Southern California Sectionals Wrap Up

"Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."

-Vince Lombardi


The UPA Series finally rolled around with Sectionals in sunny Long Beach, CA. The all too familiar campus hosting the Open and Mixed divisions which looked to provide great matchups and tough battles. We had been here before being ranked #1 going into Sectionals back in 2008 but we all know how that turned out. A close loss to rivals Brown Chicken Brown Cow in the finals left us wondering of what could have been, but in the end it didn't matter. This Metro team was different from last year. Most of the roster was intact from '08 yet the overall attitude and swagger of the team had changed. It was our time to show everyone what we were made of.

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Saturday
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LA METRO vs. Lunch Money BYE BYE Cancun BCBC OCD

We set out to finish this game quickly and that was exactly what we did. We ran through our defensive and offensive looks against the 7th seed in the tournament and made quick work of this game winning 13-0. It was not a time for screwing around, it was not a time to let off the pressure. We knew that our mental stasis was just as important as the physical part and our captains emphasized poise and pushing through to the finish of the game. Good start to the tournament

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LA METRO vs. BYE BYE Cancun BCBC OCD

As the #1 seed in the tournament, it is usually customary to be awarded a more favorable schedule such as a first and/or a last round bye. However; such was not so and although we did not vocally express our frustrations with the TD's or coordinators, giving a top seed a quick first round game followed by a nearly 4-hour lay-off was very unprofessional and unexpected. No one was definitively angry, but a lot of frustrations swirled on our sideline as other teams reaped the benefits of "perfect" schedules with "perfect" fields. We took it in stride, using the lay-offs to work on focusing in, and playing high level disc post byes. So in a sense... it was a blessing in disguse.

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LA METRO vs. Cancun BCBC OCD

These guys were good. Mostly consisting of college students from UCSD, they established a great deep game and were able to score very efficiently by hucking to their tall guys as well as their women. They had experienced players from the recent Air Squids National team from '09 and definitely played very well throughout the first half. We were able to put it away after taking half 8-5 and cruised onto a 13-7 win. The ability for our team to adjust and realize our female matchups were much more favorable gave us the versatility we didn't have quite enough of last year. Good win for us after a long layover.

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LA Metro vs. BCBC OCD

The A1 A2 matchup proved to be all it was hyped up to be. We came out strong with a first-point break and jumped out to a 3-1 lead but they settled down to tie it at 3's. After trading for 4's we go on a bit of a run to take half 7-4. Points were long, gritty, and tiresome with many great defensive stops and/or contested throws. Soft cap came on shortly after the second half began with the game going to 10. We are sitting happy at 8-4 thinking that we had the luxury of 1 for their 2 scores. Our problems began right after half and they rattled off 4 straight points (3 breaks) to tie it at 8's. Hard Cap blows, universe point, on offense. We don't lose faith, we don't get worried, and before we know it, the disc is in the endzone and they never had a shot at winning it on universe. Our O was chilly and led us calm and cooly to a 9-8 universe point win.

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LA Metro vs. OCD

Last game of the day against an energetic, scrappy team that had nothing to lose against us. They played well in the beginning, pushing us around a bit, getting good D's and solid movement with the disc however we never looked back after taking half at 7-3. A combination of zones and hard man pushed the score up and we ended the day 4-0 with a 13-3 win. Emphasis for this game was focus, and we showed that despite fatigue and exhaustion, we could maintain that high level of play.


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SUNDAY
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LA METRO vs. Merge In N' Out Finals

Horrible start to the game. First throw off the pull was turfed and Merge jumped out with an early break. We recovered well and found our stride and took the lead 4-1 on the backs of our defensive lines. We generally played well, and better than we had before against this very well-rounded team. It was difficult to maintain focus and intensity against Merge because they are practically our sister team. Almost everyone knows each other on the two teams and although the captains demanded our seriousness and intensity, it was both fun seeing our friends from LA and playing a fun game together. We cruise to a 13-6 win.


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LA METRO vs. In N' Out Finals

These guys were fun. They had a lot of my friends whom I play pickup back in Irvine with, and also had a bunch of young runners who could move the disc. This game was the biggest mental breakdown for our team as they went up 6-4 and then took half on us 7-6. The halftime demeanor was just stunned silence. It was as if we just expected to waltz into this round and beat them up and move on, but In N' Out played great, inspired ultimate as they moved the disc very easily through our lines. Refocus... deep breaths... here we go. We come out strong in the second half and score 6 in a row to 12-8, and win 13-9. We were definitely not in "championship mode" and In N' Out deserves all the credit in the way they played. Great job guys.

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FINALS
LA Metro vs. Brown Chicken Brown Cow

After the In N' Out game, we had some time to refocus, refuel, and rest. It was already assumed before the tournament that to win the Section, a team would have to beat us twice. So after all round-robin games had been played out, it came down to (no surprises), a rematch between BCBC and LA Metro. The previous year, the finals of Sectionals had been the first meeting between the two teams but the finals this year would be the 5th. Both teams were very familiar with each other and knew what we were both capable of. The last game had come down to Universe point, and we both knew that the winner would be the team that showed the most passion and desire for the title.

We start out on defense with our top D line, and their best O-line. The point literally lasts 10 minutes as both teams have chances to score but the defense would find a way to put up a stop. Their O-line finally scores but it was hard fought. D looks good. Offense goes on and boy do we look rusty. First O-point results in a bad throw-away. BCBC converts. Second O-point results in a bad drop. BCBC Converts. Sitting in a 0-3 hole, things don't look good. We refocus our lines and before we know it our O-line finds an easy score and our D-line converts on the next two to bring it to 3's. We then trade to 5's with both offenses looking fluid against formidable D-lines. At 5's, Jeff Chai comes up with a HUGE play, a full tilt lay out grab of a disc that was inches from the turf. Sick grab. Next point the disc slides out the back and they start on their end line. Keegan on the mark, I'm on the dump D. Keegan gets a deflection on a point block and it deflects quickly by me. Out of complete reflex and reaction, i stick my left arm out to try to tap the disc down but without even seeing the disc... I somehow find myself standing in the end-zone with the frisbee in my left hand... with a complete look of disbelief... staring at keegan who had the same expression. Everyone on the team had the same expression... and then it hit us.

Callahan or as my friend Tom Hall puts it... "callahandblock." 7-5 Metro takes the lead.

My teammates mobbed me... Keegan was still standing there with his hands on his head... eyes wide open, jaw dropped in disbelief. I felt the same way. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Keegan deflected a backhand throw about 5 feet away from me and it deflected towards me and i somehow had the reflexes to snag it as it zinged past me. Wow... one of the best plays I have ever made.

We were on D again... same Line. And this time Keegan comes up with the HUGE layout D and as the opposition is on its heels, Barrs goes for the juggular and Keegan puts him perfectly in the back of the end-zone for HALF at 8-5. Sick Nasty turn of events.

But BCBC wasn't done. They are a great team with veteran players and great leadership and they found a way to claw back into the game with two straight breaks after our Offense scores the first point to bring it to 9-5. Our offense comes out flat and we found ourselves holding onto a lead with the time simply not going by fast enough. At 10-8, softcap blows and it is game to 12. BCBC scores the next two and again it is Universe Point with Hard Cap blowing. We started on offense, with our top guns out there. But BCBC's defense calls our raise and my buddy Bacon makes a ridiculous lay out D that amazes both teams and all spectators. But we get it back. On a jumbled offensive play, we then turn it again on an errant throw, only to be bailed out by a mis-thrown Huck from BCBC. We call time-out and set up the offense. After some FRANTIC end zone offense. Linsey Cross has the disc with no open dumps. Stall 8, stall 9... puts it up floaty in the back of the end zone. Who's there? JEFF CHAI. He skies for the disc... falls to the ground... and we've escaped.

We can finally breath again as we rush the field for a final cheer and the Sectionals Crown. It was a hard fought game that showed what both teams were made of. We had given up a 9-5 lead, but we had escaped with yet another Universe point Win.


LA Metro wins the 2009 Southern California Mixed Division Sectionals
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In the post-game huddle, we talked a lot about heart, about poise, swagger, and about focus. We stressed "championship-level play," consistent focus, and playing our game. True we had gone undefeated, but we had so much more to work on. Regionals is in two weeks and we learned so much about our team, what we're capable of, and what else we need to work on. I want to thank everyone who was out there watching us, supporting us, heckling us. It's been a long season and now is the time to step up and play championship level ultimate.

Full week of punishing my body with workouts and sprints, practice over the weekend, and then a full week of rest before what will probably be the biggest tournament of my ultimate career.


Till then,

Hammie
#10 LA Metro