SW Open Club Outlook

The club season is underway, even though I have yet to join in.

I'm not sure how interesting the Open category will be this year, as Johnny Bravo and Streetgang are the clear frontrunners for the (two?) bids out of the SW.

Johnny Bravo - Boulder, CO

Bravo lost some big players last year, but they have a constant pipeline of top quality players from the colleges in the area and I think they'll have another very successful year this year. Until Streetgang shows they can beat them, they're considered the top team in the SW. However, they're also not the juggernaut Bravo of a few years ago. Look to see how CO and SD stack up nationally at Colorado Cup this weekend.

Streetgang - San Diego

Look out for a very talented club team in its second year together. The first year always has some hiccups, and San Diego's second year together should see them reaching national prominence. They picked up some good Squids guys that didn't play last year, as well as Allen Lai, Evan Valdez and Matt Welsh from LA and SB. This should help them run deeper into their roster than last year. Talent-wise, their roster stacks up well with nearly any club team in the country, and the sky's the limit in terms of potential for them.

Condors - Santa Barbara

Last year, the Condors chose to go young and rebuild with local talent. Predictably, they had a tough year, although they made the most out of what they had. This year should be a much stronger year for them. They picked up a pair of dominant receivers in Jake Juszak and Jake Baumer. They also strengthened their roster with some quality Long Beach guys as well as Fawkes from UCLA. They had an impressive win over Wolf at Cal States, but it looks like they're not going to get much of an opportunity to see what they can do during the regular season because they're having trouble getting accepted at the top level tournaments. Breaking into top level tournaments can be a bit of a catch-22: You have to have an impressive resume to get accepted to the tournament, but you have to be at the top tournaments to face the top teams.

I wouldn't expect the Condors to upset either of the top two teams to earn a spot to nationals this year, but I wouldn't be shocked if they did, either. SB brings a lot of mental toughness and fundamental soundness that could be too much for one of the top teams given the right scenario/conditions. They're a solid number three out in the SW.

Beyond the top three teams, it's kind of a crap-shoot for how things will play out.

Entourage - LA

I'm pulling for Entourage because I think we need a young, committed ultimate team based in LA. They should be the best club team in LA, but they haven't played a tourney yet so it's too soon to say where they fit in.

Sweet Roll - Albuquerque, NM

They played Strike-Slip tough in the desert heat last year at regionals. They would probably be my choice for 4th this year, but who knows what kind of roster they will return from last year.

Sprawl - Arizona

Another decent desert team. Where do all the best U of A players end up? Barrio?

Recess - LA

A bunch of UCLA have been putting together a more chill club team to enter the series.

This year, most of the depth of talent in the LA area has gone to the co-ed division, leaving the SW one of the weaker regions in the country in terms of depth. I know I'll be watching the Santa Barbara/San Diego final at sectionals if I am able.