Monday, February 28, 2011

Why the fuck would I want that

Cause Doober said so? Eye contact that is. "One of the most important aspects of public speaking is eye contact" - Captain Doobs.

We were talking about keeping huddle talks concise. Doober brought up the fact that apparently I look at the ground during huddle talks. Not something I ever would have thought of, the huddle is such an intense time for me that I have a hard time even thinking about it.

So things to focus on this week and weekend: scanning the huddle while speaking, making quick eye contact with every player to help hold their focus and bring things together.

Also, positivity, intensity, Gunx Love.

Another thing

One strength of our offense yesterday was our cutting core's ability to go to the disc despite physical defensive pressure. There were many passes to cutters with barely a step or two on a tough Marist defender. In the past, we've had problems with cutters slowing down and getting layout D'd, which has never been good for our collective confidence when playing Marist or other strong teams. Yesterday, our cutters went to the disc hard and were able to pull down some sweet grabs against tough physical plays. This had an added benefit in that oftentimes the Marist defender's layout attempt would allow for a few seconds of unmarked throwing and easy continuation throws.

Going to the disc. It works.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

I just had, the craziest week

Been a pretty busy couple of weeks actually. Nocturnal decisions came and went, yet again one of the craziest nights of ultimate of the year. Between getting to play with some good friends and meeting some of my personal ultimate heroes, it was the best year yet by fair.

For added fun, it was the most competitive year thus far, every team we played was very solid across the board. I played for the Mannequins and we were a fun intense team that did not quite have the depth to hang with the very best but ended up with a solid 5 -3 finish, somewhere between 5th and 8th in the final placement. It was a neat chance to connect with some players on other area college teams as well as play with some of my good friends.

Great times and playing the tournament revealed many weaknesses of my game that need to be dealt with. My cutting was not exactly on point and that was definitely apparent scrimmaging Marist today. The Gunx have certainly made the most of our indoor practices but my outdoor cutting is rusty to the point of hilarity. Throws obviously also an issue but not as bad as I feared.

I had more to write about nocturnal but the time elapsed between then and now and the weight of events that have transpired since have driven most of it from my mind. Rather than search for my notes I'll leave it it, I learned a lot, it was a blast. As for today, what can I say? Gunx beat Marist, one out of three scrimmages. Gunx came very close to winning two out of three but could not quite go for the throat at the crucial time. Gunx beat Marist for the first time in three years and it would be remiss not to mention how large of weight that is off my back.

We have a long way to go but if today was any indication we can fly as high as we want to this season. Our offense was the best it has ever been, even missing some key players. We have the capacity to be very great, if people put the time in this will be an incredible season, enough said.

Indoor practice is always tricky but this year it taught me to be a better handler. while my cutting was mediocre at best, I think I did well as a reset handler and have never been so patient with the disc. Plenty of work to do but dang. It was a good day.

Gunx Love.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Self Discipline

Notably absent for the better part of the weekend.


Man up.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

All I ever wanted was to pick apart the day

I'ma make this quick, but hey. Let's talk mental game. It is tricky and as much as I'd consider myself a mentally strong player, I have a few glaring weaknesses that have been highlighted of late. Obviously there's the contact issue but beyond that people have been taking issue with my call game, not necessarily the calls themselves but my delivery. And all this time I thought hubris and egotism was appealing!

Joking aside, I need to work on being calmer during game situations and also not acting like I am always right, bad habit. My spirit has often been a consequence of my increase in competitive drive and it should not have to be that way. I have a lot to think about and I will do my best to be more of a gentleman on the field.

More later. Sleep now, one hopes.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Post workout thought process

So here's some stuff to work on:

Backhand form - not turning head around with throwing motion, keeping target in sight, full body motion.

Forehand - make sure not to fall in love with air bounce releases that kill indoors but won't fly outside.

Time to get things rolling for sectionals! Roster status asap.

I really need to work on not flipping out when I take a hit during a game, it is a weakness and leads to some awkward situations to boot.

Air alert fixes everything.

It is my decision to get clean, I'm doing it for me.

Wake up call

Ring a ding ding

C'mon.