I never meant to cause you trouble

Quick one tonight.
Do work Monday snuck up today and indeed, work was done. Getting things accomplished in advance is a very nice feeling, but moreover it would be a great habit to perpetuate - when schoolwork is not a concern ultimate and running the team become that much easier.

Today we laid out a lot of plans for the spring season, and if we hustle we will be in good shape.

Hustle this week, or die. There is no time for error. Can't let a day go.
I'm at roughly 75% good solid work and 25& actively detrimental behavior. There really is no middle ground -- here I am awake at four am, having eaten miller light and buttered chicken for dinner. On the other hand, I am ahead on work for two classes and have a victory plan for the semester.

Make no mistake, self reflective self. It is the end of the semester, it is do or die. Your (our) financial aid, grades, self respect and the future of the team that we love more than anything are all at stake. It is time to take the semester by storm as Theoden did Pelennor, and if all goes well my body won't be among the wreckage and the dead when all is said and done.

Next semester can and should be the best ever and we can make that happen now.
Gunx Love.

On the second day of blag-mass, my true love gave to me

Egoism and the constant quest for self improvement and a fat goose in a pear tree!
Let's get down to the details

Forehand
The good: can release form any height, can break the mark oi, can huck full field when neccesary
The bad: method of release as well as sheer percenatge of forehands thrown vs backhands has stilted my form in a way that I often telegraph, leading to five point blocks in the fall season.
The ugly: Changing my throwing stance to not telegraph forehands will take work but it will pay off and will necessitate quicker release moves as well, a bonus. Getting in better shape will make hucks bigger, and learning to isolate the shoulder will lead to more control and longer throws, as well as more options. Forehand can and should grow in every dimension by sectionals, practice throwing yo!

Backhand
The good: backhand hucks are the biggest ever, backhand pulls off the chain when I am fresh or amped
The bad: Short backhand form is not solid, pulls get bad with fatigue, hucks at Marist were very OI.
The ugly: Lunges and form practice to get short backhand together, getting in better shape should fix pull problems, as will mental focus every. single. pull. Learning to get lower and break the mark with backhand hucks will yield utter domination.

Hammer
The good: looks reasonable considering lack of practice in the last two years. Most hammers in games were pretty decent.
The bad: Some were quite bad. My hammer is not precise enough and lacks depth. Just don't have the control I have with backhands and forehands.
The ugly: practice, practice, practice. And getting stronger in the gym. The hammer can be an unblockable breakmark weapon, a la Brodie Smith. Dave and Eric have hammers on lock with their respective precision lasers/giant megaton bombs, all I want is to develop a decent 40 - 50 yard utility throw/break-mark weapon/goal to Tom machine.

Thumb hammer
The good: discovered the thumber is the same as an OI flick with slight adjustments for the flight characteristics of an upside down disc. I can put some heat under the sucker! 40+ yards.
The bad: form still not tight. Sometimes not gripping hard enough leads to an early or sloppy release and lots of wobbling/gratuitous double helix.
The ugly: this throw is for real and almost game ready. After some work, it will be quick and deadly. I hope people force me backhand at Nocturnal Decisions.

Scoober
The good: I never throw them
The bad: I never throw them
The ugly: I think I can. Why not? Quick release zone weapon.

That's where throwing is at, the basics. Any given talking point could be extrapolated into a longer discussion, maybe that is a good idea. The forehand shoulder jerk is for real, laser hucks coming upwind at you.

For all throws:
Grip tighter, throw harder, quicker, faster, stronger. Focus.

See you next time for good/bad/ugly breakdown of defense and cutting, or maybe something else.
Happy black friday, drink an imperial stout.

No day but today?

Let's see what happens.

"PPS
Note to self: next time you can run again but decide to do something stupid instead of working out, remember how much it sucks not being able to and act accordingly. Kay?"

From the summer, coming off surgery. Point is, this week long bender has been fun but it is time to grind. One of my goals for the fall 2010 season was to be emotionally and physically healthy. I managed the former way better than usual, but the latter?
Despite cutting down on drinking big time, I did some dumb shit. I got hurt a lot, both drunk and sober in the early part of the semester and proceeded to play while inured.

There went the fall season, really. I found ways to contribute to the team as a non practicing player, but a month off, on top of my six weeks off in the summer, was rough and it will take work to get back on top.

In addition, it seems my honeymoon with ultimate is over. After seven years of playing all the time and getting injured relatively seldom, chronic injuries are creeping into the picture. Trick knees and sore backs seem to be the hallmark of the kind of explosive throwing and cutting that goes down in this game of ours, and that's just where I'm at now.

So basically, physical fitness, more than ever, will be at a premium and I will have to approach the winter training season diligently and intelligently - to make the most of my training time, to get as good as possible, and to minimize injuries past present and future.

The game ain't black and white anymore. Used to be, I could look at every aspect of my game and say "I've improved universally. I am better in every way than I was last week/month/party."
That ended last fall. But at least some things are incontrovertibly better.

The laws have changed.
More words to follow, to focus myself if nothing else. Who reads blags anymore anyway?
I do, and I will.
Onward into the future, Gunx 2011 baby!

You're not alone

The fall season was greatly productive for the Gunx. We recruited a motivated group of fantastic freshmen and have improved as a team in a myriad of small ways. Lately, team love is at an all time high and if we can continue in the same vein it will yield very positive results.

I have lot of thoughts bouncing around about myself, the team, next season and all manner of other things but there are too many to catch just one of the swarm and pin it down in word form.

Another day.

Ragin'

Oh yeah so the women's team had a tournament and it was quite a time. Blog about that soon, kay seeya later.

Never have I ever

Or rather never would I ever have expected to be rooting for Boston. Or Florida, for that matter. But perhaps an even stranger transformation is the one I am planning for this weekend: I am going to handle the disc with care and love, and play the possesion game for arguably the first time ever. I'm going to be a real handler.

Don't mean I'll be gun shy, when the time is right the big throws will be lights out.
But we need to value to the disc to win this weekend, and play offense and defense with intesnity.

Our X and Y squads will be stretched a bit thin in the offensive depth department. As team leaders, we can compensate for this by encouraging defensive depth and intensity, and leading by example on offense with confident, smart plays. A strong mental game will be key and everyone needs to have each other's backs.

Everyone knows what is at stake, and if we play our cards right we have so much more to gain from this weekend than we can possibly lose.

Can't fucking wait.
Gunx love.

Huh

"I think a lot of ultimate, and a lot of college ultimate is basically about who wants to win more. There are a lot of mental headcases in this sport, and the baggage they carry onto the field with them amazes me. I don't want that to be something that holds us back."
-Josh Mullen

More on this later. It articulates a lot of things I've been thinking about, team-wise.

One week...

Sleep schedule is wrecked. This is the point in the semester where in years past I've let things really fall apart. Goal for this year is to keep rolling academically and reel in the good grades. Have to not suck at going to bed on time/getting up in the morning.
Have to.

Yale Cup this weekend, going to cheer on the women's side. Hopefully will be able to help in a constructive way. Shirts look cool.

I want to play so hard.