A-League Semifinals

vs Roots. Kept it close for a few despite multiple turns, but couldn't keep up the defense that got us the disc back each time. I don't know if it was that fact that we only had 2 subs, but we never played like a finals-worthy team for more than a possession at a time. Some nice flow here, a good D there, but Roots was scoring way too easily and we kept giving them the disc on bonehead turnovers. Pretty frustrating. I made up ground for a deep D in the endzone on an S-cut, scored on a huck that came over my head from the same lane (but dropped another of the same kind), and played alright overall, but the team never really found its groove together. Open cuts looked off, bad throws to good cuts, good throws to bad cuts, we started to come back at the end but it was way too late. From 4-8 at half, we ended up losing 10-15 or so.

But it was a fun season. I good a nice preview of some up and coming Machiners, and plenty of beer was enjoyed courtesy of Dusty so there are obviously no regrets. Hopefully next year we can get a few more players to commit, the Illuminati split into Illuminati/New World Order left us nearly savage for most games. We'll see.

Biking, A-league

5mi biking in 22:30

15-6 vs Blackstar. Started off rocky with some turnovers, but our bad was better than their bad. Eventually scored on O to start and then broke a few times in a row to take the lead, cruised to take half 8-3 and kept breaking. Let up a few at the end but nailed it in, then did the following sprint workout:

5x(sprint 120yds, walk back)

5x(sprint 40-40yds, walk back)

CF908, A-league

7am workout: reviewed back squat, front squat, overhead squat, ring pullups, ring dips, shoulder press, push press, split jerk.

10 minute AMRAP:

5 burpees

7 ring dips*

9 kettlebell swings 53lb (1.5 pood)

Completed 4 rounds plus 3 burpees

*I used a light assistance band for the last set of ring dips, which might have actually been my 5th round...I lost count because I had to take so many breaks to finish the dips each round.

Warmed up at Mercer with some Atlas, then won 16-14 vs New World Order (NWO). The game was basically on-serve until the very end. They broke and we broke back in the first half, same thing in the second, tied at 14 and we scored on O and then finished the door with a break. I scooped up three poach D's and would have had another if I had layed out, threw a few goals and scored the game-winner on a deep look. Still not quite in rhythm, and it didn't help that the field was dusty and tractionless in certain areas. I want to get in some more game-speed work before Wildwood, so I'm thinking about doing a suicide workout in the sand sometime soon.

A-League

vs Big Stick

We had 9 or 10 guys this time, but it was still pretty rough. Kept it close in the beginning, but they ran away with the game and we couldn't get enough defense together to stem the bleeding. Turnovers close to the goal line gave them quick scores and Big Stick isn't the kind of team to give many back. It was good to run around and I felt like I played pretty good position D, except that I got tired playing every point and was trailing too much on in-cuts. Other than that, one huck I couldn't catch up to, and one that I couldn't put far enough to Jake the Jake leading his defender, I did alright. After the game, Stoddard got us to do the following:

5 rounds of:

25-25 yards

10 pushups

95-95 yards

20 crunches

120-120 yards

30 squats

Total: 1.5mi, 50 pushups, 100 crunches, 150 squats

A-League

vs Big Stick.

We started the game with only 6 players, but Big Stick graciously played us 6 on 6 until a 7th teammate showed up. We still got rocked.

A-League

vs Mudsharks.

8-7 half, 15-12 win. Too close.

3 turnovers. Maybe that's why.

Biking, A-league

Biked the 16.2mi from my parents' house to my apartment in under 70 minutes, then got a ride to MCUDL for a savage game against Big Stick. Illuminati consisted of me, Jake the Jake, Skank, Marvin and a recently-turned-30 Dusty, plus Cadish and some kid whose name I didn't get. We didn't put up too much of a fight, down 3-8 at half and lost 5-15. We each had a few turnovers, I did have two completed hucks but in general I never really got into a rhythm cutting or handling. Played okay defense, bodied up a bit but got beat upline and wasn't aggressive enough in general.

A-League Semifinals

I knew it would not be an easy game, but I was feeling surprisingly good about our chances after we traded to 4-4. Even with low numbers, I thought we had the right mix of players to get the job done. Alas, Roots ran off a bunch of breaks in the middle of the game and we couldn't get our heads on straight to stop the bleeding, much less crawl back out of the hole. Roots was also looking particularly calm and collected with the disc, and I think they played a very clean game compared to most times I've played them. For some reason I felt like I was getting open downfield pretty easily, though not always at the right time to get the disc. Either way, that felt good because one of the priorities that made me choose Illuminati over Rutgers was that I wanted to become a more dangerous cutter. Judging by the several hucks I caught with defensive pressure (and another one I dropped in the endzone, d'oh!) I think I've made progress on that front. I had one deep shot that was to an open receiver, but Bode made a great play and got the D so that was a turnover...otherwise, I think I played pretty conservatively, maybe one or two other (completed) deep throws but mostly under and upline cuts. We ended up losing 10-15 or so, and I can't say I'm surprised but I am somewhat disappointed. I think we could have been a much better team this year, but I guess whatever mix we had didn't produce a "winner" mindset team.

Draft League Quarterfinals

I made my worst Draft League appearance ever at maybe the worst possible time. We faced off against the Angus/Bryant/Schank/Kimmelman team that we had beaten while savage, and this time we had Jackson, Frenchy, and Stoddard--in other words, on paper it looked like an easy win. But these guys had a rough time in our last matchup, with multiple drops in the endzone by Bryant, who is almost always money in the bank. In fact, he was tonight--even when the mark forced fast, low, blading hucks, they still connected on almost all of their deep shots. We, on the other hand, did not. I think I had five turnovers, three of which were straight turfed forehands to open cutters (two in the endzone!). Multiple bad hucks by all our throwers, people failing to make plays on offense and defense...I don't think I could overstate how poorly I lived up to my own expectations, but we also failed as a team. The other guys played well, deserved to win that game, and did by a decent margin. Whoops!

Draft Game 11

vs Black. Surprisingly easy, we won 15-3 or 4 and then won a scrimmage 7-1. I thought this team would be more of a challenge. After the game Dave, Frenchy and I did some tabatas:

V-ups: 24, 21, 17, 11

Crunches: 18, 20, 22, 24

Scissor kicks (4 rounds)

Flutter kicks (4 rounds)

Pushups: 25, 21, 12, 7

4 rounds for each exercise, all done right in a row, no rest other than the 10 seconds between each set. I didn't keep track of reps for the kicks, because they were all in the upper 40s and 50s. Sort of a rest day, no leg stuff because we only had two subs and I played every point of the game, plus my head hurts like crazy from the sore throat and the wisdom tooth coming in. Blah blah blah. Can't wait for Wildwood.

A-League Game 8

vs Roots. Lost 12-15.

Never in control of the game. Maybe not enough subs. Definitely didn't match their intensity. They got really excited when a huck from Rainwater floated and I got skied by Brian Li. But I got the next huck goal over him and Bo Li, who somehow boxed each other out into not jumping. A very forgettable game overall.

Draft Game 10

vs Brown. We won 15-7 or so.

I wanted to do a stair workout beforehand, but traffic prevented that from happening. So during the game, I did:

3x10 (squats, walking lunges, burpees)

3x10 (leg lifts, situps, pushups)

1x20 (squats, walking lunges, burpees)

1x20 (leg lifts, situps, pushups)

Lift, Draft Game 9

6 DB press lunge 15lb

8 overhead squat 45lb

6 DB press backwards to step through lunge 15lb

8 overhead squat 65lb

1 snatch, 2 overhead squats 95lb

8 alternating hanging rollups

8 incline situp + DB press 20lb

5 bench press 135lb

The game was tight. We went down a few breaks in the beginning, 3-6, then tied it at 7-7 before Red took half. Mostly unforced errors and soft defense on our part. Same deal in the second half, we stayed within a few the whole time but they took it 13-15. Our first loss, which is disappointing but probably good for us. We gave the disc up too much, and couldn't really stop their deep game--it wasn't particularly devastating, but we didn't make the adjustments we should have. I caught a callahan on the first point, that felt pretty good. Darwin d'ed one of my hucks from 15yds out though, and that didn't. Fairly incident-free game, a few calls and some raised fur between Stoddard and Kieffer, but nothing dirty or hostile really. One of the most fun games of the season, easily--sometimes I'd rather lose a tight game than crush a much weaker team.

A-League Game 7

vs Big Stick. We won. Cool.

I don't think I played particularly well. Been feeling out of touch and uncoordinated lately. Don't know what that's all about. Maybe working out will help.

Lift, Draft Game 8

Not a lot of time, so this quick workout in the gym:

5 knee-tuck pullups, 5 hanging leg lifts

5 deadlift to hang clean, 45lb

6 knee-tuck pullups, 6 hanging leg lifts

6 deadlift to hang clean, 85lb

6 knee-tuck pullups, 6 hanging leg lifts

6 deadlift to hang clean, 95lb

6 pullups, 6 hanging leg lifts

6 deadlift to hang clean, 95lb

The game was against green? 15-4 win.

A-League Game 6

vs Rutgers Machine and Friends. This team was fired up to play us, and we were unusually shorthanded. Tight for the first couple points, soon the "Hillsboro Curse" reared its ugly head and Rutgers took advantage of key unforced Illuminati errors to go up by a few breaks. We were giving them the disc and not playing nearly respectable enough defense to stop their offensive flow. Hucks from Bill Sanborn and break throws from Ryan Thorpe tore us apart, and where their younger/newer faces were coming up with nice grabs, we were dropping or turfing the disc every couple passes. After they took half and we settled down a bit, we started to turn the tide back in our favor, creeping back to tie it at 13-13 and then breaking twice for a 15-13 win.

I had a nice (toot toot) huck D in the beginning while covering Bill, and played strong shut-down dump defense, but let off break throws and threw 3 turnovers in the second half. Not a good game for us, but we pulled it out. I was really impressed with the fire from Rutgers in the first half, and I wonder how many of them understand that they had us on the coals--a little more focus and they would have had their first win. I'm proud of the way they played...don't want to say I'm happy they lost, but I'm happy we didn't lose. I guess that's what happens when I switch teams for the summer.

A-League Game 5

vs Mudsharks. Jumped to a lead in the first half through pounding rain, held it though the rain slacked off. Won by a big margin, but I'm not sure what it was. Got some tips from J-Defense after the game, then had some delicious sushi in Princeton with some of the guys (and a couple wives). Feeling okay, but I think I need to get loose, get warm, and get in a decent core/upper body workout before this weekend. Pools are up and my stomach is starting to rumble.

Draft Game 6

vs Burnt Orange? Angus/Bryant/Andrew (is he called Skank for some reason?) were their main players. We were savage, 5 dudes and 2 girls, but we went up by a few breaks for 4-1 and took half 8-6. They kept things interesting by tying it at 10-10, but we went on to win 15-11. I think Angus got pissed at me when I considered contesting his foul call, but the game was fairly calm. I pretty much covered him the whole time, and though I had some trouble getting open as a dump our team played well and I had plenty of completed bailout hucks to Katie, who kicked ass despite a bothersome hamstring.

I really enjoyed the game, had fun playing with my team, and I'm not regretting Draft League like I thought I might when I was first signing up--last year I only showed up to one game, and it wasn't that great. Other than the banged-up knee I got a couple weeks ago, it's been a much better experience this year. Cool.

A-League Game 4

vs CHS. The were missing key players, we rolled to a 15-4 win. Played another short (less intense) game, we won 5-1. Cheered on Rutgers, but they lost on universe to Mudsharks. An okay night. Afterwards:

with no rest:

20 pushups

2x40yd sprint

20 tuck jumps

2x40yd sprint

20 toe touches (abs)

2x40yd sprint

20 burpees

2x40yd sprint

20 ice skaters each leg

2x40yd sprint

A-Leauge Game 3

vs Roots. I got there late because other kids in the carpool were late, so the game was already going on and we were down by two. I got in a few points on O without warming up, we scored them so I sat, not ready to play a whole point of defense. My first point I went deep, got hucked to, BLi fouled me and I lost control of the disc, didn't call the foul. But the thrower had been fouled too, so disc came back and I got it underneath, we worked it up and scored. By the second half I was ready and got in for both O and D points. I remember being tight to my man the whole time, denying his first cut and being close enough to put pressure on the second option, but that was generally deep and I got skied twice. It was good that I caught up both times to at least make a play on the disc, especially considering they were flat throws past a straight-up mark, but it still sucks to get skied.

The game was physical, which I generally welcome and enjoy, but I felt like a few players crossed the line I draw for myself when I'm playing physically--grabbing and blocking with the arms, pushing off the defender when cutting, etc. I'm still not really sure what to do about it, because I don't feel comfortable calling these kinds of fouls. On the other hand, I don't like the intentional fouling and I don't do it, so when my opponent does I'm putting myself at a disadvantage. Plus it's summer league, so I feel like upping the ante with an elbow or two is really not appropriate, whereas it might be for an intense club game. I usually walk away feeling like it's my responsibility to just play better, and not let the opponent be close enough to pull cheap moves on me like that. Easier said than done, but at least I can work towards that without having to feel like I've sunk to their level.

Anyway, we ended up losing by a couple. I think that result will change as Illuminati gels more into the season, but what I will say about Roots is that they play with a lot of fire--and that's fun, even if I'd sometimes prefer things to be a little cleaner.