Vegas - preview

Vegas has hit the 10-day weather forecast checkpoint. This west coast tourney will kick off the real race for Skip's brainchild, the Collegiate Championships Series. The promise of a well-run tournament with all the top teams in the country wasn't good enough to convince middle level teams to travel to the desert so now there's prize money to the winner as a cherry on top. And the middle level teams have come running. Who can blame them, going to Vegas is so much more attractive than the bay area or Texas.

Wind will be a big factor, as always, with this marathon of a tournament. I hope all the teams have gone over their zone O and D. Lots of turnovers with a dash of field position in the mix. Here are my picks for the teams that will break into the Top 8 for the quarters on Day 3:

Stanford - Will not be at Vegas! Everyone breathes a sigh of relief after seeing their very strong SB Invite performance.

UBC - Little turnover from last season's run makes this team a pre-season favorite. Their top player gained valuable experience on the club scene and looks to bring the fire back to the college season.

Wisconsin - I know nothing about this team. They graduated their Callahan nominee from last season so this is probably a rebuilding year for them.

Washington - Young juniors talent will lead the charge with hopes to mold this team into a powerhouse for the tough NW region. It rains a lot up there. I hope their throws are top-notch.

UCSB - Savvy veteran handlers will lead this good-spirited team with aims to finish with similar results to last year's Nationals performance. One of their players looks 30, I dunno.

Oregon - Another up and coming team that rounded out their roster this year with grad school pickups that will bring experience and confidence to the field. I think it rains in Oregon too. How depressing.

UCLA - They've graduated their top 3 all-stars but retain a solid core of hungry and able players. Team chemistry will be the biggest hurdle to overcome as their veterans and rookies work to gel together over the course of the season. Their B-team has a strong argument for the best B-team in the country and will keep this program loaded with talent for years to come.

Texas - Early scouting reports indicate a very rigorous and frequent tournament schedule thanks to aggressive fundraising and support. Expect these southerners to be loud and rowdy all 3 days, probably due to massive amounts of alcohol and partying.

Colorado - I know nothing about this team. Blame Match Diesel.

Quarters will be UCLA over Colorado, Washington over Wisconsin, UBC over Texas, and UCSB over Oregon.
Semis will pit regional matchups of UCSB vs UCLA and UBC vs Washington. UCLA and UBC advance to meet each other at sundown in the desert for a finals showdown.
Finals will see UCLA taking out UBC in a landslide victory to take the Vegas title.

UCLA will win Vegas.

Captain Michelle

My superior Paint skills have evolved into superior Photoshop skills.

Don't worry if you don't know Captain Michelle, she knows you.



Are you a Facébook master.

Why do you play Ultimate - part 10

SB Invite - preview

Stanford
Cal
UCSB
UCSD
LPC
UCSC
Williams
Claremont
UCLA
Oregon State
Arizona
Cal Poly SLO
Irvine
SDSU
Davis
SF State

The teams look great. The weather looks awful. Rain all during the week and it doesn't look to stop come Saturday and Sunday. The TD already emailed everyone to brace them for the possibility of the tournament being canceled. The artificial turf fields wont even come close to holding an entire tournament.


Last year's SB Invite was a nightmare. The real men fought in the mud.


Stanford and Black Tide (not pictured) enjoyed the rubber fields. Here is K-Rich of UNT making a huge catch.

The only thing to do now is constantly check the weather forecast for optimistic updates. The two week gap between SB Invite and Vegas might allow for another scrimmage possibility. If not then I probably wont get a chance to cut in my new cleats until Stanford. Maybe my team wont notice that I haven't bought my ticket to Vegas yet.

(photos courtesy of Matt West)

Why do you play Ultimate - part 9

Lei Out - recap

At least it's Tuesday. The after-tournament blues have already hit, talking is hard, walking is even harder. The usual post-tourney chores had to be delayed. I didn't get home until midnight and I barely mustered the resolve to shower. I noticed a bunch of red scratch marks on the left hand and shoulder and I have no idea how they happened. Maybe Maddog's patented "I'm so short I can only tackle you at the knees" move hit me higher than I thought. There is sand still in my bag and all over my floor. There is a pile of Brown shorts I need to mail out to everyone.



A great weekend though, as expected from Brown. Everyone played extremely well and the level of growth and team chemistry only went up after each day's games. Magon played well even though I was not satisfied with her throws (grip the disc harder, snap your wrist more, obv). We went 6-4 with a win in the finals of the A2 bracket over Barrio. The weather held up great except for some light rain on Monday morning and the 10 games and 3 days flew right by. Our toughest loss was to Hurt Locker, sporting Bravo studs like Chicken, Richter, ttt, and Hector as well as Andrew Brown from Sub Zero. That was our do-or-die bracket game and it was a hard fought battle by both sides before they clawed and came back from the small lead we held for most of the game. All the Brown faces were tearing it up on the dance floor with style at the tournament party. The circle had to be expanded to after Saturday and Sunday's games due to the early sunset and the team dinner to relax and celebrate Namkung's birthday was a blast. Every time I hear my other teammates' stories and share my own story I feel so thankful that I found this team. Maddog sat in on Saturday's circle and I wonder what her take was on the experience. Perhaps another SPK bribe is in order.


Anna "i kinda look like an SPK" Nazarov.

High points of the weekend include:

• All the amazing plays I saw from my teammates (and the one huge layout that Seraph had when we played Town City. He caught the disc but dropped it when he hit the ground from 4 feet high).
• Cissna's relentless heckling.
• Gata organizing a 365 shotgun salute to celebrate the last year of Bush's reign of terror. We had so many people gather after Sunday's games by just yelling out "FREE ALCOHOL!"
• Kim and his wife AJ sharing Arrested Development quotes in the car ride to the team dinner. The random Frisbee girls we met on the way to the car that recognized said Arrested Development quotes and joined in on the sharing. Has anyone in this family ever even seen a chicken?
• Looking over at the finals halftime show to see Davin streaking naked with 3 other guys (not a high point). Looking at the finals field after the game and seeing the girls from the German team do topless layouts (high point). Clearly our sport is moving in the right direction.
• The beach and ocean and meeting the new Brown family.
• EBAY playing Street Fighter and the finals match being a finger point between Gizmo and Fresh. And the EBAY pic, obv.

EBAY tomfoolery was in full swing on the sand. The old Simpsons move where one person gets on all fours behind the victim and the other person pushes made a strong appearance. Danny volunteered to be buried in the sand, something that I learned takes a lot more strength and whining to get out from than to get in. Good laughs, good times. Bones made an interesting suggestion during our EBAY group hug that we should get together and rep EBAY for Lei Out '09. What a tough decision between two amazing teams. I honestly don't know how to pick between the two. Tough life decisions call for the only real solution: a coin flip (since a rosham isn't very practical in this situation). I'd probably just do something stupid like Discos and play for two teams in the same weekend because I'm a tool like that. Brown might be going to Poultry Days too in lovely Versailles, OH. Something to consider if my "go to 2 days of Potlatch and then fly back for Matt West's wedding" plan doesn't take form. Two Ultimate players, wedding, Potlatch. Come on!

Santa Barbara Invite on the menu for this weekend. I'm ready to cut on grass in my shiny new shoes.

I need a nap. Everything hurts.

On a scale of 1-10

...how excited are you about Lei Out today.

Because I'm at a 10 and you have no idea how pumped I am for this weekend.

Brown Love 2008.

Eye contact

Cutting is amazing. It's such a stupid fun role on the field. No thinking or calculating or hesitating. You just keep running, keep grinding, keep pushing, and then you smile when the disc is in your hands and your defender can't count to 10 without sucking air. Cutters can be categorized into 3 piles and it's important to balance all 3 into a successful offensive set. There are true deeps like Mayor Adam West who just run in one direction (deep) and use their height and disc reading skills to jump over fools all day. There are players like Captain Taylor or Charles who have a ridiculous and explosive first step and don't need to do much more than accelerate to get open for the disc. Then there the mid-range cutters like Robot who are lightweight and quick enough to use momentum and direction changes to their advantage to leave defenders in the dust (Robot can shred through a pair of cleats in 4-5 months). I am too short and too slow to fit the first two molds, sad face, so I'm relegated to Robot's group. It's ok though, as long as I get open.

I am a big believer that player roles should be mixed up every so often as a sort of awakening. Have cutters play behind the disc so they can better see the field from the handler's perspective and also improve their throws because of more disc touches. Send your throwers upfield and see if they can still get open making stack cuts instead of dump ones (Matt actually complimented me for good cutting last night, that made my day). Increased awareness of your teammates' roles on the field will only help your personal growth to become a complete player and even sharpen your specific skill set for your team.

The most important lesson I've learned so far as a cutter is eye contact. We did a drill last night with 4 guys in the ho stack would just cut back and forth while the disc threw pump fakes. This focused the cutters to always keep eye contact with the thrower, whether cutting in or away, while also hammering home the point that cuts need to be at least 10-15 yards long before planting to change directions. Eye contact, very important. Don't just put your head down and truck it deep, your thrower may have already thrown you 2-3 pump fakes hoping that you get the message to come under. You may think you're open on an under cut but only your thrower knows for certain. Take the hint when you see the pump fake and clear out. Or you could just yell "CLEAR THE FUCK OUT!" and give Kevin a great first impression of you.

Eye contact is huge. Players that work well together are either ones that have been playing together for a long time or they understand that eye contact is the critical unspoken language that makes an offense flow well. A quick high-release flick to the front of the stack? Make sure you have eye contact with your slot/anchor first. A floaty space pass to the primary dump who is being face-guarded? Make sure you have eye contact (and that your dump is standing completely still). Turning the page when you have a 1-on-1 matchup and the disc is on the endzone line? Look for the pump fake and the eye contact, slam on the brakes, and watch your defender fly right by you as you 180 for the easy catch and goal.

Eye contact. I'm told it's also important to have when talking to girls. The jury is still out on that one though.

Dingo

It's the girl who ripped my heart out. The girl whose face will always be etched in my mind.
Her?
(pause)
She's really funny.
Let's hope so.

Ultimate best

I used to be so eager to acquire new Ultimate gear. I was already addicted to Ultimate when I first started playing and I badly wanted to wear that addiction. When Taylor offered a pair of Red Hand jerseys in return for coaching/practicing with his Castro Valley kids I jumped on it immediately. They were GAIA jerseys, a pair of baby red hands on the chest for the whites and a cursive "hand" on the chest in red ink for the blacks, both with 88 on the back. With 3 years of Ultimate under my belt I've amassed 20 or so jerseys, all neatly hanging in my closet in a rainbow spectrum of colors from white to black, some waiting for their day to be worn.

I haven't been so good at keeping shorts though. I was so excited to pay and wear my first pair of Ultimate shorts. They were just a pair of Starter stretchy shorts from WalMart with the LPC Ultimate logo printed on them. I gave my 2nd pair of LPC shorts to Magon (because I'm a good big brother like that). My first pair of YR shorts got confiscated with nothing more than a matter of fact statement of "I'm taking these shorts" and a disarming smile. Allen claimed my second pair of YR shorts with promises for a pair of Monster shorts in exchange. Then he pulled the "if I give you these shorts I might cry" excuse on me. How can I say no to that face. Fresh sweet-talked me out of the gray Sean Ryan 5Ultimate shorts with promises of a pair of BLU shorts in return when their season is in full swing. I do like wearing women's Ultimate gear. Now all I wear are my Patagonia ones on the field and my Nike ones with the Brown logo in public because of their grossly underestimated perk: pockets. I have an indifferent feeling that my title for favorite shorts will be transferred after this weekend to these bad boys that Xtehn is currently molding into perfection.

That's how the game goes I guess, there's always something better somewhere in the future. The Doublewide jerseys from a few years ago look so amazing. I think I've seen them in white and metalic red and they look just as sick. Vigo from DW*TX ordered a pair of Brown shorts, maybe I can offer him a trade of sorts. Slap and Sheeva have these 5Ultimate shorts that they got from Worlds that just have the Zhong character on them. Those are also on my to-get list. I like wearing Ultimate gear.

My Ultimate best from my current wardrobe selection would be the following: my black Nike Vapor TDs before they got busted and are unfortunately now discontinued, some generic low-cut black Starter socks, generic black compression shorts, the black Patagonia shorts that Jing sent me, and my yellow Patagonia ISUC jersey that Mikey got me with the red firebird proudly displayed across the chest. Kevin was right, yellow is definitely the color to sport. No hat though. Hats are for handlers.

If you were dressed in your Ultimate best, what would you be wearing.

Why do you play Ultimate - part 8

Non-Ultimate

An enjoyable change of pace this weekend playing a few non-Ultimate game. Robot and I drove to Ocean beach on Saturday to log in 4 solid hours on the sand to prep for Lei Out. I saw a lot of familiar faces again as I assume a lot of them will be making the trip south next weekend. I had one layout where I just missed an overthrown catch but inhaled a mouthful of sand instead. It tasted bad, but only because I didn't catch the disc. Ernst and Mayor Adam West showed up fashionably late and tried to squeeze as much time in before the sun faded and the cold approached. Brown's last game on Sat is projected to end by 4:45 so hopefully there's still sun and warmth for "the circle".

Too Brown. Damo can't make Lei Out but Kerry Soo and Shawn have joined the Brown cause. So many last minute adds and drops, bummer. I wasn't too happy when I found out Magon is flying back to Iowa on Sunday night instead of Monday. Seems like our mom pulled a fast one on us. I also want to give another shout-out to a Brown teammate.



Slap is disgusting. That girl flies so high regardless if it's grass or sand. She's probably the main reason my team lost to Kevin's at Beware O and I'm always glad to see her on the line with me than against. Too Strong.

On Sunday Robot and I ventured to Oakland to play Dischoops with Frank and some of the JAM guys. No, I don't have anymore exciting stories. Yes, it was fun. When Gabe arrived the game shifted to Goaltimate and we all played until exhaustion. It was Robot's first time playing either game and he did pretty well. There's a handler within us all. This was also the first time I cleated up since Beware O because practice has been indoors in the gym for longer than I can remember. We never scrimmage more than 3 on 3 in the gym so I can almost say I haven't played Ultimate since Beware O either. That got me to thinking of all the non-Ultimate varieties of the disc.

Frisbee golf - Whether it's on legit frolf course or on imaginary holes that are decided on the fly, the important thing is to still use a 175g disc and not disc golf ones. I used to play both with their respective discs in high school because Ames had a great frolf course but my backhand form sure did pay the price. I went with Brett, Sean, and Chris "there's a tree there" Mahaffey to the Delavega course in Santa Cruz before Sean Ryan '06 and it was a great way to unwind. The forest terrain at the course in Golden Gate Park is less forgiving on errant throws but still worth the trip. Get a bunch of the guys together, bring some drinks, and enjoy the walk and chance to work on your backhand pulls. Or invite girls to tag along if you're socially brave.

Goaltimate/Dischoops - Toggle between one or two goals and the ability to self-pass and you've got either Goaltimate or Dischoops. A great opportunity for new kids to get more touches on the disc that they wouldn't normally get on the Ultimate field. Leave the swill and blade throws to the vets so you don't pick up bad habits and just work on short quick dish throws so you complete all your throws. Make sure to drink enough water on the sidelines, the active subbing and constant running will catch up to you before you know it.

Hot box - Boring.

Guts - One of my earliest memories of Kevin Seiler and Dave Karsten were from indoor ISUC practices when they would play guts during the downtime. I couldn't understand why these guys would stand 15 yards apart and rip lasers at each other to try to catch. I think I gave it a shot once and I quickly learned it's hard to catch the disc when you're curled up in the defensive fetal position. Natali and his Texas/Doublewide crew seemed to have created an even better game to separate the men from the boys. A YR man at his finest.

Assault - The discs (2) are the bombs and there is no preset turns to "attack" or "defend" the base. If you don't play Halo just imagine it as reverse Capture the Chicken. Two teams attacking each other's 3 x 3 yard plot and no one is allowed to stand in the squares. There is a middle line and you can wander anywhere but you better be running fast if you have the disc in enemy territory because if you get tagged you have to take the walk of shame to jail. You can run with the disc and you score by making the disc land in the enemy's 3 x 3 square. This allows for some interesting weave tactics when you have the disc you are a runner, otherwise you can just be tall and stand on the perimeter of the square and hope the runners put up a throw that you can mack into the square. The squares are approximately 40 yards from the middle line. The jail is 4 x 2 yards and approximately 30 yards from the middle line but shifted 20 yards to the side from the squares. Only upside-down throws launched from the middle line and caught by your teammate in jail can free everyone that was slow and dumb enough to get tagged with the disc. Davis Ultimate plays this game during their own Picnic Day and it's always a hit. Drinking and intense running always mix well.

Throwing - The best non-Ultimate game there is, obv.

Lei Out - preview

Pool A
A1. Brown, BLU and Beyond - Santa Monica
A2. Play Date 2 - East Coast
A3. Pink Storm - NYC, Portland, SF and LA
A4. Salsa Fiesta - San Diego
A5. Dittos - Long Beach
A6. ¡Uber-woot! - San Francisco

Pool B
B1. Crazy Go Nuts University - San Francisco
B2. Downtown Brown - Seattle, Eugene, the Bay Area, LA & SD
B3. Mr. Briefcase - Chicago
B4. Quick Nuts - Los Angeles
B5. Giant Owl - San Diego
B6. Silver Dragon Number J - Davis

Pool C
C1. CAR BOMB! - West Coast
C2. Marmalade - San Francisco
C3. Strawberry Love - Berkeley
C4. Town City - Los Angeles
C5. Cold Chicken - Albuquerque
C6. DarkHorse - Seattlefornia

Pool D
D1. Barrio - Tucson
D2. Lick My Love Pump - Lincoln, Nebraska
D3. Hurt Locker - Minneapolis
D4. Hammerjacks - Balmer
D5. The Monkeys are Taking Over the World Starting with the Beach - Los Angeles
D6. Patches - Oakland/San Francisco

Pool E
E1. Antimony - Santa Barbara
E2. Woodies in L.A. - Germany
E3. Suck 'Em - Bay Area
E4. The Willage People - Downtown Willageville
E5. nuff said - Oakland
E6. Wet Dream Team - San Diego

Jay and Neal had last minute stuff come up but with the addition of the Gata that brings Brown to 12 guys (Frankus, Damo, A-ron, Namkung, Jimmy Chu, Kim, Sultan, DRC, Scow, Gata, 808, Robot) and 8 girls (Slap, Venus, Sai, Sheeva, Magon, Jody, Lindsey Cross, Petree). Our pool looks intense and we have a round 1 bye to help ease into things. A-ron would look you dead in the eye, lift up his shirt sleeve, and ask, "do you know what this means? it means No Fear. and i have No Fear of any of these teams." Word. Round 2 starts at 1145 so we'll probably assemble at 1030 to meet the team, graffiti our shirts, and pass out the schwag. I'm looking forward to playing against GCNU (Maddog), Quick Nuts (Monster/TequiLA), and Silver Dragon (Davis). Win was talking trash last week about playing us and jumping over Magon. Win rear-ended some fool yesterday morning and wrecked his car. Moral: don't talk trash about my sister.

I'm still waiting. Waiting for my stupid wrist to heal. I can only throw short and mid-range lefty backhands because the gym is too small. We were doing Texas the other night and I turned the disc over when a perfectly normal throw got intercepted by the basketball backboard right before being caught. We had to do pushups (I could only do situps and bridges) for the rest of the set, Robot wasn't too happy about that. Throwing lefty flicks is even more frustrating. All the throwing theory and experience in the world wont save me from looking clumsy and lame as my lefty flicks die out before even reaching 15 yards away. My inner monologue went something like this:

Michael: Calm down. Breathe. Snap your wrist.
*another turfed throw*
Bob: *laughing* Go fuck yourself.
Michael: Thanks.

Throwing is the biggest learning curve to overcome when a new player picks up the disc. Everyone can use a wake up call. At least I'm running hard during practices so I can survive Lei Out. Brad or Slimfast will be picking up the disc at SB Invite and I'll probably be cutting so hopefully the new shoes that I bought will help my self-esteem. I aim to be fully recovered by Vegas, otherwise I have great excuse not to go and play on those miserable fields.

It's hard to believe some people sustain permanent injuries to their dominant arm and are forced to learn to throw all over again. This game brings out a lot of heart. Either that or a lot of crazy people. First my right collarbone, then my right elbow, and now this. At least it's not an ACL because I'd probably cry if that ever happened. I'm still waiting.

I see you

What's the easiest way to recognize teammates from afar? Watching their throwing form. I can recognize most of my LPC or YR teammates' throws from a field away. I'd like to think they can say the same for me. You see these people at least 2-3 times a week at practice and, ideally, more on the off-days when you go out to throw and unwind. Why not analyze their throwing form and make note of it next time you're marking them. Get a huge hand or footblock and win some bragging rights. There are so many aspects that individualize your throwing form that make it recognizable to others. An observant person is probably watching you, why not make the effort to see what they are seeing.

• How fast do I release the disc. How can I throw a flick from the ready position compared to a backhand from the ready position.
  
• Am I looking at my target throughout my throwing motion.
• Do I stay balanced after I release the disc or after I throw a fake.
• Is my pivot knee bent or straight when I step out to throw a flick. Or do I listen to KK and "drop the knee". Don't drop your knee when you throw. Please.
• How much can I vary my release point in relation to my pivot foot. Hint: if you throw and put a dot at every release point it should like a semi-circle. That's a damn big area to cover, do you really think a mark can defend against them all.
• Do I travel. Can I travel and get away with it.
• Does my throwing form change when I'm throwing to a 30 yard under as compared to a 40 yard away.
• Can I misdirect my mark by intentionally looking away from where I intend to throw. A Callahan winner once said, "ew. it's kinda creepy when i watch the thrower's eyes. i would stop if it didnt work so well."

I really enjoy throwing against Robert's or Ernst's mark. They work very hard and very smart. My throwing form and fakes have to be flawless or I get humbled when they block me. If I break their mark with a certain throw I know I wont be as lucky the 2nd or 3rd time again. They are constantly adjusting and adapting their marks, constantly watching my throws, and that's why they are two of the best marks on my team. Maybe every team has a Robert or Ernst mark in their lineup. Will you be ready when that person matches up against you. Maybe your team expects you to match up against the opponent's best handler. In any given point that handler might touch the disc at least 2 or 3 times. That adds up to a lot of opportunities over the course of a game to watch their throwing form. Go get a block.

Don't expect your teammates to critique you, they have their own throws to worry about. Get a video camera and tape yourself when you throw (just don't advertise these videos on a recreation or sporting or disc based usenet forum). And have a throwing partner (doesn't need to be in camera frame) when you do this so it doesn't look like you're throwing to a tree. Watch yourself fake and throw. Do they look the same, they better. Do you say to yourself, "Wow, I really thought I was going to throw that one! Good fake, video camera me!". Your mark is watching you, you are watching the field. That is a huge advantage. Fine tune your fakes to exploit that as much as possible. See what everyone else is already seeing and learn from it.


Remember, Maddog is always watching you.

Shorts

Look out, kids. Brown is bringing the hurt on the sand all MLK weekend long in these babies. I almost don't even want to play, just walking around in these things and our stenciled shirts will be worth the trip down to LA. The sunny skies, sand in between my toes, and majestic ocean horizon sound so inviting compared to the miserable rains in the bay lately.

I'm glad I don't live in the Pacific Northwest.

I kinda like wearing Ultimate clothes.

Step out

Last night at LPC practice in the gym we ran the Texas drill with pivot-pivot-throw. The catch was that we were 40 yards away from our throwing partner. After 20 minutes of pivoting without achieving the 10 throw goal, Ricky implemented a punishment for people that turned it over. Everyone else that didn't turn over would still start over at 0 throws, the pair that turned it over had to do situps for the duration of the set. I could only throw lefty backhands for both sets. I stepped out as far and low as I could for each throw. I didn't turn it over. I hate doing situps.

Stepping out is not easy. Why extend the extra foot or two when you know your mark is lazy and passive. Why put in the extra work and make your release that much harder. Because that's what throwing discipline is. Cissna's old blog had a post about throwing contraptions to help practice stepping out to throw. Just take a chair or track hurdle, measure how far you can step out, and then place the object there to throw through/around it. Remember to stay balanced during and after each release. There's no point if you can't hold your throwing form because you'll look pretty clumsy and stupid and, more importantly, you're probably traveling.

Core strength is a huge part of balance and step-out strength. Bridges or planks are great exercises to do in the comfort of your own room. I used to do a workout each night I called Strength 20 where it'd be 5 sets of 20 pushups with the 4 standard bridges (on both elbows facing down, on each elbow facing to the side, and supermans) of a minute a piece spaced in between. I think I'm going to start doing Strength 20's again, replacing pushups with situps until my stupid wrist heals.

The other big exercise to help core strength is lunges. Knee to your chest into a lunge, knee to the side while pulling your foot up into a lunge, lunge open-closed twists, lunge and throw your hands over closed shoulders. Doing lunges with the push back will definitely help when you step out to fake a throw and then step over. Lunge forward, stay balanced for a second or two, then explode back to the standing position. Your legs will feel great, I promise. Make sure your knee doesn't extend past your toes when you lunge and always remember to breathe regularly during these core exercises. These can be great mini-breaks during the day and will provide a great foundation when you do go out and throw and try to step out further. Please just don't wear a short skirt when you do start stepping out and throwing like a pro. I don't really need or want to see your ass.

Mutant hips aren't everything.

My right hip flexor was in a constant sharp pain this morning and now it's so tight I can't even lift my right knee up higher than a few inches. It feels great. I can't stop smiling through the pain. It's like getting the catch on a huge layout bid, the air is still knocked out from your lungs, you probably hit your head and chest way too hard, but all that matters is that the disc is still firmly in your hand. It's like breaking the mark with perfect step-out and release form. Bring on the pain.

Why do you play Ultimate - part 7

EBAY 2007

LPC 2008

CHUG
Chico, CA 10/20/07-10/21/07

sCCC
Santa Clara, CA 11/3/07-11/4/07

Sean Ryan Memorial
Santa Cruz 11/10/07-11/11/07

Bay Area scrimmage
Livermore, CA 12/1/07

Shooting for .500 for 2008.

Santa Barbara Invite
Santa Barbara, CA 1/26/08-1/27/08

Trouble in Vegas
Las Vegas, NV 2/8/08-2/10/08

President's Day
San Diego, CA 2/16/08-2/18/08

Stanford Qualifier
Palo Alto, CA 3/1/08-3/2/08

Stanford Invite
Palo Alto, CA 3/8/08-3/9/08

Centex
Austin, TX 3/22/08-3/23/08

DUI
Davis, CA 4/5/08-4/6/08

Bay Area Sectionals
Livermore, CA 4/12/08-4/13/08

Northwest Regionals
Davis, CA 4/26/08-4/27/08

UPA College Nationals
Boulder, CO 5/16/08-5/18/08

D3 College Nationals
Versailles, OH 5/24/08-5/25/08

2007 - recap

A year of ups and downs. With Beware O coming back to life I was able to hit the .500 mark with 26 out of 52 weekends dedicated to Ultimate. I don't know if it's batting average or win percentage but .500 rings as a really strong number for something in baseball. Maybe that's why I don't play baseball.

The 2007 LPC season was, simply put, disappointing. After a strong showing at SB Invite where we lost to Black Tide in the semis on universe point with them pulling to us we had high hopes to earn a bid to the Stanford Invite. Tough games against Whitman in the quarters and Claremont in the semis took their toll as we folded without much of a fight and lost the bid to Humboldt. This only followed with a disappointing 5th place finish at Sectionals and a disappointing 9th place finish at Regionals. In May we headed off to Ohio for D3 round2fight and with 10 guys we survived to the finals for a disappointing 2nd place finish, losing to Wisconsin-Whitewater 13-15. Robert snagged one of the seven tournament MVP spots. That kid was jumping over and running through fools for a total of 18 D's for the weekend, averaging out to 3 D's per game, sick. I just smiled when some of our kids traded jerseys after thefinals. Never trade for or wear a gray jersey. That needs to be a life lesson or something. The end of the year banquet at KK's was nice and I was surprised to win MVOP since I voted for and assumed Robot would take it.

The 2007 YR season was much more satisfying. Captain Matt and Taylor did a strong job of recruiting and filling the roster with fresh faces. We got rid of the washing machine cycle of crap offense and settled for a hybrid version of the CUT horizontal implemented with a new dish system we borrowed from Sockeye. The highlight of the season was our bid to Labor Day along with the team trip to Robot's cabin at Don Pedro Lake. Next year I'll remember to bring the chess board to the lake to duke it out with Ernst in case we get marooned on the floating docks again. With a 3rd place finish at Sectionals and a 6th place finish at Regionals, YR ended up exactly where we had hoped and established ourselves as a young and hungry bay area team that's here to stay. Our jerseys this year went with a retro look that would make Hans Aaland proud and I was eager to trade mine in return for some VBB gear (Ellsworth, I know you're reading this). YR 2008 already promises to be action-packed with more talent and young faces. Matt West is turning 25 (ouch), getting married (double ouch), and inheriting the title of "Oldest Guy on the Team".

Playing this game is an amazing experience. Meeting other people who are just as passionate to be on the line as you makes it all the better. The best parts about 2007 were definitely the Downtown Brown/EBAY tournaments and going against my better judgement and buying a ticket to Sarasota. I'm quite happy with the shots I took, the chance to meet, support, and party with VBB/Small Rackages, and the opportunity to absorb the entire Sarasota experience. Like I said before, the next time I go to Sarasota it will be to play, not spectate. Count it.

Fools with DTB was great even though we lost to Condors/Tide in the semis on universe. The circle at the corner of Field 4 changed my life and I will never forget that feeling of openness and commroderie with such an amazing group of people. Potlatch was also a blast and we all agreed that Brown should rep it up at more tournaments during the year. Lei Out promises to be amazing with old and new Brown faces unifying on the sand. Look for the sweet MLK-stenciled shirts and 5Ultimate shorts. Or just listen for the sick beats that DJ Dave will be spinning all weekend long.

Even though EBAY only went to one tournament this year (Discos) we had a great time. Bones got us some sweet jerseys (it's an acquired taste, obv). Once again I was able to survive playing both divisions at Discos, this year only 12 games in a weekend instead of 13 last time. There was no BLU mud wrestling this time, bummer. Beware O was a great way to end to the year and hang out with all the EBAY people. Next year I'll remember to rig the teams so all the EBAY people end up together. Except for Ernst. I still can't figure out how his team won.

Happy 2007. Looking forward to 2008.