Cal States 2009 Wrap-Up

Ahh Cal-states. The forecast had called for 30% for rain/isolated thunderstorms but when we arrived at the fields at 7:00am on Saturday, we all knew that we were in for a partly-cloudy, 65 degree day. Perfect weather for Ultimate.

For LA Metro, this tournament was the first "official" tournament where we would finish up our rounds of tryouts and also gauge where our team stood against the best from Southern Cal and NorCal. As stated in the preview, we were seeded 4th out of a field of 12, with games against Brown Chicken Brown Cow, TWSS, two byes, then wrapping up the day against GNT and CTR. 

Keegan's keys to the tournament:

-Start strong, offense needs to score the first 3

-Minimize turns to x<10

-Boring red-zone offense

-Disc movement near the end-zone 

-AMP it up on D

----SATURDAY----

  Last year we had to wait until the finals of the So-Cal Sectional to play our rivals Brown Chicken Brown Cow. This year, the TD's wasted no time and scheduled us with a first round, 8:00am game against our rivals from the city of angels. The game started out in our favor, with BCBC making several early mistakes and calling a time out with us up about 4-1 or so. It was a good time-out as they went on a run of their own, tying the game at 4's. From there it was very close with our team gutting out the victory 10-8 on hard cap. Our offense was pretty sloppy all game, and our defense was sluggish, but it was a feel-good win and we knew that if we wanted to play well this tournament, we would have to step up our energy. We suffered a big loss this game when our captain, Keegan, went down with an injury catching the game-winning goal. We knew that with him out, we would have to play even better and that huge hucks would be more evenly matched. LA Metro wins 10-8 hard cap.

       We then played TWSS n a relatively close game that featured breaks back and forth as well as some sloppy zone play. At this point, most of us had our legs under us so we were running well, but we were not taking care of the disc. We were definitely winning the battle of the sexes as our women were dominating and showed great poise in zone as well as in cutting for the disc. It was a quick round, LA Metro wins 12-9. 

(insert two round bye here + lunch, Strike-Slip vs. Street Gang, quick nap)

Next up in round 5 was GNT. We had been soundly beaten by this team last year in Chico 13-6 and 

we were looking for redemption. GNT ran a quick offense with their movement based solely on handler movement with the disc. This movement definitely gave our defensive line trouble as both men and women alike were constantly being beat up the line and/or letting of easy resets off the dump. It was frustrating trying to stop this, but we knew that although they were effective in the beginning, their handlers would eventually tire out and their strategy would not be as effective; which proved to be true. We began to wear down their offense, forcing up difficult throws, or long hucks at high stall counts. It was still a closely contested game but the defense did its job and got several key breaks. LA Metro was sitting pretty at 3-0 on the day with a 12-9 win over GNT. 

Last round of the day was the battle of the unbeatens. CTR vs. LA Metro. CTR had cruised through their rounds and was looking good. CTR ran a very effective verti cal stack, using their women very well and also had the deep hucks to stretch out the defense. Their defensive zone also stiffled our offense as we would work it up 3/4 of the field very easily and then get stuffed or be forced into a bad decision whereupon CTR would jack a huge 70+yard huck for the score. It was a frustrating game for us as we could not figure out a way to break through. We did get our scores in however the game was not as close as the final score dictated. The offense frequently stalled and there was very little flow through our horizontal stack and even so in our vert. Barrs did make a spectacular lay out callahan snag to keep it close but CTR proved to be too fundamentally sound for us this time. CTR wins the pool with a 12-9 win over LA Metro. 

Turns killed us the first day. We turned it atleast 20+ times in the first 4 games that we played. Although it was an early tournement, even that stat was unacceptable. We were lucky to be sitting at 3-1 going into Sunday. We knew that if we wanted a shot at playing against Mischief or at CTR again, we would need to clean up our offense. It was really frustrating watching our offensive lines struggle, just sitting there with Scott, Barrs, and d-liners... just anxious to get in and earn that break. Our defense was the highlight of the day, with great all around play from our ladies and our men after generating turns. We had a lot to work on and think about but we knew that we could turn it around. 

LA Metro goes 3-1 on Saturday. Currently 2nd in the pool. 

 ---- SUNDAY ---- 

First round bye, so our game started round 2 against S.F. Rush. You think we would clean up the offense for this game, but it was not the case. Rush ran a pretty good zone defense that we managed to break through several times. But we frequently turned it about 5-10 yards from the end zone while the zone was still in effect. This game became a battle of the defenses. Both team's defenses were completely owning the opposition's offense. At one stretch, defenses scored 3 straight for each side. It was kindof of hilarious... but also sad knowing that our offensive lines, which are designed with scoring in mind were finding themselves playing defense most of the time while the defense did the bulk of the scoring. It came down to 8's, game to 10 but at 9's, hard-cap blew and universe point. Both teams had multiple posessions on universe before our ladies finally worked it through the zone for the goal. 10-9 Metro. Yay us! It was a good game for the defense, but continued to demostrate the flaws in our offensive execution. With the win, we advanced into semi's against Mischief.

At games end, Mischief had scored two callahan goals on us. That's the type of game it was. It was very high intensity, very well played game despite the score being 7-15 in favor of arguably the top co-ed team in the n

ation. We didn't have answers for their guys who were schooling us but our ladies held more than their own and were very effective. We went 3-4 at several points and it worked. We did have the help of Matt Welsh, who picked up with us for the last two rounds. He proved to be not only an asset on the field, but also aided in calming the team down and making plays when needed. With the loss, we headed to the 3rd place game against Classy, who got shalacked by CTR in the other semi-final.

Our captains had been awesome all week in terms of leadership, pep-talk, and implementing strategies that proved to be successful, an

d if unsuccessful, adjusting according. We had a lot of great frisbee minds with plenty of "strategery" up their sleeves. For this game, we decided to practice a zone we had been talking about. 3-2-2 zone with just handler sags and poachy defense from the mids. The point was to get the handlers to swing to their hearts delight, and to channel throws through the gut of the defense (to the mids), rather than allow the throws up the sideline. Our women proved to be awesome on their handler marks, with some of our women even fouling male handlers (lolz). We went on a big run again, with our defense proving to be solid and at this point, more impactful than the offensive lines. We played very well, great movement, and although we failed in our bid to get our turn count under ten, we ended up with a tournament-low 

12 turns.

LA Metro wraps up the tournament with a 3rd place finish and a 15-7 bounceback win over Classy.

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What now?

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After this tournament, Metro will be making a first series of cuts to gradually trim our roster down to it's final size. Every single person who was trying out with us played well and I know that the captains will have a very difficult time deciding who makes the roster and who doesn't. We have a lot to fix, but with a 3rd place finish at cal-states after only one practice, things are looking good. We finished 2nd last year, but the field had definitely gotten better and the level higher.

Being the top Southern California team there was a good thought, but I know every single one of us want to be one of the top in the Region if not the Nation. We have natties on our mind and what's gonna take us there is adjusting to our bad tendencies, working hard, and playing as one team with a common goal. I always tell younger players. Don't think you should be the superstar. If the team plays boring ultimate with sound fundamentals and low risk throws. You will win. Every single time. On the defensive side of the disc , if you don't like contact, then you will not win. You have to sacrifice your body for the disc. Leave your feet and get in the offense's grill. Most offensive players don't like being harassed. They're the clean-shirted "wine and dine" crowd. Defense should be there to crash the party, make them feel awkward, take that disc away and then show them how it's done. That's what our LA Metro defense strives to be.

Next up is a series of practices, and then P-Town throwdown (if it happens), and then Discos up in Chico. But yes, till then, rest up, keep on striving for more.

-hammie #10

(all photos courtesy of Simon Margolis)

moments after my lay-out callahan against Cla$$y

barrs skying for the disc

Matt Welsh goes up against Haegen(sp?) for the disc

Cal States 2009 Preview

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CTR(1)

LA Metro(4)

Brown Chicken Brown Cow(5)

S.F. Rush(8)

That's What She Said(9)

GNT(12)

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I'll say it right out, Cal-States is probably my favorite Ultimate tournament that I have played to date. Not only are the fields gorgeous, but it also pits the best club teams on the West Coast against each other in a pre-season mentality where each team is still trying out players. I've looked forward to it all year, and here on the eve of it, I am getting quite anxious at lab. 

We're seeded 4th in the mixed division behind CTR, Mischief, and Night train; despite placing 2nd in this tournament last year (losing to Mischief 13-11), beating Night Train twice and placing 3rd in the Southwest Region. I guess it comes down to the reputation of the regions. The Northwest has long been stronger of the two regions when compared to the Southwest in both mixed, open, and womens. Regardless, we're the top Southwest seed and in this early tournament we hope that we can just make waves and prove our seeding wrong in the best way possible. 

Without a doubt, our rivals last year were our friends from Brown Chicken Brown Cow. All the drama, all the controversy, all boiled down to what was the most intense game of ultimate I had ever been a part of up in the thin air of Colorado in the Quarters of the Southwest Region. We pulled away with a universe point win, ending their chances at nationals while barely missing a trip to Sarasota by a mere 5 points. There definitely was a rivalry and some amount of dislike between the two teams on the field. This year, we don't have to wait until Sectionals or Regionals to play them as the TD's have graciously scheduled our first round game agains the two premire co-ed teams from the city of angels. It should be a closely contested game with both teams throwing their big guns early. We need a quick start and sound play from our top players to really set the tone for this game and to get our intensity to where it needs to be. This game will undoubtably test how well we get out of the gate and how we react to a good team like BCBC. 

The other teams in the pool I am less familiar with. S.F. Rush is a new Bay-area based team that from what I hear picked up some people from the recently disbanded Brass Monkey. They didn't do well at DUI but look for them to get their game together and hopefully the game will be a good one. Those Bay Area guys sure can disc. GNT is ranked last in the mixed division, but we found out last year at Discos Calientes in Chico, CA that a slow start can doom us, even from a pick-up team like GNT. We came out flat against them, albeit with 2/3 of our squad, and got rolled 13-7. It was a gut check for us and although we played poorly, I know for a fact that every player who suffered that loss won't remember how we lost that game, but rather how we picked up our game and completely ruined the next team 13-2. Ultimate is a game about momentum, runs, and desire. I know for sure that I won't underestimate any of these teams tomorrow. Each person needs to come into each game playing like it's the game to go. If we're to break seed, we will also need to upset the #1 seeded CTR who beat us on Universe Point during Labor Day last year. Our losses to GNT and CTR all came with short-lined squads, with key losses due to injury. We're healthier this year, and hopefully we'll take this opportunity to show them what so-cal ultimate is about.

The buzz on the team is earning another crack at Mischief. We beat them at DUI in 2008, but lost a close and thrilling game at Cal States 08 14-12, after clawing back from being down 8-4 to take the lead at 12-11. We couldn't close the door on them and with a couple unforced errors, Mischief went on a 3-0 run to win the game and take the Cal States tournament. We played them again at Labor Day, going up 6-2, taking half 8-4 but then losing our focus and dropping the game. It was tough, but it was encouraging to our young team to know that we could hang with a team that has placed well at Club Nationals for the last couple years. 

It's year two for LA Metro. No more "first year" excuses, no more unfamiliarities with the offensive strategy. It's Sophomore year. Time to really show that we belong with the best in the region and the nation. Cal States will be a good measuring stick for how much our team needs to push to acheive its full potential. I'm excited for this season. I'm excited for this tournament. I'm excited for each and every point of this season. 

Till next time, gone discin' in Santa Cruz!

-Hammie #10

Club Season preview

The very fact that I can't walk/move very well right now can be attributed to probably the most strenuous and demanding tryout I've attended to date. Yesterday was the LA Elite Open tryout held at UCLA. "Strike-Slip" looks to combine intelligence, athleticism, and motion offense in a way that will challenge the long time front runners in the Condors and to also keep pace with the new combined San Diego open team. The talent out there was tremendous. All the best players from the LA area were there, and the feeling of inadequacy definitely hit me early on. Approximately 40 guys showed up, splitting into 4 teams. We ran a break mark drill, a cutting/throwing timing exercise, huck drill, and dump drill. Simply put, those 4 drills make up the entire game of Ultimate. Scrimmaging followed and for me it was difficult for me to establish any type of rhythm because I wasn't accustomed to the new motion offense being implemented. Regardless, I played my hardest and we'll see what happens from here.

I'll update some more as the time goes by. 

SB Classic with my first love, LA METRO next week! =)

-Hammie

DUI 2009

Update coming soon


Record with Six on the Line (open division): 5-2 [2nd place finish]
Record with LA Monster (Elite division): 1-1

9 games = so much painnnn ><

Meh

And I'm BACK!

Yes It's been a long time since I've blogged about Ultimate and stuff. I think the last time was back in December and ya a lot has happened since then.  I'm actually up in Davis right now, just chilling and waiting for a weekend full of fun ultimate. I will be playing with a team I've never played with before: Six on the Line, a group of Davis-alumni reunited to take on the Open division. 

People have asked me what my plans are for the club season. I've actually been asking myself that for a long time as well. The club scene in Los Angeles has changed considerably. The LA guys who played with the Condors are starting up a new Elite Open team and tryouts begin in roughly a month. Just seeing the talent in the area that this team will draw out, I've second guessed my decision to even try out, but after talking with several teammates and what not, I decided to give it a go. I don't think I would even play for this team if I made it. I mean, it's a big opportunity to play with THE Elite open team representing LA, but I don't think my heart is in it quite yet. I still have a lot of decision making to do, but at this point right now, I just want to see how my game stacks up against the best in the area. This past season playing club has taught me so much that I never would have picked up at my years at UCI. 

I'm almost certain that I will be playing Co-ed again this year with LA Metro. Last season was the most fun I've ever had playing on a team and on top of that, we were 6 or 7 points short of making the UPA Nationals in Sarasota, Florida. That's my goal this year. That's been my goal since I started playing Ultimate. I want to go to Nationals, but not only as a player on the team, but I want to go to Nationals on a team where I made a statement. I made plays. LA Metro gave me the opportunities to step up my game in ways I've never been challenged before. Every practice, every game, every point, someone was challenging me to be better, pushing me to make a play. Non-verbally and verbally. It pushed me to be better, and I think my teammates from last year are the reason I've pushed myself so hard this off-season to get better.  I've had several injuries after playing at Irvine Invite and at St.Pat's Hat, but I think I'll be good come tryouts next month.

I'll find soemthing better to blog about tomorrow, but today was just spilling my mind about the club season. 

Next up! DUI 2009 !!!

-Hammie #10

Holy Moly I haven't updated this in months.

UPDATE COMING SOON (within the week)

-hammie

Dump D

Defense is the most exciting part of ultimate (in my opinion). I mean, offense is fun in that there are spectacular grabs, sick puts, great movement, and absolute shreddage; but the defensive aspect of the game successfully combines strategy and execution with the idea of "b*tching" the person your covering in the air, on the ground, on the mark. Throwing or catchign a score is sweet, but nothing feels better then getting a point block on game point, or a lay out bid to prevent a score, or skying some foo in the end zone. 

Time to get boring now... you've had your glory with the upfield D, but now to address defense in the "backfield" or what is more commonly known as Dump-D. Defending a handler is no easy task. Look around the game, you will seldom find a "slow" handler... except maybe from UCLA-B a couple years ago... (just kidding). Their job is to keep the offense flowing while advancing the disc to the upfield cutters. However; we all know that there's a defense covering the cutters so there are times where the defense stalls and the stall count advances. Bring in the Dump! I blogged a couple months ago about the dump, and now I'm gonna talk about shutting that dump down. 

I'm gonna break this down into two categories. Through my experience, I've found that handlers can be broken down into two major categories. Granted, there will always be exceptions to these but from playing the past 3 years, this is my observation.

1. Tall and/or Swift

examples: Steven Lowe (UCI), Matt Khosh( UCI), Keegan Uhl (LA Metro), Marcos Perez (CSULB), Kief Zangaro (SD), Amy Chang (UCSD Psychos) Daze (SDSU), Sam Swink (UC Davis), Tommy Li (Claremont), Enway Hsu (UCI), Brian Chen (UCSD), Barrs Lang (Notre Dame), Adam Simon (Johnny Bravo), Julian Dahl (Colorado). 

The key to their success is partly their size and their first step. In defending these types of handlers, they will take a quick first step back behind the disc for the easy pass, or will burn your ass up the line for the quick power position throw. These guys are usually pretty lanky with long arms/ and or will rely on their body mass and position to gain posession of the disc (not calling any of you guys fat). Their direction is pretty predictable I've found... but they still get the disc because of speed, body position (before and after the release), and their height. 

How to defend them: Your body position needs to be more advantageous than theirs. The critical part of the dump is to not allow the up line. The up-line dump is instrumental in many offenses and granting such a throw to many teams will result in a breakdown in defenses and/or the lethal huge huck. I found that for these guys that are bigger than I am, I really try to give them backfield dump. They'll get the disc on an easy dish from the mark, but they gain -3 yards and I'm right there to set the mark. The dump will most likely push up field initially, running right at you to get you on your heels before blowing by you or cutting back for the dump. This is where the body position comes in. If you allow any sort of daylight between the dump and the up line, you've lost. It is critical to use your own body to deter the upline and force the dump backwards. If they run into your body (assuming you've occupied that space already), and knock you over, it is a valid foul call. If the dump is looking for the up line regardless... sometimes the thrower will throw a high lofty up line pass where these guys can rip it down. [Insert body position again]. The "inside" is prime real estate. If your dump somehow runs on the inside track (between you and the line), the dump throw is made 20x easier. Avoid this... use your body. I find myself always thinking to myself, "Dictate." Defense is all about dictating the offense. You make them go where YOU want them to go. Don't chase. Chasing is for lazy people. Body position the crap out of these type of handlers and make them go where you want to go. Then swoop in for the mark and don't get that swing off. 

If you have the speed to beat them, use your body to your advantage. Deny the upline and if you're quick enough... go mess up their backfield dump, but be aware that they may bust up the line again. I remember getting ridiculously fooled on Dump D against SDSU because I assumed that he was going up and then back. He went up, then back then up-field again. Body position is your #1 friend in dump defense. Speed is secondary. 

2. The f***ing Squirrels  ---->    ------*juke*----*juke*-----*sprint*--->

examples: Tyler Bacon (Cal Poly SLO), Dan Smeltzer (CSULB), Scott Roeder (UCI), Ratchet and DaVinci (UCLA), Bamboo (UCSD), Iris Leung (UCI), Bob "808" Liu (LPC), Ed "Biclops" Melo (UCLA), Jen "Zip" Chen (UCLA), Allen Lai (UCI).

How to cover them: When I find myself marking up on squirrely handlers... It all comes down to what I talked about before (body position, and speed), but also requires an additional knowledge of vision, or discerning between where the squirrel wants to go and where he is pretending he is going. 

Raise your hand if you've ever been juked out of your shoes to the point where you almost or did fall over or totally found yourself completely out of position and 10 yards behind the dump. (raises hand). Yea, I've been there. It's not very fun. The difference between the Tall and/or Swift crew and the Squirrels is that the squirrels come at you THAT much faster and rely on trickery and jukes to get what they want. The disc to them is an acorn (sorry for the poor analogy) and they want the disc in their posession so they'll do crazy things for it. I've seen a dump fall down, get up, and burn his guy who slowed up thinking the guy had hurt himself or a foul was called. 

Being categorized as a "squirrel" myself, the typical dump cut starts with a quick step either back for the disc or directly up field at the dump defender. Let's just assume the defender is playing the no up line. If I cut straight up the line, I will most likely run into the defender so my options here would be to blow by the guy inside for the disc, or cut straight back for the disc. The biggest difference is the rate in which the squirrel can change direction. Many of these handlers can turn on a dime and blow by defenders. This is another importance in body positioning and vision. When guarding these speed demons, I watch their hips/legs and not their upper bodies or eyes. The direction in which their legs go will dictate their path. Many handlers will throw head fakes or shoulder fakes to cause a hesitation in the defender. Don't bite on this stuff! Watch their hips, hold your ground and use your body to knock them off their intended path. 

On the end line, many iso-plays will come from the dump-handler position. In this case, tight defense is required. This is where the squirrel is at his best. They will take quick steps to throw you on your heels and then make their move up the line while you're still trying to get back on your feet. What I tend to do is to fake hard for the backwards dump pass. I make it as real as I can and then when I see the defender bite and commit to my cut, I will change directions and blow up line for the score. See now you know how to defend me.... but even though you know it's coming, how are you going to stop it? Back to basics. Body position (don't let me up that line... backwards dump >>>>> up line dump), Speed (close the gap between you and the dump once he gets the disc to prevent the swing OR the upfield huck), and Vision (watch my hips and my feet). 

It's difficult for me to discuss this topic without any visuals, but I guess all that I write will have to suffice. Defending the squirrels is more physical than most people think it to be. Squirrels will try to just squeak by you on the inside track for the up line and will try to blow through any physical contact you try to put on them. As a defender, you need to have quick feet. Quick small steps so that you're not caught mid-stride while the squirrel changes direction. It's not an easy task, but hopefully I've shed some light on how to guard squirrels. That said... I still have a lot of difficulty defending squirrels... even though I am one myself.

This isn't a full comprehensive way to defend the dump D, but I hope that it has helped. The offensive dump will always have an advantage over the dump defender, but the goal of the defender is to narrow the advantage and deny your dump the disc. If you can prevent your dump from getting the disc, you've overachieved your job and should be commended. Remember... good teams will look to keep the disc moving; so the dump will be activated as early as stall 3 or 4, meaning you need to haul ass and work for 5 or 6 seconds. So if you get burned up the line the first couple times, adjust! Watch the handler's tactics and the way he runs his dumps. Adjust your body positioning relative to the dump and the disc, and then adjust the way you counter his cuts. With practice and experience, it'll become a normal part of the defense, but your efforts will be recognized when the handler has no one to throw to at stall 8. Nothing gets me more pumped up than frustrating an opposing handler and denying him from doing what he wants to do. 

Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year everyone!

Freakin' squirrels.... ugh

-Hammie #10