Wed - May 4, 2005
A vision
I had a vision tonight. I was sitting at my
computer thinking about my experiences playing college ultimate and coaching it,
when it came to me. More on the vision
later.
Ellis asked me how I prepped for big tournaments this evening. In the past I used to try to amp myself up. Too often that ended up with me throwing too many turnovers. Never underestimate the power of the banality of good ultimate. Good ultimate is boring. It's dull. It's a bunch of easy passes to open receivers. It a goal that's a foregone conclusion. This is how teams win championships. They get a bunch of guy who are unwilling to commit turnovers,who will outwork their opponent. Nowadays I prep for tournaments by visualizing myself doing a whole bunch of dull, boring things. Swinging the disc, timing cuts well, moving the disc quickly, hitting open guys. It's all very dull. But that's what good ultimate is: dull.
I remember very vividly my second trip to The Show. Santa Cruz played Humboldt in the back door finals. We were outplaying a very tired Humboldt team. On the last point, I got a layout block on a very late high release backhand. I scampered into the end zone where, a Jeremy Cram broke the mark with a high release to me for the winning goal. Game over, and going back to The Show. There are few feelings sweeter. The Show.
Belief is a strong ingredient in winning. Belief that you will win a game is sometimes hard to conjure up. If you can ,it is powerful. I'm not talking about the overconfidence, we're better than this team belief. I'm talking about the knowledge of victory imbued in those whose work hard. Sectionals was merely a taste of that. You will face harder games, but know that the capability for victory lies within this team; within your control Believe in your self. Believe in the system. Believe in your team. Believe in victory. Believe in The Show.
Back to my vision. Was it a daydream or a passing fancy? Did I make it up or hope against hope? I like to think I conjured up a belief. This vision was the mental manifestation of your hard work and execution. Not only did I envision a trip to The Show, but I envisioned an appearance in the final. The outcome was not clear to me. But know, believe, understand that the fulfillment of this vision lies with you and you alone. If you execute the offense, have disciplined intensity on defense, work hard every point, and trust your teammates, victory is more than a belief. It is an actuality. You and you alone are the limitation and realization of the achievement of this team. Your achievement is solely yours. As is your success. As is The Show.
The Show.
The Show.
The Show.
My vision was The Show.
Make The Show your vision too.
Ellis asked me how I prepped for big tournaments this evening. In the past I used to try to amp myself up. Too often that ended up with me throwing too many turnovers. Never underestimate the power of the banality of good ultimate. Good ultimate is boring. It's dull. It's a bunch of easy passes to open receivers. It a goal that's a foregone conclusion. This is how teams win championships. They get a bunch of guy who are unwilling to commit turnovers,who will outwork their opponent. Nowadays I prep for tournaments by visualizing myself doing a whole bunch of dull, boring things. Swinging the disc, timing cuts well, moving the disc quickly, hitting open guys. It's all very dull. But that's what good ultimate is: dull.
I remember very vividly my second trip to The Show. Santa Cruz played Humboldt in the back door finals. We were outplaying a very tired Humboldt team. On the last point, I got a layout block on a very late high release backhand. I scampered into the end zone where, a Jeremy Cram broke the mark with a high release to me for the winning goal. Game over, and going back to The Show. There are few feelings sweeter. The Show.
Belief is a strong ingredient in winning. Belief that you will win a game is sometimes hard to conjure up. If you can ,it is powerful. I'm not talking about the overconfidence, we're better than this team belief. I'm talking about the knowledge of victory imbued in those whose work hard. Sectionals was merely a taste of that. You will face harder games, but know that the capability for victory lies within this team; within your control Believe in your self. Believe in the system. Believe in your team. Believe in victory. Believe in The Show.
Back to my vision. Was it a daydream or a passing fancy? Did I make it up or hope against hope? I like to think I conjured up a belief. This vision was the mental manifestation of your hard work and execution. Not only did I envision a trip to The Show, but I envisioned an appearance in the final. The outcome was not clear to me. But know, believe, understand that the fulfillment of this vision lies with you and you alone. If you execute the offense, have disciplined intensity on defense, work hard every point, and trust your teammates, victory is more than a belief. It is an actuality. You and you alone are the limitation and realization of the achievement of this team. Your achievement is solely yours. As is your success. As is The Show.
The Show.
The Show.
The Show.
My vision was The Show.
Make The Show your vision too.
Posted at 01:43 AM
Tuesdays Scrimmage
Brian and I chatted about tonight's scrimmage.
You guys did well, and played with the right intensity. Here's the important
stuff:
Brian: hey, i think the rutgers kids look good. everyone seems on roughly the same page offensively.
Geoff: yeah
Geoff: I was pretty happy
Brian: was tim chang playing much?
Geoff: dunno
Brian: i was just thinking that i didn't notice him do much.
Brian:he needs ot be hungry this weekend.
Geoff:he played very well at sectionals
Geoff:I expect him to do the same a regionasl
Brian: yeah.
Brian: the handler movement is very good.
Brian: the stack motion/butterfly cuts are not always there.
Geoff: it's true
Geoff: sometimes the recivers get caught watching the handlers
Brian: and i'm still concerned with mio, he's still young and doesn't know how to be economical with his energy.
Brian: i guess taht's why he's in pretty good shape all the time.
Geoff: hopefully 3 days of (mostly) rest, he and ellis will be good to go
Brian: yeah, i worry that those two won't take it easy enough this week.
Geoff: however both of them know how to push past the limits of physical endurance
Geoff: powergym does a good job of teaching you that
Brian: nice.
Brian: hey, i think the rutgers kids look good. everyone seems on roughly the same page offensively.
Geoff: yeah
Geoff: I was pretty happy
Brian: was tim chang playing much?
Geoff: dunno
Brian: i was just thinking that i didn't notice him do much.
Brian:he needs ot be hungry this weekend.
Geoff:he played very well at sectionals
Geoff:I expect him to do the same a regionasl
Brian: yeah.
Brian: the handler movement is very good.
Brian: the stack motion/butterfly cuts are not always there.
Geoff: it's true
Geoff: sometimes the recivers get caught watching the handlers
Brian: and i'm still concerned with mio, he's still young and doesn't know how to be economical with his energy.
Brian: i guess taht's why he's in pretty good shape all the time.
Geoff: hopefully 3 days of (mostly) rest, he and ellis will be good to go
Brian: yeah, i worry that those two won't take it easy enough this week.
Geoff: however both of them know how to push past the limits of physical endurance
Geoff: powergym does a good job of teaching you that
Brian: nice.
Posted at 12:27 AM Read More
Mon - April 11, 2005
Track Workout: 300s and Sprint Jogs
I hit the track for the first time this year,
which gives me roughly six months to get into shape for nationals. Early in the
season, I prefer to do longer distances, working on cardiovascular endurance and
my stride.
There were two parts to my workout tonight: 300s and sprint jogs. I did 4 300 meter runs with 100 meter jog recovery. I ran the 300s in 55 seconds and jogged the curve in 55 seconds, and repeated this 4 times. This is a sprint jog: sprint 50m, jog 50m, sprint 100m, jog 100m, sprint 200m, jog 200m, sprint 100m, jog 100m, sprint 50m, jog 50m. I did two of these, with a 200m walk recovery.
The sprint jogs are a good workout for you guys this time of year. A very good workout would consist of 3 or 4 sprint jogs. 300s are probably a little long for this time in your season.
There were two parts to my workout tonight: 300s and sprint jogs. I did 4 300 meter runs with 100 meter jog recovery. I ran the 300s in 55 seconds and jogged the curve in 55 seconds, and repeated this 4 times. This is a sprint jog: sprint 50m, jog 50m, sprint 100m, jog 100m, sprint 200m, jog 200m, sprint 100m, jog 100m, sprint 50m, jog 50m. I did two of these, with a 200m walk recovery.
The sprint jogs are a good workout for you guys this time of year. A very good workout would consist of 3 or 4 sprint jogs. 300s are probably a little long for this time in your season.
Posted at 07:22 AM Read More
Wed - April 6, 2005
Practice 4/6/05
Finally we got some of the weather we've been
waiting for to practice, and after a mis-start it turned out to be a good
one.
Warmup
Triangle
New Plays: Subaru and Dodge
End zone offense 9 shots each
Fight club
Aborted double play stop disc play scrimmage.
Handlers did handler work.
Receivers did butterfly drill and weak side movement drill (Tim you missed the drill you created)
Scrimadge (Coaches + young guys vs. Starters)
The final scrimmage was quite good, with some of the younger guys cutting deep aggressively, and the starters moving the disc to exploit poaching.
Warmup
Triangle
New Plays: Subaru and Dodge
End zone offense 9 shots each
Fight club
Aborted double play stop disc play scrimmage.
Handlers did handler work.
Receivers did butterfly drill and weak side movement drill (Tim you missed the drill you created)
Scrimadge (Coaches + young guys vs. Starters)
The final scrimmage was quite good, with some of the younger guys cutting deep aggressively, and the starters moving the disc to exploit poaching.
Posted at 05:17 PM Read More
Mon - March 28, 2005
Even Keel
One of my first coaches always told us to "keep
and even keel". That is, you should not let your emotions vary wildly from
point to point or moment to moment. Maintaining a balanced emotional state is
critical for offensive execution and defensive discipline. If you let you
emotions swing too much, they will become a stronger influence on your actions
than is worthwhile. Keeping an even keel is something this team struggles
will a great deal, and as a result the consistency of the team's play varies.
I am not saying you should be nonchalant about each point, but you should
approach each point with the same intensity and focus regardless of what has
happened up until that point of the game. I think that the veterans on this
team need to do a better of job of maintaining a more consistent emotional state
through the course of a
tournament.
This is not to say that you should not get fired up when your teammate makes a sweet play. However one sweet play will not win you a game, just as one error will not lose you a game. This team needs to treat each point like it is important and not require emotional stimulus to excel. If you can not reasonably control your emotional responses to external stimulus, that is a sign of mental weakness.
Often overheard in ultimate is the phrase, "play this point like we're down by three". This is one expression of this even keel concept. However I like this phrase a little better, "play this point like were up by two". If you need this phrase to help you approach each point in a similar manner, use it. However, you'll hear me using the phrase "even keel" more.
This is not to say that you should not get fired up when your teammate makes a sweet play. However one sweet play will not win you a game, just as one error will not lose you a game. This team needs to treat each point like it is important and not require emotional stimulus to excel. If you can not reasonably control your emotional responses to external stimulus, that is a sign of mental weakness.
Often overheard in ultimate is the phrase, "play this point like we're down by three". This is one expression of this even keel concept. However I like this phrase a little better, "play this point like were up by two". If you need this phrase to help you approach each point in a similar manner, use it. However, you'll hear me using the phrase "even keel" more.
Posted at 12:26 PM Read More
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Published On: Aug 26, 2005 03:59 PM
Published On: Aug 26, 2005 03:59 PM