Stanford: Putting the Payne back in SMUT

Stanford has always been one of my favorite teams and I was really interested in finding out somethings about them. Mike Payne, the coach of Stanford and President of the UPA Board of Directors, was kind enough to do a phone interview with me and I thought I would share some thoughts on Bloodthirsty for 2008.

Coaching Status

The first thing that I wanted to discuss was the coaching status of Stanford. This team has had their fair share of leadership changes over the years. Last year they were coached by Jit "Jumbo" Bhattacharya who currently plays for Revolver and was an undergrad/grad student at Stanford from '97-'02. I have never seen such a little guy have such a big voice. I think he lost it faster than I lost mine at College Nationals this past year. Evan Pearce and Dan Maidenberg have also been around to coach their alma matter. However, this year will see the return of Mike Payne who will co-coach along with Nick Handler who also plays for Revolver and has been apart of Bloodthirsty as a player and coach since 2000. Mike played for Stanford from '93-'98 making the finals in '94, '97 and '98. He also started Jam as well as contributed to the formation of Revolver for which he is the current captain. In addition to being the highest officer of the UPA. Mike previously coached Stanford from '00-'03, winning nationals with "the Faceless Army" in 2002. After a 4 year coaching hiatus, Mike is back to coach Bloodthirsty. There are a lot things that make this interesting but the one thing I will mention here is that with Mike's return, Stanford may have the ability to break into the finals, something they have gotten so close to doing the last 4 years but haven't.

Player Departures

Stanford had a fantastic 2007 where they won Santa Barbara, made the finals of both Stanford Invite and Centex, won the NW region and made semis at nationals (again). However, 12 players will not be returning in 2008, arguably the biggest loss of any team I will write about. Notable departures are 2003 NW FOTY and 3 time NW all-region, Robbie Cahill, superstar handler and defender, Nan Gao, defensive stud Doug Allen, and 2003 NE FOTY and 3 time NE all-region, Will Chen. I will say that this significant loss in talent seems to happen every year at Stanford yet they seem to reload as easily as they win their section. Mike told me that despite losing a dozen A teamers, B team prospects, new recruits and grad students will fill the void.

Play Makers in 2008

Considering that Stanford lost a significant amount of stellar fantasy players from last year, there are some new faces that will be turning heads this spring. 2008 will be the 5th and final year for all region and 2007 Callahan nominee Mark Sherwood. Mark is probably one of my favorite players to watch (despite the fact that he looks like a rooster) because he seems to never run out of gas and has so much composure. He has picked up another year of club experience playing with Revolver and should dominate on both sides of the disc. Look for Tom James to have a break out year as well as 5th year and stellar deep Ezra Schiff. Mike also informed me that Stanford will be looking to up and comer Nicolai Schlag and grad student Dan Silverstein (University of Chicago) to make plays. Another player that I think is also very dangerous (and I love to watch this kid) is junior Steve Scardato. A seemingly harmless cutter at 5'7" but has insane ups, and is a vicious deep threat.

Young Guns

Sophmore James Hansell has recently come up from Prision Experiment, Stanford's B team (good work, I always like seeing that, especially from a fun rival from my undergrad days) and will help carry the torch for Stanford in the future. Nick Greenfield, a freshman from Maryland, has exhibited great throws so far and should play a solid handler role for Bloodthirsty this year. Derek Frome is a new sophmore recruit who could be a devastating cutter, deep threat, and defensive presence.

Tournament Schedule

Stanford usually attends many tournaments per year, some that are not UPA sanctioned. This weekend they will head down to Santa Barbara where they have won the tournament the last 3 years. Next month they will make their annual trip to Hawaii for the Kaimana Klassik where they made the finals in 2002. In March they will have their home and first CCS tournament, Stanford Invite. They will then head back to Centex in late March and attend the Davis Ultimate Invite (DUI) before starting the series. DUI has always been a tourney on Stanford's radar because it gives them a great chance to play against some tough club competition, not unlike Texas with Live Logic.

Challenges and Goals

There are a lot things that will be different about ultimate for Stanford this year, the first being the line up at Stanford Invite. This year Wisconsin, Florida, and Colorado will be in attendance. Wisconsin and Florida have both won the tournament recently but have never been there at the same time. Colorado has not been to Stanford for several years and it is easy to see how the competition is going to have a "Sunday at Centex" feel. Another team that will be in Palo Alto this spring that is beginning to turn heads is Cal. So far UGMO is Stanford's biggest concern and front runner in the Northwest, in addition to perennial rival, Oregon. Santa Cruz and UBC have also looked good and Stanford is aware that their competition could be considerably different than a year ago. When I asked Mike what he thought about the teams at Stanford Invite he said, "We are going to approach Stanford Invite the same way we approach Santa Barbara or Centex. We are going to try and implement what we have learned on the practice field and at the track." Very clear, very concise, and very intense.

Another challenge that is facing Stanford is how they are going to improve. They have made semis 4 years in a row only to lose to the eventual national champ and Callahan winner. Considering that Mike was not coaching any of these 4 teams, his opinion is slightly mal-informed, but when I asked him how Stanford approaches this situation, he said:

"The way you break into the finals is to invest in the bottom 2/3rds of your team. If you continually develop talent and work your young players in with your veterans the cohesivness and synergy of your team drastically improves. Perhaps it will take time, but in the long run you will see results"

This was not an answer I was expecting. I have written about this many times and always thought that Stanford just needed a better standout, "go to" player, a Jolian Dahl, or maybe a Kurt Gibson. Cahill broke into the top 5 in the Callahan voting in 2007 but recently Stanford has failed to really produce a serious MVP candidate, at least as far as voters were concerned. However, after watching Sherwood, Cahill, Gao, and the rest of Bloodthirsty last May I can say that they are in no need of more talent. I think Mike definitely makes an interesting point and I think with his return we may see more SMUT on Sunday.

College Nationals

Aside from my continual curiosity as to what elite team representatives have to say about the new college nationals weekend, I also figured I would get an insider's perspective from the president of the UPA. When I asked Mike about the change he said:

"The UPA's mission with this change is to give the participants of college nationals the best experience possible. In joining CSTV, ultimate players will have the ability to be exposed to a larger sports media forum and this might result in a more full filling experience"

I have my issues with CSTV and they are no secret but I will concede that I think this change in college nationals is a good experiment. As a scientist I am all for new approaches and I can say that this could potentially be a huge success or a huge mistake, and the only way to find out is to try. As far as Stanford goes, their academic calendar extends well into June so discussion concerning finals is completely peripheral to college nationals. Unlike Wisconsin, Stanford will not have to worry too much about school during nationals.

Closing Thoughts

In looking at Stanford's Fall record, I was a bit worried about their season and in looking at who they have lost, it is no wonder. However, Bloodthirsty is never down and out and I am sure that they will develop the talent necessary to compete this year. I also was unaware of their coaching situation until I wrote this article and I think that Mike may play a very large role in Stanford's ability to improve in the next few years (he better, he's the freaking UPA president). Revolver has also helped keep Stanford players active through the summer as well as sharpen their disc skills.

My last question for Mike was one that I have been curious about for a long time. How does Stanford manage to stay on top of arguably one of the toughest and deepest regions year after year? He told me:

"The trick is to not focus on the short term. Teams try and rely on a pair or trio of talent to carry them for a year but after that what happens? Teams have trouble competing, recruiting and fund raising. A team needs to have long term goals and aspirations to develop a "program" not just one good season. Aside from the type of full-roster player development, we focus on here, another example of this long term commitment comes in the form of the Stanford Men's Ultimate Endowment, which is on track to reach $100K by 2010"

I have always thought Stanford to be the true example of a "polished team" and in talking with Mike, I can begin to understand the why and hows. I think we will see a lot of red and white on Sundays this year and not just because they are two most popular team colors in ultimate.

Just my thoughts

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