The Waking Point

The Final Countdown

2010-10-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

With only a week left before I fly into Sarasota, I've been trying to prepare my body and my mind to be at their peaks. That means healthy food, lots of sleep (while waking up early), plenty of throwing, staying psyched up and no alcohol.

Last night was the last night of booze for me until Florida. No matter how cute the girls may be, the dream of winning Nationals is greater. I've been on a high protein diet both yesterday and today. I intend to keep a high protein diet until Saturday night and then I'll switch over to the carbo loading diet. I have tried falling asleep at 8 pm the other night. And wasn't able to fall asleep, tonight I'm crawling into bed before 11:30 pm and my alarm is set for 6:30 am. I intend to throw with both Kwai and Tash this week as much as I can. If they both are busy I'll play disc golf by myself to get throwing in.

I found Robert's copy of I Bleed Black. Watching that, watching Zip's Lei Out footage and great Ultivillage clips should have me dreaming about ultimate more than I already do.

One week is all that remains. I can't improve my skills too much in that week. The thing to focus on here, is my desire to win. My desire will decide how I play.

Shock

2010-10-04T19:30:00.001-07:00

When you wish for something for so long, only to have it taken from you again and again, it can be hard to believe that you are finally going to nationals. It took a while for the reality to sink in, but this feeling of accomplishment will stay with me for a while.

Mind Games

2010-09-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Regionals are several days away and while I've been getting excited for them, I have one element on my mind that worries me.

Big games pump me up. The stiffer the competition, the more excited I get and the better I play. The game against Mischief was no different. I was looking forward to playing them ever since we beat their incomplete squad at DUI.

I went into the game ready to dominate. I was sprinting down every pull, staying on my mark's ass every second. Then on the second point that I was in the thrower called a foul on me. I felt that I was stationary and contested the call. After a little bit more arguing the play continued and they scored.

While on the sideline the thrower came up to me and started asking me why I like to cheat. Confused I asked if he was referring to the foul call. I felt that my call was right, but he just kept on going saying that the call labeled me a cheater. Now, I consider myself a relatively spirited player, so that felt like a low blow. To make matters worse, one of his teammates joined in and just started ragging on me while on the sideline.

I do not play well when I'm upset. And these two were upsetting me. As the game progressed, I slowly started playing worse and worse. I ended up taking myself out of the game. When my captain called lines I preferred to let others play in my place.

This really bothered me. I spent a lot of time mentally preparing for this game, and after a couple points of their players ragging on me from the sideline, I had lost my focus.

Regionals is coming up and I am excited by the stiff competition and the desire to perform for my team. But I am not looking forward to playing Mischief. The last thing I need is to have all my energy and focus fade away because some dick on the sideline spends all his spare time breaking me down. If you want to challenge me, challenge me on the field, not on the sideline.

Communication: How important is it?

2010-07-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

In a relationship, it is important to communicate one's thoughts and feelings to your significant other. The reason for this, is that your thoughts and feelings are not as clear to that person as they are to you. If you feel angry or sad, it may not be obvious to your significant other.

The same is true on the ultimate field. A player has to constantly make assumptions about his teammates and about his opponents. Is he going to huck it? Is he going to dump it? Or break the mark? Will my teammate see the switch, will she drop off her girl to get the poach d? Will she stay as a dump or will she clear up field? These questions could be constantly racing through each player's mind, but instead we usually assume what each person will do next. And then when we miscommunicate, then the tempers flare.

In order to stop these situations, it is important to communicate each others actions. We do this at practice by going over the flow of each offense. That way we can anticipate where each cutter will go next. We do this by pump faking to indicate we want an under cut, a break mark cut or a deep cut. And we do this by being constantly vocal on the field and on the sideline.

It takes a good amount of energy to be vocal while running hard. But with good communication comes less mental errors and less easy turnovers.

Good communication is the difference between a good team and a great team. A team that communicates on a high level, is one that reduces it's mistakes. We communicate with one another (both on and off the field) so that we can understand one another better. The better we understand each other, the better we can anticipate each others actions. Yet even the closest of lovers and the greatest of teammates will have times when they fail to anticipate the others action. That is why we must never stop being vocal. Never stop talking to your teammates. Not even if they offer you $100 to be quiet for the entire trip home.

The Mentality of Zone

2010-06-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

Effective zones are great ways of putting lots of pressure on handlers. It puts handlers in precarious situations where they have small windows to throw through and will have to rely on some good fakes and good decision making to pull through. Inexperienced handlers will fail under pressure and will often make a mistake. They may try to bust the zone by trying the cross field hammer, or a scoober that's a bit too low, or a blade that catches the wind.

When I play zone defense, I tend to mark. With a tight cup (or a tight box if you will), handlers are left with the task of trying to break my mark for the dump or trying to work it through the gaps in the cup. Those who perform best against my zone, are those who will repeatedly break my mark the easy way. That is, they'll put the disc out to space for their dump and let the dump run it down. Then a couple dump swings later, the gap in the cup will open and suddenly we'll be on our own goal line.

When I play zone offense, I typically handle with Bob. Bob and I will handle while we have 4 poppers and 2 deeps. Our zone offense (when we set it up this way) destroys opponents' zones. And the reason is, Bob and I can both break the mark with ease, but we also are extremely patient with the disc (at least in zone). We know that we want the cup to run and we will take the simplest of throws. It may take us 40 throws to score, but every couple throws will make that cup work, make that cup run while we are completing the simplest of throws.

Zone acts in many ways, like a good marker should. It exerts constant pressure on the handlers. If the handlers are able to withstand the pressure, remain calm and avoid trying to do too much, then the zone will fall. If the zone can keep the pressure going, then the handlers will falter and the zone will get that D.

Post Cal States

2010-06-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

The Polar Bears just finished the weekend at Cal States. We came into the tournament seeded 1st and left with a 7th place that felt sour. We went 4-2 with both of our losses coming off of double game point. Two of our four wins also came on dgp, so needless to say, we were disappointed with our play. I'll summarize the weekend on my next post, this post is not for that.

I played poorly this weekend. I felt, as one of the potential anchors to our defense, that I did not play my best game. I pride myself in my defensive ability. I have a strong mark and I stick with my guy tightly. I can shut the best down and get lay out Ds on many as well. But I was unable to do that this weekend.

I arrived at home, drank a full glass of milk and then proceeded to do planks, side planks, leg raises, cycling situps and then topped it all off with 150 crunches and 60 pushups. I am pissed that I was not playing my top game. I love my team, I love my teammates. It is important to them that I give it my all in every tournament, just like it is important for me that they give me their all in every tournament. When I cannot complete this simple task, then I must work harder outside of practice to make it up to them.

I got beat on double game point by a mediocre LA Metro player on a shitty huck. Come next tournament, I will have worked harder than that Metro player. And the result will not be the same. Next time, I will get the D.

The Best Orgasm You've Ever Had!

2010-06-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

I'm going to tell you how to achieve an amazing orgasm by masturbating. I learned this method from somebody else and it gave me the best orgasm I've ever had. The best sex I've ever had gave me a weaker orgasm than this method. I will warn you ahead of time that this method I am teaching takes time. You can also use this method to make others have amazing orgasms, though there are slight changes to what you must do. This is not a lazy man's (or woman's) masturbation. This is not a quick string play. This isn't even the easy work it up the field type of play. This is the type of play where you swing the disc back and forth 30 times before you even start to work up the field. Which means you better lock your damn door and tell your roommate/mom/whatever that you are working on a very important project and should not be disturbed for a while.

There are 3 parts to this amazing orgasm.

Step 1
The first part is purely preparation. The last thing you want to happen during your special time, is to be interrupted by stray thoughts or worse, by somebody else. A good idea is to set aside a time in advance. If you live with somebody else, make damn sure they won't come close to your room during this whole process. Turn off your phone and/or unplug your home phone. Now, think is there anything major on your mind that might distract you? Are you dying to watch those CSTV streams that start in an hour? If you are, then stop now. You don't want stray thoughts of Eli Friedman skying bitches while you're in the moment, no matter how sexy that man is. Is there any leftover Chinese food in the room that you've been meaning to throw away? Throw it away now, before you start. You don't want your mind to be wandering. Do you smell? Make sure you shower. Do you need to take a dump? Do that and then take a shower.

Good, step 1 complete. Nothing should distract you from your task at hand. If you wish to, you can dim the lights, light some candle and/or play some music. Personally, i think the dimming of the lights is nice.

Step 2
It is amazing how many people (both men and women) have not completely explored their own bodies. Find yourself a mirror (preferably full length) and look at yourself in the mirror completely naked. Start with your toes and with your hands slowly move your hands over your feet, then your ankles then your shins and calves etc. Make sure you spend ample time on all parts of your body. This step has 2 purposes. The first is that you get to know your body's sensitivity a little better. Most people have spots around their body other than their genitalia that turns them on when properly touched. Think of the last beautiful woman who stroked your arm and you instantly felt turned on. This is similar. The second reason for this step is that it preps you for the main course. It gets you in the mood to fantasize.

Step 3
Make sure you have some lube/Vaseline and a warm towel for this. If I were to describe the feeling of euphoria felt by the average person's orgasm in the form of a graph, there would be a rising line which would flatten out, then take a sharp turn up and then have a big drop. What this means is that the body quickly adapts to the same rhythmic movement. If you are sitting in a chair, you are not always aware of the feeling of the chair, which is pressed to your body. But if you move a bit, your nerve endings fire off that something is changing and for the next little bit, there's an extra awareness of you feeling the chair. The same is said about masturbation (sex too). If you are doing the same rhythmic stroke over and over (or rubbing a clit in the same motion over and over), then the body will get used to the feeling and get bored of it. That's why in the graph i explained, there's the flat-lining. In order to combat this, what you need to do is prevent that flatline. So after you are going through the usual stroking of your clit (or the usual stroking motion of your dick... and you shouldn't be going at super speed for this) you're going to create a little valley in your euphoria graph. If you are a male a good way to do this is by putting your hand over the entirety of the head of your dick and giving a light squeeze (make sure you stop jacking off while doing this). If you are a woman, this can be done by pushing on your clit a bit.

After you do this for a second or two, return to your normal stroking. Each time you feel close to cumming, press on the head of your dick or press on your clit for another second or two. Do this as many times as you can. Seriously. Don't do this twice, or three times or even five times. You don't have to keep count, just do as many as you can before you lose patience.

Finally when you are actually climaxing try to "push" with your pc muscle. If you are a male this feels like pushing the last bit of piss out when you are pissing. If you are female this feels like pushing something out of your vagina. This will help the feeling of the orgasm to spread beyond the pelvic region. Meaning that euphoria you feel in your crotch will be felt in your stomach, chest and (if you are practiced enough) in your limbs too.

There, you've just had (hopefully) an amazing orgasm. It is important to note, that if you skip one of the steps, that it WILL weaken your orgasm. The same is true if you attempt to use this method on somebody else. If your girlfriend is thinking at all about the dirty laundry that's in your/her room, then it will take away from her orgasm. Although if you can successfully use this method on yourself, then you can look forward to trying it out on somebody else.

This method can also be used to create multiple orgasms in women... and in men (yes, it's possible). Happy masturbating.

Face Guarding is Bad!

2010-05-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

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)

2010-05-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

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...)

2010-05-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

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.

Polar Bear Core

2010-04-15T11:30:00.001-07:00

This post was inspired by Bob's Meet the O-Line post (I would post the link, but Bob's blog is on a temporary hiatus) that was never finished.

While the Polar Bear roster isn't ironed out yet, there are a couple key players that will have no problem making the team. These players will be forming a strong backbone to the fearsome Polar Bear team.

Michael "Bob" Liu
A man who has been a solid handler for years and is now developing into a great in cutter as well. His defense is no longer the laughing matter that is used to be as he has added a strong mark to his repertoire. Bob is a great decision maker and has high quality throws regardless of wind, his level of exhaustion or the mark. Bob is one of the few throwers who rarely meets a mark he can't break. No one should ever cut open side for Bob. The break side is his baby.

Adam "Beanpole" Raty
A solid all around player who aims for big plays. Adam is not afraid to sacrifice his body for the team and will often come up with some huge grabs. Adam will often rip the disc looking for the big plays from his teammates, which sometimes results in more turnovers than scores, but his high quality throws often make up for his questionable decisions. A fearsome opponent and a strong asset to the Polar Bears provided he stays healthy.

Dan "Robot" Naruo
More machine than man... twisted and evil. Robot is arguably the best player on our team. I don't know anyone who works as hard as him to improve his game. He is always throwing, always sprinting always working to become a better ultimate player. Just like the god damn energizer bunny, Robot's batteries never run out. One of the best offensive cutters in open in the game (in my oh-so-humble opinion) he is truly a threat to deal with on offense. Robot is the one person on this team that I avoid guarding. He's the one player with whom I have to change my entire style of defense in order to accommodate his style of cutting.

Greg "Captain Sunshine" Marliave
The captain of the team and one of the main driving forces of our defense. The thing I like (especially as a D player) about Greg's D game, is that he doesn't need to get D's to be a good D player. Don't get me wrong, he gets D's and some very sexy ones at that, but Greg effectively shuts down a lot of cutters so that they will rarely even touch the disc. When players huck the disc to the guy Greg is guarding, it always looks like a bad decision. Greg's already in the right spot with the better position. Greg's awareness on defense is phenomenal. With athletic talent and aggressiveness to match it, it's a tough thing to get open on Greg

Anchi Tsou
When my younger sister still played ultimate, I would point out talented female ultimate players and say "Someday I want you to be able to play like her." Anchi is a perfect example of that. The other captain of the team and a woman who is not afraid to kick you in the head. Many women lack the aggressiveness of men in ultimate. It's a rare thing to find that woman who is unafraid to run full speed knowing you are heading into a collision in order to get the D. If Anchi is afraid, then she hides it well, because she is a fearsome defensive player. Anchi is a woman I trust to guard the opponent's star player. I don't think Anchi is afraid of anyone. She is a player I both respect and look up to.

Lisa Pitcaithley
17 years old for another 23 days and incredibly talented. Lisa is in incredible shape (rawr) and can run forever. She has the ability to sky men and women deep, beats her mark under and is incredibly smart with the disc. Lisa has the ability to make great snags catching blades and crazy fast throws without any hesitation. While Lisa rarely rips the disc deep, she is a solid all around player who can get that lay out D, cut both under and deep, break the mark effectively and run her opponents into the ground. Lisa is another great asset to the team.

Well, we'll stop there for now. After the roster is finalized I might do a little opinion column for some of the other Polar Bear Studs as well.

All pictures are courtesy of Christine over at http://christinelaszlo.zenfolio.com/

From Open to Coed

2010-04-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

What happens when a bunch of guys who play open get together, recruit some talented women and start playing mixed?

The Polar Bears have just started to come together. We are the budding form of a soon to be proud and beautiful angiosperm. Our roster is not set (I may still be cut as Robot likes to remind me), but we have a strong core of players who are ready to push themselves to the limit for each other.

I love all forms of Ultimate. Open, Mixed, Women's and youth each have a certain knack about them that draws me to watch and/or to participate. I do love mixed Ultimate though. Open Ultimate carries a strong, intense competitive drive to it that can dull that euphoric feeling that comes with playing Ultimate. But combining the sexes onto one team... for some reason, really keeps that euphoria alive.

Here's to the upcoming season of mixed ultimate.

Lay Out on your Chest

2010-01-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

I've always had difficulty learning to lay out properly. I still to this day often bid incorrectly. I'll dive in a "rainbow-esque" fashion as my teammates tell me. I manage to gather a good deal of power in my legs when bidding, but I will often waste that power by diving at to high of an upward angle and creating that big looping arc instead of creating a more horizontal bid.

Some people bid by, more of less, falling over while running at full speed. While others, like myself, create that big rainbow bid. Whatever way you bid, it is important to lay out on your chest.

I broke my collarbone a couple months ago by attempting a lay out greatest. I swiped at the disc with my left hand (i'm left handed) and tried to twist my body to attempt a flick. I landed on my shoulder and snapped my collarbone. It hurt.

The other day when I bid for a lay out D, I swiped at the disc with my left hand. The momentum created by this swiping motion caused me to twist my body a little and land on my shoulder. I did not put nearly enough pressure on my shoulder as the previous time, so I don't think I fully snapped my collarbone. It is most likely a hairline fracture.

After using some google-fu I was able to find that hairline fractures take 4 to 6 weeks to heal. Lei Out is 2 weeks away. I am 90% certain at this point that I will still be going to lei out. I will now start downing calcium tablets every day in hope that I will be able to throw and bid when I walk upon that warm, soft, Santa Monica Sand.

Lay out on your chest. Or else you too might experience sharp pain whenever you sleep, shower, type or wipe your butt.

Give up the funk

2009-06-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

To me, ultimate is a drug. A drug I enjoy extensively and am quite addicted to. I invest a lot of money into this addiction and I ride the high I get from ultimate as often as I can. But, like any other drug, there is a period of coming down. A period in which you feel like crap, you want to quit, you want to die, you want that wonderful high to come back and grace your life again. I feel like that now.

I had a terrific college season leading up to sectionals and then I crashed. And boy, did I crash hard. At every practice, tryout and tournament thereafter I have played terribly and I see no end in sight.

I think that all ultimate players experience a time when they consider taking time off from ultimate or quitting ultimate entirely. I have considered both, but I never follow through. And then as quickly as it started, it ends; my high returns and I am loving ultimate once again.

I think it is important to remember at times when one is feeling his lowest in ultimate, to remember some of his best times in ultimate. Sure you might remember the time you layout handblocked Mike Grant, the time you scored that callahan on Sockeye, the time you threw that greatest. You might remember some of the best plays you did. I do, but only after I remember the times I was utterly content.

I remember sitting in front of a smoothie shop in Santa Barbara, enjoying a smoothie while listening to Hotel California after a good days worth of ultimate. I remember beating Red Hand on universe point and rushing the field with both my teammates and my opponents to join in one giant group hug. I remember laying on the sand countless times, getting sand all over my face and just loving every second of it.

These are the things that keep me playing ultimate. When the intensity is running a bit too high and the severity of the competition is threatening the actual fun of the game, I remember times like those that I just listed and remember why I love this game.

The come down period is almost over, the high will return soon enough. The everburning flame of desire I have for ultimate will burn strongly once again, as your desire burns for ultimate as our desire burns for more.

The Mark: How to Break One and How to Hold One

2009-03-05T23:16:00.000-08:00

My mark has changed drastically over time. Right now, the type of mark I have is an adaptive mark. That is to say, I adapt to the type of thrower. In order for me to have an effective mark, I need to find out everything I can about my thrower as quickly as possible. Over the years of carefully studying different types of break throwing styles, I have found that there are a couple different styles the most people use to break the mark. I have listed each one below with a short description of how that method works and what I try to do to keep my mark vs that type of break.

The Big Step Out
This is the most common type of break throw that I have come across in college ultimate. It is usually used by taller players, but some players of a shorter stature can use this effectively provided they have hips like a velociraptor. The big advantage to this type of break throw is that the mark will have to move farther than normal in order to cover the break throw. Instead of moving one step over like the mark might normally have to, he will have to make a step in a half over or maybe even two steps over. This is usually pretty effective for the first couple throws against an unfamiliar mark. But after a couple throws, an experienced mark should be able to start being able to compensate for the extra distance he must cover.

The disadvantage to this type of break throw is how slow it is. It takes time to pivot all the way out there and it takes even longer to pivot to the other side. If you need to break the mark in a short amount of time, this isn't always the best option. If you're first throw is cut off, you may not have time for the second pivot.

Quick Release
I find this type of break mark is most common amongst shorter handlers, but I will see the occasional taller thrower also use this method. This type of break throw is really good for catching the marker unawares. I find that usually the throwers that utilize this break throw, will only have a quick release throw for one type of throw. So only his flick or only his backhand will be a quick release. This type of break throw is great against zone because it can catch the entire cup off guard. These types of throwers can throw through the center of the cup more easily than most.

The disadvantage to this type of break throw is, like I said earlier, that usually the thrower will only be able to effectively break the mark with one type of throw. Meaning that a good mark can shade slightly towards that side to compensate for the quick release.

Effective Fakes
There are plenty of college guys who rarely will throw an effective fake. These guys will have their arm go through the motion, but because the rest of their body is not selling the fake, it's easy to see that it's just a pump fake. Throwers who effectively fake though, are able to get the mark to shift his weight onto one foot and then break him going the other way. The advantages of breaking the mark using effective fakes, are that the throw is usually pretty quick and it can take quite a while for the mark to figure out which throws are pump fakes and which throws are real.

Like the big step out, this type of break mark can be slow. There are some who can throw effective pump fakes in at a very quick rate and still get the throw off, but nevertheless throwing a fake will shorten that time you have for an open throw. Lastly, I find that even the most effective fakes, will have signs pointing them out to be pump fakes. Sometimes the release point is a little bit lower, sometimes it's just the look in the thrower's eyes or perhaps he always throws a fake right before he throws. Once the mark can figure out these tendencies it can become very difficult for the thrower to break the mark.

Throwing Through the Mark
This is, in my opinion, the most difficult type of break throw to mark up against. There are a couple really good throwers out there (Gabe Saunkeah and Mark Sherwood to name a couple) who use this type of break mark very effectively. What these throwers do, is they throw a backhand (I find that it's always a backhand) and try to induce a foul when they throw. Thus they will always be able to call a foul when they throw. This is a huge advantage. This means that these throwers can often get free throws at will. If it's incomplete, the thrower gets another attempt. If the marker backs up, it just weakens his mark and gives bigger lanes for the thrower.

The only disadvantage to this type of break mark that I have encountered, is that it can create a strained relationship between the thrower and marker. Tempers flare when this guy keeps on calling fouls on you, fouls that you feel he's inducing.

Obviously, it would be best if you were able to break the mark in more than one way. If you could break the mark by stepping out or with a quick release then the mark would have that much more to worry about. After all, how is a mark going to adapt to an ever changing thrower?

Stanford Invite: What We Must Do to Win

2009-02-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

I must admit, it bother me a little to use that title. It's the sort of title that will appear on countless other blogs. Ah well, at least it's descriptive.

LPC's schedule is as follows:

Sat Rd 1 (8:30) - UC-Davis

Rd 2 (10:25) - Cal Poly SLP

Rd 3 (12:20) - Carleton

Rd 4 (2:15) - BYE

Rd 5 (4:10) - San Diego State

Sun Rd 1 (8:00) - British Columbia

Rd 2 (9:55) - BYE

Rd 3 (11:50) - UCLA

Before looking at any of the individual teams, I think it is important to note that we can't consider any game an "easy win." Every game will require us to put out considerable effort. I see our schedule as a sort of wave where our competitors' skill levels rise and fall with each game like the waves of the ocean. With that in mind, we can't let our game play emulate those waves. Start strong, finish stronger. That's the way to approach the weekend.

Game 1 - UC Davis
We are undefeated against Davis this year. But, they have given us a real close game every time we play them. I love the fact that we are playing Davis first at Stanford. Each time we have played Davis this year, we have been pumped to play them. Our top tier guys, our middle tier guys and our bottom tier guys all put out maximum effort. It is awesome to see. I think the same could be said about Davis (except for one game). They are pumped to beat us. They really want to beat us. They will fight for every inch. We need to come out strong for this tournament. And I think Davis is perfect for that. I am looking forward to that fight. I wish I could guard Robert every point. I guess I'll settle for Taylor or Ashlin.

Game 2 - Cal Poly SLP
This is a very crucial game. Typical LPC style would have LPC coming off strong against Davis (with either a win or a loss) and then have us losing all our momentum against a weaker team. If we lose our momentum at the beginning of the game, it is very important for us to regain it in time for Carleton. The 2nd half of this game may well determine how we do against Carleton. Keeping this team fired up for this game, especially during the 2nd half will be huge for us against Carleton. Keep that energy high. We need to be excited and ready to layout D that Carleton player come the first point.

Game 3 - Carleton
They are #1 in the UPA rankings right now. In the last 5 years, we have a 1-0 record against them. They will want to pay us back for that. Plus they received a little shit-talking from a couple of our players at Vegas (myself included). They are the second toughest opponent of the weekend. We can't let our guard down

BYE
Once again, no matter what happens with the previous games, we need to use this time to prepare for the next game. We should be ready both mentally and physically. We can't come off a great game and suddenly become lazy.

Game 4 - SD State
They are not as good as they were last year, but they can still make us work hard. That being said, few things would be worse than beating Carleton and losing to SD State.

I'll have to get to Sunday at another time.

This One is for the Ladies

2009-02-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

High school ultimate. That was a joyous time. During that time, my team would travel to many tournaments with no more than 12-14 bodies. We would often have a good number of guys, but our ladies would always struggle in numbers. Since high school ultimate is coed, finding and keeping ladies for out team became a crucial task.

I found out during this time, just how important our ladies were to our team. There was much more to it than just having numbers. A good lady could, in many ways be more useful to our team than another good guy. I still to this day, when playing coed ultimate, value talented ladies over talented men by a wide margin (though not to the extent where Bob can give me a team with 9 male scrubs and 3 good ladies and expect me to compete on the same level).

Our college does not have a women's ultimate team (at the moment). But we still have some talented female ultimate players who take part in our practices and join us at our tournaments. While they may not be doing the same thing as the high school ladies, who I found to be so important, our ladies carry an importance of their own that I have truly grown to respect.

I'm not talking about the fact that they take stats for our team, or take pictures or film the games. All these things are great, yes, but I find that they help out our team in another aspect that helps us out so much more.

Our team's biggest weakness, is our number of players. Each year we have several players on the cusp of staying with the team and each year they kill us. We go to 3 day tournaments with 16 players on the roster and only 12 of them are able to play by the last game. All the while, the few subs that we get to enjoy leave us gasping for water and trying to ready ourselves for the next point. It's a struggle for us to take on the role of the good sideline player when we are so exhausted.

Our ladies, ever resilient, are always there. Always offering the encouraging remark. Always reminding us, that we have people there for us, backing us up. I am regularly impressed with Sara and Alma's sideline voices. Their encouragement always makes me want to push myself. To spring down on that pull. Faster. Faster still.

Then comes the point where I finally take a sub and my male teammates who are on the sideline are talking to the mark, or instructing teammates in the zone. The ladies are still shouting encouragement. I struggle to find somebody's water to drink and I hear one of our other ladies telling me that I'm playing well. She tells me to get her a D. It brings a smile to my face. I'm playing like crap. I could be playing better. But the compliment helps. I want to play better. And I don't have time to feel down about my level of playing. Thanks for the compliment. It's time for me to get excited.

The game will end. Saturday will end and we will gather together as a team and think about what we did well and what we need to improve on tomorrow. I'm tired, hungry, thirsty and stressed out. I know I could've played better. We all could have.

I don't want to talk much on the car ride but the ladies have already started bumping the music. Ami and Natasha are choosing the next song. Sara's in the back busting out another dance move. I must admit, it is hard to stay stressed out when you have a car full of beautiful women dancing to club music. My stress wears off, I lose myself in the music and forget about all the throwaways I had, all the drops I had, all the layout D's I failed to lay out for.

The night is great, I have a ball. I go to sleep with more than a little liquor in me, but I go to sleep with a smile on my face. My body may not be in prime condition for tomorrow. But at this moment, I am ready. I am ready to dream about ultimate.

Come tomorrow, I am going to struggle waking up. I might have a hangover. I'll be dehydrated. But the ladies will come to the field with their lattes in hand and be ready to continue cheering us on. They're not giving up on me, there's no way I'm going to give up on them.

Thank you ladies.

Quality over Quantity

2009-01-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

I've always liked the idea of quality over quantity. I feel that a small group of very talented players should nearly always beat a larger group of semi-talented players.

This seems to be the reality that LPC tries to achieve. The past couple years, this team has had a real strong core of players and a relatively inexperienced secondary string. We tend to enter each tournament with a tiny roster and then go up against teams like Stanford and Cal who both have rosters with 25+ guys who know how to throw and cut. How do you beat that? How do you beat that when you only have 12 guys?

One word:

Effort.

Bob says it very nicely. We are in a race. We race against teams like Cal and Stanford. We race against all the other teams in the nation. Regionals is not that far away. How quickly are they going to improve? The only way we can beat them, is to beat them in that race.

We don't have 25 guys to work with. We can't cut anyone from out team. We've got to work with what we've got to the best of our ability. The fruits of our labors show though. Teammates who would've never gotten a chance on other A teams now dominate on our team. I'm proud to have them as teammates.

Stanford, Cal and Santa Cruz might have us beat on the quantity, looks like we'll have to beat them with quality. Our top guys have to be better than their top guys. And have to last longer. Our middle tier guys have to be better than their middle tier guys. And have to run for days. Our bottom tier guys have to get better. If they don't everyone else has to get better to compensate.

As fun as it is to play 90% of all the points played for your team in a tournament, it sucks to never be full of energy past the first two games. It sucks to hear the coach of Cal tell my defender that he's guarding a guy with nothing left in his tank. That just makes me want to run him into the ground. Then I score and I wonder again if I'll have anything for the next point. Barely enough energy to trash talk the coach too.

We're going into Vegas in a couple weeks with maybe as many as 16 guys. That's assuming the two teammates on crutches right now will be fully healed in two weeks. Three days of hard ultimate with fourteen to sixteen guys? Looks like we might have to save a couple roster spots for some of our ladies.

Dispelling the Illusion

2009-01-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

I had somewhat of an epiphany the other day while driving home. I was talking with Davin about my life and future and ended up talking about the future of some of my teammates. It suddenly hit me during out conversation. It hit me and it hurt. Exactly, how many of my teammates will graduate college? With more than an associates degree? Ouch.

It might be due to the fact that so many of my teammates work. I am curious how many people on Cal's A team have part time jobs. How many of those people (with part time jobs) work more than 10 hours a week. Just off the top of my head the following people on LPC have part time jobs: Ernst, Zip, Charlie, Josh, Bob, Travis, Sticks, Geoff, Harry and Tim. That's more than 50% of our total roster. Ouch.

It might be because of ultimate (the thought makes me cringe). I sacrifice a lot for ultimate as do many of my teammates. It would not surprise me if all of our grades suffer due to ultimate. I probably won't be in tip-top studying shape after santa barbara this weekend. I imagine returning to the bay area sick, hungover and exhausted. Prime studying conditions indeed.

I'm not saying that all LPC players are doomed to never attain a bachelor's degree or higher (that is, in something more useful that a degree in World Religion). But I find it interesting and somewhat depressing that so many LPC players are struggling to do in their 5th year, what many other college students did in their 2nd.

I am in my 5th year of eligibility. And I am still at a community college. I am not the only one. I often wonder, what career will I hold? What career will half my teammates hold? I have heard that Alex Nord works at a Costco so that he might be able to more fully play ultimate. An interesting concept. Sacrificing more pay, more financial stability in order to play a game you love. But his story is different (assuming it's true), he chooses to sacrifice the higher paying job for a job that allows him to compete. I wonder how many of my teammates will have that luxury. Will I?

The New Year Approacheth

2008-12-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

The New Year is still a couple of days away, but I have been thinking over my New Year's Resolutions for the upcoming year with plenty of determination. I improve my game each season and at the end of each season I see so many areas in which my game can improve more. Will I ever be completely satisfied with my playing ability? I hope not. I hope I always have this drive to improve myself and a player, as a college student, as a person.

Ultimate Goals for the Year

- Improve my deep throws

- Increase my acceleration

- Increase my vertical leap

- Alter my bids to cover more horizontal distance (get rid of the "rainbow layout")

Non Ultimate Goals

- Study with fervor

- Get to sleep at an earlier hour (and wake up earlier)

What Drives You?

2008-12-14T20:38:00.000-08:00

I have been playing ultimate since my sophomore year of high school. In the beginning, that is the first two years, I showed up to practice every once in a while. I threw with my friends and played in the occasional scrimmage. I was decent for my age. I did not have any drive or desire to improve. I played to have fun and to socialize.

My first tournament came the end of my junior year. It was in Grass Valley, California. A little tournament called Grassburn which consisted of some high school teams and a few club teams consisting of high spirited, but not very talented adults. A very fun and high spirited tournament, it was truly a great tournament for my first experience. It was at this point, I suddenly had the desire to become a better ultimate player. I wanted to be better because we enjoyed winning and I loved our rivalry with the neighboring high school teams of Castro Valley's Red Hand and Alameda's Dark Meat.

My high school ultimate career ended on a pretty high note. We were the dominant team from our rivalry(s) and a good number of my close friends were looking into the ultimate programs of colleges they planned to attend. It wasn't until my second year of playing at LPC that I took my next step.

I certainly improved from when I first started playing to that second year at LPC, but my rate of improvement was low. My throws were still weak, my knowledge of offense and defense was below average and even my speed and fitness level, which have always been pretty high, were only average. That second year of LPC I experienced a minor epiphany. I had always been around better players than myself, but this was the first time I realized I could become a significantly better player. I suddenly felt a burning hunger inside of me. I wanted to become better. I had to become better. The next time I stepped onto an ultimate field, I would want to be the best player on that field.

Since that year, I have worked hard. I show up to nearly every practice. Play hard during every practice. Throw inside and outside of practice. Workout inside and outside of practice. I play ultimate. I then go home and dream of ultimate. And every morning I wake up and know that in the not too distant future, I will be a dominant ultimate player. I will make this a reality.

In the beginning I played to have fun, I played to socialize. Now I play for more. I play for my teammates, for my friends, for myself and for ultimate. This game has given me plenty of happieness. In return I give it the best respect I can in the only real form I can think of, working my ass off to become a better ultimate player.

What drives me? The love for the game and for all it has given me. That's more than enough for any one man.

Trial and Error

2008-12-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

I am not without my faults. I make plenty of errors, both mental and physical, in ultimate as well as in life in general. I will have to hold off and see if starting this blog will be one of those mental errors that I am so prone to make.

Every time I step out onto a field, I must be prepared to make mistakes. No matter how good of a player one is, that player will make mistakes. A good player makes less mistakes than most, but more importantly will not let those mistakes hinder him. In football, they say that a good quarterback has a short memory. You do not want to be thinking of the interception you threw for the entire game. You do not want that bad play, that mistake, distracting you from playing your top game.

The same could be said about ultimate. I see lots of players in college ultimate who will make a mistake and then stand there for a second with their heads down while their defender is now running down the field calling for someone to throw the disc. During a point is not the time to feel sorry for your mistakes. Forget about the mistake, play defense and when you do get the disc back, play your game. Just like that quarterback, you do not need anything distracting you from playing your top game.

Like I said at the beginning, I am not without my faults. Neither are you. Both of us will make mistakes. When I make my next mistake on the field though, I will not be spending any time with my head down during the point. I will not be berating myself for it. I will be playing my game, focusing on getting the D and then focusing on scoring the goal. What will you do when that next mistake hits you?