So Cal States came and went this weekend and it is nice to see that some elite teams are starting to beat the crap out of each other. I don't think that these results are completely indicative of what we can expect for the series, but they are interesting none the less.
Revolver
First off, congratulations to the Palo Alto crowd. This is a team with one of the better pipelines in the country (Stanford) as well as one of the best ultimate minds, Mike Payne. They missed out on Nationals last year by being on the wrong side of the NW Regional 4/5th place debacle that happened last fall. However, at least out of the gate, they came out red hot. This isn't too surprising for me because players like Nan Gao and Robbie Cahill, who were both 5th year Stanford players, have now had some time off and I'm sure it has done them well. I know that Robbie is in Seattle now and despite offers from the Fish, he has decided to stick with his college buddies, good for him. In addition, I hear that Seth Wiggins has moved down to the Bay Area and is now suiting up for these guys. In any event, with their existing talent, their pipeline and some new talent, they will definitely give Jam, Sockeye, Furious and Rhino a challenge for a bid to Sarasota. Next chance we'll see of these guys will be Summer Solstice in Oregon, but I think one of the more exciting challenges they will have will be the Seattle Invite, which seems to be an early version of ECC. This tournament has some, but not all of the NW juggernauts, and it will be nice to see where Revolver stacks up later in the season. Congratulations again on a great first tourney and I like that they came back and beat Sockeye Y after a DGP loss to them in pool play.
Sockeye X/Y
Revolver
First off, congratulations to the Palo Alto crowd. This is a team with one of the better pipelines in the country (Stanford) as well as one of the best ultimate minds, Mike Payne. They missed out on Nationals last year by being on the wrong side of the NW Regional 4/5th place debacle that happened last fall. However, at least out of the gate, they came out red hot. This isn't too surprising for me because players like Nan Gao and Robbie Cahill, who were both 5th year Stanford players, have now had some time off and I'm sure it has done them well. I know that Robbie is in Seattle now and despite offers from the Fish, he has decided to stick with his college buddies, good for him. In addition, I hear that Seth Wiggins has moved down to the Bay Area and is now suiting up for these guys. In any event, with their existing talent, their pipeline and some new talent, they will definitely give Jam, Sockeye, Furious and Rhino a challenge for a bid to Sarasota. Next chance we'll see of these guys will be Summer Solstice in Oregon, but I think one of the more exciting challenges they will have will be the Seattle Invite, which seems to be an early version of ECC. This tournament has some, but not all of the NW juggernauts, and it will be nice to see where Revolver stacks up later in the season. Congratulations again on a great first tourney and I like that they came back and beat Sockeye Y after a DGP loss to them in pool play.
Sockeye X/Y
I'm not surprised about which Sockeye team won this tournament. I was lucky enough to get the rosters of both and it seems that X definitely has more pure tryouts and Y has some old faces that are back. I want to get into the roster status of Sockeye and other teams but I'm planning on doing some formal writeups like I did for college, so hopefully most teams will talk to me. In any event, Sockeye, like Jam, seems to have more talent than they know what do with. Considering that the team is still fairly young and Fish veterans have been in the system for a long time, their team strategy should be as figured out as it's going to get. However, I do know of some serious roster shake ups that will affect the club series, not World's, so while I do believe Sockeye is in good shape to take gold, I think other squads like Bravo and Jam are in line to win it all in Sarasota. In any event, like Revolver, the next chance we'll see for some real Fish action will be the Seattle Invite and hopefully with one team we'll know who's who in the NW.
Furious George
I like seeing my monkeys come out firing early in the year. Historically, they always seem to start slow but despite 15-6 losses to Sockeye and whomever else in early summer, they still bring it in the Fall. However, with World's happening in August, I think Furious will have to push themselves harder earlier which will be awesome for us fans. Seattle Invite will definitely be the weekend to watch because it will be one of the last times we see the Vancouver boys before the big show. I was a little surprised that they didn't split up do their Furious and George team that they usually do this time of year (maybe thats just for Flowerbowl), but I can imagine that figuring out that many roster issues would be ill advised considering the fact that they need their system sorted out earlier this year. In any event, they played a decent tourney. They had 3 losses total which were only to the two teams in the Finals, so not too bad. I can imagine the TD being a bit frustrated that 3 of the 4 teams in semis came from the same pool but I suppose thats the way it goes with small tournaments.
Jam
I was fairly surprised on Saturday when I found out Jam lost to the Condors, but considering their 15-10 win over them on Sunday, I'm not too worried. The issue with Jam is definitely not their personal because their team is more or less the same as last year. I spoke with Idris and he told me that their roster won't change much in 2008. This helps out Jam early in the year because guys like Kevin Cissna, Jeff Estham, Damien Scott, Idris Nolan, Greg Husak, and Mike Namkung have been in the system for quite some time and I can't imagine anything new on the white board. I will say that it seems like the ripple from Justice League is still in effect. Jam learned in 2006 that nothing was guaranteed and in 2007 they were definitely more fired up and took the NW region. However, this team is still developing their synergy. After the 2006 shake up, the roster is still working to develop team chemistry that squads like Sockeye and Furious have stock piled. Much like Boston, their success has very little to do with talent and everything to do with continuing to develop as a team. The 3 year mark is definitely a good chunk of time because after 3 seasons, their really shouldn't be anything terribly new. I see Jam coming out hot early with success at Colorado Cup but even if they do dominate early, they still will have to deal with elite teams that peak well. Win or lose in July and August, I really hope this very experienced team has what it takes to compete with younger teams in the series but barring any major setbacks, they are definitely Finals contenders once again.
Condors
I'm not sure what to make of the Santa Barbara crowd. This team has benefited from the spectacular abilities and leadership of Steve Dugan for so long but their 2001 National title is now 7 years old. With players hopping all over the country to play for teams, the Condors are having interesting issues to deal with. Jimmy Chu is now back in Seattle and was playing with Sockeye Y and key Santa Barbara players like Rory Orloff were also trying out for Sockeye. To compensate for this, I hear that the best in the South Land, ie Los Angeles, are heading up to Goleta to try out for the birds. They have plucked a few guys from UCLA, which I'm sure frustrates Monster, but I also think that the redistribution of players will hurt the Condors. Not that these players aren't legit, but now instead of having the Black Tide pipeline where synergy was developed in college and used in club, now the Condors are having to continually recruit and develop players like every other team out there. They do have a great team system that has worked for over a decade so I'm sure they have their affairs in order. They have taken the Southern California section for god knows how long but I wonder if teams like San Diego United with gobs of college buddies playing together again will have a chance at the Condors late in the year.
YR, San Diego United, Last Call, and Monster
It's funny, for the 4 teams at this tournament where I actually know the most people, I have the least to say. YR took the "coveted" 7th spot at this tournament and their 15-11 win over SDU is a good one. These LPC guys have a lot of experience playing with one another and I'm not surprised at their early season success. However, I wonder what will happen when their competition gets better. Summer Solstice should be a good opportunity for them to reaffirm their talents and potentially turn some heads.
As for SDU and Last Call, it really breaks my heart to see these two teams separated. When I was in San Diego, it was just PBR but when the dust cleared after their civil war it was more or less the UCSD crowd (SDU) and everyone else who lived in San Diego and loved ultimate (Last Call). I'm happy to say that I have good friends on both teams but it sucks that the talent is divided. This is definitely something that favors the Condors in their control over the Southern California section and I wish folks could just consolidate talent and ditch egos and personal bull shit.
However, despite these issues, I am glad to see that SDU is on top of Monster again. Nothing against LA crowd, but I have my San Diego bias and after Monster took the 3rd spot to Natties in 2006, I haven't been much of a Monster fan. Success is the only data that matters however, and if they can get their offense and conditioning taken care of, they will give SDU, Last Call and anyone else a run for their money. Best of luck this year.
Closing Thoughts
A month ago I wasn't too fired up about the club season but now that college is out of the way, I'm happy to say that this club season is going to be exciting. With the world's curve ball this August and with a significant amount of roster rearrangements across the country, there should be some good stories this summer. I am going to try and put together some team writeups and I've got contacts with Sockeye, Jam, Chain, Boston, and Bravo. I still need some help with Revolver, SubZero, Furious, Rhino and GOAT, but I'm on it. Hopefully I still have some readers out there now that college is over and hopefully I'll have the material to keep you all stimulated and unproductive at work.
just my thoughts
match diesel
Furious George
I like seeing my monkeys come out firing early in the year. Historically, they always seem to start slow but despite 15-6 losses to Sockeye and whomever else in early summer, they still bring it in the Fall. However, with World's happening in August, I think Furious will have to push themselves harder earlier which will be awesome for us fans. Seattle Invite will definitely be the weekend to watch because it will be one of the last times we see the Vancouver boys before the big show. I was a little surprised that they didn't split up do their Furious and George team that they usually do this time of year (maybe thats just for Flowerbowl), but I can imagine that figuring out that many roster issues would be ill advised considering the fact that they need their system sorted out earlier this year. In any event, they played a decent tourney. They had 3 losses total which were only to the two teams in the Finals, so not too bad. I can imagine the TD being a bit frustrated that 3 of the 4 teams in semis came from the same pool but I suppose thats the way it goes with small tournaments.
Jam
I was fairly surprised on Saturday when I found out Jam lost to the Condors, but considering their 15-10 win over them on Sunday, I'm not too worried. The issue with Jam is definitely not their personal because their team is more or less the same as last year. I spoke with Idris and he told me that their roster won't change much in 2008. This helps out Jam early in the year because guys like Kevin Cissna, Jeff Estham, Damien Scott, Idris Nolan, Greg Husak, and Mike Namkung have been in the system for quite some time and I can't imagine anything new on the white board. I will say that it seems like the ripple from Justice League is still in effect. Jam learned in 2006 that nothing was guaranteed and in 2007 they were definitely more fired up and took the NW region. However, this team is still developing their synergy. After the 2006 shake up, the roster is still working to develop team chemistry that squads like Sockeye and Furious have stock piled. Much like Boston, their success has very little to do with talent and everything to do with continuing to develop as a team. The 3 year mark is definitely a good chunk of time because after 3 seasons, their really shouldn't be anything terribly new. I see Jam coming out hot early with success at Colorado Cup but even if they do dominate early, they still will have to deal with elite teams that peak well. Win or lose in July and August, I really hope this very experienced team has what it takes to compete with younger teams in the series but barring any major setbacks, they are definitely Finals contenders once again.
Condors
I'm not sure what to make of the Santa Barbara crowd. This team has benefited from the spectacular abilities and leadership of Steve Dugan for so long but their 2001 National title is now 7 years old. With players hopping all over the country to play for teams, the Condors are having interesting issues to deal with. Jimmy Chu is now back in Seattle and was playing with Sockeye Y and key Santa Barbara players like Rory Orloff were also trying out for Sockeye. To compensate for this, I hear that the best in the South Land, ie Los Angeles, are heading up to Goleta to try out for the birds. They have plucked a few guys from UCLA, which I'm sure frustrates Monster, but I also think that the redistribution of players will hurt the Condors. Not that these players aren't legit, but now instead of having the Black Tide pipeline where synergy was developed in college and used in club, now the Condors are having to continually recruit and develop players like every other team out there. They do have a great team system that has worked for over a decade so I'm sure they have their affairs in order. They have taken the Southern California section for god knows how long but I wonder if teams like San Diego United with gobs of college buddies playing together again will have a chance at the Condors late in the year.
YR, San Diego United, Last Call, and Monster
It's funny, for the 4 teams at this tournament where I actually know the most people, I have the least to say. YR took the "coveted" 7th spot at this tournament and their 15-11 win over SDU is a good one. These LPC guys have a lot of experience playing with one another and I'm not surprised at their early season success. However, I wonder what will happen when their competition gets better. Summer Solstice should be a good opportunity for them to reaffirm their talents and potentially turn some heads.
As for SDU and Last Call, it really breaks my heart to see these two teams separated. When I was in San Diego, it was just PBR but when the dust cleared after their civil war it was more or less the UCSD crowd (SDU) and everyone else who lived in San Diego and loved ultimate (Last Call). I'm happy to say that I have good friends on both teams but it sucks that the talent is divided. This is definitely something that favors the Condors in their control over the Southern California section and I wish folks could just consolidate talent and ditch egos and personal bull shit.
However, despite these issues, I am glad to see that SDU is on top of Monster again. Nothing against LA crowd, but I have my San Diego bias and after Monster took the 3rd spot to Natties in 2006, I haven't been much of a Monster fan. Success is the only data that matters however, and if they can get their offense and conditioning taken care of, they will give SDU, Last Call and anyone else a run for their money. Best of luck this year.
Closing Thoughts
A month ago I wasn't too fired up about the club season but now that college is out of the way, I'm happy to say that this club season is going to be exciting. With the world's curve ball this August and with a significant amount of roster rearrangements across the country, there should be some good stories this summer. I am going to try and put together some team writeups and I've got contacts with Sockeye, Jam, Chain, Boston, and Bravo. I still need some help with Revolver, SubZero, Furious, Rhino and GOAT, but I'm on it. Hopefully I still have some readers out there now that college is over and hopefully I'll have the material to keep you all stimulated and unproductive at work.
just my thoughts
match diesel
