Practices are Tuesday and Thursday, with power gym workouts on Wednesday (more on this later). Our focus so far has been, obviously, fundamentals--cutting, catching, moving the disc, etc. After the warmup/stretch, we run a dishy drill and a triangle drill, which capture pretty well the whole throwing/catching thing, but most people run them slowly. I think that they would be much more effective if everybody approached the drills with intensity and focus, but I guess that's pretty obvious. The triangle drill, especially, is more susceptible to laziness, but I'm biased against it anyway because I don't think it mirrors the game well enough. The dishy, however, fits very well with "my" approach to ultimate.
I still don't really know where I fit in on the team, exactly. During scrimmages, the captains will often call me as a handler, which is a position that I am comfortable fulfilling. I make errors from time to time, but I think it's fair to say that it will take time for me to learn the team, learn when to make what cuts, and when to hold back on a throw. I'm re-learning the game a little bit, too, trying to determine what the outer limits of my hucks are, nailing down my swing passes, and remembering to step out for my throws. I guess what I really want is for the practices to get more personal, for an upperclassman to take me on as a mentee the same way Jimmy, Yee-Wen, Art, and Jon did when I was a freshman at Watchung Hills. Granted, I have more skills than a number of the freshmen here, so I can understand why they don't worry about me as much; nevertheless, I need a little bit of instruction, a little bit of criticism, and a direction to follow. Should I cut more in practices, to learn that aspect of the game better? Or should I focus on handling, as I did in high school? I know I want to get the disc more, because I need to practice the throws that only come up in games: forehand cross-field swings, up-the-line throws with touch, hucks. I need to improve my pivoting/faking as well, something that is hard to do outside a game situation, without a mark.
At the end of the practice yesterday, we sprinted around the playing field proper, with the winning scrimmage team (mine) getting a 15yd head start. I came in 4th out of 31 people, so I'm in pretty good shape for long sprints...which means I need to get some quickness and sprinting speed. I'm ready for it.
In the power gym, we do a series of lunges (forward, backward, side to side) with medicine balls, then some speed-ladder work and a circuit of exercies, including pushups, ab work, squats, etc. It is very tiring, and I think that it will be very good for my game in general. The athletic trainer who leads us through it will probably start to introduce new exercises to target ultimate-specific needs, which is exciting. I also plan to start swimming two to five times per week, if I can work up the requisite willpower.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Founder's Club Sectionals Div2
DISCarded '06: Nicola Caputo (HP), Eli Gabel-frank (HP), Alex Growney (WHRHS '07), David Hsiung (EB '06, Rutgers '10), Jason Hwee (EB '06, Rutgers '10), Joseph Kwiatek (Hillsborough '06, Rutgers '10), Bryan Lian (WHRHS '06, Rutgers '10), Andrew Lu (WHRHS '07), Thales Nazario (HP '06, Rutgers '10), Glenn Poole (WHRHS '06, Rutgers '10), Jacob Price (WHRHS '08), Jake Rainwater (HP), Pin Su (Rutgers '07), Lu Wang (WHRHS '07), Daniel Weingard (HP), Yuki Yamada (HP '07), Paul Yang (JPS '06, Rutgers '10).
W vs. Swarthmore (12-6)
L vs. Pittsburgh-B (9-12)
W vs. Divine Disc (W-F)
L vs. Delaware (10-13)*
*came back from 3-9
I think that I act like an asshat from time to time in the ultimate scene. I do not intend to be an asshat, but maybe I come across that way. I like to talk smack; the whole smack-talking thing is amusing to me, and I appreciate it when other people heckle me. I'm one of those people who doesn't mind being heckled in good spirit, and usually I don't see it as malicious--I certainly never intend to incense my teammates or opponents. I almost never talk smack, unless it was initiated by another person, but I have been known to speak my mind, both on the field and off. I am pretty confident in my knowledge of the rules of ultimate, and I have worked hard to overcome the urge to argue calls: I tend to not argue when somebody makes a call on me, and rather fall back on "contest/no contest." Today, though, I saw something that bothered me.
I don't know if I had best perspective, but I was only ten feet away when I saw my teammate running toward his man, who was in the endzone about to receive a huck. The offensive player jumped and landed on top of my teammate, then called foul after he did not catch the disc. As the offensive player started outlining the reasons he called foul, I asked my teammate if he thought he fouled the other man. My teammate said, "No, I don't think so." So I, silly me, looked to give the disc back to the thrower and said "foul, contest." The offensive player in question yelled at me that it was not my place to make a call here, and then he again tried to pull my teammate aside and discuss his reasoning. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for explaining the rules to people who do not understand them, but this was a pretty clear-cut thing to me: guy jumps forward onto another player (violating that player's vertical space, by the way), and then calls foul? On a stationary player who didn't even jump? Would you like some cheese with that whine?
So my teammate reiterates his "contest" call, plays moves on, but the other team's player continues to try to engage me in debate over the matter. I wasn't happy about it, especially after what happened in an earlier game. Another teammate of mine caught the disc, then the opposing team set up a cup around him. The problem was that the marker, who I heard calling "stall seven," was never less than 15 feet away from the thrower, clearly not close enough to call stalls. I said "dude, you can't mark him" and he yelled at me, "you can't make that call! only the thrower can, he has to call fast count!" I was shocked at the lack of spirit, the lack of knowledge of the rules (see XIVC2 and 4), and the sheer audacity of this player (who, I was informed, was the captain of a certain college team).
So, post-tournament thoughts:
1. Sorry if I hog playing-time?
2. I need to nail down a few things before I can handle for Rutgers:
a. look before I leap. I do this in general, but sometimes I forget.
b. be something other than a handler. like a cutter.
c. stop working on endurance, work more on sprinting speed/recovery (see #1)
3. Of the three hammers I threw, two were completed in the endzone and one was really bad.
4. I think I might have a half-decent forehand huck now?
5. I am getting more confident in my backhand huck, but a certain muscle in my back hurts when I rip it.
6. People need to learn the rules, then play by them. Especially that part about SOTG.
W vs. Swarthmore (12-6)
L vs. Pittsburgh-B (9-12)
W vs. Divine Disc (W-F)
L vs. Delaware (10-13)*
*came back from 3-9
I think that I act like an asshat from time to time in the ultimate scene. I do not intend to be an asshat, but maybe I come across that way. I like to talk smack; the whole smack-talking thing is amusing to me, and I appreciate it when other people heckle me. I'm one of those people who doesn't mind being heckled in good spirit, and usually I don't see it as malicious--I certainly never intend to incense my teammates or opponents. I almost never talk smack, unless it was initiated by another person, but I have been known to speak my mind, both on the field and off. I am pretty confident in my knowledge of the rules of ultimate, and I have worked hard to overcome the urge to argue calls: I tend to not argue when somebody makes a call on me, and rather fall back on "contest/no contest." Today, though, I saw something that bothered me.
I don't know if I had best perspective, but I was only ten feet away when I saw my teammate running toward his man, who was in the endzone about to receive a huck. The offensive player jumped and landed on top of my teammate, then called foul after he did not catch the disc. As the offensive player started outlining the reasons he called foul, I asked my teammate if he thought he fouled the other man. My teammate said, "No, I don't think so." So I, silly me, looked to give the disc back to the thrower and said "foul, contest." The offensive player in question yelled at me that it was not my place to make a call here, and then he again tried to pull my teammate aside and discuss his reasoning. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for explaining the rules to people who do not understand them, but this was a pretty clear-cut thing to me: guy jumps forward onto another player (violating that player's vertical space, by the way), and then calls foul? On a stationary player who didn't even jump? Would you like some cheese with that whine?
So my teammate reiterates his "contest" call, plays moves on, but the other team's player continues to try to engage me in debate over the matter. I wasn't happy about it, especially after what happened in an earlier game. Another teammate of mine caught the disc, then the opposing team set up a cup around him. The problem was that the marker, who I heard calling "stall seven," was never less than 15 feet away from the thrower, clearly not close enough to call stalls. I said "dude, you can't mark him" and he yelled at me, "you can't make that call! only the thrower can, he has to call fast count!" I was shocked at the lack of spirit, the lack of knowledge of the rules (see XIVC2 and 4), and the sheer audacity of this player (who, I was informed, was the captain of a certain college team).
So, post-tournament thoughts:
1. Sorry if I hog playing-time?
2. I need to nail down a few things before I can handle for Rutgers:
a. look before I leap. I do this in general, but sometimes I forget.
b. be something other than a handler. like a cutter.
c. stop working on endurance, work more on sprinting speed/recovery (see #1)
3. Of the three hammers I threw, two were completed in the endzone and one was really bad.
4. I think I might have a half-decent forehand huck now?
5. I am getting more confident in my backhand huck, but a certain muscle in my back hurts when I rip it.
6. People need to learn the rules, then play by them. Especially that part about SOTG.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
So this is college?
I am really loving it here. I feel confident that I came to the right college, picked--to a large extent--the right classes, and have some decent teachers. The football team crushed Illinois at the home game yesterday, and I saw 30 of the 33-0 game, so spirit was high and exciting. Rutgers is definitely the place for me.
I gather that practices for the team will start within a week or so, and I've been going to a couple pickup games around campus that the team is running. So far, I see several solid players who play, several scrubs with potential, and some of us in-betweeners--partially skilled, close to athletic, and excited to play. I say nothing, of course, of the countless kids chucking mini-frisbees, and accept them as a feature of college. I do meet, however, a decent number of people who either played some pickup in high school or are interested in playing some college disc, but either "have no time" or are not "good enough" to play. I get the impression that the ultimate team, in years past, was a little exclusive and isolationist, maybe because they got jaded when scores of people showed up for the first two weeks and quit, year after year.
I take a different view of the matter. I honestly want to bring as many people as are interested in the sport, because I know what it has done for me. Of course, I recognize that not everybody will fall in love like I did, but how could they without at least a taste? So my big idea is an intramural league that runs all spring, rather than one single intramural tournament. At some point, though, I know I'm going to shift focus to my own game; in my junior and senior year of high school, I helped and coached other players far more than I improved my own game, and I don't want to miss the opportunity I have now to improve.
In that vein, I hope to attend div2 of the founder's club sectionals on the 17th with a pickup team of fellow Rutgers freshman, plus a couple others from high school. Should be fun.
I gather that practices for the team will start within a week or so, and I've been going to a couple pickup games around campus that the team is running. So far, I see several solid players who play, several scrubs with potential, and some of us in-betweeners--partially skilled, close to athletic, and excited to play. I say nothing, of course, of the countless kids chucking mini-frisbees, and accept them as a feature of college. I do meet, however, a decent number of people who either played some pickup in high school or are interested in playing some college disc, but either "have no time" or are not "good enough" to play. I get the impression that the ultimate team, in years past, was a little exclusive and isolationist, maybe because they got jaded when scores of people showed up for the first two weeks and quit, year after year.
I take a different view of the matter. I honestly want to bring as many people as are interested in the sport, because I know what it has done for me. Of course, I recognize that not everybody will fall in love like I did, but how could they without at least a taste? So my big idea is an intramural league that runs all spring, rather than one single intramural tournament. At some point, though, I know I'm going to shift focus to my own game; in my junior and senior year of high school, I helped and coached other players far more than I improved my own game, and I don't want to miss the opportunity I have now to improve.
In that vein, I hope to attend div2 of the founder's club sectionals on the 17th with a pickup team of fellow Rutgers freshman, plus a couple others from high school. Should be fun.
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