I don't know whats been keeping me away from writing in this blog, maybe its been the sheer fatigue from having six tournaments in a row, or maybe it was the obsession in the amount of fun that I was having every day at practice and at tournaments with the team, but all I know is that I feel the obligation to write about what this season has been all about.
Two weeks ago, at the UPA New Jersey State Championships, Watchung Hills took second place with a 11-15 loss to Columbia. For years, my dream been to place first at States. It's hard to believe that in my four years of high school ultimate, I have never achieved it. With my senior year of school coming to an end, I have finally realized that I no longer have that chance to finally take that dream.
That leaves me to the question of, "what does ultimate frisbee mean to me now?". For the longest time I have had no second thoughts about doing that extra sprint, lifting that extra weight, and injuring myself at every tournament, because it was for my team. But recently I have lost my motivation for anything, whether it be working out or even simply finishing my homework after school.
But I remind myself that graduation means nothing. No matter where I go, Rutgers or NYU or wherever, I will still be a part of Warrior Ultimate. That is my reason for my thirst now to be an even better ultimate player. When people ask me where I played, I will proudly say "Watchung Hills". Whatever team I play on, Watchung Hills will be represented.
So yeah, I know its a little late, and I apologize for being so, but I think I can finally say a proper good bye to Warrior Ultimate, because I know in truth that it doesn't matter if I'm out on the field or I'm out somewhere miles away, I will still be a part of Warrior Ultimate.
Peace out from your captain
Brian Li
Warrior Ultimate
Captain 07-09
Rookie of the Year 2006
MVP 2008
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Spring Break Training
Monday
10 lbs x 10
12 lbs x 8
15 lbs x 6
BW x 10
F. Blackburns
Tuesday
Barbell Floor Press
70lbs x 3
90lbs x 3
110lbs x 3
130lbs x 3
150lbs x 1 (assisted)
70lbs x 3
90lbs x 3
110lbs x 3
130lbs x 3
150lbs x 1 (assisted)
B. Pull-Ups
BW x 1210 lbs x 10
12 lbs x 8
15 lbs x 6
BW x 10
C. Face Pulls
D. Barbell Shrugs
120lbs x 15
130lbs x 15
140lbs x 15
120lbs x 15
130lbs x 15
140lbs x 15
E. Barbell Curls
60lbs 3 sets of 12
F. Blackburns
Tuesday
A. Vertical Jumps
B. Bulgarian Split Squats
40lbs x 6
60lbs x 6
80lbs x 6
40lbs x 6
60lbs x 6
80lbs x 6
C. Hanging Leg Raises
D. Forward Sled Drags
Prowler + 90 lbs
Prowler + 90 lbs
E. Prowler Sprints
Friday
Next tournament is Hiphoponpop.
Main problem right now is my confidence.
Friday
A. Deadlift
110 lbs x 3
150 lbs x 3
170 lbs x 3
190 lbs x 2
230 lbs x 2
250 lbs x 1
250 lbs x 1
150 lbs x 3
170 lbs x 3
190 lbs x 2
230 lbs x 2
250 lbs x 1
250 lbs x 1
B. Reverse Lunges
40lbs x 12
100lbs x 12
100lbs x 24
100lbs x 24
100lbs x 12
100lbs x 24
100lbs x 24
C1. Swiss Ball Single Leg Hip Bridge
C2. Abdominal Circuit
D. Backward Sled Drags
140lbs x 3
140lbs x 3
E1. Farmer Walks
140lbs x 3
140lbs x 3
E2. Prowler Sprints
Prowler + 90 lbs x 3
Prowler + 90 lbs x 3
Next tournament is Hiphoponpop.
Main problem right now is my confidence.
Monday, March 30, 2009
One
Radnor Invitational
Radnor Invitational from Brian Li on Vimeo.
Having a first round bye really didn't help much since the adrenaline had me up until 3 AM the previous night, and I had to wake up at 7 AM to get ready and pick up Gilly. After getting to the school, I was horrified to see that the usual yellow bus that we frequently ride had shrank into 1/3rd of its original size. Apparently the baseball team had copped our big bus and had left us with this small thing to work with. After a giving the bus a look of disdain and a hearty "HAIL NA" I got on the bus and sat in a pretty small seat with Wes, later to move to a larger seat with Jake. 20 minutes down the road we noticed a certain Is Ulaj was missing. Apparently he had heard "be at school at 8:15" as opposed to the actual departure time of 8:00. Fortunately, Mr. Pak picked him up and he was later escorted to the field late.
1st Game: Cardinal O' Hara
We came out nice and fresh in our new white jerseys against their black and yellow jerseys which had been our colors last year. Making some stupid turnovers in the first couple of points caused them to score a couple of points, but the entire time we had full control of the game with a layout D immediately from Scott Hampton, and plays like the Gillsta cherry picking my bad huck then throwing the crappiest turn the page forehand to John Barnum, laying out and getting his camera time on the reel. We took half easy by working it up and a couple of occaisional deep shots including a perfect huck from Steve Silva to me in the endzone. After half, we split up into O and D lines, which unfortunately were incomplete due to absences by Is who had not shown up yet and Charlie Lian. O line borrowed Steve Silva and scored the first point quickly. D line struggled with a couple of uncharacteristic turnovers and lazy defense. Letting a couple of points go, we quickly stopped the bleeding a finished the game 13-4.
2nd Game: Lower Merion
Coming out in black jerseys, we immediately took full control of the game by playing aggressive D and shredding their zone defense with handling from Steve Silva and Wes Pak and popping with me, Jake and Scott. Letting a couple of hucks go due to misreading or off positions, we let a couple of points through, but not before getting it back on D with huge layout Ds from Scott and John Barnum, as well as a huge backhand to Jake in the endzone making a layout catch for the point. The game ended with me throwing an upline to Scott who made a bid past his defender for game point.
3rd Game: Cheltenham
Shredding their zone defense just like Lower Merions, we came out first point gaining the entire field for the first point. An uncharacteristic drop from Wes Pak allowed them to quickly huck it deep and gain back the yardage but our defense shut them down at the endzone and a quick huck from me to Barnum ended the first point. I vouched not to play for the rest of the game and let the juniors do their thing. Cheltenham probably mistook our intensity for unspirited playing, so they decided at one point to retaliate with one of their defenders intentionally smacking the disc down as hard as possible, warping it. Unfortunately for them, they don't know that when you play unspirited with us, it only makes your defeat come quicker. In the next couple of seconds Jayson Lian layout D'ed that player and got up, waving his finger at him. I only had to play one more point that entire game and we easily took the game 9-3.
Finals: Haverford
Haverford had beaten us pretty badly last year at Hip Hop on Pop. During the first couple of points we came out pretty slow, allowing them to get ahead 5-3. Then with a wise timeout call from T, we upped the intensity with aggressive defense, shutting down their cuts and uplines and layout D's at every opportunity. HUDA was complaining about our aggressive defense but their coaches told them that what we were doing was not fouling. HUDA played a very spirited game and knew the rules very well, so mad respect to them for that, but in the end we came through with huge hucks from me and Steve to Jayson and Sean Wang and sick grabs by Barnum and Sean for the score of 13-7.
Watchung Hills takes 1st place at Radnor Invitational
Next up, Westfield and Born to Dive.
Radnor Invitational from Brian Li on Vimeo.
Having a first round bye really didn't help much since the adrenaline had me up until 3 AM the previous night, and I had to wake up at 7 AM to get ready and pick up Gilly. After getting to the school, I was horrified to see that the usual yellow bus that we frequently ride had shrank into 1/3rd of its original size. Apparently the baseball team had copped our big bus and had left us with this small thing to work with. After a giving the bus a look of disdain and a hearty "HAIL NA" I got on the bus and sat in a pretty small seat with Wes, later to move to a larger seat with Jake. 20 minutes down the road we noticed a certain Is Ulaj was missing. Apparently he had heard "be at school at 8:15" as opposed to the actual departure time of 8:00. Fortunately, Mr. Pak picked him up and he was later escorted to the field late.
1st Game: Cardinal O' Hara
We came out nice and fresh in our new white jerseys against their black and yellow jerseys which had been our colors last year. Making some stupid turnovers in the first couple of points caused them to score a couple of points, but the entire time we had full control of the game with a layout D immediately from Scott Hampton, and plays like the Gillsta cherry picking my bad huck then throwing the crappiest turn the page forehand to John Barnum, laying out and getting his camera time on the reel. We took half easy by working it up and a couple of occaisional deep shots including a perfect huck from Steve Silva to me in the endzone. After half, we split up into O and D lines, which unfortunately were incomplete due to absences by Is who had not shown up yet and Charlie Lian. O line borrowed Steve Silva and scored the first point quickly. D line struggled with a couple of uncharacteristic turnovers and lazy defense. Letting a couple of points go, we quickly stopped the bleeding a finished the game 13-4.
2nd Game: Lower Merion
Coming out in black jerseys, we immediately took full control of the game by playing aggressive D and shredding their zone defense with handling from Steve Silva and Wes Pak and popping with me, Jake and Scott. Letting a couple of hucks go due to misreading or off positions, we let a couple of points through, but not before getting it back on D with huge layout Ds from Scott and John Barnum, as well as a huge backhand to Jake in the endzone making a layout catch for the point. The game ended with me throwing an upline to Scott who made a bid past his defender for game point.
3rd Game: Cheltenham
Shredding their zone defense just like Lower Merions, we came out first point gaining the entire field for the first point. An uncharacteristic drop from Wes Pak allowed them to quickly huck it deep and gain back the yardage but our defense shut them down at the endzone and a quick huck from me to Barnum ended the first point. I vouched not to play for the rest of the game and let the juniors do their thing. Cheltenham probably mistook our intensity for unspirited playing, so they decided at one point to retaliate with one of their defenders intentionally smacking the disc down as hard as possible, warping it. Unfortunately for them, they don't know that when you play unspirited with us, it only makes your defeat come quicker. In the next couple of seconds Jayson Lian layout D'ed that player and got up, waving his finger at him. I only had to play one more point that entire game and we easily took the game 9-3.
Finals: Haverford
Haverford had beaten us pretty badly last year at Hip Hop on Pop. During the first couple of points we came out pretty slow, allowing them to get ahead 5-3. Then with a wise timeout call from T, we upped the intensity with aggressive defense, shutting down their cuts and uplines and layout D's at every opportunity. HUDA was complaining about our aggressive defense but their coaches told them that what we were doing was not fouling. HUDA played a very spirited game and knew the rules very well, so mad respect to them for that, but in the end we came through with huge hucks from me and Steve to Jayson and Sean Wang and sick grabs by Barnum and Sean for the score of 13-7.
Watchung Hills takes 1st place at Radnor Invitational
Next up, Westfield and Born to Dive.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
yawn
No practice today
30s!?!?!?
30 squat jumps
30 leg extensions
30 extension squat jumps
had to stop for a few seconds in between each...
ridiculous.
one legged calf raises
30x4
ive been waking up at 10:30 every day this week. feels so good, haha
30s!?!?!?
30 squat jumps
30 leg extensions
30 extension squat jumps
had to stop for a few seconds in between each...
ridiculous.
one legged calf raises
30x4
ive been waking up at 10:30 every day this week. feels so good, haha
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
First Practice
Cardio needs some work
We did a lap around the school, which includes some downhills and uphills, and I think all in all its close to about a mile.
1st time - 6:30
2nd time - 6:40
Not exactly the best times, I know. My bronchitis has been pretty annoying for the past 2-3 weeks, although you probably don't want to hear this, but my throat keeps filling up with mucus every time I run. Gross, I know.
Did four down and backs in the gym with push ups and then 8 pull ups.
Then we threw around a bit and played some hot box, which I was pretty lazy in, but I was already cramping up. Bad, I know
Got home, did some plyos
20s
20 squat jumps
20 push up extensions
20 push up extension squat jumps
Calf raises
30x3
each leg
I'm pretty beat right now.
We did a lap around the school, which includes some downhills and uphills, and I think all in all its close to about a mile.
1st time - 6:30
2nd time - 6:40
Not exactly the best times, I know. My bronchitis has been pretty annoying for the past 2-3 weeks, although you probably don't want to hear this, but my throat keeps filling up with mucus every time I run. Gross, I know.
Did four down and backs in the gym with push ups and then 8 pull ups.
Then we threw around a bit and played some hot box, which I was pretty lazy in, but I was already cramping up. Bad, I know
Got home, did some plyos
20s
20 squat jumps
20 push up extensions
20 push up extension squat jumps
Calf raises
30x3
each leg
I'm pretty beat right now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
