Phew...getting a little crazy here

Such an understatement. Things were exciting earlier this week but the last 2 days have been absolutely crazy. First and foremost, I need to try and fix some things.

Wiggins, yeah we have a complicated history. In all seriousness, I should not ever come up on his radar, but I have and we have had some interesting exchanges over the last year. To be totally honest, he has been a phenomenal resource and has helped me with so much of my literature. He connected me with Saturo Ishii so that I could write my Buzz Bullet article and has given me any and all information I have asked for.

However, sometimes I don't manage this resource particularly well. This blog is a tricky thing. I can get opinionated but if I hit a nerve, I get myself into trouble. Ben may have brushed me off the other day but he also got Rehder to talk to me and I neglected to mention that. Without this last bit of information Ben appears to be an ass which he isn't and for that I apologize.

In addition, I might have hinted that Sockeye made poor calls, but when I said that Sockeye was not exhibiting poor spirit, I meant it. Teams that play well might take liberties that other teams won't allow and USA didn't allow Japan to play sloppy with their foot work. I never said any call was a poor one or even an undeserved one, I just commented that Japan got called for travels and they don't call them much themselves. I don't know how else to articulate this and I hope that no one thinks Team USA is playing a bogus game because they aren't.

If Ben is reading this and to anyone else that is out there that I have pissed off, my intentions are never to misrepresent or mame. I choose my words very carefully and I wouldn't come all the way out to Vancouver just to cause trouble. I never use blanket statements like "stupid", or "idiot" and I always try and put myself in their place as well as my own. My one weakness is that I try and please everyone all the time, which as anyone will tell you, will never work. A blog is a personal insight into my experiences but as someone commented a while back, with a larger auidence you have to be much more careful and that is something I have learned the hard way over and over.

Ok, back to the fun stuff.

Japan vs GB

This game was incredible. From the very beginning I was thinking to myself, "Japan cannot lose this game, they just can't". However, GB defintely challenged mine and anyone elses preconcieved notions. First and foremost, like their Juniors team, GB is stellar in the air. They have great reads, hands and field awareness and they use their entire skill set to succeed.

I came over to this game at half because I was watching Australia vs Sweeden until Australia took half 9-6 or something. Over at the GB/Japan game, the game was close at I believe something like 7s and it stayed that way. GB took half 8-7 and each team traded points in a devastatingly emotional game.

Hucks would go up that Japan would reel in and hucks would go up that GB would reel in. Likewise, each had phenomenal down field defense and Japan's speed and GB's vertical ability got each team respective turnovers.

As Japan had done throughout the tournament, they worked the sidelines well and ultimately ripped cross field flicks at will. Like the USA game, 10, 12, and 4 never leave the field and I wonder if their exhaustion after the Canada game had anything to do with this one. I should also say that GB is legit. They took Boston to universe point at BI and they definitely did not surprise me in giving Japan a game.

Down the stretch GB lead the whole way. Japan kept it close but GB seemed to consistenly keep the one point advantage up until around 13s. At this point, their poise really began to slip and I wonder if this has to do with a lack of team chemistry that comes with not being a "team" but more a collection of National all stars. At this point any turnover could potentially be the game and Japan's focus on D and O got them the break they needed to eek past the Brits.

In watching this game, I was really curious to know what Japan would do down the stretch. Asians are notorious for keeping emotion out of situations but this must have been a serious challenge for Japan at this point. They were facing a tough situation where they would either be in the Canada/Australian half of the bracket if they lost or the USA bracket if they won. I'm not sure which they would prefer but I think playing Australia in Quarters and probably Canada in Semis would be tougher than just having to play the US in semis. Plus I am sure they want another crack at the USA which is going be awesome to watch.

However, despite my speculation, they really were the better team. I feel bad for GB, they really are a phenomenal team and they definitely deserve a lot of credit for what they put together here in Vancouver. But in the end, Japan's speed was their saving grace and they sealed it.

USA vs Australia

So Rob and the Block Stack guys had talked about working with me on some commentary and I wasn't sure if it was going to happen, but it did and it was fucking sick. I rarely drop the F-bomb here but it was by far the most exiciting experiene of my media career. They were great for play by play because they can talk for an extended period of time with composure where as I would screw up and I was there as the fact/strategy guy to fill in the gaps when the game lulled. I think I'm in for the Finals which should be sick and I'll try and hold back my ridiculous excitement and keep it together.

I figured the first half of this game would go down like 9-7 and it did. Australia has a lot of talent and guys like Mike Nield played through the roof. He had big skies as well as D's on some of our favorites like Nord and what not.

USA's offense was spot on though and they rarely ever turned it over. Tim Gehret and Ben Wiggins work well together and MC and Sammy CK are lethal downfield. Moses is also devistaging because he always seems to sneak in for scores and Nord and Chase are Nord and Chase.

Going into half time I was curious to know what else Australia could bring. Their D-line was good but they struggled to put together a break. They might have earned a turn here or there but their D-line offense left something to be desired and they just could not convert. I figured the second half would be all Sockeye because at this point Australia had been utilizing one spectacular play after another to score and at some point, they just aren't going to be there. There is a reason why they call them low percentage throws.

Nate Castine played a great defensive game as did the 16 year old. Roger Crafts and Jeremy Cram lead a great D-line offense and once Team USA could consistently generate turns, it was all down hill for the Dingos. Before I knew it the game was 14-10 and ultimately 17-11. Australia did play a great game however and I think they'll prove to be a young and difficult challenge for an experienced Canada team in Semis.

Mexico

After the game was over I came across my mexican homies and they wanted to party down on the beach. I obliged but when I found out that "the beach" was actually 2 miles away I began to scratch my head. I didn't want the party to die so I offered up giving a few folks a lift but as George Lopez says, if you let 1-2 mexicans in, they are gonna bring 8-10 and they did. This was a hilarious experience. I pull my truck up to the dorm and a dozen of Mexico's players jump into the back and pack into the cab. I'm not trying to insinuate racism at all, this was just funny as hell to witness.

They all piled in but it wasn't enough so I drove one truck load (literally) down to the beach, came back and picked up another. I ended up making 3 trips and despite opening myself up to being arrested for breaking god knows how many laws, I got them all down to the beach and things were great. Such a good group of guys and I'm glad I know Fernando, great ultimate personality.

After the beach thing dwindled down, 12 mexicans piled into the truck and I drove them back up to the dorms. I taught them a few american drinking games and we had a great time. One guy I was with had an early flight so we tried to leave but they kept reeling us back in. We walked half way to our dorm and they brought us back to play "Mexican GUTS" which was 4 folks at either end of a hallway with the lights off and a glow disc. They hurled it at eachother in a drunken stuper and more often than not it hit the wall halfway down the hallway, the light turned off, and it would sail into the group invisible. Needless to say a few folks got some uncomfortable shots in the face.

Finally we parted ways but as we walked into the dorm, the South Africa folks were rocking out and since I had partied with them the night before, they requested mine and Alex's presence. We had a few beers and went to bed after we got yelled at for being too loud. We finally hit the hay and we slept like babies.

Closing Thoughts

Once again, I want to apologize to Ben but the more I get into this media thing I realize that the players aren't always going to like what I do. A guy from one of the media crews told me to remember Almost Famous and realize that the people you write about aren't always going to be your friend and sadly, that is the case. I'm doing my best, i'm trying to have a good time and seeing that no one else has ever done this, I'm not surprised that I screw up here and there. Thank you to all the players that are patient with me, I can't do this without you. I hope you guys are enjoying this at home. Check out the live web casts, I'll be there doing commentary again later this week.

just my thoughts

match diesel

This should be 2 posts....

...but its gonna be one. I wanted to get something up for USA/Japan yesterday but I met up with some guys from South Africa and I got side tracked. I also just watched Canada/Japan and thats a whole post in and of itself. However, I gotta get it out of the old noodle before I forget.

USA/Japan

The most frustrating thing about this game was the fact that it wasn't in a deserving venue. The fields are fairly sparsed here and as luck would have it, this game was on the satellite fields in a nearby park. As the teams were warming up a woman came up and asked me what was going on and I had to tell her it was basically the two best teams in the World and this game was kind of big deal.

As for the game, Sockeye started out on O and quickly asserted themselves. They run very strict O/D line sets and I think that this is the future of the game. It seems like in club it is better to be really good at one or two things then try and do everything. Wiggins, Sammy CK, Mike Caldwell, Ray Illian, Moses, Bestock, and Nord and a few others carry the O-line with experience and consistency while Jaeger, Jimmy Chu, Crockford, Biggins, Roger Crafts, Winkleman and Idaho run a suffocating D-line.

Conversely, Japan runs a very Florida-esk tight rotation. As I figured, Mashiro Matsuno (#10), Satoshi Senda (#4), and Yohei Kichikawa (#12) were the main playmakers and they never leave the field. I am sure they are in the shape to run all day but I can't help but think that when a team is running intense defense and then needs to switch to chilly offense, some changes in personnel and assignments might be advantageous.

Things started off a bit sloppy, which is cool, everyone's been doing it. Both teams went to the huck right away and players like Jeremy Cram had a few hucks drift out of bounds from the side line. Biggins also had some questionable hammers/blades but he seems to like to test his recivers and with his strength, his full field flick huck is usually successful. They managed to take advantage of equally aggressive Japan turnovers and converted a break early to go up 2-0.

Japan would answer back but would then conceed a second break going down 4-1. It seems like their offense relies a lot on the cross field flicks. They seem to hang out on the sidelines a fair amount and then when given the opportunity they get a continuation cut, put up a hard back hand fake to draw the mark and then WHAM, a cross field OI flick completely back the other way and their reads were awesome. In the Canada/Japan game, Canada's cutters would usually sweep away from an outside in flick and attack it but they conceeded position often. However, Japan is always on a line to the spot. They rarely ever misplayed the disc and were never out of position.

After going down early they seemed to calm down and went point for point for a while. USA was really bringing the D but Japan had the agility to constantly be one step ahead of their defender. Sockeye threw zone a fair amount to take away the deep option but the weave ability of 10, 12, and 4 was stellar and when given the chance, they would strike quickly with a cross field flick.

At 7-5 Japan took advantage of some offensive miscues on Team USA's part and earned back a crucial break to make it 7-6. Sockeye came out focused however, and took a capped half at 8-6. Ray Illian had a great game not only because he can basically posterize at will but because he can be as effective underneath and across as he is going deep.

For the second half Japan continued to be chilly and scored out of the gate. They traded back and forth for several points and it was becoming apparent that Sockeye's O would not let Japan earn a break back. At one point, Japan was knocking on the door to even the game and on a huge huck, Winkleman came up with an insane 4 foot high layout D to save the break. His ability to keep up with these Japanese cutters was phenomenal and it is one thing that few defenders at this level can do. Canada played good containment D on Japan but if one cutter got loose, he was rarely caught.

Team USA would break Japan and again that is when things began to go against Japan. They had slight miscues that really hurt them and with the level of throwers Sockeye has top to bottom, their D-line was stellar at converting on mistakes. Biggins and Crockford are great strike D-line handlers and despite the fact that a ton of Biggins assist attempts are pure muscle lobs, Sockeye managed to real them in.

One thing that frustrated me down the stretch was that Japan really got pulverized with calls. Not that Sockeye was exhibiting poor spirit but at least 3-4 goals were called back on travels and those were the moments that hurt the most because on half of them, a turnover was 3-4 throws away. Conversely, Japan didn't make too many calls. I saw Nord bump one of them when they were marking up on him, but he didn't call anything. I thought well maybe he was flopping but why would he flop if he isn't going to call anything? Anyway, I wonder if Japan's agility game translates into their vocal game. They seem to love the weave and the fluid disc movement and stop and go ultimate can potentially be inhibiting. However, in the end it just shows Team USA's level of focus and consistency to play well frustrated and to keep things cool.

In the end Japan seemed to get broken every 3rd of 4th point and before I knew it the game was fairly out of reach. Sockeye had a Wisconsin esk intensity and they just were not going to let up. These are some of the best competitors in the world (in our sport) and they just want to win as definitively as possible. What also is amazing is their emotional switches. Crafts and Crockford play insane D but they are so chilly when they force a turn. Phenomenal poise and that was very instrumental in collecting breaks.

I went over to the Team USA sidline after they sealed the deal and I did an interview with Matt Rehder. First off, the kid looks 16. He played great D when he got out there and got one of 5-6 Ds that were turned into breaks. My first question was how the thought the Bullets were. Harder, easier? and he basically said that the scouting report was really accurate. "Really good throws and so quick".

I was also curious to know what Team USA thought about playing Japan again. In 2004 Canada had to beat the Condors twice and at the time, a rematch is very possible. Matt had the feeling that despite a back and forth record for the last year or so, Team USA was ready. This was the first real time Sockeye and BB played in a game that mattered. Yes ECC and Dream Cup are important games, but at no point was the future of either teams tournament success at stake.

However, the loser faced Canada and the winner moved on to Australia. This game mattered, the gloves were off, everyone was there for Team USA (save Sam O'Brien) and they came to play. Considering Japan's tight rotation I don't see them bringing anything new if/when they play again so look for any potential rematch to go USA's way.

Canada vs Japan

This game was a big deal for Canada. Everyone has been doubting Furious (including me) for the last 8 months and this was THE acid test. Sockeye scortched them at Sockeye Invite but Sockeye has wins like that all the time against the Monkeys. However, Japan is a very good 3rd party and they are either right in between USA and Canada or behind them both.

The game itself was not as clean as I expected. Both teams were very aggressive deep and despite some amazing layout scores by Kirk Savage (he's still got it), every point seemed to drag. Mike Grant is playing a fantastic tournament and he followed up his stellar Sweeden performance with an equally good Japan game. He and Hassell are two peas in a pod and are connecting left and right. I wanted to pay more attention last night but I met up with some folks from Mexico and caught up with them instead of watching the Canada/Sweeden game.

This game did have the feeling I thought Team USA/Japan would. Very tit for tat. Breaks here, runs there, tie game, one team goes up, lead changes, a very "in doubt" kind of feel. Canada took half 8-6 but the lead wouldn't last. Japan tied it at 10s and no team could afford any miscues. The second half, at points, was DoG clean with single D's or drops making all the difference. Oscar had an epic layout D to earn a break for Canada and Hassell had an equally amazing D a few points later to save a break.

In the end, this game, like the Team USA game, came down to composure. I don't think the BB have played Furious or Sockeye when they are peaked and it showed. These guys have their peaks and their valleys just like every team out there but both were ready for Worlds. Japan is stuck having to scrimmage themselves instead of face elite competition constantly and I just don't think their game is finely tuned enough. Seeing a 16-14 game through to completion with all the emotion that a game like these bring, is truly a challenge and I don't think Japan is there yet. It was funny, I was talking to some South Africa folks yesterday while watching Japan/USA and I was telling them about Furious at Nationals last October. They had played them and figured they were the best but I had to tell them about how 3 other US teams went right through them at Nationals.

In the end Canada rattled of the scores to win. With the international cap it gets tough to know what the score is going to so after every score I waited for the game to be over. The last score was fairly exciting with some misfortunate macks going Canada's way. Two D's were popped back into the air and Kirk Savage scooped up one and Mike Grant the other. MG hit Hassell on a short flick to end it and Canada maintained their 1 seed undefeated status.

Closing Thoughts

I'm a little unsure of the tournament format so I'm not positive about what stage in the tournament we are in. Power pools continue today with Team USA playing Australia tonight. That should be an epic game after Team USA steam rolled Sweeden this morning. As for Quarters/Semis/Finals I'm not sure. I think if Canada beats GB they'll draw a fairly easy quarters game and have to play the loser of Team USA/Australia in semis. If Sockeye wins tonight and Japan beats GB, we'll see a Team USA/BB rematch on the other side of the bracket. This would set Canada and the US to play in the Finals if each continues their success. Lugsdin was telling me on Sunday that they really wanted the chance to play the US in the finals and we might see it.

I've already got my outfit figured out for the finals if it goes down this way. I'll have my Furious shorts and my new team USA jersey. I've been getting all kinds of shit for liking Canada and the more confused looks I get the more I want to be confusing. I root for Furious in the Series and I'm having a hard time separating a Furious/Sockeye final from a USA/Canada one. If the Yankees were to represent the US in a baseball tournament I don't think a hard core Boston fan would root for them, even then. I do have some national pride and if USA wins, good for us. I'm a big fan of "let the best team win" and I think the US is that. Furious is my team but I respect everything Sockeye has accomplished. They have raised the bar in so many ways and their depth, their commitment to Juniors and their polished appearance is something teams are going to have to emulate if they want to over take them. Like Wisconsin, Sockeye will remain on top until another team brings the same energy and effort. They are the best and seeing it play out that way is exactly what I want.

Be that as it may, I'm excited for Australia/US tonight. I finally caught Australia yesterday afternoon against Colombia. They played a very good game and one of their photographers said it was their best. Brett got a sick layout catch block and it was nice to see him role. I want to say that they'll bring it against Sockeye but I wonder if Sockeye's chemistry will be wayy to much for Autralia's mixed nature, as opposed to team nature. The live game feed will be sick and the Block Stack guys are doing a great job.

Stay Tuned folks Bracket play is gonna be sick.

just my thoughts

match diesel

BC Day sucks

Ok so the biggest issue I had yesterday (Monday) was that it was BC Day. For those of you that are not familiar, BC day is the day they changed the name of the Province from Labatt Blue to British Colombia. Apparently the custom is to abstain from alcohol in rememberance of the states goal of getting away from drinking in excess. It is a great time in a sober sort of way, but when the nation doesn't sell booze on Sunday either, it gets old fast.

Anyway, we managed to find a retail venue that came up with the bright idea of selling alcohol in such an opportune moment. Captialism, however, is not lost on these canucks and they jacked the prices up big time. We're talking $60 for a 30 rack, $60?!?! Needless to say, I wasn't prepared to take out a loan to get blitzed. However, be that as it may, we managed to secure a decent bottle of Bacardi for a better price and were ready to party.

Ok back to Ultimate.

My cousin got in Sunday night and because I was wiped out and he was coming off a two month bender in Europe, we took it easy. We got up early to catch the morning games and becuase I have a soft spot for Canada, we took a peak at the Furious vs RSA game. Can anyone guess what RSA stands for? Apparently its South Africa which I'm assuming stands for republic of South Africa, which makes sense but when you are looking at CAN vs RSA, I got scabs from scratching my head becuase I didn't think Russia had sent a team

Anyway, if you take a peak at the score from this game, it was bascially your average slaughter. Canada came at the poor fellows from the Coogeran state with more speed and experience than they could handle. I liked belting out the "Lethal Weapon 2" cheer when I deemed it appropriate but RSA scores were few and far between.

After this game was the USA Juniors vs Germany and this game was equally one sided. Tiina Booth finally made an appearance and it was nice to talk to her. She pegged Team USA to win 17-6 and she was dead wrong (when she reads this she is gonna get mad because I gave her shit for only giving Germany 6 points when in reality they only scored 3).

The biggest issue for the Deutch folks was their throwing ability. Hucks were very outside in on the flick side and after watching a ton of Open, you begin to realize how difficult/rare a full field flick bomb on a line is. The Stars and Bars came at Germany with an exceptionally fast ho stack weave and despite the Germans height, they could not connect on hucks. I figured they would be like Great Britain with significant abilities in the air, but that wasn't the case.

I spent most of this game chatting it up with Tiina because she is so much fun. One thing I liked that she was talking about was that she is the Queen of knocking players down a few pegs. I may be the King of building egos, but she shatters them with every breath (if she choses). Some of my favorite quotes were "You dropped that disc in such and such game", "you never beat us", "I remember when you couldn't even throw that IO flick and it still needs work". Great ultimate personality.

After this game we hit the road and went on the booze hunt. As mentioned above, we had some issues, but we came back with our Bacardi and coke and began hitting the sauce fairly hard. I suspected this would become an issue later in the day but considering I hadn't done any vicing in the country yet, I figured I was due. Anyway, we got our Rum/Coke bottles and headed back to the fields.

We camped out at Colombia vs Great Britain (open juniors). It seems like Colombia's best program is their junior boys, which is actually pretty awesome. It would be pretty bad if only their masters team was turning heads. Anyway, this game was fairly bad ass. Colombia plays with raw athelticism and intensity and Great Britain plays a gentlemen's game and loves the huck. This would pose to be a decent strategy for most of the game because on average Great Britain had a height advantage down field. Colombia had this big dude, "Ocho", but he handled mostly.

Anyway, Great Britain took half 8-7 and the game continued to be close for the remainder. Because international rules are to 17 or 100 minutes, this game was capped. Finally, a game that was close. Down the stretch Great Britain seemed to pull away going up 13-11, game to 14. Alex and I started taking bets and he took Colombia, so I took Great Britain. Despite the score, Alex took 2 to 1 odds and I got 4 to 1 (for what I don't know yet).

As luck would have it, Great Britain could not match Colombia's intensity and the victory slipped through their fingers. When they recieved at 13-12 one of the GB kids told the kids on the line "Its game point chaps, seal it now". Word to the wise, don't do this. There is no need for players to know what the score is until the game is over, it just adds more emotional pressure which is never a good thing in cases like this. Needless to say, Colombia continued to bring a defensive pressure that GB could not handle and they coughed the disc up two more times and let the boys in yellow long sleeves snatch the victory. This was easily the best game...so far.

I should also mention that Ray Illian's dad made a cameo at this point and he definitely brings a "Jolian's Dad" kind of feel if you know what I mean. He seemed more proud than anything of his son and it was interesting to hear about how Ray is a second generation player. He talked about how he brought them to games when they were kids and how he used to make them complete 10 throws before Ray and his brother could go inside at night. He was cool though and its nice to see so much support for his son.

By this time, I was feeling the rum and was excited to go over the showcase game (USA vs Canada, masters). I wanted to go over to Australia (open), but once again, they were a hike. I got into the "Spirit Enclosure", yeah thats what they call it, and took a spot on one of the sidelines.

In a game that I thought Team USA would do fairly well in, they were down early. Canada took a 9-5 lead into half time but at no point did I feel that the game was out of reach. Alex and I took a bathroom break behind the bleechers and when we came back, I was ready to bring the ruccuss. Considering my enebriation at the moment, I turned into an ass, which in retrospect I am bit embarassed to admit. The area we were camped out in was ALL Canada and considering my mental state, things got ugly quickly. Thank god Alex is level headed and he got me to play nice as quickly as I got obnoxious. I definitely felt some America Free Speech pride but I quickly realized how annoying I was and kept it clean.

As for the second half of the game, it was awesome. One thing I have been dying to write about is the fact that Dugan, Namkung and Husak are all playing with the DoG guys. So crazy that the Condor/DoG rivalry has found its way here. Considering that all 3 still play Open they were definitely helpful. Namkung went down early with some sort of should injury but Dugan and Husak worked well on the D-line. I ran into Parinella today (Tuesday) and he was telling me he liked that they were here, but still had not been on the field yet. Apparently the deal is that they the Condor guys have to win Nationals in '11 so the DoG guys can poach spots. As for the game, as expected Jim and the Count played very well on Team USA's O-line and they were definitely instrumenal in keeping the Red, White and Blue in it late. Mooney isn't here yet but he will be for bracket play.

As I mentioned before, this game never seemed out of reach, and the D-line worked well. They brought a lot of pressure that Canada didn't handle well. They made careless mistakes and dropped discs which resulted in break after break going our way. Before I knew it the game was tied at 12s and then at 14s.

On game point, Parinella caught the final goal and I went nuts. If I had been all by myself or in an American section, it wouldn't have been that big a deal, but the hostil crowd got me feeling patriotic and so I was happy. I caught up with Al after the game and despite the fact that I bought two $3 beers, he wasn't prepared to shotgun yet. Oh well, I'll have my chance later in the week and I probably would have sucked because I was pretty bombed.

We walked back to the dorm, ate some microwave dinners and before we knew it we were talking about "naps" at 8pm. We hit the hay and were done for the night. We did pop up at 2am and were feeling a little disoriented but it wasn't too long before we passed out again.

After 11 hours asleep we were up again to catch the first round of Team USA (mixed) vs Colombia. This game, like the Canada/RSA game yesterday, was pretty one sided. Shazaam had great thrower execution and despite Colombia's athleticism, made some suspect choices. They took half 9-0 and I kind of "spaced out" at this point.

Today is the epic game Sockeye vs Buzz Bullets game. I'll take some good notes and hopefully get something up either tonight or tomorrow. Hope things are moderately interesting to read, I'm doing my best and abusing my media pass in the process. Have a good one folks, stay tuned.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Pool Play Begins

Canada vs Italy
Today games started and I had my alarm set early so I could catch as much action as possible. First on the agenda was Team Canada (open) vs Italy and I made it over to the field they were playing on as they were warming up.

Italy pulled to start the game and from the outset Canada came to ball. The starting O-line had the likes of Mike Grant, Kirk Savage and John Hassell and they worked the disc effortlessly down the field. At about 1o yards out MG hit Hassell on a nice outside-in flick to take first blood 1-0. This would be a trend.

Canada pulled and Lugsdin and Oscar got their feet wet on the D-line. They forced an easy turn from Italy and converted quickly going up 2-0. They would get another break at 3-0 but at this point Italy was getting a bit agitated and tempers began to run high. On more than one occasion some "incidental contact" found its way into the mix and players began yelling back and forth. It was obvious that Canada was playing a much more physical game than Italy was used to but as quickly as folks got pissed, they calmed down.

After going down 3-0 Italy finally answered back on a nice away cut but it seemed like Italy was a bit nervous. They would toss up poor decisions on the goal line and had issues reeling in routine hucks and hammers. After getting their first goal they gave up 3 scores in a row again and after earning their second goal, they would concede 3 more goals to go into half time 9-2.

At this point I was curious to know if this game would get any better. Canada's hucks hit their man in stride every time and Italy had yet to develop a deep game. They were only going for in-cuts and with the level of defense Canada brings, a turnover was just a matter of time.

Despite the one sidedness of the first half, the second was a completely different game. Canada pulled and Italy scored on a nice deep look, their first of the game. Canada answered back but Italy would score again making it 10-4 and then then broke Canada to make it 10-5. Italy continued to test Furious deep and more often than not they came up with the score and before I knew it, the score was 13-9. It seemed like Furious had lost some of their intensity which seems to be their biggest weakness. Ruthless teams like USA and Japan never let up until their opponent is vanquished and I wonder if this could be a problem for Canada late in the tournament.

However, I should say that their team is massive at 32 and mixing in everyone was something the captains were aiming for. Everybody saw significant playing time for most of the game but down the stretch the rotation tightened with guys like Oscar and MG taking few points off and Furious score the last 2 points to seal it 17-10. The first half may have been all Furious at 9-2, but the second half was a dead heat at 8s.

I caught up with Andrew Lugsdin after the game and he was nice enough to answer some questions of mine. One that I had was how the international competition varies from typical UPA events. Not surprisingly, "it is always nice to play teams you never see before and considering that each brings their own style to the game, it forces us to change our strategy". In addition, it also seems like Lugsdin has been caught up in the Colombia Fever and looks forward to an opportunity against them. Lastly, it seems like the out of province players are coming along for Canada. MG and Hassell connected several times for goals and with opportunities like Sockeye Invite, it seems like they are as close to being a unified team as any here in Vancouver.

Team USA (Juniors) vs Great Britain

After this game, I headed over to the USA Juniors (boys) versus Great Britain. I had already written about these kids a fair amount and now I figured would be a good time to see them in action. Each team came out as most teams have for the first game, a bit shakey. It seems like at the Juniors level the athleticism and throws are definitely up there with college and open level teams but the decision making and execution leave something to be desired. The patience and vision of veteran players is a bit lost on these kids and games tend to have more turnovers despite the presence of major talent.

As for the game, the first half was definitely the more exciting of the two. Team USA came out with an athleticism that was unreal but their deep game could have been better. Grant Lindsley and George Stubbs each had spectacular puts, as well as deep cuts, but outside these two, team USA's deep game was fairly quiet.

In contrast, Great Britain really benefited from a consistent height advantage and given the slight wind, hanging discs were well read by the Brits which helped them keep up with a faster team USA. In addition, GB's defense was top notch. They definitely played like they didn't care who the front runners were and their play making on the defensive side of the disc was far superior than the US in the first half. 

Their weakness however seemed to be their intermediate game. They had deep looks and decent decision making/patience, but their in-cuts were managed well by faster US defenders. This put a great deal of pressure on GB handlers to make good decisions and despite good throws, a comfortable fluidity escaped them and it was just a matter of time before they gave up the disc.

Team USA took half 9-5 and despite being up a few breaks, the game seemed fairly even. GB's deep game was a nice challenge against Team USA's viciously fast small ball. However, the second half would be all Stars and Bars. Team USA's ho-stack was fantastic and considering the arsenal of throws each player has, GB struggled to dictate on the defensive front. One player that particularly stuck out was Casey Ikeda, who in addition to his brilliant mohawk (when does he get up to do his hair?) was quicker than anyone on the field. His throws were almost as fast as his legs and considering that these kids are very spirited, there were no travel calls to slow down his unreal field progression. He would get the disc everyother throw leaving his defender as frustrated as he was exhausted.

In addition to their amazingly fluid offense, Team USA's man D continued to amaze me. Nick Stuart had a fantastic open side layout D which is so difficult but amazing if you can stay on the right side of your man and reach around for the block. Grant also earned his fair share of D's and with a nice pair of layouts picked up a double happiness.

In the end, team USA went 8-1 in the second half and finished the game 17-6. Their tenacity is unreal and I really enjoyed seeing not only their success on the field but their team commitment to eachother. Julian Childs-Walker ran down pulls like no one I have ever seen and Patrick Roberts composed himself like a player years ahead of his time. Their team cheers, their support structure, everything was great to watch and until teams can match their surplus of talent and teamsmanship, they will continue to dominate.

After this game, I wanted to check out Australia/Ireland but the fields they were on were a major hike and Team USA (open) and Japan were playing side by side right where the Juniors finished. Considering that I hadn't seen either play, I couldn't turn the opportunity down.

Team USA (open) vs Finland

The first thing that struck me about team USA was who they were missing. I'm not sure if it will be like this all week but Chase, Sam O'Brien, and Roger Crafts were all missing. I know that Sam and Chase are done after Worlds but I figured they would at least be at Worlds. Perhaps they'll arrive later in the week.

As for the game, like most of the games today, both teams started off shakey and despite several chances by both teams, Finland scored first. Team USA would rally with their stellar O-line Ho Stack weave. Their D-line would get a second chance to earn their first break and they did so twice, taking advantage of some lapses in judgement on Finland's part.

However, Finland's cross field throws and hammers were very good at times. At certain moments they seemed to be two different teams, one that was capable of hanging with the Fish and one that was going to be eaten alive. They scored to make it 3-2 Team USA but that would be their last of the half. Team USA would come at Finland with an unreal aggression and considering their depth and personnel, I was not surprised that they took half 9-2.

One point worth mentioning was at 6-2. Sockeye was pulling upwind and after coming down on the pull, Ryan Winkleman came out with a huge layout catch block. This gave the US an upwind break followed by a furocious cheer, skip: "BLOOD IN THE WATER", team: "CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP!!". At this point Finland was completely taken out of their game and the rest of the contest was simply a formality.

The second half would be all Sockeye with players like Ray Illian owning the downfield space and veterans like Nord punishing poor decisions when Finland was on O. Idaho seemed to be at the helm of the intensity campaign and unlike Furious had this morning, Team USA kept a foot on the throat of Finland, taking the second half 8-2 and the game 17-6.

Japan (open) vs The Netherlands

Adjacent to the USA/Finland game, the Buzz Bullets were taking their shot at the Netherlands. I could tell from Japan's warm ups that they were ready to dominate. In their hucking drill, every player was driven to snatch down every disc and hit the ground on anything close. They pulled to start the game and used their quickness to control the tempo of the game.

Considering the fact that there was a slight wind inside the stadium, the Netherlands benefited from an average height advantage, gobbling up floaty discs not unlike Great Britain. However, their poise was largely absent and disc sailed out of bounds on cross field hammers and they had trouble with drops.

As for Japan, as I figured, Mashiro Matsuno had a spectacular game. His break away speed is only eclipsed by his stellar throws and he had the ability to snatch as many goals as he threw. Yohei Kichikawa also had a great game with his great backhand breaks and equally impressive agility. What amazed me the most about Japan (and this came as no surprise) was their speed. 

Like Juggernaut, once they picked up momentum, there was no stopping them. Their disc movement, execution and decision making was unreal and their speed is unparalleled at this tournament. If they generated a turn they were off to the races and without comparable speed, the Netherlands could not stop Japan's velocity. Their hucks always seemed to be tossed with precision as well as snap, but at no point did they ever seem out of reach by Japan's cutters, even when going downwind.

Before I knew it, the boys in blue took the second half 8-1 and earned their second impressive win of the day. It seems like the only chance teams will have against them is to put a monkey wrench into their offensive progression. If they are given the freedom to cut at will, no team will have the quickness to keep up with this team top to bottom. Perhaps defenders like Jimmy Chu or Skip Sewell can match up man for man but at some point there will be an agility miss match and I can't imagine Team USA or anyone else stopping them without some sort of intelligent junk D or poaching. They are red hot and come day after tomorrow, all the hype about a Team USA vs Japan at Worlds will go down and this time, the score does matter.

Calling it a Day

After this game, I was fairly exhausted. I wanted to catch the USA women but considering I hadn't picked up any caffeine on the day, I was wiped out, plus I had to take a trip to the airport. Given the fact that pool play is drawn out a bit, I might hold off for a day or two before I post again. Tomorrow's showcase game should be pretty hot with Team USA (masters) facing off against Canada and with Husak, Dugan and some other vets in the house to help out DoG, things could be pretty exciting. Stay tuned.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Day 1 in the Books

After a day in NYC with the GF and an all night flight to Vancouver, I finally got here. I had to chill in the airport for a few hours before the rental car places opened up which gave me enough time to realize that every phone call I make is costing me 70 cents a minute and I cannot text. Yikes. Oh well, gotta role with the punches.

I get the dorms OK and manage to sleep for a few hours. I wake up around 1030am and begin to wander around. First off, I should say that the tournament itself is being held at UBC campus. This place is MASSIVE. It reminds me a lot of UCSD. One non-descript building after another nestled in a veritable maze of streets and cul-de-sacs. However, like UCSD the campus is very beautiful and I'm sure it is a great place to go to school.

I find frisbee central and there isn't a whole lot of organized frisbee going on. A few teams from varying countries practicing, merchandise and information booths getting setup. I try checking in but the Media badges aren't available so I go back to my dorm, get my truck (yeah they gave me a truck) and go venture off into Vancouver.

It's funny, every time I travel to one of these sorts of tournaments I try and take in the city as best I can. Because Yale isn't going to last forever, I need to start thinking about where else I could go. When I went to Centex, I really liked Austin. Great city filled with young liberal minds in a laid back atmosphere. It had the feel of the west coast without the price tags. Then I went to Boulder for Nationals and it wasn't for me. It had too much of a small town feel and I felt trapped between the rocky mountains and endless plains.

As for Vancouver, it is a brilliantly beautiful place. It carries the same sort of charm as Seattle, but on a smaller scale. Nestled in the mountains and inlets of the Northwest, it has a very crisp morning feel (even at noon) and it is so green and lush.

I cruised down Broadway looking for something to jump out at me and I saw a sign for a place called "Sushi Boy". I had been told that the asian food in Vancouver was very good, and judging by the number of Japanese restaurants, I am inclined to believe it. This place was as good as any and it had a hole in the wall sort of appeal. I had the lunch special and when I tried to pay with a debit card, I got frowns. Lucky for me, I had some left over Canadian money from Jazz Fest last year that I brought with me so I paid in cash.

After I left I looked for an ATM to get more green (or blue, depending on the bill) and in my wandering I stumbled into a 7-11 and got $100 and some coffee. I then headed back to the car and to my surprise (and I swear this is the truth) I had two GAIA vans parked on either side of my truck. I thought this a bit of a bizarre coincidence but when I looked up at the store I was parked in front of, sure enough "GAIA". WOW Match, you parked in front of THE GAIA store and you didn't even know it. Needless to say I had to take peak. To my delight, the place had a ton of Furious stuff, most of which I had never seen before. I took a look at everything they had and decided on two shirts.

It was starting to get into the afternoon so I decided to head back to the fields to catch the opening ceremonies and the showcase game between Canada and Great Britain (mixed). I parked the truck and started the 25 minute walk across campus and en route I ran into some Australian guys, one of which was Brett Matzuka, my Aussie buddy. Apparently he wasn't too pleased that I predicted Australia to finish 4th, but I think that despite their talents, a collection of all stars against 3 established teams (USA, Japan, and Canada), they'll have their hands full.

I make it to Thunderbird Stadium and I realize that you have to buy tickets for this thing. I was a bit hesitant and then I noticed a VIP table next to the entrance. Considering that I got shot down at check in, I thought I would try my luck and see if I qualified as a VIP. I walked up, gave them my name and sure enough, I had a name tag waiting for me...weird. I walked in, bought myself a Russell Beer (apparently they are a big sponsor) and took a seat in the VIP lounge. Now this was bizarre and for anyone that knows me, they can totally picture the look on my face after this next sentence. A 25 year old kid wearing a Lone Star Alum jersey and some raggedy UCSD ultimate shorts in a room with folks in shirt and ties.

Needless to say, despite the fact that I technically belonged there, I couldn't take it and after grabbing a free sandwich and another beer, I decided to head down to the field level. I got past security with my nifty name tag and took a seat at the back of one end zone underneath an unoccupied Ultivillage tent. From here I had a decent few of the game, as well as the entire crowd, and I was in the shade. Before I discuss the game, let me just say the Venezuela really stole the show. They brought the ruckus from the starting pull, till the last score. Every 20-30 seconds they started up their chant, each time in a different direction, aimed at a different set of bystanders. Folks were generally open minded and would get up and dance with them and despite one chorus after another, they never tired and won the crowd and the announcers over.

As for the game, it was actually a very good contest and I apologize in advance for not knowing much about Great Britain. Canada started out on O and from the very beginning it looked like each team had some jitters. Both teams traded turnovers but ultimately, Val Dion ripped a nice huck to Brendan Wong for the goal, which would be the trend for the first half.

Both GB and Canada had issues with their respective offenses, but they managed to stay on serve for the first few points, I think GB even went up a break early, receiving at 4s. However, Canada would switch to zone at this point and their D-line was very effective at getting the Brits to cough it up. GB generally had conservative disc movement in contrast to Canada's flare, but the constant pressure afforded by the white and red would often be too much and they would throw wide or toss up a poor hammer that was dropped, turfed or D'd.

However, despite their success at generating turnovers, Canada's D-line really struggled to score. They should have earned several more breaks in the first half than they did, but I suppose a 9-6 half time score isn't bad. My thoughts after the first half were 1) the Great Britain women did a fantastic job at scooping up loose discs. I think they saved 3-4 possessions for GB, not to mention catching a few macked scores. The second half would be more of the same. 2) Canada's O-line was superb. Blare Hole was great at the male handler slot and to his left and right were Kira Frew and Val Dion. Kira's vicious throws and decision making abilities kept the offense moving while Val had phenomenal puts that she rarely hesitated to let fly. She connected with Brendan Wong on more than one occasion and I suspected that despite GB's efforts, getting the breaks back to win this game would not be easy.

The first part of the second half seemed to be an extension of the first, with Canada's O-line succeeding at will, while GB's offense and Canada's D-line went back and forth with the disc. However, after 5-6 points, GB's D-line got a break back and a game that seemed out of reach was now close at 12-10. At one point I think the game was even 15-14 Canada.

However, Canada's O-line cleaned things up and was razor sharp down the stretch. Brendan seemed to be the major deep threat in the first half, but he hung out in the middle for most of the second and facilitated several intermediate strikes to cutters of both genders. Canada's D-line managed to even out whatever breaks Great Britain earned and in the end I think the score was 17-15.

After the game, I caught up with Rob and the Ultivillage crowd. They were on a fairly decent high given their success with the live video feed of this game. Despite some technical issues, things seemed to go fairly smoothly so look for more live video for the Finals in a week. I like seeing Rob delegate responsibility now, rather than just film, because it shows how far he has come. Despite the fact that we don't here his signature voice overs like "15-13", it is great to see that he is expanding with more videographers like Logan Braun and Skip Hobbie, not to mention hooking up with the Brits from Block Stack.

Once the game was over, I headed back to my dorm and on the way I caught Jody and BVH working with the USA Juniors team. Considering that I had written about these kids already (both for Juniors and for College) I was interested in their progress. They seemed to be working on set plays and despite their young age, they seemed to click very well and I can't imagine anything less than a gold medal finish for them. On a somewhat sad side note, I learned last week that Jeremy Norden of Whitman and Team USA was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and was going through some pretty heavy duty chemotherapy leading up to Worlds. I only bring this up because in spite of his illness, he is still able to play, on a somewhat limited basis. His doctor has him on a time on/off schedule and even though his health could be better, he will still be in cleats and ready to do his part in earning his second gold medal.

After this detour, I finally got back to my dorm and went out to get some food. I wanted to get some non-perishables to keep in the room so I went to a local grocery store to stock up on things like bread and fruit. While in the grocery store, I figured I would get dinner and the one thing I couldn't turn down was a full chicken. You know, those full chickens in the plastic container near the deli? I've always walked past those thinking to myself, "man those look good, I could eat that right now." However, I had never actually eaten one.

Now was my time to shine and considering it was just me, I figured, what the hell? I got my full size chicken and man was it good. I don't think I'll be picking another one up anytime soon, but I am happy I popped my "ready to eat foul cherry". Yeah, thats a weird sentence.

As for tomorrow I think I am going to start the day off with Canada vs Italy (Open). I've never seen Furious play in real life so I figure the sooner I get that out of the way, the better. A friend of mine is also playing for Italy so it'll be a good way of killing 2 birds with 1 stone. After that I think I'll check out the USA Juniors (Boys) who are playing Great Britain followed by some lunch. Then I'll see how Australia does against Ireland and then USA (Women) against Switzerland. I figure this will be nice because Canada will play Switzerland in the open division on the same field afterwards which I can watch a little bit before I go over to the showcase game which will be Canada vs Japan (women). Hopefully after this I'll have enough energy to go get my cousin Alex from the Airport. He's coming off a two month bender in Europe so he'll probably be as tired as I am but who knows.

Stay tuned folks, things are just getting started.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Twas the Night before Worlds...

...yeah I'm not going to do a whole night before X-mas thing, that'd be weak.

However, I am fairly stoked about this whole Vancouver thing and I leave tomorrow. I'm probably gonna write a fair amount while I am there. I'm stuck in Vancouver airport from like 2am to 530am waiting for a rental car so I'll have some time. I'm thinking of covering a bit of everything outside Open for the first few days. Catch Juniors, Women's, Mixed and Masters before bracket play, yikes thats a lot. Actually to be totally honest, I have never seen Furious or Sockeye play in real life so I might just have to watch Open the whole time. We'll see.

Anyway, so I was packing and I couldn't help but feel a little fearful. I'm sure I'm gonna sound wayy weak when I say this, but I've been looking forward to this thing for a long time. I can remember watching score updates online during the Finland games and I can also remember thinking, "Wow, what an incredible experience that would be to watch". So now I find myself 4 years later and I leave tomorrow. Holy shit, are you serious? I'm not even playing and I'm nervous.

Then I also thought, now I remember why I got into this whole nerdy fan business in the first place. I can actually retrace every step to the very beginning and deduce how I came to be such an avid follower of this game. In putting jersey after jersey into my suitcase (in the hopes of trading off a few) I couldn't help but walk down memory lane and I thought I would just talk a little bit about where I came from and how I came to write about our sport.

Infishiation

My story of ultimate begins with my first year of college. I was a total nobody in high school so when I got to college I went out for everything. Student council, Programming crap, all that weak shit and I hated it. I also had a long distance girlfriend who was a waste of space. Bottom line, I didn't do much cool shit freshman year of college outside school and work and I didn't make too many friends. I spent the summer alone in San Diego and I remember telling myself, "I need to find something fun to do".

Then came Sophomore year. A friend of mine from high school who also went to UCSD told me to try out for the squids. He had all these crazy stories about how they partied and it seemed like fun. I went out in Fall and wow, what a good time. The game was great but the people were just fun and I felt at home. My first or Fish year was pretty stellar. I partied hard with the guys, won the drinking award, went on my first spring break trip, just the works. it was a great time. However, as far as playing goes, I knew fairly early that I would never step onto the same field as our A team.

This is what Fall Quarter at UCSD was like. 100 guys come out at the beginning and they all get along. Very little drama but the team was MASSIVE and it stayed that way. Of the 100, about 40 are returners (from the A and B team) leaving about 60 tryouts. Now there were no cuts, just an A team and B team. The A team was called Ice and the B team was called Lite, after Natty Ice and Natty Lite. Of the 60 tryouts about 5 made the A team. These were called Ice fish and they were royalty on the team. Everyone looked up to these kids, even if they were shorter than you. Some of these Ice Fish included Kubiak, Wormser, and Chucky. They made the top 20-30 on the team and they were the hot shits.

If you didn't make the A team, you were on Lite, which was actually more fun than anything in the World. We were a huge team of partiers that loved to play and we were good. I was B team captain my second year and we were the best B team in the Nation. Every Fall however, the team would blend again and take 5 more Ice fish and maybe 2-3 sophomores. Needles to say, if you didn't make the A team by your Sophomore year, it wasn't gonna happen. This really wasn't a problem though because Lite still went to sectionals and regionals as well as a bunch of other tournies and we were more fun than the A team. However the take home is that very early on, I realized that I was never going to make Ice. No matter how hard I worked I couldn't make the team and considering that I had plans outside UCSD, I didn't really have the time or energy to even try. I still conditioned because I wanted to make B team captain, and I did. But I knew because I was too old that I would never get to play in those big time games.

This was OK though. I knew I wasn't a jaw dropping athlete which is fine, I have many other talents. However, I was relegated to sideline status come crunch time, because after all, we had a Varsity team to root for. I was there for epic games with Colorado and Santa Barbara. I can remember Beau's first year and our first trip to Nationals, but I was always the spectator. I was always a voice instead of pair of legs.

This wasn't too big of a problem, but I wanted more. The game had given me the good and loyal friends I had always wanted, but because I couldn't play for Ice I needed to find another way to appreciate the game. So I became a fan. If our A team was in the upper echelon of teams, then who was the best of those? What college teams were at the top? And then soon after I got into this, I realized that there was this whole league above college called Club and they were even better. Holy crap, talk about not knowing how far the rabbit hole goes. I was hooked.

The two teams that won nationals the year before I played were Stanford and Furious so I was like "Ok, those are the best, I'll root for them". I wasn't on any of these big time teams and if our A team wasn't contending for a title, then why couldn't I root for someone who was?

Being a fan in Ultimate however was tough. There wasn't a lot of information out there. Rob, the score reporter, bloggers, a lot of this kinda stuff didn't exist back then, or at least it was very cryptic and difficult to break into. I can remember the first time I heard about Paganello or Kaimana. I can remember reading Chasing Plastic and being one of the thousands of silent RSD readers out there.

Anyway, over the years, I began to pick up a lot of information. Stupid stuff that no one cares about anymore but I do. Epic stuff like Bart Watson going from Stanford to Cal and leading Cal to the Finals ahead of Stanford. Richter and Zip duking it out in the Finals in Corvalis. Callahan winner vs Callahan winner. Beau as a freshman, as a freshman!! He never was more amazing than his first year. Took the Ultimate World by storm.

Blogging? Really?

Then Nationals 2007 came around. I had moved to grad school a few years earlier but like I had in '05 and '06 I made the trip out to Nationals. It was just too much fun. Nationals 2005 I got to see Stanford play for the first time. This was when Nick Handler was still there and I saw him lead Bloodthirsty over Wisconsin on universe in pool play. I was so hooked, I was always coming back.

By my third trip out to Nationals, I had met a fair amount of people and had a lot of people listen to my drivel. On the drive back from Columbus after Wisconsin won it all, a friend of mine said, "Dude you should start a blog about all this crap". I was really hesitant at first, I mean come on, a blog? How lame is that? But the more I thought about it the more curious I was. I tossed up a singular post on RSD and I was off the races.

About two weeks in I get an email from Idris asking me if I want to be on Ultimatetalk. I figured, what the hell? Before I know it I get a decent following and then Club Nationals comes around. I know some folks there and I think to myself, "I wonder if I could email some of them and get some information and write about it?" Holy shit, I could do that. And the next thing I know I'm doing team write ups for the college season. Wow, this was getting pretty F-ing cool. I also got to write one of the most important stories in the sport and what I believe to be my best work.

The more I write the more I can't stop. 2008 was so epic too, I couldn't believe it. Arizona, Wisconsin, Stanford, Colorado, such great stories. And to top it all off. Worlds was on the horizon. Really?!?! Worlds? You mean that thing I followed online 4 years ago? Where is it this time? Vancouver? August? Hell thats doable.

I send out some emails. I start writing international stuff. I'm emailing the media personal at WUGC headquarters. Holy crap, this is getting cool but a little weird at the same time. I mean can you imagine the looks I get when I tell my co-workers about this little hobby I have? So I've got stuff on Australia and Japan written. I even got to do an interview with the captain of my favorite team.

But now, its tomorrow. Holy shit? Tomorrow? As in 24 hours from now I'm headed to an event I've thought about for 4 years? When I first got into Ultimate media I imagined a day where I could be in a stadium watching the two best teams in the World have at it. Standing on the sideline as Furious, Sockeye, Japan, hell I didn't care, compete for the most difficult title in our sport. I just wanted to be there. Like any football or baseball fan would want to be at the Superbowl or World Series, I just wanted to witness the best my sport had to offer and now you're telling me it's here?

Stay Tuned Folks

just my thoughts

match diesel

I gotta see a man about a Wallaby

Hands down, my favorite Aussie expression and now that The Dingos are all done with their US tour I thought I would offer some thoughts about the Thunder from Down Under.

Previous Results

I suppose the first thing to stress is that Australia is not a newcomer to international success. Maybe they are attracting attention now but they have done very well over the last few years. In Finland (WUGC 2004) they earned the bronze medal by beating Sweden in the the 3/4 game 17-11. In 2005 they turned major heads by taking the Silver Medal ahead of Team Canada in Duisburg, Germany and the following year they beat out all US and Canadian competition by making the finals against the Buzz Bullets in Perth. More recently, Australia won Beach Worlds in Brazil last year.

Player Selection

Unlike the US and Canada, the selection for the Australian National team is selection based, not team based. Players are hand picked from teams and organizations all over the country, thus giving Australia a truly National feel. Unlike previous years, the main tool for the selection process has been the National Ultimate Frisbee League or NUFL. This organization was started in 2005 for the sole purpose of enriching ultimate talent in Australia by distilling the nation's talent into 6 teams that duke it out every other weekend in the winter (our summer).

After the country's Club Nationals, which is typically in April, 12-14 players from the top 6 finishing teams are chosen to play in the NUFL. In addition, roughly 40 more players are pooled together and drafted by the 6 best club teams to fill the league. This league runs from May to July and the country's selection body observes all NUFL events as well as club and mixed tournaments in order to find the Nation's best.

In addition to NUFL events, there was also a massive selection camp of interested players that happened last July. There, players vying for a spot on The Dingos participated in drills, clinics, and scrimmages to determine the best of the best. In December, around 50 players were chosen to compete for spots on the National team at another training camp this past January, and the Dingo team was finalized in February.

Training

Not surprisingly, the training regiment for The Dingos is quite rigorous. Because the team is not as unified as Team USA/Sockeye or Canada/Furious, individual work ethic and commitment is crucial. Every other weekend the team is brought together in Sydney for training camp. The goals for these camps are very ambitious and players focus on everything from strategy, to fitness, to team bonding. These camps are intensely important because they are one of only a few opportunities to unify the team before Worlds. Peripheral to this, most of the conditioning, and training is done apart.

Aside from these every other weekend trips, each player competes in a variety of other venues to prepare for Worlds. There are local competitive leagues that most players participate in weekly and NUFL has weekly high level training sessions that further cement strategy, skills, and fundamentals. Each player also has weekly track and weight lifting sessions not to mention NUFL tournaments on "off" weekends. All in all, it is easy to see that each of these players is in peak physical form and has invested as much time, energy and effort as anyone into their Nation's team.

Strategical Approach

For all intents and purposes, Australia's offensive and defensive approaches are not too dissimilar from the United States or Canada. They enjoy their horizontal as well as vertical stacks and despite familiarity with a "spread" or "split stack" offense, they typically shy away from it. As for defense, they utilize more or less the same zone/man defense theories as teams in North America and as any veteran will tell you, it's not your game plan, but your execution that matters.

As for the brains behind The Dingo operation, Johnathan Potts seems to be the man. Pottsy is the founder of The Dingos and not surprisingly, is responsible for anchoring the organizational workload for Team Australia. However, that isn't to say that Australia doesn't benefit from some outside help. Several North American players have found their way down under and have offered strategical help when and where they can. Notable US contributors include Texas Alum and Doublewide standout Michael "Tank" Natenburg and Michigan Alum and former captain Ryan Purcell. Nick Menzies of Furious has also made the trek down south and all 3 have been valuable in giving the Aussies an outside perspective on our game.

Roster

The Australian roster is as loaded with talent and skill as any other team in the World. The team has a roster of 24 players, 12 from WUGC 2004, and 12 "rookies". Here are some notes on each:

Johnathan Potts (#2) - Pottsy is a defensive handler that captains and carries this team with as much skill as experience. His height allows him to be a valuable break mark thrower and his crafty veteran nature makes him an extremely valuable defender. He will typically carry the toughest defensive assignment, so look for great matchups against the likes of Ray Illian and Sammy CK from Team USA, Mike Grant and John Hassell from Team Canada, and Mashiro Matsuno and Yohei Kichikawa from Team Japan.

Chris Warris (#12) - Despite being the smallest player on the team, Warris is one of the most experienced. He, like Pottsy, is a big time veteran and his agility and talent puts him center stage for handling assignments on offense. His defense is also top notch with great field sense and awareness. Look for him to catch any opponent sleeping on a sick layout poach D.

Owen Sheperd (#1) - One of two Shepards on The Dingos, Owen was part of the '05 team that won the silver medal. As a defensive handler, he dominates with pin point accuracy and his ability to spot and manage poaching defenders makes him lethal with the disc. His vision for pesky defenders makes him a valuable throwing threat as well as a brilliant defender himself.

Jonno Holmes (#14) - Holmsey seems to be The Dingos "Big Man". His height and vertical make him a major fantasy point player and his Worlds experience puts him up there with Chase and Nord. In addition, like these and other world class players, he is just as capable with the disc and routinely launches hucks after underneath cuts. Look for him to be cutting option #1 and going up top for posterizing goals.

Mike Neild (#7) - Mike is a former Australia Football League player and his "Beau Kittridge" athleticism earned him the nickname Space Needle. He routinely goes up for discs before all others but seems to always be the one to land last, with the disc. Likewise, his closing speed makes him as good a defender as there is and a ruthless deep threat when given the opportunity.

Tim Booth (#0) - Timmy is the Australian equivalent to an Andrew Fleming or Josh Ziperstein, the absolute work horse that will run his defender into the ground. He is as useful on O as he is on D and will muscle his way to the disc despite impossible odds.

Tim Lavis (#5) - Lavis is one of 12 Australian "pups" that is representing his country for the first time. He is another tall downfielder that has the naivety to cut wherever he choses. Lucky for him, he has the legs to get him the disc despite any defender in his way.

Joel Pillar (#23) - Joel is a new Dingo pickup but is far from "newbie" status. He is a transfer from Barramundis and was a primary scoring threat for The Mundis. He carries a Tyler Grant build with the ability to body out just about anyone and can launch as many hucks as he reels in.

John Liddicoat (#21) - JLiddi is another Dingo pup and carries a work ethic similar to that of Tim Booth. Like an Adam Sigelmen (Boston) or Josh "Richter" Ackley, his middle of the road height and athleticism has motivated him to outwork his opponents and will have the ability to catch unsuspecting defenders off guard.

Ken Sheperd (#10) - The other Shepard on the Dingos, Kenny brings a "DoG" like awareness and poise to The Dingos. Notorious for his cunning offensive abilities, he will anchor the Australian O-line and make team mates like Space Needle and Holmsey look good.

Abra Garfield (#20) - Bra is an Ex-Pat and Amherst alum that will be on the line with Pottsy as another defensive handler. Like myself, he lives frisbee and enjoys intense play with tons of bids and long range looks.

Pete Gardner (#15) - Pete is another '04 Dingo that carries a Mike Caldwell role for The Dingos. A brilliant offensive player with arguably the best backhand in the Southern Hemisphere. His "Shangri La" is in zone offense, making cups and wings look silly with spectacular break throws and field awareness.

Paul Denyer (#36) - Paul is another Dingo pup and is the only representative from Western Australia. He is damn proud of his roots and is equally content on D-ing up on the best our sport has to offer. In addition, he carries the composure to find his place in the D-line offense and will be as good at keeping the disc as he is at earning it.

Dave O'brien (#16) - Along with Kenny Shepard, Dave is the focal point of the Australia offense. He is more or less your end all bail out when/if things get hairy. As a veteran Dingo, he handles with exceptional poise and execution, as he makes one good decision after another.

Andrew Glover (#13) - Andrew may be a Dingo pup but he carries the "fastest man" in Australian Ultimate label. Much like a Fortunant Mueller or Adam "Wormser" Bunn, once he is gone, he is gone. Look for him to earn one step on his defender and be off to the races. Likewise, on D, he routinely runs right past his opponent for easy catch blocks.

Dan Rule (#26) - Dan is the youngest player on the Dingos but is one of the most experienced. He was part of the '06 Junior Worlds team and his veteran abilities will keep him ice cold when the pressure mounts. Like an Oscar Pottinger or Andrew Vogt, his throwing abilities at such a young age are just unfair.

Steve Antonopoulos (#81) - When he lived in San Diego we called him Aussie Steve and after years of experience with PBR and more recently with Brass Monkey, his size and throwing skills make him an amazingly valuable offensive threat. Look for him to come out of the stack with a crafty break side cut and rip a full field break huck to a streaking cutter downfield.

Jonathon Tatham (#3) - Tats is a proud pup and Newcastle recruit like Lavis, Warris, and Holmsey. He has one of the best combinations of cutting and throwing abilities on the team and will be a vital downfield throwing threat, tossing scores before the defense even knows what hit it.

Mark Taylor (#11) - Tubby is a rookie for The Dingos but was part of Thong when they made the Finals in Perth. He is a silent but violent threat on the field and will snatch jump discs when given the opportunity.

Matt Dowle (#9) - Labeled as one of the best players in Australia history, he is a Veteran's Veteran with a Ron Kubalanza or Andrew Lugsdin laundry list of experience. An all around standout, Matt will be instrumental on every point he plays and will be an asset both with and without the disc in Vancouver.

Anothy Dowle (#4) - Like the Patisteas, Anthony and Matt Dowle are identical twins and threats on the ultimate field. Ant carries all the skills of his brother, just a different number. Look for him, and his brother, to line up on the likes of Chase and Nord.

Gavin Moore (#19) - Gav is another Thong '06 pup and not only is he a great defensive play maker, but he also has the speed of Glover and the hops of Mike Nield. A very committed yet experienced player, he is another "rookie" that isn't exactly a "rookie".

Angus Keenan (#29) - Gus turned heads in 2006 when he made his famous layout save/goal in the finals at WUCC, featured on Ultivillage. In addition to being a workhorse, he is a brilliant cutter and will play a big part on The Dingo O-line with Tats, Dowles, and Holmsey.

Brett Matzuka (#45) - The American Face of The Dingos, Brett is a lethal 5'8" handler/cutter. He is as springy as it gets and his all around offensive abilities earned him 75 fantasy points in Perth (28 Goals, 47 Assists), the most of any player in any division. Brett has been my liaison and without him, none of this would have been possible. Thanks homie.

Challenges and Goals

The Dingos are definitely poised to make another medal run, but their main goals are peripheral to their eventual finish. They want to win, as any team at WUGC would, but they are set on achieving personal/team goals within their grasp. Things like team chemistry, desire, and execution are all things Australia is putting high emphasis on but they are difficult to quantitate with wins and losses. Like Japan, Australia has come up through the ranks in World competition and are hoping to utilize every opportunity for not only their current campaign but those to follow as well.

In my opinion, I see Australia finishing 4th/5th. The main disadvantage that The Dingos have is their experience with one another. Like Boston last year, they have as many weapons as a team needs to succeed, but putting all the pieces together will be a challenge. Sockeye, Furious, and the Buzz Bullets are all teams with years of established chemistry and half of the Australian roster has yet to compete with one another. This isn't to say that they stand no chance against the other powerhouses, but I sincerely hope they utilized every training opportunity and scrimmage as a team to all get on the same page.

In addition, Australia has not had the puddle jump opportunities that Japan and England have had. Clapham/Great Britain has come over to Boston Invite several times and are very aware of how they stack up against North American teams. Likewise, the Buzz Bullets have made it out to ECC several times and have even had Furious and Sockeye come their way. However, Australia has only seen a handful of American teams, none of which will be in Vancouver. But as any coach will tell you, it isn't about your opponents, it's about you. If The Dingos play their game and execute their game plan, who's to say they aren't gold medal worthy? With as many athletes and veterans as the Aussies have, they stand just as good a chance as any to be playing in the Finals on the 9th.

Closing Thoughts

Judging from their US tour performance, Australia looks as good as they need to be. I spoke with Idris about their game with Jam and the consensus seems to be that neither team played their best and things like jet lag cannot be left out when talking about the The Dingos performance.

I think their best performance was against Revolver, a team as young and wirey as they are and despite playing on foreign soil, the Aussies came to play. As for the Condors and Bravo, I think Santa Barbara has yet to prove themselves so it's difficult to determine what a close game with Australia means. Conversely, Bravo is my pick to win Nationals this year and I hear JB's defense was more than The Dingos could handle. They were successful breaking the mark around, however, and were composed enough to shy away from huck and hope turnovers. All in all, a 2-2 record against 4 quality teams is quite an accomplishment and I think they will have more confidence in Vancouver than they did when they left Sydney.

My one fear is that Australia is the gentle giant playing against teams that know every trick in the book. Australia is notorious for playing a more spirited game than North America and I really hope this doesn't turn out to be a liability. Things like travels and fouls that are called all the time in the States may be overlooked by the green and yellow and I do hope that the Universe will unfold as it should. The Dingos commitment to their sport and their country is truly fantastic. Their US tour is a great gesture to the Ultimate community worldwide and considering that no one is sponsoring this team in their efforts, my hat is really off to them. Best of luck in Vancouver, I'll be rooting for you guys, unless you're playing Canada, sorry.

just my thoughts

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