Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Haze '09

Sunday, April 19, 2009

It was all worth it.

Thank you, everyone.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Last Post before Sectionals 2009- "Think about your teammates"

Things I've done to prepare for this weekend:
Laundry, cut my nails 2 days in advance, drank copious amounts of water all week, ate balanced meals, trained all season with the team, played my hardest at every tournament, fought past many mental barriers in working out with the team, tossed whenever I had free time, set my clothes out for this weekend, watched many many ultimate videos, broke both feet, fought back and decided we were going to win this weekend.

Here's our Roster:

Mr. Altschuler: one of our two main D-line handlers, long, lanky handler who will break you given the chance and isn't afraid to put it deep, has the calm look of an O-line handler but a deep fire within that allows him to play shut down D on the opposing teams handlers.

Mr. Briggs: lazer sharp flicks and quick feet, his bright smile lightens up any dull day.

Mr. Burt: squirrly freshman, will run circles around you until you get dizzy, plays the tip well, i've never really seen this boy be tired.

Mr. Carnegie: honestly one of the fastest ultimate players I've seen to play the game (college AND club players- including top cutter likes Beau and Lokke), runs 20 sets of stairs like it's a warm up, will sky your best player, newly found sense of confidence with the disc, able to D any of your players from any starting point on the field, has the athletic ability to be the best ultimate player I've seen, has the raw physical ability and confidence to win any match up....most likely open anywhere on the field

Mr. Cassarella: mr. football himself, loves to beat you deep and when you least expect it comes under hard, his wide pivots will bring you off balance, having learned the game of Ultimate very quickly this year he has helped our offense greatly by opening up the field all day, has the competitive fire that is necessary for any great athlete....most likely always open deep

Mr. Drumm: big heart, loves to yell at himself, but this is a sign of how he always wants to play his best,

Mr. Eisenhood: chilly D line handler, can bust deep from a handler position at any moment, tenacious handler defense as well as great natural reading ability when his man is thrown deep to, can turn from defense to offensive mindset on a dime, makes good decisions with the disc and moves well without it too.

Mr. Zach: all around great player, threat on D or O, chilly with the disc and possibly the best disc reading ability on the team, with his big ups Finkel has led this team for the past 4 years by example (and getting the D when we need it most), a young veteran of the sport, willing to sacrifice body for the team, great breaks and hucks, sells the best "palladium" and "oak tree" cuts in the history of haze.

Mr. Fong: long reaching Kahyee is a chilly handler, has great fundamentals (a threat off both wings, but has a killer break mark flick), good reads and confident in the sky, i see a lot of potential for Fong.

Mr. Fortune: perhaps the highest vertical on the team?, not afraid of some contact, one of the fittest people on the team, always finds a way to get open.

Mr. Gilchrist: our head strategist, knows what should happen on the field all the time, has great hucks and makes smart decisions, knows the rules better than you, cooks delicious food, has systematically transformed a team with potential into a regionals/nationals contender, strong mark with a huge wingspan, great natural and mathematical line calling ability.

Mr. Larrbear: Not many people want the disc more than Larry, runs town what many would think are uncatchable puts and uses his quick legs to make the impossible possible, solid throws off both wings and good skying ability as well.

Mr. BEN KENIGSBERG: a veteran of the sport although he's only a year older than me, the Stanford machine usually produces pretty solid players and they didn't disappoint when they sent this guy, solid throws off both sides and good hucking ability, coupled with athleticism makes this guy a threat on D and O, explosive speed and layout ability have allowed Ben to come up big for us many times this year and I expect he'll make some great plays this weekend.

Mr. Perrbear: as squirely as squirtles can get Perry is a quick popper who will shred your cup, quick flicks and flat high release backhands are his specialty, usually is seen running with his hands in front of him he's usually so open on his cuts it doesn't matter he doesn't use his arms heh, will always get his flick off...somehow...even if he only throws flick fakes.

Mr. Ma: "crazy fakes", pretty good hucks, usually makes good decisions, will makes calls when he sees them, very angry player, if he doesn't like the person he is guarding he will usually make an effort to piss that guy off, loves to break your mark with IO flicks for the goal, will spike the disc every time he scores and sometimes when he doesn't, gets low, very vocal, comfortable throwing from awkward positions/stances from either wing, doesn't dump.

Mr. Noyes: a physical specimen, can put it deep from a standstill from anywhere on the field, conservative in his decisions, has a big head, fast upline cuts, not afraid of contact and not afraid to give some back, good throws, tries to be fancy with stupid no look throws.

Mr. Pandya, P: the little big Pandya, lanky, fast learner, surprisingly good IO flicks, nova thinks he can be super fast, really good at pacman.

Mr. VP: big VP, has developed into a defensive monster, has excelled on O as well (demonstrated some great cutting and catching ability), will lay out past you if you even slow up on your incut a tiny smidge, tight/aggressive mark, fiery player.

Mr. Rago: fast, jumps super high, has gotten very chilly with the disc this year, has a vertcial higher than he knows, bronze god, great cutter, great layouts and has the hip scars to prove it, 1/3 of the crunk chalice.

Mr. Schoenberg: good field awareness, always seems to come up with a huge D when we least expect it, including the occasional sensational lay out d past his man coming under, vocal, runs his ass off.

Schulz Schulz: I like to think of Schulz as Haze's workhorse, gets big on D, and skies the fuck out of bitches, hard marks and handblocks out the ass, plays most if not every point and never complains, another 1/3 of the crunk chalice, can put it deep when the time is right, has always been a good decision to throw to, faster than you, pretty good at video games.

Mr. Shi: Kevin has solid throws off both sides, as most asians do, learns quickly and takes my criticism well, a bunch of potential in a small package, i'm definitely turning him into a top player in london.

Mr. Schlong: similar to his stuy schoolmate, Richard has solid throws, confident in his throws I've seen him put it deep to high percentage deep looks and has shown in doing so he recognizes opportunities and takes it, lots of potential.

Mr. Smith: jared works out a lot and it shows on the field, he gets open easily with his athletic ability and recently has been able to get open deep for goals, has good field awareness and ability to recognize when the perfect time is to make a continue cut, solid throws and chilly with the disc, hard marks which frequently result in turns for the other team, has a funny dance he does when he gets super jazzed after a foot block.

Mr. Wang: my vote for an All Region cutter, always open on the under, great throws and hucks, plays with a swagger that can only be matched by Eli, seems to float in the air when he skies fools, strong marks which result in many point blocks, impressive lay out ability, natural ultimate player, if a swan were to play ultimate...it's name would be Lu Wang.

Mr. Beast Mode: the name says it all, the final 1/3 of the crunk chalice, tenacious defender, great offensive cutter, plays the tip, NEVER EVER gives up, will sky you, limitless source of energy for our team, new found confidence in a sick flick huck, he's a beast.

We have an awesome group of individual players here and thankfully we all play on the same team. We family. We dont play for NYU. We play for each other. I have faith in every single one of you to do what we need to win Sectionals. Wreck shit, Haze.

We out here.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Pump up videos....continued+ Some words

Didn't want people have to scroll down to the old post. Heh

Double feature: Thursday April 16th: My favorite Nationals 2007 Remix....pump up the volume. Get hyped Haze!--(edit) after watching this video twice after posting it.....I think it may be one of my top 5 short ultimate highlight vids....Let's wreck shit this weekend. + Here's a Revolver vs. Sockeye vid for Ben Kenigsberg

+ Some Words: Tonight was our last practice before sectionals. I just had some random thoughts...All spring the D-line would trounce the O-line during scrimmages (much to my chagrin being an O line handler) but this practice (and in other recent ones) the O line began to play a bit better and I saw some real ultimate being played back and forth at times. I was happy with that. Mistakes were made all around. Shit happens, but we kept running our systems hard. I was happy with that too. I made it a goal to make many upline cuts followed by hucks to open cutters streaking deep. I think I accomplished that and was mostly successful, yay me.

Changing directions...I love this team. The NYU men's team has never made it past sectionals. Our "program" has not been without talent, plenty of our past players are of club national caliber and have demonstrated so (and based on my knowledge of ultimate, I think a handful of players on our current team have potential to excel in the same regard)....so whats been the missing link?
I've been thinking about winning sectionals since I got off crutches last fall and wondering about the weight of winning when no past team has...but tonight I was thinking that the past is history (please excuse the corniness). The 26 man roster(which means we have a 19 man Haze sideline all weekend+family/fans...GET PUMPED) we have going into sectionals is nothing like NYU or our section has ever seen. I believe we're the most well conditioned team going to Rutgers this weekend. I believe we cut harder for each other than any other team going into Rutgers this weekend. And I believe we want to win more than any team this weekend. And if we play the way I know we can, we will win every single game by a comfortable margin.
I hate making predictions. But I will let that one stay on the blog. So what's been the missing link in the past? I think it's the team dynamic that this team has...that fire we exhibit when we break a team, get a huge layout D, or finish a grueling set of stairs. That's going to win us the sectionals title.

Also, you guys have me on the team.
~Rampage
PS: We out here. I'll say it again. I love this team.

From our captains...

[Another way we are going to win sectionals] is with our depth. Although I'm confident that our starting lines will destroy other team's starting lines at Sectionals, I'm even more positive that we will be the deepest team at Sectionals. And I can't express how excited Zach and I are to cheer from our sideline and watch our second and third and fourth lines eating up other teams this weekend. (One of the things I learned from the fall and women's Sectionals last weekend is that I might be better at cheering than playing anyhow, so this could be a big win-win for the team.)

If you haven't been constantly staring at the pools for this weekend and comparing our format to other section's, you should know that the Sectional Coordinator has basically designed the format for us. We have to go 7-0 to win Sectionals, while teams from other sections only have to go 4-0. Why is this such a huge benefit? Because we are the best team in the section, and we are the best because of our depth. As the weekend wears on, all of us are going to be fresh for each game for the entire tournament because we're all so damn good. (Did I mention that we're also well-conditioned? I'll get to that tomorrow.)

The game plan this translates into should be obvious, and won't differ much from what we've been doing all season. We will be seeking to build big leads early in games with fairly tight rotations and, once established, loosening up the rotation and cruising to victory. Throughout the year we're been using a 20-man rotation at tournaments, and this weekend we'll be on a 26-man rotation. The criticality of winning is obviously heightened for the series as well. All this translates into a substantial amount of pressure on the line-calling decisions for the weekend. And we will be making every decision based on the fact that we must win every game. So while there will inevitably be games in which not everyone plays, that certainly does not mean that there will be any game, or any point even, where having everyone there will be anything less than crucial. Whether or not you are one of the seven players on the field for a given point, you can substantially contribute to the team's ability to score that point. You can be involved in the game. You can cheer on your team. You can disperse across the two sidelines and communicate with the seven players on the field. And when you do all these things, perhaps above all else, you will help to reinforce the sense of inevitability that, regardless of how the situation looks at the given time, NYU will win, and we will win decisively. The workouts we've done all year build individual strength, but without the entire team sprinting behind you on those stairs there's no reason to keep going. This weekend, any seven players on our team can score against any opponent, and with the sideline and our whole team behind us we will ensure victory.

The importance of making this strategy work is huge. I know that building leads is something our top lines can do, and I know that I am putting pressure on them in asking them to do that. But I know they're up to it. And I know that asking loosened rotations to sustain and build on those leads is putting pressure on the rest of the lines. But I know they are up to it too. Excel in your role. If you are on the field, whether the score is 0-0 or 12-0, your role is to win the point. The better we are at crushing other teams, the more playing time there will be to go around (that's a total lie -- there will technically be fewer points to go around, but, well, you get the point), and the more rested we will all be for the next game. And the more rested we will be to destroy whatever team has the unfortunate distinction of playing us in the finals -- because there is no chance in hell they are going to score a goal.

So, without further ado, here is the 26-man roster for the weekend. I look forward to seeing everyone at practice at ERP this evening at 7:30. We will be meeting for Sectionals on Friday, once again, at 5:00 in preparation for our 5:15 meeting in the Conference Room.

2009 NYU PURPLE HAZE SECTIONALS ROSTER
Mr. Altschuler
Mr. Briggs
Mr. Burt
Mr. Carnegie
Mr. Cassarella
Mr. Drumm
Mr. Eisenhood
Mr. Zach
Mr. Fong
Mr. Fortune
Mr. Gilchrist
Mr. Larrbear
Mr. BEN KENIGSBERG
Mr. Perrbear
Mr. Ma
Mr. Noyes
Mr. Pandya, P.
Mr. VP
Mr. Rago
Mr. Schoenberg
Schulz Schulz
Mr. Shi
Mr. Schlong
Mr. Smith
Mr. Wang
Mr. Beast Mode

p / z$

That's That WOOT WOOOOOT

If Eli was a wolf...

This is what you'd get.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Random shpeel.

Hey, so I'm not a usually blogger, but I I've been thinking a lot about Sectionals lately (god knows why...). We always say how Sectionals is the reason we've been working so hard, Sectionals is our goal, Sectionals is why we have extra conditioning practices twice a week, etc.


The more I think about it, I realize Sectionals isn't whats driving me. After not making Regionals last year, I was fuckin pissed, and during the fall I was thinking about Sectionals all the time (probably to an unhealthy degree). But since the spring season started, that hasn't been what's lighting the fire under my ass, pushing me through sprints. Because we're good enough to make Regionals. Everyone on our team and every team in our section knows that we deserve a spot at Regionals. Obviously, that doesn't mean we can slack off; that means we have to go out this weekend, play our game, and show that it's not already our bid to lose; it's our bid to win. We have to prove we're the one seed.


But that's still not what's driving me. Ever since the spring started, I've been thinking about one thing, and one thing only while busting my ass up those stairs; the bus-ride to the fields on sunday morning of Regionals.


I don't know where we'll be in terms of ranking if we make Regionals. I don't know if the first day we'll pull out huge upsets or lose some games we should have won. But I know that where we deserve to be, where this team deserves to be, sunday morning of Regionals, is playing for a bid to Nationals. Even if it means winning every one of our sunday games against higher ranked opponents, some way, some how, Haze deserves to have a shot at Nationals come sunday morning. And that's what keeps me going when I'm tired, keeps me focused at practice, and fucking keeps me up at night.


Let's do it Haze.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Pump up video for sectionals- 3 days left

So I heard the femmes sent out these pretty weak pump up songs and vids...and I thought I'd use my deep Ultimate video knowledge and do something similar but much better (for those of use who love watching Ultimate highlights)
I wont do a post for each day, but I'll just edit this post every day til sectionals and add an extra vid for whoever is reading the blog so check on this post every day.

Video:
Saturday April 11th: Watchung Hills High School...I know this is high school, but the plays are sick, the players play all out and the editing is better than most College highlights I've seen.
Monday April 13th: Here are two videos, one if shorter, Another Oregon highlight vid which I chose b/c I like the song and HD. And the second is from LPC, which I chose b/c its a good example of a few things(not really a video for a bunch of huge layouts): hard marks, great continue cuts that make the cutters wide open, and awesome soundtrack I do ab workouts to....
Tuesday April 14th: Everyone loves to hate the Hodags...but you gotta love multiple camera angles!- if you're bored and read the UPA handbook already like Pete said, check out his vegas and centex vids (20+min and 45 min...each)

PS: you're going to want to turn up your speakers for all of these
PPPS: Congratulations to the Femmes for winning their 4th sectionals in a row!

Bitches-8 days

We had 15 people at practice tonight. By my count, excluding the people with religious excuses, we could have had 22. Honestly, that's pitiful. 7 crucial players (who sure as hell better make both practices/scims tomorrow and saturday) missing....ONE WEEK before sectionals? What the fuck guys? Tonight, tomorrow and saturday are, in my mind, the LAST 3 days we can truly go balls out and reap the benefits for sectionals. And tonight was the last hardcore workout (I think) + it was ONE of the FIVE practices we have before sectionals. We have one week to do everything in our power to be ready for sectionals. Your teammates are making the sacrifices or organizing themselves so they dont need to sacrifice....I dont know. *sigh*

All I'm saying is...I'm disappointed.

~Rampage

PS: Sorry I'm being harsh, but....come on, I want to win sectionals, dont you? If you were going to choose to miss any practices, you should have chosen to miss ANY except the ones a week before sectionals.


PPS (edit): I hate to rag on people who didn't come tonight. I dont want you to think it's a personal attack either, I just think of you guys as very important to the team and our success and my post of disappointment should be seen as me bitching you out + acknowledging how big a part you are to our team. WE FAMILY

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Mini WDYPU 7- What will you do to get ready for Sectionals?- 10 days

He did a thousand. I bet no one at Hofstra, Vassar, Princeton, Rutgers, (definitely) Columbia could do that. Those scrubs.

Monday, April 6, 2009

WE OUT HERE- 11 days

Tonight was possibly the most grueling workouts I've experienced (36 sets of stairs...Ab workout...sprint/suicide wars...pushup/squat jump death circles :P ) There were several times where I really wanted to call it quits, but I didn't because every time I looked up those fucking stairs, I didn't see pain, I saw the faces of Purple Haze coming down those stairs behind me. Every time I wanted to quit on those planks, I wouldn't let myself look down at the wood floor where my own sweat was pooling and my hands shaking, I raised my head to look into the eyes of my teammates toughing it out with me. I am proud to play with this team because if I look into your eyes during gameplay/drills/workouts, I can see the hunger and the determination that burns in each player. That's what fires me up. Many of you hear me yell and scream and cheer as we run up those stairs to pump you all up...but I am not doing that just for you, I'm doing it for myself because I truly get my energy from you all. I get my second and third winds from two sources, anger (rampage power) and my teammates, that's you. Every time I want to give up, I think about each of you giving your all, sacrificing for the team, and I push harder. You inspire me to find that next gear. So thanks Haze. You have all helped me push myself past what I thought were my limits.

I'd like to think I dedicated myself to tennis in high school (3 hours a day on the court, countless days hitting against walls/machines) but after this season of ultimate, I can safely say I've never dedicated myself to or invested so much in anything else in my life. And that's pretty awesome to me. I want to win sectionals more than anything.

At one of our earliest team meetings, when we were discussing personal and team goals, I remember you all saying you wanted to: win sectionals, win a tournament, be in the best shape of your lives....and although I agreed with and shared in your goals, I had other things on my mind (i think i told you this at the meeting). For me, the most important aspect of a successful team is TRUST.
-Trust= being able to throw to space and knowing my cutter will run his ass off to catch that disc.
-Trust= KNOWING that every one of my teammates has put in the same or more time than me working on fitness and throws.
-Trust= running my ass off because every player on the sideline has my back.

The first two years I spent with Haze, I felt there was no accountability and more importantly, I didn't trust the team. I was literally afraid of messing up on the field because I thought Sean Carter would make fun of me or some shit like that. not the best learning environment. The players that made up Haze had their fair amount of skill and heart, but I dont think we were dedicated and I held that against some of the players and I definitely attribute our many losses to people either not working out enough or not working on fundamentals.

That's not the case this year. In the fall, I watched from the sidelines and saw displays of athleticism, skill, and heart. And this spring, once we stepped up our training and I actually got to play with you all, I learned I could trust each and every one of you. I know I can trust you guys because I've seen the pain on your faces running your ass off in suicides and I've been there, right behind you, running up those horrible stair. We, as a team, worked our asses off this season and I am jazzed as holy fuck to play with you guys at sectionals. No one has worked as hard as us and no one deserves a sectionals win more than us. I will not be satisfied unless we bring home that title next sunday.

I dont know what else to say, I love you guys. I'm gonna drop bombs next week and I trust all of you are ready to wreak fools. We're seeded #1 goin into sectionals, so everyone hates us and us gunning for us. I say bring it. I'm out for blood. LETS GO HaZE!!!

~Rampage

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Regionals

From the UPA Magazine:

"What else can we expect from the Metro East?"

"Like New England, the Metro East picture may take some time to develop. And while Pittsburgh seems to be a step ahead of the rest of the region, that doesn't mean that they're safe. Cornell had a somewhat strong showing at TiV, and teams like Maryland and Delaware are waiting for their chance to show they deserve to be in the discussion too."

I know another team that deserves to be in the discussion. They beat Delaware. They work harder than everyone. They're focused. They're chilly on O. They're insane on D. They know how to get pumped, get crunk. They know their roles. They play smart.

And they want it more than you.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Semi Useless Post

Sorry for another semi useless post, but words to Haze: never buy/eat "frosted flakes gold". They're neither filled with gold, nor as delicious as frosted flakes.....ugh worst use of money ever.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Your captain

Zach Finkelstein is currently on my bed gyrating his hips. I think I need to change my sheets.

I Completely Agree.

Lu Wang left this comment on my previous post:

as i sit here, dead tired from practice i just wanna say to u guys that i absolutely love playing for this team. i look foward to every practice and every game/tourney and afterwards, i actually feel a little disheartened when its over. i cannot say i felt this way last year, not at all. but this year, everything has just clicked, our chemistry, our work ethic, etc. its such an incredible and reassuring feeling when i can bust my ass on the field, knowing in the back of my head that the next guy whos going to be put in is gonna bust his ass just as hard. it gives me confidence and makes me proud to be on this team. i am so ready to win play. i am so ready to bust my ass. i am so ready to win sectionals.

lets fuk shit up.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Last Night Follow-Up

I agree with much of what Q said. Here are my additional thoughts:

OFFENSE


-Much better movement after throws
-Much better continuation cuts
-Much better defense
-Still not enough conversions, you should be scoring almost every time without turns against our 2nd string D line with only 2 handlers. As Pete noted, way too many turns still. It's easy to forget those mistakes when you end up scoring the point anyway, but you can't. We were getting 3 or 4 turns on a point and continuing to give it back until you scored. A top D line is NOT going to give you that many chances once they get a D. Let's go.
-This reminds me, I think we should have mixed lines on Saturday, so that the first string players are up against first string players. I'm afraid some of our problems on O are stemming from the easier matchups in practice. Just a thought.

DEFENSE

-Overall, not great. Lots of getting burned deep, lots of breaks, and lots of just lazy play, particularly on the open side. Honestly, to get better, you have to want it in practice. Let's all make more of an effort on Saturday.
-Our offense was looking really nice in the 2nd game. Lots of solid continue cuts, especially deep. Chooch and I had open looks all throughout the game. We under threw or missed those cuts way too much, but keep doing what you're doing. We're gonna work those kinks out.
-HOWEVER, don't forget the fundamentals. Run through the disc. Catch it with two hands. Make sure you've got it before you turn upfield. If we had done these three things better, we would have scored twice as many points as we did.

GENERAL

-Don't try to do too much. Know what your role is. At the same time, work on things in practice - that's what it's for. That's why I kept turning it on hucks - I know I need to fix my problems, particularly in the rain, so I kept putting it even though I'd been having trouble. We can all try to add to our arsenal during practice.
-But, remember to dump on 5 and be realistic. If you don't have a flick huck and haven't been working on it, go throw in the park before trying to rip it during a scrimmage.
-Get hyped.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Thoughts on Tonight's Practice

PRACtice? we talking about PRACtice? We talkin about PRACtice here....

-It was very rainy much of the time.
-16 players showed up. What the fuck are the rest of you doing? As Pete mentioned to me, we have 28 man roster for Sectionals. Right now, not all of the people on that list are coming. I am completely fine not bringing a handful of players who aren't coming to practice.
-great hard running on both lines. Stand outs for me were VP (plenty of D's and layout D's), Eli (did exactly what he said he was making his goal for the night), and Lu made some sick lay outs. Thanks dudes.
-Chooch keeps setting up as a dump on the wrong side. nice break throws from him tho and Charlie Hustle
-I wish Zach's knee wasn't so fat
-I wish David would stop yelling so ferociously. Big stressor tonight. As was some discussions on the field.
-Gabe was angry at me and fouled me and i fouled him with an illegal mark. He didn't like that. I'm surprised I didn't get angrier at him. He also yelled at Jared and other players alot and I thought it was funny when Jared replied quite calmly with "just stop talking, please?" as he was making a cut up field.
-Offense was alright. I dont really criticize Pete much, but he threw alot of turns, some were good decisions, some maybe not (hammer to somewhat open people while in red zone). But I think his turn count was near mine....and that's never a good thing if someone turns it as much as me.
-It was cold.
-Lu Wang has pretty layout form. but he still sucks
-I'm pretty.

Okay, back to homework.
Cya at 9:15pm.
~Qma

Happy April Fools

Thanks to whoever pulled the fire alarm this morning in Silver....
Making my trip to campus useless...I wanted to learn today....Ass

~Rampage

Favorite Highlight Reel