Cleats

I need a new pair. The ones I have now made it through the entire club season and could probably make it a few more months into the Club Season. They will make good back up cleats.

I currently have New Balance cleats and like them alot. The biggest reason is because of the wider toe box and the durability of the cleats. The only downside to these cleats are that they are a little bulky/heavy.

In college I had the Nike Speed TDs. Absolutely loved these except for the toebox being a little narrow. I ordered them online and wore them anyways. I felt really fast in them and liked the durability as well. I think the weight difference is negligible between the two cleats, but I did prefer the feel of the Speed TDs.

Speed TDs seem to be on the way out, so finding a pair might be tough. It looks like NB has a newer model of my current cleat, so that is worth looking into. We'll see what I can find for relatively cheap.

Ready to Run

Looking forward to this season for two reasons:

Reason 1
Semifinals loss to Ironside. We played hard, really hard, but our Defense could not catch any breaks or capitalize on the few break chances that we had. I'm not sure if we would have beaten Jam in the finals, but making it that far would have sparked the best ultimate that Chain played the entire season. I was lucky to be able to play at natties in my first year. I can't speak for the entire team, but for me personally, the loss in the semis has made me extremely hungry to improve as an ultimate player and as a teammate. This season is going to be good.

Reason 2
It's a long off season. There are the occasional tournaments, Mudbowl, Mardi Gras, 7 Little Idiots and others where the main purpose of attendance is to have a good time, drink heavily, and play with people you don't get to play with on a regular basis. There is nothing like the club season, getting to play with and against the best players in the nation. Its a time where I get to do what I love at the highest level week in and week out. Practice is good, tournaments are awesome, and working hard every weekend for 5 months is fun. Yes, it's hell on your body and it's mentally exhausting, but that's what I sign up for. Granted, would I feel differently if I was on a team that didn't make it to semis at Nationals?

There are other reasons, I'm sure. What are yours?

Tryouts

Tryouts are 5 weeks away. I plan on getting out and doing some track workouts in the next month to be ready.

Is my spot on the team secure? I would venture to say no, it isn't. At the very least that should be the mindset, right? Just because I am a returner, shouldn't guarantee my spot on the team. I am a second year player and I certainly haven't earned the luxury of a secure spot that a lot of the Chain veterans have. So, I will be coming out to tryouts fired up and ready to prove that last year was no fluke.

Getting to start on defense against Ironside in the semifinals of Natties was amazing and I worked hard for it, but there are way too many good players on this team to think that what I did last year earns me a spot this year. I now have a season's experience; how I use that experience will shape my 2009 season (and I have some high personal expectations).