After the semi final against Calgary we crowded into the shuttle line to wait for our glorious ride back to the Fairmont. An hour and a half later (one hour spent just waiting for the darn shuttle) we rolled into the parking at our hotel and had some time to decompress, do some laundry, have a pre-dinner meal and then go for dinner with the team. All the while knowing that on Sunday we would be faced with a golden opportunity, unlike any we have ever had before.
If there was a year for us to win Nationals it was this year. No Goat, No Furious and no other teams left in our way except a Phoenix team that we were confident that we could handle. Most of the players on our team participated in the previous year’s final loss against Nomads so at least had some experience playing in a final and, more importantly, dealing with the nerves that one can experience leading up to the final. On the way to the stadium most of the guys were acting very loose which was a stark contrast to our previous final experiences. That in itself was a good sign.
I think that the feeling going into the game was that we were going to win. I don’t think anyone doubted that. We were all happy and prepared for the weather conditions; grey and overcast with a slight drizzle, so we really felt like there was no reason for us to have any problems in the final.
We ran off to a bit of a lead but then we let Phoenix back into the game to the point that they were leading 14-13 with the disc to win the game. I didn’t even realize it until the game was over but we actually came within inches of losing the game as Billy Alexander just barely overthrew his receiver in the endzone to give possession back to us. We went on a 4-1 run at that point and managed to close out the game 17-15.
Of course we had the big celebration, rushing the field; there was the trophy and medal ceremony and we had a few celebratory drinks in the stands. We were obviously really excited to win but I have a nagging feeling that we almost blew it. The game should have been easier for us but we let Phoenix in the game for longer than they should have been. I must give credit to Phoenix for not rolling over and playing a great game but the fact remains that we should have won more comfortably than we did.
I think there were a couple of things that worked against us. Our first problem was that we were a bit too profligate with possession. Some players still displayed some nerves and turned the disc over too much. Our second problem is that our fitness level is nowhere near where it needs to be. Phoenix’s superior fitness level kept them in the game longer than they should have been in it. Our last problem was that we didn’t make the adjustments that we needed to make on defense to really close out the game quickly. We knew what we needed to do, we just didn’t implement it. I think this last issue was our biggest problem. With Shaggy, Eric and myself all playing on offense we didn’t have as much of a voice on the D line as we should have had. We were standing on the sideline watching our defense making strategic mistakes when we should have taken a bigger role in helping our defense figure out what they should have been doing on the field in the first place. We should have been making sure that the D line had their plans in order but we didn’t. I think that comes back to the fitness issue. It was very tiring just to play our O points; we didn’t have it in us to run downfield and, within the 90 second time limits, coordinate the defense at the same time.
I recall being on the sideline for our first 6 or 7 D points thinking to myself that we should be forcing backhand and not flick but for whatever reason I didn’t get my butt on the field to make sure the D was doing that. I guess part of that would be due to the fact that we were ahead by a few points. That is exactly when I should have made sure that our defense would have employed that force since I really do think that it would have taken Phoenix right out of the game (their offense works better against our flick force than against our backhand force). Instead we were just good enough to take the lead but not to run away with the game. Eventually, once Phoenix had come back, we switched to backhand and that let us get back in the game and win it… but like I said, we never should have been in that position.
Regardless, we won. We finally won a National Championship!!!!! I don’t think that I ever thought that I would be less of a player if I never won one of these but I definitely felt like a monkey off my back. Now it doesn’t matter anymore. I have won a National Championship and no one can take that away from me.
Now it’s time for another off season and once again the, “is it time to retire”, discussion. Thankfully I don’t need to think about that for a while. I’m just going to enjoy my winter by not playing any disc… have fun at league guys, I won’t see you there except on the odd nights I drop by to say hello.
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Monday, November 09, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
How Did We Win it All?
The quick answer to that question is that Goat and Furious George weren’t there. That answer also takes away from our accomplishment which isn’t the point of this post. I want to describe our moment of glory in all it’s…. glory.
Going into the tournament we knew that we wouldn’t be ranked as high as we wanted to be meaning we would have a slightly tougher road. That was until we realized that being under ranked was actually a good place to be. We would play a strong team on the first day but the rest of the way we would actually have easier games than most other teams. Here’s to the path of least resistance.
Our first game on Thursday was against Toronto’s third team, Roy. We played relatively clean ultimate and took it to them hard 15-2 (sorry Rahil). Our next game was against an unknown team from Saskatoon called Tommy Douglas Dream Machine. They looked like your typical inexperienced team with a mix of athletic players and they had just given Winnipeg’s General Strike a tougher game than they probably expected. They put up a bit more of a fight but we dispatched them 15-6.
By this point in the day the mercury was ready to explode out the top of the thermometer and shade was a hard commodity to come by. Not being used to this weather due to the abnormally mild and wet summer we have had in Montreal meant that even though we did well to conserve our energy in our two wins, it would be a challenge to muster the strength to play the last game of the day.
The game against General Strike started well enough for us but quickly degenerated as yours truly made a few errors that put us in a two point hole at the mid point of the first half. Our D line did a great job of climbing out of that hole and it was 8-7 at half. We kept battling through the second half but were never able to put our errors aside and just pull away. We were up 12-11 in a game to 13 and just couldn’t close the deal. We missed a chance to end the game on a D point by missing a huck by mere inches and at 12-12 thought that our O line would be able to seal the deal. We had some good disc movement but an unfortunate slip by Nico meant that he wasn’t able to get to Shag’s pass on an in cut despite getting his fingertips on the disc while lying on the ground. Strike almost gave it back to us but they managed to have the game of inches go in their favour as it took a huge layout grab for them to seal the win.
So we had a 2-1 record after day one and took a 1-1 record with us into the power pool. The best part was that no one on Mephisto was worried about the loss. To a man you could see that everyone knew that we just under performed and that 9 times out of 10 we win that game; it just happened that this time was the exception.
Day two would be important to setup the matchups for the elimination rounds. Thanks to Thursday’s loss, our first game of the day would be our big challenge. We wanted to come out strong and set the tone for the rest of the day but instead we came out like a bunch of sissies and spotted Calgary’s Invictus a 5-1 lead. Apparently someone woke up our team as at that point we reeled of 7 straight points and took half 8-5. An 11-2 run by us meant that Invictus’ good start was all for naught and we took the game 12-7. I’m still not sure what lit the fire under our behinds but it worked.
We then had two easier games against our development team, Demon, and a team from BC called Sofa Kings. Demon brought a lot of fight to our game. They just weren’t good enough to match us and we won handily but both teams exerted more energy than either should have. We went through the motions against Sofa Kings while resting some almost injured players and still won 15-6.
At that point we heard that Invictus had defeated General Strike giving some players hope that we would actually get first place thanks to point differential but alas it was not to be as we had previously heard that Tommy Douglas upset Invictus so no matter the outcome of our game against Sofa Kings, we would be second in the pool.
Trying to figure out who our quarterfinal was going to be against was an exercise in futility as there were so many upsets and ties in the other pool that we had no idea who was going to end up in what position. In the end we were just glad that we didn’t have Blackfish or Phoenix.
Saturday morning started with a bang… of thunder. We got to fields in time to find out that we were going to be playing against Mangina and in time to get some good seats in the beer tent where we could wait out the rain and lightning delay. At times the rain seemed to be so hard that we thought we would be better served building an ark. Eventually we got the call that games would be starting in 45 minutes. The Mephisto leadership toyed with the idea of only sending 12 players out for the game just to make sure that we didn’t have too many players standing in the rain getting cold. It’s a strategy that has worked for us before in rainy weather. Thankfully the rain let up and we were able to play a full roster. We cruised to a 10-7 win in a game that was a bit closer than it needed to be but at least we got the job done.
After that it was back to the relative dryness and warmth of the beer tent. The rain had turned into a drizzle by the time we had to get ready for our semi-final against Calgary. While we were warming up I kept thinking to myself that I wasn’t ready for the semis. I never like having that feeling because I never know if it means that I’m really nervous or if I have the right amount of nervous energy for the game. On the other hand it is a better feeling than when I feel too comfortable before a game; that usually means my body is too relaxed and I have trouble getting going.
The game started out as a muddy battle between what seemed like two evenly matched teams. We got an early break but it was back and forth until our O line scored to make it 5-3. I’m not sure what happened after that Invictus crumbled under our pressure and we managed to keep pouring it on like I’ve never seen us do it before. We won the game 15-3; Calgary just couldn’t do anything but it wasn’t that they were being inept, our guys just kept making big plays. Every point saw us make big play after big play and it wasn’t just a few guys, it was everyone. I had the good fortune of making probably the biggest play of the game when I scored a layout Callahan goal to make it 8-3 and take the game to half. After every point our boys were rushing the field and the Calgary guys were just slumped over in the mud wondering what they could do to complete a pass, forget about score a goal. It was probably the most comprehensive victory that Mephisto has ever had. We didn’t just beat Calgary, it was a slaughter.
Well that set us up for a finals showdown against Phoenix on Sunday.
This has taken up a lot of keystrokes so contrary to the title of the post, I’m going to take a break here and my next post will finish off on the theme of “how did we win it all”. Next post will cover how we prepared for the final and how the final went down. I might even give you a glimpse into our post-final celebrations which may have gotten a bit… sloppy.
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Going into the tournament we knew that we wouldn’t be ranked as high as we wanted to be meaning we would have a slightly tougher road. That was until we realized that being under ranked was actually a good place to be. We would play a strong team on the first day but the rest of the way we would actually have easier games than most other teams. Here’s to the path of least resistance.
Our first game on Thursday was against Toronto’s third team, Roy. We played relatively clean ultimate and took it to them hard 15-2 (sorry Rahil). Our next game was against an unknown team from Saskatoon called Tommy Douglas Dream Machine. They looked like your typical inexperienced team with a mix of athletic players and they had just given Winnipeg’s General Strike a tougher game than they probably expected. They put up a bit more of a fight but we dispatched them 15-6.
By this point in the day the mercury was ready to explode out the top of the thermometer and shade was a hard commodity to come by. Not being used to this weather due to the abnormally mild and wet summer we have had in Montreal meant that even though we did well to conserve our energy in our two wins, it would be a challenge to muster the strength to play the last game of the day.
The game against General Strike started well enough for us but quickly degenerated as yours truly made a few errors that put us in a two point hole at the mid point of the first half. Our D line did a great job of climbing out of that hole and it was 8-7 at half. We kept battling through the second half but were never able to put our errors aside and just pull away. We were up 12-11 in a game to 13 and just couldn’t close the deal. We missed a chance to end the game on a D point by missing a huck by mere inches and at 12-12 thought that our O line would be able to seal the deal. We had some good disc movement but an unfortunate slip by Nico meant that he wasn’t able to get to Shag’s pass on an in cut despite getting his fingertips on the disc while lying on the ground. Strike almost gave it back to us but they managed to have the game of inches go in their favour as it took a huge layout grab for them to seal the win.
So we had a 2-1 record after day one and took a 1-1 record with us into the power pool. The best part was that no one on Mephisto was worried about the loss. To a man you could see that everyone knew that we just under performed and that 9 times out of 10 we win that game; it just happened that this time was the exception.
Day two would be important to setup the matchups for the elimination rounds. Thanks to Thursday’s loss, our first game of the day would be our big challenge. We wanted to come out strong and set the tone for the rest of the day but instead we came out like a bunch of sissies and spotted Calgary’s Invictus a 5-1 lead. Apparently someone woke up our team as at that point we reeled of 7 straight points and took half 8-5. An 11-2 run by us meant that Invictus’ good start was all for naught and we took the game 12-7. I’m still not sure what lit the fire under our behinds but it worked.
We then had two easier games against our development team, Demon, and a team from BC called Sofa Kings. Demon brought a lot of fight to our game. They just weren’t good enough to match us and we won handily but both teams exerted more energy than either should have. We went through the motions against Sofa Kings while resting some almost injured players and still won 15-6.
At that point we heard that Invictus had defeated General Strike giving some players hope that we would actually get first place thanks to point differential but alas it was not to be as we had previously heard that Tommy Douglas upset Invictus so no matter the outcome of our game against Sofa Kings, we would be second in the pool.
Trying to figure out who our quarterfinal was going to be against was an exercise in futility as there were so many upsets and ties in the other pool that we had no idea who was going to end up in what position. In the end we were just glad that we didn’t have Blackfish or Phoenix.
Saturday morning started with a bang… of thunder. We got to fields in time to find out that we were going to be playing against Mangina and in time to get some good seats in the beer tent where we could wait out the rain and lightning delay. At times the rain seemed to be so hard that we thought we would be better served building an ark. Eventually we got the call that games would be starting in 45 minutes. The Mephisto leadership toyed with the idea of only sending 12 players out for the game just to make sure that we didn’t have too many players standing in the rain getting cold. It’s a strategy that has worked for us before in rainy weather. Thankfully the rain let up and we were able to play a full roster. We cruised to a 10-7 win in a game that was a bit closer than it needed to be but at least we got the job done.
After that it was back to the relative dryness and warmth of the beer tent. The rain had turned into a drizzle by the time we had to get ready for our semi-final against Calgary. While we were warming up I kept thinking to myself that I wasn’t ready for the semis. I never like having that feeling because I never know if it means that I’m really nervous or if I have the right amount of nervous energy for the game. On the other hand it is a better feeling than when I feel too comfortable before a game; that usually means my body is too relaxed and I have trouble getting going.
The game started out as a muddy battle between what seemed like two evenly matched teams. We got an early break but it was back and forth until our O line scored to make it 5-3. I’m not sure what happened after that Invictus crumbled under our pressure and we managed to keep pouring it on like I’ve never seen us do it before. We won the game 15-3; Calgary just couldn’t do anything but it wasn’t that they were being inept, our guys just kept making big plays. Every point saw us make big play after big play and it wasn’t just a few guys, it was everyone. I had the good fortune of making probably the biggest play of the game when I scored a layout Callahan goal to make it 8-3 and take the game to half. After every point our boys were rushing the field and the Calgary guys were just slumped over in the mud wondering what they could do to complete a pass, forget about score a goal. It was probably the most comprehensive victory that Mephisto has ever had. We didn’t just beat Calgary, it was a slaughter.
Well that set us up for a finals showdown against Phoenix on Sunday.
This has taken up a lot of keystrokes so contrary to the title of the post, I’m going to take a break here and my next post will finish off on the theme of “how did we win it all”. Next post will cover how we prepared for the final and how the final went down. I might even give you a glimpse into our post-final celebrations which may have gotten a bit… sloppy.
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
Canadian Champions!!!!!
We finally pulled it off. Mephisto won the Canadian Ultimate Championships and no one can take that away from us. One could argue that it doesn't count for much since Furious George and Goat weren't there. To them I say so what; they weren't there to put their hats in the ring for the right to be called the Canadian champions and we were there.
After 14 attempts to get to the top we finally did it. We were confident that we would win but nothing was guaranteed since we aren't that far ahead of some of the other teams at the tournament. The final was a bit closer than we had wanted it to be but we won by 2 points which means it can't be called a fluke. Here is, as best as I can remember them, a summary of Mephisto's previous results at Nationals. 1996 was the first time Mephisto (and I) competed at Nationals so there are a lot of results to try to remember.
1996 - in Toronto. Furious George beats Pam for the tournament and Mephisto finishes in 8th spot after beating North Bay in a 8/9 crossover game.
1997 - in Victoria. This was my first ever trip to the West Coast of Canada. Furious George beats Altar Boys in the finals. Mephisto finishes 6th (I think), one or two spots ahead of arch rivals Wax (who called themselves Gold/Chunx for this year).
1998 - Montreal. Wax comes back and beats Nomads. Mephisto finishes in 7th place.
1999 - Ottawa. Furious goes on to win the final over Wax after destroying Mephisto in our first ever appearance in semis. Finish T3rd.
2000 - Vancouver. Furious beats Calgary 19-1 amid cheers of "We want Montreal!". This after we blew a 12-8 lead in our semi to Calgary amid a bunch of "questionable" calls. Everyone talks about how Calgary cheated their way to the final but in the end we could have just scored a few more points and that would have been that. This was also the first year that Mephisto beat the top Toronto team when we eliminated YES in quarters. Finish T3rd.
2001 - Edmonton. Nomads beat Calgary. Mephisto once again beats YES in the quarters. We then go on to lose to Nomads in the semis and finish T3rd.
2002 - Ottawa. We make it to the finals for the first time and lose to the new Toronto/Ottawa super-team Goat. This is the first year that semis are played on Saturday and only the finals happen on Sunday. Previously both semis and finals happen on Sunday. Finish 2nd.
2003 - Montreal. Furious beats Goat. After 4 straight years of at least semis, Mephisto plays like poo and gets eliminated in quarters. We end up winning the choke-off championship against Phoenix to claim 5th place in dramatic fashion; down by 2 points, we roll off 3 straight to win the game.
2004 - Vancouver. Nomads beats Calgary. We finish T3rd after losing to Calgary in the semis. Calgary may have won the game but we scored back to back callahans on passes from Kirk Savage to Jeff Cruickshank (talk about super-pickups). After the first callahan we scored one again right off the next pull, on the first pass.
2005 - Winnipeg. Nomads beats Goat. Mephisto finishes 4th. The first time we actually played for 3/4.
2006 - Halifax. Goat beats Mephisto in the finals. Our young, inexperienced players did not deal well with the skill and experience of Goat. Some of our guys were so nervous that they did not sleep the night before the final.
2007 - Toronto. Furious beats Goat. Mephisto had an okay tournament but lost to Calgary in the 3/4 game. Now that I think of it, we have never won a 3/4 game at Nationals.
2008 - Calgary. Nomads beats Mephisto in a windy final. Unfortunately we just did not have the skill to compete with Nomads in the extreme wind conditions.
2009 - Winnipeg. Mephisto beats Phoenix 17-15 in the final. The first time we play in back to back finals we make good by winning.
In 14 years here are the numbers
quartefinal appearances: 14
semi-final appearances: 10
final appearance: 4
Championships: 1
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After 14 attempts to get to the top we finally did it. We were confident that we would win but nothing was guaranteed since we aren't that far ahead of some of the other teams at the tournament. The final was a bit closer than we had wanted it to be but we won by 2 points which means it can't be called a fluke. Here is, as best as I can remember them, a summary of Mephisto's previous results at Nationals. 1996 was the first time Mephisto (and I) competed at Nationals so there are a lot of results to try to remember.
1996 - in Toronto. Furious George beats Pam for the tournament and Mephisto finishes in 8th spot after beating North Bay in a 8/9 crossover game.
1997 - in Victoria. This was my first ever trip to the West Coast of Canada. Furious George beats Altar Boys in the finals. Mephisto finishes 6th (I think), one or two spots ahead of arch rivals Wax (who called themselves Gold/Chunx for this year).
1998 - Montreal. Wax comes back and beats Nomads. Mephisto finishes in 7th place.
1999 - Ottawa. Furious goes on to win the final over Wax after destroying Mephisto in our first ever appearance in semis. Finish T3rd.
2000 - Vancouver. Furious beats Calgary 19-1 amid cheers of "We want Montreal!". This after we blew a 12-8 lead in our semi to Calgary amid a bunch of "questionable" calls. Everyone talks about how Calgary cheated their way to the final but in the end we could have just scored a few more points and that would have been that. This was also the first year that Mephisto beat the top Toronto team when we eliminated YES in quarters. Finish T3rd.
2001 - Edmonton. Nomads beat Calgary. Mephisto once again beats YES in the quarters. We then go on to lose to Nomads in the semis and finish T3rd.
2002 - Ottawa. We make it to the finals for the first time and lose to the new Toronto/Ottawa super-team Goat. This is the first year that semis are played on Saturday and only the finals happen on Sunday. Previously both semis and finals happen on Sunday. Finish 2nd.
2003 - Montreal. Furious beats Goat. After 4 straight years of at least semis, Mephisto plays like poo and gets eliminated in quarters. We end up winning the choke-off championship against Phoenix to claim 5th place in dramatic fashion; down by 2 points, we roll off 3 straight to win the game.
2004 - Vancouver. Nomads beats Calgary. We finish T3rd after losing to Calgary in the semis. Calgary may have won the game but we scored back to back callahans on passes from Kirk Savage to Jeff Cruickshank (talk about super-pickups). After the first callahan we scored one again right off the next pull, on the first pass.
2005 - Winnipeg. Nomads beats Goat. Mephisto finishes 4th. The first time we actually played for 3/4.
2006 - Halifax. Goat beats Mephisto in the finals. Our young, inexperienced players did not deal well with the skill and experience of Goat. Some of our guys were so nervous that they did not sleep the night before the final.
2007 - Toronto. Furious beats Goat. Mephisto had an okay tournament but lost to Calgary in the 3/4 game. Now that I think of it, we have never won a 3/4 game at Nationals.
2008 - Calgary. Nomads beats Mephisto in a windy final. Unfortunately we just did not have the skill to compete with Nomads in the extreme wind conditions.
2009 - Winnipeg. Mephisto beats Phoenix 17-15 in the final. The first time we play in back to back finals we make good by winning.
In 14 years here are the numbers
quartefinal appearances: 14
semi-final appearances: 10
final appearance: 4
Championships: 1
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Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Still Chugging Along
Boston wasn't conclusive, neither was Jazzfest in Montreal so I won't be retiring just yet. The two things that those tournaments showed me is that I need to get in better shape and I need to get my game focus back to were it needs to be.
I'm in decent enough shape to compete but I'm not in good enough shape to be the player I would like to be. Playing defense tires me out too quickly and my first step needs to be better. I'm able to play well on offense but after a long day my legs get tired and on day two, forget it. I'm wiped.
As for my focus, it just isn't there when I get fatigued. The obvious things aren't an issue; remembering plays, the mark, where to position myself, etc.. My challenge is having the focus to deal with situations out of the ordinary. Like on Sunday in the finals of Jazzfest, there was one point where I got the first pass and the cuts came too slowly. The next thing I remember is hearing "stall 9" and then trying to rush a throw off. Needless to say throwing it into the mark's hand wasn't the right thing to do but I just wasn't paying as much attention to the situation as I should have been. I should have looked upfield and as soon as I saw nothing happen, look for a reset. I'm hoping that will come as I play more tournaments.
I think I threw my first Callahan this past Sunday. I definitely threw a Callahan on Sunday, I just can't recall if I've ever thrown one before that. It was a funny situation, at least to me it was. It was really windy and the pull carried to the back of our endzone. I thought about catching it as it whizzed by me but it was still too high to pancake it. I ended up running back to pick it up but then when I turned to throw, my handler wasn't where I expected him to be so I kinda a double pumped while I tried to find him on the field. Once I saw him I threw the pass but the wind had let up by that point. I unfortunately threw a pass as if there was no wind and immediately as I threw the wind picked up. It made my pass look like a useless league pass, lifted it over Nico's head but then immediately dropped it behind him in the arms of a defender. I must have been thinking about it too much before throwing it. Oh well. At least we won the game 15-4 and I can laugh it off.
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I'm in decent enough shape to compete but I'm not in good enough shape to be the player I would like to be. Playing defense tires me out too quickly and my first step needs to be better. I'm able to play well on offense but after a long day my legs get tired and on day two, forget it. I'm wiped.
As for my focus, it just isn't there when I get fatigued. The obvious things aren't an issue; remembering plays, the mark, where to position myself, etc.. My challenge is having the focus to deal with situations out of the ordinary. Like on Sunday in the finals of Jazzfest, there was one point where I got the first pass and the cuts came too slowly. The next thing I remember is hearing "stall 9" and then trying to rush a throw off. Needless to say throwing it into the mark's hand wasn't the right thing to do but I just wasn't paying as much attention to the situation as I should have been. I should have looked upfield and as soon as I saw nothing happen, look for a reset. I'm hoping that will come as I play more tournaments.
I think I threw my first Callahan this past Sunday. I definitely threw a Callahan on Sunday, I just can't recall if I've ever thrown one before that. It was a funny situation, at least to me it was. It was really windy and the pull carried to the back of our endzone. I thought about catching it as it whizzed by me but it was still too high to pancake it. I ended up running back to pick it up but then when I turned to throw, my handler wasn't where I expected him to be so I kinda a double pumped while I tried to find him on the field. Once I saw him I threw the pass but the wind had let up by that point. I unfortunately threw a pass as if there was no wind and immediately as I threw the wind picked up. It made my pass look like a useless league pass, lifted it over Nico's head but then immediately dropped it behind him in the arms of a defender. I must have been thinking about it too much before throwing it. Oh well. At least we won the game 15-4 and I can laugh it off.
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Semi-??????
What do you call it when you aren't really retired but you aren't really in the game. I think that semi-retirement would be the term that most people use but I don't think that applies to me and my Ultimate status. I'm more in a state of having better things to while still wanting to play ultimate. Better things you say... what could possibly be better? See for yourself at madeline2009.blogspot.com.
I voluntarily skipped my first tournament with Mephisto in a long, long time; probably my first one ever. Mephisto went to the Cazenovia Ultimate Tournament the first weekend of June and I stayed home. They did quite well, finishing tied for 3rd, after losing the semi-final to Goat 15-13. After taking a month off I finally started attending Mephisto practices again but I'm way behind everyone else. I haven't gone to the gym or done anything to improve my fitness in that month and I feel no guilt about that choice. Now I'm faced with another choice; do I just cruise through the summer half assed or do I try to get in shape to be able to play like I know I can. I know that I can still play at the highest level of the sport but only if I put in the effort to be in shape. If I'm not going to put in the effort I don't really want to play. I love ultimate but not enough to waste my time playing it just for fun. It's the competitive aspect of the game that really draws me. I'd rather find another sport than toil through league in Montreal.
That's where I stand right now; wanting to play at the top level but not ready and not sure I want to put in the effort to get back there. Boston is in two weeks. I have the green light to get away for the weekend so now the choice is mine. What I think will end up happening is that I will play at Boston and if I'm not too far off the pace of the game I might keep going for the year but if I go only to realize that I've been left behind... well then it will probably be time to hang them up.
I could always just play Masters with other out of shape people like myself... nah. I've always wanted to try white-water kayaking...
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I voluntarily skipped my first tournament with Mephisto in a long, long time; probably my first one ever. Mephisto went to the Cazenovia Ultimate Tournament the first weekend of June and I stayed home. They did quite well, finishing tied for 3rd, after losing the semi-final to Goat 15-13. After taking a month off I finally started attending Mephisto practices again but I'm way behind everyone else. I haven't gone to the gym or done anything to improve my fitness in that month and I feel no guilt about that choice. Now I'm faced with another choice; do I just cruise through the summer half assed or do I try to get in shape to be able to play like I know I can. I know that I can still play at the highest level of the sport but only if I put in the effort to be in shape. If I'm not going to put in the effort I don't really want to play. I love ultimate but not enough to waste my time playing it just for fun. It's the competitive aspect of the game that really draws me. I'd rather find another sport than toil through league in Montreal.
That's where I stand right now; wanting to play at the top level but not ready and not sure I want to put in the effort to get back there. Boston is in two weeks. I have the green light to get away for the weekend so now the choice is mine. What I think will end up happening is that I will play at Boston and if I'm not too far off the pace of the game I might keep going for the year but if I go only to realize that I've been left behind... well then it will probably be time to hang them up.
I could always just play Masters with other out of shape people like myself... nah. I've always wanted to try white-water kayaking...
DF
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Monday, April 06, 2009
UPAs Day 3 and Other Things
So I've thought about what writing my UPA Day 3 recap for a while but I didn't really want to bother. It probably had something to do with the fact that day 3 was not one for the history books. We got crushed by Chain Lightning in the quarters, beat Ring of Fire in a consolation play-in game and lost to Revolver in a game that neither team really took seriously for 5-6. In the end we finished the tournament in sixth position which all things considered is awesome but it still felt like a big letdown.
On the plus side I think that we were better than all of the teams that finished behind us. You could argue that Sockeye was better than us but I'm going to go with they were not. Their arrogance drops them behind us despite the fact they beat us (barely and only with cheating). That still doesn't make me feel better. I know we lost to Jam and Ironside, both of whom would eventually contest the finals but I don't think that we were really close to those teams. The score against Ironside was close but I don't think that we could have done better and they definitely could have.
There are a few reasons why I felt like our finish was a letdown and I'll mention the two biggest ones (in my humble opinion).
1) As a team we were in really bad shape. I felt pretty fit and had the stamina to play a lot but I think I was lacking a bit of leg strength to be able to play as well as I would have wanted to. But there were some guys who had nothing to offer. At this level that just isn't good enough. The tournament format is gruelling and if you don't have a fit roster, you won't go far. In every single game that we played we started off strong and finished slow, a very good indicator that we weren't fit enough. This is an easy issue to deal with... get in shape before you show up at UPAs.
2) We had average line-calling/roster management. Guys who were tired or having bad games were getting called on the line ahead of other guys who were fresh or were having good games. I'm not talking about myself, I'm talking about guys who should have been on the field but spent a lot of time on the sidelines talking to me. UPAs isn't a place to play favourites, to try to keep the PT complainers happy or to play as many points as possible. If you want to play every single point stay home and play Goosebowl. At UPAs, the needs and goals of the team come first and I don't think we did that. There were guys who didn't deserve to be on the field playing on "Universe-point" lines and there were guys who should have been on the field picking their noses on the sidelines. I'm not sure what the problem was but I wasn't about to question it while it was happening; if there is one thing that I have learned it's that you don't help anything when you complain. Do I think that I could have managed the roster a bit better? Yes I do. I've been calling lines for Mephisto for a long time now and I've think I've been pretty ruthless in how I've gone about doing it... being ruthless is the only way to do it fairly and as long as you are fair and can explain that then no one can be upset.
So UPAs were awesome. I'm really glad that I got to go and play in the open division, it is so much better than masters. That's all I really care to say about UPAs.
After a really, really, really busy summer of ultimate it was time to shut it down for a while. I've been going to gym to keep in shape but haven't really been thinking much about disc. I've been pretty busy with life but it's been a happy shift. I didn't go to a single winter tournament and I couldn't be happier about that. Tryouts for Mephisto start in one month and the biggest question on my mind is do I go for another year or is it time to retire while I'm still at the top. Okay, maybe not literally at the top but being on the 2nd best Canadian Men's team, the 2nd best Master's team in the World and the 6th best North American Men's team qualifies as at the top of my game in my books. Maybe that will be my next post in a few months... to retire or not to retire, that is the question!
DF
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On the plus side I think that we were better than all of the teams that finished behind us. You could argue that Sockeye was better than us but I'm going to go with they were not. Their arrogance drops them behind us despite the fact they beat us (barely and only with cheating). That still doesn't make me feel better. I know we lost to Jam and Ironside, both of whom would eventually contest the finals but I don't think that we were really close to those teams. The score against Ironside was close but I don't think that we could have done better and they definitely could have.
There are a few reasons why I felt like our finish was a letdown and I'll mention the two biggest ones (in my humble opinion).
1) As a team we were in really bad shape. I felt pretty fit and had the stamina to play a lot but I think I was lacking a bit of leg strength to be able to play as well as I would have wanted to. But there were some guys who had nothing to offer. At this level that just isn't good enough. The tournament format is gruelling and if you don't have a fit roster, you won't go far. In every single game that we played we started off strong and finished slow, a very good indicator that we weren't fit enough. This is an easy issue to deal with... get in shape before you show up at UPAs.
2) We had average line-calling/roster management. Guys who were tired or having bad games were getting called on the line ahead of other guys who were fresh or were having good games. I'm not talking about myself, I'm talking about guys who should have been on the field but spent a lot of time on the sidelines talking to me. UPAs isn't a place to play favourites, to try to keep the PT complainers happy or to play as many points as possible. If you want to play every single point stay home and play Goosebowl. At UPAs, the needs and goals of the team come first and I don't think we did that. There were guys who didn't deserve to be on the field playing on "Universe-point" lines and there were guys who should have been on the field picking their noses on the sidelines. I'm not sure what the problem was but I wasn't about to question it while it was happening; if there is one thing that I have learned it's that you don't help anything when you complain. Do I think that I could have managed the roster a bit better? Yes I do. I've been calling lines for Mephisto for a long time now and I've think I've been pretty ruthless in how I've gone about doing it... being ruthless is the only way to do it fairly and as long as you are fair and can explain that then no one can be upset.
So UPAs were awesome. I'm really glad that I got to go and play in the open division, it is so much better than masters. That's all I really care to say about UPAs.
After a really, really, really busy summer of ultimate it was time to shut it down for a while. I've been going to gym to keep in shape but haven't really been thinking much about disc. I've been pretty busy with life but it's been a happy shift. I didn't go to a single winter tournament and I couldn't be happier about that. Tryouts for Mephisto start in one month and the biggest question on my mind is do I go for another year or is it time to retire while I'm still at the top. Okay, maybe not literally at the top but being on the 2nd best Canadian Men's team, the 2nd best Master's team in the World and the 6th best North American Men's team qualifies as at the top of my game in my books. Maybe that will be my next post in a few months... to retire or not to retire, that is the question!
DF
Read more!
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