1/21: Williams Turf Invite
(No Ratings Yet. Click to Rate!)
Loading ...We rolled into Williams yesterday with a depleted squad (missing a handful of our offensive studs, most notably), itching for the chance to finally play some competitive ultimate after the weather and the D-plan had kept us all in limited disc-related activity for the better part of the last couple months.
A couple solid games, the first against Williams, which we lost, and the second against (an also-depleted-squad) UMass, which we won–or were winning, anyways, when the sudden downturn in the weather forced a hard cap–really, when you start out with relatively calm, clear weather, who wants to play in a hurricane? Not me.
Anyways, I had a great time. Played my ass off for two games. Definitely feeling the benefits of just a couple weeks’ conditioning; unlike the fall, where a consecutive point or a good sprint on O or D was enough to tire me, I was able to play strings of 3, 4 points, and have all sorts of speed and power left in the tank.
Played pretty solidly; led the team in D’s, according to Pov’s stat-keeping, and I was only a few inches away from a couple others. Which brings up point number one to improve upon–defensive awareness. Both of the near D’s I can remember came as a deep or wing in zone; in one of the situations better communication/responsiveness on my part would’ve put the defense in a much better position to make the play (there were two of us in contestable range, but he just had a step too much in his favor). The second situation was really more me needing to be more aware and not assume that hey, I’m within 5 yards of my man, I’ll D whatever they put to him–they hooked it around, I had to lay out essentially around him to get a hand on the disc. The same sort of stuff applies with being last back in the stack–I was in the right position a couple times, but was distracted by my man, or something that wasn’t the developing play, and missed the up of the disc and as such had less time to respond.
I also need to maintain focus a bit better, as I had a few turns I shouldn’t have. Got point-blocked my first touch of the tournament, and I have a history of first-touch turns. I had to mess around with my ankle brace a lot before we got going, cutting into ever-important tossing time before warmups, and though we did do a pre-game drill, it was a game simulation and I only touched the disc a couple times. I need to make a deliberate effort to throw with the disc, warm up my throws, and not come out playing careless. I also lost focus and had a drop later in our first game. I forget what it was, but my mind was a bit distracted, which is why I dropped it. My third and final turn was a drop of sorts; cutting in ho-stack, Crank put a lowish disc to my left (side my defender was on) and because I had to slow ever so slightly to bend over for the grab my man got past me for the D. Not entirely my fault, but there’s something to be said for setting up the cut better than I did.
What else…I was happy with how I played on O. Busted ass for the majority of my cuts, made a lot of good cuts, didn’t embarass myself with the disc. Even had a nice huck to Elliott that would’ve been a score if Ell hadn’t been fouled. I felt like I had pretty good stack awareness, as far as where the stack should be, when I was in good position to cut, etc. Defensively, outside of zone awareness I was pretty happy. No breaks on the mark that I can think of, generally kept my man out of the game when I wasn’t last back in man D…played a lot of deep/wing in zone, which worked pretty well, I think. Granted, I don’t think either team was particularly well-equipped to handle the zone, but hey, still good play time.
Outside of playing, had a decent time at the party. It was a bit sparse, but I got to put my ankle through the rigors of a dance floor (which it handled ably) and had a good time with my friends. Highlights include one of the Midd guys coming up to me and complementing me for being one of the few good ultimate players that isn’t afraid to wear flair (did I mention, the theme or the party was ‘porn star cliches’–I was an asian prositute, hair done up and wearing a pretty flowery oriental-style dress), and what was presumably a Williams player asking me at one point if I’d “like to get some Williams ass tonight” (I refused) and following with some complements on my play. I also got recognized by name by one of the zoodisc players when we were shaking hands after the game, which was really cool. I’m starting to feel like I’m gaining some legitimacy and recognition as a player, which is great.
But man, I am beat now. Had a couple pretty ridiculous layouts, including one in the first point of the first game in which I caught a disc by the sideline, realized I was falling off the turf and onto pavement, and dropped the disc to save my face by catching myself with my hands–they’re nice and scraped up on the palms, and I’m feeling all sorts of aches and pains in my legs and various areas of my core as well. The good news is, my ankle held up fine. Still needs more recovery/rehab, but it’s a good sign.
Good
Better consistency with cutting–better positioning and initiative
D, generally
O, generally
Conditioning
My Ankle Brace–easily the tourney MVP in my book.
Needs Improvement
Defensive awareness/communication, particularly in zone
Pre-game routine/Preperation/Focus
