Not sure if this was a D or not, but still, I think Finkel knows how to fly.~Qma
3 years ago
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Why jump when you can fly?
Not sure if this was a D or not, but still, I think Finkel knows how to fly.~Qma
Be the ham not the eggs.
Wise words from Jared Smith about commitment:
"Be the ham not the eggs. The chicken is involved but the pig is committed."
~Qma
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thirsty....blood thirsty?
Here are some scatterbrained thoughts spurred by tonight's meeting.
Ben Kenigsberg...thanks for saying something I've been thinking all fall. And having the credentials to back it up.
"We have to want it"
I'm genuinely happy to run into guys on the street outside of class and tell me they're excited about this season and how they think we have a good chance. It raises my spirits. But setting goals like "win games...win a tournament...getting to regionals...etc" is bullshit if EVERYONE is not willing to work their ass off (I agree with what Husayn said tonight, people should be fighting for playing time, I dont know if I have the same perspective about our "depth" compared to other teams, but I do agree in the fighting for PT idea). For the past 2 years, I've heard the same "goal" to get to regionals...get NYU on the map... And it frustrates me to think about people saying that because I know that the guys who truly want to reach that goal kill themselves at the gym and on the field..but our team hasn't reached that goal because their teammates didn't put the same amount of work in at the gym, track, practice field. To be frank, (and I will not name any names because it could change this year with our work out schedules and whatnot) I have serious doubts about how many times certain players ever went to the gym last year and did anything productive.
Sure, we've always had heart, but we're playing a real sport. We're not just competing against ourselves. However hard you will something, you're still limited by your body and mental game. And if you say you want something like a sectionals title, stop saying you want to win and hit the damn gym. Punish yourself because you "said" you "wanted" the title last year and look where that got us? (not saying i'm innocent) I think it's great to have a goal like winning sectionals, but I like to be short sighted in setting my goals such as: bitching out every person I guard, embarrassing my marker, and smashing every team we play into the ground. and my new goal is to get into the shape i need to do all those things.
I get a little heated. I play with my emotions on my sleeve (i say i'm just competitive) when I'm on the field and I'm proud to lose my voice on the sidelines... I guess thats why I'm called Rampage. But thats what I need to do to motivate myself to work hard. I need to fire myself up. On the field, I respectfully hate every opponent out there. I want to embarrass them.
I dream about ultimate. There are nights I dream about rushing the field after winning on universe point in the game to go to regionals and nationals...I dream about laying out for that goal and grippin the disc so fricken hard that my fingers break thru the disc. *big breath*
It's going to be what we do this winter. Every squat you do, think about the skying that fool from Rutgers. Every mile you run, think of the Vassar guy who is gasping for air behind you. I want everyone on Haze to find something that motivates them to get in the best shape of their lives they can this winter. I found my motivation and how I'm goin to achieve my goals.
Things I want: Trust each of my teammates wants it as badly as I do. That trust will be gained when I see that they've been putting their all into improving their throws, their endurance, their understanding of the game, their speed. I want to see my teammates pumped to win a point, I want to see them absolutely disgusted when we lose a point. I want everyone to know what they need to do to help the team. I want to trust every person the field with the disc, trust they'll make the smart choice and be able to execute that option.
I lose sleep thinking about how badly I want our team to win, how bad I want to be in Edinborough. But more so than that, I want each of us to play for everyone else. I want to see people literally cutting hard and clearing hard for their teammates, handlers moving the disc efficiently effectively, confidently, and rewarding cutters for their hard work. I dont want to be end this season with people saying "look out for Haze next year" because we stuck with teams. I want us to go out there and crush teams and have people say "look out for Purple Haze THIS year."
How bad do you want it?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Rampage's Ramblings 1
I’ve spent all of my time on the sideline this fall, so excuse me if my observations sound a little negative, it is probably just my frustration of not playing with Haze. In any case, here are a few of my ramblings (which I wanted to think of for the end of season meeting), which kinda turned into general tips.
We’re getting broken too much (not as much as last year, but we haven’t faced many good throwers yet). I think to remedy this, people have to come to practice ready to play to win and it starts with marking more aggressively in practice, which will carry over in games. Hold the force, make the thrower’s life hell, and trust your teammates will beat their man under to the open side, because they’re trusting you not to get broken. Also, get low and bring your hands up to force the higher throws into the wind. Don’t try to swat on the mark. Watch where your opponent releases and adjust accordingly. It’ll be easier to move and hand block your man than trying to wind up to hit the disc.
Throws always need work. Period. In order to be a flexible team offensively, every one of us needs to have solid throws off both sides and the ability to recognize the easy throw. When (not sure how many people go out and work on their throws) you go out and toss, throw for real.(as if someone's trying to footblock you) Vary your release heights, snap your wrists, bend your knees…
I don’t want to sound super negative, but too many of our players have bad habits that get amplified by our ME wind. I don’t expect everyone to be star handlers by the spring…but we should all be confident in all of our throws before our first tournament…
keep your head down
if you are running deep (either to defend or to cut) put your head down and run. trust that you will hear an up call and then turn briefly to check where the disc is (I think this will be better once our sideline becomes louder and more active and smarter). as you get better and better at reading the disc, this quick check will allow you to know how fast and where the disc is going and you can put your head back down and run some more. it is extremely hard to run (and even harder to run fast) with your head looking back over your shoulder. There were so many times this fall season where I watched from the sidelines and cutters were running with their eyes on the handlers…sure know what they’re up to and where the disc is, but don’t focus so much on them so that you have to slow down.
Sprinting down on the pull during practice (and games). Start back so that you are sprinting off the line when the disc leaves the pullers hands. Doing this in practice will strengthen you to do it during a game.
Sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline.
I can’t say it enough. When you’re not playing, you ARE playing. Your teammates are busting their balls for you so you can get some rest on the line and do your job when you’re on the field. When you’re on the sideline, you have to be helping them and be loud so they can hear you. Easiest thing in ultimate is an UP call. Too many times this fall, I noticed people just chilling on the sidelines, I guess it’s okay for the fall, but this spring it is essential that people give up calls and intelligently help their teammates out playing. Everyone on the sideline should be following the play, b/c it’s pretty damn frustrating to be asked several times a tournament “what happened I was looking away!” when one of our teammates made a sick D or catch. You can relax at the hotel.
Another thing we need to work on is running into a stack. When running vert O, and someone sets the stack there should be no walking/jogging to places in the stack, doing so wastes about 4 seconds of a stall count and the handler only has about 2 more seconds to wait for the first cut. So we have to get into the stack fast and start our O fast.
We’re getting broken too much (not as much as last year, but we haven’t faced many good throwers yet). I think to remedy this, people have to come to practice ready to play to win and it starts with marking more aggressively in practice, which will carry over in games. Hold the force, make the thrower’s life hell, and trust your teammates will beat their man under to the open side, because they’re trusting you not to get broken. Also, get low and bring your hands up to force the higher throws into the wind. Don’t try to swat on the mark. Watch where your opponent releases and adjust accordingly. It’ll be easier to move and hand block your man than trying to wind up to hit the disc.
Throws always need work. Period. In order to be a flexible team offensively, every one of us needs to have solid throws off both sides and the ability to recognize the easy throw. When (not sure how many people go out and work on their throws) you go out and toss, throw for real.(as if someone's trying to footblock you) Vary your release heights, snap your wrists, bend your knees…
I don’t want to sound super negative, but too many of our players have bad habits that get amplified by our ME wind. I don’t expect everyone to be star handlers by the spring…but we should all be confident in all of our throws before our first tournament…
keep your head down
if you are running deep (either to defend or to cut) put your head down and run. trust that you will hear an up call and then turn briefly to check where the disc is (I think this will be better once our sideline becomes louder and more active and smarter). as you get better and better at reading the disc, this quick check will allow you to know how fast and where the disc is going and you can put your head back down and run some more. it is extremely hard to run (and even harder to run fast) with your head looking back over your shoulder. There were so many times this fall season where I watched from the sidelines and cutters were running with their eyes on the handlers…sure know what they’re up to and where the disc is, but don’t focus so much on them so that you have to slow down.
Sprinting down on the pull during practice (and games). Start back so that you are sprinting off the line when the disc leaves the pullers hands. Doing this in practice will strengthen you to do it during a game.
Sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline, sideline.
I can’t say it enough. When you’re not playing, you ARE playing. Your teammates are busting their balls for you so you can get some rest on the line and do your job when you’re on the field. When you’re on the sideline, you have to be helping them and be loud so they can hear you. Easiest thing in ultimate is an UP call. Too many times this fall, I noticed people just chilling on the sidelines, I guess it’s okay for the fall, but this spring it is essential that people give up calls and intelligently help their teammates out playing. Everyone on the sideline should be following the play, b/c it’s pretty damn frustrating to be asked several times a tournament “what happened I was looking away!” when one of our teammates made a sick D or catch. You can relax at the hotel.
Another thing we need to work on is running into a stack. When running vert O, and someone sets the stack there should be no walking/jogging to places in the stack, doing so wastes about 4 seconds of a stall count and the handler only has about 2 more seconds to wait for the first cut. So we have to get into the stack fast and start our O fast.
Seeing as Nova is still injured from Ryan's hit, if you can make the play...make it.... I mean if you always held back, you wouldn't get to look like this....or this
If you read thru all that. you've got a lot of time on your hands...i apologize for the bad writing. i'm not used to this blogging thing.
~Qtma
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
How We're Going to Win
To follow up on my previous post, I made a list. These are my keys to victory in Spring 2009 and beyond. If we work to improve ourselves in each of these categories, we will succeed. Here they are:
Fundamentals - If you can't throw, catch, and cut, you can't be good at Ultimate. No matter how athletically gifted you are, you must work on the basic skills as often as possible in order to become a good (great) player. Use the winter months to really hone your throwing/catching skills. Work on your O/I and I/O. Get those breaks accurate. Work on your hammer. Watch the disc into your hands. Clap that shit.
If everyone makes the effort in this off-season, we will be so much nastier in spring.
Strength - I think conditioning makes the difference between good teams and great teams. We've got to hit the gym. It's pretty sick when you add three inches to your vert and then sky the shit out of the guy who skied you last year. It's pretty sick when you lay out with enough power to fly past your guy and grab that disc out of his closing hands. It starts with weights and running.
Wisconsin doesn't win the series every year because they have better players than other teams. They win because they run track workouts until they puke and they lift multiple times a week.
Correct Intensity - Pete talks a lot about keeping up the intensity. He's totally right. But more important is having the right kind of intensity. The sideline always needs to be big. But when you're on the field, your intensity should change whether you're playing offense or defense. O calls for ice cold veins and smart decisions. That means we need to be focused, not hectic. Run full speed when you're cutting, but make sure you've got that disc before you turn upfield. Don't let adrenaline cause you to huck when you should dump.
But on D? Go nuts. Go for blood. The cold offensive focus should switch immediately into intense aggression. Don't let your man beat you to the open side. Trust your mark and shut him down. Close to the disc? LAYOUT! You'll probably get it. If you don't, your guy will probably drop it. If he doesn't, he'll be a little less sure of his in cut next time.
My old basketball coach put it best: think Bob Marley on O and Rage Against The Machine on D.
Goals - This last key is all about psychology. You have to have something to reach for in order to reach it. I'm not going to speculate on what our team goal should be - that's Pete and Zach's job. But individual goals are also important. What do you need to do to take your game to the next level? What do you need to do to take it there? I want to be able to throw money flick hucks and jump six inches higher. Squat press and forearm curls here I come.
Setting goals brings together all the other keys to victory and prepares you mentally to win games and perform your best.
GET PUMPED FOR SPRING SEASON!
Fundamentals - If you can't throw, catch, and cut, you can't be good at Ultimate. No matter how athletically gifted you are, you must work on the basic skills as often as possible in order to become a good (great) player. Use the winter months to really hone your throwing/catching skills. Work on your O/I and I/O. Get those breaks accurate. Work on your hammer. Watch the disc into your hands. Clap that shit.
If everyone makes the effort in this off-season, we will be so much nastier in spring.
Strength - I think conditioning makes the difference between good teams and great teams. We've got to hit the gym. It's pretty sick when you add three inches to your vert and then sky the shit out of the guy who skied you last year. It's pretty sick when you lay out with enough power to fly past your guy and grab that disc out of his closing hands. It starts with weights and running.
Wisconsin doesn't win the series every year because they have better players than other teams. They win because they run track workouts until they puke and they lift multiple times a week.
Correct Intensity - Pete talks a lot about keeping up the intensity. He's totally right. But more important is having the right kind of intensity. The sideline always needs to be big. But when you're on the field, your intensity should change whether you're playing offense or defense. O calls for ice cold veins and smart decisions. That means we need to be focused, not hectic. Run full speed when you're cutting, but make sure you've got that disc before you turn upfield. Don't let adrenaline cause you to huck when you should dump.
But on D? Go nuts. Go for blood. The cold offensive focus should switch immediately into intense aggression. Don't let your man beat you to the open side. Trust your mark and shut him down. Close to the disc? LAYOUT! You'll probably get it. If you don't, your guy will probably drop it. If he doesn't, he'll be a little less sure of his in cut next time.
My old basketball coach put it best: think Bob Marley on O and Rage Against The Machine on D.
Goals - This last key is all about psychology. You have to have something to reach for in order to reach it. I'm not going to speculate on what our team goal should be - that's Pete and Zach's job. But individual goals are also important. What do you need to do to take your game to the next level? What do you need to do to take it there? I want to be able to throw money flick hucks and jump six inches higher. Squat press and forearm curls here I come.
Setting goals brings together all the other keys to victory and prepares you mentally to win games and perform your best.
GET PUMPED FOR SPRING SEASON!
Anticlimax
So Salisbury canceled their tourney on Thursday. Yea. Apparently they couldn't get decent fields. It seems someone should have thought about that when they set it up. Anyway, that cancellation concludes the fall '08 season of Haze ultimate. Here are my thoughts on the team:
Damn it, we have a lot of talent. Our players are athletic, fast, and motivated. The goal in spring will be to translate our potential into focused, intense play in every game. Although I only made it to one (abridged) tournament this semester, I thought we played quite well. We drummed some teams we wouldn't have last year. Even though we ended up losing soundly to Penn-C, we definitely showed some signs of greatness. We will be seriously prepared to compete this spring.
Much credit goes to Pete and Zach, who have significantly restructured practices and strategy for the better. Turnout has been much stronger this year and our limited practice time has been very useful. The groundwork for success has been laid down this semester; we will have a lot to build on come spring.
Damn it, we have a lot of talent. Our players are athletic, fast, and motivated. The goal in spring will be to translate our potential into focused, intense play in every game. Although I only made it to one (abridged) tournament this semester, I thought we played quite well. We drummed some teams we wouldn't have last year. Even though we ended up losing soundly to Penn-C, we definitely showed some signs of greatness. We will be seriously prepared to compete this spring.
Much credit goes to Pete and Zach, who have significantly restructured practices and strategy for the better. Turnout has been much stronger this year and our limited practice time has been very useful. The groundwork for success has been laid down this semester; we will have a lot to build on come spring.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Starting this back up
I have decided to start writing occasionally on this blog, since we need at least a decent website for info, photos, commentary, etc. concerning our awesome team. Qmazing has been a little lax so I'm stepping up. I am appointing myself official documentarian of Haze.
Stay tuned early next week for a write up on the Salisbury tournament, complete with photos and videos.
Stay tuned early next week for a write up on the Salisbury tournament, complete with photos and videos.
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