHING!"

Money plays in the Rackages final that stand out: Gibbs fingertip D at 13-12 to save the tie score; Kalli's fingertip grab about 22 feet in the air which caused me to hyperventilate; Lana's 75 yard huck to Tai (upwind); Matey's awesome cheer. My team rocks, and we'll be rockin' it in Sarasota in a couple weeks.

Shewolf

Meet one of the newest members of the wolfpack. An all-male wolfpack would just be ridiculous.

p.s....The Contest

So Tai can't back out, I gotta make it public. It is me vs. Tai in a layout contest at regionals. Who will get the most Ds? The Nigerian Nightmare or the Savvy Vet? (no one actually calls me the Savvy Vet, but I also have zero cool nicknames). Positive points for layout catches or Ds, negative if we don't bid when the other thinks we could have had a shot.

By the way, Tai, if I would have thought of it, I would have kicked your ace at CHC.

Coupla a Things....

Here's some stuff you may not know about me:

*I like to go to the bathroom in the stall at work with the roll of toilet paper not in the dispenser. As in, the janitors saw that the roll would end soon, so replaced it, but left the remainder of the roll on top of the dispenser. If there are no "extra rolls", I go in the last stall.

*I do things in threes. When picking seat on a plane, I almost always choose a number divisible by 3 and usually seat C (a=1,b=2,c=3). I set clocks and alarms such that the sum of all numbers is divisible by three (example- 7:02, 6:36). Other things, too, like volume settings.

*I used to eat nearly everything with a spoon, including lettuce salads. I'd get annoyed with my mom if she didn't set a spoon out for me & huffily get up to get one.

*I love food, but will not eat the following: sweet pickles, cherry pie, ketchup, or liver. Of those, I'd be most likely to eat liver. It is good I am not picky about a lot of things b/c I will pick sweet ickle relish out of tuna or egg salad & wipe ketchup off of sandwiches.

Okay, we're done with that. I had a dream last night about missing a plane. I think I was in New york City. I think it stemmed from my conversation with Jon about how many plane trips I was taking & how many plane tickets I'd purchased this year. Trips this year: to Germany & back (Feb/march, school). Madrid to Paris (March, Fun). Boston(June,Ultimate). Denver (Aug, Fun). Sarasota (Oct, Ultimate). Savannah (Nov, School). Jacksonville (Dec, Fam). I also bought 5 tickets for other people, for various reasons.

Sectionals: We won a lot. Did some things on offense a LOT better, learned some things I think we WILL do better. Both Sheldahls played. My mom came to watch, which was nice of her; she also helped pick up trash afterward, 'cause, well, that's my mom. Scorned looks good in a lot of respects, but overall needs to throw, throw, throw. Read Mike Liu's blog.

Central Open has 3 bids. I hope this gives the VBBs ALL the hope they needed to make Natties. I know some of them have believed the whole season, but others needed this bid to fire them up to play their best. I haven't seen them play a team they can't beat. Defense, keep getting turns & convert. Offense, looks like your slipping into an unstoppable flow. I love you guys. Now let's go to the Big Dance together.

I minorly injured my right foot/ankle for the 3rd time in just over 2 weeks. I lightly sprained it at CHC, iced randomly afterward. I plowed into (through/over) Jake at pickup last Wed on a poach D attempt (he was also on D & going for the disc)& he managed to hit my foot in 4 spots- I don't even know how that is possible. PRetty sure I pulled a muscle during that. I may have bruised his ribs (for me, p=mv doesn't apply; an extra R factor must be added-I am like a small freight train). Last night, the stupidest: I am walking up to Jon's place, on a sidewalk, just normal walking & step on THE ONE ROCK on the sidewalk, roll my ankle, and fall down. No kidding, I hit the ground. It hurt. So, we're on full rehab this week. Tonight we'll see how it takes sprints. I bought some athletic tape for it this morning.

Lastly, I was stoked by Gibbs' blog today. She is awesome and has been a great workout buddy this summer & fall. Can hardly wait for tonight's workout (it's the 60-90s I skipped last week to go run into Jake at pick up). Regionals: 10 days and counting.

Grinnell...in brief

So I don't know if very many of the Woman Scorned players have blogs so I feel obligated to metnion it here (those dozen people that check my blog may have an interest). Given that I had to TRY to finish the trailer work & attend a baptism, I only saw the final against Truman State, but heard some other tidbits as well.

When Jon & I arrived, ISUC was playing IHUC and having a lot of trouble breaking their zone. The defense looked pretty good: I saw some bigs lays & mighty effort. There were a few miscues on D, mostly from new players, but I think the future of ISUC looks bright. To any ISUC guys that read this: you can own any zone. Handlers, have confidence and keep the disc swinging. Poppers, move AGAINST the cup, or get ahead of them. Deeps, don't STAND by your defense- take them deep, bring them in, move from side to side! Switches are the best time to get open; if you keep moving, sooner or later either you will be double-covered, allowing your teammate to get open, or you will find a hole created by another teammate. If you receive the disc from one side of the field, try to continue it (like receiving a swing & looking continue). While in a person-to-person D you need to move down the field with the stack, the easiest way to get open after one throw through or around the cup is to cut IN towards that person- counter to the defensive movement. Okay, I could talk forever about zone strategy, but it can be difficult to implement, especially for people used to getting open through athleticism. Besides, you've got a good coach in Jakerz.

On Saturday, Scorned had outscored their 4 opponents 52-6, with the most points scored by one team being 3 by Iowa. The first 2 games on Sunday weren't much different, from what I heard. I was looking forward to the final b/c TSU has one current player for Rackages (or 2, I don't know if Noelle just wasn't there) & they have a similar team attitude: scrappy, fun, partilicious. They also qualified for Nationals last year, which is amazing given that they are a 3rd year team. Stu Jack is no longer coaching them, which I think will be a bit of a blow. He is a great strategist & teacher on top of being a terrific handler himself. They have a coach, but he seems less purposeful than Stu. Anyway, the game starts off with lots of turns (it IS fall college), but it looks like both teams are using their full lines, playing a lot of rookies. TSUnami has 3 or 4 standouts, Duh & Mona handling, a cutter I don't know but who cuts hard and soccery. Scorned doesn't take what the defense gives, but battles to get open, and usually does. There are nice plays from both teams, but Scorned starts to pull away. The second half looks cleaner, especially from Scorned & they are using a handler dominator to get the disc moving, which works well for them. Jaz has a sick grab against the good Truman cutter, Sarah has a couple nice rescues. Meghan Solo is of course getting Ds, especially after a few adjustments against the soccery cutter. Jenny Dobson is an absolute machine, cutting, cutting, cutting. I think she got frustrated with throws, but they'll come, especially with her amazing work ethic. Overall, the group looks like a great bunch of ladies to work with. Mikey is getting the basics under their belts, and I'll officially take over this spring.

Last night was a bit of a silly practice at times, but we got a lot done in the end. I think MIke gets annoyed in a brotherly way at the girls' lack of focus. I am sometimes not helpful b/c I am trying not to laugh (unsuccessfully), but I think have a speical knack for being silly one moment, then totally focused the next. The girls get the first part, but not the second. Seems like we've got plenty to work on, but plenty to work with. I am excited to be coaching again & have already started drawing up ideas for practices, discussions, and drills for next spring.

CHC

Should-a, would-a, could-a. It was just one of those weekends. I hate losing. I had a long, pointlessly negative spiel after this that I wrote Tuesday and erased today; I gotta admit, I was in a bit of a bummer after the weekend, wondering if our offense would ever pull it together. I sent feedback e-mails & realized how easy it is to come up with something positive about EVERYONE'S play. Everyone. Yeah, we didn't have as many sick layouts as I expected. Yep, we still came out slow on Saturday. But I never wanted to pull anyone off the field at any time. That's a tough thing to say for a team that has roughly equal playing time for everyone. That's right, Rackages is that deep. What we need to know, believe, and make happen is that 7 of our best are playing all the time. Step up, girl, you are on the A-1 team!

How many times have I started this post? At least three; the above is from last week (with a few temporal changes), the following from today. I’m very glad I didn’t post on Monday or Tuesday afterward; my view of CHC then was very negative, I think inappropriately so. Since then, I’ve had people broaden my view of happenings & been able to be a little more optimistic.

Saturday
Game 1 vs. Mojo 9-13
Despite many e-mails about the importance of being ready to play hard, fired up, and smart, our offense looks scared, forced, and unflowing. Our defense is okay, but there are fewer big plays than expected, hardly any layout Ds, and a few too many breaks. Mojo looks good, solid. They have Kali? (the really nice blond that played w/Notre Dame) that made some really good defensive plays- I am pretty sure she did not play in Detroit. Personally, I had 2 layout Ds & turnovers typical of me- too many, a combination of overthrows & trying to throw to where I think the cutter SHOULD be. I got pretty frustrated with my offensive cutting, too.

The rest of Saturday
We clean up our offense, remember how to cut, stack, and throw. Our defense is doing better at shutting things down, especially underneath. On the deep side, I think we are getting taken too many times- possibly due to an overly individual defense as opposed to a communicative, interactive team defense. There are few big plays or exceptional players. Standouts: Sam; just doing what she does- getting open, making good defensive plays, few turnovers. Possibly me on defense. Oh, we had some good cup action, both 3-2-2 & 3-3-1. I was usually a part of the really successful ones, but can’t remember who else was in it. I think a key point we are picking up on/improving is the recovery of a break past the cup- the middle(s) of the cup & the wings are doing a good job of containment. New weak spot of 3-2-2: Sideline deep. The last game of the day against PPF we looked TIRED; it didn’t help to have all those sickies have to sit out. I felt a step behind most of this game.

Sunday:
Last pool play: cleaner, more fired up than our first game on Saturday. Roll to victory.

Semis: vs. Wicked
We beat Wicked in pool play, but they came out strong and really fired up. They played a lot of zone, which we tended to tear apart. Actually, it was more of a slow rip- handlers working it well, poppers coming up big, playing really calm. In the second half, this started to fall apart, usually when a popper would try to move it upfield- lots of turfs or rushed throws. We took half 8-6. I think we scored the next one then they had FIVE in a row. I think I should have called a time out earlier, but really, I didn’t know what to say- quit dropping & turfing? Our D needed to be making more plays. I think Gibbs had a big one & I had one layout D. They had a couple deeps that seemed to be able to take us most of the time. So anyway, the score is 9-11, and we are really struggling to close the gap. I think at 11-13 we finally score 2 in a row (and actually, I think it was 10-13, so 3 in a row, 2 on D). Cap is on, so we are pulling for Universe. Our defense and sidelines FINALLY look totally fired up. The first 2 or 3 throws the D is tight, tight, tight. My girl fakes a bunch, I am with her every step then bite too hard on an in-cut & she cuts down the line. The thrower makes a beautiful upwind flick down the line. I am trying to recover & get the mark on- it may have been the hardest I’ve ever worked to turn so slowly. They’re about 10 yards out of the endzone & I am trying not to give too much away on either side. She breaks BH around, with my hand meeting hers on the follow-through. I think another BH goes off for the win. On the upside: we thought we would win. On the downside: if we played like we WANTED to win the entire game, we would have. Stupid, stupid throwing errors & drops show a lack of mental focus. Unfired-up D on a team that we ARE faster than…..sheesh, we were faster than EVERY team. Self lesson: trust your sidelines to call the strike, don’t give up a break trying to prevent the score. In this game, I had drop, but fewer throwing turnovers. I had a couple that I think should have been caught, but for the most part, handled well against the zone. I am almost always smiling during Zone O & we have yet to face a zone this year we can’t break. I love to handler with Holarz on zone O. Jill & Lana did an especially good job popping.

Anyway, we play out the 3rd place game against Nemesis after about a 30 minute break- they had been misinformed that there would be no game. For having trouble rounding up their players, they came out strong & hard. They had some really sweet plays on offense to keep the disc alive at all costs. Unfortunately for them, the fury of our loss blossomed into hyper-aware tenacious defense & a cleaner, cooler-headed offense. We dominated, 13-3.

It was really disappointing not to play Mojo again. I am so looking forward to our game(s) at regionals; they really challenge our offense to think & they have a couple-three stellar defenders (the Kali/Cally girls & one Asian handler stick out) & a great team defense.

Weekend standouts: Christina with her amazing cheers. She has this cheering philosophy that you don’t re-use cheers. I like to reuse the ones I really like, such as “Huck it Hard”(Tenacious D remix) & “Because of you”. Sam- as stated previously, she is just awesome. I played zone O downwind b/c of my trust in her defense. Jill was awesome to have on Sunday; she is one of the Bait “thinkers”- she has a knack for seeing the field and how the TEAM can play better through minor changes.


Motivation: Feeling a step too slow for Saturday's game 4.
Motivation: Throwing a step too far to...everyone.
Motivation: Knowing we COULD have been in the finals....

I told myself I wouldn't....

...but, I have so many Ultimate thoughts, I've just gotta post. I watched the ECC finals between Riot and Fury. Riot played harder D (I saw 0 Fury layout bids), but were either trying a straight up that wasn't working or were overplaying the force side. I saw ONE IO forehand break, the rest were backhands, many of them big. I added marking to my visualization scheme; there is no excuse for a lazy mark. The first few points were LAZY D from both teams. Too much allowance of cutting to the force side- that is YOUR side, defense!

Layout practice on the mat last night with Huckett, Gibbs, and Natalie. I ended on a sweet high "D"- that is the one I am practicing & visualizing, that layout up for the OI throw to your girl one step ahead, the one that is just of reach if you don't leave your feet. That one that makes me idolize Christina & Dave.

Hucks: both teams had them, both teams threw them well. Deep defense: need to create a TEAM defense that won't allow hucks for scores; we've got the speed & ups. Both teams rarely throw poor passes, but both defenses allowed open cuts on the force side. 30 hours to go....I've got butterflies already.

Bring It

I shouldn't be posting as I have more microscope slides to look at and more pathology to read, but I just couldn't help saying to the Nemesis & Mojo fans/players: this weekend, baby, first thing. Rackages will be there, looking hot, playing hot, BEING hot. Will you? I hope so, because I am wasting away for some good Ultimate! Rackages, feel free to comment on how you feel about this challenge as well.

Fun-NEE!

A must read. I almost commented about my history.
http://dopacetic.blogspot.com/2007/08/its-not-your-girl-its-just-your-turn.html

How to be inspiring when one is uninspired

Today has been not so good for me. Not horrible, and I need to keep that in mind, it could be much worse, but just tough. It should motivate me to work harder & study more, but it just makes me want to quit & to eat. And eat. And eat. I could, you know.

My Ultimate scene is drying up- no place to play during the week w/o sacrificing coaching. My poor performance in school and frustration there is spilling over into the other areas of my life, as it is likely to do for the next year, at least. I still want to workout, although the morning runs haven't been as often as I intended. I still have good workouts on the days I do them. It is what to do with those Tuesdays and Thursdays....I can't wait until Lana gets back; I have some ideas.....but time becomes a problem- if I go straight to Scorned practice from work/school & spend 2 horus coaching, it is approaching dark by then- what is a girl to do? I NEED CHC, and need it badly; I need to play. The visualization step is happening b/c I am thinking about Ultimate so often. Now I am almost wishing I would have held a practice this weekend, but then when would my trailer become liveable?

When I feel this way, I want to be around people that just naturally cheer me up. On the other hand, I don't like to be a downer & don't want to risk bringing people down. The solution, of course, is to find some Ultimate (in the longer term), study until sprint time (now term), then spend MORE time throwing and practicing layouts. All right, I think I've begun to talk myself through this.

Sweet Sixteen & The Vicar are hitched!

Most of you that read this were there (although there must be some "others" or who would think Racks weren't a shoe-in for Regie Champs?), but this last weekend was Kevin and Lana's wedding.

It really started for many of us on Thursday night, with attendance to a bachelor or bachelorette party. From hearsay of the Bachelor Party, our party was a lot raunchier/dirtier/had a thousand more sexual inuendos. However, it didn't last as late & JC got more intoxicated than I did (I think we each represented our couple well, consuming the most liquor at each of our respective parties). Since what happens at the Bachelorette party stays at the Bachelorette party, I can only release a few details: 1. I was the ring toss champ- I threw a pink ring around Peter the Blow-Up Boy's manhood. 2. Natalie did a good job of hostessing, along with her assistants. If you are hosting a bachelorette party, you should ask her for some games. 3. I am a pervert. Or maybe I am just comfortable with sex, my sexuality, and nakedness. 4. Lana is a superstar for having both her mother and mother-in-law at the party and still sharing stories, etc.

Friday night there were SUPPOSED to be many people coming into town. The troopers XXX, StuJack, and Ellen actually made it. We spent the bar part of the evening at Welch Ave Station (Yum, late night Pizza Pit!) This was a pretty tame night, although a long one; I kept asking Jon if we could stay a little longer. He got me to quit talking offensive strategy with Stu at 4:30 am. We were up and at the CLX reunion scrimmage by 10 am, as promised. Slowly, CLXers, party-goers, and a few current ISUCers trickled into town and made it to the fields. There was a little bit of good Ultimate, some silly Ultimate, and a lot of fun. Drew remains the Hammer King; be it throwing or receiving hammers, I choose him. After that most of us headed to Thai Kitchen (sweet, sweet curry) and I ate a lot. I realized it was getting late and NONE of the group presents were wrapped....Gibbs came and helped me wrap the 107 (or so) presents. At 2:35, I asked her if she wanted to leave, and continued to try and pretify the gifts until 3:15...I realized even I was pushing it to leave for the wedding at 3:45. I made it by 3:48, albeit with unpainted toenails.

The Wedding: There are many, many pics available on many people's Picasas. Lana was beautiful, I couldn't get anyone to bet against me about Kevin crying (although he did keep it to a minimum), and used 2.5 tissues to Gibbs' 3 tissues. Natalie has a positively angelic voice. Two of the greatest people I know are joined forever!!! I rejoice for them!

Post wedding: PARTY TIME!!!! Of course I can't write it ALL! Highlights: dinner (Hickory Park, lots of gravy for me!), cake (yes, I like frosting, okay), DANCING, crotch-tagging everyone, getting picked last for Bride Side vs. Groom Side Boatrace, WINNING the Boatrace (and I anchored strongly), DANCING, getting crotch-tagged by everyone, Kevin & Lana running the Gauntlet to their car, nailing Kevin in the chest with a disc, afterparty at Welch, the waitress crotch-tagging Kalli, skinny-dipping (that's hearsay on my part...I was "tired"), reliving it the next morning (especially the hazy parts from Welch on).

I almost died of hunger before we finally made it to The Cafe the next day (it was afternoon!), where I had a good Bloody Mary, a Veggie Skillet, and cheesecake (plus nibbles of many other dishes). Finally, I had to say goodbye to everyone; the only upside is how soon I will see most of them!

I laughed and laughed and laughed with everyone; CLX included some of the funniest people I know,a nd it was great to have so many of us there, as well as the "new" VBB & Rackage additions. I had such a blast, and Kevin & Lana seemed nothing but happy (duh) & did a great job of mingling with everyone. Mark Meyer was buying shots and boatracing (JC won...twice) and just generally being a good time. I am SO glad I will see so many of these people in 2 weeks at CHC!

I did something different...

I did plyos with Gibbs last night, and they were SEEMINGLY the same Frosty's plyos I have been doing all summer. But my rear end protested in a new way- it screamed at me that I was tearing it apart, threatening to cramp or pull, I couldn't tell which. I also felt woozy (not enough sleep? not enough to eat? I don't know). I finished plyos, but regretably, made Gibbs do the sprints at the end on her own. Good job, Gibbs! I hope I made the right decision; I hate not finishing workouts, but a pulled glute or passing out would not be a good situation. My cheeks are extra-sore today and not so much my quads, which are normally the complainers after plyos.

Women's practice tonight, hurray! Rackages found another skirt, so there are skirts for people to try on. I am not a clothes horse, but I do get excited about everyone trying out this new skirt. So far it has gotten top marks from all who've tried it.
More people voted for non-Rackage Regional winners....interesting. Makes me more excited for this weekend.

Sprints in Colorado

This last weekend I flew to CO not to play Ultimate, but to visit a friend from undergrad. There was some great catching up, reminiscing, and some AMAZING overeating of delicious treats. Also, since I had to fly out Friday afternoon, I had to do last weeks sprints on Saturday, at something like 4800 feet with about 2% humidity. You'd think that would be good, but I decided I would rather sweat than lose all the epithelium lining my throat from the dryness. I did the split 500s by myself; the only way I got through the last 200 was chanting "Sarasota" in time to the pounding of my feet on the track. There was a man in probably his 70s at the track that was long jumping. I talked to him a bit, and he was training. I thought that was pretty cool.

Food highlights: grilling- cook it on a flame, I will like it. The Melting Pot- never been? It is a fondue place. They give you a PLATTER of meat to cook in a pot of bubbling stuff and then have an array of 10-15 sauces to dip it in. I LIVE for sauce!!! I thought I was going to le Blanc myself afterwards, no kidding. For dessert, a pot fo chocolate with STUFF (Bailey's & pecans for my table) in it and an array of dippers: strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, bronie, pound cake, rice crispie treats; unbelievable. It is about $50/person, tho'. Oh, and then I got GELATO! It was good, almost as good as Perth- I could have eaten disgusting amounts of it, but just ate my own and 2/3 of J's (she never finishes her food...we make a great friends).

Practice weekend on the 4-5: FUN. The play was mediocre at times, although my team came back from an 0-5 deficit (which was mostly my fault) to win 9-7 or 8-6 (game to 7, win by 2). Besides the Brendas/Debbie/Sarahh combo and the late night religion (I wish I had a recording of that conversation....it would have some hilarious quotes), highlights: eating MASSIVE amounts of delicious pizza, Solarz' near expulsion story (Cooler will be the near-arrest story, Yay!), still being hungover at 1 pm, calling Matt and Kara, Thai kitchen and its array of currys. Sweet, delicious curry. It is my current favorite food.

I'd like to know who thinks we won't win Regionals....I am glad they think that because proving people wrong is one of my favorite activities. But still, be serious: look at results so far, look at our players, know that we will only improve with each tournament. Competition brings out the best in us, so I'm glad that somebody thinks we'll have some. (I do, too; I just think we will prevail.)

Workouts this week should be good; they include a women's practice. I am looking forward to Cooler. School starts in ONE WEEK! I have assignments already, and I am really looking forward to all the new women that will come out to Ultimate. This could be THE year for Iowa State; gurad against burnout and inner turmoil, vets. Feed off of the young'uns enthusiasm, love your teammates to the best of your ability. I think having Rackages around will be a GREAT opportunity for those younger gals to see what they could be; I want to be that player, I want to be that team that inspires. And all it takes is love. Love of plastic. Sweet, now I am pumped for plyos tonight!

Motown Throwdown

We started with a 10 hour or so drive, 7 of us in Lana’s ‘Stro. The excitement of the ride was being pulled over about 1:30 am less than 10 miles from the campsite. Lana’s van window only rolled down about 3-4 inches, so she had to apologize and offer to step out of the car. He declines and directs his questions to the gap as Lana tilts her face up to listen and respond. It was the general- do you know why I stopped you (Lana didn’t know how fast she was going, nor the speed limit) where you coming from, where you going, why…. He takes her license, registration, etc. (oh, it also may have not been the current insurance….) & is back in record time. I’m not even sure he went all the way back to the car. He comes back, says, “You’re almost there. Just try to keep it between the lines.” It was one of the standing jokes of the weekend. Since Lana had driven the entire way, it was also possible her crazy eye was in effect and that was a factor in his pity on her. We set up 2 tents; the entire time I am trying not to yell at people to hurry up- they weren’t really moving THAT slow, but I wanted to go to bed. To credit myself, I never did raise my voice. Gibbs and I blow up the air mattress and settle in. Ten minutes later we are both giggling hysterically for a reason unapparent to both of us. Ten minutes after that we are asleep. The 2nd Ames car rolls in about 5:30 am, so Kalli joins us on the air mattress. Gibbs and I wake up to Lana asking the question, “What time did you want to leave?”, which I think caused us both the same panic: I fumble frantically for my watch and see that it is about 10 minutes before I want to BE at the fields. We were supposed to all go over zone together…ah well, it would turn out we would have plenty of teams to try it on, anyway.

Because we were planning on being there so early, we arrive about 10 minutes before the captain’s meeting starts. I start to set up “my” zone, then the horn blows. I leave for the meeting, Shel goes over “her” zone. She relieves me at the captain’s meeting and we quickly walk through “my” zone. (Reminder: my zone is a 3-2-2 force one way trap, hers is 3-3-1 force middle). I get the pleasure of surprising everyone with jerseys. Or rather, Matt does b/c he picked them up for us. I was VERY pleased.

We do a warm up and game one starts. The first three points or so had about 4-8 TOs/team. No kidding. The ground was really dewy, and lots of discs were dropped, or passes attempted that slipped. This is an excuse, it is just retarded. I dropped one during this game due to dew- I think I grabbed at it 3 times and in the end layed out to try to get it. I also had a weird layout D bid attempt- I landed with my lower back on my offense’s shoe, which knocked the wind out of me. I think it was either my only layout D bid or one of 2 for the weekend. All the pool play games on Saturday kind of run together. We tried both zones and made the adjustment on the FM that worked really well (crotch and hatchet alternating positions). The 3-2-2 was less successful, although I did force a few turns on the sideline trap, and touched a few more that still got caught. I am not ready to abandon that zone, yet, and we learned a lot from running it.

We mostly used Gibbs’ cheers from practice weekend, and they were all well-received. One team captain said she thought we were the most spirited competitive team she had seen in years. That means a lot to me, and I think it means more than just cheering. I know what this captain meant when she said most teams don’t seem to respect some of the less competitive teams; I’ve been on those less competitive teams, and it pissed me off. I sucked really badly at Ultimate for quite awhile, but I didn’t love it less then than I do now. And even when my team was blown out, I played my ass off. I can only believe their players are giving their best, and that is why they deserve respect. Okay, back to the recap.

Pounce, the 2 seed in our pool & 4 seed overall, was out last game of the day, and we didn’t know how much of a game it was going to be. Our play had really cleaned up over the course of the day, and our flow looked great. Our offense seemed unstoppable unless we chose to turn it over. Our defense seemed oppressive. I think the offense could have been cleaner & the defense firier, but both were looking good. Pounce scored almost exclusively on hucks, and if a few more had fallen better, it could have been a closer game. As it was, we played some pretty good deep D, with a few burns, so maybe more and better hucks would still have gotten D’d. I wish I would have noticed if they were more on FM or one way force. Chili’s was good, but a ridiculous amount of food, even for me. Most of us were pooped after dinner so showered and went to bed. I wish I could have stayed awake for more of Gibbs reading, but I think I was out before the end of the first paragraph. Some gals came from the hotel to hang with us, but most of us were in bed. Since we’d won our pool, we had a first round bye, allowing us plenty of rest before our 10:30 game. We came out much cleaner than the day before, and the first 2 games went much the same as Saturday.

We knew MOJO would give us a game in the final. We flipped for color and WON, which caused me to squeal like a little girl pig & one of their players clearly thought I was cracked (it was the one that got the Callahan); however it was a big victory: I called SAME, which I rarely do, but I just felt it. I then called ODD and won the actual flip as well. I love it when I feel psychic. We’re on D to start, they score. We answer and begin to trade points. To me, it looked like our D was more than they were used to. For us, their D became more than we were used to. They started triangling the front of the stack, which baffled our players. Our D overcomes and we pull out to a 7-4 lead. We take half 8-6. The second half they used triangle more and our cutters forgot that against good teams sometimes it takes more than 2 cuts to get open. Cuts were not set up well and too often there were 3 people standing in the stack. Mojo was a faster team than all the others, but we still had them beat. We go down 8-9, and our offense is really starting to piss me off. I hate turnovers. I hate them. Sometimes you can’t tell b/c I have a lot, but I tell you, my ideas are good. I hate bad ideas. So, we are letting ourselves get stagnant on O and cap goes on during the 11-11 point. Mojo ends up scoring, so it is 11-12, game to 14. I decided I was tired of this shit so I went in and scored. I don’t know what happened exactly on the 11-12 point, but I get the disc a lot and throw a backhand to Meghan Solo. It was not a pretty backhand, but neither was it horrible. I couldn’t have done it with out K Dubbs, that is for sure. On the second point, I had a throw to her up line at stall 9. I then cut up line for her, get it back and throw a forehand to a sweet cut from Noelle. I didn’t do anything anybody else couldn’t do, but scoring those 2 points quickly and efficiently got the fire into us. Joggles gets a D typical of her, closing the last 3 steps to get the run-by D, and we score fairly easily. We get a very large trophy that is difficult to fit in any of the cars and is shiny, but has a lot of plastic in it. I guess I’d prefer something else- jerseys, T-shirts, money, free entry next year, a trophy you can drink out of, a trophy shaped like a disc or having some sort of disc on it. I don’t go to tourneys for the prizes, but since they spent money on it….actually, I would have REALLY like another free keg of beer on Saturday. The only beer I got on Sunday was when the toddlers were pouring (No kidding, like a 3 and 4 year old were LOVING it). The one wanted to fill more cups, but didn’t have drinkers; I couldn’t let him down.

I remember playing KDubs in co-ed and would hate when she would yell for the disc. Now that I am on her team, I love it. She isn’t the fastest on the team, she isn’t the best thrower, but she is consistent and knows how to get open when she is needed; when she is calling for the disc, it means she is open. Lana gets point of the weekend for a peel off D, followed by a toe-the line leaning layout for the throw from Natalie, then the 40-50 yd forehand for the score. SHE was never stagnant against Mojo. Her kind of cutting will almost ALWAYS be effective. I like to think I helped shape her because of my poaching. I hate guarding her now that she knows how to keep me out of poaching lanes, but that means she keeps out of the poaching lanes when I play with her, too. BK gets offensive play of the weekend for her layout grab from Solarz. Katie M. gets defensive play of the weekend for her layout D. I thought we hucked WAY better this tournament than in Boston. We also got more 50/50 discs. I think we are a team of receivers, and it showed. Dikeman tipped one in the air then followed it for the layout grab to keep it alive. Kara and Kalli played a ton better than in Boston, which I knew they could. They played much closer to their potential. Kalli played particularly good as a hucking cutter and as deep defense. Gibbs was a superstar pretty much all weekend, although I could tell she was frustrated the second half with Mojo’s D. We went over triangle defense and how to beat it, so hopefully that will help. We had so many “near Ds”- we just need to be ready to layout on D, I think. We had great midfield hucks from a number of players, which is just what I want. I love that our cutters will throw it long! Kara showed that she has a pretty, pretty backhand. Tobes threw our first ever score off of Sexy Sadie. Solarz wasn’t quite her deadly accurate self, but her D was some of the best I’ve seen her play. I think Noelle showed everyone she is a cool cucumber and never gives up on a disc; she fit in well. Jill is FAST; she and Kara were about tied for near Ds. Minner had some really nice runs and reads long, coming up with some that the defense totally misread; she doesn’t read off of her offense/defense, just plays the disc. I had fewer turnovers than in Boston, but still yelled too many times, “Turn and run, turn and RUN!” If you hear that, it means I overthrew you. I think almost all of my throwing turnovers were overthrows. Although, my teammates are awesome and often came up with them anyway (Lana, Joggles, Meghan, etc.) I am working on keeping my IO forehand down and assuring myself of a low backhand break.

The game against Mojo was closer than I would have liked it. I was glad to find out we wouldn’t give up if behind in a game. Our offense still needs to be a little cleaner, and I think it can be. However, I don’t think Mojo played their best game ever. They were good and had a couple of really great defensive plays, some pretty throws, but there were a few miscues that I don’t think we can expect them to have. In short, they will give us a game regionals, and we will be ready.

I am thinking Hayride will be our biggest competitor at Cooler in less than 2 weeks. I am planning on partying it up on Saturday night after not playing on Saturday. I am on biopsy, so have to cut tissues in at 10 am that morning. None of the other teams on the list that we’ve played scored more than 3 on us at Motown. The ones we haven’t played I think will be of similar caliber, with the exception of Hayride. I think they are also a contender for us at regionals. I’ve played with some of those ladies before. Julie Fitzgerald is in my Top Five Nicest Players. Off the top of my head, I think Stephanie Huber from Barely Legal & Kevin Tow also are in that category. Pat from MN/Sub Zero may be, too, but I don’t know if I’ve played against him enough to really say for sure.

Cheering. We have enough girls we need to be working on 2 cheers simultaneously. That way, if one sounds promising and gets stuck, hopefully the other one can bail us out. I like cheers. A lot. This is a long, long post & I still need to look at slides for tomorrow. See you on the field (by the way, everyone that took my poll is an Ultimate player).

MUDI, Zone Retort

I would love to read the MUDI recap from one of the Rackages. Better yet, I wish I could have been there. I keep starting to comment on others' blogs, then remember I wasn't there. I cannot wait until the VB Boys beat Sub Zero- I hope I am able to watch it. No doubt in my mind it will happen. One of the "points" someone had in Lou's blog comments were that the VB Boys stayed in it on layout grabs. Um, yeah, I've played with these guys and those grabs aren't lucky; they just do it. They make it happen.

Right now I am sore, very sore, & hoping it works itself out before the 9 hour drive to Michigan for Motown. I did plyos before pick up on Tuesday instead of on Monday. I ran my slowest 2 mile in years, I think, on Wednseday morning. BUT I had my first layouts for weeks (I was worried abouy this) at league last night. I also had a lot of miscues- TTOs, a missed D, not cutting well enough against Dunlay to give Grant an easy throw. And I had some very well put hucks/pseudohucks. So, yeah, my normal up and down. Please, Lord, let me turn it over less this tournament.

Big disappointment that VB Boys aren't going. I think Rackages is set up to tromp some teams, so we'd have time to watch (as long as we take care of business, of course). This weekend, like probably every Rackages weekend thus far, will see a change in personnel. We've got some gals that haven't even met, yet. The Ames crew is going to be running through our zones this evening, Shel and the Cities crew went through them earlier this week, but with a change to the 3-2-2 that is small enough that it could be incorporated if the disc is getting moved inside upfield on the traps. I want to try to run both this weekend (3-3-1 & 3-2-2, not just variations of 3-2-2); I'll let you know how it goes.

Here is my retort to the zone comments (awesome, by the way, I love comments): first, G. Cooke, great idea to keep both, that's what we'll try to do. To whomever said something about "non-handlers": I love my mark, and I trust it. This trap has the beauty of leaving plenty of space for other defenders to cover- the trapper has a very focused job. I've got a very adaptive mark, a very aggressive mark, and I WILL shut down all but the best throwers (Solarz, baby, that's you). Not only that, but I play with other women like me! I love this trap because it lulls the offense into thinking it really has something going. The tricky job falls to the strong side wing: allow throws to the force side, but no big gainers. The cup, like many defenses, should be adjusting as it goes across the field, in stages and as a unit. On the break sideline, the mark is flatter and the entire cup is flatter. As it moves across the field, the pushing marker gets more and more perpendicular to the thrower, the cup tightens up into a 'C', and trusts the strong side wing to cut off the gainers. The cup in FM is making comparatively large changes on EVERY throw (the crotch and hatchet). I think both cups are workable, BUT both need to be practiced to face up to teams like us (you know, the good ones). Lana didn't post but said she didn't like 2-2 upfield. Here's the thing: it is meant to be less rigid, especially the back 2, than a 3-3-1. It should work more like a poachy, switching person-to-person. The 2 deeps can decide on a short deep/long deep, rather than strong and weak side (although one needs to be ready to play strong side on a trap). I think in either zone we need to get used to having a sideline "partner"- ONE person that is yelling specifically to you.

Here is another item to chew on: does Rackages need another offense besides vertical stack? Nope, we don't have another, yet. I was worried about this, but thought our offense had more problems with throws than with getting open. We worked on what I perceived as our offensive weakness, getting the disc off the sideline. If we could practice a couple times a week, I'd get the circle offense going- I think it would work well with our speed, but it is confusing and not easy to learn quickly. Any ideas, please share.

More girls than boys

It is just in my nature to be competitive. Small Rackages practice had a much better turnout than The Van Buren Boys, although I don't think we had that many more actual team members present- we just had more extras. Saturday we had 21 & Sunday we had 25. Lana, Jaz, and I made record time: 2 hrs 45 minutes from 13th street, Ames to the practice site in St. Paul. Practice didn't start until 4:30 on Saturday which was nice for 2 reasons: 1, I had time to hang out my laundry that morning, 2, it was really pleasant weather to play. We drilled a lot more this practice on both days than we did last time in Ames. I had drawn up a little more rigid idea of practice- as in, had a printed practice schedule. This helps me a lot because I am spastic and can get focused on my own play and what I want instead of contemplating what the team needs overall. One big thing we worked on was Stanford O, getting the disc off of the sideline. I think it went pretty well, and I did see it used effectively at least once during scrimmage on Sunday. However, I also saw it used inappropriately: during a force middle start from the sideline. It is a SIDELINE BREAK- I can't remember if I mentioned this to everyone or not, I mean the fact that it shouldn't be used in FM b/c there are better ways to start the disc. I am pretty sure there were ZERO layouts on Saturday. I had one that definitely would have been a D- my hand closed on the disc the same time as Gibbs'. I did have a couple Ds and grabs in the air over the weekend that made me happy- I think this is usually my weak point. We had a pull contest at the end of the day on Saturday, and surprisingly, Solarz didn't win either the distance or hang time category- Gibbs got distance, Kara got hang time. Mine were pretty abysmal, which is why I don't pull- not because I am not capable of pulling high and far, but because I can't be counted on to do it consistently. Sunday we started with the cheer contest. Gibbs had the most, and some of the tuniest, Jill was the eventual winner, Katie had some with awesome motions as well as lyrics, and Meghan C. and Swarty had a pretty funny rhyme (with a limmerick feel). I must say, the ex-Bait ladies definitely added to our cheer-power. I am expecting big things from them at Motown. Sunday we did more drilling, then started scrimmaging. It was FAST on Sunday- it looked like everyone was at top speed all the time, but consequently led to some hectic turnovers. The Great Zone Debate between Shel and myself continues: 3-2-2 Trap vs. 3-3-1 Force Middle. Shel, you HAVE to play either crotch or hatchet in the 3-3-1 before you stick with yours- those are the hellish positions that get the most pressure. I think 3-2-2 evens things out a bit- yes, it does allow easy throws. That is the point of the one way force. BUT I would say FM also allows easy throws, right back to the pivot handler, which is where teams usually put their main one, at least at first. The one way force eventually forces the disc to trap a non-handler. Awesome. Also, with the pushing marker playing parallel to the thrower instead of behind as in many traps, the recovery is easier (it is the trapping marker's responsiblity to cut off the dump). The Pushing marker doesn't have to run top speed at all times, either. Rather, she wants to have a SMART approach that denies the return throw (to the break side). The only time the cup needs to truly, truly sprint is when the trap is put on. If the trapping marker waits until the side handler makes ONE MORE THROW, it should be a short sprint. That is actually something I discovered this weekend- don't trap the side handler on the swing unless they are on the line or if it is a short swing from the middle (as in, the middle is playing closer to the trap side)- that long swing makes for a long sprint from the crotch of the cup, who is really covering the most dangerous break at that point. The FM cup relies very heavily on a fast, anticipatory hatchet- I can anticipate, but not get there, as I saw over and over again in Boston. So, next time you play that cup, Shel, YOU play the Hatchet and see what you think. I think teams with strong handlers will break it every time. For people reading & for Shel (who I think already knows it), I love having Shel as a co-captian for exactly this reason: she says what she thinks and has excellent input; we can heatedly argue about points without anything ever turning personal- which hasn't always been the case with other people I've been a leader with. What we need to do is spend a practice on zone. We might do that next time, focusing on one zone, then the other. I think in the 3-2-2, not everyone is yet sure of their job. I also want the next practice (if it occurs) to be Rackages-only. I cannot say how much I appreciate the ISU, Twin Cities, and other extras coming, but the main reason most of them weren't invited to Rackages is because of their inexperience, and it shows when we play. They play hard, but they are facing women with 2, 3, up to probably 8-10 times the experience (really, I've played for 8 years, compared to 1 for some of the gals, and I've had more opportunities to play higher competition). I am itching to coach the Iowa State women again, because I see so much potential, but right now I want to see how things like zone and FM work with entire lines of Racks. There is also the issue of trying to talk to people too much while I am playing- small things are okay, but trying to figure out if they are thinking what I am thinking, if they can get the job done without my help brings down my game. I need to shrug off some of that responsibility, which will happen naturally, if I know I can count on another Rackage. One thing I was disappointed about over the weekend was defense. Not to say it was bad, but it wasn't inspired, there were zero layouts, and not every disc was run down. This includes myself- I can think of 2 specific instances (1 I mentioned, the other I let my player cut in when I could have gotten the layout D) when I didn't give it my all. I did better on Sunday. I said it a couple times, but I want to reiterate that Small Rackages wont' just be A defensive team, they will be THE defensive team. They will have more Ds than other teams, they will have the most stifling team defense, they will be the thorn in every offense's side. On Sunday we also went over some endzone plays and had a 40 yd dash contest. I was not close to winning, never quite breaking 6 seconds. Gibbs won at the end of practice when we finally put the fastest 5 or 6 directly against one another: 5.2, I think. I am hoping at MUDI that the ladies will have a chance to run some endzone plays, maybe some Stanford, and generally get a better understanding of each others' nuances. On one hand, I wish I could be there, but I really love weddings, and as Jon wouldn't let me go to one earlier this summer, it is my first of the "season", a warm-up for the one in August where two of the most amazing peole I know will be united. That's saying something, because I know a lot of people. Lana is a true Warrior Princess, I think of her as The Warrior Princess of God. Kevin has probably had more impact on me than any other male in my life except my father and maybe my brother. My heart swells with gladness that they are in love with each other. And, it will be another Ultimate wedding. The one this coming weekend is also two Ultimate players. Let me know if you'd like me to drink one for you; Rackages, be prepared for a Saturday evening/Sunday morning call (or calls). Oh, we got our artwork in to the printer, so we are waiting to hear back from them with proofs.....there is still an outside chance of having jersies by Motown. Yes, the UPA did approve the name Small Rackages.

July Post

I noticed I had yet to post in July. It has been a busy month already, although the Ultimate is lacking. We moved pick up in Ames back to 6 pm, hoping to get better turnout. There was also the usual summer e-mail sent out about pick-up kind of sucking. It has been somewhat better, but no where near where it should be given the overall quality of Ultimate players we have. Last night, I had a woodworking class instead of going to pick up. I'm making a cutting board.

I went to Freedom Fest this last weekend. On the city: Duluth seemed like an awesome community- very outdoorsy, hippy, and lots of dogs (not just at the tournament, either). On the tournament: Team America, the open team Gibbs, Tai, and I played on placed 3/4. I have to hand it to Gibbs and Tai, they certainly have the legs to run the guys on offense, and stay with them on D- even getting a couple of Ds. I played pretty mediocre defense, even though I was trying pretty hard. I am screwed in women's if my player goes deep (shouldn't be saying this in a public forum!), so in open, it is doubly so. I hate playing behind my guy- it didn't help if they actually cut deep, and while I could be there to mark, had no chance at cutting off any in cuts. I can turn pretty quick, but in a dead sprint, I am not really in the "fast" category. In women's, I think my strength lies in the fact that my speed at the end of Sunday is usually right with my Saturday morning speed, and in each point I can cut and cut and cut (or am getting back to that ability). Normally I could get open and move the disc on offense, so that was bolstering. I think I had one drop and one throwing TO, but probably more throwing turns than that. Yep, I just thought of 2 more that I don't know if they were my throw or receiver error, but could definitely have been better. I had plenty of throws that most likely would have been TOs in women's, but athleticism rescued them. Thanks, Team! To do: fix your damn throws (not probably easy after 8 years of Ultimate). Oh, I had one partial handblock that probably would have been a score if I hadn't deflected it mostly out of bounds (the offense almost made an amazing toe-drag catch). Yea, hard marks! I didn't know Ian was really good. He is; I hope he revives UNI's program and makes it competitive.

Update on my pepper plant: it is back! No blooms, yet, but it is over a foot high. Feel free to send chile rejeno recipes!

I had a conversation with Jake last night about losing weight. I kept coming up with excuses for not jumping on his idea to do 20-40 minutes of excercise in my "target" heart rate (134) three times a week. Then I remembered the actual reason: TIME! I do sprints on M & F, play Ultimate on T,W,R, and the weekend. I am starting to work out twice a day to get a distance run in. I think when it comes to Ultimate, time spent trying to lose weight would be better put to use throwing or running. This is for me, personally. This suggestion is also coming from the guy that thought I was silly for running at 6:45 this morning. Oh, and my heart just totally overpowers my legs. After my bike ride this morning, my heart rate was 98- that is with a hill at the end and my inner quads hollering for me to quit. After my 2 mile run it was 112. What the hell am I going to do hard enough for even 20 minutes?!! I could keep up that 2 mile pace for 20 minutes, maybe push it a little faster (after the first 3/4 mile when my legs quit bitching about being sore from Monday's plyos), and I really don't think I'll top 120. Besides which, I tend to "reward" good workouts with things like cheeseburgers and ice cream. So, if I want to lose weight (yes, Jake, I'm sure a 5 pound lighter Rachel might gain a step in a long point against Fat Rachel on Sunday), I think it will have to come with a change in mindset: ease up on the beer and pizza ridden weekends, stock up on fruit and veggies, learn to say NO! However, if I can fit in three 20 minute sessions of "something" during the week, it needs to be throwing. I played some of the best (and most consistent) D of my life in Boston, and I think it will get even hotter. I also lead the team in turnovers, I'm sure. No stats needed, I threw a lot away- most were good ideas, but craptastic throws. I've said it before, and I'll say it again,"I have the worst throws of any handler I've ever seen." But such good ideas! :)

Women's practice this weekend in The Cities. I've got big plans. I'll let you know what happens.

Boston Invite

I'm coming down off the high of the weekend, now. I've also recovered, I think. We got back from the bar about 3:30 Monday morning, and Jake woke me up with his staring at 3:55 to catch our flight. Most people (who read this blog) know, but we ended up 4th in the tournament, with losses to Brute Squad (2), Loose Cannon, and Backhoe. Brute Squad played better than us, although in the second game, I thought we performed much better. Our offense needed to be cleaner, for sure, to beat a team like that. We also need to work on deep defense, and really utilizing our own deep game. The loss to Loose Cannon was really upsetting. We should have pulled that game out, no doubt. The D plays weren't there, and our offense started to make some stupid mistakes, right in the stretch. We were at 9-8 when the cap went on, they scored, then they scored again. We answered and it was a win by 2 situation, so even thought they scored the next one to make it 10-11, we were okay. Then came a really bad decision with no hope for our girl to make the play, and an unguarded deep cut to finish off the game. These are the kind of games I EXPECT to win 3 months from now. Our defense can and will win us games, and so will great receptions. I had my first truly difficult captain moment with Rackages after that game. I was PISSED. After a couple of moments, we were able to huddle up, and that heartened me. It looked like other people felt similarly- not pouty or sad, but mad, wishing they could have done more and wanting to perform better on Sunday. I was still angry, but felt better that others were angry and determined, too. We came out on Sunday to roll Layuma 15-3. It felt like we were almost hitting stride, and in the next game, we did. We beat Lady Godiva 15-5. I think for me one of the best moments of that game was an upline pass Lana had to me that was perfectly placed. I layed out for it, caught it easily, and wound up for an upwind forehand huck to Meghan Conrad, which she caught easily. It was pretty (not the forehand, just the whole flow). That was early in the game, and after that, we were on a roll. Our offense looked about 14 times as clean as the day before, our defense was in shutdown mode. We were up and excited to face Brute Squad in the semis. (We had looked like poopola the day before when playing them) I think they scored the first couple and kept their lead until we were tied at 9s. I couldn't stop smiling, even when we were down 11-14 (Final 11-15). It was awesome to be playing Ultimate- it was fast, it was smart, I was ready to hit the ground, I knew my teammates were, too. It was FUN. Their offense was much cleaner than ours, and once they got a backhand break, if they were within 20 yards of the endzone, it was in. We still had some pretty offense, but fewer quality deep cuts, and WAY too many turns. I think some of our co-ed players (me included) aren't used to throwing the disc so often. We had way too many throwing turnovers. I had 0 drops, which is pretty unusual for me, but we still had plenty to go around. Man, they are a killer, and so hard to work on. I had some throws that didn't get caught that were that thrower/receiver blame combo. I really, really want us to be catching those.

Loose Cannon was probably my favorite team we played- they were scrappy and intense on the field yet laid back off. Brute Squad was fun to play, but not into the sideline heckling/joking. Why play? Backhoe almost didn't play out the 3/4 game. We should have beaten them, losing on universe 10-11. I'll look forward to seeing their full squad face our full squad in Sarasota.

Things to work on (team): Zone. We have to get an effective one working. I think it will be a big focus at practice in a couple weeks. Offense: we need something besides center stack, something that uses our speed. THROWS, THROWS, THROWS!!! Deep: our handlers have to huck, our cutters need to cut deep. On defense: cutting off good breaks! At least force a poor throw. Actually shutting down the sideline; I KNOW we can. there are a few ladies that I think are worried about being beaten deep so play conservedly-that's monkey poo. I know we could play a last back defense that would allow us to shut down that force side.

A few big plays: Tai was pretty big all weekend, usually guarding "the short fast girl", and doing pretty well at it. She had an especially nice snag in the Loose Cannon Game, and a play in the air against, I think, Nemesis. Lana had some money makin' hucks, especially in the Loose Cannon game; as usual, she was open whenever she was needed. Swarty (Dikeman) came up with a huge grab from (sorry Tai) an awful forehand that I think really pumped up the team. Michelle had an awesome layout D bid where the disc was being swung, went high, and both Michelle and her girl turned, ran it down, and laid out for it- it was pretty. Jill had some great grabs on fading discs and a super sweet D on a dump (3/4 game?). Our zone O tended to tear apart the defense- hooray! As I predicted, we placed higher then the VB Boys (6th). I didn't get to watch them play hardly at all, which was a big disappointment; they showed their support during their byes, which was appreciated. A few of us guys and gals did get to hang out on Sunday night- that was fun. Big "play" from that evening would be M.E. decribing his "spin move" after having worked out a lot.

The play that will keep me going: In the Layuma game on Sunday morning I was poaching (and appropriately, I stick by that), but got a little tangled up with another cutter, so was a tad late getting back to my girl, who had the disc. I was looping out to cut off her backhand, knew she would throw it, and layed out. It was kind of high (for me) and I just touched it with my finger- I needed one more inch for a solid D. So at Motown, I want to be able to get that disc. I've taken it easy these few days since, but tonight heralds the renewal of hard workouts.

I lost my cleats. I also lost my Worlds cleats in similar fashion- don't know the last time I had them after playing, but they definitely didn't make it home with me.

Central Region: We beat Nemesis when we were still "off" on Saturday. MOJO didn't win any games on Saturday. I am confident we'll fare well when we meet them at Regies (in Tulsa), but we'll see what the season brings. We should be able to see them a few more times before October. Women's Ultimate is still alive in the Midwest, and I can hardly wait to take it to Nationals.

Cuts to make: Still thinking and conspiring with Shel to get a handle on what our roster will be, and what we need overall from the fabulous group of ladies that tried out in Boston. It won't be an easy decision because everyone seemed to have that love of the disc and just be really happy to be there. I think it will be more of looking at roles that we still need, and who can fully adapt to our style from previous styles they've played than any glaring difference in quality of play. The other problem is that there will probably only be 2-4 cuts out of 12 women. IT would almost be easier to take only 2-4 women than cut that number.

Up coming practice: I think we need some intrateam competitions: 40s, pulls, killers, cheers....oh, speaking of which, we didn't cheer this weekend. My bad; I am normally very adamant about that. So, ladies, start working on your cheers. There will be a competition in 2 weeks.

Up and Coming

I've been meaning to post, but have been busy- working out, a class on DNA techniques, and recently a tortoise kidney slide to examine and diagnose. This weekend is Boston, as in The Boston Invitational. We've got 20 women, 11 of whom are trying out. I don't know how many we're taking, I have never had to cut anyone before, but all I can really think about is how THIS weekend will be the prelude to many more awesome weekends of Ultimate this summer and fall. I am stronger and faster than I was even 2 weeks ago, and Tuesday I found the mentality I want for this weekend. There is apparently some girl in Minnesota that I need to take out a hit on for messing up Solarz' hand; I hope she can still play. PDays. It deserves its own post, but alas, probably won't get it. I played very mediocorely, hopefully due to dreadful overconsumption of intoxicants and lack of sleep. Someday I will play sober and unhungover at PDays. It wasn't this year. As noted on Kev's blog, special props to MVPs Matt Ellsworth and Lana Meyer. It is great to have M.E. on the field- we have so many "old" guys/gals, that although we all love to play, Matt is still in that first puppy love infatuation with Ultimate that is refreshing to see. He has a real passion for the sport which really shows, especially on defense. Lana was unstoppable, especially on Sunday in the last 2 games. She also got multiple discs I thought she would miss or drop (no offense, Lana-some of those throws sucked). She also had some nice hucks and only was overly trigger-happy a couple times. That kind of play is much of what I'm hoping for this weekend- good ideas, a little risk to make it spicy, and receivers correcting for thrower error. The last ingredient would be a big layout D from someone, anyone early in the first game, just to get us started. From then on, it should be a chain reaction-somebody just needs to start the chain. I hope it's me. Safe travels to those leaving today- see you in Boston.

Weekend Ultimate

I did not intend to play Ultimate last weekend. It was someone else's idea; in fact, I wanted to run errands, etc. But The People spoke, saying Ultimate was what they wanted. We had an intense game of 4s on Saturday where we were trying to focus on pushing the disc up the field, and cutting as soon as we threw, so as not to leave the receiver with no one to throw to downfield. We did a pretty good job of it, and I must say, 4s is tiring. I had a really close layout D bid on Huckett that really pissed me off- it felt like in open where I know what is going to happen, see it, turn as fast as I can, and still come up a step short. A couple of ladies had to leave after the scrimmage, but the rest persevered: 2 "games" of hotbox (to 1), wherein the highlight was older Meyer taking out the younger in hilarious fashion. I think we also did the "drill" where you try to get 10 passes inside a 10 yd x 10yd box- it is really tiring. The Lana, Noelle, Huckett (I think) combo came within a pass of defeating the Derscheid, Gibbs, Natalie trio, who really looked like they wanted to lose for awhile- a stint of 1 or 2 pass TOs and D always a step behind. Nat tipped away a lot of throws (on D), while Lana ran my ass ragged. Sunday we had 5s and a sub, and what a difference it made. We played a game to 11, then a game to 9. It was windier on Sunday, and there were quite a few more tuenovers, but also a lot of nice layout grabs/bids. Jane Ly had some especially nice ones. I had one bid where I thought I collapsed a lung, which would be fine if I had caught the disc. It was a nice pass Lana had made (in the sense that I could catch it but my defender couldn't), but I paused before turning to run it down to ponder grabbing it in the air (yeah, right, Dersch), so missed it by a few inches. My lung reinflated, but I've got some sore ribs. At about 4-3 there were many calls to end the game at 7, partially because the vBBoys had finished and headed to lunch, partially because people were really starting to tire. It was the 2nd resaon that made me keep the game to 9. I was really close to giving in, then thought, what if this is the Boston final? I'm glad we played to nine, and at least a coule girls said they were glad I made them do it. I got 1 thing on my list done, laundry, the rest I will have to try to cram into this week. Evening festivities were fun- I won at Cricket in darts, which was truly amazing. I thought I was improving, but then we played partner 501 and Jon and I really sucked- i think we were 150-200 points behind at the end. Jon is usually really good, so I blame him.

Sprints yesterday: 5 sets of 2 bleachers in Jack Trice Stadium (home of the most dominant mascot on earth, Cy the Cyclone, who is actually a Cardinal) with 2 jump plyos between each set. I can hardly wait to go back. It really was inspiring to be in Jack Trice, which is funny because I don't particularly care to watch football and haven't been to a game since my freshman year of undergrad....8 years ago. The grass is NICE, and I would love to play a game on it. My quads, abs, and calves are pretty sore today (understatement).

OH! I got the newest sample skirt yesterday! I like it! I am taking it to practice today for women to try it out. If we choose it, it will be the first time in about 6 years that I will wear shorts under my skirt- they are attached. I had originally planned to remove them, but I LIKE them! They are like mesh spandex stuff and make the inside of my thighs feel kind of giggly- I was too tired to run around in them last night as i checked my mail post-sprints. I'll keep you updated.

Last item of note: I am making Carrots Au Gratin tonight, freestyle. And I plan on getting a layout D tonight at pick up, if my calves will agree to it.

A Sad Day

I got this Anaheim pepper plant that I was really excited about because I could then make my own chili rellenos. This is my absolute favorite Mexican dish- It is a big mildly spicy pepper stuffed with melty Mexican cheese, battered, fried, and drenched in a smooth salsa. I got hooked on it at La Fuente, but they started doing something weird- putting what appears to be instant mashed potatoes inside the pepper with the cheese. Wha'? Yeah, I don't get it either. I tried it 3 times thinking it was a fluke each time. Sigh. Anyway, on Wed. night Gibbs, JC, DK, and I went to a Mexican place in Des Moines after a very rainy, pretty fun pick-up. The enchilada sauce sucked (it tasted like canned tomato sauce, like Chef Boyardee), but the chili relleno was awesome AND I saved half of it for lunch yesterday. So I was really excited yesterday about my pepper plant (it is coming back around, now) and thinking how maybe I should look up some recipes, and day-dreaming about handbattering that first delicious cheese-filled beauty. I don't look up recipes as I think it will make me too impatient for my little plant to produce- I don't want to put undue pressure on it. Fast-forward to 4:45: I arrive home and have a lawn-mowing notice on my door (I never mow until they threaten me with a fine- I am a busy person). For those not aware, I live in a trailer park with a postage stamp-sized yard, about 1/3 of which refuses to grow grass, the rest of which grows weird ground cover with clumps of weeds. So I use a plug in weed eater to mow the whole thing. I start weed-eating, and work carefully around my tomatoes- there are already green ones on the vine, I don't want to damage them. My pepper plant is nestled between 2 tomato plants. Or, it was. I think I mowed over my pepper plant 3 times before I realized it. I may be a retarded spaz. Sympathy is welcome and appreciated.

Leftovers

I love leftovers. I love the taste, which tends to blend and magnify with time. I love the feeling of completion when finishing them off, and even love missing them once they're gone. Sometimes I like to add cheese, sometimes jalepenos. I like them cold, I like them hot. Somehow, Ultimate is like food for me, only better because it doesn't make me fat (I am just not an attractive person when I have "extra" weight). Ultimate this year is kind of like leftovers- I've had it before but it tastes even better than last time! It will be different, kind of like making a casserole out of leftovers- you've had all the parts before, but never all together, and probably not with as much cheese (I loves the dairy products). I've played women's, I've played club, I've played with this girl, I've played with that girl...but never club women's with ALL these girls!!! A few of them I've never played with. That is like opening something new to add to your leftovers. I won't play a tournament for almost 2 weeks, and won't play Rackages for almost 4, so all I really have to post about is my excitement & my workouts. Workouts have been awesome, the work on my mark less than awesome. I need a sign to pin to my shirt, reminding me to focus on it; I think when playing against so many males, I tend to focus less on it because I have a bit of a complacency- they're going to break me anyway. "What?!!" you say, "Rachel, that is a horrible attitude and they WILL break you if you think that!" I know. Which is why I need to work on it. And really, I've handblocked a lot these guys before, so it can be done. So, if any of you see me being lazy or getting broken or not getting on the mark, please chastise me. Pick-up tonight. I hope people are timely.

Oh, a little note....Small Rackages is in the Elite division of Boston Invite, which I think has 9 teams that went to Natties last fall. Suh-weet, but if I post about it now, I won't have a post until after Poultry Days.

Ultimate Weekend

Gorgeous weather, stellar players, all manner of foods cooked over fire, swimming in the lake.....what wasn't to love about last weekend? I was really happy with the level of play on both days, but especially Sunday. We had fewer women on Sunday, sometimes having to play 5s, but the intensity was still there. I think part of it was having a spectacular huck drill to start out- holy crap, that was awesome. If you weren't there or want to relive it, imagine explosive speed meeting a perfectly arced disc with a few great bids for just out of reach discs- bids that will be there after a couple of grueling months of workouts (grueling is good for everyone, right?). Thanks to the Iowa State women and Minneapolis women, Saturday was awesome- 18 ladies with 2 very intense scrimmages.

So where do I start......One thing that I think Ying said on Monday, "That Solarz girl can really throw!" It was a funny comment because it was so genuine, and it is such general knowledge for most of us, that it is more amazing if she screws up. While everyone did well, I've got a few special "props" to mention: Natalie's sweet throws, especially that high release backhand to Savage to win the scrimmage on Sunday; if she can add a little touch and remember we aren't Joe Brisbois, she'll be perfect. Tai's ever-amazing layouts (and also good job sitting out after a slight injury; this is no joke- it's a huge step for her to realize she is mortal), and Jazz playing some ferocious, non-stop D. Just seeing the speed of the game and fewer numbers of turnovers than "regular" women's! Ahh! Our zone looked pretty shoddy at first, but got up to speed by the end of Saturday. It definitely reminded me that I like playing cup....when I am in shape for it. I didn't do as much toying with positions as I wanted, but I think it is hard for me to play and fully assess other players at the same time. So I'll wait for Poultry Days and Boston. Boston. That is worthy of another paragraph.

So, I have been very excited about this team since I fully decided to see it through in January. I thought I'd have no problem filling up a team with high-caliber women. However, a couple injuries here, a few co-ed players there, and I am looking at 14-15 women instead of the 18 I wanted. Then reality finally hits me (Jon has been trying to tell me this since at least Feb.) and I realize for Nationals we probably want more like 22-24 players. All of a sudden I am down about 8 players and reluctantly looking at slightly lower-tier women: either they have the heart but not the skill, the speed but not the experience, or are just inconsistent. I don't want role-players, I want play-makers. I'm not kidding. I think right now anyone on Rackages could turn the tide with a huge grab or a monster D. I didn't want to have to think about adding players that would play a lot in "early" games, and then count on 12 for semis, finals, and the tough ones. Then, a windfall. Bait has decided the team is not headed in the direction they intended. There are players among them who would like an opportunity to play Rackages. Great! I have played with (and enjoyed) a handful of their best, but haven't seen them all. So Boston is sitting right there as a perfect opportunity to see them in pressure situations and get a chance to hang with them off the field. We happen to have only 9 for Boston, so it only gets better. Needless to say, I am freakin' psyched for Boston.

Back to the weekend. Both teams on both days tried force middle with patchy, if any, success. This is very frustrating as FM can be very effective and devastating. It also allows me to poach without really leaving my girl, and who doesn't love it when I poach except Flaming Moe. The problem is, everyone has to buy into FM, and everyone must play it differently (both marking and upfield) than sideline force. Actually, the marking is more similar to one-way than the upfield! The application of the mark is as if the disc has been broken on a sideline. We continuously allowed wide-open hucks. And I think with any team D, when the marks/force start to break down, the upfield D follows- if you can't trust your mark, you end up trying to guard the whole field, and unless you are considerably faster than your girl, you get burned. I am going to be trying to work on my mark, although I can't say I did a very good job against Ben Lyons last night- the kid is lanky, but that's no excuse. So that is my focus until Poultry Days: marking.

Actually, with all the speed & cutting skills, our sideline force didn't look spectacular. We didn't have shutdown D very often. I think part of it is being slightly out of shape, but part is mentality, at least for me. I have to really talk to myself before each point and tell myself not to let her get the disc, ever. This isn't to say I am slacking off on some points, I just don't always have a burning hatred of my girl having the disc. The times I've laid out on D have been those times when I am desperate to not let my girl get the disc.

I think the offense over the weekend was really impressive to me- the D was not bad, just a little weak at times, but the O seemed really smooth, especially for women's. There were definitely a few times when turns happened from trying to force it into the endzone, but for the most part, I thought people were patient. And especially on Saturday there was so little clogging! There were a few good snags, but mostly it was smart, good throws to open people. Rock. I think the D will come- I have tried to choose those with an inner tigeress that's loves to devour discs. Yep, I'm weird. It may be awhile 'til I post, but I may have a short update on how workouts are coming along. I have started to like sprints, again, which is good.

To my teammates, to understand me better

I began this reflection shortly after I heard the news that the Iowa State women had lost to Iowa, missing out on even a game-to-go. This is the most talented team ISU has ever had, yet they didn’t do as well as the previous year at regionals. I had to miss regionals, so could only speculate on what might have happened and how it would impact the team I am in the process of creating. It made me think about motivation, leadership, and responsibility. It made me think about the first year of CLX, the year of the lost games to go. It took me weeks to mentally recover, and I know some of the girls are going through that. I’ve seen this team struggle with motivation, leadership, and responsibility throughout the year, and given that a large chunk of them are on Small Rackages and that some of the others may not know me well enough to know where I stand, I thought I’d put my thoughts out there.

Motivation
I’ve always had dual motivation when it comes to Ultimate. The first motivation is individual- I want to win, and I want it bad. I want to beat my girl (or guy), I want to get poach Ds, I want to MAKE the team win. I want that disc and will do anything to get it. This helps me in practice, in sprints (if there are others), and especially in games. Sometimes it has been an “I’ll show them attitude”, other times it is simply love of plastic- I LOVE playing Ultimate and rarely forget that. I think the girls on the team already have that attitude. Sprints are harder because I don’t love them. If I can think ahead to the time I WILL beat my opponent, that helps, but often I do them for the second reason: my team. My team is counting on me, and I love them enough to do it for them. I want to BE a motivator for others because sometimes I need a little outside motivation. It could be Huckett saying, “Yeah, let’s sprint tonight!" (and I swear she is actually excited to do it) or “C’mon we can finish this" (and I know I wouldn't without her), it may be Lana being crazy on the sideline and loving her for it (putting a smile on my face after a shit throw I made), it may be Savage telling me what she sees and being in awe that she would share with me how to be a better player while still thinking I’m pretty okay despite all my short comings. But what is important in me is wanting to be motivated, and allowing my teammates to bring me up. Many girls see me as a motivator and are ready to let me motivate them, but sometimes seem to resent it from others. One thing that keeps me ready to be motivated is the strong belief that my team is working hard and simply wants me to play my best. They think I’m pretty okay and whatever they say or do is an attempt to make me better. Some people may call this a positive attitude. I've seen it happen on teams where everyone is waiting on someone to light the fire, but each individual seems to have wet themselves down and gotten into the worst part of the wind, making the fire difficult to start. Motivation is often about making yourself good tinder for the fire- if you can't find it in yourself, you are seeking to find that spark in someone else and you are ready to pass it on to each and every teammate.

Leadership
I seem to slip into leadership roles because I’m loud and intense. I love being in charge and running the show. Everyone wants a leader, and I think teams play better under strong leadership. The leader isn’t necessarily the best player on the team, and that is something the college girls especially need to see. I have been the best player on a team before, but only for the first couple years when the Iowa State women were still learning the game, which means I haven’t been the best for 3 or 4 years. People still follow me. A leader has a vision, a leader listens, and a leader is in charge of unifying the team. Vision is important so the team knows where they are going and when they are making mistakes. It MUST be discussed and leaders must listen to achieve unification. A leader cannot be effective unless followed, and a leader worthy of being followed must be respected. If you have respect for the person and their position, you must be willing to follow- that means shut up when they are talking and LISTEN to what they are saying. Don't mutter under your breath after they say something and don't talk behind their back. That isn't just rude, it is undermining the entire team. Saying there is a leader implies followers- followers have responsiblity, too. Leadership doesn’t have to be my style, loud and in your face, but can be a way of being, an attitude, an example. It is a trickle-down effect, and even the follower of one can be the leader of another. I am hoping to be a good leader, and think I have some qualities that make it possible. I think a leader’s greatest duty is to try to help her teammates become the best they can be. In the past, my biggest challenge has been appropriate delegation of tasks and responsibilities so that I can still be an effective player myself while bringing out the best in everyone else, as well. I am hoping with this team that we have such strong players, such willing attitudes, that my job will be easier, allowing me to play and lead better than ever. And a Sheldahl leading with me won't be too shabby, either.

Responsibility
This is the toughest one. Who is responsible for getting you in shape? Who was responsible for that last score? Who’s FAULT was it that we lost? That we won? If you’ve played with me, you’ve heard me say it, “Sorry, my bad!” Sometimes it's true, sometimes it isn't. Usually it is a combination, and what I really mean is, "I think I could have done more; I'll try harder!" I think it is important to learn from mistakes by taking responsibility for them and knowing how to fix them. This isn't to say each throw, each fake, each cut must be overanalyzed, but when the TEAM starts making mistakes, figuring out what each individual can do to correct them. Even further, to take responsibility for unmistakes: you didn’t do anything wrong, but did you do everything you could? Were you active on the sidelines? Did you run the sprints and do the time outside of practice 2 and 3 months ago? When you saw someone make a mistake, did you try to give them constructive criticism? When that girl threw the disc away, where were you? When your teammate got scored on, where were you? This is a team sport with individual responsibility. Losses aren’t attributed to a single player, they are attributed to a team. Likewise wins. Being a part of that team means doing everything that is right for the team. If the game starts to go south, who is responsible for turning things around? You are. I am. She is. You have to evaluate what you are doing and TALK with the team about what is happening. You have to be READY to do what your captains say is necessary and most of all, you must believe that everyone is doing all they can. This is part of the motivation and positive attitude that is necesary not only for team success, but to not be a bitch in general. If you are personally doing your best, your job isn’t done. You have to try to find a way to help everyone else do their best, too.

It seems to me that I keep seeing these girls want some one to motivate, to lead, to hold them responsible, but my philosophy is it has to come from within. Your team is there to help you when you slip, but you have to be ready to let them help you and ready to help each other when the time comes. When you need me, I’m there for you. When I don’t want to do that last sprint tonight, I’ll be thinking of you and doing it for you.

St. Louis Classic & Good News

So I played with One Trick Pony, Jimmy's new co-ed team from St. Louis, last weekend. We ended up second to a team from Chicago (I should probably know the name, but I don't). They had some players from Machine and Nemesis. We had 4 women for most of Saturday and 5 for Sunday, but all were high quality women (Me, Abby Doriani, Jenny (Jimmy's fiancee), Amy Sheldahl, Lauren (formerly from Truman)). We didn't really all have to work hard until the final, and then most of the women on that team were tough. I wasn't so much tired at the end of the day as tired during each point after the first few cuts. I had a couple of layout Ds (yea, me!) and a few good grabs on O, but definitely could up my game. On double game point in the finals I layed out for the winning score and caught it....but a few inches out of bounds. I should have layed out forward! And there was one layout D in the endzone that I bid for and was actually TOO HIGH. Yeah, as in, I layed out far enough and my hand went over the top of the disc. Son of a..... I don't think of myself as a defensive player, but I'm not really a good thrower. Hmmmm....... And I had some poor throws in the final (3 really bad ones come to mind). BUT I hit the dirt a lot, and it felt good. I am still thinking this could be my best year of Ultimate yet. Oh, and today I am less sore than anticipated. Amy Sheldahl had her normal speedy long cuts for some good catches in the endzone. I was impressed with Lauren's play on both sides of the disc. Jenny has really great hands and is fast- I am really glad she is finally playing competitive Ultimate; she got some Ds I didn't expect. Doriani was solid, as always. I REALLY hope we get a bid to Boston and that we have enough women to go! And I really hope the Van Buren Boys go, too. That would be a blast! Draw back of the weekend: JC pulled his groin again. Oh, and Saturday night we went to City Museum, which is like a giant jungle gym made of metal for adults. It is multiple stories, has slides, crawl spaces, old airplanes to climb in, and swinging ropes. I think Lana and Kevin would have loved it, and they almost for sure would have tipped the scales in the final (not a guilt trip, just an observation).

Good News: Truman State beat Texas 14-10 to take the only bid to Nationals out of the south region!!! We have 3-5 ladies that will be playing Rackages this summer that are currently on TSUnami. I am thinking about having our May practice down in Kirksville, and maybe taking the Iowa State women down and having a round robin tournament, maybe mix it up a little. I think that many quality female players in one place HAS to be good for any Ultimate player. Iowa State has regionals this coming weekend, so I'll be thinking of them and wishing them the best. You should, too.

E-mail, etc.

I got the preview e-mail sent out at the beginning of this week. The ball is officially rolling, or more appropriately, the disc is spinning. I went to women's practice yesterday and was decidedly worn out by one 13 point scrimmage. I'm playing in St. Louis this weekend with One Trick Pony (co-ed), and we will only have 4 women for the weekend. Yikes! I'm pretty sure my body isn't ready for that....but I can't say no to Ultimate! I will try to have a full recap of the weekend sometime next week. I am disappointed that more of the "old" Ames people aren't going. I really wanted Lana to go b/c I like playing with her- which can be said of most of Rackages. Those that I can't say it of, I just haven't played with, yet.

So here is what I sent the tournament directors for Boston Invite:

"Past performance: Well, we are formed of a CLX (The Chad Larson Experience) women core, and CLX placed 10th at Worlds last November. CLX declined playing at Nationals last year, but were in semis in 2005 and placed 2nd in 2004.

Comments: Our non-CLX women are of the same fiber: layout too much, huck big, run fast, take chances, and cause a ruckus on and off the field. Some of us have been playing together since I started playing womens (6 years ago), and besides our natural love of the disc, want to win it for each other."

I think this bid lands in the "pretty okay" pile. Dang it, I wish I were witty! But, so far I've gotten positive responses from the team about attending. It would be awesome, and I may actually be in some sort of shape to play by then.

Solarz came up with this gem:

"nothing runs like a Deere, or a girl with a small rackage"

So then I ask you, why are Tai and Christina so fast?  I almost had to ban them from the team, but....
despite their not quite small rackage, I love playing with them for their ridiculous bids.  Seriously,
if you haven't seen them play, you're missing out.  And I'm sure at heart they are truly Small Rackages.

Ultimate in my Veins...Always

Okay, so I am biding time before this giraffe necropsy (I am stoked), and I google my name and end up reading the play by play for the 2004 National Finals and have to post this about DK and the Vicar:
"Shazam works the spread offense on the next point, but Karsten gets the D. He then throws a terrible, blade-like hammer to Seiler, who incredibly makes the catch."
Man, what an awesome season (and a spectacular catch...watch the videos). Building my base of Small Rackages from CLX women, and adding in women that LOVE to play and LOVE to lay, I am hoping for something similar, yet altogether different and hopefully better. I am about to start an e-mail to my "committed"s and my "maybe"s. I am out of shape, recently throwing like poop, but about to have my 4th day in a row of Ultimate- who could ask for more? Well, I am actually hoping there will also be pick up tomorrow and that I'll go to women's practice on Saturday. I am fired up to get in the best shape of my life, which will be tough- I've been fairly fit at some times of my life, and those were times when I had less to distract me from Ultimate. I'm also about to start digging into my research life- what an exciting time for me (that sounds saracstic, but isn't). I am hoping that everyone reading this can feel as poised to start the best part of their life as I do right now.
Oh, I watched an awesome history thingy on UCLA baskeball's golden years with Coach Wooden last night. I think that also inspired me, but doesn't explain why I dreamed of turnovers last night- I'm apprehensive about handling for this team of mine, and wonder if I even SHOULD handle. I actually woke up super angry with myself in the middle of the night, asking myself WHY I would try the loopey forehand over the poach when I KNEW I could dump that backhand (I don't know who my dump was, but probably Sarah Solarz). By the way, Solarz is one of the best handlers I know. Man, I want the disc in her hands. Nobody knows of this blog, yet.

Starting anew....

This is a new blog because I cannot log on and post comments on others' blogs. Also, I am hoping to use it mostly to post Ultimate stuff, probably mainly pertaining to Small Rackages, the new club women's team out of the central region. My first post about the team should come shortly after graduation...then I can post names and stuff and people will HAVE to play with me because th whole world will know they said yes!!!!