Stretch!

This past weekend was the annual 12 Days of Christmas Hat Tournament in Atlanta and I think i am pretty close to the sorest I have been after a tournament. Saturday was cold and sunny, but Sunday was even colder than Saturday and it was windy and overcast. I knew I wasn't going to warm up properly for Sunday getting out to the fields 15 minutes before the round started, but had I gotten out there earlier I probably still wouldn't have warmed up properly.

In my case this weekend, the cold weather was a double-edge sword. Standing around in 5 layers with 2 people huddled in a blanket was much more inviting than going through a proper warm up knowing full well I needed to get loose. When its cold out its even that more critical to warm up and get loose simply to avoid injury and soreness after the tournament. Clearly I am paying for making a rash decision.

Even so, this was a great tournament and a lot of fun.

In the off season I plan to get into a stretching routine to improve flexibility. I think my lateral movements on the field will be quicker, my overall speed will increase, jumping will be more fluid, and my body will be able to handle the beating it takes during the Club season better.

Desire in the Off-Season

It's been a little bit less than a month and a half since Nationals, but my mind can't help but progress to next season. Probably 6 months away from the start of practice and I am thinking about what i need to do come January 1. Fortunately, i have a consistent job, so I will be able to plan my evenings and get into a routine. Weightlifting and throwing will be the majority of my offseason ultimate activities. Mudbowl, Mardi Gras, Terminus, and Memorial Day Hat Tournaments will be scattered into the Spring as well. It can't all be work in the off season, right?

The feelings i have are different from the days of college when i couldn't get enough Ultimate. I wanted to win, but more importantly, I wanted to play as much as possible. Back then there were better teams (ill contribute that to better programs than GCSU) and getting to play against them was a learning experience. After this season with Chain, I have different thoughts and reflections on the past season and Ultimate altogether that, hopefully, will drive me next season. Maybe they are thoughts of a more mature player, who knows??? Ill reflect later...

Background

I started playing competitive Ultimate in Milledgeville, GA (where the hell is that?) home of Georgia College and State University. There wasn't a program when i started school in the Fall of 2002, so the only exposure i got was during Intramurals and pickup for the first 3 years of school. GCSU started an Ultimate team in 2004 but couldn't get enough interest in order to field a team for the college series until the Spring of 2006 and 2007. During both years we qualified for AC Regionals and finished in the bottom half of the tournament, but for a 1st and 2nd year program we were happy to be playing at Regionals in, arguably, the deepest region (at the time) in the country.

During college, GCSU would field a team for the open club season, SmokeShack. It was made up of mostly GCSU guys and some others from around the Atlanta area. We were competitive enough, but we used the club season mainly to keep playing tournaments. I am sure most can relate to their early career being a time of never getting enough ultimate.

After graduation in 2007 I played club with a Coed team out of the southeast, Southside United. I would say this was my 'introduction' into the Club Ultimate scene. This past season I played with Atlanta's Chain Lightning. It was good timing as I believe this was one of Chain's strongest teams to date, falling just short of the finals at Nationals.

Commencement

I wanted to start this blog mainly to take notes on the next year or so in my Ultimate Frisbee career. I don't plan on being masterfully insightful, i guess how insightful my entries are depends on who is reading them. I want to collect my ideas and thoughts as i go through this offseason and the '09 Club season, so that i can learn from them and adjust for years down the road.

Take from it what you want and feel free to let me know what you think.

A little background to come...