Jojah: Light at the end of Tunnell?

I wanted to get this post up right after Warm Up because Jojah played very well and I wanted folks to have something to read about after checking out the Florida Warm Up results. These guys have a great program and they are a lot of fun. One of their reps, Travis Smith, answered some questions for me and I thought I would share.

Jojah History
So before I go into the whole college preview, I thought I would talk a little bit about why I care about this team. They broke into the frisbee elite in 2003 and made nationals in Texas. Dylan was a freshman and despite being a relatively low seed (14) they finished tied for 9th with Michigan. They lost 2 games to go and didn't qualify for nationals in 2004 but had a break out year in 2005. Dylan was a junior and they managed to beat North Carolina winning regionals and were a 1 seed in Corvalis. They were up and down in Oregon in that they lost to 9th seeded UCSD but beat 5th seed UBC, on their way to a 2-1 pool play showing. They beat UNC in pre-quarters but drew a tough Stanford team in quarters. They lost on double game point (I won't mention how) but they proved that they were the real deal. It was after that weekend that I really started to pay attention to Dylan and the rest of Jojah. The following year was probably Jojah's best. They managed to scratch their way to the semis by beating Black Tide and a stellar Mamabird team, on double game point no less. However, with the rise of Florida and the toughness of the AC, Georgia really had a rough road back to nationals in 2007. In Dylan's final year they barely made it back to Columbus and grabbed the 3rd and final bid out of the AC, which is ironic becasue they themselves earned the necessary strength bid the previous year. They did fairly well however and managed to make quarters against Colorado. This time however, Beau, Rabbit and Jolian would not allow Jojah to advance. They did however win the spirit award which is interesting because I think it's the first time a bracket team has done so. In any event, #78 is now gone and in 2008 we will see what a team Dylan built can do in his absence.

Coaching Status

One thing that has really facilitated the development of this ultimate team are their coaches. First and foremost, Stu Downs. This George Lucas look-a-like has been at the top of the ultimate scene for years and has influenced great players like championship director and Jojah alum, Will Deaver. AJ Tiarsmith and Dusty Smith have also been a big part of Georgia's team development and recently, former player Alex Deckhard has signed on to help organize and lead this team. When I asked Travis about his coaching administration, this is what he had to say:

"Having these incredible coaches takes a lot off of the captains’ shoulders, leaving them and the rest of the team able to focus on playing. Each of these men has his own talents which he has given to Jojah. They have given us endless inspiration and the tools to be successful: motivation, strategy, and condition. They have been through everything that we are going through now, and they were some of the best. These are men that we can and do trust to make us better players and better people. Also, they are more fun than most of our players. Stu can throw a nilla wafer 60 mph and is well versed in comic books. AJ is very good at riddles. And Dusty has never lost at trivia night. It is incredible to be associated and to hang out with these guys on and off the field. Also, we cannot leave out our new “Vice Coach” Alex Deckard. He has offered to help us out this season, and we could not be more excited. He plans on getting good use out of his two degrees from UGA by staying in Athens and coaching and not getting a job."

With a crowd like this it is easy to see how Jojah has developed into one of the best, largest and most fun ultimate teams in the country.

Player Departures

It goes without saying that the biggest loss to this team is Dylan Tunnell. His departure is probably the biggest loss of any major elite program in the country. One thing that I didn't know about Georgia is that they only choose a callahan nominee by unanimous selection and in Dylan's absence, such a candidate probably will not manifest itself. Another huge impact he had on this team was spirit. It was easy to see that no team was having more fun at nationals than Jojah and Travis tells me that "the truth is when you have the chance to play against the top teams in the nation, it is impossible not to have a good time. But to be completely honest, it was Dylan. He was our spirit leader." I will say however, that it looked like Dylan was not 100% in Columbus back in May and Jojah still balled with him off the field. In addition to Tunnell, Paul Schrafft, Chad Borer, and stellar deep Frank Wooten will not be coming back.

2008 Play Makers

Despite these player losses, Jojah is still returning a ton of talent and given their 100+ person program, I would hope so. One of my favorite players to watch on Georgia is Senior Will McDonough. This fro-ed out flat baller always seems to have his head in the game. I can remember the few times UCSD and Jojah played, I hated him, but every other game, he was a lot of fun to watch. Despite his smaller stature, he plays spectacular defense and has great composure on the offensive front. Two other standouts for Jojah will be senior offensive specialists, Greg Swanson and Louis Gutschenritter. Look for Peter Dempsey and Ben Morrissey to anchor the D line. Aside from these veterans, Georgia has 10 new A-teamers that will hopefully give them the talent and the depth to make it out of the AC region.

Tournament Schedule
First and foremost, congratulations to Jojah (and of course Florida) for both making the finals of Warm Up. Both teams played very well and beat some good east coast teams to make the finals, which Florida won 15-13 over Georgia. I want to do the math for the CCS point totals but I am afraid I will screw it up. I'll leave that to Skip.

Georgia has a unique tournament schedule in that it is significantly different from most elite programs. They played in their first CCS event at Florida Warm Up. However, unlike most teams, they are not headed to Vegas. They will however be one of the favorites at Queen City Tune Up in Charlotte, NC (2/9-10). They have two more tournaments before Centex, Mudbowl and Terminus. Mudbowl will feature two Georgia teams, an O and D team, which could yield some interesting results. Terminus in Atlanta, is a tournament that Georgia usually attends, which makes sense considering it's in their state. Wisconsin usually makes the trip South and a Hodag vs Jojah final is not uncommon. However, Wisconsin will not be in Hot-lanta this March, but neither will Dylan, so a lot of teams could potentially end up in that Final. They will then head to Centex before starting the series. Hopefully they will have what it takes to compete in one of the toughest sections in the country which houses teams like Georgia, Florida, Central Florida, and Georgia Tech (the 4 teams that made semis at Warm Up).

Goals and Challenges

One major goal (as well as challenge) that Georgia has, is to develop a more consistent offense. Travis told me that "historically, we have not been very good at throwing and catching. More importantly, we want to play every single game this season with the same effort and enthusiasm as the game before and the game after." With the newest crop of superstars in recent years, this seems like a fairly reasonable, albeit difficult, goal. One of the major challenges associated with this is that "with Dylan and Frank gone, we no longer have mentors and leaders". In losing some of their top level players, the majority of Jojah's roster is going to have to take it upon themselves to make a play. This is really good for talent development because it sets up a high yield, low risk situation. If you work the hardest and put yourself out there, YOU might get to make the big play. If not, no one will notice. Hopefully it works out well for them.

Another major challenge for Jojah (and most teams) are injuries. Travis told me that, "the biggest factor for us in the past has been injuries. We have more than a few players with brittle or glass bones. If we can keep Swanson in bubble wrap for the rest of the season, he might avoid getting hurt". With the rigorous tournament schedule that Jojah is boasting, keeping players healthy will be a concern. Travis said, "we stretch a lot and encourage wrist-guards and helmets when we are around campus, seriously." Hopefully they have lady luck on their side and stay healthy.

Paideia Pipeline?

One thing that I was interested to know was what sort of impact Paideia has on Georgia's ultimate program. Considering that this high school has generated greats like Jolian, Dylan, Chicken, Moses, and Kyle Weisbrod, I figured Georgia would be reeling in the recruits. To my surprise, despite the proximity, Paideia doesn't send many kids to Georgia. This is what Kevin had to say about it:

"We don’t get many Paideia recruits. Most of them go to “smarter schools.” However, having a dominant high school team in our area promotes the sport to high school students all around Atlanta. This is the first year in a while that we have taken so many talented freshmen. It takes a while for freshmen to adapt to Jojah’s style of play. They have the basics, but college is much different from high school. We also play a different kind of game then Paideia teaches. We are not a pretty team, but we are working on it. Who knows, maybe the young blood will bring some of Baccarini’s influence, and I don’t think that could be bad for us."

I suppose juniors ultimate in the area, in general, is good for Jojah, but I found this surprising. This makes sense though. However, I think the two teams that benifit the most from Paideia Ultimate are definitely Brown and Colorado. Why? I don't know but I am working on it.

College Nationals

Concerning the college nationals change, this is what Travis had to say:

"I don’t think it makes a difference when Nationals takes place. Every weekend is a bad weekend for somebody. The teams that are lucky enough to qualify will find a way to play. I also think it may be a positive change to get some coverage on our sport. Although I imagine it will turn out much like past years with CSTV, and we will not be able to find ample coverage to watch. I am hoping for the best though."

I concur with his fears concerning CSTV, but like Travis, I think most of us are just hoping for the best as well.

Closing Thoughts

I think Georgia really has the right idea concerning ultimate. They seem to have more fun than anyone out there and I think more people should strive for that. With stuff like dune diving or lay out practice, it is easy to see that they are really enjoying themselves. I think I would have loved to be an undergrad player at Georgia. With that in mind, I really want to see Georgia remain an AC power house. They won Stanford last year and made quarters with a less than healthy callahan nominee. I hope to hear more spittle from the Jojah crowd at the Callahan ceremony in Boulder this year. Best of luck to you guys.

just my thoughts

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