Tuesday, January 10, 2012

A New Year

I think there are tumbleweeds blowing around this blog. It's time that I started writing again because I might have some worthwhile things to say about ultimate.

2011 was a huge year for me, ultimate-wise. I made my first trip to club nationals and played a substantial role on the team. I captained a summer league team to the finals game. I won beach league, my first LA league win. It was a damn good year.

I achieved a lot of the goals that I've been working towards for a very long time. The emotions of qualifying for nationals was overwhelming. It was surreal. My girlfriend told me that it was the happiest she's ever seen me. The tournament itself was incredible, deserving of its own post.

On the other hand, I feel a little different about ultimate now. Going to nationals was, for a very long time, one of my most important goals. Achieving it was great, but...now what?

It's not that I'm done playing ultimate. I still love it, and more importantly, the people that play it. I think I'm going to train even harder in hopes of making it back. It's just that there is not a whole lot higher to climb, and diminishing returns on the effort that I put into it. When you measure your life, how your frisbee team places nationally is not one of the most important criteria.

Anyway, my point is, I'm looking for new motivations and new goals to fill the spot previously held by the idea of going to nationals. I'm not really sure where that will come from yet. I'm in a bit of a purgatory right now, studying for the bar exam but I have a lot of things to think about. I didn't touch a disc for five weeks over break and I was surprisingly ok with it.

Lei Out is this weekend, and I'm super excited to play with all my good friends. It's going to be a great time because it always is, and we're going to have the best players in the world come to us for a change. It's been a very long time since I've played the silly, social, co-ed version of ultimate. I've didn't make it Potlatch this summer, and the hours of exhausting Condors practice have a way of grinding the silliness out of you. I think Lei Out is just what I'm needing right about now.

Anyway, I'm making it my goal to write more in this blog over the coming months. Here are a few topics that might be good to talk about:

  • What happened at SW Regionals
  • What happened at Nationals
  • What club nationals is like
  • What playing with Condors was like
  • How can I continue to grow as a player
  • Off-season training
  • Principles of good offense
  • Why regionals should never ever be in Colorado
and lots more that I have yet to think of. I'm open to suggestions.

See you at Lei Out.