Exegesis III: The Reckoning

I think rather than posting another non sequitur after that last ultimate recap I'll just recklessly carry on, because damn it, I live life on the edge!

Iowa Games. Ames ToP's only yearly tournament. The past two years we were denied victory, but this year, this year would be the one. Our pool consisted of what we originally perceived as being the hardest group of teams in the tournament. We were wrong. We were also wrong about this year being the one. That was a bit of a letdown. Given a choice between being wrong about our pool and being wrong about our prediction to win, I would have most likely chosen the pool thing.

Upon arrival to the fields (the furthest fields away from the road, somebody doesn't think much of ultimate) I noticed a few things. 1. I was quite early, so the awesome, "that one Nationals CLX video where it's perfectly flat fields, a slight fog, and scores of discs being thrown through the air with spiffy inspirational background music and the GOOD GOD IT'S NATIONALS" feeling was inexplicably absent. 2. Your college team that you're going to be the captain of doesn't really like it when you don't play on their team. and 3. Man some of these teams suck balls.

Yet again a slight wind, although a bit more stiff than in Freedom Fest. Enough that certain enterprising teams would attempt to form a cup (Protip: that was a really bad idea). Our first game was against a very green looking Marshalltown team. Our warmups were so breathtaking that many of their players were visibly shaken, but then again, that's what happens when you bring little city boys to a big man's tournament. We dominate 9-3. I was particularly happy with myself that game, as I had finally gone out and purchased a few pairs of nice pre-ultimate pants, so on the sidelines I was reppin' the Goodwill Scene like nobody's business. Color my team impressed.

Game two, Cobra Kai. Now I have to hand it them, the players of Cobra Kai are equally as harsh on each other on the field as they are in the dojo. Additionally, they had some future UNI players that I was scoping out. One cutter, and pseudo-handler it looked like. I like the cutter, he was fast, quiet, probably is used to losing, typical UNI material. The pseudo-handler I really can't see playing ultimate with UNI, although if he did he'd be a nice change. Like every player on UNI, though, his throws are all incredibly inconsistent, but that can easily be done away with. Game-wise, Cobra Kai comes out swinging, takes us to 2's. Unfortunately for them, however, this time it was Ames Top that swept the leg. ToP 9-3.

Next up Team Backseat I believe. They had green jerseys. I think Paul Utesh(?) was playing on their team? He plays for forest green in DSM League, I don't really know the guy. ToP 9-1. Only highlight of this game that I remember: I took off my shirt as it was about prime burning time and I wanted to avoid last year's train wreck that was my tan lines. I quickly hear a mocking, "gonna show off the bod a little bit eh Muscles?" I had no reply, although found this endlessly humorous the whole tournament (I'm not that muscular).

The Cybernetic Tractor Farm Machines, or more commonly known as UNIPUC. Do you think I should change our name to CTFM? Because I think I should change the name to CTFM. At least then we'd get some respect. The UNI team had been playing abysmally the entire tournament and I mean I guess they did outscore the other teams up to this point, but they looked absolutely terrible. None of the players other than B-Long had been playing over the summer. Terp was playing terribly. B-Long isn't, and never will be a handler, not to mention he still needs to learn the basics of being a cutter. And they had Drake players. Drake players look up to us UNI players as gods of the sport. That might or might not tell you a few things about their team. ToP 9-4.

Being the 2nd seed, for some reason, all we had left was PaB to clinch out our pool. We had heard from the previous teams that the extent of the PaB offense was just to send Gerard deep every play. Naturally, I was given the joy that was to guard him (it actually wasn't that bad). Somewhere in between Solstice and now I've somehow worked up the calling card of being able to guard the opposing team's deep man and/or quickest cutter. I like that feeling, although I wish I knew how exactly I managed to earn that reputation. Regardless, Gerard was shut down for the most part, except for the first of many disappointments, that being a badly placed huck tipped by Mark Shirbroun, that I laid out for and D'd, only to end up having the wind take it and place it directly in Gerard's hands. Damn wind. It would've been fine, if only that exact same thing wouldn't have happened three to four points later.

We went down early, but spurred on by the great defensive stand that not only I, but the rest of our A-team (that being myself, Greg, Dunlay, Torin, Mark and two other people) experienced, we raced into the lead and let it be known that we were unequivocal kings of our pool. I think we may have turned it once, if at all, after the comeback started at 2-4 or so. We were pumped. It may have been the poach and/or lazy D of most of those guys, but working it upwind with Dunlay/Greg and the precision patience of our dump-swing red zone offense felt amazing. If we would've played the Candliers like we did PaB it probably would've been a much closer game. Top 9-5.

A brief 30-minute lunch break followed. I definitely regret not eating/drinking really anything in between this point and the Candliers game. In a one day tournament with eight games in it, definitely not a smart thing to do. The future of UNIPUC ultimate was discussed during this time frame. I have my work cut out for me.

Game Six (ugh). Des Moines Huckers. Led by the shenanigans of Dylan Huey, we never really had much to worry about this team. Dylan had his usual choice words, one of the old guys from UNI was on this team, meh. I think Dumbledore's Army (i.e. the other AHS players) came to watch during this game. They booed us for a little bit, it was cute. Yet another heartbreaking layout D, this time I just didn't get a solid enough hand on the disc. Also, although I didn't mention it earlier, Dunlay again had the same opportunity to get the layout, but for fear of killing me, he declined. Heart you Dunlay! Ames ToP 11-7(?)

The Pella Game. My team told me I looked incredibly burnt out at this point, I was beginning to feel the beginnings of the hydration problems here. Looking back on it that's probably why I remember so little of the actual game. I do remember that Mark got in large arguing match with Loynachan, I like having people that get angry/loud really easily on my team. They provide entertainment. There was a foul called on a second bid for a disc, but both had legitimately made a play on the disc and became tangled at the end. I sided with Mark, as he succinctly put it, "Well then, I guess I should call a foul too!"

...Although his quote kind of loses something in translation. Try saying that to yourself with a Sean Connery accent to it. That's the ticket.

Some other mildly interesting things occurred. Loynachan grunted a lot, Trent was old, you know where I'm going with this. ToP 11-8(?)

And on to the finals we went. To steel myself for such a momentous occasion I was driven to a Portajohn and relieved myself. When I came back we had already started and assumed a losing position. We never really did much about that. They absolutely slaughtered us between their height, vast experience, superb throwing ability, and unique fashion sense. At this point I was unable to will myself to care, as nearly every first cut made allowed a D or dropped the disc. Things like that tend to bring down morale. We probably lost 5-13. At least we continually improve I guess? 8th to 3rd to 2nd. Too bad there probably won't be an Ames ToP around next year to try for the final victory.

Pros: Continual improvement. (Mostly) beating all the teams that we knew/mattered. Solid play from the team in general. The weather being amazing for once. Watching Mark and Brian go at it. Rubbing Dylan Huey the wrong way. Outscoring our pool 45-16.

Cons: Didn't get to eliminate Dumbledore's Army. The three layout D's that weren't actually D's, but points for the other team. UNIPUC's play.

Freedom Fest

I was pretty stoked for Freedom Fest to tell the truth. After playing with so many iffy teams in the past year or so (and after the PaB-fest of Solstice) I was ready for a change. ISUC brought a solid team to the table, naturally some of the normal ISUC players plus Dunlay, Greg, Torin, M. Lun, Gibbs and Derscheid.

This was my first tournament since YCC with Dunlay, I was curious to see where he'd fit in in regards to the ISUC team. After seeing and hearing so much about Lun I was pretty happy to finally play with him. Gibbs I hadn't really heard much about, just mostly her name tossed around and the word "captain" included, so I just assumed she was amazing. And Derscheid I knew to be an outstanding player through Des Moines League, and a player with an incredible grasp of the game (one day I too will have that grasp).

There were the normal crazy antics on the way up and when we got to Duluth, which turns out has an absolutely gorgeous cityscape during the night, although in the day, it's loses a bit of its luster. Whatever lake we camped at, Superior maybe(?) I can't remember, was breathtaking, although the newb-like forgetting of my sleeping bag was not. Torin and I slept in his van. I wouldn't recommend it.

The tournament fields were nice, a slight crosswind from time to time, but the type that can easily be eliminated after adjusting your throws accordingly. On the way to our first field we encountered a large, puffed up mama bird, who was nesting and/or protecting its children. That thing was fierce. Cones were eventually erected around the perimeter of its territory, although not before some mean-spirited players tried to chase it off. It must have been one of the most stressed out birds in the entire US during that tournament.

As for the ultimate, it took me a while to get used to the cutting of the ISUC offense. I can see where its strengths lie, but it really seemed that we didn't use it to the best of its abilities the whole tournament. That offense needs continual cuts and movement, but a lot of times we ended up getting stuck and the handlers had to work it up. Bad ISUC! Bad.

As mentioned below, I think in the first two games I had already chalked up four or five layout D's, I was quite happy with myself, but I didn't really feel like I got comfortable enough to play my best until later in the second day. A lot of the ISUC guys were impressed with my play, Tim especially it seemed, but I don't think they had ever really seen me play very much.

My very first deep throw in the tournament was a really badly curled backhand that ended up completely missing Ellsworth's deep cut. After that throw I resolved to not handle at all. My backhand has always been the worse of my two throws for some reason. I've been trying to even it out distance-wise with my forehand, but I still have yet to be able to get the correct grip and release point to get it to do what I want. My last practice with ToP I was trying to pull with it and it was working pretty well, but still nowhere near where my forehand is. I'm definitely going to need to work on that if I'm going to do anything worthwhile at UNI.

I'll spare you the details of the games of the first day, we played the way our ranking allowed us to. Our offense needed some work, there were a lot of times where I had the poached deep cut ready, but another player was clogging so I had to just reign it in. Being able to cut deep is a pretty big thing for me, I feel like I'm underestimated a lot in regards to my speed / ups, and that tends to end well for me/my team. And, as I mentioned earlier, that offense needs continual cuts, and we really weren't giving that many. I was thinking about trying that with UNI over the fall, but from how that went I'm definitely going to go with my gut and try the ho-stack. Here's hoping they're able to learn it.

I ended up being too sore / dead feeling to go out to the party. Not to mention I'm not exactly the huge ultimate party type of guy. I'll take a tight-knit group of friends to drink with over a party in a heartbeat. I ended up staying in the hotel with a few other people. Notable happenstances: the RPS National Championships and Master Roshambollah, the apparent citywide shortage of functioning milkshake machines, and the first time sleeping in a bed with another person since the week I was in Maine with Ali. Torin was not amused.

The second day, first game. When I think of Freedom Fest our game against Climax (Luther Alum team) is the first thing that springs to mind. There was an extended warm-up period before that game due to some breakfast choices that left something to be desired. The Luther team looked...tall. Also not very creative in regards to their hair choices, all of them oddly seemed to have the same haircut. A large majority of the time I had trouble lining across from my man, due to sheer uniformity of the Luther team. I suppose that's a desirable trait to have.

I had heard horror stories from my fellow UNI players about Luther teams. You see, back the last time UNI actually went to sectionals (I think three years ago?), they were utterly crushed and thoroughly mocked by the Luther players/Gods of Ultimate. The previous captain of the team actually harbors a deep resentment toward them, and fancies them our rivals. (Hah!) Apparently I, like the rest of the ISUC team, strangely enough, had something to prove.

For some reason while waiting on the line I was able to psych myself up to contest the disc each and every time, and I think my play reflected that. I was put on Jamie (no last name) from Sub-Zero, captain of the Luther team from the previous year, for every single point that he was in. It may have been due to his lack of effort, but I felt like I completely shut him down for the majority of his cutting, and it was only when he started to do more handling that I let him back into the game. Note to self: work on mark, also handler defense. My cutting defense was also eventually what led to my personal highlight of the tournament.

This was the game which contained one of those magical moments. One of those moments where you shuffle off your pitiful human limits. One of those moments where the stars align, where the caprice of karma holds no sway, and where fate gives you a helping hand.

I was told later by Greg that he so badly wished he could've had a picture at that moment, for my feet were at my defender's chest. My sentiments echo his exactly.

We played hard that game and we ended up winning, Deservedly in some ways, not so in others. The last point ended up being somewhat of a letdown due to a player's belief that he could fast count his way to a stall (turns out, if a second fast count / contested stall is called immediately after a previous one, the stall count goes down to six. That would've been handy to know).

The second game of the second day...happened, and we lost. After the Climax game I and a lot of the team didn't feel quite up to playing a bunch of Sub-Zero players (plus Jamie and Dill from Climax, unfair!). We were all too beat to end up playing with Ding Wop for 3rd, I'm unsure of how well we would've done, but then again, I've never played Ding Wop before.

Well, technically I played them at Moustachionals. I distinctly remember Dave skying one of our players (UNI) with both a beer and a cocktail in his hand for the score. Typical.

The post-tournament ride introduced me to the joy of Vanilla Frosties, the promise of the 5 for 5.95 shake challenge, and probably some other things I guess.

The player by player recap?
Greg: Stellar, Solstice-esque. (I'll join his fanclub with gusto!)
Dunlay: Spectacular, he didn't do as much handling as I would've expected, considering he's really going to need to step up next year for ISUC, but as a cutter he's amazing.
Torin: See below.
Misra: Excellent. None of the problems at Solstice were continued at Freedom Fest.
Myself: Superb, throws needed work (addressed at Iowa Games)
Gibbs: Fast/quick, didn't see enough of her play though. I also felt bad as I felt like I should'veMcDonalds where it was just her and me sitting at the same table. It was probably my bad, you were just staring so intently at the table I was unsure of what to do. Or maybe it didn't really matter and I'm making more of it than there really is. Hm.
M. Lun: I could tell his shoulder was probably still bothering him, but an amazing handler nonetheless. It's interesting trying to work with him / I wasn't used to it at all so it was a bit awkward trying to make handler cuts with him. Meh. Deep throws = love.
Derscheid: As solid as I remembered her, whenever she got the disc I felt at ease. Also, her randomly shouted explicatives after points brightened my day, there need to be more people like her. I also felt bad for not being social, but she is a grizzled veteran of the sport and I am not. First rule of ultimate: greenhorns never address their superiors unless addressed first. Appendix: Unless prompted in question form i.e. in the search for greater knowledge.

Freedom Fest: a great tournament overall, with only a few slight things that could have been improved. 8.5 out of 10 stars.

Edit: Also M. Ellsworth: He was like, there and stuff. He did some things.

Naturally I was referring to Ultimate

I should probably develop some sort of formula for tournament recaps or some such thing, but I've always been a writer that uses as little preparation as possible. I never cared much for those new-fangled outlines and I don't never plan on changing for nobody, nohow.

Way, way back in the beginning of the summer I was invited to the Summer Solstice down in Tulsa by PaB, the Des Moines League team that plays in every way, shape and form, as you'd expect a "Des Moines League Team" to play. Accompanying me were my faithful chums, Torin, Greg, J-Mis and fellow UNIer, Kyle "Driven" Nelson. Although at the time we didn't know the magnitude of PaB's decision, we would only be playing with roughly four actual PaB players. The rest of the roster was being filled by Ames ToP (us) and some guys from a place called Rolla. Oh how I wish I would've known about that ahead of time. Admittedly one of the guys, with a decidedly feminine name for some reason, was an amazing defender/puller, but the rest...eh, not so much. They definitely filled the roster though.

This tournament, like many to follow, had a multiple motifs that I will soon elaborate upon. The first and most satisfying: the sheer and utter domination of Greg Shirbroun over any and all comers. Now having grown up watching Greg improve I've known about his handling for quite a while, but since his year at Luther his skills have improved dramatically. As a cutter I felt completely comfortable making almost any cut I wanted, knowing that somehow, some way, Greg would get the disc to me. His throwing was completely unparalleled in that entire tournament. We gladly rode upon his back as far as he could take us (something that I'm quickly getting used to).

Playing with J-Mis was excellent. I like his style of play a lot, that being small advances up the field, dump/swings, all that jazz. In my opinion he's one of the harder people I know to guard; something that he's unfortunately taken advantage of many a time in opposing matches. It takes a bit as a cutter to get used to his somewhat lack of Shirbroun-esque deep throws, although he's trying to work on that, and I do think they've gotten better. I felt like he could've played better this tournament, he had a few unforced TO's and the like, but overall what I saw I liked.

Driven played solidly throughout the tournament, his chilliness needs a bit of work, but all around it's going to be nice to have him at UNI, his experience from ToP will play a big factor in him stepping up over the school year.

Unfortunately, ever since his injury near Frostbite(?) Torin has been playing less than sub-par these days I'd say. His throws have advanced quite well from my time playing with him over last summer, but it seems he's lost something in exchange. I really felt this in both Iowa Games and Freedom Fest especially, but all I remember Torin doing is either not cutting / waiting in the stack or sitting in the shade tent resting. Maybe it's unfair that I'm comparing him to Greg, myself, and Dunlay, but it just feels like Torin's abilities as a cutter, deep, and defender have all stagnated. This is probably much more harsh than I mean it to be, but I was hoping for a lot for this summer with Torin, but I guess that injury just took too much out of him.

As for myself, I felt like in Solstice I really came into my own in regards to being a cutter. I recall back in the winter when Ben Lyons said to me, "It's a shame you're a handler over at UNI, you're a great first cutter." In the winter I was unsure what the hell he meant, but after Solstice I wholeheartedly agree with him. A lot of the tournament I was the first cut that started the offensive flow and many times the one that kept it going as well. My defense as well skyrocketed, although the one big problem I had that tournament was getting that extra inch for the layout D. As most of ISUC now knows, I didn't get a single layout D that tournament (although a problem I quickly rectified at Freedom Fest). I didn't do any handling that tournament, I felt very unsure of my throws when in a key handling position, but the throws that I had as continue were quite satisfactory.

Unfortunately despite all this lovely recap, the team itself didn't fare too well. We did end up getting 3rd in the loser's bracket I believe and our losses only totaled a combined 8 point difference margin. Depressing in a way, as having Dunlay would've most likely reversed our fortunes, but still, a satisfying perspective to have in regards to losses.