A D-III Nationals berth is still up in the air, but it's exciting to think that we're even on the brink. Even more exciting is that the Alumni and other members of DC's Ultimate community have taken part in sculpting the team this year. I just want to take a quick moment to thank a few people for their help this year.
Dave Alexander - Of course we have to thank Dave for all of his help teaching skills and just being a calming influence on the team. It's great to see him at tournaments in the area and he is always a source of great information for the younger and older players on this team.
The Alum - Jimmy De Martini, John Templon, Mike Karpovich, Sean Dorsy, Rachel Dudek, Tim Crowley, Dan McKenna, Matt McCafferty, and Alan Woods have all shown up at one point or another to add experience to our practices and do some one-on-one skills work when needed. Big thanks to these guys.
Matt Broaddus - A legend in the making. This guy is the focal point of many great Ultimate stories and he has added his name to another by helping Bad Habit through much of our Fall season. As inspiring to watch as it is to speak with him, players/people like this are special.
Carlos Orr - Added his name to a few of our practices and was a big help with supplying a boost of extra effort to our practices. Sometimes we tend to get lazy out there and it's nice to have a strong cutter motivating your defense.
Hopefully there isn't anyone I missed (doubt that most of these people even read this!), but if I missed you know that every minute you spent helping out the team was definitely appreciated. If anyone knows someone who may be interested in coaching the team next year, let me know.... we would appreciate the extra push that would give us at practice!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Big Red Dance Machine
Went to Henlopen this weekend. It's pretty close to being the first club tourney of the summer if it isn't, so there were a lot of teams who were very excited to start sizing up their competition. I went down with Megan and hung out with Big Red Death Machine over the weekend. I'd say it was a great experience overall; a little awkward at first, but as people got to know me things got better (Of course I didn't help this by just showing up at BRDM's practice Wednesday and loitering on their sidelines...).
I'd say I need to learn to be less critical while I'm observing from the sidelines. To be honest, I don't really even remember how I played when I was first starting. It's weird; it's similar to waking up after a long night of drinking and just having black spots in your memory. I mean, I remember the first time my flick worked, the first time I realized the importance of breaking the mark, the light bulb that clicked when I was introduced to the "dump-swing", but I don't really remember the actual process of learning or the games that I played until more recently. All I know is that it's a process. Sometimes it's a long process.
I used to love to huck the disc (well, I still do), but now I do it less. How much less is not an issue, I used to do it every single time a disc touched my hands in the game. The point is that patience is a tough thing to learn, and it's even harder to learn in the midst of a game; and I should not be critical of it, just be aware of it and do my best to initiate a conversation with these players about better possible options in the future. Once I struggled with dumping the disc off, and now I do it quite often. I would say I am a much better player because of it.
As far as fitness goes I am not the most fit player on the field. I would say that I can hold my own, but I am probably never going to be the most athletic out there. However, I do try to increase my level of fitness when my body allows. There are some players that have become comfortable with their personal fitness and they make no visible efforts to change that. This is where I am most critical. I never have understood how anybody can expect to compete at a Nationals or Regionals level living on throws alone. Nobody can compete on throws alone due to the nature of this game. It is ignorant to argue that truth. No offensive player can hide from the defensive side of the disc if they turn it over and no good defender can get by without any offensive skills. That's sort of the hard truth about Ultimate. You can play league play for years without addressing your physical fitness, but 1 point against a Nationals caliber team will leave you sucking for air if you're not prepared. Basically: Prepare for where you want to be, not for where you are.
Another note: WireTap looked good. They should've beat MedMen, and they played Pike in some close games. Cuts haven't really been finalized yet, but they look to be a little stronger than HOV this year. I really hope that works out for them. I really like the two leaders in Jack Kuecker and Matt Babin and I'm sorry that I'm probably going to be really fickle when it comes to Ultimate this summer. I'm just not ready to suffer through another season of injuries. In a few weeks I start my time off in full force!
Anyway, this was basically a bunch of jibberish, but sometimes I just feel like just tossing thoughts on paper. I'm really wishing both of these teams a lot of luck this summer and I hope to be there for some of their big victories. Good luck!
P.S. The title came from some conversation I overheard this weekend. "Wonder what BRDM stands for..."
I'd say I need to learn to be less critical while I'm observing from the sidelines. To be honest, I don't really even remember how I played when I was first starting. It's weird; it's similar to waking up after a long night of drinking and just having black spots in your memory. I mean, I remember the first time my flick worked, the first time I realized the importance of breaking the mark, the light bulb that clicked when I was introduced to the "dump-swing", but I don't really remember the actual process of learning or the games that I played until more recently. All I know is that it's a process. Sometimes it's a long process.
I used to love to huck the disc (well, I still do), but now I do it less. How much less is not an issue, I used to do it every single time a disc touched my hands in the game. The point is that patience is a tough thing to learn, and it's even harder to learn in the midst of a game; and I should not be critical of it, just be aware of it and do my best to initiate a conversation with these players about better possible options in the future. Once I struggled with dumping the disc off, and now I do it quite often. I would say I am a much better player because of it.
As far as fitness goes I am not the most fit player on the field. I would say that I can hold my own, but I am probably never going to be the most athletic out there. However, I do try to increase my level of fitness when my body allows. There are some players that have become comfortable with their personal fitness and they make no visible efforts to change that. This is where I am most critical. I never have understood how anybody can expect to compete at a Nationals or Regionals level living on throws alone. Nobody can compete on throws alone due to the nature of this game. It is ignorant to argue that truth. No offensive player can hide from the defensive side of the disc if they turn it over and no good defender can get by without any offensive skills. That's sort of the hard truth about Ultimate. You can play league play for years without addressing your physical fitness, but 1 point against a Nationals caliber team will leave you sucking for air if you're not prepared. Basically: Prepare for where you want to be, not for where you are.
Another note: WireTap looked good. They should've beat MedMen, and they played Pike in some close games. Cuts haven't really been finalized yet, but they look to be a little stronger than HOV this year. I really hope that works out for them. I really like the two leaders in Jack Kuecker and Matt Babin and I'm sorry that I'm probably going to be really fickle when it comes to Ultimate this summer. I'm just not ready to suffer through another season of injuries. In a few weeks I start my time off in full force!
Anyway, this was basically a bunch of jibberish, but sometimes I just feel like just tossing thoughts on paper. I'm really wishing both of these teams a lot of luck this summer and I hope to be there for some of their big victories. Good luck!
P.S. The title came from some conversation I overheard this weekend. "Wonder what BRDM stands for..."
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sect. Abbr.
Not really... but kinda.
Saturday:
Johns Hopkins - Pete throws Callahan to start the game, J-Hops go up early, Habit takes them down late. 13-8.
Salisbury - B - Likes to bid, but that means their throws aren't going where they want them to. We look to goose egg them. Billy has HUGE bid out of bounds, Alan and Stills get sky'd by B-teamers; Jared gets scored on by a girl. Habit wins 13-2.
Georgetown - Beat them at Shippensburg Fall Classic, dominated them at Roll Call (12-3), but this is a completely different team at Sectionals (read: 10 guys we've never seen who can all throw, run, jump, and catch well). They come out with intensity, we fall WAY behind (10-7 at one point), we finish with intensity. 12-10 Habit.
Maryland - We are now playing on a full-size field. It's like playing on a little league ball park and then jumping over to a major league diamond. We run for a bit, get some d's, take a lot of subs (who score the only point of the game), and go down 13-1. Plenty of time to watch the dogfight that is GW v. Delaware.
Sunday:
Salisbury - Decent Ultimate team led by one huge douchebag. I'll post the discussion over a travel call on here at some point. (I really need to do better with my posting of vids/pictures!) Catholic plays mediocre offense and poor defense. Buzz wins 13-8.
American - Game was close all the way, but never felt like it. Habit took a lot of subs and played fairly tight offensively. Not a great defensive effort, but took away the victory once we decided we were ready to. Habit wins 13-11.
George Washington - Tight first half with GW taking it 7-5. A few small victories for Habit including winning the first point of the game and trading points for a small bit in the first half. Stills had a beautiful layout score and Lemon had a circus-like catch to clean up on Jared's throw/John's misread. Habit loses the second half and the game 13-7.
Towson - Essentially a rookie game against Pandamonium. Great jerseys from 5Ultimate, but Towson is spelled "Townson" on the back. Yet another mistake by 5Ultimate. Our rooks win the battle, but we accept a tie for 5th place.
Going to Henlopen this weekend to see one of the first club tourney's of the summer. I'll get a chance to see some WireTap and Big Red Death Machine and hopefully I'll have some video highlights at some point. If it wasn't for school, work, Ultimate, and a significant other, I would be much quicker on the draw with this stuff!
Saturday:
Johns Hopkins - Pete throws Callahan to start the game, J-Hops go up early, Habit takes them down late. 13-8.
Salisbury - B - Likes to bid, but that means their throws aren't going where they want them to. We look to goose egg them. Billy has HUGE bid out of bounds, Alan and Stills get sky'd by B-teamers; Jared gets scored on by a girl. Habit wins 13-2.
Georgetown - Beat them at Shippensburg Fall Classic, dominated them at Roll Call (12-3), but this is a completely different team at Sectionals (read: 10 guys we've never seen who can all throw, run, jump, and catch well). They come out with intensity, we fall WAY behind (10-7 at one point), we finish with intensity. 12-10 Habit.
Maryland - We are now playing on a full-size field. It's like playing on a little league ball park and then jumping over to a major league diamond. We run for a bit, get some d's, take a lot of subs (who score the only point of the game), and go down 13-1. Plenty of time to watch the dogfight that is GW v. Delaware.
Sunday:
Salisbury - Decent Ultimate team led by one huge douchebag. I'll post the discussion over a travel call on here at some point. (I really need to do better with my posting of vids/pictures!) Catholic plays mediocre offense and poor defense. Buzz wins 13-8.
American - Game was close all the way, but never felt like it. Habit took a lot of subs and played fairly tight offensively. Not a great defensive effort, but took away the victory once we decided we were ready to. Habit wins 13-11.
George Washington - Tight first half with GW taking it 7-5. A few small victories for Habit including winning the first point of the game and trading points for a small bit in the first half. Stills had a beautiful layout score and Lemon had a circus-like catch to clean up on Jared's throw/John's misread. Habit loses the second half and the game 13-7.
Towson - Essentially a rookie game against Pandamonium. Great jerseys from 5Ultimate, but Towson is spelled "Townson" on the back. Yet another mistake by 5Ultimate. Our rooks win the battle, but we accept a tie for 5th place.
Going to Henlopen this weekend to see one of the first club tourney's of the summer. I'll get a chance to see some WireTap and Big Red Death Machine and hopefully I'll have some video highlights at some point. If it wasn't for school, work, Ultimate, and a significant other, I would be much quicker on the draw with this stuff!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Day 2
Of PTD, or Post Tourney Depression... I think I heard someone on R.S.D. call it that. Basically it's their way of giving a name to that feeling of having to go back to the grind and, at the same time, reliving every bad throw, cut, decision, and any other of various mental and physical let downs during the weekend. I don't feel like I held back a whole lot this weekend and my body has been reminding me of that constantly. I'm thinking my PTD is really fueled by the delayed onset muscle soreness.... It's really a bitch.
The good news is that Bad Habit finished 5th in the Section; leaps and bounds above whatever double-digit place we came in last year (I don't actually know since we didn't have enough of a team to go back for the make-up date). We also played a great game against a tough GW team Sunday and had a big win against a strong Georgetown team on Saturday. Overall a very satisfying weekend. I should have some recap post up soon...
The good news is that Bad Habit finished 5th in the Section; leaps and bounds above whatever double-digit place we came in last year (I don't actually know since we didn't have enough of a team to go back for the make-up date). We also played a great game against a tough GW team Sunday and had a big win against a strong Georgetown team on Saturday. Overall a very satisfying weekend. I should have some recap post up soon...
Monday, April 14, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Colonial Section Preview
Catholic University is the 4th seed at Sectionals. Who ever thought we would pull that off after a disastrous 2006-2007 campaign? Well, nobody probably last year, but after our performance this Spring it’s well-deserved. For a team that was 4-13 last Spring, our 15-5 record proves the dramatic change within our team.
Let’s see our match-ups for Saturday:
Round 1 – Johns Hopkins
Round 2 – Salisbury-B
Round 3 – Georgetown University
Crossover - ???
We’ve had some experience playing against J-Hops and Georgetown this year, and we have proved that we can beat these teams. Although we have already done so this year, none of that really matters with a loss this weekend. We’ve got to keep strong through the morning so we can come out hard against Georgetown in the 3rd round. Although I’m not one to make predictions, a 3-0 record will most-likely give us a 4th round rematch against Maryland. For those of you who don’t remember, Maryland goose-egged us in the 4th round of Sectionals just a year ago. I almost want to go 3-0 just to get another shot at these guys.
After looking at the Sunday brackets, it looks as though this crossover game doesn’t really matter for the #1 seeds, but it serves us best to win out in Pool Play. We wouldn’t want to get stuck going in Sunday only to have to face a #1 seed for a shot at the semi finals. The only thing I don’t understand (but I would probably love if I didn’t make it into the semis…) is that every team gets second and third chances to break into the 3rd seed for Regionals. If you lose in Round 1 on Sunday, you have a play-in to Round 3 for a chance at 3rd place. Of course it’s likely you’ll be facing a pissed off top seeded team for that opportunity, but it’s still a chance. If you lose in semis as a #1 seed, you still have to play rounds 3 and 4 to play into 3rd place. Well, I guess we’re in for a long weekend.
Let’s see our match-ups for Saturday:
Round 1 – Johns Hopkins
Round 2 – Salisbury-B
Round 3 – Georgetown University
Crossover - ???
We’ve had some experience playing against J-Hops and Georgetown this year, and we have proved that we can beat these teams. Although we have already done so this year, none of that really matters with a loss this weekend. We’ve got to keep strong through the morning so we can come out hard against Georgetown in the 3rd round. Although I’m not one to make predictions, a 3-0 record will most-likely give us a 4th round rematch against Maryland. For those of you who don’t remember, Maryland goose-egged us in the 4th round of Sectionals just a year ago. I almost want to go 3-0 just to get another shot at these guys.
After looking at the Sunday brackets, it looks as though this crossover game doesn’t really matter for the #1 seeds, but it serves us best to win out in Pool Play. We wouldn’t want to get stuck going in Sunday only to have to face a #1 seed for a shot at the semi finals. The only thing I don’t understand (but I would probably love if I didn’t make it into the semis…) is that every team gets second and third chances to break into the 3rd seed for Regionals. If you lose in Round 1 on Sunday, you have a play-in to Round 3 for a chance at 3rd place. Of course it’s likely you’ll be facing a pissed off top seeded team for that opportunity, but it’s still a chance. If you lose in semis as a #1 seed, you still have to play rounds 3 and 4 to play into 3rd place. Well, I guess we’re in for a long weekend.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Setting the Date: Alumni Game
Hey all, I've attached a poll on the right so we can decide when this Alumni Game is going to be.
First, I want to mention that there are a few issues with some of the dates. April 26-27 is the Regional tournament, and there is a possibility that Catholic will be in attendance. Also, May 10th and 11th is the weekend before finals week (which I don't see as a problem, but you never know.
Thanks for your help! If you know of any other alum, please send them this way! I need email addresses!
P.S. You can pick multiple dates! Pick all of the dates that work for you.
First, I want to mention that there are a few issues with some of the dates. April 26-27 is the Regional tournament, and there is a possibility that Catholic will be in attendance. Also, May 10th and 11th is the weekend before finals week (which I don't see as a problem, but you never know.
Thanks for your help! If you know of any other alum, please send them this way! I need email addresses!
P.S. You can pick multiple dates! Pick all of the dates that work for you.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The BoDeans
As seen through the lyrics of “Shake Those Windows” by Athlete
“Songs and songs and beats and rhymes in life”
As a last-minute Wednesday surprise I managed to obtain 2 tickets to the BoDeans for Megan and myself at the 9:30 Club. I’ve been listening to these guys since 2002, but they have been around FOREVER. They were founded in 1983 (a year after I was born!) in Waukesha, Wisconsin and they’ve released 10+ albums in their time. Their heyday was in the late 1980s when they released Closer to Free, which was popularized as the theme song for Party of Five. An interesting tidbit was that in 1987 the Rolling Stone voted them the Best New American Band, but they never managed more than a loyal cult following throughout their careers.
“Sometimes my stereo and in my aching bones”
All day I waited for the concert. I mean, I was pretty excited, but this day had been a little different. I woke up early, 8am, to try to sort through the clutter of our roster for an upcoming tournament and ensure that all of our players were eligible, and official members of Ultimate’s governing body, the Ultimate Player’s Assocation. I didn’t actually buy my tickets until lunchtime Wednesday, so there was a fair bit of stress with the possibility that this may be a sold out concert, as well as just the struggle of driving through D.C. I had a less-than-healthy meal at McDonald’s and rushed back to work after procuring a pair to the show. There were a few other time management issues (such as a trip to FedEx to overnight the roster info as well as some housing complications), but we managed to arrive to the show prior to the BoDean’s entrance.
“In two seconds the beat was recognized”
I can’t say that I’ve heard the first song the BoDeans played tonight, but that familiar sound of Sammy’s voice just smoothed over the stress of the day as I began to relive all the hours I spent listening to these guys a few years ago. From then on I recalled lyrics of just about every song they played, minus a few on the newest CD. Feed the Fire, Closer to Free, Naked, Idaho, Good Things, Still the Night, Texas Ride Song, Far, Far Away from my Heart, True Devotion….
“And all the old-school heads, nodded back in time…
And though we just met I've known you all my life”
Megan and I found ourselves surrounded with middle-aged adults fresh off of work and still sporting Blackberry’s and ties as well as old-school rockers with long hair and flavor-savers. Mom-jeans were prevalent as well as those who just came to reminisce and take a moment from the daily grind. “I can’t believe I’m out so late on a Wednesday” said one, and another man was seen pulling beer bottles from his cargos… He wanted to stand near the front so he loaded up with 6 beers at the beginning of the show and kept them in his utilitarian pants for later.
“Just let the record play and bring it back again
You can't appreciate what we were into then”
At the end of the show we proved that we too could rock with the best of the o-l-d crowd. Megan danced, I smiled and sang along; the BoDeans are still alive and kicking. Although we were the youngest in the crowd, I’m sure their catchy rock tunes could last forever. It’s only a matter of time before the children of the patrons last night sneak a listen to their parent’s old CDs/cassettes… As for me, I can’t wait to get their newest CD!
As we were leaving Megan overheard one woman say to another “I can’t believe I’m seeing these guys again! Remember when we saw them 20 years ago?” Great stuff.
“Just let yourself go, just let yourself go”
“Songs and songs and beats and rhymes in life”
As a last-minute Wednesday surprise I managed to obtain 2 tickets to the BoDeans for Megan and myself at the 9:30 Club. I’ve been listening to these guys since 2002, but they have been around FOREVER. They were founded in 1983 (a year after I was born!) in Waukesha, Wisconsin and they’ve released 10+ albums in their time. Their heyday was in the late 1980s when they released Closer to Free, which was popularized as the theme song for Party of Five. An interesting tidbit was that in 1987 the Rolling Stone voted them the Best New American Band, but they never managed more than a loyal cult following throughout their careers.
“Sometimes my stereo and in my aching bones”
All day I waited for the concert. I mean, I was pretty excited, but this day had been a little different. I woke up early, 8am, to try to sort through the clutter of our roster for an upcoming tournament and ensure that all of our players were eligible, and official members of Ultimate’s governing body, the Ultimate Player’s Assocation. I didn’t actually buy my tickets until lunchtime Wednesday, so there was a fair bit of stress with the possibility that this may be a sold out concert, as well as just the struggle of driving through D.C. I had a less-than-healthy meal at McDonald’s and rushed back to work after procuring a pair to the show. There were a few other time management issues (such as a trip to FedEx to overnight the roster info as well as some housing complications), but we managed to arrive to the show prior to the BoDean’s entrance.
“In two seconds the beat was recognized”
I can’t say that I’ve heard the first song the BoDeans played tonight, but that familiar sound of Sammy’s voice just smoothed over the stress of the day as I began to relive all the hours I spent listening to these guys a few years ago. From then on I recalled lyrics of just about every song they played, minus a few on the newest CD. Feed the Fire, Closer to Free, Naked, Idaho, Good Things, Still the Night, Texas Ride Song, Far, Far Away from my Heart, True Devotion….
“And all the old-school heads, nodded back in time…
And though we just met I've known you all my life”
Megan and I found ourselves surrounded with middle-aged adults fresh off of work and still sporting Blackberry’s and ties as well as old-school rockers with long hair and flavor-savers. Mom-jeans were prevalent as well as those who just came to reminisce and take a moment from the daily grind. “I can’t believe I’m out so late on a Wednesday” said one, and another man was seen pulling beer bottles from his cargos… He wanted to stand near the front so he loaded up with 6 beers at the beginning of the show and kept them in his utilitarian pants for later.
“Just let the record play and bring it back again
You can't appreciate what we were into then”
At the end of the show we proved that we too could rock with the best of the o-l-d crowd. Megan danced, I smiled and sang along; the BoDeans are still alive and kicking. Although we were the youngest in the crowd, I’m sure their catchy rock tunes could last forever. It’s only a matter of time before the children of the patrons last night sneak a listen to their parent’s old CDs/cassettes… As for me, I can’t wait to get their newest CD!
As we were leaving Megan overheard one woman say to another “I can’t believe I’m seeing these guys again! Remember when we saw them 20 years ago?” Great stuff.
“Just let yourself go, just let yourself go”
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Roll Call: Will the real Bad Habit please stand up?
Bad Habit barely snuck into Roll Call this year after amassing big victories at Huck of the Irish over a huge Vermont team, Air Force, and Pitt-Johnstown. Of course, it took a letter detailing our victories this year and contrasting the desire and determination of a 2008 Bad Habit team vs. that of a 4-13 CUltimAte in 2007 to convince the Roll Call TDs of that. Our record and this newly-found recognition speak volumes about the character of this team.
Roll Call was looking to finally be a testing ground for Catholic after getting snubbed out of a big day at HoTI by the rain and wind. We were looking at pool play opponents of Virginia Commonwealth (Looking to extend a 3-game win streak against us), Pennsbury High school, Penn State (Who ran their mouths all week about deserving a #1 seed), and the #1 seed and Sectional rival George Washington.
Day 1
Pool play started off as expected by crushing an under-manned VCU team. Our speed and deep attacks forced the Biscuit Villains into setting a zone that was easily navigated by our handlers and persistent popping by Lemon, Stills, and Jim. 13-5 Habit
The chatter coming from Penn State the week prior sounded like they were going to be pumped up and ready to prove themselves this weekend. Still pissed about missing out on a #1 seed, they seemed anxious to prove that they deserved one. Of course, the lowly Catholic U team wasn’t going to stand in their way… It seemed that way at half after PSU took it 7-4. I went down with an injury to my knee early in the game and was still trying to work it out as stayed in the game until I came back in. My reentry into the game marked the beginning of two PSU breaks right before half. Habit has a history with comeback wins this year, as Metz will tell you, and we poised to strike. At 8-6 the cap went on, meaning a game to 10. PSU broke us and scored the next point and looked ready to end it with another ‘d.’ Jared had an “out-of-body/Gladiator” moment and decided he would start catching discs, I did my best to tell myself to calm down my hucks, and the rage Arin was about to release on defense was everything like that of a cornered animal. We took our offensive possession to make it 9-7 and then set a zone. They worked the disc fluidly until their captain settled for a big blade-like flick into the endzone that was just crushed by Arin. I scrambled to give Jared a deep look and he let sail a big backhand into the PSU endzone. It was a little high, but State doesn’t have too many large defenders, so I easily sky’d 2 of their guys to make it 9-8. Frustration was running high on Spank’s sidelines now. Another defense in the zone put us in striking distance again and a well-placed flick from Jared to myself evened the score at 9’s. *This is where we stopped playing good Ultimate and just got lucky* We managed a ‘d’ in our endzone and I picked up a disc. I forgot everything I had told myself about hucking the disc and put up an ill-advised flick to Jared upwind. Somehow Jared decided he would play the deflection and he set up just behind his defender. The disc barely scraped off a Spank player and we had our own immaculate reception. After a few resets I put the disc into the hands of a bounding Rabbit for the score and the win. 10-9 Habit
Pennsbury High School was an all-around solid game by the Habit as we spent most of the game hucking to Arin and Lemon for easy scores. We lost Stills this game to an injury, and there were several moments of excitement (such as finding Arin’s contact after he lost it laying out HUGE for a score!), but all-in-all it was very similar to the VCU game. 13-4 Habit
George Washington was on our minds the instant we saw our schedules. Knowing previous results of our 4th games on Saturday, we knew we were going to have a tough time putting together any kind of a game for them today. We had big play on defense, but just couldn’t get our offense running as we silently finished our big day losing 4-13.
Roll Call was looking to finally be a testing ground for Catholic after getting snubbed out of a big day at HoTI by the rain and wind. We were looking at pool play opponents of Virginia Commonwealth (Looking to extend a 3-game win streak against us), Pennsbury High school, Penn State (Who ran their mouths all week about deserving a #1 seed), and the #1 seed and Sectional rival George Washington.
Day 1
Pool play started off as expected by crushing an under-manned VCU team. Our speed and deep attacks forced the Biscuit Villains into setting a zone that was easily navigated by our handlers and persistent popping by Lemon, Stills, and Jim. 13-5 Habit
The chatter coming from Penn State the week prior sounded like they were going to be pumped up and ready to prove themselves this weekend. Still pissed about missing out on a #1 seed, they seemed anxious to prove that they deserved one. Of course, the lowly Catholic U team wasn’t going to stand in their way… It seemed that way at half after PSU took it 7-4. I went down with an injury to my knee early in the game and was still trying to work it out as stayed in the game until I came back in. My reentry into the game marked the beginning of two PSU breaks right before half. Habit has a history with comeback wins this year, as Metz will tell you, and we poised to strike. At 8-6 the cap went on, meaning a game to 10. PSU broke us and scored the next point and looked ready to end it with another ‘d.’ Jared had an “out-of-body/Gladiator” moment and decided he would start catching discs, I did my best to tell myself to calm down my hucks, and the rage Arin was about to release on defense was everything like that of a cornered animal. We took our offensive possession to make it 9-7 and then set a zone. They worked the disc fluidly until their captain settled for a big blade-like flick into the endzone that was just crushed by Arin. I scrambled to give Jared a deep look and he let sail a big backhand into the PSU endzone. It was a little high, but State doesn’t have too many large defenders, so I easily sky’d 2 of their guys to make it 9-8. Frustration was running high on Spank’s sidelines now. Another defense in the zone put us in striking distance again and a well-placed flick from Jared to myself evened the score at 9’s. *This is where we stopped playing good Ultimate and just got lucky* We managed a ‘d’ in our endzone and I picked up a disc. I forgot everything I had told myself about hucking the disc and put up an ill-advised flick to Jared upwind. Somehow Jared decided he would play the deflection and he set up just behind his defender. The disc barely scraped off a Spank player and we had our own immaculate reception. After a few resets I put the disc into the hands of a bounding Rabbit for the score and the win. 10-9 Habit
Pennsbury High School was an all-around solid game by the Habit as we spent most of the game hucking to Arin and Lemon for easy scores. We lost Stills this game to an injury, and there were several moments of excitement (such as finding Arin’s contact after he lost it laying out HUGE for a score!), but all-in-all it was very similar to the VCU game. 13-4 Habit
George Washington was on our minds the instant we saw our schedules. Knowing previous results of our 4th games on Saturday, we knew we were going to have a tough time putting together any kind of a game for them today. We had big play on defense, but just couldn’t get our offense running as we silently finished our big day losing 4-13.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
