The two weeks leading up to ECC were pretty crazy. Emily was away in Magnetewan, Ontario with childhood friends and it was my last week of work, so, i pretty much lived at the office that week.
I packed, painted, took doors off hinges, pulleyed couches down from the 3rd floor porch, put doors back on, recycled computers, etc from sunday to monday night. 3rd floor moving sucks. tuesday-wednesday traveling from boston to philly, then philly to pittsboro, nc. thursday the truck came, i unpacked everything just in time to get a ride to the airport.
all in all, i had 1 day of throwing in 2 weeks, not good.
on friday we played johnny bravo, kie, and sockeye.
johnny bravo has had a bunch of roster changes, but for the most part, their handlers are the same. they struggled against our zone looks and they also gave up the disc on hucks. we played pretty sloppy but won.
kie was short, fast, and chippy. they hucked i think 0 times on us, but they consistently managed to get the unders. they struggled with zone and we played it a lot and worked on having different personnel learn our different zones.
we then played sockeye which would have been an "under the lights" game for us since it was 9:30 or so start time boston time. i think we went down a break the first half. they did what they historically do to us which is front our players, especially our handlers, and force us deep. this year we have a more consistent deep game, plus jeff isn't as injured as he was all last season.
on defense tim gehret (sp?) was tearing us up. he gives and goes very well. and their cutters were non-stop in and out ho machines as usual. in the end, it was all about the fact that sockeye coughed up the disc more than us.
from a me perspective, i didn't feel up to speed until the sockeye game and my legs on the mark were still kind of dead. too much travel and heavy lifting for me.
after that, we went to a nice, completely empty family-run italian restaurant and made some owners evening.
Saturday: we played ring, furious george, and jam. ring came out on fire and played an interesting cup in the front, man in the back zone against the ho stack transition as well as their typical poachy, force-middle defense, and it got them up 3-0. our own d line got 0 turns in the first half, which i did not help our cause with two turns during the same D point. i had little confidence in my throws all weekend and i was having a lot of trouble on my forehands as my shoulder was sadly really, really stiff from me being so weak and carrying heavy stuff all week before.
ring was also dropping hammers all over the place in the first half. 30-55 yard hammers to cutters in stride. sometimes there is little you can do but tip your hat when people are that on (and then force backhand).
the second half, ring's O just started to hiccup and there was a dropped pull, at least two drops with their men hearing footsteps, and a couple huck turnovers. our o line remembered that it is stingy and stopped turning it over.
I had never beaten furious before this weekend. they had smashed metal in the past at nationals, and i was interested to see how furious would look like this year. the take away message in playing them is that oscar guy can bomb bendy flick hucks down the sideline to really tall receivers.
I think we went down by 4 in that game, but the difference was that we got breaks in the first half. towards the end of the second half, we were in the drivers seat again.
jam had about 15 dudes, so it was a little frustrating only getting 3 or so breaks on them. they are all pretty talented and don't turn the disc over if they don't have to. they are still the best team at dump swinging and attacking the underbelly of defenses that we played all weekend.
on a me perspective: this day was my worst day, my legs were slow, and my forehand was crazy.
paul, will, chicken, seth, and i went to the river and sat in it for an ice bath. it was awesome.
sunday morning we played goat. i like playing them because they have pretty talented and fun handlers to cover. we played a lot of transition, and other stuff to get hassel and big andy out of their normal rhythm. there was a little bumping and things got heated in the first point of the game, but cooler heads prevailed and we played well and nicely after that.
after goat, we played chain. they had maybe 15 people like jam, but they were clicking and absolutely crushed ring in the game before. they gave us a game, but eventually our legs wore them down and we did a good job of containing their stars (dylan wasn't there.... i have yet to beat chain when dylan and jason simpson both are uninjured. hopefully we will get our shot at chesapeake).
chain is going to be really strong this season. they are filled with great athletes who also happen to be great throwers. it seems like every good cutter they have could be a handler as well.
the next game was revolver. they are pretty stingy with the disc like we are, but run through their cutters. their handlers pretty much get the disc started and then occassionally go for deep strikes. it seemed like in the slight amount of wind, that was a better strategy.
we blew a goalline d break, but all in all, we did not play very well. it was windy enough that there was a noticeably easier side to score from, and because of the break, our D line spent a lot of time going upwind which meant i would see less pt since i am not what you would call an upwind thrower (stupid bird arms).
i did not play very well this game. my legs started to go and i made an abysmal dump cut being the third option for a trapped thrower and got absolutely blown up by the second dumps man. my fault. that could have been the game right there. goes to show games are one and lost on simple things like dumps. we also seemed very disjointed on offense, often looking off swing passes to hold the disc to look for the huck. this let the dump defenders set up properly and made completing dumps harder for us than with most teams.
i was really impressed with revolvers D. Their handler D worked our handlers pretty well, and they did a good job on our cutters. I can't wait for the rematch, and i hope they bring close to a full squad to chesapeake.
that is pretty much all i know. i have been using my time off to get in shape (bike riding, running, sweating in the sweltering carolina sun), and I am going to try to throw around at least 3 times a week outside of practice.
chesapeake looks fun, except for the super late showcase game. i think if it goes to seed it will be against goat and i love playing those guys, so it should be fun.
-josh
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Ironside 2009
Well, I made it through what was the longest, most competitive tryout I have ever done. By Cazenovia, there were 36 good players, all of whom I am pretty sure all of the top teams in the region would have gladly taken on their teams.
A few weeks later, the tryout list was down to 33 and all of those 33 could play on any national calibre team. It was all about the selection committee making the pieces fit, and, I was lucky enough to be one of the final 27. I view it more of an ivy league college selection process, everyone that made it deserved to make it, and everyone who didn't, didn't necessarily deserve to not make it.
Because there were so many talented handlers, because I kind of suck at throwing, and because I am moving in August down to Chapel Hill, I thought I had an uphill battle to make the team. I did have the fact that I had a really good season last year help me, and the fact that I improve year to year, but, it was tough. The weekdays were the toughest because they were out of my control. The weekends were when I became super-unnervous because I knew I had control of one thing.... how I played.
I am not terribly athletic in a general life standard, and I am definitely not athletic for a national level player standard, so, it takes me a while to get back in the groove which is always scary in the tryout process. The first couple weeks, I just didn't have enough leg muscle to be fast (I lose about 10 pounds during the off season).
As the tryouts got longer, I just focused on the stuff I am good at: scrappy handler D, getting down on the pull, handling with my legs, breaking the mark, and trying to have zero turn days.
So, now that I made the team, it is time to get to work on becoming better. I am planning on working out like a maniac, throwing a ton (have to find some people to throw with / play mini down in NC), and doing whatever I have to do to put the team in a situation that we can win.
I am really excited about the team. I think we have a strong shot of winning it all if we work hard, and, if the intensity of the practices at tryouts stays up, we are well on our way of achieving our goal.
-josh
A few weeks later, the tryout list was down to 33 and all of those 33 could play on any national calibre team. It was all about the selection committee making the pieces fit, and, I was lucky enough to be one of the final 27. I view it more of an ivy league college selection process, everyone that made it deserved to make it, and everyone who didn't, didn't necessarily deserve to not make it.
Because there were so many talented handlers, because I kind of suck at throwing, and because I am moving in August down to Chapel Hill, I thought I had an uphill battle to make the team. I did have the fact that I had a really good season last year help me, and the fact that I improve year to year, but, it was tough. The weekdays were the toughest because they were out of my control. The weekends were when I became super-unnervous because I knew I had control of one thing.... how I played.
I am not terribly athletic in a general life standard, and I am definitely not athletic for a national level player standard, so, it takes me a while to get back in the groove which is always scary in the tryout process. The first couple weeks, I just didn't have enough leg muscle to be fast (I lose about 10 pounds during the off season).
As the tryouts got longer, I just focused on the stuff I am good at: scrappy handler D, getting down on the pull, handling with my legs, breaking the mark, and trying to have zero turn days.
So, now that I made the team, it is time to get to work on becoming better. I am planning on working out like a maniac, throwing a ton (have to find some people to throw with / play mini down in NC), and doing whatever I have to do to put the team in a situation that we can win.
I am really excited about the team. I think we have a strong shot of winning it all if we work hard, and, if the intensity of the practices at tryouts stays up, we are well on our way of achieving our goal.
-josh
Monday, May 25, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
MIT on TV??
A couple weeks ago, the team was contacted by the discovery channel on a show called Time Warp. Apparently it is hosted by an MIT professor and the slo-mo photographer lives near Boston. They were interested in the MIT team because of the connections with the host.
Anyway, after some emails back and forth, they came out to watch a practice today and to talk to the kids a little about ultimate. I got there late and the production people had already left, so no clue as to how it will go down. Anyway, we are going to film on May 22nd all day. I think they are just going to film slow motion throws, layouts, point blocks, and people catching.
It should be fun. I hope it promotes the sport in a positive light and works as a recruiting tool for the team.
More details to follow as I know more.
-josh
Anyway, after some emails back and forth, they came out to watch a practice today and to talk to the kids a little about ultimate. I got there late and the production people had already left, so no clue as to how it will go down. Anyway, we are going to film on May 22nd all day. I think they are just going to film slow motion throws, layouts, point blocks, and people catching.
It should be fun. I hope it promotes the sport in a positive light and works as a recruiting tool for the team.
More details to follow as I know more.
-josh
Monday, May 4, 2009
Regionals: we had a good run
My goal for the team this year was for them to make Sunday of regionals. It is pretty much my goal every year, but this year it was a bit of a stretch considering the fact that we lost every single game including all the consolation games at regionals last year.
We go into regionals with I think 15 players. About 10 of which I would consider "A team" if there was an A and B team split. The others show a lot of promise, but just aren't at regional level yet. The biggest hurdle as a team this year has been: 1.) Lack of numbers for the team and 2.) Communication, sideline voice, etc.
We go into the UConn game knowing they have a few good players, and that we should try hard to isolate them and win those matchups. MIT matched up well on the teams with a few stars this year, and were blown out by teams with no real stars but rather about 14-15 solid players.
I think we got down the first couple of points just playing jittery offense. Wide open pass, to wide open pass, to a deep look that is either to no one, or is just out of reach. A couple rock solid players are just sort of sleep walking through the game (another problem is that MIT classes don't start until like 10 a.m., so very few of them are used to being up at 8, let alone playing).
I call timeouts, remind them that the game won't be won by itself, and that we are playing a good team, and they are going to win if we don't work on defense. Finally, due to nothing I said, we start to play better. Andrew Ji is just starting to roll and getting layout D blocks, skies, and taking over the offense. This will be the theme throughout the tourney. Andrew and our other senior, Footsteps, played the best tourneys I have ever seen them play. The both played close to 100 points for the day (ouch), and they both were getting layout blocks even when battling cramps in the last game.
Anyway, the game is very back and forth, We normally get down, tie it up, and then get down by 3 again. It isn't until 10s that we trade the next two points and then score the next to to win in a cap 13-11. All in all, not a good start, we played a lot of ultimate already, and we aren't playing efficient. Luckily, our junk D we worked on to save some legs worked out well.
The next game is against middlebury. They aren't very deep either, but their top 5 or 6 players are all very talented. If they only had 1 or 3 solid players, we might have had a chance, but, they were too talented and athletic for us. oof. Tough loss. In the second half, I pull some players and play the younger kids.
We now have to bounce back off of a loss, something that MIT doesn't do very well at all. We walk to the new fields and find that UMaine has upset URI. This is a little bit of a surprise, but after seeing UMaine play in the first couple of points, it became clear how it happened.
UMaine ran a really cool give-n-go oriented handler motion with the ho stack cutters cutting and then looking to throw break side dishey passes to the handlers streaking up the field. In other words, they just never stopped moving for one second. For the first couple of posessions, we never had them hold the disc longer than 2. That was a bad sign. Looong game.
On defense, they ran a very aggressive junk against a ho stack that was effective in making us throw a lot of passes. I didn't spend too much time on handler defense and different styles of marking this year, and that came back to bite me as only a handful of kids could actually play D on the handlers without being toasted just watching the guy throw and go. It is ironic that i am a handler defender I know.
Anyway, back to the game, they take half 8-5. Andrew, Owen, and I give a speech about how this is it, the game is in our control, but we have to want it. We then come out a little flat as the kids are trying to learn how to play with emotion and not be so robotic. Then, the blocks start flowing, and we start to climb back into the game on the back of andrew ji and footsteps. The kids have also realized that UMaine has no answer defensively for andrew, and they start jacking it deep to him with abandon.
We tie it at 12s, make it 13-12 us, I think at some point though, really close to 15 all, we get broken when one of their players just played good dump D and got a well-earned block. We pull at 16 all, they drop a contested dump pass, and then we work it up, and i believe score on an upline pass to footsteps for the game winner.
I think in hindsight, we should have forced middle to slow down the give-n-gos. Our marks in gerneral are sub-par though, and our communication on the field is minimal with only about 4 players that routinely talk on the field.
We then get ready to play BC. They are not tremendously talented as a whole, but they are deeeep. They have about 18-20 players who are all capable and competant to play at a regionals level, and they have this kid named Phil who is a talented cutter and handler.
We were out of water, and we couldn't find the spicket. That was a little annoying. We already had players cramping in the last game, and I knew we were in trouble. Too many points played by too few players.
We start out, and I think go down a couple early. We are fighting and working, and as more and more kids tire, Andrew picks up even more of the load. We tie it up close to 5s, and then i think they take half 8-5 or 6. Phil's hammers are giving us troubles and he throws them late in the count, and the kids are too tired to react to them. He is also doing a nice job of keeping the O moving when not throwing hammers.
We take the full halftime, and we are physically spanked. I have seen the look at a team that has played too many points before (regionals second half against dartmouth 2 years ago), and it is a terrible thing to see as a coach. There was nothing I wanted to do more than to go out and play with them.
Everyone looks around in the huddle, and are determined to leave it all on the field. We come out and start to claw our way back into the game slowly. Again, the d's come through andrew and footsteps, and the goals come primarily from andrew just out-athleting BC. The game is taking it's toll on him though, and he is starting to cramp after every goal.
I call timeouts just to rest people, and we get back into the game at 9s. they go up two breaks i believe, and then we score to make it 11-10. I call a timeout to rest some more and get ready for the final push, but there just isn't any gas left in the tank. we get several ds but we start to sputter on O, handlers missing dumps, throws to space to people not there, and people standing around just letting their man poach off.
BC runs away with it 15-10. the last point, the kids are so tired that they don't count properly to match-up on D, communication rears its ugly head one last time.....
In one way it is a good thing that they won because either way, they were going to be the fresher of the two teams on sunday. no amount of ice baths can wash away 100 points in a day.
on the other hand, it would have been a really nice way to end a coaching career to see the kids you coached for 4 years get to experience the magic of sunday of regionals where anything can happen. It would have also gotten andrew ji exposure to others that don't know how good he is. he has one of the highest ceilings out of anyone i have ever coached, and i expect that sometime within the next couple of years, his impact on the club series will be known.
I guess as a consolation, i know that i coached 2 players for the full 4 years of college and both of them are capable of contributing to a club national level ultimate team. something to be proud of, but i couldn't say that if they didn't work so hard as individuals.
Anyway, that is it for the season. Club tryouts for ironside and sons of liberty tomorrow, and a bunch of MIT kids are trying out, so it should be fun to play with them. I hope all of them make sons of liberty since that will be a great experience for them.
-josh
We go into regionals with I think 15 players. About 10 of which I would consider "A team" if there was an A and B team split. The others show a lot of promise, but just aren't at regional level yet. The biggest hurdle as a team this year has been: 1.) Lack of numbers for the team and 2.) Communication, sideline voice, etc.
We go into the UConn game knowing they have a few good players, and that we should try hard to isolate them and win those matchups. MIT matched up well on the teams with a few stars this year, and were blown out by teams with no real stars but rather about 14-15 solid players.
I think we got down the first couple of points just playing jittery offense. Wide open pass, to wide open pass, to a deep look that is either to no one, or is just out of reach. A couple rock solid players are just sort of sleep walking through the game (another problem is that MIT classes don't start until like 10 a.m., so very few of them are used to being up at 8, let alone playing).
I call timeouts, remind them that the game won't be won by itself, and that we are playing a good team, and they are going to win if we don't work on defense. Finally, due to nothing I said, we start to play better. Andrew Ji is just starting to roll and getting layout D blocks, skies, and taking over the offense. This will be the theme throughout the tourney. Andrew and our other senior, Footsteps, played the best tourneys I have ever seen them play. The both played close to 100 points for the day (ouch), and they both were getting layout blocks even when battling cramps in the last game.
Anyway, the game is very back and forth, We normally get down, tie it up, and then get down by 3 again. It isn't until 10s that we trade the next two points and then score the next to to win in a cap 13-11. All in all, not a good start, we played a lot of ultimate already, and we aren't playing efficient. Luckily, our junk D we worked on to save some legs worked out well.
The next game is against middlebury. They aren't very deep either, but their top 5 or 6 players are all very talented. If they only had 1 or 3 solid players, we might have had a chance, but, they were too talented and athletic for us. oof. Tough loss. In the second half, I pull some players and play the younger kids.
We now have to bounce back off of a loss, something that MIT doesn't do very well at all. We walk to the new fields and find that UMaine has upset URI. This is a little bit of a surprise, but after seeing UMaine play in the first couple of points, it became clear how it happened.
UMaine ran a really cool give-n-go oriented handler motion with the ho stack cutters cutting and then looking to throw break side dishey passes to the handlers streaking up the field. In other words, they just never stopped moving for one second. For the first couple of posessions, we never had them hold the disc longer than 2. That was a bad sign. Looong game.
On defense, they ran a very aggressive junk against a ho stack that was effective in making us throw a lot of passes. I didn't spend too much time on handler defense and different styles of marking this year, and that came back to bite me as only a handful of kids could actually play D on the handlers without being toasted just watching the guy throw and go. It is ironic that i am a handler defender I know.
Anyway, back to the game, they take half 8-5. Andrew, Owen, and I give a speech about how this is it, the game is in our control, but we have to want it. We then come out a little flat as the kids are trying to learn how to play with emotion and not be so robotic. Then, the blocks start flowing, and we start to climb back into the game on the back of andrew ji and footsteps. The kids have also realized that UMaine has no answer defensively for andrew, and they start jacking it deep to him with abandon.
We tie it at 12s, make it 13-12 us, I think at some point though, really close to 15 all, we get broken when one of their players just played good dump D and got a well-earned block. We pull at 16 all, they drop a contested dump pass, and then we work it up, and i believe score on an upline pass to footsteps for the game winner.
I think in hindsight, we should have forced middle to slow down the give-n-gos. Our marks in gerneral are sub-par though, and our communication on the field is minimal with only about 4 players that routinely talk on the field.
We then get ready to play BC. They are not tremendously talented as a whole, but they are deeeep. They have about 18-20 players who are all capable and competant to play at a regionals level, and they have this kid named Phil who is a talented cutter and handler.
We were out of water, and we couldn't find the spicket. That was a little annoying. We already had players cramping in the last game, and I knew we were in trouble. Too many points played by too few players.
We start out, and I think go down a couple early. We are fighting and working, and as more and more kids tire, Andrew picks up even more of the load. We tie it up close to 5s, and then i think they take half 8-5 or 6. Phil's hammers are giving us troubles and he throws them late in the count, and the kids are too tired to react to them. He is also doing a nice job of keeping the O moving when not throwing hammers.
We take the full halftime, and we are physically spanked. I have seen the look at a team that has played too many points before (regionals second half against dartmouth 2 years ago), and it is a terrible thing to see as a coach. There was nothing I wanted to do more than to go out and play with them.
Everyone looks around in the huddle, and are determined to leave it all on the field. We come out and start to claw our way back into the game slowly. Again, the d's come through andrew and footsteps, and the goals come primarily from andrew just out-athleting BC. The game is taking it's toll on him though, and he is starting to cramp after every goal.
I call timeouts just to rest people, and we get back into the game at 9s. they go up two breaks i believe, and then we score to make it 11-10. I call a timeout to rest some more and get ready for the final push, but there just isn't any gas left in the tank. we get several ds but we start to sputter on O, handlers missing dumps, throws to space to people not there, and people standing around just letting their man poach off.
BC runs away with it 15-10. the last point, the kids are so tired that they don't count properly to match-up on D, communication rears its ugly head one last time.....
In one way it is a good thing that they won because either way, they were going to be the fresher of the two teams on sunday. no amount of ice baths can wash away 100 points in a day.
on the other hand, it would have been a really nice way to end a coaching career to see the kids you coached for 4 years get to experience the magic of sunday of regionals where anything can happen. It would have also gotten andrew ji exposure to others that don't know how good he is. he has one of the highest ceilings out of anyone i have ever coached, and i expect that sometime within the next couple of years, his impact on the club series will be known.
I guess as a consolation, i know that i coached 2 players for the full 4 years of college and both of them are capable of contributing to a club national level ultimate team. something to be proud of, but i couldn't say that if they didn't work so hard as individuals.
Anyway, that is it for the season. Club tryouts for ironside and sons of liberty tomorrow, and a bunch of MIT kids are trying out, so it should be fun to play with them. I hope all of them make sons of liberty since that will be a great experience for them.
-josh
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
I never put on a uniform to play a game.
..... I put on a uniform to win. - Larry Bird
I have never had the desire to impose your will to win on a game more succinctly described than that. Read those two sentences again, and again, and again.
This year, MIT got jerseys early in the season, so a lot of people received jerseys who eventually cut themselves because they couldn't handle the late night winter practices, track workouts, and outside practice on the astro-turf in 25 degree weather. In my mind it cheapened what a uniform stands for or what it means to belong to it.
If I had my way, the jerseys would have been passed out shortly before sectionals. By then, the roster is set, those who still remain know what it means to work for one another, has been through the ups and downs, and understands what it means to take a group of individuals and make it something greater than the sum of those individuals.
In essence, what it is to be a TEAM. Everyone is working to bring out the strengths of each other while letting others lean on them to overcome their weaknesses.
We are in bonus ball time. Every point we win means that we get to play one more point with each other. And, if you think about it, that is really what we are fighting for; to extend the season.
We are going into regionals seeded 8th. Anyone in the top 12 or so could beat anyone. The difference is all about who wants to win. And, hopefully, looking into your teammates eyes early saturday morning will be reason enough to get that fire, that ball of hate for the other team trying to end your season.
Play with your heart.
We come out flat too often. We wait around until we are down 4-0 and then start slowly playing, sometimes, we don't even start until the second half. Don't wait for a reason.....
i could write pages and pages about the difference between wanting to want to win, and flat out wanting to win, but i think al pacino says it best.
http://youtube. com/watch? v=9rFx6OFooCs
That is heart, that is the ball of hate, and that working so hard for every inch of the field for your teammate and brother so you can play one more second, one more point, one more game, and one more tournament with him.
You guys have worked so hard to build back from 2 years ago. Don't throw it away by waiting for a reason to play D.
Work hard, take the extra few steps to set up a cut, step out on your throw, clear hard, or reposition yourself on D.
Don't wait for a reason. Do not wait for a reason.
You already have a reason: each other.
Stomp on their throats. Don't let anyone or anything stand in your way.
Inch by inch.....Tech on seven
-josh
I have never had the desire to impose your will to win on a game more succinctly described than that. Read those two sentences again, and again, and again.
This year, MIT got jerseys early in the season, so a lot of people received jerseys who eventually cut themselves because they couldn't handle the late night winter practices, track workouts, and outside practice on the astro-turf in 25 degree weather. In my mind it cheapened what a uniform stands for or what it means to belong to it.
If I had my way, the jerseys would have been passed out shortly before sectionals. By then, the roster is set, those who still remain know what it means to work for one another, has been through the ups and downs, and understands what it means to take a group of individuals and make it something greater than the sum of those individuals.
In essence, what it is to be a TEAM. Everyone is working to bring out the strengths of each other while letting others lean on them to overcome their weaknesses.
We are in bonus ball time. Every point we win means that we get to play one more point with each other. And, if you think about it, that is really what we are fighting for; to extend the season.
We are going into regionals seeded 8th. Anyone in the top 12 or so could beat anyone. The difference is all about who wants to win. And, hopefully, looking into your teammates eyes early saturday morning will be reason enough to get that fire, that ball of hate for the other team trying to end your season.
Play with your heart.
We come out flat too often. We wait around until we are down 4-0 and then start slowly playing, sometimes, we don't even start until the second half. Don't wait for a reason.....
i could write pages and pages about the difference between wanting to want to win, and flat out wanting to win, but i think al pacino says it best.
http://youtube. com/watch? v=9rFx6OFooCs
That is heart, that is the ball of hate, and that working so hard for every inch of the field for your teammate and brother so you can play one more second, one more point, one more game, and one more tournament with him.
You guys have worked so hard to build back from 2 years ago. Don't throw it away by waiting for a reason to play D.
Work hard, take the extra few steps to set up a cut, step out on your throw, clear hard, or reposition yourself on D.
Don't wait for a reason. Do not wait for a reason.
You already have a reason: each other.
Stomp on their throats. Don't let anyone or anything stand in your way.
Inch by inch.....Tech on seven
-josh
Friday, April 24, 2009
Ramping Up for Regionals....
MIT is busy learning some new tricks for regionals, but mostly, we are working on the same old fundamentals since really, the team that plays their game the best normally wins.
We are focusing on continuation cuts, attacking deep more, handler motion, etc.
The kids have an alumni scrimmage Saturday, practice tuesday, scrimmage vs. sons of liberty wednesday, and the final practice on thursday to go over any loose ends.
On Thursday after practice, I arranged the team to do a workshop with my friend and former Metal teammate, Max Woolf, who is a motivational speaker / life coach. I think this will be really good for the kids to get in the right mindset for regionals.
I think a lot of ultimate, and a lot of college ultimate is basically about who wants to win more. There are a lot of mental headcases in this sport, and the baggage they carry onto the field with them amazes me. I don't want that to be something that holds us back.
-josh
We are focusing on continuation cuts, attacking deep more, handler motion, etc.
The kids have an alumni scrimmage Saturday, practice tuesday, scrimmage vs. sons of liberty wednesday, and the final practice on thursday to go over any loose ends.
On Thursday after practice, I arranged the team to do a workshop with my friend and former Metal teammate, Max Woolf, who is a motivational speaker / life coach. I think this will be really good for the kids to get in the right mindset for regionals.
I think a lot of ultimate, and a lot of college ultimate is basically about who wants to win more. There are a lot of mental headcases in this sport, and the baggage they carry onto the field with them amazes me. I don't want that to be something that holds us back.
-josh
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