At draft league I focused very hard on not getting broken and it payed off. Need to learn when to block the dump at a high stall count, and also to step in front of the thrower after they release the disc.
Marking is a big issue for rec league, we got broken a lot in the zone and that just kills. Against a stronger team it would have been a real issue. Paul thinks forcing middle at rec is better becase it contains more. I think he is wrong and that we can learn a force sideline defense and profit from it.
Bleh.
Anyway, been thinking about the fundamental concepts we need to focus on with new players, early, often and in a simple, concise way.
On defense:
marking
forcing
last back
What else?
Showing posts with label team development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label team development. Show all posts
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
I woke up this morning
I woke up this morning thinking about how good Hufflepuff house is at indoor, seemingly without trying. I was vaguely frustrated about them possibly being rigged, which must have been part of my dream because everyone knows Satanclaw is the rigged house (and Huckindor is the rugged house, rugged as in attractive I mean).
Anyway as I came to conciousness, Tom standing in the doorway imploring me to get up for my 8am, it dawned on me that damn, those Hufflepuff guys are my teammates.
Nice.
Today we scrimmaged outside, drawing a pretty decent number despite the wind and biting cold.
If I am correct in my mental addition, we had nine playing members of the men's team, one member of the women's team, a player who we hope will be playing with the men's team, and two sidelined men's players. It says a lot that people are willing to come play in what were not the most fun conditions by any stretch of the imagination. It was windy, very hard to throw, painful to catch - that can be discouraging but we had a pretty decent scrimmage. Cuts looked very good. Throwing was all over the place. A lot of easy catches were dropped across the board, that comes down to mental errors that we need need need to be able to fight through this season. Seriously enough of that.
My backhands were mostly terrible. Nearly every one turned OI, I am not throwing short backhands hard enough. That is why throwing indoors is dangerous! Forehands were pretty good, my forehand power is quite possibly at an all time high. Maybe.
1 shot the sculpture today.
Booyah.
Anyway as I came to conciousness, Tom standing in the doorway imploring me to get up for my 8am, it dawned on me that damn, those Hufflepuff guys are my teammates.
Nice.
Today we scrimmaged outside, drawing a pretty decent number despite the wind and biting cold.
If I am correct in my mental addition, we had nine playing members of the men's team, one member of the women's team, a player who we hope will be playing with the men's team, and two sidelined men's players. It says a lot that people are willing to come play in what were not the most fun conditions by any stretch of the imagination. It was windy, very hard to throw, painful to catch - that can be discouraging but we had a pretty decent scrimmage. Cuts looked very good. Throwing was all over the place. A lot of easy catches were dropped across the board, that comes down to mental errors that we need need need to be able to fight through this season. Seriously enough of that.
My backhands were mostly terrible. Nearly every one turned OI, I am not throwing short backhands hard enough. That is why throwing indoors is dangerous! Forehands were pretty good, my forehand power is quite possibly at an all time high. Maybe.
1 shot the sculpture today.
Booyah.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Practice and the possession game
Part I
Playing ultimate for four hours is a decent representation of one day of tournament play. Today I am sore. Yesterday was practice, lifting, our first outdoor game, and then a trip to Marist with Bridget to see what those fellows are up to. Their practice format is hectic and fairly exhilarating.
Like us, they are devoting all of their limited gym time to game mechanics and just straight up ultimate. Make it take it, that sort of thing. Unlike us, they play six on six with tiny endzones. It is nearly impossible to score, and that leads to long exhausting points. Both teams tend to end up hanging around the disc, leading to clusters of people and wide open space downfield. Their players are either going to have a stilted perception of how to cut to space, or be so good at finding tiny spaces that their cuts will be precision and deadly.
My money is on the latter. Marist has improved immensely as a team. Their throws are getting sharp and they are certainly not getting any slower. Not to mention their numbers - last night they had around 30 people, enough for four teams of six with subs.
Playing with them was fun and also motivation to get in shape. Covering Dave was ridiculous. That kid is amazingly fast and can sky a player six inches taller than him with relative ease. I can get by on defensive positioning and experience, but in a straight-line sprint it's over.
Needless to say playing with those guys was a good time and I am looking forward to scrimmaging them this semester.
Part II
As for our practice, it is going well but we have a long way to go. People are improving their individual skills, but there are a lot of turnovers and that, I think is the major problem. Our younger players just do not understand the importance of possession of the disc, not having played or watched much real ultimate. Never having been one to emphasize the possession game, I have neglected to stress it's importance to the team at large and that has been a mistake. It seems I am going to have to tone down my huck happy ways and teach people how to play real ultimate.
Sigh.
At least I know what my next few chalk talks will be about. Possession.
Possession.
Possession.
Yes.
Playing outside was a nice wake up call. Being a typically windy New Paltz day, our throws, confined indoors for so long, looked a little floaty. I got to the turf later than most, having stayed at the gym to lift after practice. After I got there we played a game to three, and only one point was scored against the wind. The sooner we can start playing outside again the better. Despite the lack of competence at throwing in the wind, it is clear that the people who have been putting in the time have improved their throws. Tom was hucking the disc and even Eli was making strong throws. However, learning to play against the wind is going to be key.
We got the bid for Hofstra. The field is mostly made up of teams from our section.
Quality.
Playing ultimate for four hours is a decent representation of one day of tournament play. Today I am sore. Yesterday was practice, lifting, our first outdoor game, and then a trip to Marist with Bridget to see what those fellows are up to. Their practice format is hectic and fairly exhilarating.
Like us, they are devoting all of their limited gym time to game mechanics and just straight up ultimate. Make it take it, that sort of thing. Unlike us, they play six on six with tiny endzones. It is nearly impossible to score, and that leads to long exhausting points. Both teams tend to end up hanging around the disc, leading to clusters of people and wide open space downfield. Their players are either going to have a stilted perception of how to cut to space, or be so good at finding tiny spaces that their cuts will be precision and deadly.
My money is on the latter. Marist has improved immensely as a team. Their throws are getting sharp and they are certainly not getting any slower. Not to mention their numbers - last night they had around 30 people, enough for four teams of six with subs.
Playing with them was fun and also motivation to get in shape. Covering Dave was ridiculous. That kid is amazingly fast and can sky a player six inches taller than him with relative ease. I can get by on defensive positioning and experience, but in a straight-line sprint it's over.
Needless to say playing with those guys was a good time and I am looking forward to scrimmaging them this semester.
Part II
As for our practice, it is going well but we have a long way to go. People are improving their individual skills, but there are a lot of turnovers and that, I think is the major problem. Our younger players just do not understand the importance of possession of the disc, not having played or watched much real ultimate. Never having been one to emphasize the possession game, I have neglected to stress it's importance to the team at large and that has been a mistake. It seems I am going to have to tone down my huck happy ways and teach people how to play real ultimate.
Sigh.
At least I know what my next few chalk talks will be about. Possession.
Possession.
Possession.
Yes.
Playing outside was a nice wake up call. Being a typically windy New Paltz day, our throws, confined indoors for so long, looked a little floaty. I got to the turf later than most, having stayed at the gym to lift after practice. After I got there we played a game to three, and only one point was scored against the wind. The sooner we can start playing outside again the better. Despite the lack of competence at throwing in the wind, it is clear that the people who have been putting in the time have improved their throws. Tom was hucking the disc and even Eli was making strong throws. However, learning to play against the wind is going to be key.
We got the bid for Hofstra. The field is mostly made up of teams from our section.
Quality.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Well hey there
Practice went well today. Ran fairly organized, started on time. People played hard and intense. It was pretty refreshing, and some of our less experienced players really stepped up. Eli in particular played a brutal game, cutting and playing hard d. When their throws catch up to their enthusiasm, our younger players are going to be sick nasty.
For my part, only one push pass and it was for a goal so it's neutral I guess.
Other than that I've been falling into a "safe" handler mindset for practice: undercuts and resets, always there for the dump, throw it short and run. Threw a few big throws including a monster hammer for a score, but for the most part I'm focusing on playing a turnover free game.
This week was a rough week as far as motivation goes. No excuses. Next week will be better.
For my part, only one push pass and it was for a goal so it's neutral I guess.
Other than that I've been falling into a "safe" handler mindset for practice: undercuts and resets, always there for the dump, throw it short and run. Threw a few big throws including a monster hammer for a score, but for the most part I'm focusing on playing a turnover free game.
This week was a rough week as far as motivation goes. No excuses. Next week will be better.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Superbowl Sunday
Practice went well today, for the first of the season. Slight disorganization, some people need to shake off the winter break rust. Took some time but we got some flow going in the go-to drill and then played 3 on 3. Basically mini without the negative points rule, which will be used later in the season.
Practice is going to have to be very organized this winter since both of our indoor times are only an hour each. Friday the gym closes right as practice ends and Sunday soccer club comes in right after us. To make the most of our time practice is gonna have to run like clockwork.
We'll do it.
Anyway, it was nice to run around with the team and play some disc. Some players are literally exploding with potential this season.
Lifted afterwards. It felt good.
Practice is going to have to be very organized this winter since both of our indoor times are only an hour each. Friday the gym closes right as practice ends and Sunday soccer club comes in right after us. To make the most of our time practice is gonna have to run like clockwork.
We'll do it.
Anyway, it was nice to run around with the team and play some disc. Some players are literally exploding with potential this season.
Lifted afterwards. It felt good.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Toe skin blues
I cannot thank Erik enough for helping me learn his workout. I feel so much more confident running than I ever have. Track workout today. All the skin peeled off one of my toes. We ran hard.
My running form is apparently not as good as I thought but it's easy enough to fix and I might even end up being faster when I do.
Our newest recruit came to conditioning. He is a real cool guy and has a solid foundation of good throws and athleticism. O line will have cutters this semester!
Owen tore his shirt in half after completing the last lap on the track.
It was intense.
My running form is apparently not as good as I thought but it's easy enough to fix and I might even end up being faster when I do.
Our newest recruit came to conditioning. He is a real cool guy and has a solid foundation of good throws and athleticism. O line will have cutters this semester!
Owen tore his shirt in half after completing the last lap on the track.
It was intense.
Monday, January 19, 2009
The semester begins...
Hey Five,
Thanks for getting back to us. As the captain in charge of getting uniforms for the GUNX I have spent quite a bit of time considering the merits of the various ultimate uniform makers. The announcement of your sponsorship program was too good an opportunity to pass up, and despite not receiving sponsorship for 09, the fact that FiveUltimate is willing to go to such great lengths to support the development of college ultimate has helped make my decision very easy. We'll be placing an order sometime soon. Keep up the good work and thanks for working so hard to support the college ultimate community.
GUNX Ben
....
The above is my reply to five after being told they are not able to sponsor us this year. We worked rather hard on the sponsorship application, and I honestly expected to be just a little crushed if we did not receive sponsorship. Honestly though, I don't feel crushed or defeated. It is certainly disappointing, but whatever. Life goes on. The fact that FiveUltimate is working to develop college ultimate and be involved in the community is pretty cool. Their new website is looking good and their online store is going to bring ultimate merchandising to the next level. They are a classy company and I'm very excited about getting our uniforms with them.
Anyway enough about that.
Classes are starting tomorrow here in Paltzland, and I'm pumped. No seriously. My positive frame of mind is in no small part due to playing disc every day since everyone got back. Late night diving practice is pretty sweet and playing ultimate in the snow is as great as I remember it being in high school.
Early in the semester it may be but it is already obvious that some GUNX got in some good practice over break. Stephen's backhand got huge and will be a huge asset this semester, for pulls and as a surprise huck on the flick side. Force flick marks will tremble with fear when this lefty rolls up with his big throws. Other than that, we already found one guy interested in playing. He joined in our pickup game today and displayed some pretty nice throws. Hooray transfer students. Word.
Hips + forehand = YES. My biggest problem with my flick form right now is not synchronizing body movements perfectly so that the snap is a little late and momentum is lost. That is easy enough to work out with practice and my forehand is getting pretty big. Steadily. Practice. Repetition of fundamentals. Practice. Word.
Went to the gym today. Winter break took a little oomph out of my benching and pull-up capabilities but given a week or two it should be fine. Captains meeting this week to set a practice schedule, conditioning policy, schedule a general interest meeting and returning players meeting, discuss tournaments, uniforms, disc orders and other projects, and other productive things. Got a printer for Christmas which makes me a lot more inclined to make and print flyers. We are going to advertise all around town, and by town I mean campus and maybe also town. Word.
Word.
Thanks for getting back to us. As the captain in charge of getting uniforms for the GUNX I have spent quite a bit of time considering the merits of the various ultimate uniform makers. The announcement of your sponsorship program was too good an opportunity to pass up, and despite not receiving sponsorship for 09, the fact that FiveUltimate is willing to go to such great lengths to support the development of college ultimate has helped make my decision very easy. We'll be placing an order sometime soon. Keep up the good work and thanks for working so hard to support the college ultimate community.
GUNX Ben
....
The above is my reply to five after being told they are not able to sponsor us this year. We worked rather hard on the sponsorship application, and I honestly expected to be just a little crushed if we did not receive sponsorship. Honestly though, I don't feel crushed or defeated. It is certainly disappointing, but whatever. Life goes on. The fact that FiveUltimate is working to develop college ultimate and be involved in the community is pretty cool. Their new website is looking good and their online store is going to bring ultimate merchandising to the next level. They are a classy company and I'm very excited about getting our uniforms with them.
Anyway enough about that.
Classes are starting tomorrow here in Paltzland, and I'm pumped. No seriously. My positive frame of mind is in no small part due to playing disc every day since everyone got back. Late night diving practice is pretty sweet and playing ultimate in the snow is as great as I remember it being in high school.
Early in the semester it may be but it is already obvious that some GUNX got in some good practice over break. Stephen's backhand got huge and will be a huge asset this semester, for pulls and as a surprise huck on the flick side. Force flick marks will tremble with fear when this lefty rolls up with his big throws. Other than that, we already found one guy interested in playing. He joined in our pickup game today and displayed some pretty nice throws. Hooray transfer students. Word.
Hips + forehand = YES. My biggest problem with my flick form right now is not synchronizing body movements perfectly so that the snap is a little late and momentum is lost. That is easy enough to work out with practice and my forehand is getting pretty big. Steadily. Practice. Repetition of fundamentals. Practice. Word.
Went to the gym today. Winter break took a little oomph out of my benching and pull-up capabilities but given a week or two it should be fine. Captains meeting this week to set a practice schedule, conditioning policy, schedule a general interest meeting and returning players meeting, discuss tournaments, uniforms, disc orders and other projects, and other productive things. Got a printer for Christmas which makes me a lot more inclined to make and print flyers. We are going to advertise all around town, and by town I mean campus and maybe also town. Word.
Word.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Goals for 2009
Not much explanation needed, really. Note to self: refer to this post!
Team Goals: (or rather, Ben's goals for the team this season. Yet to be discussed at length with the other GUNX captains.)
-Emphasize individual roles to give focus (by the time we are suiting up for sectionals, every player on the team will have a clear idea of what their role is on the field, what their objective is, and how their specific role contributes to team goals and on-field systems).
-Team identity! Uniforms!
-Fundamentals. Repetition of solid fundamentals. Repetition of solid fundamentals. Repetition of solid fundamentals....
-Mini. Mini teams. Mini tournement. Mini at practice. Word.
-Competence with several offensive styles (I want to learn 2-3-2 and ho in addition to our existing vert tactics, we'll see how the leadership on the team feels about that).
-Get the word out! Advertising, recruiting. Fund raising! Cultivate a fan base for home games. Community service. Become a visible and admired presence on campus.
-Recruit new players for spring '09 and work to help all current players to their next level of on and off-field performance. Several notable GUNX will be missing from the field this season, including Dan the English Man and Brendan the walking sideline (or should I say CHEERING RUNNING JUMPING THROWING CATCHING OWNING sideline?). Needless to say, we will all have to do a little extra work to ensure a smooth transition from the wild and Maverick '08 season to the ripe-with-opportunity-for-the-taking YES WE CAN '09 season.
I'm ready. Are you?
Yes.
Personal goals:
-Do work. Work out. Be a beast. Not much to say here. Working out begins as soon as I return to campus.
-Set a workout schedule and hold to it. Tentatively: M lifting T pickup W lifting R running, Practice Friday and Sunday. Keep records of workout progress day to day, week to week. Set achievable weekly and monthly goals. Achieve those goals.
-Don't drink during the season. Again, not much to say. Drinking does not mesh with a dedicated workout schedule.
-Get sleep! This is imperative.
-Schoolwork! Do it. Yeah. Raise GPA significantly. Thus far I tend to do better in the spring as far as schoolwork is concerned. This spring will be my best semester yet as far as schoolwork goes, in addition to my best ever ultimate season! Yeah baby.
-Improve throwing. Master the shoulder jerk. Be a solid presence on the handle. Make good decisions.
-Be the best possible captain: Be Positive, Supportive, Helpful, Relevant, Understanding, Compromising, Uncompromising, Rational, AMPED UP, Energetic, NEVER LAZY. Ultimate is fun. Remember that. Captaining is also fun. Remember that! Be the change you want to see in the team. Don't stop trying to help, working to inspire. Rawr.
-NO EXCUSES. Seriously dude, none. When you are pounding the track, trying to catch Quirk at pickup or just thinking about missing a workout 'cause its cold outside' or 'feeling a little tired', I want you to imagine the smiling face of Mr. Doooobowsky calmly stating his second most famous catchphrase. NO FUCKING EXCUSES.
So uh I talk to myself on my blag. That's strange?
Oh well.
So there you have it. My goals for 2009. Take note: these are not New Years resolutions. I recorded those in less public media and with different intentions. These are ironclad fundamentally sound ideas to make the season go smoothly for myself and hopefully for the team. I'ma talk to myself again here: When you look back at this post after sectionals, how will you remember the season? With regret? Or with feelings of accomplishment? The choice is yours.
The choice is mine.
Yeah.
Team Goals: (or rather, Ben's goals for the team this season. Yet to be discussed at length with the other GUNX captains.)
-Emphasize individual roles to give focus (by the time we are suiting up for sectionals, every player on the team will have a clear idea of what their role is on the field, what their objective is, and how their specific role contributes to team goals and on-field systems).
-Team identity! Uniforms!
-Fundamentals. Repetition of solid fundamentals. Repetition of solid fundamentals. Repetition of solid fundamentals....
-Mini. Mini teams. Mini tournement. Mini at practice. Word.
-Competence with several offensive styles (I want to learn 2-3-2 and ho in addition to our existing vert tactics, we'll see how the leadership on the team feels about that).
-Get the word out! Advertising, recruiting. Fund raising! Cultivate a fan base for home games. Community service. Become a visible and admired presence on campus.
-Recruit new players for spring '09 and work to help all current players to their next level of on and off-field performance. Several notable GUNX will be missing from the field this season, including Dan the English Man and Brendan the walking sideline (or should I say CHEERING RUNNING JUMPING THROWING CATCHING OWNING sideline?). Needless to say, we will all have to do a little extra work to ensure a smooth transition from the wild and Maverick '08 season to the ripe-with-opportunity-for-the-taking YES WE CAN '09 season.
I'm ready. Are you?
Yes.
Personal goals:
-Do work. Work out. Be a beast. Not much to say here. Working out begins as soon as I return to campus.
-Set a workout schedule and hold to it. Tentatively: M lifting T pickup W lifting R running, Practice Friday and Sunday. Keep records of workout progress day to day, week to week. Set achievable weekly and monthly goals. Achieve those goals.
-Don't drink during the season. Again, not much to say. Drinking does not mesh with a dedicated workout schedule.
-Get sleep! This is imperative.
-Schoolwork! Do it. Yeah. Raise GPA significantly. Thus far I tend to do better in the spring as far as schoolwork is concerned. This spring will be my best semester yet as far as schoolwork goes, in addition to my best ever ultimate season! Yeah baby.
-Improve throwing. Master the shoulder jerk. Be a solid presence on the handle. Make good decisions.
-Be the best possible captain: Be Positive, Supportive, Helpful, Relevant, Understanding, Compromising, Uncompromising, Rational, AMPED UP, Energetic, NEVER LAZY. Ultimate is fun. Remember that. Captaining is also fun. Remember that! Be the change you want to see in the team. Don't stop trying to help, working to inspire. Rawr.
-NO EXCUSES. Seriously dude, none. When you are pounding the track, trying to catch Quirk at pickup or just thinking about missing a workout 'cause its cold outside' or 'feeling a little tired', I want you to imagine the smiling face of Mr. Doooobowsky calmly stating his second most famous catchphrase. NO FUCKING EXCUSES.
So uh I talk to myself on my blag. That's strange?
Oh well.
So there you have it. My goals for 2009. Take note: these are not New Years resolutions. I recorded those in less public media and with different intentions. These are ironclad fundamentally sound ideas to make the season go smoothly for myself and hopefully for the team. I'ma talk to myself again here: When you look back at this post after sectionals, how will you remember the season? With regret? Or with feelings of accomplishment? The choice is yours.
The choice is mine.
Yeah.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
On the endzone drill
Last year I was a huge proponent of the endzone drill. Some might recall the captain's meeting where I argued that we should do it for twenty minutes every practice.
Oops.
Well, I like it still. Its a useful drill for teaching teams flow, and with the addition of defense its fairly sound.
However, as many others have pointed out it has two problems: That it only involves one disc, and that it leaves too many players standing around waiting. One can argue that at least a few players are usually standing around in a vertical stack offense, but I'm likewise becoming disillusioned with the way the Gunx run vertical stack.
Tell you what, in 2009 I guarantee the Gunx will be running the endzone drill. But I plan to approach it differently. I feel that running it will smaller groups will increase the efficiency, or at least decrease the downtime. Maybe six people per group. That seems a small number, but only two people are ever really active at the same time. Also, it will put more pressure on the players to hustle back to the stack. Too many people jog or walk back nonchalantly, which teaches about six terrible habits at once. A three person stack should sort that out I daresay!
Also, I want to discourage the other team leaders from using it as a pre game warmup. Lately, doing endzone drill before a tournament game leaves me wistfully imagining getting a few pulls in instead. On the other hand, I am not a warm up expert. At the moment I don't have a personal routine and my feelings about stretching are generally negative and most likely ill informed. But I'd much rather throw five long backhands than stand in a stack for five minutes and get three cuts in. The double disc go-to drill seems much better for an active warmup. Hmmm....
Yes perceptive reader, you are right in thinking that this post was inspired by/is a blatant rip-off of a recent Jim Parinella post. You win a gold star.
Oops.
Well, I like it still. Its a useful drill for teaching teams flow, and with the addition of defense its fairly sound.
However, as many others have pointed out it has two problems: That it only involves one disc, and that it leaves too many players standing around waiting. One can argue that at least a few players are usually standing around in a vertical stack offense, but I'm likewise becoming disillusioned with the way the Gunx run vertical stack.
Tell you what, in 2009 I guarantee the Gunx will be running the endzone drill. But I plan to approach it differently. I feel that running it will smaller groups will increase the efficiency, or at least decrease the downtime. Maybe six people per group. That seems a small number, but only two people are ever really active at the same time. Also, it will put more pressure on the players to hustle back to the stack. Too many people jog or walk back nonchalantly, which teaches about six terrible habits at once. A three person stack should sort that out I daresay!
Also, I want to discourage the other team leaders from using it as a pre game warmup. Lately, doing endzone drill before a tournament game leaves me wistfully imagining getting a few pulls in instead. On the other hand, I am not a warm up expert. At the moment I don't have a personal routine and my feelings about stretching are generally negative and most likely ill informed. But I'd much rather throw five long backhands than stand in a stack for five minutes and get three cuts in. The double disc go-to drill seems much better for an active warmup. Hmmm....
Yes perceptive reader, you are right in thinking that this post was inspired by/is a blatant rip-off of a recent Jim Parinella post. You win a gold star.
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