Sectionals Recap

Sectionals played out just about how they were supposed to. 7 Figures, Metro, BCBC. There weren't any real surprises in open, either.

Saturday we played some games that were tighter than they should have been, and all the injuries to our men really started catching up to us. We went into our game against Metro, the third game of the day, with only 8 guys. Calle, Fever, Tom Hall, Whitey, and Mike Nowak were all unable to play, and we definitely missed having the depth as the game dragged on. They went up 7-3 to start the game after we dropped the disc all over the field. We started playing some serious defense and shifted the momentum of the game to bring it back to 7-7, but then they toughed out a series of progressively longer points to end the game 11-7 at soft cap. The last point lasted around 20 minutes, and I had to come off near the end because my calves started cramping.

I had to take off after this game, missing our last game and leaving us with only 7 guys. We won something like 13-3, but I still felt guilty about putting the extra strain on everyone else. Fei bought me a ticket to see Grizzly Bear and Phoenix at the Hollywood Bowl, which was an awesome show. The tourney schedule changed at the last minute because we unexpectedly lost a field. Oh well.

Semis against 7 Figures was a tough match up. We definitely earned our D's against them, but our offense wasn't nearly as efficient as theirs. They're really good about taking smart deep shots and they use the open space on the field much better than other co-ed teams. The game was pretty heated, but it was never really close. The Lunch Money 3/4 game was much tighter than it should have been. It was a classic letdown game combined with us seriously underestimating them. The 7Figs vs. Metro final was tight until about 5's, when 7 Figures turned on the jets and left Metro in the dust.

Looking back on my weekend, I accomplished about half of my goals. I only turned the disc on about 8% of the points I played, which I think is pretty good considering how much I was touching the disc. I played hard and enjoyed playing a lot more points than I have so far. On the other hand, I didn't get many D's. I think it's a combination of still being a step or two slower than pre-injury and still being a little hesitant to make full speed cuts on my ankle.

I went to the the first Smaug vet practice of the year tonight, and I realized by comparison to my match-ups that I'm nowhere near in the shape that I was in last year. Some of that effect might be from the slower speed and sloppiness of playing mixed. Some of it also might be fatigue from lots of lifting and workouts. I think it's time to start tapering down and letting my body recover for the next week.

Playing with Smaug today gave me some very mixed feelings. I haven't played with those guys since Prez Day, so I was super happy to be on the field with them again. A lot of people have really improved over the summer, and there are some really good transfers and rookies that are showing some promise, so I'm really excited for the team this year. At the same time, I won't be on the field with them, which is tough after losing basically all of last year. For that reason, I'm not looking forward to the end of the club series. I won't have a team anymore.

Look for a write up on Regionals and BCBC in general in the next week or two.