We Made It

Stonefish open practice was excellent. Good turnout and beauteous weather. Better weather than any practice we had over the summer, really. Gabe set a really good tone. Not exactly punctual, and not exactly intense, but it is NOVEMBER and we had upwards of 30 people practicing with us. I was skeptical about the utility of practicing so early in the season but people are clearly impressed by it. It sends a good message.

My throws took some time to warm up. Unfortunately, this took place during the game. Had some awkward turnovers on huck attempts and some weird short game execution errors. Today very much reinforced my desire to practice throwing more, and my desire to DESIRE to practice throwing more, you know? I need to become obsessed with ultimate again, a bit.
After a while I got into a more comfortable rhythm and made much better throws down the stretch. That was encouraging. Felt confident and hit my breakmark throws like a boss.

My cutting is all over the map. When I am cutting well, I get open. That's that. But I have some bad habits that are ingrained, and so sometimes I cut like a giant pile of garbage. I need to get into a more open minded state for learning and thinking about the game, and be more receptive to constructive criticism. It is a step in the right direction that I can smile and make a joke after getting heckled about my poor cutting skills, rather than sulk about it, but I need to seek out more input than that, ask for help and criticism from the skilled and talented folks on our team, and really work to ABSORB it. I know how to cut in the abstract, can teach an inexperienced player how cutting is SUPPOSED to go, but that's a far cry from being able to cut well and decisively every time I step on the field.

Play your role, keep it simple, desire to desire to be great. Practice. Practice. Mental Game. Practice.

I'm a good player right now, but not a great one. I can make great plays but I want to just be great. That takes a lot of work. This team is inspiring, and I hope I can rise to that. We can help each other be amazing.