Intro: This semester was defined by people stepping up into new roles. This ranges from captains knowing what works and doesn't work in terms of intra-team communication to a freshman becoming a handler. While reflecting on the past few ultimate months I realized team turmoil was inevitable and guaranteed because of these new roles. I wish we didn't have and had so much tension and hate on the team, but at this point it is something we all need to accept. People do not change for others, they only change for themselves. All we can do is treat others how we would like to be treated and hopefully the hotheaded on our team will soon mirror and match our positive attitudes. In a way I am imploring the sophomore class to be a model of respect within the class and to others.
I too stepped into a new role this semester, handler. I fucked up a lot early on and I fucked up a lot later on. Fucked up in terms of unforced errors on the field. Drops, bad throws and unnecessary hucks. I do hope to become a weapon in offense and defense but at the same time not take unnecessary risks. AC and Fickles have told me both things in different situations which implies to me that I need to find a happy Buddhist medium in my play. This is what I strive for next semester, conservative yet dangerous. Like Cheney! Lolololololol.
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Offense:
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Throwing
Backhand: Hucks hucks hucks hucks hucks. It's apparent that I can throw great deep shots when I am in the zone, but what about when I am cognizant of the throwing motion? Usually I fail when that is the case. Something to work on. How to improve? Throw more often outside of practice.
Flick: Hucks hucks hucks hucks hucks. 1 for 5 work. It will be more like 9 for 10 by the end of the season. How to get there? Throw more often outside of practice
Hammers: Is a fast and bullet-y hammer ok to throw? A hammer will be hard to catch regardless...maybe not a good line of reasoning. If not ok to throw, how does one practice better hammers?
Cutting
Handling so much took away from improving my cutting. It didn't get worse but I hesitate to say it got any better. How to improve this situation? Get better at handling then think about cutting.
Handling
Dump cuts were shitty...shallow predictable cuts.
Miscues on throws, risky spur of the moment short throws. Gotta holster baby.
Habit of dumping at 3 as a main handler. From cutting. Need to hold for at least two more stall counts.
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Defense:
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Downfield
Staying on your mans hip really works, thank you Kyle.
I realized I have the quickness to stay with my man on his hip, so why not do it.
Handler
Seems like it has gotten worse for some reason. I think it is due to body and foot positioning. Body angled towards the man and push where you want them to go. On the balls of the feet.
Mark
Broken tons. After CUFF I took the time to admit it's my job to cut off only half the field, not the whole thing. It is now pretty solid. Simiar to Bobby I need to work on cutting off the breakside then closing in on a swing. Did it twice in practice, essentially instinct now, hopefully.
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Overall:
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How I improved last year was all due to my humility and thirst for knowledge. I need to remind myself that I do not know everything about ultimate. I need to remind myself to ask tons of questions concerning how to play. These two things will vastly improve my game next semester. Deliberate and periodical practice of basic ultimate mechanics will also help. Gotta go back to square one my friends, with the coming of every new season.
This blog will be a great way for our class to express our ideas, suggestions, and perhaps frustrations with the game that we play in the years to come, as we strive to improve ourselves and others on the team.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Bobby Fall Eval
Thanks to Niji pestering me (thanks dude) i finally got around to this, you all should too, only takes about 15 minutes and i think its a pretty good way to think back and recap the semester in ultimate
Offense:
Throwing:
Backhand: Improved my backhand A LOT, granted it was really terrible so this was something that I really needed to do, kinda random but watching Cody throw really helped me cause I pretty much just tried to mimic his throwing motion in a couple ways and it worked out for me
Flick: I think my hucks have kinda gotten a lil worse which is disappointing, I probably need to rework my flicks a bit cause im definitely turning over my wrist so real bladey throws and I can’t throw into wind at all
Overall: id like a chance to handle a little bit both to improve my in game throwing and cause id like the chance to do it
Cutting: I think I have improved A LOT in this category, mostly cause I was pretty shitty to start the year, still need a lot of improvements going forward. Need to especially work on cutting deep more often, for some reason I rarely do it but I started doing it more near the end of the year and it definitely opened up a lot of opportunities for me on offense. While I was out with my concussion I watched people cut and realized 2 things: 1) it is ridiculously easy to cut if you are sold on where you want to go cause playing defense its pretty hard to cover someone when they know what they want to do and you don’t know where they are gonna go (see this in Tristan all the time, going into the cut you can see that he knows where he wants to go even if you don’t know where, ends up working pretty well for him I think) 2) patience is a virtue, you don’t need to get the disc all the time to be a successful cutter and you don’t need to be cutting all the time to help the team get score, one thing that I learned was that sometimes it’s best to recognize that someone else wants to cut one way and make a cut where you know you won’t get the disc just to pull your man away from the area
Defense:
Down-field: Pretty good, didn’t really improve as much as I would have liked, I think I tend to be a little bit poachy I think at times, need to listen to Kyle Minner’s advice to stay closer to my man, I want to start working on recognizing the field better, as well as trying understanding where the thrower wants to put it and going to that spot instead of just following my man there
Dump D: pretty good, mostly I have worked on preventing strike throws so I kinda position myself to make it impossible I think I might be letting swings/dumps off a little too easy, something to work on there
Mark: Still pretty shitty but definite improvement from last year, need to work more on cutting off the swing throw if possible, mostly just try to be more active, stay low and balanced, and maybe start to work in some foot blocks?
Overall: Get in shape for the spring, don’t drink as much, probly try to stay a lil less cocky (not intentional, just real excited to play, but some people have mentioned it soooo I’ll pay more attention to that, I guess kinda weird cause I don’t think I was cocky last year) mostly just need to set a better example for the freshman of not being a douche, and most importantly, to me at least, DON’T HURT MY HEAD AGAIN
Offense:
Throwing:
Backhand: Improved my backhand A LOT, granted it was really terrible so this was something that I really needed to do, kinda random but watching Cody throw really helped me cause I pretty much just tried to mimic his throwing motion in a couple ways and it worked out for me
Flick: I think my hucks have kinda gotten a lil worse which is disappointing, I probably need to rework my flicks a bit cause im definitely turning over my wrist so real bladey throws and I can’t throw into wind at all
Overall: id like a chance to handle a little bit both to improve my in game throwing and cause id like the chance to do it
Cutting: I think I have improved A LOT in this category, mostly cause I was pretty shitty to start the year, still need a lot of improvements going forward. Need to especially work on cutting deep more often, for some reason I rarely do it but I started doing it more near the end of the year and it definitely opened up a lot of opportunities for me on offense. While I was out with my concussion I watched people cut and realized 2 things: 1) it is ridiculously easy to cut if you are sold on where you want to go cause playing defense its pretty hard to cover someone when they know what they want to do and you don’t know where they are gonna go (see this in Tristan all the time, going into the cut you can see that he knows where he wants to go even if you don’t know where, ends up working pretty well for him I think) 2) patience is a virtue, you don’t need to get the disc all the time to be a successful cutter and you don’t need to be cutting all the time to help the team get score, one thing that I learned was that sometimes it’s best to recognize that someone else wants to cut one way and make a cut where you know you won’t get the disc just to pull your man away from the area
Defense:
Down-field: Pretty good, didn’t really improve as much as I would have liked, I think I tend to be a little bit poachy I think at times, need to listen to Kyle Minner’s advice to stay closer to my man, I want to start working on recognizing the field better, as well as trying understanding where the thrower wants to put it and going to that spot instead of just following my man there
Dump D: pretty good, mostly I have worked on preventing strike throws so I kinda position myself to make it impossible I think I might be letting swings/dumps off a little too easy, something to work on there
Mark: Still pretty shitty but definite improvement from last year, need to work more on cutting off the swing throw if possible, mostly just try to be more active, stay low and balanced, and maybe start to work in some foot blocks?
Overall: Get in shape for the spring, don’t drink as much, probly try to stay a lil less cocky (not intentional, just real excited to play, but some people have mentioned it soooo I’ll pay more attention to that, I guess kinda weird cause I don’t think I was cocky last year) mostly just need to set a better example for the freshman of not being a douche, and most importantly, to me at least, DON’T HURT MY HEAD AGAIN
Thursday, November 25, 2010
W.Y.O.E.
Hey kiddoes,
It's Niji, and it's about that time of year that captains start thinking about writing evals for each of you naggers. I think this would be a great time for you to preemptively write your own evals; This way, you can compare what you think you've improved/in what areas you need more work with and what your captains think you're better at/need to get better at without their opinions clouding your self-judgment (yet). Also, just as a fun exercise, you might want to write other sophcore members' evals. Too many opinions might be confusing, but finding a common thread among different evals might help you find what you might want to make a priority.
Looking forward to seeing your self-and-other-people's evals,
Niji
Sean: CUFF
Hiya.
A frustrating tourney for me. I had the expectation that I would get more playing time and be an integral part of either the offense or defense. This was not the case.
Pros:
When I played, I felt I played well. Even though I did have a few unforced turnovers, I thought my improvements and accomplishments on the field far outweighed them. Here are things I remember,
+backhand huck for a score
+pretty solid D. was a ton of fun to play right on my mans hip. a result of this style of play produced more opportunities for D's.
+when I got an opportunity to play I did my part. on only a few times did I let the team down/get scored on.
Cons:
Let not playing get into my head. On my one drop of the weekend I had not played for a few points previously. I made a simple dump cut and dropped the disc cold turkey. Totally my fault.
-a few dumb throws.
-didnt cheer enough for the team. an active sideline is essential to team spirit/performance.
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So, all I can do about this janx is keep working at it. Keep working at getting better. Giving up now because I dont get to play as much as I would like to would be....lame.
A frustrating tourney for me. I had the expectation that I would get more playing time and be an integral part of either the offense or defense. This was not the case.
Pros:
When I played, I felt I played well. Even though I did have a few unforced turnovers, I thought my improvements and accomplishments on the field far outweighed them. Here are things I remember,
+backhand huck for a score
+pretty solid D. was a ton of fun to play right on my mans hip. a result of this style of play produced more opportunities for D's.
+when I got an opportunity to play I did my part. on only a few times did I let the team down/get scored on.
Cons:
Let not playing get into my head. On my one drop of the weekend I had not played for a few points previously. I made a simple dump cut and dropped the disc cold turkey. Totally my fault.
-a few dumb throws.
-didnt cheer enough for the team. an active sideline is essential to team spirit/performance.
--------
So, all I can do about this janx is keep working at it. Keep working at getting better. Giving up now because I dont get to play as much as I would like to would be....lame.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sean: CAAs
Fell asleep yesterday at 6ish, woke up at 12 then went back to bed around 1. I don't feel sore....which is indicative of a good sleep OR (ORRRR) not enough playing time. I think we all know which one is the main contributor hahaha.
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I'm disappointed by our standing in the tourney, 4th place. 3rd was ECU, 2nd Towson and 1st JMU. And honestly I am disappointed by our performance. We can do better. We can do better.
I've been talking to Cody about how his high school team compares to his new college team, our team. He said the one thing that held them back at tourneys was the inability to practice with tournament intensity. We then both agreed that Darkhorse has the same problem. Granted, the team has gotten better about unforced turnovers and decision-making but we still have a long way to go, as evidenced by our record over the weekend. How do you guys think we can better incorporate tournament intensity to our practices? I have a few ideas myself:
1. Less scrimmaging (less means more....as in we would have no excuse to give it our all with less scrimmaging time)
2. More O-line, D-line (so our O-line gets more chemistry and our D-line gets more chemistry/practice against our best offensive players)
3. Weeks of practice centered around a specific skill w/ brand new drills (marks, deep game, zone, breaks, dump throwing/cutting etc.)
4. Throwing session before practices, half an hour before. (This is mainly for freshmen but everyone always needs practice throwing. One can never not get better at something.)
5. Need to ask our upperclassmen what helped them win. More advice from experienced players couldnt hurt.
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Things our team needs to improve upon:
1. Converting on D
2. Deep game
3. Unforced turnovers
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Personal performance
- short break throws too bullet-y and high
- dump cuts, waiting for the handler to be ready, not starting when I think they should be ready
- getting broken (worst moment of my tourney was getting broken....FUUUUUUCK)
- the mark for good handlers, step off a little just like Acie said. The Huddle says slowly close in on the mark, dont start with a condom.
- bidding. down not up...fuck..
- timing my jumps...i am awful at this...how can i get better...at least it's not as bad as last year...sigh
- two unforced error throws, both to MTD. We need to communicate better I serpose.
+ 3/5 on hucks, which tells me two things. I was able to holster more than in practice, which was a goal of mine. It also tells me that my long throws are improving.
+ As a cutter almost always got open.
+ Good break throws
+ The 2nd coming of Minner gave the team some good advice during our bout with JMU: play your man's hip on D. Now that I am in shape enough and quick enough, this form of D wasnt too hard for me and allowed me to shut down cutters on occasion. Also had the opportunity to bid on some in-cuts.
+ Didn't drop once this weekend, I think. Call me out if I'm wrong please.
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Sophcore Performances
Bobbles
+ solid pulls, room for improvement. team needs a consistent puller for games to come. I believe its you. step up
+ nice bids
+ though it wasnt always readily apparent, you shut your man down a lot. next step is creating situations for the turn
- concussion
Tris
+ good cuts
+ open deep
- need to anticipate the cuts a defender wishes to make. because you are a smart cutter, you should already know where he wants to go. anticipate, don't react.
- i am 90% sure of why you are having trouble with your dump throws: body language. Kind of look like a freshmen with the disc in your hands which causes the mark to get all up in your shit. Your flick grip needs to mature to the point where you arent relying on your offhand to support the disc. Also, the disc need to be held further away from your body which forces the mark to give disc space. You tend to hold the disc parallel and close to your chest, a sign of a novice.
Nick
+ back in your D groove. really seems like you want it
+ nice huck
+ tight bids
Fabio
+ stepped up on O. only one drop the whole tourney.
+ great D, bids
- still showcasing your intentions when throwing too much, but never ran into an unforced error (well one, but that doesnt count)
Kyle
+ great D
- gotta work on making your throws more orthodox, standardized.
As a class, I believe we deserve more playing time.
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Overall, I want to win more. I want more. Actually,: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOdWxf1tRmI
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I'm disappointed by our standing in the tourney, 4th place. 3rd was ECU, 2nd Towson and 1st JMU. And honestly I am disappointed by our performance. We can do better. We can do better.
I've been talking to Cody about how his high school team compares to his new college team, our team. He said the one thing that held them back at tourneys was the inability to practice with tournament intensity. We then both agreed that Darkhorse has the same problem. Granted, the team has gotten better about unforced turnovers and decision-making but we still have a long way to go, as evidenced by our record over the weekend. How do you guys think we can better incorporate tournament intensity to our practices? I have a few ideas myself:
1. Less scrimmaging (less means more....as in we would have no excuse to give it our all with less scrimmaging time)
2. More O-line, D-line (so our O-line gets more chemistry and our D-line gets more chemistry/practice against our best offensive players)
3. Weeks of practice centered around a specific skill w/ brand new drills (marks, deep game, zone, breaks, dump throwing/cutting etc.)
4. Throwing session before practices, half an hour before. (This is mainly for freshmen but everyone always needs practice throwing. One can never not get better at something.)
5. Need to ask our upperclassmen what helped them win. More advice from experienced players couldnt hurt.
------
Things our team needs to improve upon:
1. Converting on D
2. Deep game
3. Unforced turnovers
------
Personal performance
- short break throws too bullet-y and high
- dump cuts, waiting for the handler to be ready, not starting when I think they should be ready
- getting broken (worst moment of my tourney was getting broken....FUUUUUUCK)
- the mark for good handlers, step off a little just like Acie said. The Huddle says slowly close in on the mark, dont start with a condom.
- bidding. down not up...fuck..
- timing my jumps...i am awful at this...how can i get better...at least it's not as bad as last year...sigh
- two unforced error throws, both to MTD. We need to communicate better I serpose.
+ 3/5 on hucks, which tells me two things. I was able to holster more than in practice, which was a goal of mine. It also tells me that my long throws are improving.
+ As a cutter almost always got open.
+ Good break throws
+ The 2nd coming of Minner gave the team some good advice during our bout with JMU: play your man's hip on D. Now that I am in shape enough and quick enough, this form of D wasnt too hard for me and allowed me to shut down cutters on occasion. Also had the opportunity to bid on some in-cuts.
+ Didn't drop once this weekend, I think. Call me out if I'm wrong please.
-----------
Sophcore Performances
Bobbles
+ solid pulls, room for improvement. team needs a consistent puller for games to come. I believe its you. step up
+ nice bids
+ though it wasnt always readily apparent, you shut your man down a lot. next step is creating situations for the turn
- concussion
Tris
+ good cuts
+ open deep
- need to anticipate the cuts a defender wishes to make. because you are a smart cutter, you should already know where he wants to go. anticipate, don't react.
- i am 90% sure of why you are having trouble with your dump throws: body language. Kind of look like a freshmen with the disc in your hands which causes the mark to get all up in your shit. Your flick grip needs to mature to the point where you arent relying on your offhand to support the disc. Also, the disc need to be held further away from your body which forces the mark to give disc space. You tend to hold the disc parallel and close to your chest, a sign of a novice.
Nick
+ back in your D groove. really seems like you want it
+ nice huck
+ tight bids
Fabio
+ stepped up on O. only one drop the whole tourney.
+ great D, bids
- still showcasing your intentions when throwing too much, but never ran into an unforced error (well one, but that doesnt count)
Kyle
+ great D
- gotta work on making your throws more orthodox, standardized.
As a class, I believe we deserve more playing time.
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Overall, I want to win more. I want more. Actually,: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOdWxf1tRmI
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Nick: Wrap Up of CAAs
Yo dooders,
Just wanted to take a little time here to talk about my experiences and observations from this weekend. For the most part I agree with what Tristan had to say about losing to teams that are just about as good as us. I feel like we all feel the same way here and it doesn't need rubbing in, but I've noticed that we tend to beat ourselves far too often.
At the same time, I'd have to disagree with you, Tristan, on your thoughts about the O-line getting tired. Obviously I could be wrong, but I feel like most of the time when our o-line fucked up it was just because of mental errors or...let's call it a lack of flow, not really a fatigue thing. I do think that some guys should get more reps on the line to keep it fresh, but I think having a solid, constant unit as our o-line will lead to more success. We've seen them run a train down the field, we know what they're capable of, and those are the guys I like to see out there on offense. Of course they could be more in shape, but I think they did a great job for this being our first real tourney and all.
Now to the personals, yo.
Sean: I know which huck T-boner referred to, and it was tiiiighhhht. Other than that, really solid weekend. I know you were bummed that you got bumped from the 0-line for no apparent reason, but you still played a major role out on the field as a d-handler. Keep it up and you'll catch the captains' eyes. Also, work on dem bids mon.
Fabskies: GREAT fucking weekend dude. I've noticed in practices this year that you would always burn the shit out of me when I tried to mark you, and apparently the captains noticed as well and put you on o-line. The timing of your cuts is superb, and you've become an all-around solid ass player man. Keep workin' on your throws though, obviously I'm no expert with this stuff but you seem to telegraph your intentions a lot, which leads to the mark blocking off the throw you're looking for.
Bobert: Nice work on Saturday champ. I gotta say I love how little you value your body and personal well being. At the same time, take care of yourself man, you're no good to us injured on the sideline.
Tris: You played a hell of a tournament dude. Believe it or not you are definitely one of the team's emotional leaders and we thrive on your energy and emotion. You made good cuts, took care of the disk for the most part, and overall got the job done. I'd say your only downfall is silly mistakes you make, like drops and such. There's not much to do about that shit though, just keep your cool and shorten up your memory a bit; don't dwell on your mistakes and play with confidence.
Kyle: You really stepped it up this weekend man. The captains gave you a fare share of playtime and you definitely made the most of it, expect lots more PT to come your way in the future. The only advice I have for you is to work on becoming a better handler. I've heard from Fickletits and LBM that they want you to start to fill that role on the team, which is why they'd call you back to handle a lot after a D turn. I'm confident that you can become a good handler, you just have to know how to practice the right things to get there.
Myself: Pretty disappointing weekend but I still had a great fucking time out there. Saturday I noticed that since I was getting so frustrated with my play time that I wouldn't even focus on the game when I got on the field. Saturday I played 7 points, got scored on three times, got one D, and had one turn. Not cool. Regardless, I had a little chat with Fickley Saturday night and told him that no matter how many points I get on Sunday, he can expect great things from me. I thought I'd get a lot of PT on Sunday but it only ended up being about 12 points, which I definitely feel like I made the most of. I only got scored on once (that near lay out D I had in the end zone towards the end of the ECU game), had three scores (Sean, let's hit up that Iso shit alllllll day baby), and one turn. Sorry to ramble, but I have a lot on my mind about my weekend. Long story short I learned a lot about staying positive and will make positive contributions to this team no matter how much PT I get in the future.
Sorry this took so long, but I haven't posted in a while so I thought it was straight.
PS) Go deep son! You know I've got that backhand put to hit you up in the endzone!
Thanks for a great weekend boys, I love you all.
Hargrievances.
Tristan: Tournament CAA's in WILLIAMSBURG
Yo, what up!?!
My work load is no longer overwhelming so I can contribute!
I think the tournament went okay for us. We had our moments, but certainly lacked concentration in others. I've noticed something: we tend to lose our even match-ups. I think JMU and ECU and even Towson are no better than us. Our team tends to come out for one half and completely butcher the other. I think our O-line has trouble converting when it gets tired. The same players seem to play, which is fine because they're the most consistent on the team. BUT I think those players in particular need to work on getting in tournament shape. I don't think this applies to Sophcore, but it was just an observation. Also, we had a lotta drops and breaks (as Fickley told us).
Personals--
Bobby: Great first day. You are playing really well. Key defensive player.
Fabio: You had some sick bids this weekend. You're also extremely consistent and a well fitting O-line player. Keep it up dude.
Sean: You had that SaaaWEET huck that I can't get out of my head. I'd say work on your dump/strike cuts. I know we sort of had a miscommunication at one point. Layouts too. Keep working on those.
Kyle: You had a couple of really nice D points. Your layouts are baller. Try and stay tighter on your man. Keep at his hip.
Nick: Dude, I'm sorry this weekend didn't work out for you. It sucks that you have class on tuesday/thursdays. You should work extra hard on wednesdays and sundays. You should also throw around with us more. Your bids are sick as always.
Me: This weekend I fucked up a few dump throws, which perplexed me. I'm usually pretty good at hitting the dump. I think I broke contact with my dump a few times with that. Defensively, I thought I played pretty well. I'm going to work on my man-to-man mark more. That needs work. I'd like to improve my layouts on D. I think my mark in zone was particularly strong this weekend. Also, I thought I got open pretty well when we had the disc.
Overall, I thought we did well this weekend. I had fun. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't win ANY of our challenging games. We need to work on consistency.
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