Piggybacking on my last post, our season over. We lost in the game-to-go to the game-to-go. We were beaten fairly by a better team, although if the weather was different or the game had been in another location, maybe it might have turned out differently. Regardless, it was a tough match-up and we met our fate.
Still, I feel great about our season. We were a team in the best sense of the word. Peaches says that he's never been on a team where everyone gets along as well as we did this year, and I agree. What we achieved, we did with positivity and support for each other. We played our best when everyone, 1-25, was playing. We were extremely consistent, too. We never lost to an inferior team, although you could say that we never rose to beat a clearly superior team (except Cal at the tail-end of Stanford, and even that win is questionable given the circumstances).
Linux and The Sultan did an incredible job captaining this team. From everything I've heard, they completely changed the attitude and character of the team. We had almost perfect attendance all year, even our weekly 6:30 AM practices. Their leadership inspired everyone to buy in, and that's really the hardest part. They put a lot of thought and sweat into this year. They complimented each others personalities well, too.
Graduating/Out of eligibility:
Linux
The Sultan
Peaches
Chotchkie
Kiosk
Concord
Banshee
Thor (maybe)
Wow, that is a great line, and they will be sorely missed.
However, this is a perfect year to to build on, even though we lose a lot of talent next year. Our team is deep, though, that I don't doubt that people will expand to fill the vacuum. Peaches made the good analogy of trimming the leaves on a fern so new shoots have room to expand. We gained a lot of experience this year and I think it will pay off very nicely.
I think there are 4 things that we can do between now and next season that will make next year even better.
1. Get the A team together early
It took us a long time to develop chemistry on offense this year. This was partly because we were adding me and Concord, two completely new players, to the mix and losing important players from prior years. We need to play together more. Fewer drills, more ultimate. We have all spring to do boring stuff. Everything, including drills and conditioning, should be about simulating in-game experience. And once the team is decided, let us play without constraints. I feel like we did too much thinking this year. Simplify the offense to its bones let us have some fun with it. We can refine it later. I also want to see everyone playing every position, and people letting the disc fly with no repercussions. Wins and losses in the fall mean nothing. Which brings me to no. 2...
2. Throw, Throw, Throw
We all need to be better throwers. We shouldn't have anyone whose throws keep them out of important games. Everyone should be able to put it to an open man deep. Our offense was too reliant on a couple throwers. I think we can push more regular throwing, with an emphasis on being more productive during the throwing session. Becoming a good throwing takes tens of thousands of throws. Our rookies will have a school year to catch up. One thing that's become clear to me is that you don't have to have pinpoint accuracy to be a great thrower. You just need to be able to see and throw to space effectively. This means controlling the curvature, speed, and height of your throw. Direction is not as important. Our legs will do the work, which brings me to no 3...
3. Weight lifting and Conditioning
We were in pretty good shape this year, but I think we can be much better. That is the next big leap in committment that Smaug has to take. You could tell that Tide, Colorado and UCSD were in better shape than us. I think we can take some of the time normally dedicated to field time and get people into the weight room. I dropped off the lifting program in the spring because school was brutal, and I definitely felt a difference. We'll all be better in the air and more explosive to make the exciting plays that we love so much. I want to find out what kind of program a big name program does and use that.
4. Play Club this Summer:
This might be the most important thing on this list. Club is where ultimate boys become men. It's incredibly helpful to get a new perspective on the game, especially for the guys that have played their entire careers in one program. It's like leaving college ball for the pros and then coming back to college again. It just feels too easy at first. Club ultimate is an different, more unforgiving beast.
For the rookies, teams where they will get a lot of playing time would be ideal. They just need time with the disc in their hands and the onus on them to make plays. For the older guys, get on the best team that will take you. Absorb as much as you can from the guys that have been to nationals before. Hopefully we can all come back with something new to contribute to the team.
These things should allow us to really open up our offense and build our athleticism in the fall. Of course, a lot of its success depends on whether the smauggies will be willing to commit themselves. This year we took a huge step in getting people to buy in to the team. Hopefully next year we can take another step further.
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