Had a good day today. Spent the entire day looking forward to the Ultimate meeting, and even though it turned out to be the longest drawn out meeting ever, I had a good time. There's nothing better than being around a bunch of people that love the same stuff I do. I'm already seeing some people who may be a disturbance on the team, but I think I can handle that.
Stayed after the meeting to discuss some tournament scheduling with Porter, Kahyee and Teddy. We're going to be pretty packed this season, and we're definitely sending out a bid to Easterns. I still have to schedule some JV and girls tournaments, but the Varsity seems set right. Plus, there will probably be more tournaments that open up during the season like YHB or the Longmeadow Invitational.
Practice starts on Monday, and we'll be looking at the players on the team to see the division between Varsity and JV. There aren't really many newcomers this season, which I'm a little upset about, so the JV and Varsity will pretty much be the same as last season. The girls got a couple of new recruits, so I'm happy for them.
Practice on Monday. Start of a new season.
GET PUMPED.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
STJ Invite
Open A
Concord Carlisle, MA
Lincoln-Sudbury, MA
Longmeadow V, MA
PVPA, MA
Scarsdale, NY
Sherbrooke, QC
Watchung, NJ
Don't know why I'm worrying about it so early in the... pre-season, but just thought some of you guys should know about it.
Concord Carlisle, MA
Lincoln-Sudbury, MA
Longmeadow V, MA
PVPA, MA
Scarsdale, NY
Sherbrooke, QC
Watchung, NJ
Don't know why I'm worrying about it so early in the... pre-season, but just thought some of you guys should know about it.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Spring Reign
http://www.ultivillage.com/Ultimate-Frisbee-Videos/Clip-of-the-Day/Tiina-Booth-at-UCPC.html
Lecture by Tiina Booth during the Ultimate Players and Coaches Conference.
Practice this season?
Things we're going to do:
1. Push ourselves.
No more "nah I'm saving my energy for the scrim at the end". No, at practice we push ourselves to the point so at the end of practice, we're exhausted. Use up all your energy during practice, every drill, every scrim, every day.
2. Have a schedule.
Work on one thing at a time. Things Watchung needs to work on: Everything.
Throws, Offense, Defense, Receiving, etc.
We'll work out a schedule so we'll probably work on offense one week, defense one week, and so on.
3. Stop looking upfield so much.
Stop. Look upfield for FOUR STALL COUNTS. Stop looking to make the huck or the glory throw. You know who you are.
4. Make better judgments on the dump/swing
Its really not that hard to make a dump pass, so stop looking off the dump if he's not COMPLETELY open. Once the dump throws his defender off, even if he's not exactly "open" yet, just throw the goddamn disc with a pop or a quick release backhand. The dump can run to it and get it while the defender is still adjusting his momentum.
5. Stop looking upfield so much
6. Stop looking upfield so much
7. Stop looking upfield so fucking much. WHATS WRONG WITH MOVING THE DISC BACK AND AROUND?!
8. Play more conservatively
In a sense this ties in with STOP LOOKING UPFIELD SO MUCH. Gaining yards isn't as important as keeping the disc in our hands. Now, I'm not saying don't take risks, but on a risk-taking level, Watchung is about an 8. We need to bring that down to a 4 or a 5. So STOP LOOKING UPFIELD SO MUCH.
9. Work an end-zone efficiently.
I'm going to say this bluntly: Porter's end-zone strategy is retarded. Make a diagonal cut to the cone? No. An end-zone strategy is an isolated horizontal cut, if looked off, then one should look to the dump and swing, THEN there should be a diagonal cut to the corner. We're not just making diagonal cuts to the corners like we're playing a fucking full field vertical stack in a small-ass endzone. Excuse my language, but that is retarded.
10. Work hard, play harder.
You're the only person that can make yourself better. If you're not willing to work, then don't expect to get better. Earn your spot on the team, and earn the right to say that you're a good player.
Lecture by Tiina Booth during the Ultimate Players and Coaches Conference.
Practice this season?
Things we're going to do:
1. Push ourselves.
No more "nah I'm saving my energy for the scrim at the end". No, at practice we push ourselves to the point so at the end of practice, we're exhausted. Use up all your energy during practice, every drill, every scrim, every day.
2. Have a schedule.
Work on one thing at a time. Things Watchung needs to work on: Everything.
Throws, Offense, Defense, Receiving, etc.
We'll work out a schedule so we'll probably work on offense one week, defense one week, and so on.
3. Stop looking upfield so much.
Stop. Look upfield for FOUR STALL COUNTS. Stop looking to make the huck or the glory throw. You know who you are.
4. Make better judgments on the dump/swing
Its really not that hard to make a dump pass, so stop looking off the dump if he's not COMPLETELY open. Once the dump throws his defender off, even if he's not exactly "open" yet, just throw the goddamn disc with a pop or a quick release backhand. The dump can run to it and get it while the defender is still adjusting his momentum.
5. Stop looking upfield so much
6. Stop looking upfield so much
7. Stop looking upfield so fucking much. WHATS WRONG WITH MOVING THE DISC BACK AND AROUND?!
8. Play more conservatively
In a sense this ties in with STOP LOOKING UPFIELD SO MUCH. Gaining yards isn't as important as keeping the disc in our hands. Now, I'm not saying don't take risks, but on a risk-taking level, Watchung is about an 8. We need to bring that down to a 4 or a 5. So STOP LOOKING UPFIELD SO MUCH.
9. Work an end-zone efficiently.
I'm going to say this bluntly: Porter's end-zone strategy is retarded. Make a diagonal cut to the cone? No. An end-zone strategy is an isolated horizontal cut, if looked off, then one should look to the dump and swing, THEN there should be a diagonal cut to the corner. We're not just making diagonal cuts to the corners like we're playing a fucking full field vertical stack in a small-ass endzone. Excuse my language, but that is retarded.
10. Work hard, play harder.
You're the only person that can make yourself better. If you're not willing to work, then don't expect to get better. Earn your spot on the team, and earn the right to say that you're a good player.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Ah Phuck
Well, if I keep on playing the way I did today, I might as well just hand over Easterns and NJ States to CHS.
Lets start with the good points of my playing today:
Got a pretty sick layout D
I got some really nice low throws
... that's it. Alright, on to the bad points:
I am still not making full eye contact with my thrower and I'm concentrating on the mark too much, resulting in a crappy breakmark throw. Also, I've taken Ryan's tips in terms of pivoting and putting my weight on my front leg, and it works, but the problem is that... I still have to think about these things during the game. Like it'll take a while for me to have these things come naturally. Also, BRIAN LI NO GOOD IN WIND. My hucks are really good without wind, but if theres a breeze, then it'll probably OI like hell.
If I can sky and layout D anybody, but I can't handle the disc well, that means I've got nothing but athleticism under my belt. For me to be an all around good player, I need a lot more work.
I have to perfect everything before the season even starts. I've got a hell lot of work to do.
Lets start with the good points of my playing today:
Got a pretty sick layout D
I got some really nice low throws
... that's it. Alright, on to the bad points:
I am still not making full eye contact with my thrower and I'm concentrating on the mark too much, resulting in a crappy breakmark throw. Also, I've taken Ryan's tips in terms of pivoting and putting my weight on my front leg, and it works, but the problem is that... I still have to think about these things during the game. Like it'll take a while for me to have these things come naturally. Also, BRIAN LI NO GOOD IN WIND. My hucks are really good without wind, but if theres a breeze, then it'll probably OI like hell.
If I can sky and layout D anybody, but I can't handle the disc well, that means I've got nothing but athleticism under my belt. For me to be an all around good player, I need a lot more work.
I have to perfect everything before the season even starts. I've got a hell lot of work to do.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Read
After working out at the gym for the past three months, I've increased my ups by at least 50%, but somebody needs to help me read the fucking disc better. I always underestimate how high I can jump, or even overestimate it. Which then in that case I either get boxed out from the outside positioning, or I completely miss on the inside positioning and get skied by the guy on the outside.
Somebody needs to help me.
Somebody needs to help me.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Bring it Back
Scrimmed for the first time in a long time today. Predictably, only 10-11 people showed up so as a result, we played 5 on 5.
Things I noticed about how I played:
When I have to get extra low to break a mark, I end up falling over. My forehand, I can deal with it, cause it ends up being like one of those fall-over forehands that Rhodes threw in the Rhino reel. My backhand on the other hand, is probably something I have to worry about. Sure, my low backhand can break the mark, but unfortunately I get fouled someway or somehow. Also, I lose my balance.
My thoughts on that? I've thought about it, and I've noticed that when I extend for my low backhand, the weight of my body is on my pivoting foot, rather that the foot that I'm stepping out with. I don't know if that would make a difference, but I'll try it next time I'm out on the field.
I'm not sure whether I'm making dump cuts correctly. I can make a nice up the line cut that can frequently lose my defender, but when cutting back for the dump, I'm often looked off. Not sure if it's my fault, because I find that I could get the disc if the handler just gave me a simple quick release backhand. But if in any case it is my fault, then I realize that I may have some trouble losing my defender on the cut for the dump/swing.
Over the past two days I've figured out the problem with my backhand huck and now it's gotten a lot better. While throwing around at the municipal field, I realized that I could pull a huge portion of the field, not to be cocky or anything. But today after scrimming I found that I couldn't pull nearly as far, also my pulls were going in less favorable directions. Maybe it's just lack of practice, but a lot of times I notice I'm not able to pull as well during actual games.
Things I noticed about how WE play:
The same problem that it's had for the past couple years, Watchung Hills... does not cut. There's really nothing I can think of as of now that can fix this problem, but just saying... its a huge-ass problem.
Got new cleats again. Why? Because the Nike Vapor Jets bruised my toe underneath the nail. The following is graphic. For a while, my nail was just completely black. When I took a closer look I noticed that a layer of dried blood had completely separated 80% of my toenail from my toe. Since it was the only way for recovery, I cut the nail off. Sounds nasty as hell, but fortunately it's already growing back.
So my new cleats? Mercurial Talaria IIIs. I was a little skeptical buying them because Bryan Walter told me they were bad, but after purchasing them, they're my favorite cleats yet. Sure, I like the cleat pattern on the Vapor Jets a lot more (a lot deeper and sharper) but the Mercurial Talarias are really comfortable once you break them in and light as hell. Also the tip of the shoe is flexible, so I don't have to worry about any more messed up toenails.
Yeah, I'm bringing the blog back.
Things I noticed about how I played:
When I have to get extra low to break a mark, I end up falling over. My forehand, I can deal with it, cause it ends up being like one of those fall-over forehands that Rhodes threw in the Rhino reel. My backhand on the other hand, is probably something I have to worry about. Sure, my low backhand can break the mark, but unfortunately I get fouled someway or somehow. Also, I lose my balance.
My thoughts on that? I've thought about it, and I've noticed that when I extend for my low backhand, the weight of my body is on my pivoting foot, rather that the foot that I'm stepping out with. I don't know if that would make a difference, but I'll try it next time I'm out on the field.
I'm not sure whether I'm making dump cuts correctly. I can make a nice up the line cut that can frequently lose my defender, but when cutting back for the dump, I'm often looked off. Not sure if it's my fault, because I find that I could get the disc if the handler just gave me a simple quick release backhand. But if in any case it is my fault, then I realize that I may have some trouble losing my defender on the cut for the dump/swing.
Over the past two days I've figured out the problem with my backhand huck and now it's gotten a lot better. While throwing around at the municipal field, I realized that I could pull a huge portion of the field, not to be cocky or anything. But today after scrimming I found that I couldn't pull nearly as far, also my pulls were going in less favorable directions. Maybe it's just lack of practice, but a lot of times I notice I'm not able to pull as well during actual games.
Things I noticed about how WE play:
The same problem that it's had for the past couple years, Watchung Hills... does not cut. There's really nothing I can think of as of now that can fix this problem, but just saying... its a huge-ass problem.
Got new cleats again. Why? Because the Nike Vapor Jets bruised my toe underneath the nail. The following is graphic. For a while, my nail was just completely black. When I took a closer look I noticed that a layer of dried blood had completely separated 80% of my toenail from my toe. Since it was the only way for recovery, I cut the nail off. Sounds nasty as hell, but fortunately it's already growing back.
So my new cleats? Mercurial Talaria IIIs. I was a little skeptical buying them because Bryan Walter told me they were bad, but after purchasing them, they're my favorite cleats yet. Sure, I like the cleat pattern on the Vapor Jets a lot more (a lot deeper and sharper) but the Mercurial Talarias are really comfortable once you break them in and light as hell. Also the tip of the shoe is flexible, so I don't have to worry about any more messed up toenails.
Yeah, I'm bringing the blog back.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
