Tournament was postponed to Sunday, so a lot of teams never showed up.
West Windsor and Scarsdale, who was supposed to be our first game dropped out due to the schedule change so we ended up at the fields at 10:30 with a bye until 1:30. Luckily, we found a team called Mofo that agreed to play us so we would have something to occupy us until so.
Game 1: JR Masterman
Opened up pretty slow, kind of a new team. We ended up taking this game pretty lazily, and although we were pretty much destroying them, our O and D wasn't exactly the greatest. Won the game 13-3 or 4, and then we got pumped up for our game against Cardinal O Hara.
Game 2: Cardinal O Hara
One thing that Watchung Hills has improved on most is spirit. And I don't mean like gay, SOTG spirit, I mean team spirit. Screaming defense on every turn, and making the sideline loud as possible really helped to get ourselves pumped up. The game opened up pretty well with us playing really hard, aggressive D and quick efficient O. We scored the first couple of points simply by running and throwing precisely, and when they attempted to put a zone on us, we crashed it and had multiple give and goes for points.
Game 3: JR Masterman
So somehow MOFO beat everybody in their pool. I don't know how that worked out either, but shit happens. Once again, we shut then down pretty well, they scored 4 points the entire game mostly through hucks that got past our straight up marks. But we ended the game pretty easily, 13-6.
Finals: Radnor
Getting into the finals, we came out pretty spirited. We started the first point on D, where I quickly had a layout D on an upline and then I proceded to pick up the disc and immediately huck to Jake, who, as usual, skied his defender and passed to Scott for the first point. We went on a 3-0 run, then they tried a zone on us, which caused some turnovers not due to their defense but us just making stupid turnovers. Eventually they brought the score within a 1 point range, but we then shredded their zone with crashes, and razors or scoobers over the cup. Most of the points they scored were off of hucks, so when we realized that straight up was effective, we broke away and took half 7-5. One thing that we always mess up on is letting our guard down during the second half. Not this time. Playing with the mentality of 0-0, game to 6, we quickly scored more points, with big hucks from Steve Silva to me, and a short huck to Scott Hampton who made a sick layout for the point. I began to have cramps through all my muscles so I sat out for the last two points. Watchung Hills takes 1st place 13-6.
RRI hops us up to 8th in the nation.
Next tournament: Rutgers Grease Trucks Classic
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Fall Brawl Recap
Day 1:
Pretty shitty day, in my opinion.
It wasn't too cold when we arrived, but underarmour was a necessity. We started off playing Pennsbury B, a team that had stole several of our discs at Born to Dive last season and persisted on saying a whole bunch of crap while we played. It was windy as hell, but that didn't seem to bother us too much. I did happen to throw a couple of floaty throws that resulted in a couple of turnovers. But, easily enough, Pennsbury B didn't bother us that much and I was able to sit out the most of the game, ending it 13-0.
The second game was against a team we had played recently. Westfield came out moving the disc pretty quickly with a lot of dishies, but just never connected the throws enough to score points. At one point, me and Steve Silva pushed their handlers to the back of their endzone, and although we never actually got the callahan, they ended up turning it over in the middle of their endzone, which we converted quickly for the point.
The third game was probably the toughest we had. Although it was easy pickings in the beginning, taking half at 7-3, we fell to our usual habit of getting lazy and cocky, and let them close up the point difference. I was suffering from leg cramps, so jumping and layouts were kind of out of the question, and at one point I got injured with a bloody lip. We worked it upfield finally to win the game 13-10.
Day 2
The only game we played today was Pennsbury A. Probably the best team in the East right now, they came down on us pretty hard the first half, taking it 7-1. I got D'ed a couple of times and the bad wind ended up taking some throws where they should not have been, and caused a couple of drops, for us and Pennsbury. During the second half, we came back with scores from Alan and Jay, and a fast break layout from Steve to me. Unfortunately, we weren't enough for Pennsbury, since they took the game 15-5, but we took solace in the fact that we had been the toughest game they had so far in the tournament.
KitKat on Saturday.
50 something degrees, windy.
Pretty shitty day, in my opinion.
It wasn't too cold when we arrived, but underarmour was a necessity. We started off playing Pennsbury B, a team that had stole several of our discs at Born to Dive last season and persisted on saying a whole bunch of crap while we played. It was windy as hell, but that didn't seem to bother us too much. I did happen to throw a couple of floaty throws that resulted in a couple of turnovers. But, easily enough, Pennsbury B didn't bother us that much and I was able to sit out the most of the game, ending it 13-0.
The second game was against a team we had played recently. Westfield came out moving the disc pretty quickly with a lot of dishies, but just never connected the throws enough to score points. At one point, me and Steve Silva pushed their handlers to the back of their endzone, and although we never actually got the callahan, they ended up turning it over in the middle of their endzone, which we converted quickly for the point.
The third game was probably the toughest we had. Although it was easy pickings in the beginning, taking half at 7-3, we fell to our usual habit of getting lazy and cocky, and let them close up the point difference. I was suffering from leg cramps, so jumping and layouts were kind of out of the question, and at one point I got injured with a bloody lip. We worked it upfield finally to win the game 13-10.
Day 2
The only game we played today was Pennsbury A. Probably the best team in the East right now, they came down on us pretty hard the first half, taking it 7-1. I got D'ed a couple of times and the bad wind ended up taking some throws where they should not have been, and caused a couple of drops, for us and Pennsbury. During the second half, we came back with scores from Alan and Jay, and a fast break layout from Steve to me. Unfortunately, we weren't enough for Pennsbury, since they took the game 15-5, but we took solace in the fact that we had been the toughest game they had so far in the tournament.
KitKat on Saturday.
50 something degrees, windy.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Noob Day
From now on, Mondays are Noob days. Everyone, not just Varsity comes and plays a little Ultimate. These days are pretty relaxing to me because I don't really care what happens and I don't freak out every time we mess up.
I don't feel like I'm getting worse at Ultimate, but I don't feel as though I'm getting particularly better either. Yeah, I'll push myself during the conditions and the drills, but during the scrimmages I feel as though I'm not getting any better by playing against the same people over and over. Call it cockiness or whatever, but I need someone who will make me play 100%.
Improvements? Cutting, I guess. I tend to get open a lot easier now because I'm either cutting harder or I'm being more convincing or whatever. My forehand huck still hasn't recovered to the state it used to be but it's getting there. Backhand huck is still pretty good but I need some more touch on it. Skying? Uhh, I need to play a little more Jackpot, I think. I'm getting the disc but I'm not catching it at my peak of jump. Laying out? I might be laying out a little more gratuitously than before, but my height is increasing with each bid I make. Unfortunately, last Friday I made a bid that was well out of bounds, and when I layed out, I kicked my legs so far back that my body made like a U and overstretched my back. Now my back kind of hurts. And also, today when I caught Steve's breakmark backhand, I ended up smashing my face into the ground so I have a gash under my lip now.
I'm thinking about getting new cleats. I really like the new Speed TDs, but I'm pretty addicted to the lightness of the Talarias I have right now. I might go Mercurial Vapor if I feel the need to.
I don't feel like I'm getting worse at Ultimate, but I don't feel as though I'm getting particularly better either. Yeah, I'll push myself during the conditions and the drills, but during the scrimmages I feel as though I'm not getting any better by playing against the same people over and over. Call it cockiness or whatever, but I need someone who will make me play 100%.
Improvements? Cutting, I guess. I tend to get open a lot easier now because I'm either cutting harder or I'm being more convincing or whatever. My forehand huck still hasn't recovered to the state it used to be but it's getting there. Backhand huck is still pretty good but I need some more touch on it. Skying? Uhh, I need to play a little more Jackpot, I think. I'm getting the disc but I'm not catching it at my peak of jump. Laying out? I might be laying out a little more gratuitously than before, but my height is increasing with each bid I make. Unfortunately, last Friday I made a bid that was well out of bounds, and when I layed out, I kicked my legs so far back that my body made like a U and overstretched my back. Now my back kind of hurts. And also, today when I caught Steve's breakmark backhand, I ended up smashing my face into the ground so I have a gash under my lip now.
I'm thinking about getting new cleats. I really like the new Speed TDs, but I'm pretty addicted to the lightness of the Talarias I have right now. I might go Mercurial Vapor if I feel the need to.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
1st - 2nd Practice
1st Practice:
Saw a lot of new kids at the meeting. A lot of them looked pretty athletic and decent. Unlike last year, I think a lot of them might actually stick around, cause I think they enjoy it quite a bit. Did some introductions to stuff, still not a big fan of the SPIRIT OF THE GAME = 1ST PRIORITY thing, but whatever, its not like I'm out to destroy SOTG anyways.
Personal progress? Well, a clear loss of athleticism is obvious, but I'm not too far down that I can't quickly get back up to where I was before. Other than one bad throw/decision, the wind didn't effect my game too much yesterday. I tried the spin around forehand huck in a scrimmage, and it worked surprisingly well in the wind. Unfortunately, overpowered it just a little bit and Jay was also running in the rock patch so that wouldn't have been good news. Defense-wise, I played a bit more aggressively than usually, which actually drew out a foul or two, but I also got a layout D out of it. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how hard the field was.
Day 2:
Today was an okay day. Not bad, not great, but wasn't feeling the whole atmosphere of the practice. One of the reasons was because I squatted a 100 something a couple of times in gym so I was feeling pretty weak in the legs. I recruited one of my friends, he's already pretty good but unfortunately he's a senior so he'll only be playing for a year at most. We concentrated mostly on teaching the noobs how to throw today, and teaching our varsity/girls the correct way to throw. i.e. stepping out laterally and getting low. Other than that, we just did some more running and conditioning which is always fun, and then finally scrimmaged.
My team lost once, wasn't so much bad D on our half than it was them not turning it over carelessly. The second point, Sean's and my legs got mixed up during a sky and I called foul. Apparently I was actually the one who fouled Sean, but he didn't contest it, even though I was hoping he would be able to recognize a bad call. We turned it over anyways, but they didn't really convert it well so we put it in for the score. The third point, we worked it up pretty nicely, and then I had a good cut in the endzone for the score. Not my best, but I played pretty efficiently today.
Saw a lot of new kids at the meeting. A lot of them looked pretty athletic and decent. Unlike last year, I think a lot of them might actually stick around, cause I think they enjoy it quite a bit. Did some introductions to stuff, still not a big fan of the SPIRIT OF THE GAME = 1ST PRIORITY thing, but whatever, its not like I'm out to destroy SOTG anyways.
Personal progress? Well, a clear loss of athleticism is obvious, but I'm not too far down that I can't quickly get back up to where I was before. Other than one bad throw/decision, the wind didn't effect my game too much yesterday. I tried the spin around forehand huck in a scrimmage, and it worked surprisingly well in the wind. Unfortunately, overpowered it just a little bit and Jay was also running in the rock patch so that wouldn't have been good news. Defense-wise, I played a bit more aggressively than usually, which actually drew out a foul or two, but I also got a layout D out of it. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how hard the field was.
Day 2:
Today was an okay day. Not bad, not great, but wasn't feeling the whole atmosphere of the practice. One of the reasons was because I squatted a 100 something a couple of times in gym so I was feeling pretty weak in the legs. I recruited one of my friends, he's already pretty good but unfortunately he's a senior so he'll only be playing for a year at most. We concentrated mostly on teaching the noobs how to throw today, and teaching our varsity/girls the correct way to throw. i.e. stepping out laterally and getting low. Other than that, we just did some more running and conditioning which is always fun, and then finally scrimmaged.
My team lost once, wasn't so much bad D on our half than it was them not turning it over carelessly. The second point, Sean's and my legs got mixed up during a sky and I called foul. Apparently I was actually the one who fouled Sean, but he didn't contest it, even though I was hoping he would be able to recognize a bad call. We turned it over anyways, but they didn't really convert it well so we put it in for the score. The third point, we worked it up pretty nicely, and then I had a good cut in the endzone for the score. Not my best, but I played pretty efficiently today.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Practice Cancelled
Practice is canceled today due to lack of attendance
There is still practice this Friday, 9.05.08
5:00 Municipal Fields
There is still practice this Friday, 9.05.08
5:00 Municipal Fields
Monday, September 1, 2008
Practice - 9.01.08
Practice today consisted of a total of 3 drills.
One, to warm up, was the typical breakmark drill, with cutters. I didn't have much problem breaking the mark, but the one throw I want to work on is the low IO backhand on a backhand force. I messed around a little, threw some high forehands and scoobers...
The next drill was a hucking drill off a continuation throw. Things I need to work on are timing my deep cuts, and still throwing those long forehand hucks. My broken wrist isn't helping much either. I feel pain whenever I try to put more spin on my forehand. My backhand hucks were on point today though. I've changed my backhand form so it gets the most spin out of the release now and with that, I can add more power. The thing I need to work most on now is stepping out fully.
Skying drill afterwards, I did a lot better than I usually did. I fought for the inside positioning this time and it really helped me get the disc easily.
Did some sprints, ended the day without a scrimmage due to lack of people.
In other news:
I wish kids on Playultimate would shut up. All they do is talk smack about good players because they themselves can't match up to them.
One, to warm up, was the typical breakmark drill, with cutters. I didn't have much problem breaking the mark, but the one throw I want to work on is the low IO backhand on a backhand force. I messed around a little, threw some high forehands and scoobers...
The next drill was a hucking drill off a continuation throw. Things I need to work on are timing my deep cuts, and still throwing those long forehand hucks. My broken wrist isn't helping much either. I feel pain whenever I try to put more spin on my forehand. My backhand hucks were on point today though. I've changed my backhand form so it gets the most spin out of the release now and with that, I can add more power. The thing I need to work most on now is stepping out fully.
Skying drill afterwards, I did a lot better than I usually did. I fought for the inside positioning this time and it really helped me get the disc easily.
Did some sprints, ended the day without a scrimmage due to lack of people.
In other news:
I wish kids on Playultimate would shut up. All they do is talk smack about good players because they themselves can't match up to them.
Progress
Its been a while since I've written on this thing, because there are things more important in life than ultimate. Also, by the end of last season I realized what an obnoxious jackass ultimate had made me.
Enough of that though. Progress.
My throws have improved quite a bit. I've been breaking the mark more easily and have also been getting more comfortable throwing scoobers. I've gotten rid of the nasty habit to constantly break high backhand and have gotten used to throwing low backhands. I've been easily breaking marks with my IO forehand, which means that I've either improved or our marks just suck.
My hucks have improved too, but although I've regained touch on my forehand huck, I've lost the ability to pin point where I want it to go. The only exception is my IO flick. Backhand, I just have to worry about stepping out more and still not worrying about smacking my mark in the face. If they lose a tooth or something, whatever, it'll be on the follow through.
Defense. Defensively, I've learned a lot of stuff from YCC and NUTC. Like not turning your hips and getting your body in the way of the receiver. That stuff helps a lot. The one thing I need to work on is still skying. I know I can sky people pretty easily, but in game, I usually have the mindset of avoiding contact during skying. I'll usually run in to box someone out, but then give the position back because I'm afraid of cleating him.
Offensively, I really haven't played in a good vert stack in a while. Recently, I've felt like all my cuts have been wasted because I have noobs running in and out of the lanes in front of me. So, I can't really judge myself on cuts. I've chosen to mostly cut this year and let Steve, Wes, and possibly Jay handle the disc.
Athletically, I've been getting back in shape. Gradually, but its better than nothing.
New blog for the team
www.whrhs.blogspot.com
Enough of that though. Progress.
My throws have improved quite a bit. I've been breaking the mark more easily and have also been getting more comfortable throwing scoobers. I've gotten rid of the nasty habit to constantly break high backhand and have gotten used to throwing low backhands. I've been easily breaking marks with my IO forehand, which means that I've either improved or our marks just suck.
My hucks have improved too, but although I've regained touch on my forehand huck, I've lost the ability to pin point where I want it to go. The only exception is my IO flick. Backhand, I just have to worry about stepping out more and still not worrying about smacking my mark in the face. If they lose a tooth or something, whatever, it'll be on the follow through.
Defense. Defensively, I've learned a lot of stuff from YCC and NUTC. Like not turning your hips and getting your body in the way of the receiver. That stuff helps a lot. The one thing I need to work on is still skying. I know I can sky people pretty easily, but in game, I usually have the mindset of avoiding contact during skying. I'll usually run in to box someone out, but then give the position back because I'm afraid of cleating him.
Offensively, I really haven't played in a good vert stack in a while. Recently, I've felt like all my cuts have been wasted because I have noobs running in and out of the lanes in front of me. So, I can't really judge myself on cuts. I've chosen to mostly cut this year and let Steve, Wes, and possibly Jay handle the disc.
Athletically, I've been getting back in shape. Gradually, but its better than nothing.
New blog for the team
www.whrhs.blogspot.com
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