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.