Scrimmage #1 Recap

The game against America went pretty well. We had a bit of a letdown in the middle of the game after taking half 8-4, but we surged again at the end to take the game 15-12. There were a few points in there where we looked very patient and swung the disc 6-7 times at the goal line before finding an open cutter for the score. There were also points where we just waited too long to look at the dump... I guess it's a learning process, and it's nice to have so much to work on at practice. We also ran zone for the first time... That only proved to American that we did not talk about it before Saturday.. Oh well.

Some comments on individuals...
Lemon had moments of brilliance on offense, but is getting a little complacent with his d... I'm thinking we need to find him mismatches to take advantage of rather than trying to get him to shut down a team's best cutters.

Frodo is definitely stepping it up this year. He's where he needs to be on the swings and is finding himself open a lot. One big problem is that he needs to learn when to the throw and when to holster the disc. There were a few up-line cuts that just weren't open and he tried to force it in there.

Jim is getting there with his backhands. A little more patience on the transitions is necessary, but his throws and decision-making otherwise is fine.

Brian just won't play d. I hope he reads this. Anyway, his throws are there, decisions are solid, but his complete lack of defense makes him a serious liability. The funny thing is that this guy is one of our fastest players... Too bad he doesn't use it on d.

Jess is ridiculous. She was basically open all day against the men on American's team. She's one of those players that just does everything right and doesn't try to take more than a defense gives her. We could all learn a lot from that... me included.

J-M is coming along as a player. He's putting two hands on every disc and making good cuts. We need to work a bit on his flick with a mark, but otherwise he's playing well. I like how excited he is to be out there. Just a little less Bash Brother would be great though... I'm sure Paco, Martini, and that dude he truck-sticked on American would appreciate that too...

Kyle is still solid. He's quick, but he had a faster opponent on Saturday. Coming to the disc was a problem for him and he was d'd a few times because of it. Learning to extend his hands, box out his defender, and run full speed through the disc could really help him. He could benefit from chilling out a bit with the disc too. I feel like he's really worried about the cutters not cutting when he's always got a reset if he needs it. Just use the reset and clear out to set up another big gainer, Kyle!

Well that's about all I really feel to cover/write about at work today... There were other guys out there, but I just don't have time to go on. We can talk about you later! Ha, constructive criticism guys, constructive criticism...

Test #1

Things seem to be going alright with the team.... well, attendance is down, but everyone seems pretty excited to be out and playing when they are in fact out and playing. It seems like we have 2-4 committed freshmen at this point. I occasionally see others out at practice, and there are starting to be more women with the birth of our women's Ultimate team (Nun-chuk, is it?), but we need more. Bring your friends, how hard can that be?

Our first test comes this weekend against American University. It should be a pretty relaxed game with an opportunity to play in a more competitive environment as well as a chance to learn some of the rules of the game. We'll play a game to 13 or 15 and then mix up the two squads to form two teams of CUA and AU players and play another game. It should be a great chance for the two teams to get to know each other and just enjoy some competitive Ultimate. Not to mention this is a good warm-up for both of our teams for Club Sectionals.

Hopefully we can start pulling better numbers at practice soon or else we'll need to shake things up a bit. I can't stand having 12-16 players at each practice...it just isn't enough to help us improve.

Week 3: Bad Habit

2 weeks have passed and we're starting to get a feel for the rookies that will stick it out for the season. It looks like we've got a really positive, athletic bunch, so I'm excited for the first tourney. It looks like the first one for us will be the end of Sept at the Snake Farm Classic in Richmond, VA. Our good friends the Biscuit Villains of VCU will be putting on their second annual tourney and I'm pysched that we can be a part of it. It's too bad we missed the first run of it!

I should be going to bed, since we've now started 7am Wed practices, but I just wanted to put a few thoughts down about the upcoming season....

1. We're going to play a lot of tournaments this Fall!
2. Starting a women's team at Catholic looks like it might just happen this year.
3. People are starting to buy into the "Ultimate as a 'real' sport" thing I've been preaching.
4. We're doing a Saturday pick-up each week that we don't have a tourney. I really want this to turn into a scrimmage against other DC teams. Thoughts are American, Georgetown, GW, Maryland (B, maybe?), VCU, George Mason, and Johns Hopkins... Others cross my mind, but I'm trying to stay close.
5. It's great to have a coach!

Well, need to get some sleep so I can be productive tomorrow. Get into the Habit!