Face Guarding is Bad!

Whenever I used to play against UCLA in college, their players would always faceguard the dumps. I wanted to laugh every time I saw this. Newer players get freaked out by faceguarding. When a defender is looking directly at you and nowhere else, he will be able to react to your cuts very easily, but he will not be able to see the thrower at all. An experienced thrower (and dump) knows that a throw into space, or over the head of the defender will work well against this type of defense.

When guarding dumps, I have three options on how to guard them.

The first one is the most common and the one I used to use the most. I usually give them a small window (either upline or into the backfield) and hope for a slightly errant throw while giving them as little as possible. I used to attempt to "bait the upline" but realized that I have to give them a lot less room for the upline then for the backfield. This method is great at forcing the dump to only have on direction. It is the safest of the dump defenses in that it will usually completely take on dump cut away, at the expense of allowing the open throw.

The second option is to try to take away the dump completely by placing your entire body in between the thrower and the disc. When this is done, you are forced to face guard. The few times I do this, I make sure to glance back as frequently as possible and (if possible) to get sideline help. Ideally, I want to know when the thrower is looking at the dump and try to determine what the thrower wants to throw (over the top, bending flick etc.). As noted in my opening paragraph, I believe this to be the poorest form of defense. The cutter has the ability to be the defender both backfield and upline and the thrower can throw the simple throw out into space.

The last option is one that I am a little new to, but am quickly learning to respect. This method is similar to the first where you give the dump a small window in one direction, but you have to basically place your nuts on the dump's thigh (this image will forever be in my mind thanks to one Davin Lyons). By positioning your body like this, especially at such close a proximity, the dump is forced to either go the direction you are already facing, or to try to maneuver around you to get upline. This method is the most effective method, but it is one, if used incorrectly is liable to create a lot of fouls.

Of the three, I will stick to my original claim that faceguarding is bad. It is an inferior way of playing defense. A knowledgeable defender knows that you should try to watch both the disc and your mark as much as possible. Whether you position your body so that you can see both or maybe you take quick glances to see where the disc is and if the thrower is looking at your guy, you are better off than if you just faceguard.

The Waking Point (Non Ultimate)

This is unedited. I knew that if I started to edit this, that I would just end up deleting everything. I would rather look back on this three years from now and see the unabridged, unedited version, even if it means that I sound like an extremely cheesy idiot or that my grammar is worse than Zip's.

Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions. ~Edgar Cayce

What is the first thought to enter your head when you wake up in the morning? When the dream you just had has dissipated, when the thoughts from the night before are slipping away to recesses in your mind, this is when the present steps in and reminds you that you need to go to school, to work, to practice.

At the end of each day, I find myself on the verge of a great accomplishment. Sometimes the accomplishment is of self discovery, sometimes it is an idea that extends beyond my own life and sometimes it is something more tangible. And yet with each new morning, I find that the thoughts I had the night before are inconclusive. The work I thought I had finished is now incomplete.

As an ultimate player, I strive to be the best on my team. When I compete against another team, I strive to be the best on the field. This is the dream. To be a better ultimate player. To be... the best. The reality reminds me of the work I must put in to become the best. And all the times I put in extra effort off the field, only to follow it up with a period where I miss a workout, a practice or more. It is like an incomplete dream, a dream from which I wake up to face reality. I am not there yet.

As a student, I am in my last semester in my community college. I have one week of class left and then will continue my education at UC Santa Cruz. I strive to better my education in order to attain a degree. I strive to be the best in my class, to learn the most, to know the most and to enjoy it the most. I truly enjoy my bio classes sometimes. I feel a wave of contentment wash over me as I peer through a microscope. I will have periods where I put in so much effort and will receive so much happiness, but will shortly follow it up with periods where I feel unmotivated to listen to the lecture. I will feel unmotivated to attend class or read the textbook. The dream I have of attaining that degree is there. But it remains a dream, and therefor separate from reality. I am not there yet.

As a single guy, I have had multiple relationships with varying degrees of success (which I measure in the happiness both people received while in the relationship). I strive to be a better listener, a better lover and a better boyfriend overall. There have been moments where I walked away knowing that I have done a great deed for my significant other, but remained silent about it. And, there have been times when I have been so upset, that I had to use every ounce of willpower I had to stop myself from saying the most hurtful things I could think of. I believe myself to have a large amount of patience, but it is not enough. I will keep dreaming of becoming the better boyfriend. I am not there yet.

As a person, I believe my fellow people to be good at heart. I believe myself to be good at heart. I certainly don't want to inflict physical, emotional or mental pain on anyone. I do not follow any organized religion, but I wish to strive to Jesus' level of endurance.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

Matthew 5:38 Exodus 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21

I wish to be able to turn the other cheek when someone slaps my face. That is what I strive for. But there is so much, that is wrong with the world. So much anger and pain that it makes me wonder how the people in charge can stomach it.

What's wrong with the world mama?
People living like aint got no mamas
I think the whole worlds addicted to the drama
Only attracted to the things that bring you trauma
Black Eyed Peas

When I come across someone who constantly vents anger, who needs that violence, that anger to go forward, I am unable to see their point of view. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that they, like myself, strive to turn that cheek. I want to see that in them, but I don't. And so, I do not have it yet, to put my full faith in either myself or my fellow person. We are not there yet.

I wake each day, to find that my dreams are not yet accomplished. The point at which I awaken, the waking point, is the time when my dreams flit away and I must work to make the dreams become reality. So work away I will. I will fall. I will rise. I will forever maintain my faith, that my dreams will someday become reality. And when that day comes, I will have new dreams waiting to replace them.

I hope the day will come when your dreams become reality too.

What is so wrong with flirting? (Not really Ultimate related...)

I like to flirt with women. I do it a LOT. Nearly every single tournament I go to, there will be a women working at the food establishment that I will flirt with. It doesn't have to be at a food establishment, it could just be a random woman that works at Safeway or Longs Drugs or whatnot.

Nearly every time I flirt with a woman, while I have teammates within earshot, my teammates give me shit. The usually do this in front of the woman I'm flirting with too. They make it sound like I've done something wrong. Like I've harmed this poor innocent girl who fears for her life when the customer she's dealing with says out of nowhere that she has beautiful eyes.

99% of the time, I am not pursuing anything other than a smile. I certainly don't hold any illusion that she's going to come back to the hotel with me. I view flirting as fun and I think it makes the woman's day a little better if a stranger compliments her.

So then why is it that my teammates think it strange and even wrong of me to flirt with these women that I will never see again?

Sexism in Ultimate

Is there sexism in Ultimate? If there is, is there enough that it should be addressed as a problem?

I have played Ultimate on multiple levels, but I still think my experience is very limited. In the small domain in which I have played Ultimate, I have experienced sexism coming from both men and women.

I think Ultimate is superior to many sports. The individuals that participate in the sport are generally more accepting than other sports. The crazy clothing styles and hats you see in Ultimate is much more prevalent than in mainstream sports like soccer. And, while some of these players are laughed at, other players that dress or look this way are celebrated (see: Robot).

While Ultimate is more accepting in some areas, I do not feel this excuses players for sexist remarks or acts. Ultimate, a sport I hold in high regard, combines a high level of acceptance alongside a high level of athleticism. I believe there is a high degree of sexism that should be severely reduced.

I see sexism take form in many forms, but I will only list some of the more prevalent ones here.

The first one being that women's Ultimate is not fun to watch. I love watching women's Ultimate myself. Aside from the fact that I get to watch beautiful women getting all hot, sweaty and physical. I also enjoy watching women who (like men) push themselves beyond their normal physical constraints to make spectacular plays. In the same way that men can make some sexy lay out Ds and grabs, women are able to achieve the same. They are both exciting to watch.

The second would be the whole "3 feet of water" thing. Some men (and women) say that watching a woman run in Ultimate is like watching a man run except that he's 3 feet deep in water. This comparison is both insulting to women and completely false. I say it's false because I have seen many a talented woman outrun a man on the field. My 17 year old teammate (18 in 5 days) Lisa regularly outruns and skies half the guys on my old college team at practice.

The last issue I want to bring up (and there are more) is the prevalence of men who do not throw to female teammates. The main reason for this, I believe, is that the guy doesn't trust his female teammate to catch the disc and then to make a complete throw. In doing this, the culprit (the guy) is robbing his female teammate of this valuable learning opportunity. She, like any other person; male or female, needs their teammates to give them plenty of opportunities with the disc in order to grow as a player. If this person is talented enough to make your team. Then this person's gender should not matter. If she/he can with the matchup, then trust them enough to give them the disc.

All in all, I believe there is a strong feeling of sexism that one can feel in the sport. While many will treat the issue lightly, I feel it is important for us to realize that it harms women, men and the sport of Ultimate by not addressing the issue head on. Therefore, I encourage all of you to help police your teammates and Ultimate friends to reduce sexism within our beloved sport. I love inviting women to try out Ultimate. I want them to experience the same joy that I do. I am able to enjoy the game without slurs against my gender. I believe they should have that same liberty.