ARJI Recap

12 teams, 2 days, I got sunburned and didn't get to play a single point. Not the typical tournament weekend, but I had fun nonetheless. It was good to see the growth of youth teams in the area, and most seemed to have a lot of potential. It's hard to say whether many will exercize that potential, and I doubt that any will come close without a coach, but I've been impressed by coach-less teams in the past.

I thought it was interesting that the top teams at the tournament sometimes played down to the level of their opponents, overthrowing receivers and making rushed choices. It seemed that their biggest advantage was their ability to squash those impulses and run an efficient, conservative offense--they didn't always do it, but when they did the other teams would roll over. True, the stronger teams were more athletic, but there were always a lot of turnovers on either side and success was more about good O than good D. I was impressed by the fundamentals of the Stuy guys--perhaps I am merely duped into that belief by their...characteristic throwing form, but most seemed like good throwers. I thought their form was very reminiscent of the guys who play on 7Express, whom I did not know came from the same area until Nunez pointed it out to me--funny how I could tell. John Jay was a very athletic team, and could go far with good recruitment and stronger fundamentals. Scarsdale is not the team that I remember (...obviously) but they seem to me to play under their level. WWP-N had a lot of guys who looked like they could play serious Ultimate, but without a coach they seemed to simply not have sound strategies or know how to run them properly. I would love to see this team get a coach--they would jump into a more competitive level quickly.

Westfield is picking up speed, which I am very happy to see. They've got a great coach in Belline, so things are looking good for their future. HP had some players with real potential, but without a coach they will probably keep struggling. Bard seemed to play exactly like I hoped they would--strong against opponents around their level, and understandably having a harder time against the big dogs. Kittatinny, I think, could have performed much better if they knew how to run endzone offense and zone offense--the could get it to the goal line with some decent bladey hucks, but couldn't seem to put it in. Union County is out there improving, and it would be great to seem them in more tournaments.

CHS B is ballin'. I don't know what else to say about them, really. They bring great energy to the game, they're young enough to care about SOTG, and they have strong fundamentals for such young players--good cuts, good throws. I was surprised they didn't score more on Stuy and Scarsdale on Saturday, but not surprised at all that they played very well on Sunday. I think it is possible that they think of themselves as a B team, and that it limits their success in regular pool play against regular opponents. Columbia has a great program, and they're lucky to have the coaches they do.

There were a couple issues concerning SOTG...spiking when up by more than a dozen points, coaches making calls from the sideline, etc. Standard problems, but nothing too major. It seems that some players at the tournament felt disrespected at times, and it's rough to see teams on two totally different levels get into bad blood, but I'm not sure that there was much I could do about it, as TD. I believe that teams and players have to work out on their own what SOTG is, and how it changes based on the competition you're against.

The finals showed me, again, how little difference it takes, point by point, to win a game rather than lose it. I saw CHS come in with the intensity and the hunger to run away with the whole thing, but little things brought Pennsbury back and gave them the run it took to win. Slightly different styles, they match up well together--I would have liked to see them slug it out with more man-to-man, but you can't fault the pace change. I am fairly confident, however, that it will not work at the end of the spring--and you'll see one hell of a game at Easterns.