Wilmington 8s Recap: Day 2

I know I'm behind on this, but about a week ago I posted recaps from the first day at Wilmington 8s.

Today, you get the second day's action. Not that I didn't play well on the first day, but the second day was one of my best appearances at a tournament. I threw a few scores, including the championship winning one, and played my best defense to date. It's something that felt good and has me motivated to get even better.

Day two started out with a few people, including my room, oversleeping our 7:30 a.m. leave time to the fields so that meant bad news from the coaches whenever we showed up, late, to the fields.

Drej pretty much has the whole weekend summed up at his site, so here's what he had to say about the second day, including the finals matchup against Cornell:

Maryland 15-7
After running fourteen sprints for being fourteen minutes late, we were both pissed and tired. The culmination left Maryland scoring the most points on our team ever. They scored a remarkable seven points, i think half was something like 8-5 and then they scored 2 points when we scored 7. Eh, first game. We'll do better next time.

NC State 15-9
The game was once again nervy in the first half, but our dominance in the second. We played hand in hand with them for the first half and down a break at sevens we needed to get control of the game. The game in the first half was a story of D line missed opportunities as we got the disc quickly, but lost them quicker. At sevens to take half the D line finally punched it in for a huge momentum grab and a confidence booster. The game turned on its heels after and we managed to break them five more times, or more, for the decisive 15-9 win.

UNC 15-8
The UNC games had been notoriously known for their chippiness and their intense nature. Yet this was a brand new team, they lost most of their cutters and were left with a Saul brother and a large cutter doing most of their work. They couldn't stay in the game with our depth and team as we cruised to a pretty easy win.

FINALS
Cornell
With the Octogon now in sight Pittsburgh wanted the win. And the game started as usual with O line's holding. Cornell got a break at three, but we held serve and broke back at 6-5. We continued exerting pressure as we scored another break for 7 - 5. The halftime score 8-6. The game was like the other one before with Cornell playing as anticipated and our O line holding strong and our D line punishing mistakes. The second half started on a positive as we broke two more times and pushed our lead to a resounding 10-7. At this point, the confidence on the team sideline was high and in the reaches of hubris. And boy did we pay. Huck after huck were missed and small, sloppy mistakes punished as Cornell beat us down with our own medicine. Five breaks Cornell had turned the game and our loss looked inevitable. Yet this is where our new spirit shines. Down 12-10, the O line punched in their goal after Alex Thorne had a gnarly lay out D to save a break. The D line took the field with a mentality of must break; they did as the score moved to twelves, and thirteen twelve with another huge break. With Cornell scoring on O and our O scoring as well it was now 14-13. Mega D line, the ensuing point had multiple Ds and multiple turns, but the one that mattered came down to Jay Huerbin getting in between two confused Cornell players and getting a huge D. The D line turned that D into a break and a tournament win as Pittsburgh went undefeated on the weekend.

What more can you say about Pitt Ultimate? To win a tournament with essentially the best competition in the East? It was a great feeling and nice to send Cornell back to New York after going 0-2 against us.

Wilmington 8s recap: Day 1

The first van, the one I was in, left around noon on Friday and strolled into our Super 8 around 10:30 or so later that day. And thanks to Ari's mustache, we didn't end up with any tickets on the way down there. Almost everybody was asleep within a half hour.

First games for the UOA Wilmington 8s Tournament started at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. That means we leave hotel by 7:15 and get to the fields one hour before game time. Saturday was by far the toughest day out of any of the teams schedule-wise, as we played some great competition all four games.

Pitt vs. Tennessee (W 15-10)
This was a good wake up call for us, as Tennessee went on to beat Florida in the third place game. I don't remember too much from this game, but I'm pretty sure we were in control of the game the whole time. It was a hard game, but all of them that weekend were, but I think we all felt confident during this game and came away with a nice victory and a 1-0 start to the weekend.

Pitt vs. Florida (W 17-15)
I don't even know where to begin with this game. Although the 5th seed at this tournament, they played anything like it. Remember, this is a team that only 2 years ago was a few points away from a UPA College Championship (they lost to Wisconsin 15-9 in finals). Florida is tall. Like everybody is tall. And they're all pretty athletic. And all have good throws and play a physical game, especially on defense.

But so does Pitt. We weren't as tall as Florida, but we made up for it our athleticism. Our team has a lot raw athleticism this year and a lot of players have stepped up and become very skillful with the disc. This all makes for a great team.

That said, Florida jumped out to a nice little lead in the game. I don't remember the exact scores, but I know they took half and probably had a two or three point lead at various times throughout the game. I think they were up something like 12-10 or maybe 13-11 (I know, I should have posted right after the tournament) when our defense turned it up. Guys were bidding and our athleticism just took over the game. We were in better shape and were able to shut down Florida - point after point. The game is eventually tied at 14s and we head to overtime. At 15s, the game was capped to 17. Our offense gets us a point to take at 16-15 lead. Our d-line, which improved so much during this game and over the course of the weekend, got the disc back and put it in for the score.

Pitt wins, 17-15. What a great feeling, but it was only team number 2 on our way to a championship.

Pitt vs. Cornell (W 15-13)
Florida is a great team and it made for a great game and even better win. Cornell is a very strong team as well and it showed in our (first) matchup against them in this tournament. Just to look back, in MetroEast Regionals last year, Cornel defeated Pitt pretty handily. But in quarterfinals of the 2009 UPA College Championships, Pitt came back and upset Cornell, 15-13. Needless to say, this is one hell of a rivalry and anything goes when these two teams play each other.

In this game, I don't think either team had more than a 2 point lead at any point and breaks were few and far between. I wish I could remember, but I think Pitt took half 8-7 off a break and was getting the disc out of half. I think we took a 9-7 lead and then points were traded until Pitt came out with a 15-13 win. I don't remember how each point happened and what the leads were, but I do remember it being a great game and celebrating pretty well after we beat them. There's nothing like watching Cornell lose, while we improve to 3-0 on the day.

Pitt vs. Virginia (W 15-11)
This should have been a much close game considering Virginia won the Atlantic Coast Regionals last season, but they had lost an earlier game to North Carolina and looked somewhat depleted on the sidelines. Because of this, Pitt, like our game against Tennessee, controlled the game from the beginning. Our theme throughout the day, and what looks like is becoming our theme for the season, is to finish teams. Whenever we got a nice lead against Virginia, the mindset is to finish them off. Don't let them come back and give them hope. Don't let them score easy points on us. Ramp up the defense, bring the intensity and take them out. That's what happened in this game and we finished day number one with a great 4-0 record.

After the Virginia win, we headed out to Salt Works, where we ate some great food and had a good time, taking a breather from day two's games. After getting back to the hotel after eating, showers and a quick candy run, everybody was pretty much passed out by 9:30 or 10:00.

Day 2 recaps will come soon.

Champions

Pitt Ultimate won Wilmington 8s this past weekend.

It was a great feeling.

Better recap to come later this week.

Two weeks till Wilmington, if you're healthy

I made the A-team. That's good news.

That said, there are about 25 guys on the roster. Two of the guys aren't here this semester. But for some reason, we still only have 14 able guys to practice and scrimmage. It's been like this for almost three weeks now and I'm sure it's starting to irritate some players.

We're two weeks from one of the best tournaments of the fall, Wilmington 8s, and we have 8 or 9 guys standing around on the sidelines while the rest of us practice and improve our game. The problem I have with this isn't injuries. If you are seriously injured, then you go see an orthopedic doctor, get a diagnosis and heal it. That's how injuries work. And there are guys on the team that are in that situation and doing everything they can to get back out on the field.

The problem is with guys who self-diagnose or just go to Student Health and get some half-assed response and don't do anything from there.

The captains and coaches have brought up this point multiple times, especially recently, and it's a shame that it is happening. There is a difference between playing through pain and playing with an injury. In the latter, you get it checked out and do rehab and whatnot. Play through pain? Come on. The best players do that all of the time. I'm sore every once in a while and am always bruising myself or straining a muscle during practices and games. It happens. You get over it and play through it.

I'm not calling anybody out - because for all I know nobody is actually being lazy about their problem - but there is definitely a small divide happening on the team right now and some people would like to have at least one sub during our scrimmages.

I'm sure it will get better though. After all, if you don't practice, you don't play. Simple as that. If you have a serious injury, it must be a miracle for you to get healthy for a tournament if you couldn't practice the week before. You don't get better in two days.

Fall is here

So we're more than a month into the fall season and my senior year and it's great. It's so much fun playing with some of the guys who I started out playing with my freshman year. I'm glad to be on the A-team (for now) and I feel that I'm definitely playing my best Ultimate right now.

Practices have been tough and our scrimmages have been even harder. There's a lot of emotions riding in these practices because people know that despite having 30 or so good players on the team, some will get cut.


Up next for us is the tournament at OSU this weekend. I had hoped to be playing there, and was really looking forward to it, but I might not be able to due to unexpected family issue. I really won't know if I can make it to the tournament until almost the day of. That's how things work out sometimes, though. It'll be OK.

We still had a split-squad scrimmage on Sunday with our teams going to OSU. The game got really heated after the other team took a 5-1 and 6-2 advantage. But we bounced back and played some really good defense. We were still down at half, 8-7, and traded points until we began to break away when we needed to. We ended up winning 17-15 or 17-16. I can't remember the score, but it was still a great comeback for our team and a devastating loss for the others. That's how competitive Pitt Ultimate has been so far this summer. This is going to be a great year.

But if I can't make the OSU tournament, I'm 100&% ready to play in the Wilmington 8, which is from November 7-8. Now that will be a great tournament to play in with a lot of good competition. Take a look at the list of teams and the structure. This is going to be quite the tournament and I'll be pumped to be playing in it.

Looks like that's all for now. I couldn't make practice today because of this pretty bad cold that I'm going through, but I hope to be back on the field on Thursday.

Swaggtionals

I almost forgot...

Swaggtionals from Swagger U on Vimeo.

Mid-Atlantic Regionals

Looks like the seeds and schedule are posted on the UPA score reporter.

First up for Swagger U? The No. 6 seeded team, LOS. It will be a tough game, but so was Pike - and The U took them down. That's basically the only opponent that we're guarenteed to play as the rest of the bracket is dependent on how other teams finish. I'm not even going to look at who else we could play whether or not we win.

Not sure of how many guys Swagger is taking this year but that's not important. Winning is. And we'll do that.

Step 1

First A/B splits took place.

31 guys will be gunning for a spot on the A-team this season. I'd estimate that around 10 get cut between now and the end of this term, but I could be wrong.

There are 14 returning A-team players, 3 B-team players (Bob, DZ and myself) and 14 "rookies" - I put that in quotes because a lot of them have played before and are good players. I'm unsure of how many true rookies there are, but you know the team is looking to take at least one of them this year.

That's pretty much it on the Pitt Ultimate scene right now. Tryout practices will last the next couple months with cuts here and there - typically after tournaments - and so we'll go from there.

I've worked hard this summer and into this fall, so that's all I can say about that. Now I just have to prove it on the field.

Club Update

I got word about a week ago that I wasn't going to be put on the final Forge roster. And while it sucks that I didn't make the cut, it isn't unexpected. I missed three tournaments this summer. It's a shame that the three weekends I would have conflicts would be the three weekends that Forge had tournaments. That's how it goes, though, and I'll be alright.

I'm still invited to come practice with them, which is always a good thing. It will help me to keep on practicing for this fall when I make my push for the A-team.

Speaking of this upcoming fall, I've been working really hard this summer to get myself into the best shape possible. I go to the gym as often as possible (I try for at least 5 times per week) and have been throwing and learning a lot more strategy. I'm in the process of completing Air Alert III. I'm currently on week 11, so only a few more weeks to go. It'll be perfect timing for the fall season.

Because I'm not on the Forge roster now, I'm left with two options for club ultimate this year. My first option is to keep practicing with Forge and see if they take me on their team for the club series. The second option is to keep practicing with Forge and play with SwaggerU for the club series. Either way, it looks like I'll be playing with Forge whenever I can during the rest of the summer.

Looks like that's all for now on the personal level. I got back from Minnesota on Monday night after coaching Pittsburgh Impulse to a 3rd place finish at the Youth Club Championships. I know I said I'd make some posts about me coaching, but that never happened this summer. Maybe I'll get around to getting a post up recapping my summer as a coach.

That's all for now.

Gotta keep on working hard.

Can you hear that? Pittsburgh's calling.

So, here's the Forge update: I still don't know.

Basically, the captains (Ben and Rob) have made their selection of guys for the team. Right now, the roster consists of 20 guys. Because I couldn't make the two previous tryout tournaments, I was given an extended tryout. Ben and Rob never said they'd take me, but they never said they wouldn't. Basically, my performance on the field and off the field workouts are going to decide whether they take 21 guys with them or leave it at 20.

Yeah, so, it's mid-July and I'm still not sure if I've made the Pittsburgh's club team yet. That doesn't bother me, though, because it only makes me want to work harder. I want Forge to want me on their team because they know I can bring something to them. It's how I'm approaching the situation and the team itself.

Because of this, my extended tryout was essentially this past weekend at Forge practice. Despite most of the guys being slightly hungover because of a party the night before, I felt that I had my best Forge practice/tryout to date. It was the first time that I felt confident a Forge practice. Playing against the best players in Pittsburgh didn't seem to phase me and I took chance when I felt the time was right and I gave it my all on defense.

Guess what. It paid off.

I caused a few turnovers on defense and score a couple goals. I also had a nice full field huck for a score during one of the scrimmages. It was a good feeling and now it leaves me hopeful for what my next step might be in terms of club Ultimate.

As always, I'll update as soon as I know more about my stay with Forge.

P.S. I know I said I'd post an update about coaching and Impulse, but I got busy with work. It's on my to-do list (thanks, Google) and hopefully there will be one in the next day or two.

Summer update

Wow. One month, no post.

Basically, I've been really busy lately with coaching, volunteer service trips and family vacation. But just because I've been all over the place doesn't mean I haven't been working hard.

I just finished week five of Air Alert and, wow, it's turning into a good workout. I can really feel my legs getting strong - not only when I jump but whenever I run and sprint, too. This could be one of the best leg workout programs I've done. I'm a big fan of it - for now. I still have 10 more weeks to go. I start week six on Tuesday. Going to be tough.

Unfortunately because of my travels lately, I couldn't make the last two tournaments for Forge (No Surf and Boston Invite). The problem? They were additional tryout tournaments. And although I already talked about tryout tournament mentality, it was almost necessary for me to make these tournaments if I wanted a roster spot on Forge. It's a shame I couldn't make the tournaments, but the final decision still hasn't been made. Hopefully I know soon.

As for other playing options...I will either see if I can get in on playing Steel Reserve, which is Pittsburgh's second open team, or see if I can play with Swagger U, a primarily all-Pitt club team. Not sure what's going to happen, but I'll update this when I know.

I'll have a post on coaching soon and hopefully another one or two by the middle of this month. Things will start to slow back down for me after the 14th, so I can begin posting more again.

CUT Recap and the Tryout Tournament Metality

Ended up going to CUT with only 27 guys because of last minute drops. Regardless, Forge struggled throughout the tournament to gain any momentum and win games. We ended up going 0-4 on Saturday and lost our only game - against Pike - on Sunday. Needless to say, it was rough.

Going to a tournament, and a tryout tournament at that, with so many players can be very difficult mentally on the players. I would say that most guys, myself included, didn't hurt a lot on Saturday night and that's because of the way the lines were run. And this is in no way a knock on the way the people calling lines, but imagine trying to gain momentum and stay in the tournament mental mode if you only play 1 or 2 points in a row and then sit for 5 or 6 points. It's very hard to stay focused and play with any rhythm or chemistry. But that happens at tryout tournaments.

Which leads me to how I approached and looked at CUT (but any tryout tournament, really). For me, trying out for a team and playing a tryout tournament is broken into two categories:
1. Preparation
2. Execution

That might sound cliche and broad, but it's pretty simple. Heading into this weekend, I prepared and told myself that I wasn't going to get a lot of playing time. In the end, I probably got about as much playing time as anybody else trying out and not "already on the team" but heading into the weekend, I didn't expect that. So without know how much I was going to play, I knew that this tournament was going to take desire, dedication and perfection. I knew that every point I was on (O, and especially on D) was going to need as much desire to get that disc. That meant sprinting when cutting and clearing, laying out when I needed to on D, making sure my throws 100% and to not go beyond my limits. That's how looked at this weekend. I mentally prepared myself for limited playing time, but knew that I needed to be perfect when on the field.

And as the tournament started out, I was right about limited playing time. I played three points in our first game against Ironside (13-6 loss), and despite not touching the disc once in the game (played all D points) I never let my guy get beat in. I didn't get any D's, but my guy was looked off on any incuts. It was solid play on my part, but I (and the rest of the team) wanted the win. As the day went on, I saw more and more playing time (upwards of 9, 10 or 11 points per game). Whether that is a result of my previous play or not, I don't know (but I can hope it is). As somebody trying out, it's important to keep track of your play so you know where you can improve and what your strengths are. In the end (and after a lot more playing time, especially in later rounds of the tournament) I threw away one disc, completed two hucks, turned in a layout D and improved my cutting and and fakes. Overall, I felt I played consistent. I didn't play spectacular or have layout catches for scores, but I didn't turn the disc over and I gave it my all every time I was on the field. I executed my plan to the best of my ability and had a good tournament.

What happens next with Forge, though, is up to the captains making the team. The next round of cuts will probably be over the course of the next week or so. I'll update when I know more.

Getting Ready for CUT

My first tournament with a good club team. Gonna feel good playing this weekend.

Forge is take 33 (34?) guys to the Cazenovia Ultimate Tournament in New York.

I feel like I'm ready for it. I had some good tryouts and practice this past Sunday wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. Playing Ultimate while sick is not a fun thing to do. Really slows down reaction time, even if you try to fight it. I guess I know how Malkin felt last year in the Stanley Cup Finals when he had the flu for a month.

Anyways, my cutting, throws and defense have all gotten better since I started playing with these guys. It's amazing what playing against good players does to you. If you want to get better at Ultimate, you have to play against (with) better players. Simple as that.

After this tournament, players will be cut so the final roster is produced. A lot of guys playing in this tournament, so I have to make sure I make the most of the points I do get to play. I can't afford any errors this weekend. 100% throws. Layout D's. Patience.

I'll update Forge scores this weekend on Twitter, so follow me if you want.

TRUC Week 1 Recap

Due to the crazy Pittsburgh weather in the spring, we had to move the South camp to Saturday morning (10 a.m.) and bump the games back to 12 p.m. It wasn't that bad, but it may have affected the way the South guys played in the games. Regardless, the South camp was pretty much identical to the North camp with a couple slight exceptions to the 30-30 warmup and 5-man drill.

We have roughly 60 guys from both camps, one of our highest numbers for anything Impulse related. It's good to see so many youths coming out to get better at Ultimate. This is going to do so much for Impulse, PHUL and Pittsburgh Ultimate. It's great.

As for the games this past weekend, North was pretty much in control. Not only are they the larger group, but they are the more skilled group. The difference between the two camps is pretty noticeable, too. Like I said, the North camp (North Hills, Hampton, Pine-Richland) are skilled. They play the game the way they want (and because they can). They're typically more athletic and sometimes see the camp as holding them back. On the other side, the South camp (Lebo, Allderdice, USC) are more strategic. They listen to what the coaches say and adapt much quicker than the North guys. They're here to improve their game because they may not be the most skilled players.

Of course, there are player exceptions in both camps, but that's how I see.

North won both games, 15-4 and 15-9. In the game I was coaching, the South guys were down 8-3 at half, but mounted a comeback after getting back to basics.

Afterward, the coaches had an early talk about potential guys we'd like to see on Impulse. A lot of guys who maybe don't think they have a shot are on the list. One reason: potential. As long as those guys want to keep getting better, they will. And hopefully they'll be on Impulse.

TRUC Camp Week 1

Had my first serious coaching situation tonight. It was the first day of the first week of TRUC. Basically, TRUC is aimed at bringing the Impulse program to all of Pittsburgh high school students, who may not be able to play for or tryout for the team. It's also the warmup/tryouts for those high school players who do plan on trying out for the team. It's a 4-week program with two divisions (North on Wednesday and South on Thursday) who practice once during the week and play games against each other on the weekend.

Like I said, the overlying goal of TRUC is to bring the success of the Impulse team to all players in PHUL who want to improve their game. We currently have 60 guys signed up, and are still hoping for another 10 by this weekend. We set a goal of having at least 60 guys join the camp, so we've gotten that far.

Anyways, our first practice was tonight (the North location) and we had roughly 30 guys show up. The focus of this week is to throw to space, swing the disc, cutting aggressively and making a play on defense.

Now, that may seem simple and all, but for a high school player whose never played competitive Ultimate outside of his team in PHUL, learning these things is fundamental to become a better player.

The use of various WUFF Camp drills helped us this week and will continue to be a staple of this part. For throwing to space and swinging the disc, there is no better drill than Mike G's 3-man weave. Run effectively, a team is unstoppable. I wish I could describe the drill (or have a picture) but maybe you should just spend a week in Wilmington with Mike G himself. Basically, it's a quick handler motion (HAMO) drill with three lines that involves one handler getting a disc upline from the middle handler, he fakes a huck, pivots commits to his reset (the guy who just threw to him and went upline and has now come back from his cut and away from the handler with the disc). Whenver the second handler gets that reset pass, he immediately turns and throws into the space available for the third handler who was also running upline, but has now retreated and has made a cut away from the second handler, who has the disk. It's one of the best drills out there and if run correctly during a game, opens up so much space.

As a coach, the best way explain aggressive cutting is to continue to hammer it into the players minds. Whether that's pulling them aside or telling them publicly when they made a good cut, it's important to make sure the cutter is always sprinting from his initial cut to his clearing.

Slowing down when making an incut will be a D every time in competitive Ultimate. A rounded cut is easy to defend every time in competitive Ultimate. If a cutter is "dangerous" and is just half-assing his cuts, he'll be D'ed every time in competitive Ultimate. It's a simple case of wanting the disc more than your defender and doing that by being explosive out of your fakes.

I just found one of Jim Parinella's blog posts about cutting that I feel is something everybody should look over:

1. Cut sharp.
2. Cut hard.
3. Cut decisively
4. Think, but only before or after the cut.
5. Know when to just run.

He goes into more detail about each of these steps in his blog post, but doing these five things will make you a much better cutter. This is something that I've always tried to follow when cutting. And while being fast gives me an advantage, you can't run around like crazy out there. If you're going to be fast, you have to be smart.

Much of this week focuses on the basic fundamentals of stack offense, but defense wins games. Our mindset heading into this first week was to get the guys to play aggressive and intense on defense - essentially making a play. This week, it was all about working hard and trying to get that into the minds of the players. As the camp goes on, more defensive strategy will be taught.

South camp is tomorrow night. It'll be much of the same as tonight's, but if something else is noticeable, I'll post about it. North vs. South games on Saturday.

Forge Update

Got word yesterday that I made the first round of cuts for Forge. Not sure of the exact roster, but my guess says it's somewhere around 28-30 guys still on the team and that the next round of cuts will put the roster to 20-22. Still a lot of work to be done, but it feels good have made such a good team.

Up next is C.U.T. in New York from June 6-7. Should be a great test of where I actually stand on this team. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a good tryout. I felt good out there and felt like I was competing with the best. Hopefully my defensive presence is something that continues to shine on this team. That's definitely one my strengths.

Other than the Forge announcement, not much is happening. I start "coaching" TRUC next week. Already 40 guys signed up and hoping to get another 15 or so over the week. Can't wait for it.

On the injury front, the groin is still an issue, especially during Saturday of the second weekend of tryouts. I think the only way to combat this issue is to make sure I ice it the night before practices/tournaments. That seemed to work last time. Anybody have any other ideas? It sucks.

That's all for now. Heading to Columbus in a couple hours to watch Pitt at College Nationals. Should be a great time.

Not Ultimate, but WOO!

So, this is one of the few times I'll post a non-Ultimate entry.

But, damn, I love Pittsburgh.



Go Pens!

But as for Ultimate, Pittsburgh Impulse 2009 and more Forge updates to come later this week. I've literally been running a hard mile everyday and doing a good abs workouts (8 minute abs), so I'm hoping my core is getting better. We'll know come Forge tryouts.

But for now...Go Pens!

Forge take two and working hard

Day two of Forge tryouts took place last Sunday. It was a pretty good day, with an intrasquad scrimmage at noon and then a scrimmage against Pitt at 2.

During the Pitt scrimmage, I was talking with Wes about my ultimate career right now and said something pretty cool to me:

"If you play for Forge, you can be more than just a role-player on Pitt-A next year, you can be a player."

I think that's an important piece of advice, and I'm going to follow that (not just Forge, but working hard) this summer. I'm ready for the A-team. It's been 4 years coming.

Anyways, the night before, I iced off-and-on my groin injury and it apparently worked. I played to two intense scrimmages and walked away sore on Sunday, but no injury.

Right now, we're in the midst of a two-week break before another tryout weekend the 16th and 17th. I believe it will be run very similar to this past tryout.

In the meantime, I'm working on sprint workouts, going to the gym when I can and throwing as much as possible. It's the summer, I can do this.

Not much else to talk about personally on the Forge end.

Impulse 2009

About a month ago I applied to become the coach of the 2009 Impulse team. I didn't get it.

A couple weeks later, I reapplied to become the assistant coach of the 2009 Impulse team. Got it.

I'm pumped.

I've always wanted to coach an Ultimate team and what better way to start than a championship-caliber (they lost on universe last year) youth team from Pittsburgh?

To make this a quick post, basically Nick and I talked an extra 15-20 minutes after my interview the other day about coaching and player development. And, despite having never coached before, Nick and I have a very similar philosophy and we agreed on everything that it takes to coaching a youth club team to a national championship.

National championship and Pittsburgh are all you need to know now.

"Tryouts" will be taking place soon. I'll be updating.

Forge tryouts started

First day of Forge tryouts today. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Yeah, six hours with an hour break around 1. It was a long day, but I definitely knew that going into the day. Hell, I wouldn't be trying out if I didn't think I could make it.

And speaking of making Forge, there's a saying I've heard a couple times that I don't quite understand. It goes something like this:

"I don't think I'll make the team, but I'm just going to tryouts to get better."

It's not the last part of that sentence that frustrates me, it's the first. Regardless if you'll make the team, you should head into any tryout expecting to make the team. You should give it your all and show the captains/coaches that you deserve to be on the team. If you walk into a tryout and aren't 100% sure that you can make the team, then you won't be giving 100% when you're trying out. There's no way around that. If you don't think you can make a team, especially one as competitive as Forge, you will always have that in the back of your mind and won't be trying your hardest. I've seen it in a few players on different levels.

I've even done this before, back when I started out at Pitt as a freshman. And even as I continued to make cut after cut during the fall, I never thought I'd be make the A-team come spring. And sure enough, I wasn't giving 100% and didn't make the last cut.

Anyways, Forge tryouts were intense, but nobody said it would be easy. A lot of good drills that tested different aspects of the game with intrasquad scrimmages to three between every drill or so. I was definitely able to showcase a few of my skills (my speed in the beginning and my throws in the second half).

On the injury front, the groin problem showed back up. Very tough and painful to start accelerate. I was able to get some good step-outs on my throws, but I could definitely feel it.

Tomorrow: Intrasquad scrimmage at 12 p.m. and then scrimmage against Pitt-A at 2 p.m. We'll see how the groin feels and gauge how much I play on that.

Sectionals Postponed...

There's nothing I hate more than preparing - both mentally and physically - for an event and then having it pushed back.

Whatever. 2 more weeks to get better.

The team is finally coming together and we're hitting our peak at just right time. This is the best B-team at Pitt in at least three years. From veteran experience to reliable rookies, guys are making plays and performing at such a high level right now.

There's no doubt it my mind that Pitt-B has a serious shot at making Regionals. The only setback? West Penn only has three bids. It just makes our games that much more important.

Spring has Sprung

It's nice to be playing outside again. It frustrates me to no end to be stuck inside a stuffy place trying to practice Ultimate. Nonetheless, I've done a lot of work physically this year.

I started the year weighing in around 148 with the goal to finish the season close to 160, but with more muscle. I'm at 153 right now. We'll see if I get there.

Doing cardio, track workouts and lifting on a regular basis, I can already see myself improve on the field. I've also worked a lot on my throwing, which is something I felt I could always improve on. I now have a lot more confidence throwing, especially in the wind. I feel confident controlling the disc and working against a zone. It's nice to be feeling good playing offense.

I'm also pretty pumped about my defensive play. I can see that my hard work this offseason has paid off. I'm running a lot faster and beating guys to the disc.

Above all, though, it's just nice to have finally been able to balance my time between school, work and Ultimate. If you don't think it can be done, talk to me. I've figured it out.

I guess life is good now. I can breath easy heading into the Spring season.

Posts about the team and our past tournament to come.

Pittsburgh Strong.