Well anyway, got dirty today and practiced in the backyard yet again. Worked on making plays with either hand, exploding after throwing and laying out. Played for a bit, got tired, probably would have given up but Brendan kept me motivated so I rallied and got in another half hour or so. That illustrates something that needs to become as natural as breathing to the gunx this season: we have to have each others backs, motivate and push each other to achieve bigger and better things. That's huge.
Anyway, practiced going to on almost every throw, and about half the time Brendan would throw it, I'd pass it back and immediately explode and run for a short pass and layout attempt. Of the throws that were perfectly placed to layout for (hard to do as ya'll probably know or have seen in a drill) I layed out for maybe a fourth, and caught three. Two of the layouts were what I think is good form. I cut up my elbow and seem to be hitting my right side harder, so there's a lot of work to do besides just training myself to pull the trigger anytime.
Throws were pretty solid, backhands looked sharp. Forehands were hurting and then stopped hurting, hopefully that means I'm breaking the last of the adhesion and soon it won't hurt to throw forehands at all. Working on getting my angles of release back and full body throwing. Focusing on balance. Balance is key and I'm sure we'll all really realize that when Frank Huguenard puts out his motion offense videos...
Anyway
I'm working on my chalk talk for our first team meeting, the start of the season. It is really more of a speech but I am uncomfortable calling it that. I know how I am going to say it, emotional delivery and whatnot but the words are not coming easy. It is hard to balance saying what needs to be said with positivity with motivation with emotional delivery with relevance with ego with humilty with swagger with...
Well anyway I'm working on it.
PS
I started three paragraphs with "anyway". Sick writing chops. Also the tenses are all over the place.
Brendan got me an awesome going away present.
See you in New Paltz, Gunx.
Showing posts with label snowbeard icefist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snowbeard icefist. Show all posts
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Wrist rehab day 16
This is about today.
Today we saw the sunset from the highest best freshest location around. It was great. I ran all the way up the steps.
Running! Yes.
Threw around with people, it was niiice. Verdict: my throws have touch (thank goodness) but my form is rusty and thus many throws are inaccurate.
How to fix the problems:
backhands - focus on balance, straight back, knees bent, low center of gravity. Not too much is wrong with the backhands.
Forehands: a lot of forehands I threw today either went too high or airbounced. Again, lower center of gravity, gotta get full body mechanics back behind throws and work on the throwing motion as one plane. Also forehand motion is tentative because of the wrist, I have a hard time putting the neccesary power in because it feels like it will hurt a lot even though it won't. It barely hurt at all today which is AWESOME and a good sign. The tentativeness leads to throws that get all their power from the wrist snap and don't engage the body.
That's ironic.
Did a few layouts, every year I say I will learn to layout for real, maybe this will be the year. I figured out how to land on my chest, legs in the air, arms up. That's a big step in the right direction.
Anyway, after my throwing partners got cold I hucked it around a little bid in the pasture. All but one throw went much farther than yesterday, probably had a couple in the 70 - 80 range. In other words, solid pulls if it ain't windy.
It was not windy.
I had an idea for a light throwing workout, simple really, just grab a disc, go to the field and pull it then sprint to the opposite endzone and then repeat as many times as you want. Easy. Focusing on exploding after you pull is huge if like me you don't run into your pulls. Hustling down on the pull wins games and is often underrated by 'd3' teams. My best play ever was getting a Callahan of my own pull and I want to repeat that, so I'ma train for it. Plus I can do it by myself, perfect for winter break or cold days when noone wants to throw.
Whew!
That was certainly self obsessed and long winded.
Heck what are blogs for.
Had an idea for keeping track of my new years resolution. Example:
Throwing: threw with Brendan and Eli and did some hucks by myself
Running: ran around while throwing, running up like eight flights of steps
If I add that on to every post I can keep myself honest. Maybe I'll even post every day.
You'd love that right?
Today we saw the sunset from the highest best freshest location around. It was great. I ran all the way up the steps.
Running! Yes.
Threw around with people, it was niiice. Verdict: my throws have touch (thank goodness) but my form is rusty and thus many throws are inaccurate.
How to fix the problems:
backhands - focus on balance, straight back, knees bent, low center of gravity. Not too much is wrong with the backhands.
Forehands: a lot of forehands I threw today either went too high or airbounced. Again, lower center of gravity, gotta get full body mechanics back behind throws and work on the throwing motion as one plane. Also forehand motion is tentative because of the wrist, I have a hard time putting the neccesary power in because it feels like it will hurt a lot even though it won't. It barely hurt at all today which is AWESOME and a good sign. The tentativeness leads to throws that get all their power from the wrist snap and don't engage the body.
That's ironic.
Did a few layouts, every year I say I will learn to layout for real, maybe this will be the year. I figured out how to land on my chest, legs in the air, arms up. That's a big step in the right direction.
Anyway, after my throwing partners got cold I hucked it around a little bid in the pasture. All but one throw went much farther than yesterday, probably had a couple in the 70 - 80 range. In other words, solid pulls if it ain't windy.
It was not windy.
I had an idea for a light throwing workout, simple really, just grab a disc, go to the field and pull it then sprint to the opposite endzone and then repeat as many times as you want. Easy. Focusing on exploding after you pull is huge if like me you don't run into your pulls. Hustling down on the pull wins games and is often underrated by 'd3' teams. My best play ever was getting a Callahan of my own pull and I want to repeat that, so I'ma train for it. Plus I can do it by myself, perfect for winter break or cold days when noone wants to throw.
Whew!
That was certainly self obsessed and long winded.
Heck what are blogs for.
Had an idea for keeping track of my new years resolution. Example:
Throwing: threw with Brendan and Eli and did some hucks by myself
Running: ran around while throwing, running up like eight flights of steps
If I add that on to every post I can keep myself honest. Maybe I'll even post every day.
You'd love that right?
Wrist rehab day 15
This is about yesterday.
Well, I tried throwing for the first time since before my last post. Forehands hurt. Backhands do not, irregardless of distance. I expected the opposite, and that implies a few things about the way I throw but I won't bore you with the details. Hah.
Anyway, I put up a bunch of big backhands. Probably averaged about 50 or 60 yards, maybe more but it is hard to tell in my backyard. I'm obviously not at top form after who knows how long of no practice, but I still have distance and decent form which is a blessing, ain't starting back at square one. Maybe square five?
Also, some adhesion must have broken because I kept throwing forehands and by the end of the session it did not hurt as much to do so. I started out with 30 yard flicks and that hurt a lot and at the end I threw a couple that were more like 40 and 5o and they still hurt but less so.
My left hand was completely numb by the end. My right hand slightly numb but much less so. It remembers high school when that shit was every day. That's a sign.
Throwing again today. So pumped.
Well, I tried throwing for the first time since before my last post. Forehands hurt. Backhands do not, irregardless of distance. I expected the opposite, and that implies a few things about the way I throw but I won't bore you with the details. Hah.
Anyway, I put up a bunch of big backhands. Probably averaged about 50 or 60 yards, maybe more but it is hard to tell in my backyard. I'm obviously not at top form after who knows how long of no practice, but I still have distance and decent form which is a blessing, ain't starting back at square one. Maybe square five?
Also, some adhesion must have broken because I kept throwing forehands and by the end of the session it did not hurt as much to do so. I started out with 30 yard flicks and that hurt a lot and at the end I threw a couple that were more like 40 and 5o and they still hurt but less so.
My left hand was completely numb by the end. My right hand slightly numb but much less so. It remembers high school when that shit was every day. That's a sign.
Throwing again today. So pumped.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Mental Game
Focus.
Throw forehands IO, low release, proper form, hips, shoulder jerk.
Backhands, grip it and rip it.
Play defense with every fiber of yourself wanting regionals.
Get the team fired up.
Be a team player.
Be positive.
Play out of your fucking mind.
Win every game. Four bids. Four bids!
End the day happy.
SPORTS.
See you at sectionals.
<3 GUNX
Throw forehands IO, low release, proper form, hips, shoulder jerk.
Backhands, grip it and rip it.
Play defense with every fiber of yourself wanting regionals.
Get the team fired up.
Be a team player.
Be positive.
Play out of your fucking mind.
Win every game. Four bids. Four bids!
End the day happy.
SPORTS.
See you at sectionals.
<3 GUNX
Monday, March 16, 2009
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.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
I am Snowbeard Icefist. I will triumph!
SNOWBEARD ICEFIST SNOWBEARD ICEFIST SNOWBEARD ICEFIST SNOWBEARD ICEFIST....
Once upon a time, back during the wily days of high school I too could layout full horizontal, at least once in a while. Not much beats the feeling right before, when your brain says "dude no way you are catching this" and then suddenly you are sprawled on the ground clutching the disc in your trembling hand, maybe bleeding in a way that makes the women swoon most awful.
Trouble is, when I got in shape I no longer needed to lay out as much to catch it on O and now I don't have the reflex. I balk at a full horizontal midair layout. I can slide like a champ and half-bid on my leg which (knock on wood) has yet to result in a serious injury. But it's only a matter of time.
So: I will learn to layout. This winter. I know the proper technique. Heck I've even taught it to other people. Today, after shoveling the driveway, I made myself bid in the snow until I could snag a disc with something like proper form. It was like old times - my first training philosophy was "if you can do it in the cold its usually easier when its not cold". That's how I learned to throw. Will it work for laying out? Time will tell. So far, so good.
SNOWBEARD ICEFIST SNOWBEARD ICEFIST SNOWBEARD ICEFIST LAYOUT!
Since Doober has "best team blogger" locked up, I wonder who will capture the elusive "hardest worker over winter break" title. We'll see when indoor practice starts. I am certainly going to put my name in for consideration.
If you are on the Gunx and are reading this, ask yourself "how hard did I train today?"
Are you satisfied?
Once upon a time, back during the wily days of high school I too could layout full horizontal, at least once in a while. Not much beats the feeling right before, when your brain says "dude no way you are catching this" and then suddenly you are sprawled on the ground clutching the disc in your trembling hand, maybe bleeding in a way that makes the women swoon most awful.
Trouble is, when I got in shape I no longer needed to lay out as much to catch it on O and now I don't have the reflex. I balk at a full horizontal midair layout. I can slide like a champ and half-bid on my leg which (knock on wood) has yet to result in a serious injury. But it's only a matter of time.
So: I will learn to layout. This winter. I know the proper technique. Heck I've even taught it to other people. Today, after shoveling the driveway, I made myself bid in the snow until I could snag a disc with something like proper form. It was like old times - my first training philosophy was "if you can do it in the cold its usually easier when its not cold". That's how I learned to throw. Will it work for laying out? Time will tell. So far, so good.
SNOWBEARD ICEFIST SNOWBEARD ICEFIST SNOWBEARD ICEFIST LAYOUT!
Since Doober has "best team blogger" locked up, I wonder who will capture the elusive "hardest worker over winter break" title. We'll see when indoor practice starts. I am certainly going to put my name in for consideration.
If you are on the Gunx and are reading this, ask yourself "how hard did I train today?"
Are you satisfied?
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