ULTIMATE PLAYERS USA ASSOCIATION ULTIMATE 4730 Table Mesa Dr., 4730 Suite Table I-200C Mesa Dr., Suite I-200C Boulder, CO 80305 Boulder, CO 80305
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O F F I C I A L M AG A Z I N E O F U S A U LT I M AT E — FA L L 2 0 1 2
USA
ULTIMATE
WHAT’S INSIDE
U.S. Open
Triple Crown Tour
National Championships Preview
2013-2018 Strategic Plan
VOLU M E X X X III ISSU E T H R EE
FALL ISSUE 8 Sarasota Preview
Open Championships 21 U& .S. Convention Take Center Stage
outh Club Championships 46 YCrown Four
42 Dominant In Dublin
Counter-clockwise From Top: Can Fury peak twice in one season after a deep run at the world championships this summer? PHOTO: NEIL GARDNER/ULTIPHOTOS GOAT vs. Chain Lightning at the inaugural U.S. Open Ultimate Championships. PHOTO: CMBT Creative Team USA wins gold, silver in Dublin. PHOTO: Steve Kotvis DiscNW and Cincinnati battled it out in the girls’ final at the Youth Club Championships. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
ON THE COVER
MISSION STATEMENT
Johnny Bravo’s Jimmy Mickle lays out for a spectacular catch against Ring of Fire at the inaugural U.S. Open Championships in Colorado Springs. PHOTO: CMBT Creative.
To advance the sport of Ultimate in the United States by enhancing and promoting Character, Community, and Competition.
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Table of Contents 3 A Letter to Our Members 4
2012 USA Ultimate Board Election – Candidates’ Statements
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From the Competition & Athlete Programs Department – Future of Club Division Structure Unveiled
2012 USA Ultimate Club Championships Preview 8 Open: Revolver, Ironside, Doublewide + Five Things
11 Women: Fury, Riot, Scandal + Five Things
14 Mixed: Polar Bears, Blackbird, Drag’N Thrust + Five Things
17 Masters: Surly, Boneyard, Reckon 2012 U.S. Open Ultimate Championships & Convention Coverage 21 Bravo! – Local favorites Johnny Bravo defeat Atlanta’s Chain Lighting 25 What a Riot! – Riot establishes itself as a team to beat in 2012 29 Polar Express – Polar Bears beat Slow White for Inaugural U.S. Open Crown 34 Inside the U.S. Open – A look at the inaugural convention & marketing the sport of Ultimate 38 The Future of Our Sport – Introducing USA Ultimate’s Six-Year Strategic Plan for 2013-2018 *Special Pullout Section: USA Ultimate’s Club Division Takes on a Fresh New Look 42 Precious Medal – Team USA mines gold & silver at Junior World Championships in Ireland 2012 Youth Club Championships Coverage 46 Rebels with a Cause – Seattle claims U-16 title 50 The Difference Makers – Boston’s women tip the scales in the Mixed division 54 No Contest – Seattle makes it eight in a row in the Women’s division 58 Superiority – Minnesota captures U19 title on home turf
63 Hometown Heroes – Surly plays to Grand Masters Championship in Minnesota 66 What’s The Call? 68 Coaches’ Playbook 70 Injury Timeout 73 News & Notes
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USA Ultimate 4730 Table Mesa Dr. Suite I-200C Boulder, CO 80305 303.447.3472 www.usaultimate.org info@usaultimate.org USA Ultimate Board of Directors Mike Payne – President Gwen Ambler – Vice President Kathy Hendrickson – Treasurer Sandy Park – Secretary Audrius Barzdukas Mandy Eckhoff Matt Farrell Mike Kinsella Greg Downey John Terry Ben Slade Colin McIntyre USA Ultimate Staff Matthew Bourland – New Media Manager Melanie Byrd – Director of Membership & Sport Development Dr. Tom Crawford – Chief Executive Officer Will Deaver – Managing Director of Competition & Athlete Programs Julia Echterhoff – Administration & Finance Manager Byron Hicks – Athlete & Competition Programs Manager Andy Lee – Director of Marketing & Communications Michael Lovinguth – Education & Youth Programs Manager Richard Dana – Athlete & Competition Programs Manager Baker Pratt – Education & Youth Programs Manager Anna Schott – Membership & Sport Development Manager David Raflo – Events Manager David Mares – Membership Development Manager USA Ultimate is a non-profit organization and serves as the national Governing Body for the sport of Ultimate in the United States. Founded in 1979 as the Ultimate Players Association (UPA), USA Ultimate is one of the first flying disc sport organizations in the world and the largest, with more than 40,000 members and a national volunteer network. USA Ultimate USA Ultimate is the official publication of USA Ultimate, published quarterly. All ideas expressed in USA Ultimate are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of USA Ultimate, the National Governing Body. USA Ultimate assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Editor-in-Chief Andy Lee Advertising Complete rates and specifications are available online at www.usaultimate.org/ sponsors Change of Address USA Ultimate is not forwarded by the post office. To update your address, please contact USA Ultimate. For a complete list of contacts, please visit www.usaultimate.org
A LETTER TO OUR MEMBERS By: Dr. Tom Crawford, USA Ultimate Chief Executive Officer
Tom’s Top 10 Why Ultimate has the potential to explode onto the national scene. When I talk about what has to change for Ultimate to grow, I often mention myself (and my teammates here and the Board of Directors always seem to nod strongly in agreement!) What I mean is, I’m a great example of why Ultimate has remained in the shadows of other sports for so many years. Just three short years ago, I was part of the vast majority of sports fans in the U.S. who didn’t know we exist or think of us strictly as a social party sport like kickball. As described in our Strategic Plan (see page 38), we’re about to change that! I am really confident that when the average sports fan and family learns about Ultimate and compares it to other sports options, more and more kids will begin to look for ways to play our sport. We have to be ready for this influx, and if we are (there’s lots of work to do here) we’ll explode onto the national sports scene. Why?
1. Ultimate is wicked fun! No explanation needed for those who read this magazine… you know what I mean!
2. Ultimate is cheap! Relative to almost all other sports, Ultimate is very inexpensive to play. There are no barriers to entry for families looking for low-cost options for their kids.
PHOTO: CMBT Creative
3. Ultimate has all the best ingredients from sports fully baked into its recipe! Aerobic and anaerobic energy systems, speed, quickness, agility, balance, power, grace, cognitive acuity and endurance. Conflict resolution, character, sportsmanship (SOTG). An atmosphere of mutual respect, friendship and community. That’s quite a recipe!
4. It is not nearly as dangerous as other sports! Ultimate is a non-contact sport, so our athletes incur fewer concussions and dangerous injuries than those in many other sports. Football hates Ultimate!
5. It’s athletic and entertaining—there’s lots of exciting scoring! Good Ultimate is really fun to watch, and the highlights capture that excitement.
6. We are a warm and welcoming community! The element of community in our mission is very cool. Everyone being warmly welcomed, as long as they are willing to accept Spirit of the Game as a core value of the community, is something every family looks for their kids to experience.
7. Once you’re hooked, you’re hooked! I’m surrounded by addicts! 8. A disc is way more interesting than a ball! It is peaceful, strong, graceful, fast and powerful. It spins, floats, dives, turns, banks, and soars. The disc is beautiful!
9. Girls and boys/men and women can play together… at the highest level! A true differentiator. World Games, here we come! 10. Ultimate is wicked fun! ‘Nuff said! F A L L 2 0 12
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2012 USAU BOARD CANDIDATES Similar to other NGBs in the U.S., USAU is governed by a Board of Directors that is a blend of elected and appointed directors. The board is informed and makes decisions via a series of committees made up of board members and key volunteers from the community, each with a staff liaison to help it function and provide continuity. The USAU Nominating Committee presents to you the candidates for the 2012 election (2012-2014 term). You, the members have the important opportunity and responsibility of electing the board members who will protect your interests, oversee USAU operations and steer the course of direction for the future of the sport. Each candidate’s statements include their expertise and how they will shape policy and define strategy in years to come.
SOUTHWEST
Mary-Clare Brennan
My name is Mary-Clare Brennan and I am a candidate for the Board of Directors of USA Ultimate. Though I am not a member of the organization or a current competitor, I am a fan of the sport and the people that play it. What I am is a career sport and sports marketing professional and I’ve been nominated as a candidate of the Board, both for my appreciation of the sport of Ultimate and for my experience and knowledge of the world of corporate sponsorship in a sports environment. I am a sixteen year veteran of the United States Olympic Committee’s Marketing Division and have worked closely with Olympic and Pan American sport NGBs for my entire career. Since beginning my Olympic career prior to the 1996 Atlanta Games, I’ve been on the team selling and managing sponsorships in connection with nine U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams and two-U.S. based Olympic Games. I began my career however, not in marketing but in sports science and medicine. Following my undergraduate degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, I received my master’s in sports management - from the schools of education and business - at the University of Texas at Austin and still consider Austin one of the greatest cities in the world (next to Boulder, Colorado, of course). More importantly, the reasons that I am interested in serving on the Board of USA Ultimate include the fact that the sport represents an ideal similar to that of the Olympic Movement. While the Games represent the belief that countries can come together and compete 4
peacefully on the sport of play; similarly Ultimate’s ‘Spirit of the Game’ represents an attainable ideal that players can self-govern, in a respectful manner, without requiring officials or umpires to adjudicate the game. I’m also tremendously impressed with the individuals that play Ultimate. You are a highly educated, independent and truly fun group that it would be an honor to work with and to serve. As a staff member of an organization governed by a volunteer Board, I am well aware that the role of the Board is to set policy then to get out of the way of the professional staff who execute it. If elected to the Board of USA Ultimate, I would certainly do my best to help guide the organization - especially in the areas of marketing, sponsorship and business development - and support Dr. Crawford, Andy Lee and the rest of the staff to achieve the business and financial objectives of USA Ultimate.
Mid Atlantic
Kathy Hendrickson
My name is Kathy Hendrickson. I have been serving on the USA Ultimate Board this year as the Mid Atlantic representative. I am the Treasurer of the Board and, in that capacity, have been involved with reviewing Ultimate’s budget, audit, tax return and monthly financial statements. My experience with Ultimate is different from most Board members. I am a parent, not a player. I am also a lawyer and I headed up a nonprofit organization about the same size as USA Ultimate for eight years. So I bring to the Board a different perspective and some experience that can be useful to a nonprofit that is growing in exciting ways. I have handled the financial, operational and legal issues that a nonprofit organization has to deal with. In addition, I have served on the Boards of several nonprofits – Women’s Center and Shelter, Neighborhood Legal Services and Compro. Ultimate is unique. I have cheered my three children on as they have played and coached Ultimate for fifteen years at all levels - youth leagues, high school, college and club teams. Ultimate’s emphasis on Spirit of the Game teaches life lessons and fosters
lifetime friendships. I think it has been one of the most positive influences in my children’s lives. If I can contribute to the growth and strength of USA Ultimate by contributing my efforts as a Board member, I am happy to do that.
Southwest Stephen Hubbard
Hello USA Ultimate Members, I ask for your vote because I have a clear vision of what USA Ultimate could, should, and will be. Qualifications »» »» »» »»
layed : College and Club, Open and Mixed P Coached: College, Club, High School Observer, Observer Coordinator, Tournament Director Certified CrossFit Personal Trainer, Owner and Operator – Hubbard Strength and Conditioning
»» B achelors in Biology from UC San Diego, Minor in Philosophy Stances: »» GOOD third party officials make the game more fun and fairer for everyone involved. USA Ultimate should continue to heavily invest in the growth and improvement of the Observer Program. I envision a future where those who like playing with third party officials can choose events which employ high quality Observers while others can choose events without officials if that’s what they prefer. »» S elf-offication CAN be a fun and fair method of rules enforcement IF players are GOOD selfofficiators. USA Ultimate should be actively working to help players and teams be better at selfoffication. I feel strongly that if we are to continue to be a sport where players make the calls, USAU is sorely lacking in their efforts to make players good at self-offication. »» U SA Ultimate should strive to be a National Governing Body in the mold of US Soccer or USA Basketball as opposed to MLS or the NBA. Given our particular situation, USA Ultimate does a great job coordinating tournaments. That said, I support a USA Ultimate in which the split between Governing and Organizing is very apparent.
»» U SA Ultimate should have an active department that targets high schools for the creation of teams. Often young players find the game through summer league or pickup games but have no recourse for creating more playing opportunities for themselves. USA Ultimate should facilitate the creation of high school and youth club teams when there are young players looking for guidance and support. »» U SA Ultimate IS currently doing a good job at setting standards and must continue to stay high minded. Sideline safety and field lining, roster verification, tournament sanctioning, coach and observer certification, and communication with membership should never be compromised. USA Ultimate’s path towards increasing professionalism is encouraging and must be reaffirmed. For a more in depth look at my proposals for the Observer Program, Self-Offication Improvements, Governance vs. Organizing, Youth Opportunity Creation, and High Organizational Standards please see my website at: http://on.fb.me/Ow3xUi I hope to have your vote.
At Large
Grant Maynard
Hi, my name is Grant Maynard, and I’m seeking election to the USA Ultimate Board of Directors. Since I started playing Ultimate in 2003 I’ve watched the (then-called) UPA morph into a more mature and focused organization, and I’d like to help both the organization and the sport continue their upward trajectory. I started my Ultimate career with Cornfed (University of Nebraska), entering a program that barely had enough participants to conduct a scrimmage, let alone field a competitive team at a tournament. I served a year as captain and later served as an alumni advisor to the team and the organizer of Cornfed’s successful bid for a Five Ultimate sponsorship, which helped ignite interest in the team. I have also served as a tournament coordinator and played on various club/ league teams; my most recent involvement with the sport, however, has been establishing XMSultimate, a new Ultimate apparel and design company, with a business partner this spring. By day I’m an attorney, and I currently advise several corporations and nonprofits on corporate structure, governance, and ethics issues. I hope to be able to use that experience to make sure USAU continues to use its funds efficiently and operate in the most effective way. The past year has been an exciting year for the sport of Ultimate, especially given the increased visibility the sport has received through the debut of the AUDL. As a director, one of my initiatives would be F A L L 2 0 12
to explore how we can take active steps to convert casual and budding fans of the sport from spectators to participants. One of the main issues facing the sport of Ultimate and USAU going into the future is how to best manage growth while maintaining the integrity of the core pillars of the sport. The mission of USAU focuses on keeping the personality of the Ultimate community at the forefront even as the sport becomes increasingly mainstream. As a director, I would take a keen interest in developing strategies for how that balance can best be achieved in the face of the expansion and “legitimizing” of the sport of Ultimate. Youth Ultimate has been a strong focus of USAU for the past several years, and as a director I would seek to continue and expand those initiatives. When I started playing Ultimate in college, none of the players on my team had ever played before. Since then, however, the creation of high school teams and the consequent increase in youth access to skill clinics and people that have a deep understanding of the sport has dramatically changed the landscape of Ultimate in Nebraska. I’ve seen first-hand how developing skills, strategies, and techniques at the youth level is the key to grassroots growth for the sport, and I would like to continue to support and expand those priorities as a director. Thank you for supporting my candidacy for the USAU Board of Directors.
At Large
Henry thorne
Pretty sure I’m your best pick for growing Ultimate. I grow things for a living as an entrepreneur, most recently co-founding 4Moms, I’ve been growing Ultimate more than most anyone else, I’m passionate about it, and I’m good at it. I believe Ultimate is the ultimate sport. My wife Karen was a Fish Head, our boys Alex and Max are current champions with the University of Pittsburgh, I’m a former three-time World Champion with the Seven Sages in the Masters division. I’ve served on the USAU board for 14 years and led many initiatives that have grown the sport and organization dramatically, including the formation of the Mixed and Youth Divisions and the hiring of our last three CEOs. Locally I’ve helped develop Pittsburgh into a leading Ultimate community. As a result of those efforts and those of many, many other people, our sport has reached a pivotal moment, it’s grown to where there is a spectator base large enough to provide a viable revenue stream. This is a new opportunity USAU has to aggressively embrace to remain the sport’s leader. Players want to play in front of fans, and we need to provide that great
experience for them while simultaneously providing a great experience for fans, replays on a jumbotron, seating up close to the fields like in the NBA, this all has to happen. USAU has the best team and resources in the world for taking advantage of this new trend and I’d like to jump in and be sure we lead it. And I want USAU to continue leading because, with no profit motive, USAU will keep making the sport better for the players including continuing to give them a voice both on and off the field. Vote for me if you want to see Ultimate continue its rapid growth and if you want USAU to continue leading it.
At Large
MILLER YOHO
We all know that it is an exciting time for Ultimate as the sport continues to grow in popularity. With this growth I believe that it is important that USA Ultimate have a distinct vision and plan on how to encourage this growth, and market Ultimate to a broader population of supporters. After years of playing Ultimate I have found myself in a place where I believe that I can give back to the sport that I love to play, watch, and discuss. Following a review of the mission of the Board of Directors I believe that I am uniquely suited to serve as a board member due to my education in college student development, and my role as a marketing director for an athletic department at a university. As part of my career and education I have spent the past few years working on college campuses and have developed what I believe is an in-depth knowledge of how Ultimate can further grow and develop in the higher education environment. I also believe that my current position as a marketing director for a university’s athletic department has given me skills that will directly relate to a position on the board of directors. I am responsible for not only marketing our athletics to the campus and surrounding community, but also am in charge of corporate sponsorships, game day operations, social media, and other duties that directly relate to the direction Ultimate is heading. Lastly, I have a passion for the sport of Ultimate and its growth. I started playing ten years ago, and have learned more things about myself and teamwork through games, practices, and off the field bonding that can only happen in the middle of a long drive to a tournament. I have applied to be a member of the USA Ultimate Board of Directors because of my passion for Ultimate, and believe that I have valuable skills that directly complement the work the board does. I am looking forward to the future of the sport we all love, and am thankful for the possible opportunity to serve the Ultimate community. 5
F rom t h e Comp etitio n & At hlete Programs D epartme nt By: Will Deaver, Managing Director of Competition & Athlete Programs
It is with great excitement and anticipation that we announce the USA Ultimate Triple Crown Tour, the final product of our club restructuring process. This new competition structure builds on the success of the longstanding Club Series, incorporates enhancements developed through feedback from the ultimate community, and helps push the sport forward into a new era of excitement, opportunity, and growth. First a little background: The restructure was undertaken as part of the organization’s 2008-2012 Strategic Plan. Feedback from the Ultimate community during that planning process led the organization to evaluate changes to the club competition structure in areas such as geography, regular season, tiered play, bid allocations, and showcasing the sport. This evaluation took place over the course of two years, and included meetings with representatives of the larger community, internal planning meetings, feedback surveys, and team forums. Two proposals were presented to the community in early 2012. After feedback was gathered, details were worked out for the final plan and approved by the USA Ultimate Board of Directors this summer. The new structure is set to achieve a number of important larger goals: • PROVIDE MORE MEANINGFUL PLAYING OPPORTUNITIES – set up competition that is more interesting and fun to be a part of; • PROVIDE MORE ACCESSIBLE PLAYING OPPORTUNITIES – match up playing opportunities with the level of resources and time teams are willing and able to invest; • ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION AND GROWTH – make the structure broadly appealing to a wide variety of players and teams while continuing to build the community; • SHOWCASE THE SPORT AT ITS BEST – use the structure to engage and excite existing fans, create new fans, highlight the top players and teams, develop stars and role models, create positive awareness of the sport outside the existing Ultimate community, and attract sponsors and media partners. The Triple Crown Tour is set to do all of these things for participating teams in the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed divisions, fans, and the Ultimate community at large. (For details on the Tour structure, events, and tiers, please refer to the accompanying insert or usaultimate.org. The following provides some commentary on various elements of the structure.) 6
A more formal Regular Season leading up to the Championship Series means that games played at summer Tour events matter. Teams earn their way into one of four flights based on their performance in the previous season. Teams that perform well at Tour events improve their ranking and thus their chances for advancement in the Championship Series, and in turn for the next year’s Tour. Teams in each flight will compete in events specific to that flight, meaning guaranteed at-level competition for teams throughout the Tour. Cross-flight challenge events are built into the Tour as well, ensuring that teams have access to playing opportunities that will help them develop and keep the Tour more competitive throughout. Teams in the top flights will be committed to a more formal event schedule, but one that is in line with the current schedule of most top teams. Teams in the lower flights will have more flexibility to play and/or travel as much as they need to achieve their goals. The current regional boundaries provide more accessible Championship Series events and more opportunities for teams to advance to the Regional Playoffs. Tour events that are part of the Pro Flight, including the U.S. Open, will be set up to provide showcase opportunities for the sport. Teams and players at these events will be promoted to the media as the best in the world. Event formats and high quality event sites will be used to appeal to spectators and media both at an individual event level and also across the entire Tour season. Tournament-based competition will allow in-person and media-based fan experiences akin to Grand Slam tennis, where showcase games are highlighted throughout the competition, fans can simultaneously follow other exciting matchups, and the weekend builds to a natural crescendo with the tournament finals. Tournaments will also continue to foster a sense of community while providing a viable financial structure within which teams and event organizers can operate. At the season-level, Pro Flight teams will compete for their own point-based regular season championship, prize money, and a guaranteed spot in the ensuing season’s Pro Flight. Statistics kept at these events will help create storylines for fans and media. Behind (and above) it all is the extremely difficult challenge, within reach of only four teams (per division) each year. Winning the U.S. Open, the Pro Flight Regular Season, AND the National Championships amounts to the USA Ultimate Triple Crown! And yet, unlike almost any other sporting competition structure in the world, the Triple Crown Tour is truly accessible to and designed for any eligible team. While only four teams have a shot at the actual Triple Crown in any given year, a team in any flight including new teams can enter the Tour, compete in the Championship
Series, and advance the very next year to the top flight. Of course it will be more common for teams to advance gradually through the flights, and yet the process itself will provide meaningful goals for teams, with a flexible schedule and playing opportunities helping to achieve those goals. Beyond providing great experiences for a wide variety of Tour participants and fans, there are a number of indirect, but equally important outcomes that we hope to achieve through these improvements. Why is it important in the larger picture that we showcase the sport? Ultimate is a great sport, and there are simply too many people out there who know nothing about it, or have an uninformed perspective on it. Informing people and changing their view of the sport will help us get the kind of support from parents, school administrators, youth sports providers, and media that will really help us grow the sport, primarily through youth. The more people who are involved in the sport, and the more exposure it has, the more outside sponsors will look to get involved. There is so much that we could do with more resources, from developing players and teams, to training coaches and observers, to supporting leagues, to improving events and reducing player costs. Right now the financial burden of organizing the sport falls too heavily on individual players and members. Expanding our reach as a sport will help us form relationships with partners who will invest in helping the sport grow and develop. Another important outcome is that the promotion/relegation system will lead to more team consistency over time. In terms of being able to promote the sport, consistent names, locations, and team brands are important. But beyond that, this consistency will help provide reliable local playing opportunities. Rather than a developing player or a player new to a city having to navigate the ever-changing landscape of team names, identities, leadership, etc., there will more likely be a known group of teams on which that which provide playing opportunities for competitive players at player can set his/her sights. Young players will look to a variety of levels, bring the community together in support of develop in line with whichever existing team or progression “their teams�, and also give back by providing experienced of teams inspires them. Consistency in identity also helps players to coach and support other local programs. lead to consistency in leadership and organization, which The USA Ultimate Triple Crown Tour incorporates not only in turn can lead to relationships with local partners such as exciting changes to the top Ultimate competition structure field providers, schools, coaches, sponsors, fans, and local in the world, but will work in conjunction with other disc organizations. Without spending an immense amount organizational strategies to grow and develop the sport. of energy to reinvent a team from scratch every year or two, There are still a number of details to be communicated many local teams will be better positioned to develop local and worked out with teams and event organizers over the players and their team over time. course of the winter, and there will almost certainly be some Expanding on the idea of relationships and team identity evolution of the Tour structure over time. Check out the is the vision for local disc organizations to serve as the information available in this issue of USA Ultimate on both underlying fabric of a robust, interconnected national the USAU Strategic Plan and the Triple Crown Tour, as well Ultimate community. Imagine what it would look like for a as the promotional videos available at www.usaultimate.org. local disc organization to connect all the pieces of the local Stay tuned to the USA Ultimate website for more exciting community. They run leagues for recreational players. They information on teams, events, and guidelines for next year’s run programs and provide playing opportunities for youth inaugural Triple Crown Tour. And thanks to the Ultimate of all ages. They provide instructional programs for players, community for your patience and participation throughout coaches, and officials. And they support travelling Tour teams, the planning process. F A L L 2 0 12
Which teams will qualify for the Pro Flight in 2013? PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ ULTIPHOTOS
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Open Preview why the following teams have a shot at winning this year
Ironside
By: Gene Buonaccorsi
Is the Third Time a Charm? For the past two years, Boston Ironside has gotten their shot in the USAU Club Championship finals and both times they have fallen to Revolver. In the wake of defeat they have risen stronger than ever. This season has seen young stars finding spots in the Boston system and veterans using their cohesion to set the tone. This deep and experienced team seems to know no limits.
One glance at their record conveys how impressive a summer Ironside has put together. Through four tournaments they have had but one loss -- a Saturday morning game to Portland Rhino at Emerald City Classic that they avenged in the finals on Sunday. In the win column of their 26-1 record they have two victories each over Regional rivals PoNY and GOAT as well as a 15-5 rout of Doublewide and a 13-11 win over two-time defending champions Revolver. Their regular season culminated in a dominant
performance at the Chesapeake Invite, where no team reached double digits against them. The Boston O-line is a well-oiled machine that starts with handlers Matt Rebholz and Jacob “Frogger” Taylor. George Stubbs and Peter Prial are two of the most dangerous players on the club scene, and the Ironside offense runs through them. Stubbs has shown time and time again that his throws are pinpoint in a variety of conditions, while Prial’s speed makes him a threat going deep as well as coming under.
Doublewide
By: Bryan Jones
Waiting for the Stars Of the three major contenders for the title, Doublewide is the most in flux. In addition to introducing new pieces to the puzzle this year, they’ve been waiting for their two star players to get healthy. Newcomers Cole Sullivan and Tim Gehret have fit in incredibly well, while Kurt Gibson’s and Brodie Smith’s knee injuries have left others wondering just what this Texas team will look like come Nationals.
Kurt Gibson has been one of the best players in the game over the last few seasons, but his status did not come without hardship. Gibson was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2008 after finishing his college career at Florida. After a long and tough battle, Gibson returned to dominate his opponents and remains cancer free to this day. His presence has allowed Doublewide to emerge as a semifinals squad in the last few years. Unfortunately, Gibson tore his PCL while playing with Team USA this past summer. He is expected to make a full recovery in time for Nationals.
Brodie Smith is a recognizable force, drawing publicity for his trick shots and immense play-making abilities. At 6’4’’, Smith has the height to do damage and is well-known for his spectacular throws. After suffering a knee injury early this season, Smith has not yet stepped on the field with Doublewide. There is no questioning his talent, but some harbor concerns regarding the team’s employment of his skill. Since he can strike from anywhere on the field, Doublewide’s offense often looks vastly different with him on the field.
WFDF World Championship in July, followed by the USAU championship series in the fall.
as an indication that they are no longer atop the Ultimate world, there is more to the story.
After a strong first place showing at Worlds, the Bay Area team set to work preparing to defend their title stateside. Despite a 6-1 record at the Emerald City Classic they fell to rival Boston Ironside in pool play and missed out on the finals. At the Labor Day Ultimate Championships they went 4-2, losing to eventual champions Seattle Sockeye in the Semifinals. Although some might be quick to peg Revolver’s defeats
While they may not be the San Francisco team that went a jaw-dropping 40-1 over the course of the 2011 club season, the 2012 iteration of Revolver is a force to be reckoned with. Their 10-3 pre-series record has pitted them solely against teams in the top 20 of the USAU Club Rankings, including wins over five of the Top 10. Sectionals and Regionals will allow the team to build off of their regular
Revolver
By: Gene Buonaccorsi
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On the Verge of a Dynasty San Francisco’s Revolver are the golden boys of club Ultimate’s recent past. The two-time defending USAU National Champions have displayed poise, energy and strategy that has been unrivaled during their stint at the top. Many have come to expect perfection when watching them. At the outset of the 2012 season it was clear that Revolver’s mettle would be tested as they faced the daunting doublepeak – representing the United States at the
Left: Will Peter Prial’s dominance propel Ironside to a first-place finish at the 2012 Club Championships? PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS // Middle: Doublewide’s Max Cook looks to throw downfield during the U.S. Open against Johnny Bravo. PHOTO: CMBTcreative // Right: Standout player Beau Kittredge is one of Revolver’s crucial weapons. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
Revolver’s Beau Kittredge or Doublewide’s Kurt Gibson and Brodie Smith combo. At Emerald City Classic newcomer Miles MontgomeryButler generated clutch turnovers, while second-year player Jon Hirschberger proved to be integral to Boston’s defensive offense. Adding in the tenacious Russell Wallack, speedy Seth Reinhardt and handlers Brandon Malacek, Brendan Nichols and Dan Forseter, the Ironside defense is a nightmare to line up against.
It is hard not to consider Boston to be the favorite heading into Sarasota. They’ve taken down their Regional rivals and avenged their finals losses from the past two years. With the offense looking nearly unstoppable and their defense causing problems for even their most seasoned opponents, Ironside starts the series on the right foot. The three bids coming out of the Northeast all but guarantee a Nationals trip and despite the target on their back, Boston looks ready to take on all challengers.
Doublewide doesn’t just consist of the two star players Gibson and Smith; rather, the team features tall athletes across the board. While other elite squads have a few tall athletes to give them an edge, Texas is full of them. Their average height is 6’2’’ with 12 players at or above that mark. Kevin Richardson, Jake Anderson and Mike Natenberg are nightmares for squads that don’t have the height to match up. Will Driscoll stands at 6’3’’ and is coming off of a great performance with the college allstar NexGen team that toured the country this
summer.
with his speed and his long hucks. Smith uses his 6’4’’ frame to take advantage of smaller defenders deep, but also has the ability to command an offense down the field. Thomas has fit in well as a primary cutter this season and will probably be featured on offense with Driscoll. Sullivan will likely play an assisting role to Gibson and Smith, utilizing the Florida chemistry.
season successes, while working out some of the kinks that arose at Labor Day. Revolver should have no trouble punching their ticket to Sarasota, as they are no longer included in the notoriously difficult Northwest.
Mark Sherwood, Mac Taylor and Ryo Kawaoka bring fire whenever they step on the field, forcing their opponents to battle for every score. Revolver showed that no team is safe from them, striking back from deficits to take wins at both ECC and Labor Day. While no one likes to play from behind, Revolver seems less daunted than most teams when down a couple of breaks. If they can maintain offensive stability and generate energy on defense early in the game they can stand up to any team in the country.
The rest of the Boston offensive players are no slouches either. Jack-of-all-trades Josh “Cricket” Markette is a crafty and creative player who uses an arsenal of throws to pick defenses apart and Danny Clark is known for his big skies and workhorse mentality. On defense Ironside creates matchup advantages with their depth. Colin Mahoney and Will Neff are twin towers, both coming in well over six feet and carrying the athleticism necessary to cover versatile players like
Composure is the key to Revolver’s style. Veteran handler Robbie Cahill is one of the best throwers in the game. His grace under pressure anchors an offense full of weapons like Beau Kittredge, Ashlin Joye and Cassidy Rasmussen. On defense, impact players like F A L L 2 0 12
Team chemistry has been a huge part of Doublewide’s success. The team draws recruits from three major college teams, the Universities of Texas, Kansas and Florida. Gehret and Sullivan played with Gibson and Smith at Florida during their 2006 championship run. Kiran Thomas has returned home to play with his Texas buddies after a stint with Chain Lightning. Once they return to form, Gibson and Smith are huge weapons on offense. Gibson hurts teams
Expect Doublewide to be nothing short of electric at the 2012 Club Championships in Sarasota.
More so than in the past, Revolver has spent this season becoming the team that they need to be in October. During the regular season they incorporated new players into their system. In the series we will see the culmination of these efforts as the San Francisco team strives for the three-peat. There is no doubt that Revolver has the experience and skill. Now they just need to execute.
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Open Preview
By: Gene Buonaccorsi
Five Things to Consider
New Regions /
New Matchups With this season’s club redraw, new regional matchups will be established when battling for Nationals bids. The eight-region format is an expansion from the previous six-region set up. Immediately of note is the effect that this redraw has on the West Coast. No longer will Revolver, Sockeye, Rhino and Furious George fight for the same bids in the Northwest, as Revolver has been relegated to the Southwest region with the rest of California. Johnny Bravo moves away from the Southwest to the South Central to meet Austin’s Doublewide. Notably, this will mark the end of Doublewide and Chain Lightning’s regional matchup. The teams have met in the South Regional final every year since 2007, with Doublewide’s 3-2 series record including two universe point wins. Chain Lightning moves over to the Southeast region to battle former Mid Atlantic powerhouse Ring of Fire. When the dust from the eight regional tournaments settles in October, new rivalries will be formed and new dynasties begun.
The Surging Rhino In the wake of last season’s Northwest Regional tournament, Portland’s Rhino missed out on Sarasota after a strong late season peak. This year Oregon’s finest have come storming back to try to claim the Northwest as their own and return to Sarasota for the first time since 2007. Seasoned veteran Seth Wiggins remains at Portland’s helm, accompanied by stellar handlers Mario O’Brien and Tad Jensen. Their roster is loaded with young talent as well, including NexGen All-Stars Dylan Freechild, Camden Allison-Hall and Jacob Janin. Rhino’s skill was on display at the Emerald City Classic, where their only loss was in the finals to Ironside. Handler movement was the name of the game with regards to their early season success, as O’Brien and Wiggins were nearly impossible to guard. As the summer went on Portland’s deep game and defense looked stronger, partially thanks to the return of their NexGen contingent. While they missed out on the championship bracket at the Labor Day Club Championship, their losses were to perennial powerhouses Revolver and Chain Lightning. A universe point win over Doublewide and assertive wins over 10
Madison Club and Regional rival Furious George showed that Rhino can hang with just about anyone. After storming through the Oregon section they will look to grab one of the Northwest’s three bids to Nationals.
The AUDL Transition In this, the inaugural year of the American Ultimate Disc League, we saw a large portion of last year’s sixth-place Southpaw crossover and play for the Spinners this spring and summer. Eighteen members of the Spinners will be on Southpaw’s roster and it will be interesting to see if their cohesion carries into the USAU Club Series. While the Spinners dominated the AUDL and won the championship game, Southpaw got a late start to club tournaments, as their first weekend together was the Chesapeake Invite in late August. Adapting to a slightly different roster and a different set of rules seemed to take a toll on the Philadelphia team as they exited in pre-quarters of Chesapeake and failed to log a win at Labor Day. There is no doubt that this is a talented team, however. The seasoned Trey Katzenbach leads an athletic and relentless group that is capable of out-grinding their opponents. Last season Southpaw grabbed the last of four bids to Nationals out of the Mid-Atlantic, but only one team from the region will advance this year. After falling to Oakland in the Founders Sectional finals, Philly will need to peak again if they want to replicate their 2011 quarterfinals run.
Resurgence of Bravo Boulder’s Johnny Bravo is an incredibly consistent team. Their Nationals streak is the second longest in Club Ultimate after Ring of Fire, as they have qualified every year since 2000. A semifinal streak from 2006-2008 seemed to indicate a breakthrough, but Bravo has fallen off a bit since then, only reaching quarters once in the past three years. This summer, the boys
from Colorado are coming back strong. At the inaugural US Open they bested Chain Lightning, Doublewide and Ring of Fire en route to a tournament win. After sweeping slightly lesser competition at the Colorado Cup, Bravo performed impressively against top opponents at Labor Day, falling in the finals to Seattle Sockeye. Long time Bravo stars Josh Ackley and Ryan Farrell are at the helm, with a wealth of young studs around them. Jesse Roehm was a scoring machine at Labor Day and Jimmy Mickle’s pulls and hucks never cease to amaze. Johnny Bravo and Doublewide will start a new Regional rivalry this year, but with two bids to Nationals coming out of the South Central don’t be surprised to see Boulder playing late into the bracket in Sarasota this year.
Pipelines If some of the faces battling for regional titles look familiar, it may be because you saw them competing on the fields of Boulder just last Memorial Day. Both of the finalists at the 2012 USAU College National tournament send a number of their players to the elite Club division in the fall. The second year Oakland Ultimate is made up completely of current and former Pittsburgh En Sabah Nur players and Madison Club boasts a number of Wisconsin Hodags. Pipelines like these allow college teammates to gain elite club experience and to build their team chemistry over the course of another season. Fresh off of their first national title, Pittsburgh stars Tyler Degirolamo, Julian Hausman and Alex Thorne take the field for Oakland in the Mid-Atlantic. In Madison, Hodag coach and alum Hector Valdivia will play alongside current Wisconsin players like Colin Camp and Ben Rehmann. It will be exciting to see elite college teammates and coaches combine forces in the club arena. Johnny Bravo is an incredibly strong team this year. PHOTO: CMBTcreative
WOmen’s Preview why the following teams have a shot at winning this year By Devon Ericksen
(Left) Gwen Ambler and her Riot teammates scored a major win at the U.S. Open in July: Photo: BRANDON WU/ ULTIPHOTOS Kaela Jorgenson of Fury and Team USA reaches for the disc in the gold-medal final at the World Championships. PHOTO: NEIL GARDNER
Fury
Fury is poised to dominate the 2012 Club Championships. Their heartbreaking loss to Japan in the gold medal game of the World Championships in Sakai has sharpened their focus on what needs to be improved, and motivated them to work even harder for success in Sarasota. While Worlds proved that Fury is not an invincible team, their performance in the club season thus far begs to differ. Fury is undefeated since their return from Sakai, notching tournament wins at Emerald City Classic, Labor Day Ultimate Championships, and NorCal Sectionals. Peaking twice in one season is a difficult physical and mental accomplishment. But Fury’s experienced leadership team—made up of captains Nancy Sun and Lakshmi
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Narayan and coach Matty Tsang—has carefully prepared for this challenge, beginning the tryout process in March and planning time off after Worlds to prepare for the USAU Series. Fury has experienced some roster changes since Worlds, losing four players including standouts Alicia White and Georgia Bosscher. But their roster is still brimming with experienced veterans such as Alex Snyder, Cree Howard, and Liz Penny, to name a few. The team also features younger players like UCSB’s Carolyn Finney and Oregon’s Julia Sherwood who have been well known in the college game in recent years. Why will Fury win the 2012 Club Championships? Not because they have won it for the past six years, or have big names
on their roster, or are undefeated so far this season. Fury is going to win because winning is a byproduct of the work they have put in. Their focus on the details is evident in the way they play – they work hard to control the game on defense so their offense can get the job done. Fury’s command of off-field details is also evident. From lining the sidelines of each game with cheering players to coaching check-ins throughout the season, Fury’s formula for success is a model for other teams to follow. If Fury maintains their successful rhythm in Sarasota, and takes the lessons of Japan to heart, they will win Nationals this year.
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Riot
Riot may have a few losses under their belt coming into Regionals and the Club Championships, including an especially surprising 13-5 loss to Traffic in the finals of Washington Sectionals, but they are a team that can take a rocky season and translate it into impressive results in Sarasota. Riot has consistently finished in the top four of the Club Championships every season for the last ten years and made the finals for seven of those years. Despite such impressive results, Riot has not won the national title since 2005. But that doesn’t matter to Riot 2012, because they are ready to win it all. The story of Riot 2012 is of new faces on the field. This year’s roster features eleven new players, many of them fresh from the college season. Oregon’s Bailey Zahniser and Washington’s Jillian Goodreau, Kirstin Gruver, and Sarah Davis all played in the finals of the 2012 College Championships, and join more
experienced club players such as former Brute Squad players Dominique Fontenette and Hana Kawai in Riot’s rookie class. The veterans of the Riot squad include defensive dynamos Shannon O’Malley and Sarah Griffith, and speedy cutters Kathryn Lawson and Calise Cardenas. Under the leadership of Gwen Ambler, Kate Kingery, and a healthy Rohre Titcomb, Riot’s successful season includes winning the U.S. Open and making the finals of Eugune Summer Solstice, Emerald City Classic, Labor Day Ultimate Championships, and Washington Sectionals. Riot’s road to the Club Championships may have been made easier by the club restructuring, which removed Fury from the region and helped the Northwest earn four bids to the tournament. But a less stressful series doesn’t necessarily translate into a more successful Sarasota, as facing off against Fury in the series is one of the best
ways to prepare for another potential finals rematch. Riot has still been able to play Fury four times this year, but has yet to come out on top. Despite losing Fury from the region, Riot still has to contend with regional rival Traffic, with whom Riot is 2-2 so far this year. Riot has played against every top-16 team in the country except Heist, and beaten all but two. This experience will show in Sarasota. Attending three tournaments filled with top teams is the preparation they need to make it through pool play. How they perform in bracket play will depend on the chemistry of their team comprised of almost half rookies and half veterans. But with a season that included a finals appearance in every tournament they attended, their outlook is bright. Riot is going to win Nationals because they have the talent and the experience this year to beat every team at the tournament.
Scandal
Over the past few years, Scandal has experienced growth, turnover, success, and defeat. Scandal has used last year’s disappointing quarterfinal loss to Phoenix to motivate what could be a much deeper run in 2012. This year, the pieces are in place for that to happen: they have the talent, the leadership, and the desire to win Nationals.
Scandal’s roster of 22 makes them the smallest team in the top 16, and this smaller squad has felt the effect of injuries throughout the season. However, this small roster has also given them a great opportunity to build chemistry from their diversity of talent. Scandal brings eleven new players to their 2012 team, including the addition of Alicia White who played with Fury at Worlds this year before joining Scandal. Scandal also brings a handful of talented college players, or “spring chickens” to their roster, including AC Region Freshman of the Year Alika Johnston from Virginia. The team’s veteran talent includes Octavia Payne and Sandy Jorgensen, two players who anchor the defensive line with their athleticism and
intensity. On offense, Jenny Fey and Katie Klein-Shepley lead with their breaks and hucks. Scandal’s strong season includes a finals appearance at the U.S. Open, a third-place finish behind Fury and Riot at Emerald City Classic, and a win at Virginia Fusion. Scandal is ranked third in the USAU Rankings behind Riot and Fury, and their recent performance at Virginia Fusion confirms their slight lead over the rest of the top-16 teams. If Scandal can rise above the closely matched teams below them by winning their pool, their O line can be better rested for the more challenging competition in bracket play. Offensive chemistry will be the deciding factor in their Sarasota success, as their defense has consistently delivered. Scandal is going to win Nationals because they are a fast, athletic team. Like Riot, their road to Sarasota has been made much easier by club restructuring, but they have traveled across the country face off against top teams, and that experience is going to pay off when it counts.
Charlie Mercer and Scandal made a solid run at the U.S. Open and is a team to beat in Sarasota: PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
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WOMEN’s Preview
Five Things to Consider How important are coaches? Few players would disagree with the fact that having a coach is beneficial. Coaches bring experience to planning, an off-field opinion to tough decisions, and most importantly, line-calling. Many women’s club coaches are men, who carry the added benefit of having distinct voices that can rise above cheers in order to call lines. Female coaches, however, are often more able to navigate the emotional side of coaching and typically understand the women’s game better. Most elite women’s club teams now have coaches, be they male or female, and have benefited greatly from their expertise.
What is the future of women’s Ultimate?
Phoenix was moved into the Southeast region this year. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ ULTIPHOTOS
How have the new regions affected the women’s game this year? The new regions have made some dramatic changes to the Series. Regional rivals have been broken up – Fury has been removed from the Northwest and longtime rivals Riot and Traffic, and Phoenix has been removed from the Mid-Atlantic and Scandal. But having a new rival is not a bad thing, and the new regions will help grow the sport, as teams now have to focus on different competitors.
How has the new bid allocation process affected the women’s game
The future of women’s Ultimate is all about growing the game by spreading knowledge. Coaching clinics and certification has been one of USA Ultimate’s biggest focuses recently, and nearly every top team in the College and Club divisions features a coach. Women’s Ultimate skills clinics are also becoming a big part of the game. Tournaments such as Virginia Fusion connect experienced club players with new college rookies in order to teach them about the game, while Riot runs the All Girl Everything Ultimate Program which teaches young Seattle girls how to play.
East Coast or West Coast? This rivalry will always exist in Ultimate. Whether you’re from the Beast Coast or the Best Coast or somewhere in between, every player has an opinion about which is better. The numbers of East Coast and West Coast teams are pretty even in the top 16 this year, although the fact that the Northwest is earning two more bids than any other region speaks to its prominence as an Ultimate hub. Differences in style are much harder to spot as players move around the country often, spreading offensive plays and defensive looks from coast to coast. Regardless of your coastal preference it is hard to argue with the recent dominance of Fury, who is quickly approaching Lady Godiva’s title record.
this year? Overall consensus is that the new bid allocation system based on strength has helped the women’s game this year, letting teams’ regular season performances dictate bids to Nationals. Yet controversy has erupted over the possibility of a team who did not play the regular season potentially showing up for the Series and “stealing” a bid that another team earned. How this plays out in 2012 could potentially affect future USAU rule changes.
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MIXED Preview why the following teams have a shot at winning this year
Drag’N Thrust
By: Griffin Muckley
Eleven brand new faces dotted the Drag’n Thrust sideline this year. These rookies, most under the age of 25, filled the 13 vacancies left after Drag’n Thrust’s ninth-place finish at Nationals last year – DNT’s greatest turnover since their first season. They could have written this off as a rebuilding year, but this relatively young group of players set out to prove to the DNT core that they bring to the table those factors that experience cannot.
If there is one thing that we’ve learned from the past two national championships, it’s that
raw athleticism will get you very, very far in the Mixed Division. The Polar Bears leapt onto the scene in 2010 with a handful of Open and Women’s players and a doubledose of athletic ability. In one season, the Polar Bears were able to march their way to a National Title. The following year, PBr took on a few more young players and made a name for themselves in the Bay Area as the young, athletic team to beat. Again, they fought their way into the National finals. This season, Drag’n Thrust could pass as PBr’s Midwestern, farm-boy twin. While DNT is
built around their more experienced handler core, their rookies Jay Drescher and Brian “Strings” Schoenrock have been able to shut down some of the most experienced players in Mixed, and force D’s in highpressure games. Sarah Meckstroth, a junior at the University of Minnesota, has enhanced the deep aspect of Drag’n Thrust’s game, making it easy for veteran throwers like Jeff Trosvig. Essentially, Drag’n Thrust took what could have been their greatest liability and turned it into an asset that sets them apart from their opponents.
Polar Bears be stopped: they roared their way back to the finals, losing 16-17 to Bay Area rival Blackbird and just barely missing the repeat gold.
so impressive is their strategy.
This year the Bears are back stronger than ever. They’ve added some studs to their roster, such as Simon Higgins and Kevin Cocks. They’ve still got An-Chi Tsou and Greg Marliave leading the bunch, as well as Lucas Dallmann making amazing plays so frequently they seem routine. But many teams have talented players. What makes the Polar Bears
They rely on dumps. More than anything, their dumps are always open for a reset, allowing them to retain possession even through some of the toughest defense. Their consistency in dumping also opens up the swing options, enabling them to use the sides of the field efficiently. Having played together for a few
By: Maya Ziv
US at the World Championships.
At the Emerald City Classic and Labor Day, Blackbird’s record this season was 9-5. Last year’s was 6-7. They’ve got the same top scorer, Brian Garcia, and picked up some new strong athletes. In 2011 they came in second place at Regionals under Wolverines. They lost against Chad Larson Experience and Slow White in Sarasota. And then they won gold, and a trip to Japan to represent the
The bad news first: They’ve lost a huge chunk of their team (Anna Nazarov, Whit Clark, Olivier Humblet, Peri Kurshan, Leila Jirari and Korin Lee) and some others are out with injuries (Jamie Nuwer, Chris Eggers and Tyler Grant). However, they’ve picked up some powerful athletes to fill in the holes: Karen Brimacombe, Sally Mimms, Jen Schmerling, Jen Burney, Susan Catchelder,
Charles Denby, Andrew Hagen and Eli Janin will help round out the team come game time and help achieve their goals.
By: Maya Ziv
Since their inception, the Bay Area Polar Bears have been dominant. They saw a second place finish at LeiOut 2010, the first tournament they attended as a team. PBr figured they’d give it a shot on grass, and they figured right, eventually taking home the gold that year in Sarasota. Last season showed a rockier start, and they took third place at Regionals leading them to the ninth seed at Nationals. Yet the Bears were not to
The Bears have been able to drill down on a few key tools on which they rely.
Blackbird
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Speaking of goals, Blackbird’s methods of keeping a big picture mindset worked out last year, and they kept it going in 2012 without worrying about win/loss ratios and focusing on improvement. So far, Captain Brian Garcia believes they have lived up to those goals. He says, “We feel that if we continue on the
Left: Drag’n Thrust players are skilled at forcing Ds in high-pressure games. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS // Middle: Polar Bears are passionate about what they do. PHOTO: CMBTcreative // Right: Anna Nazarov is one of the many players that Backbird has lost this season. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
What makes Drag’n Thrust more reliable than other “athletic” teams is the trajectory of their season. During the course of their season, DNT has only moved in one direction: up. Looking back to June, Drag’n Thrust gave a respectable performance at the US Open; they went 4-4 on the weekend, tying for third, with losses to Odyssée and Polar Bears, and two losses to Slow White. It seemed that the young squad was ready to make an appearance among the nation’s best in the fall, but probably not prepared to go too far. Two months later, Drag’n Thrust has shown that they are ready to dominate not only their
own region (they defeated CLX in the finals of the Minnesota Ultimate Disc Invite), but other regions as well. At the Chesapeake Invite, August 25-26, DNT took down the top ranked team in the Southeast region (Bucket), the Mid-Atlantic region (Ambiguously Grey), and even avenged their US Open losses to the top team in the Northeast, Slow White. A potential speed bump is The Ghosts, who spent most of the summer at number-one in the USAU rankings and finished third at Chesapeake without a large chunk of their core and with a few new names on their roster. This late in the season, DNT’s consistent improvement
and steady roster seem more reliable and easier to stand behind.
years means they know each other well enough to make the perfect cut for each thrower. Additionally, as the years have progressed, different players have stepped up. For example, Paige Kercher, who used to be an incredibly consistent distributor, now makes huge downfield hucks. This year, the huge mark of Greg Marliave is harder to break than ever.
dropped one at Labor Day to sectional and regional rival American BBQ. At times when the team is most tired and the connections start to fall apart, the Polar Bears struggle to pick up the pieces. And yet, one loss out of 27 games is still pretty great. Their one loss was a learning experience that the Bears are not looking to repeat.
seeding at the Big Show and is not necessarily a predictor of their final placement. The real mental pressure is going to come in Sarasota when facing off against opponents like Drag’n Thrust, Slow White and The Chad Larson Experience, to whom they have yet to avenge an early season U.S. Open loss.
There’s only one thing that can stand in the way of Polar Bears – themselves. After a 26 sanctioned game winning streak, they
This team is confident heading to Regionals, as they know first-hand that a less-than-stellar performance at Regionals just leads to a lower
track we have set for ourselves, we’ll be in a great position to play our best Ultimate when it counts.”
The team believes the ultimate goal is the gold medal, and they came back to the States mentally ready to make it happen.
Probably the biggest growing point of their season came at the World Ultimate Championship in Japan this past summer. Garcia recapped the experience, “At worlds we learned that we play our best when we don’t put so much pressure on ourselves. We’re not that team. We’ve gotten back to what we were doing and thinking last year.”
But making it to Sarasota won’t be easy. Though the Southwest has five bids to the Club Championships, this year has been one of the most competitive the region has seen, especially since adding in the NorCal Section. Blackbird picked up a fifth bid for the region, ranked 13th. However, this season they’ve had close wins against American BBQ and
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Unfortunately, very few teams have traveled out to the West Coast for inter-region games, which makes comparing Labor Day’s results with those from the Chesapeake Invite difficult. However, with a more diverse spread of teams comes more chances to prepare for rematches. Drag’n Thrust has seen more of the potential Nationals competition than teams like Polar Bears, Bigfoot, or Blackbird, which may give them a leg-up later in the series.
But at the end of the day, why are the Polar Bears going to win it all? They are tougher, smarter and more passionate about what they do than any other team on the field.
grasSFace, giving hope to the team that they won’t end up in the game-to-go, but instead secure their bid solidly. On the flip side, they haven’t faced the SoCal teams yet, or other Bay Area teams like BW Ultimate who seem to do better each tournament they play. At the end of the day, Blackbird is a team of people who know how to win. They’ve played on the world stage, pulled out the toughest victory possible to take gold in 2011. To do it again, they’ll have to keep that in mind
and turn up the intensity as time goes on. Last year they were a team that improved not only over the season, but also over their time at the Championships. They dropped two games in the Power Pools to Chad Larson
Experience and Slow White, but learned from their mistakes. They quit stumbling and defeated 7 Figures, The Ghosts and District 5 in the semifinals before moving on to play an incredible game against Polar Bears in the
championship game. With their current season as promising as it has been to date, Blackbird has their eyes on the prize and are laying it all on the line for a repeat.
MIXED Preview
Five Things to Consider Five teams from the Southwest will be attending. At the USAU
Women’s College Championships 5 teams from the Southwest attended, and none made it past quarters. Will the Club Mixed division see a similar fate? No. Though five bids allows for a team to end up in Florida that is potentially not as good as another, the teams still earned their spot. Northern California alone is full of teams that have performed well over the season (including the 2010 and 2011 champs), and it’ll be these teams who have experience in big games that will come through at the end. Polar Bears, American BBQ and Blackbird could all conceivably be Semis teams. Speaking of the Southwest…
even when their starters had to rest, the whole Blackbird roster was ready to perform, and did so excellently. They’ve even picked up some players well known for their skill and athleticism to fill in whatever gaps might be left. Though Blackbird has some new players, they retain the same mentality: improve every tournament. If they manage to do so all the way to the Club Championships, we might even see a rematch of last year’s final.
Who is the Darkhorse pick to win it all? After coming in as last year’s top seed to the Club Championships, The Ghosts had an interesting regular season. They went undefeated until the Chesapeake Invite, where they lost to Bucket and Slow White twice. However, they avenged the loss to Slow White with a finals win at Sectionals. They suffered through some mental struggles at the Championships last year, but if they clean those up, we could see The Ghosts finally proving they deserve to be in first place.
Which top tier teams might not be seen in Florida?
Will Slow White be able to avenge their loss to The Ghosts at Nationals? PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
This year we’ve got Blackbird and Polar Bears in the mix, our first and second place teams in 2011. Where will they find themselves this year? Last year both of these teams came in with a rocky start, dropping games in pool play. Blackbird even had to fight back from landing in pre-quarters, playing an extra game against LA’s 7 Figures. And even then, they moved on to win the championship title. We’ve seen Polar Bears play dominantly all year. There’s very little doubt they’ll end up at least in the semis, easily in the finals. This year, however, Blackbird has lost some key players with Anna Nazarov playing in the Women’s division and Tyler Grant out with injuries. Yet what was so great about Blackbird last year is still true now: 16
This season the Northwest is exceptionally volatile, with only one bid for a bunch of teams that have performed well at top tournaments over the summer. Bigfoot, Mental Toss Flycoons, Golden Spike, Eats, Throws & Leaves and Engine 45 are all in contention for one spot to Sarasota. Engine 45 lost to everyone but Bigfoot at ECC. Bigfoot beat Mental Toss Flycoons at ECC but lost to Eats, Throws & Leaves at Sectionals. Mental Toss Flycoons also lost to Golden Spike at Sectionals, but beat Blackbird and had close games with Polar Bears, Bigfoot and 7 Figures at ECC. Any of these teams could make it to the Big Show. Yet it’s not just the Northwest, other regions also feature teams that are dangerously close to missing out on playing in the Championships. Sabre Corp in the Southeast and AMP in the Mid Atlantic are also both teams that were at Nationals last year but are currently ranked second in their region. Bucket, the first ranked team in the Southeast were also at Nationals last year, guaranteeing one of the top teams from 2011 will not be attending the Championships this year.
Who are seven players to watch? Jeff Graham: The Ghosts / Brian Garcia: Blackbird / Austin Lien: Drag’n Thrust / Becca Miller: Chad Larson Experience / An-Chi Tsou: Polar Bears / Jenny Wang: Mischief / Lucas Dallmann: Polar Bears
Surly player Sam Rosenthal keeps the disc moving under pressure. PHOTO: BRIAN CANNIFF/ULTIPHOTOS
Masters Preview why the following teams have a shot at winning this year By: Matty Spillum
Surly
Once again, I find myself in the awkward position of trying to prognosticate the results of a tournament of which no one actually knows the participants. In the interests of potential accuracy, though, the kind folks at USA Ultimate have given me the assignment to make the case for three teams. So, here we go: Why will Wheelchair win 2012 Championsh… what? Really? Okay, fine. How about Beyondors? Them too? Huh. We’ll start with the defending champs, then. Here is why Surly will three-peat as champions in 2012: First of all, they were the ones to break their own curse, finally making it two in a row last season. The most successful Masters team in history continues to put together impressive and powerfully deep rosters. Powered by the harsh northern winters and their excellent, eponymous beer, these guys have to be included in any conversation of potential champions. Up and down the roster, Surly F A L L 2 0 12
is filled with big game experience. Still, as Captain John Chandler notes, “this is the first time in a while that we have lost some of our main guys and not really reloaded with known quantities.” Several of the mainstays of last year’s finals team, including Tim Murray, Brian Paradise, Charlie Reznikoff and Dan Rydel have moved on in different directions. Still, the backbone of the team is still together. Coming off a disappointing performance at Worlds and wanting to stave off a winter of losing bragging rights to their Grandmasters brothers, these guys will hit Sarasota hungry. With a bit of turnover, the team expects to be a bit less rigid in its offensive and defensive lines, allowing many players to have widened roles. Players like Don Tom and Ricky Eikstadt showcased their versatility at GMs, and the rest of the team is disciplined enough to expand their individual repertoires. New faces include Twin Cities Mixed/Open veterans Mike Berseth, Alex Fraser and Scotty
Alsleben. Mostly defensive players, these players will give Surly’s gritty, multi-faceted D the extra legs needed to sustain runs. Adding that to an already tough lineup featuring stalwarts like Russ Adams, Bryan Rupert, Mark ‘Paco’ Enright and John Sandahl makes the reigning champs a tough bet to score on. On offense, while stat sheet filler Murray will be missed, Paul Anderson and Dave Boardman continue to challenge defenses, and Sam Rosenthal, Ricky Eikstadt and Todd Owens can keep the disc moving under any kind of pressure. More than anything else, what Surly has going for it is the champion’s edge. They have put in enough time at the top that they are in the sights and minds of their opponents. Until further notice, the championship still runs through them. They don’t game plan for you: you game plan for them. And you better make it good if you want to do more than get a consolation beer from them. 17
Reckon
Last season’s Masters Championships showed us the usual examples of the different ways to approach the truncated Masters series. On the one hand, you have teams like Wheelchair, who wrangle all the eligible stars they know and put their raw talent to the test against the field. On the other extreme, teams like Surly try to maintain some measure of
Reckon’s 2012 version brings back a very solid core of players, who gave Surly all they could handle for most of their semifinal match last year. Most of their contributors are back, including their key man in last year’s semifinal, John Riddle. While Mark Stuewe’s throws are missing from the current roster, they retain the services of Martin Aguilera,
On defense, this team showed a lot of moxie last year, pulling points away with both a long-armed zone and fierce, layout-happy matchup D. The aforementioned John Riddle was an absolute monster in many games. Still, for this team to make the leap, they will need to find more consistency in defense. Boneyard picked them apart with
Reckon has a very solid core of players on its roster this year. PHOTO: BRIAN CANNIFF/ULTIPHOTOS
roster consistency and practice regularly. While both methods have proponents and merits, success seemed to hinge primarily on the ever-elusive concept of chemistry. For the all-star sides, this means having a quorum of players who have played together before, while for the more conventional teams, this would be the point of practicing, or, dare I say it, even playing together in a tournament or two before the series. In any case, the semifinal teams of 2011 all found a way to get on the same page under pressure. One of the most fun to watch was Reckon.
18
Aaron Moredock, Rex Taylor and Ryan Balch, so I don’t look for them to have too much trouble getting the disc to their receivers. One key for Masters teams is reloading, and, while Reckon retains a number of names, they have done well in bringing in some new faces. At the top of that list would have to be former Beyondor Steve Dugan, whose big game experience and elite skill set immediately make Reckon that much more dangerous. Adding a bona fide legend of the sport to an already good lineup shows that Reckon is committed to making that next push toward the finals.
little trouble in pool play, and Reckon also showed a tendency to let teams get back into games on occasion. Still, for my money, that gets back to the chemistry question rather than being a talent issue. With another year under their belts, and solid, championship roster additions like Dugan, Reckon cannot be left out of the contenders conversation for 2012.
Boneyard
In Ultimate, a sport with less history than most, past performance counts for more in how we rate teams for tournaments. Perhaps after a few more years, with consistent and reliable statistical analysis, we can debate how many Wins Above Replacement a particular play might be worth, or finally find out who really IS a Sunday team. Until that longed for day, however, we are forced to look at things more subjectively. By that metric, of course, Boneyard’s disappointing 2011 Masters Championships performance should rule them out of the conversation for possible finalists this year. Having lost the services of several younger guys who wanted to make another run in the Open division, Boneyard of 2011 seemed to skate by under the radar, losing in quarters to a fully operational Wheelchair and taking sixth after the mountain men of Chalant beat
them in the fifth-place game. “Fine,” I hear you say, “With all that weighing against them, what makes them a team that can win it all this season?” Glad you asked. First of all, this is another team that has kept much of its core together. Mike Denardis, Brian Lang and Brian Sherry all return to lead a group that is very familiar with one another. This team works well together, and pushed younger Open teams Ring of Fire and Cash Crop at this season’s North Carolina Open Sectionals. Putting in that extra work against the young guys essentially amounts to resistance training for a Masters team. Look for that to pay off, since the average relative speed and athleticism of opponents falls off slightly in Masters play. Boneyard is also unlikely to have the same kind of bad fortune that seemed to strike in Sarasota last year. While the overall outcome
was certainly a disappointment for a team that had made the finals in 2010, this is still a team that plowed through its pool with little trouble. Drawing the suddenly alert and focused Wheelchair in the quarters put Boneyard in an unenviable position from which they never really recovered. With another year of working together, watch for this team to handle adversity better. Perhaps the most telling reason for Boneyard winning it all comes in the return of Ray Parrish to the fold. In 2010, Parrish was one of the team’s driving forces as they headed to the finals, and bringing him back returns a lot of firepower to an already potent lineup. His overall game may very well be the fix for last year’s inability to get over the hump. So many Masters teams are looking for that one last piece of the puzzle, and for Boneyard, Ray Parrish could be that piece.
Boneyard’s hard work against younger teams is sure to pay off this season. PHOTOS: BRANDON WU/ULTIPHOTOS
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19
FIVE YEA RS. 20 MEDALS.
TEAM USA +
OPEN DIVISION COVERAGE
Johnny Bravo’s Owen Westbrook skies his competition at the 2012 U.S. Open. PHOTO: CMBTcreative
Bravo!
Colorado’s Johnny Bravo Back on Top after opening the season with a win at the U.S. Open By: Jonathan Neeley
Johnny Bravo began its 2012 season with a dominant U.S. Open win. The Colorado team started by taking down 2011 national semifinalist Atlanta Chain Lighting and did not look back, finishing pool play with a 7-0 record and beating Chain again in the final, this time 15-12. Bravo has kept up the pace since the Open, going undefeated at Colorado Cup and placing second at the Labor Day Championships. The team finished the regular season with a 21-2 record and is poised to make a run deep into the Club Championships. Looks like Bravo is back. Johnny Bravo lost the 2007 Club Championship final 15-13 to Seattle Sockeye. The team had made the semifinals in 2006 and did so again in 2008. Household names Beau, Mac, Jolian, Parker, and Richter were entering their athletic primes while veterans like Matty Lipscomb and F A L L 2 0 12
Mike Whitaker brought the grit and experience required of a championship team. After 2008, however, Beau Kittredge and Mac Taylor departed for San Francisco and Lipscomb, Whitaker, and a number of other stalwarts retired. The following two years, Jolian Dahl’s move home to Atlanta and Parker Krug’s retirement headlined a number of key departures. All in all, Bravo hemorrhaged 31 players from 2008 to 2010, half of them among Ultimate’s top 50 while in their prime. That reaching Ultimate’s upper echelon is a struggle is evidenced by lack of turnover in the Championship semifinals every year. That struggle is perhaps harder for a team that had not long ago cemented its place as a mainstay on that stage only to see its talent depart. To rebuild would require the painful letting go of expectations that were only recently validated. 21
Top Left: Chain Lightning’s Nick Lance looks to break Bravo’s energized defense. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Right: Jake Juszak snags a disc out of the air during the U.S. Open finals. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Bottom Left: Johnny Bravo’s team boasts an especially athletic and hard-working squad this year. PHOTO: CMBTcreative
But after the 2009 campaign, Johnny Bravo captain Josh “Richter” Ackley and new cocaptain Ryan Farrell knew that they had no choice. No longer stocked with the kind of talent that justified setting their sights on Sunday play at the Championships, the duo asked former Bravo player Bob Krier to coach the team. An assistant coach to Colorado Mamabird and a well-respected student of the game, Krier jumped at the opportunity to implement his ideas at an elite level. He began coaching Johnny Bravo in early 2010.
out of its own region. At the Championships, Bravo fell to Madcow 15-13 in pool play, a loss that sent them to the lower pools and led to a ninth-place finish. At season’s end, the majority of Bravo’s offensive line retired. In 2011, 13 new players joined the team. And while the new crop included talents like Austin Gregerson (the U.S. Open’s leading block-getter), Owen Westbrook, and Jesse Roehm, almost two line’s worth of turnover was daunting. This time, however, the change provided a spark.
Krier’s primary tenet was a high work rate through both success and failure. He pushed each individual on the “All of the new guys brought insane energy,” says McShane, team to improve on his own, designing practices around a captain this year. “It could be seen in all the little things specific themes and challenges that made progress like a willingness to get to practice early or stay late to get tangible. Krier was unemotional, letting new players know more throws. The younger guys were more likely to buy in that even though the team was committed to building up and trust what the team was doing.” their technical skills through repetition and patience, they Despite the energy boost, Bravo’s struggles continued. The could deliver one thing from the start: hard work. team went 6-9 in the regular season and made another early exit from contention at the Championships, this time “If a player showed up sufficiently motivated and followed falling to GOAT in pool play and Southpaw in a game to my prompts,” says Krier, “he would learn the day’s lesson decide who would advance to the pre-quarters. It was the by doing it and walk off the field better than he arrived.” second year in a row that Johnny Bravo had failed to qualify While the rookie class featured Mamabird standouts for the Championship quarterfinals, a round that it had not Jackson Kloor and Jack McShane along with future star missed since 2000. Jimmy Mickle, Bravo’s mix of a new coach, youngsters, and long-time veterans led to a mercurial 2010. At Labor Day, But however painful, Bravo’s 2010 and 2011 seasons the team beat Revolver, the eventual national champion, served to reinforce the team’s newfound belief that hard but lost to Emerald City Ultimate, a team that did not get work and persistence come before results. While wins still 22
OPEN DIVISION COVERAGE eluded Bravo, the team had shifted its approach to the game and could feel itself making progress. “Last year was a rough finish,” says McShane. “A lot of us felt that we were on the cusp. That, more than the actual finish, is what motivated us. We realized we had the athleticism, we just needed to gain the chemistry and experience.” Galvanized by their own potential, Johnny Bravo’s players doubled down after 2011. Players made a yearround commitment to the team, continuing weight lifting programs throughout the offseason and starting 2012 practices earlier than usual. The hard work showed, as Bravo beat Mamabird in a spring scrimmage for the first time in Ackley’s memory and players that were cut from the team commented on just how physically fit those who made the roster were. “The team was pushing so hard and playing at a speed and intensity in May that approached what we expected for October,” says Krier. “So I kept pushing them harder and they responded in kind by working even harder.” Just as important as the team’s work over the winter is its low turnover. This is the first time in five years that Bravo did not lose more than two starters, and two of its “new” players are Hylke Snieder and Krug, both of whom have extensive history with the team. Johnny Bravo is now a cohesive unit with the kind of self-awareness rare in all but the very best teams.
If members of Johnny Bravo are starting to enjoy the fruits of their labor, it doesn’t show. When talking about practice, McShane shows an understanding of the idea that nothing can be taken for granted. “When you come from an elite college program, I think you have the tendency to forget that there are ridiculously good players out there who didn’t have the opportunity to play at the highest level. When I see those guys, it inspires the heck out of me.” The drive to get back to the top is not going anywhere for Ackley either. Padget, who joined the team partly to play alongside Ackley, says that his competitive fire drives Bravo in practice. “When you see Josh laying out for everything in scrimmage or inconsolable after a loss in a four-on-four drill, you realize that it’s ok to be as insane as he is.” Wherever Johnny Bravo’s motivation is coming from, Krier sees it as his job to keep it from leveling off. “After our success at the U.S. Open, I opened my mind to the possibility that we could really be vying for a championship this season. But I quickly moved that thought to the back. As I told the team, that win didn’t guarantee success in the fall.”
Top Left: Bravo teammates understand that hard work and persistence often come before results. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Top Right: Bravo’s coach, Bob Krier, believes that their early U.S. Open win doesn’t guarantee success in the series—will Bravo come out on top in Sarasota? PHOTO: CMBTcreative Bottom: Jimmy Mickle, pictured here chasing down a disc, is one of Bravo’s key players. PHOTO: CMBTcreative
“This year’s team has a continuity that only comes from several years of playing together under a unified message,” says Farrell. “We, as a team, have a firm grasp on how we want to play the game. When we deviate from the plan, we know how to recognize it and get back on track.”
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CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATISTICS CHAIN LIGHTNING – 12
JOHNNY BRAVO – 15 # Name
G
A
D
TO
1
0 Josef Durst
1
# Name
G
A
D
TO
0 Ben Spears
1
1
1
2 Matt Bailey
2 Randy Richgels
3 Andrew Hollingworth
3 Jesse Roehm
3
2
4 Ryan Archibald
1
4 Andrew Mangan
7 Jay Clark
4
1
1
5 Jack McShane
1
4
8 Byron Liu
1
1
7 Ethan Gillett
1
8 Austin Gregersen
1
10 Tyler Conger 11 Joel Wooten
1
9 Parker Krug
1
1
12 Frank Wooten
1
12 Tim Morrissy
1
15 Michael Spear
1
1
13 Josh Anderson
16 Russell Snow
14 Craig Forshee
1
18 Greg Swanson
3
3
15 Jeff Cohee
19 Mark Poole
2
16 Ryan Farrell
22 Nick Lance
4
2
17 David Belsheim
62 Michael Arenson
20 Joshua Ackley
1
5
1
1
64 Jason Simpson
1
21 Evan Padget
98 Jonathan Monforti
3
1
2
22 Timmy Beatty
1
3
1
2
? unknown TOTALS
1 - Johnny Bravo 2 - Chain Lightning 3T - Truck Stop 3T - Ring of Fire 5 - Doublewide 6 - GOAT 7 - Kie 8 - Inception
Chain Lightning - Jason Simpson Doublewide - Jerrod Wolfe GOAT - Dan Hassell Inception – Gabe Hart Johnny Bravo - Joe Kershner Kie - Camilo Buitrago Truck Stop - Jonathan Neeley
24
1
23 Jimmy Mickle
12
12
5
11
24 Jackson Kloor
1
25 Justin Salvia
26 Owen Westbrook
1
1
1
28 Hylke Snieder
2
1
30 Clark Bishop
2
31 Hidde Snieder
32 Henry Konker
56 Jake Juszak
2
1
2
77 Joe Kershner TOTALS
4.89 - Chain Lightning 4.86 - Kie 4.86 - Inception 4.75 - Truck Stop 4.67 - Johnny Bravo 4.63 - Ring of Fire 4.43 - Doublewide 4.14 – GOAT
15
15
4
11
WOMEN’S DIVISION COVERAGE
What a Riot!
At the 2012 U.S. Open, a new precedent of competition was set for elite women’s club teams. Because the event was scheduled at the beginning of the regular season, teams used the early opportunity to prove themselves dominant. This meant that the level of play was extremely high. Three teams in particular were gunning to win the tournament: Riot, Scandal, and Phoenix.
By: Anna Levine
from the U.S. Open with trophy in hand. Known for its fastpaced athletic game, gutsy plays, and stacked with elite club and youth veterans, Riot boasted both the experience
“We are looking at the U.S. Open as an exciting opportunity to jump start our season, and provide us with insight into teams earlier than we are normally used to,” Scandal captain Allison Maddux explained in an email before the tournament. Phoenix captain Lindsay Hack expressed similar intentions. “Our goal is to win the U.S. Open,” wrote Hack, expressing that they were setting high standards for themselves this tournament and this season. She also acknowledged that each game—win or loss—would be a beneficial learning experience, since the teams attending were the best of the best and would all be looking to establish themselves at the top-level tournament. “All contenders are major contenders and we look forward to them pushing us to be better, be smarter, be stronger mentally and physically,” she added. At first glance, it seemed as if Riot could easily walk away F A L L 2 0 12
Top: Riot’s Kirstin Gruver lays out for the score during the U.S. Open championship game. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom: Riot proved themselves dominant at the 2012 U.S. Open, beating teams like Molly Brown 10-3. PHOTO: CMBTcreative
25
from there for the D.C. team. After quickly breaking Riot’s trap zone defense, Scandal’s quick handler motion and the effects of the thin air caused Riot’s permanent mark to lag behind as Scandal pushed forward with the confidence and energy to take half 8-2. By the time Riot players shook off their first-game jitters, it was too late for them to win the game. Hard cap was called as Hana Kawai assisted Riot’s last point of the game, losing to Scandal 10-6. “We knew we had to come out fired up from the very first point, and we knew that we wouldn’t have warm-up time,” said Scandal captain Molly Roy. “We came out like we were coming out of a first half.” After a tough battle against Riot, Scandal came out on top—this time. After witnessing Scandal’s victory over Riot, Phoenix knew that the undefeated D.C. team would be a major obstacle in getting to the championship game. In their face-off, Phoenix expected to use their large roster and notably effective handlers to their advantage. In response, Scandal hoped to best Phoenix by increasing the defensive pressure on their handlers. The game Calise Cardenas was one of Riot’s most reliable and tireless receivers over the weekend. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS began intensely: Scandal’s Sam and grit to walk away with an early pre-series win. Not to McClellan laid out in the end zone to score the first point mention, of course, the fact that the team has historically of the game, and the big plays got even more dramatic known how to win: in the past ten years, Riot has made it from there. Scandal’s Octavia Payne had a huge layout D to the finals seven times while only losing to three separate in Phoenix’s end zone, while Phoenix’s Claire Remington teams in 2011. easily intercepted a Scandal pass—only to catch the disc Unfortunately for Riot, Scandal was equally—if not more— in the end zone for a score just a few minutes later. One of eager to establish their dominance in the elite club scene, the most exciting plays to occur was in Scandal’s end zone: and did so with an unexpected and thrilling 10-6 victory over it seemed as if Leila Tunnell, running to a floaty disc in the Riot in their first round of play. Scandal came out notably end zone’s back right corner, was poised to intercept it. Yet stronger than the Seattle-based team, scoring a quick first seemingly out of nowhere, Sandy Jorgensen sprinted up to point and managing to hold on to the disc longer than Tunnell and miraculously ripped the disc out of the air, only Riot despite some hasty turns on both sides. It was all up to add to the winning score, 11-9 Scandal during hard cap. 26
WOMEN’S DIVISION COVERAGE After Scandal defeated Phoenix, it became clear that the D.C. team would meet Riot for the second time in the finals. In the championship game, Scandal was eager to prove that their 10-6 victory over Riot earlier in the tournament wasn’t an accident. “We’re not dismissing our win,” Maddux said. “We are pumped to be in the finals, and we want to show people that it wasn’t a fluke.” Riot captain Gwen Ambler, on the other hand, seemed confident that her team’s loss was due to their previous lack of focus. To address that, she explained they had begun to do focus exercises before games. “That made a big difference,” she added. In addition to centering themselves, Ambler explained that good player match-ups would be critical to their potential success: Maddux, Jenny Fey, and Payne would all have to be marked by Riot’s best defenders. The championship game began with a bang. Riot got an early 2-0 lead on Scandal due to their characteristically intense defense, while Scandal’s tough handler D made that lead especially hard-won. Because each team’s defensive lines were so effective, Scandal’s and Riot’s handlers had a tough time quickly getting the disc to cutters and establishing unstoppable flow. This meant that handlers on both teams were putting it more, making room for more athletic plays and quicker scores (as well as more mistakes and dramatic Ds). Payne, for example, put the disc to teammate Sandy Jorgensen, only for it to be ripped from the air by Riot’s Hana Kawai; Scandal’s Kimberly Beach neatly received the disc from Payne in the end zone right after Sasha Bugler hand-blocked a Riot handler.
tie the score 7-7 after being down on Riot by three points, creating a battle to halftime. After a long, foul-filled point, Riot took it at their end zone line and punched it in, the ever-energetic Calise Cardenas catching the disc in the end zone. After a re-energizing half, Riot began to pull away from Scandal. Despite amazing plays from Scandal players, such as Maddux’s low-flying layout D and Charlie Mercer’s sliding layout in the end zone, Riot reeled in the scores. Much of this was due to the intense dirty work of Kawai who often seemed to be everywhere on the field at once, Cardenas’ tireless cutting, as well as the calming yet intense presence of Ambler. Alyssa Weatherford assisted Riot’s game point to Katy Craley, putting an outside-in backhand deep for a leaping catch. The final score was 15-9 Riot, which made the Seattle team the champion of the 2012 U.S. Open.
In the few points before half, Riot’s defense began to lag as Scandal’s offense took control. The D.C. team managed to
Top: Scandal players such as Katie Shepley worked hard to establish offensive flow in the face of Riot’s aggressive defense. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Bottom Left: Jenny Fey’s defensive fire propelled Scandal to an early-tournament win against Riot. PHOTO: BRANDON WU/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom Right: Rohre Titcomb pulls the disc during the finals. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
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CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATISTICS SCANDAL – 10
RIOT – 15
# Name
G
A
D
2 Huldah Gronvall
3 Amy Wickner
4 Sarah Itoh
1
5 Allison Maddux
1
7 Kimberly Beach
1
2
9 Octavia Payne
2
4
# Name
G
A
D
TO
2
2 Alyssa Weatherford
1
1
3 Gwen Ambler
2
2
2
1
4 Rohre Titcomb
1
1
5
2
5 Kate Kingery
2
6 Sarah Griffith
2
1
4
7 Calise Cardenas
4
1
1
2
TO
10 Jenny Fey
2
3
1
4
8 Rachel Diederich
2
11 Kirsten Unfried
4
9 Shannon McDowell
14 Sam McClellan
10 Hannah Kreilkamp
15 Katie Shepley
1
3
11 Shannon O’Malley
2
2
16 Leah Tsinajinnie
12 Callie Mah
17 Shino Yoshen
1
1
1
13 Heidi-Marie Clemens
18 Crystal Davis
1
14 Hana Kawai
3
3
3
21 unknown
15 Katy Craley
1
1
1
23 Lauren Sadler
17 Dominique Fontenette
24 Amy Hudson
19 Fiona McKibben
26 unknown
21 Elle Burstein
1
33 Maureen Hsia
23 Caitlin Cordell
1
3
1
1
37 Sandy Jorgensen
1
1
2
27 Kirstin Gruver
43 Sasha Bugler
1
34 Angelica Boyden
55 Molly Roy
1
38 Kathryn Lawson
81 Charlie Mercer
1
2
55 Nora Carr
2
1
77 Jillian Goodreau
1
TOTALS
10
10
9
22
91 Sarah Davis TOTALS
1 - Riot 2 - Scandal 3T - Phoenix 3T - Showdown
Aerosoul - Johana Forero Molly Brown - Sarah Lambert Ozone - Emily Lloyd Phoenix - Lauren Gardner Riot - Han Kawai Safari - Rosalind Tsao Scandal - Sandy Jorgensen Showdown - Diana Charrier
28
5 - Ozone 6 - Molly Brown 7 - Safari 8 - Aerosoul 4.57 - Molly Brown 4.50 - Showdown 4.44 - Riot 4.43 - Safari 4.13 - Phoenix 4.00 - Aerosoul 3.89 - Scandal 3.00 – Ozone
15
15
9
18
MIXED DIVISION COVERAGE
Polar Express F A L L 2 0 12
Lucas Dallmann leaps above his opponents to snag the disc at the U.S. Open. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
By Maya Ziv
29
The inaugural U.S. Open served as a unique experience to kick off the season. Not only were participants able to play against the USA’s top teams, but they were also treated to competition from teams representing Canada and Colombia. The international teams came excited to match up against some of the world’s best teams, including the 2010 USA Ultimate Mixed Club Champion and 2011 silver medalist Polar Bears. The San Francisco team won gold, improving throughout the tournament and recovering from a few losses to face off against Boston Slow White in the finals. But the finals game wasn’t the only exciting game of the tournament. The Polar Bears’ first game of the whole event resulted in a loss against Iowa’s Chad Larson Experience. CLX began scoring with deep shots time and time again, but the Polar
perfect throws to score. After enough turnovers with the Colombians capitalizing on each, they pulled out a huge win. Some of their fire definitely came from national pride, and they certainly worked hard for their teammates who were unable to travel. In fact, one of the most fascinating aspects of the weekend was that some of the Colombian team players had written numbers on the backs of their legs to represent their teammates that were unable to come. It was that team spirit that carried Euforia through the weekend, including through big wins like the one over CLX. Euforia’s game-winning grab by Juan Manuel Perdigon sparked an emotionally powerful victory celebration as the team rushed the field with hugs and cheers. The other international team, Odyssée from Montreal, played some exciting games. They had a great matchup
Charles Denby throws around Slow White’s mark during the finals. PHOTO: CMBTcreative
Bears stepped up and began dominating the air on defense. Lucas Dallmann, Simon Higgins and Daniel Naruo made big plays on offense and defense to fire up the team and rally back to tie the game at 12s. CLX showed off their short game, forcing the Bears to play tighter on their opponents. This eventually opened up a deep shot and CLX, with a huck from Michael Liu, handed the Bears their first loss. Chad Larson also participated in one of the most exciting upsets of the weekend, losing to Euforia from Colombia 9-10. The Colombians had a slow game against Golden Spike the round before but came out fired up to prove their skills. Their D put intense pressure on the Iowans, forcing 30
against Slow White early in the tournament, though a few too many drops led to a point deficit from which Odyssée could not recover. They stepped up their defense in the second half with layouts and athletic jumps, but it was too late to stop a rolling Slow White from securing a victory. However, they did hand Polar Bears their second loss of the weekend. They went up early with a few breaks, and though Polar Bears rallied to tie the game at 9’s with minutes to go, Odyssée was able to work the disc methodically up the field to win 10-9. That proved to be the last loss for the Bears, however. After more pool play games they found themselves matched up
MIXED DIVISION COVERAGE against Odyssée in the semifinals. Weather began to play a role as the rain started coming down hard during the game. However, while the disc became more slippery and harder to grab, the Bears were able to take a commanding lead. Odyssée couldn’t connect on their hucks, while the Bears did a good job of retaining possession through intense man defense and ensuring ever-ready dump options. They carried their 10-4 lead to Sunday, as the game was halted due to lightning delay. The deficit was too much for the Canadians to overcome, and the Bears cruised on to the finals. The other semifinal game featured Slow White and Drag’n Thrust. By the time the lightning delay was called, Drag’n Thrust had been running circles around Slow White and held the lead at 9-6. Yet in a fantastic comeback, Slow White was able to rest up and rally Sunday morning. A few drops (including a dropped pull) from Drag’n led to a mental team crumble as Slow White crept back with a five point run. Although Drag’n tied the game at 11, Slow White took the win and moved on to face the Bears in the finals. The finals matchup was full of big plays from both teams. Even though the Polar Bears had suffered a few injuries (Captain An-Chi Tsou and Kevin Cocks both took big hits earlier in the tournament) their deep roster was ready to perform. For the Polar Bears, Captain Greg Marliave stood out with his consistently accurate hucks and his defensive blocks. Becky Malinowski effectively ran Slow White’s offense, touching the disc every other throw during some points. Yet it was soon clear which team was in control:
Slow White tried to throw a few different defensive looks but could not stop the athletic Bears. Once they shut down Marliave’s hucks, the Bears swung the disc patiently and waited for the right opportunity. When Slow White threw a zone, the Bears used their breakmark throwing skills to find cutters through the cup. It was the Bears’ excellent throws and trust in their dumps that truly opened up the field for them to take the game. The Polar Bears proved their strength and won the gold medal with a 15-10 win (and a high spirit score of 4.33!). Left: The championship game was full of big plays from both teams. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Top Right: Polar Bears Rawr! Captain An-Chi Tsou leads her team in a celebratory growl. PHOTO: CMBTcreative Bottom Right: Aj Shankar snags the disc after Slow White attempts to bat it out of reach. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME STATISTICS SLOW WHITE – 10 # Name
G
A
D
TO
# Name
G
A
D
TO
3 Becky Malinowski
1
2
1
1 Scott Roeder
5
1
4 Dave Truesdale
1
1
1
2
2 Cullen Coyne
1
5 Meriden D’Arcy
4 Simon Higgins
6 Micah Flynn
7 Monique Tafoya
7 Rosie Ano
1
1
8 Kevin Cocks
1
1
8 Ryan Richardson
1
9 Greg Marliave
2
1
9 Jeff Smith
4
1
10 Clay Miller
1
1
1
10 Michael Miller
2
1
2
11 Jacob Serrano
11 Evan Patisteas
1
1
12 Elijah Kerns
12 Chris Waite
16 AJ Shankar
1
13 Corey Flynn
17 Natasha Won
1
17 Christina Kelley
20 Alexa Kirkland
1
1
21 Steve Sullivan
22 Matty Sung
22 Lauren Gloede
1
1
23 Shannon Matzinger
23 Kim Sabo
3
25 Daniel Naruo
1
3
25 Alex Trahey
1
26 Lisa Pitcaithley
1
29 Lexi Zalk
1
1
28 Federico Chialvo
32 Lindsay Neubecker
29 Tami Younge
33 Cody Rebholz
3
1
1
35 Lucas Dallmann
3
1
2
55 Todd Herman
1
47 Yvette Fisher
69 Adrienne Altobelli
50 Josh Wardle
1
71 Julie Sussman
58 Paige Kercher
2
10
10
6
12
TOTALS
1 - Polar Bears 2 - Slow White 3T - Drag’n Thrust 3T - Odyssée 5 - Chad Larson Experience 6 - Overhaul 7 - Golden Spike 8 - Euforia
CLX - Kurt Brorsen Drag n Thrust - Christie Dosch Euforia - Juanita McCallister Golden Spike - Kipp Robinson Odyssee - Raynald Nemours Overhaul - Spencer Jolly Polar Bears - Palak Shah Slow White - Michael Miller
32
POLAR BEARS – 15
71 Palak Shah
1
76 Adam Raty
2
1
82 An-Chi Tsou
1
? unknown
1
1
15
15
2
8
TOTALS
4.86 - Golden Spike 4.71 - Drag’n Thrust 4.57 - CLX 4.50 - Slow White 4.33 - Polar Bears 3.86 - Euforia 3.71 - Overhaul 3.50 – Odyssée
CONVENTION COVERAGE
Marketing 101
Growing the Sport of Ultimate Session Highlights By Jonathan Neeley
After attending the session on Marketing at the U.S. Open Convention, author Jonathan Neeley provides his thoughts on the current and future state of Ultimate from an exposure perspective. Want to sign your kid up to play basketball in my hometown? A quick Google search will tell you all you need to know: Hanover Youth Basketball League’s registration is open for another two weeks, the season costs $115, and anyone from second grade to 12th is eligible. There’s a player evaluation on October 28th, and the league will run from November to February on Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons.
attracting new players, building its budget, and showing people how great the sport really is. USA Ultimate has to both grow and develop the sport and trust that along the way, the progress will continue.
“I want the Tom Crawfords of the world to go away,” jokes the If they would rather play soccer, Mechanicsville Dynamo’s USA Ultimate CEO. Despite a long career in sports, Crawford website has all the same information, along with a business did not even know what Ultimate was until a few years ago. partners section that reveals sponsorship from a number of “Sports fans need to know that this is an entertaining, fun sport local businesses as well as Adidas and DC United. Football that’s an option for their kids.” or baseball? The Mechanicsville Rebels and Mechanicsville Ultimate’s biggest obstacle is that most of the country is Little League have everything you need as well. unfamiliar with it. While more than 20 million people play soccer, baseball, and basketball in the United States, only five million play Ultimate (according to a 2010 Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association study), a number that is likely inflated by those whose only experience with the sport is a 14v14 game of pickup. The new Strategic Plan’s top goal makes sense: the more people are exposed to Ultimate, the more they will play.
“I want the Tom Crawfords of the world to go away,” jokes the USA Ultimate CEO.
In my town, these sports are organized, popular, and accessible. The same goes for others like tennis, lacrosse, and even rugby. They not only have kids playing them, but also infrastructures that make it easy to sign up and join in. But Ultimate? Not so much. Anyone playing Ultimate now that was also playing five years ago will tell you that things have changed. Recent appearances on ESPN SportsCenter, more YouTube highlight videos than anyone can count, and the ability to watch games without physically being at a tournament all point to some kind of progress. But that progress, while tangible in that there is now media exposure that did not exist until recently, it is not coming fast enough. Ultimate players want more: news anchors that don’t mock the sport, professional leagues that are truly professional, and yes, places for their kids to play. USA Ultimate’s mission is to advance the sport of Ultimate. The top goals of its new Strategic Plan are to make Ultimate more visible and to expand playing opportunities. Clearly, USA Ultimate is here to help, and it wants to do so by 34
CORT Furniture stepped up to support the 2012 USA Ultimate College Championships: PHOTO: CMBT Creative
USA Ultimate’s specific targets for visibility are youth and their parents. Kids are by far the biggest participants in recreational sports, and exposing them early makes them more likely to play for life as well as serve as organizers and coaches for future generations. Also, a large base of kids playing Ultimate makes the sport more appealing to everyone from corporate sponsors to athletic directors to soccer moms nationwide. Ultimate must not only grow in number of players, but also develop a reliable local playing structure for them to plug into. Hanover Youth, Dynamo, and the thousands of athletic organizations like them nationwide ensure that participants need not worry about fields, insurance, schedules, and coaches—details that few like to handle but that everyone
Beyond that, Crawford envisions league affiliates partnering with top teams in a way that benefits all parties. “For example, in Atlanta, picture Chain and Ozone associated with the Atlanta Flying Disc Club, which is employing coaches and reaching kids all over the city. They’re part of one big community in Atlanta, which is part of one big national community.”
CORT Furniture is the world’s largest rental furniture provider. In business for more than 40 years, the company has provided furniture for millions of individuals, 80% of Fortune 500 companies, and, as of last spring, Ultimate players. In April, CORT became the official furniture partner of the 2012 College Championships. Among the deliverables that CORT received in exchange for its sponsorship were the rights to set up an athlete hospitality tent, brand a Facebook challenge, and print advertising in USA Ultimate. CORT also presented the Open and Women’s division champions at both the Division III and the College Championships with grants totaling $12,000. The company’s decision to sponsor the College Division was natural given college students’ constant need for furniture.
With support from USA Ultimate, NexGen Network has taken online streaming of championship events to the next level. PHOTO: CMBT Creative
needs. These organizations are effective partly because they have a critical mass of participants, but also because the have the institutional know-how and resources needed to make it happen. “We want what we have at the national level in place at the local level,” says Will Deaver, USA Ultimate’s Managing Director of Competition and Athlete Programs. “Solid organizations that can spend time on this in a consistent and viable way.”
Right now, 60% of USA Ultimate’s revenue stream comes from membership fees. The other 40% comes from sponsorships, licensing, merchandise, and events, a mix that Crawford says is healthy in comparison to other non-profit sport national governing bodies. USA Ultimate’s goals for growth and development, however, carry a price tag heavier than its current operating budget, and companies like CORT help bridge that gap. “There are only so many streams of revenue an NGB can expect,” says USA Ultimate Director of Marketing and Communications Andy Lee. “Membership dues, event fees, sponsorship, and donations. More revenue in the last two areas allows us to keep the costs of the first two down to well below the NGB average.”
Set to expire in December, USA Ultimate’s previous Strategic Since 2008, USA Ultimate has added Recharge, Wyndham Plan places an emphasis on establishing the organization as the Hotels, Rudy Project, Likewise Skincare, and CORT to its list of United States’ leading administer of competitive Ultimate. The sponsors. USA Ultimate also has long-standing sponsorship new one, on the other hand, will focus on giving local Ultimate support from Discraft, Five Ultimate and VC Ultimate with more organizations the tools they need to become self-sustaining and disc manufacturers and apparel providers actively pursuing efficient. A new League Affiliate model will provide member formal relationships with USA Ultimate. Each of these industry organizations with access to USA Ultimate grants, rebates on USA partners believe that Ultimate players fit their products’ purchasing Ultimate memberships, and coach and observer clinics along demographics, and that as Ultimate grows, so will their business. with comprehensive training so that they can eventually host such “They are literally investing in the sport,” says Crawford. clinics themselves. Aside from supporting USA Ultimate financially, sponsors add The long-term goal is to establish affiliates in at least 50 cities. legitimacy by establishing it alongside well-known and trusted More solid organizations will lead to an economy around the game brands. In explaining this phenomenon, Lee describes the that cements Ultimate’s place in the sporting world and makes benefits of aligning with a major brand. “When we eventually the game accessible to kids and parents everywhere. Examples engage a mainstream brand as a business partner, a significant of such development already exist in cities like Boston and Seattle benefit to USA Ultimate would come not only in terms dollars, but where investment in infrastructure has led to paid positions for also exposure for the sport should that brand feature Ultimate in organizers and coaches who in turn work to bring even more a national ad campaign. Alignment with a major, well-known and respected brand would also bolster the continued on page 74 people into the sport. F A L L 2 0 12
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CONVENTION COVERAGE
Youth Development Session Highlights At the 2012 U.S. Open Convention, USA Ultimate Board President Mike Payne, Vice President Gwen Ambler and CEO Tom Crawford unveiled the final draft of the organization’s next six-year Strategic Plan (see this magazine’s centerfold) for review and comment by the convention attendees. The second-most prioritized goal on the appropriately ambitious list of tasks was to grow youth, league, and college Ultimate. This should not have been a surprise to attendees: in a letter to members published earlier in the year, Crawford hinted at USA Ultimate’s future prioritizing of growth in the youth division. “To achieve the kind of growth and long-term potential to which we aspire, programs for youth have to be readily available in every state and community,” Crawford wrote. “Growing youth participation will actually be the key economic driver for Ultimate over the next decade.” The proposed plan will attempt to achieve this goal through four primary strategies: developing and overseeing a broad spectrum of programs for a diverse community of youth players and administrators; facilitating knowledge transfer and program integration between leagues, other local organizations, and USA Ultimate; providing tools to players and administrators to increase the number of sustainable college programs; and encouraging lifetime participation in programs, competitive divisions, and roles (such as coaching and observing). USA Ultimate intends for its membership to explode through youth involvement, and plans to formally jump-start this process over the next six years. Due to the prioritizing of this goal, many of the scheduled presentations and workshops at the convention focused on current and future youth development programs. The youthcentered presentations were some of the convention’s most invigorating: attendees asked so many questions that the question and answer sessions often ran over time, and the crowd buzzed with excitement long after the sessions were over. The first youth-oriented presentation, entitled All Girl Everything Ultimate Program [AGE UP]: Youth Leadership in a Community Context was especially inspiring. Presented by staff leaders Hana Kawai, Lisa Niemann, and Sam Terry, alongside youth participants Susan Garcia, Amanda Somvilay and Soriya Ton, AGE UP is a Seattle-based program that aims to empower diverse groups of young women to develop personal and collective strength, discuss notions of identity, and promote justice through Ultimate. The session began with exercises that the AGE UP youth participants led. The workshop attendees brainstormed ideal characteristics of youth leaders and their mentors in small groups, and then all participated in an exercise that was meant to highlight 36
By Anna Levine
adult privilege. The AGE UP youth participants explained that they often partook in similar kinds of activities to those featured in the workshop as a part of AGE UP, in addition to practicing Ultimate together. As Somvilay noted, discussing issues of identity often goes hand-in-hand with on-field communication and team building. “When we cover topics like racism and oppression, we bond as a group,” she said. “Then we are more likely to work as a team and actually lead…we have each other’s backs.” As made clear from the testimonials of its participants, AGE UP has made an extremely positive impact on many girls’ lives. Ton, a current freshman at the University of Washington, said that AGE UP allowed her to build confidence as a naturally shy person, while a statement from an anonymous participant on their website simply yet poignantly reads, “I am stronger than I thought.” In short, AGE UP is a fantastic example of how playing Ultimate can facilitate lifelong leadership skills and personal strength. In the panel discussion entitled League Development Across the Ages, three youth league leaders—Heather Ann Brauer of the Triangle Youth Ultimate League, Arnoush Javaherian, head coach of the Neuqua Valley High School Ultimate Club and executive director of Chicago Ultimate Training, LLC, and David Ellsworth, the league and YCC coordinator for Denver and Boulder Youth Ultimate—discussed the very successful youth programs that they implement in their respective communities. These three presenters provided impressive examples of the ways in which youth Ultimate is already being developed. Javaherian, whose number of players skyrocketed from 48 players in 2008 to more than 200 players in 2012, reviewed his strategies for attracting new players. Forming a social environment that exceeds onfield relations is important, he explained; this can happen through organizing retreats, team dinners, and banquets. He also claimed that his players, not himself, are his program’s best recruiters. Teenagers are able to use their powers of persuasion on their peers much more effectively than he ever could. Javaherian also creates an especially inclusive environment at practice in order to recruit. “Bring everybody—bring your grandpa!” he joked. “If you bring your little buddy, he might say, ‘Hmm…maybe I’ll play Ultimate next year.’” Brauer reflected on her experience teaching elementary school-aged children how to play, discussing her two-hour clinic format. Striking a balance between having fun and working hard, of course, is necessary when working with young kids. Because of this, Brauer integrated games into the practice schedule that were both entertaining and skill-based. “Galaxy Wars,” for example—a game in which
small groups of kids, working together in small square areas (“galaxies”), attempt to knock over other teams’ water bottles from a short distance away by throwing a disc at it—was a great way for kids to have fun while working on their throwing accuracy. The last panel of the convention, entitled Building an Athlete Development Pipeline: an International Perspective, featured a discussion led by international Ultimate leaders about the national and local variables involved in building a robust series of successful experiences for Ultimate athletes and families. The three speakers—USA Ultimate CEO Tom Crawford, the Executive Director of Ultimate Canada Danny Saunders, and Colombia’s National Tournament Director Andres Angel—all provided fascinating and varied perspectives on the topic. Saunders talked about the ideal sequence of development in raising a wellrounded athlete, noting that kids ages 9-12 pick up skills best. He also shared some of the questions that he was currently working to answer. What is the appropriate disc size for children learning to play? What about field size? If there are only five players on the line instead of seven, will children acquire skills more easily and get more touches on the disc? What is the best competition format for children? Crawford discussed the need for more coaches and teachers, noting that it will be important to create thorough resources for adults with little playing experience. “We have to figure out how to create a program for coaches who have never played before themselves,” he explained. Angel talked about his experience as a player in Colombia, where Ultimate has only existed for thirteen years—but is now an international powerhouse in the sport due to the explosion in growth in the youth division. As he explained, the Colombian government actually helps fund after-school Ultimate programs in order to keep children off of the streets in cities like Medellín. “The government sees Ultimate as a tool for conflict resolution,” Angel explained, noting that promoting Ultimate in Colombia isn’t simply about keeping kids busy—it’s about teaching them how to positively and productively communicate with others in a country with a history of conflict. If Angel’s story isn’t evidence enough for the potential of Ultimate to change children’s lives, no account will suffice. The youth-focused presentations at the 2012 U.S. Open Organizer’s Convention demonstrated the international efforts already in place to expand the youth division, and gave convention attendees a glimpse of exciting new projects to come in the next six years. Although USA Ultimate’s projected goals are ambitious, the inspiring presentations proved that their objectives are certainly within reach. These youth-focused presentations also reinforced what all Ultimate players know: that our sport has the power to make a huge difference in children’s lives not only through the fun of the game, but also through the life-long values that Ultimate—and our community—imparts. From Top: USA Ultimate Board of Directors President Mike Payne unveils the organization’s new strategic plan. PHOTO: CMBT Creative Athletes learn how to maximize their athletic potential during a convention session at the National Strength and Conditioning Association. PHOTO: CMBT Creative Convention attendees loosen up and get their dance on after hours at the Antlers Hilton headquarters hotel. PHOTO: CMBT Creative
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A L etter from t h e President By: Mike Payne, USA Ultimate Board of Directors President
The Next Six Years
Presenting USA Ultimate’s 2013-2018 Strategic Plan
munity, ar strategic ltimate Com U re ti n E r new six-ye u e o th e b d ri n a sc e rs be s well as nd d all of you, a ltimate Mem announce a U h to it A w d S e h U it r rc xc a a e e D guided very f rese ong process Directors is reat deal o -l f g o th a n rd o d a e m o d B 8 lu 1 is inc lanning ltimate is plan has te to have th f strategic p a th o The USA U n f u o ru rt t u fo n g e e re m e th d ew ur time evelop is considere collected. W ryone for yo o h plan. The d ta ve w a e d , k g n e a in th lt th f nsu alysis o future. the U.S. We , Rader Co in-depth an plan for our ovement in ssional firm m ld fe o ic b ro p p d m n h ly a tc O s o u e by a top-n dies and th t of core this ambitio sion and se overning Bo et going on vi g G l a a to , n ry d o e to ti it a is h xc N for ry e stand for. tion’s t, and are ve d what we ur organiza u n o p a in in re r e a u m e ti yo w t and reflect who g, for the firs and values by developin n o rk si o vi w r is u h o T rk. We began nclusion ll of our wo ccessful co f them. su will guide a o t d ry a u th ve ro s a p e to d lu an es va ally well, gic plan com n exception itted to them te la m p ra t m st o n l c e a c re in re a g lution We r ori most int in the evo tives of the gic plan? Ou o c te p je t ra b n o st a rt d w o n e p a n urce an im tegies need a making, reso . We are at ted the stra n n u Why do we io la c is p xe c is e e d s th r a h u h wit e staff n to guide o o the same this year. Th strategic pla t they will d w n e e n d a fi n d o e c e n and we are at deal on, and we d organizati ded by a gre n e a c rt re o p . s rk sp a o r w w u of mittee ork of o bove, our w prioritization groups, com a d s d n u e a c n , o fo n ti o , n ti e ys a sm alloc ing this surve plan, and a le national result of tak is ip a th lt s u g A in m s. g ild rt e u in exp ation. clud r time b -crunching and organiz ll of you, in ta a rt a o We took ou d h it f sp o w r u p d o u f te o gro conduc r the future is data by a of research a plan to your plan fo nalysis of th a lly a d re ile is ta hell, this is e is ts d u th d , n n h a a c , a In ts ro u ges. inp across l app following pa ving growth d thoughtfu ri e n d a th l d n a n o a ic n d ty o la ili sert) sib meth this p Tour (see in asing our vi re n nd goals of c a w s in ro ie n C g o le te s p si ra Tri wide. pha w the st kids nation with an em th. Our new u f l, o yo ve You can vie s le n n o io xt s ill e si n m cal to mpha ort to the up their lo ng Ultimate particular e si ild o a u take our sp b xp h e it s w n ile o s, ti h d division d national est level, w and associa all ages an the increase at the high g leagues a rt in vi o lp sp e ild h u e b th rk e o se ommunity st w t w will showca the sports c be hard a flux of intere to ill in g w e n yi th e r w sa fo y, re it a try!” usl ea ready Simultaneo p priority, w ur kids give to yo rams to be a g s ve ro a a p h re d d n n su a a o ut res s ility and exp Check us o infrastructu lity standard sting in visib the planet. ve n in o y rt B o . ith our qua sp w re st g y, tr le in o n id o u u exposu c o g c e th core r the ere we are, players our vents all ove w e e d n y f se lit o a a s u at large: “H re d q inc san est ipelines and de the high l to our thou p a vi t re ro n e p e k ve m a to ti p ti m e lo e u d p tin athlete deve ’ll revisit an ained com We will con phasis. We del of sust p long-term o m lo e m ve ellence. re e a o d xc e m ’ll ild f e g u o b ame. W receivin culture at we G a th e y th b so f n o s, it ve ir ri m d tea ing best of Sp organization ternational n and build o philosophy in ve ti ti r lu u va o vo o e r n t fo in n e d rr pport a stable an flect our cu levels of su Ultimate. are building bylaws to re e d w se lity of USA d vi ta n re vi A . h d e it n c w a n ty re lle ili e tu b c xc a e ur stru long-term vi dernizing o incredibly ensure the to s We’ll be mo n la p l n – for the ia la c p n r a u n fi yo d – n n practices a uild this pla helped us b t a th ll a to anks A sincere th ltimate! re of USA U tu exciting fu
38
Top: The U.S. Open Championships and Convention will fulfill several goals of USA Ultimate’s new Strategic Plan. PHOTO: CMBT Creative Bottom: Stadiums, crowds and passionate Ultimate fans await the newly launched Triple Crown Tour. PHOTO: Andrew Davis
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STRATEG MISSION VISION CORE VALUES
To advance the sport of Ultimate in the United States by enhancing and promoting Character, Community and Competition.
Ultimate is widely known, played, and respected in the United States as a sport that inspires athletic excellence and integrity among participants and fans. SA Ultimate holds itself to the high standards of character exhibited by members of the Ultimate community who uphold U Spirit of the Game, within competition and beyond. With that consideration, we commit to the following core values to guide the organization’s decisions and behaviors:
Respect
We honor the rights, views, dignity, and inherent value of others, striving for an environment of mutual trust.
Integrity
We stay true to the mission of USA Ultimate and the highest ethical standards, demonstrating honesty and fairness in every action that we take.
Responsibility
We hold ourselves accountable for our decisions and actions, while striving for excellence in all that we do; we are dedicated stewards of the sport of Ultimate.
1 2
GOAL
GOAL
Leadership
We drive thoughtful growth, development, and innovation in competition and the Ultimate community, enhancing and promoting the sport as a joy to play and watch.
Teamwork
We encourage a diverse and inclusive Ultimate community, and work cooperatively with members and partners to achieve our mission.
GOALS & STRATEGIES INCREASE THE VISIBILITY OF ULTIMATE Strategies 1. Partner with media to broadcast USA Ultimate’s premier 3-5 events to a mass audience. 2. Reach a broad audience via promotions done in collaboration with sponsors and other partners. 3. Reach targeted populations through emerging media channels. 4. Achieve national sports news visibility with a targeted publicity plan. 5. Develop a promotional plan specifically for youth and parents.
GROW YOUTH, COLLEGE, AND LEAGUE ULTIMATE Strategies 1. Develop and oversee a broad spectrum of programs for a diverse community of youth players and administrators. 2. Facilitate knowledge transfer and program integration between leagues, other local organizations, and USA Ultimate. 3. Provide tools to players and administrators to increase the number of sustainable college programs. 4. Vastly increase the number of qualified coaches and observers via training and certification programs. 5. Encourage lifetime participation in programs, competitive divisions, and roles (coaching, observing, etc.)
GIC PLAN
2013-2018
ORGANIZE THE HIGHEST QUALITY U.S. COMPETITIVE EVENTS. Strategies 1. Complete Club division restructuring efforts. 2. Establish the U.S. Open as a top international event focused on premier competition, education, and community building. 3. Attract the best athletes and teams to play in USA Ultimate’s premier events 4. Evolve and enforce operational quality standards for all stages of USA Ultimate’s championship events. 5. Oversee event organizer certification programs, and provide resources for profitable event planning. 6. Lead a world-class marketing and promotional program to showcase USA Ultimate events and athletes. 7. Attract and retain in-person and media viewership of both Ultimate-playing and other fans.
MAKE SPIRIT OF THE GAME REAL FOR TODAY’S ULTIMATE PLAYERS AND COMMUNITY. Strategies 1. Lead a community-wide effort to clarify and communicate how Spirit of the Game applies to behaviors on and off the field. 2. Exercise watchful, decisive, and fair oversight of SOTG and values at USA Ultimate events. 3. Develop coordinated values-focused internal publicity program focusing on exemplary teams and individuals.
5
GOAL
ACHIEVE SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE OF USA ULTIMATE TEAMS IN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION. Strategies 1. Refine and maintain fair and effective Team USA player and team selection processes at all levels. 2. Provide training and operational support for teams at priority international competition. 3. Develop and support an ongoing Team USA Coaching program. 4. Communicate guidelines for athlete development across all levels. 5. Support gradual progress of Ultimate towards Pan-American, and eventually Olympic Games participation.
GOVERN THE ORGANIZATION TO ENSURE STABILITY AND EXCELLENCE. Strategies 1. Evolve governance model and organizational structure to support growth and quality. 2. Maintain transparent and sound financial practices. 3. Evolve risk management policies and processes to minimize organizational liability. 4. Diversify and expand revenue base including a USA Ultimate fundraising program. 5. Develop USA Ultimate’s branding strategy in relation to competitive, educational and recreational Ultimate.
3 4 5 6
GOAL
GOAL
GOAL
GOAL
Welcome to the USA Ultimate Triple Crown Tour.
Everyone is invited.
W F D F W o r l d j u n i o r u lt i m at e c h a m p i o n s h i p c o v e r a g e “The Tree Incident” was one that the 2012 U.S. Junior Women’s team would never forget.
Talent, Depth and Coaching Put Team USA on the Podium in Ireland by Phyllis Rubin Header Image: Sarah Edwards dives for the disc on a sunny day in Dublin, Ireland. PHOTO: Steve Kotvis
During a particularly rainy and windy afternoon, the team huddled to form a spirit circle under a nearby tree so as to be sheltered from the poor weather. All of a sudden, something unimaginable occurred: a massive tree limb fell onto the players below. As Head Coach Kyle Weisbrod explained, “Suddenly, there was a big ‘crack,’ and a limb large enough to be its own tree fell on half the circle. There was chaos for what seemed like forever.” Crying and screaming girls scattered–co-captain Kirstie Barton said someone did a layout – as Assistant Coach Jamie Nuwer, a primary care physician, started directing everyone. One Austrian and one American, Nhi Nguyen of Colorado, were pinned under the branch. The Open German and Israeli teams dropped their game to run over and lift the large limb off of the players. Miraculously, neither girl had serious injuries. Back at the dorm later that day, the team reflected on the traumatic situation and discussed how to handle equally difficult situations in the future. Barton said, “After that, it almost felt like it was a good thing that made us stronger. If we can survive this, we can get through anything!” The next day, with an elaborate network of blue tape on her knee, Nguyen skied and got a Callahan. Such is the grit, skill and spirit of youth Ultimate—a sport that is now played by more than 400 school and club teams across the nation. As young players across the country absorb extraordinarily committed and proficient coaching, the level of play and spirit has risen dramatically. Drawing from this flourishing pool of motivated players, USA Ultimate convened the nation’s best players for the 2012 World Junior Ultimate Championships. “In the past, I’ve been confident that anyone who could have made the team got a chance to try out,” said Open Team Head Coach Ben van Heuvelen. “This year, we received 220 applications for the 80 slots, so we had to make some hard decisions even before we met anyone. USAU is almost a victim of its own success in youth Ultimate development. It’s an embarrassment of riches.” Van Heuvelen has coached the Junior Worlds team since 2004 and has won every year, making him undefeated in international competition. Chase SparlingBeckley and George Stubbs, both former Jr. Worlds players, served as his assistant coaches. “We functioned collaboratively, as a three-person effort,” said van Heuvelen. Apparently, the coaching trio selected good players: the 2012 Junior Open team won the gold medal in a thrilling 15-10 final with Columbia. The icing on the cake was coming in second place for spirit. Kyle Weisbrod described his assistant coaches, Jamie Nuwer and Leila Tunnel, as “incredible
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role models” who were “calming, steadying, wonderfully my name on it, I felt like maybe I was a legitimate Ultimate funny” with a “fantastic depth of knowledge.” He also player.” credits previous Junior Worlds coaches Tiina Booth and Through discussions and practices during training week, Michael Baccarini with creating “a template for what works.” each player differentiated their role with their team. Open Last March, players received notice as to whether they’d co-captain Adams, who started playing Ultimate as a fourth made the team. The chosen few were given a detailed, grader in Amherst and captained his high school team for personal workout regimen based upon their tryout results to two years, said, “This was a team of all-stars. Each of us execute at home, five days a week, all spring and summer. was used to playing three-quarters of the points in every tournament, and to try to get the disc every other cut.” Players met in Seattle for one weekend in June, communicated online all summer, then gathered near The coaches’ main job was to facilitate their players’ trust Boston for an intensive training camp the week before the in each other and help them feel valued even if they were tournament. Open co-captain Amos Adams, who had also not the one scoring every point, and to foster singular played on the 2010 Worlds team, summed up how quick dedication to the whole while simultaneously focusing on the elements each individual could control. The coaches the experience was: “Our season is two weeks.” woke players up an hour earlier every day to adapt to Not that all of the players were strangers to each other. Ireland’s time zone. In van Heuvelen’s words, their job was When Barton met teammate Angela Zhu from Amherst, “to keep stepping back” and “look for every opportunity to Mass., she remembered that she had played against her give players ownership and use their incredible skills and before. “I was like, ‘OMG! You’re that girl I’d guarded in athleticism.” the YCC finals who wouldn’t stop running!’” Barton recalled. Other teammates, such as Zhu and Zoe Freedman Coleman, “Trying to peak in one week requires taking a leap of faith. But we made the shift,” said Adams. Eli Motycka, who played on the same high school team. started playing on a high school team in Nashville, Tenn. Not everyone knew each other, however. Co-captain Eva while still in eighth grade, coined the word “teamsmanship” Petzinger, a current Dartmouth sophomore who started her to describe the experience. Pittsburgh public high school team, felt nervous to play with a new squad but her fears quickly abated. “But even the The girls’ “teamsmanship” included creating a list of “Gold first time we ran a defensive play, it was electrical!” she Standards,” such as trust, intelligence, respect, enthusiasm, recalled. “When I opened my uniform package and saw and poise.
Michael Kilian Marsh bids for the disc as his Colombian opponent catches it. The U.S. Junior Open team beat Columbia 15-10 in the finals. PHOTO: Steve Kotvis
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Quite a Summer Hannah Henkin, a recently graduated senior from Radnor, PA, has had quite a summer—yet her international journey truly began two years ago. In spring of 10th grade, Henkin, whose father is Israeli, received an email saying that Israel was seeking players for its national girls’ under-20 Ultimate team to compete in the World Junior Ultimate Championships. “I replied that I was interested,” Henkin recalled. “Then I was told I had to demonstrate dedication to Ultimate in Israel. They told me about the Ultimate Peace Camp.”
Top: Qxhna Titcomb pulls the disc as Ana Leon looks on. PHOTO: Steve Kotvis Bottom Left: Nils Clauson puts a tight mark on a Colombian competitor. PHOTO: Steve Kotvis Bottom Right: Claire Revere leaps above her German opponent to D the disc in the semifinals. PHOTO: Steve Kotvis
In Ireland, everyone was immensely excited to play. Petzinger reported, “The first day, when nobody scored any points against us, we were all startled at how dominant we could be as a team. That’s when I realized that the workouts, while kind of painful, paid off so much. No one could outrun us.” Motycka said, “We definitely did make a lot of great plays,” but he couldn’t think of a single one. “It’s not about one guy making big plays.” Unlike Olympic competition, the national anthems of the two countries in an Ultimate final are played before the game. Petzinger got emotional as she stood next to coach Tunnel, who sang along in a beautiful voice. “It was partly because I was so proud of what we’d accomplished, and partly because I knew that, no matter how this game turned out, it was over.” Two and half hours later, they had lost to Columbia 10-14. After the girls’ final game, Erynn Schroeder said, “It doesn’t feel like we lost.” Barton added, “We’d had so much fun together. It was an honor to play with them.” The greatest memory everyone left with was, as Motycka stated, “that every person on every team had come not just to play great Ultimate, but also to make the tournament a great experience for everyone.” After every game, players bonded in spirit circles, exchanged nation’s cultural gifts (the U.S. players gave away caps provided by Five Ultimate), discussed the game, and just enjoyed each other. Adams, who now has two international gold medals, said, “The whole time I played the first year, I thought about how I’d feel when that medal was around my neck, and how much work I’d put into it. But the instant you get it, you know it doesn’t matter. You realize it’s about everything that lead up to that point that matters so much more.” Five members of the Girls team and two members of the Open team will be ageeligible for 2014 Junior Worlds. 44
As a result, Henkin traveled to Acre, Israel to be a junior counselor at the Ultimate Peace Camp in the summer of 2010 before competing with the Israeli Junior Worlds team. At camp, she helped Israeli and Palestinian children learn to play Ultimate and form meaningful friendships with each other. As Henkin explained, “Ultimate’s unique Spirit of the Game rules make it especially conducive to building trusting relationships. You don’t just play a game, you learn life lessons.” This year, Henkin made the U.S. Junior Worlds team. However, this didn’t stop her from volunteering with Ultimate Peace for the third summer in a row (she made a return trip in 2011 as well). “Every summer, I’m pulled back,” she said. This summer, so many children had signed up that it was extended to two sessions. When she arrived in Dublin, Ireland to compete at worlds with Team USA later in the summer, she was happily greeted by many familiar faces. “I knew nearly all the Israeli team because a lot of those girls were Ultimate Peace campers. It was a historic accomplishment to have a team of Jews and Arabs, the first evenly integrated team Israel has fielded in any international competition in any sport!” she reported proudly. Playing Ultimate with friends new and old proved to be an unforgettable experience. “The tournament was amazing,” she said. “It was like spending two weeks with your best friends. It’s hard believing I’m not seeing them again.” Unless, that is, they join college Ultimate teams that play at University of Michigan, where Henkin is now.
Path to the Podium team USA U-20 open
team USA U-20 GIRLS
Pool Play USA 16 – Australia 7 USA 17 – Chinese Taipei 2 USA 17 – Finland 4 USA 17 – France 3
Pool Play USA 17 – Israel 0 USA 17 – Great Britain 0 USA 17 – Australia 7 USA 17 – Russia 3 USA 15 – Austria 0
Power Pool USA 14 – Germany 8 USA 15 – Russia 0 USA 15 – Italy 3
Power Pool USA 15 – Italy 2 USA 8 – Colombia 5
Semis: USA 11 – Canada 8 Finals: USA 15 – Colombia 10
Semis: USA 14 – Germany 8 Finals: Columbia 14 – USA 10
JUNIOR OPEN Final Standings
JUNIOR OPEN Final Standings
1. United States of America 2. Colombia 3. Canada 4. Germany 5. Sweden 6. Great Britain 7. Italy 8. France 9. Japan 10. Israel 11. Australia 12. Russia
13. Austria 14. Switzerland 15. Ireland 16. Belgium 17. Finland 18. New Zealand 19. Latvia 20. Chinese Taipei Spirit of the Game: Colombia
Team Spirit RankingS 13.88 Colombia 12.50 United States of America 12.33 Australia 12.20 Switzerland 12.14 Israel F A L L 2 0 12
12.14 Japan 11.67 New Zealand 11.50 Great Britain 11.14 Chinese Taipei 11.13 Austria
1. Colombia 2. United States of America 3. Canada 4. Germany 5. Italy 6. Sweden 7. Australia 8. Japan 9. Latvia 10. Great Britain
11. Russia 12. France 13. Israel 13. Ireland 15. Finland Spirit of the Game Germany
Team Spirit RankingS 12.82 Germany 12.38 Great Britain 11.75 Japan 11.67 Israel 11.67 Australia 11.29 Colombia 11.00 Ireland
10.86 Sweden 10.71 Italy 10.43 Finland U.S.A.’s Spirit Score: 10.00 (11th place out of 15 teams)
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Seattle Rebellion won the U-16 division at YCC despite almost not attending the championships. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS
By: Matty Spillum
DiscNW has become such an impressive and potent force in the world of youth Ultimate that it almost seems impossible to imagine a Seattle area YCC team that is fully under its aegis. Certainly, it was amazing enough that several people
Rebels with a Cause
(including this writer) simply assumed the association. But
U16 Coverage
46
to allow that assumption to stand would overlook the hard work, determination and desire of a dedicated group of players and parents, as well as the passion of Coach Reid Ross. That Seattle Rebellion won the 2012 U-16 Open division title is amazing, considering that the team almost didn’t attend. That is a testament to the quality and depth of talent in Seattle and the track record that DiscNW has when it comes to grooming kids to become nationally competitive athletes.
“As far as the off-field logistics were concerned, not being under the official DiscNW umbrella for this event presented new and interesting challenges,” Koss said. “This could have been a huge challenge, but thankfully I had a tremendous amount of parental support in coordinating transportation, lodging and fundraising, and they made things very easy on me so that I could focus on just the coaching aspect of the team. Koss’ ability to focus on coaching was clear in the poise the team showed in every aspect of the game. Though young, each player had clearly bought into Koss’ system, and was able to put the training into practical use on the field. “At the very first practice, I emphasized that the season would be built around mastering the fundamentals, and committing ourselves to be perfect in everything we do,” said Koss. “I knew that last year’s U-16 team had a lot of close games, so I wanted to make sure we could always rely on our topnotch fundamentals if we were ever in a tight spot. We practiced twice a week for two-and-a-half hours, and every practice started off by committing the first 45-50 minutes to the same four drills: a go-to drill, a dishy drill, a breakmark drill, and a huck drill. I didn’t call these our warm-up drills, I called them our fundamentals, because while they seem easy, really those drills encompass a huge amount of what Ultimate is: consistent throwing and catching; using your legs to win, not your throws; marking; and deep cutting, throwing and timing.” While the earliest game on Saturday was fairly close, Rebellion looked tougher and tougher to beat as the team found its stride over the course of the day. Rebellion was equally impressive on the sidelines, with a sense of shared endeavor and positive reinforcement that would be hard to find on most club teams, let alone amongst a bunch of young teens. This particular element Coach Koss declined to take credit for, noting, “At the tournament, they all were able to keep calm heads no F A L L 2 0 12
matter the situation, supported each other after both goals and turnovers, were loud, helpful sideline voices, and also played with a tremendous amount of spirit.” Really, Koss points out the lasting value of creating a venue for youth club teams rather than only school-based competition. The forging of friendships and respect that players can carry with them wherever they might go in their Ultimate careers and their lives is a critical benefit, and not only to the sport. “Every player on the team from the first practice was incredibly positive and committed to building each other up and cheering each other on. Maybe they were all just excited to be there and to have made the team in the first place, but they clearly all respected each other and they all became instant friends, if they weren’t already.” Rebellion really found their groove in their early games on Sunday, easily progressing through the quarters and semis. The combination of team unity and exactingly executed play proved far too much for most opponents. Unlike many players in the U-16 division, Rebellion’s athletes seemed immune to pressure or difficult situations, such as tight line traps. As Koss said, “I really emphasized that beyond doing the fundamentals well, it was the little things that would win the tournament. We talked a lot about having our handlers move early to get the disc upline to set up huck opportunities, and just avoid dumping the disc backwards as much as possible in general. When we did dump it backwards, it was important that we got a swing out of it to turn the negative into a positive. For sideline offense, it can be such a hard place to start from, and you start from it so often, that we had a lot of simple, scripted plays that we ran to get the offense started and prevent difficult, high stall throws.” That level of drilled preparation would once again show itself in the championship game, a rematch with Delaware Valley’s DEVYL. While DEVYL came out focused on trying to get their long game going and
Rebellion player David Ngo Ds the disc amidst a sea of Devyls. PHOTOS: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
disrupting Rebellion’s poised handler sets, Rebellion came out in a full warm up scrimmage to get to game intensity right away. “When we came out in the first game against them, we seemed to have some jitters, gave up a couple of breaks to start,” said Koss. “I wanted to come out strong so we don’t have to come back.” 47
Of course, no amount of coaching will actually score the points or make a crucial D. In the end, the players have to do the playing, and Rebellion’s ranks seemed ready. “While it was my job to get these kids ready,” said Koss, “it was still on them to buy in to everything I was teaching, and to perform when it counted, and I couldn’t have been more proud of how they did both of those things. At practices, they always gave me their full attention and effort, asked great questions, and generally worked hard to be the best they could be.” While DEVYL showed the heart and character to hang in early, it was the team that almost wasn’t that proved too much. Another group of Seattle kids would collect YCC gold medals. For Koss, the moment was one of joy mingled with the sacrifices of hard work: “It was tough having to miss playing ECC with Sockeye, but the experience these kids got to have was worth the trade for me. I wish I could keep these kids together somehow, but as is the nature of club Ultimate, we all now go our separate ways to play against each other in the high school league this fall.” In any case, those high school league matchups will be tinted gold with the memories of a perfect summer weekend. Bottom Left: Rebellion’s Bryce Jabs-Walsh shows off his strong fundamental skills, which Coach Koss described as “top-notch.” PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ ULTIPHOTOS Top Right: Seattle Rebellion beat Bay Area Disc 13-1 in the semifinals. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS Middle Right: DEVYL and Pittsburgh Pulse played a very close quarterfinal game: DEVYL won 9-8. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom Right: Devyl’s Sadie Jezierski was the only girl in the U-16 Division--and she proved herself by making big plays over and over again. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ ULTIPHOTOS
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DeVYL – 6
YCC U16 FINALS STATS Seattle – 13
# NAME
G
A
D
TO
1 Matt Baker
2 Stefan Crigler
2 2 1 1 6
3 1 1 1 6
1 1 2
1 1 3 2 1 1 1 10
3 Kevin Stelmach 4 Varun Rajesh 5 Jeremy Desmond 6 Theo Morris 8 Jordan Glass 10 Jack Liebling 11 Sadie Jezierski 14 Sam Fagundez 17 Kevin Tsui 20 Nick LaRue 21 Cole Feltman 23 Alec Hunziker 24 Nehar Damle 26 Andrew Harting-Smith 27 Brandon Egert 33 Adam Federbusch 42 Albert Chen 47 Brad Smith 52 Connor Russell 56 Owen Hurley 73 Adrian Hertel 81 Cole Drummond 97 Connor Stratton TOTALS
# NAME 3 5 6 11 12 15 21 24 26 28 30 33 34 45 69 77 97
Manny Eckert Logan Chantelois Bryce Barton Eli Wilson Adrian Golay Marco Schugurensky Daniel Mah Xander Cuizon-Tice Eric Huynh Leonard Hakizimana Nels Schimek Nicholas Hirning Henry Freed Michael Bartell Gero Bergk Bryce Walsh Kai Marcus unknown
TOTALS
G
A
D
TO
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 1 2 1 2 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
13
13
5
5
YCC U16 DIVISION Final Standings 1 - Seattle 2 - DeVYL 3 - TYUL 4 - Bay Area Disc 5 - Cincinnati 6 - PHUL 7 - Minneapolis 8 - Chicago
Spirit Scores 5.00 - Cincinnati* 5.00 - Bay Area Disc 4.67 - TYUL 4.33 - Seattle 4.00 - Chicago 3.33 - DeVYL 3.33 - Minnesota 2.60 - PHUL *Denotes won tiebreaker
Individual Spirit AWARDS Bay Area Disc - Skylar Johnson Chicago - Tyler Barrett Cincinnati - Tullus Dean DeVYL - Matt Baker
Minnesota - Lucas Bulger PHUL - Max Thompson Seattle - Eric Huynh TYUL - Everett Dang Three-handed grab: Cincinnati’s Michael Schuster fights for the disc against two Bay Area players. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
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the DIFFERENCE MAKERS
MIXED Coverage
By: Anna Levine
At the 2012 Youth Club Championships, it was not solely the raw athleticism, the superb coaching, or even the many logged hours of practice time that placed the Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance’s mixed team far ahead of the pack: it was the on-field dominance of their girls. Indeed, it was truly the women who set the tone in the mixed division this year, as a pack of strong women—and a team’s ability to take full advantage of their female talent— propelled the best teams to the top. When the World Junior Ultimate Championships occurs every other summer, the number of experienced female competitors at YCC often drops significantly due to the conflict. Since many of the country’s best women were competing for a world title in Dublin, the possibility of fielding a mixed team featuring girls who could out-throw, outrun, and match the physicality of their male teammates was hard to imagine. Hard to imagine, that is, until watching BUDA play. This group included two particular standouts: Tulsa Douglas, a rising Amherst sophomore who runs tirelessly and has the throws to match her energy and Anna Kaplan, a calm, accurate handler with great defensive positioning. Coach Josh Seamon treated his female players as BUDA’s secret weapons: their unusually high level of play across the board frequently created mismatches on the field, allowing BUDA’s women to easily act as playmakers. To further profit from this, BUDA often opted to field four women and three men during their offensive points. However Seamon claimed that BUDA’s women always played a major role on the field no matter how many of them were on the line. “I estimate that the BUDA women are involved in more than 50 percent of all plays, despite the fact that they are usually outnumbered on the field,” he explained. “They are dominant.” So dominant, in fact, that BUDA won every game they played up until the championship game by eight or more points. Despite the fact that the Boston team maintained a strong lead throughout, the final match between BUDA and DiscNW’s Pandamonium was exhilarating. Both teams were stacked with dominant, but not aggressively showy, players. In addition to their women, BUDA’s Vincent DeFelice, a tall, graceful 17-year old with the unbelievable ability to horizontally outbid everyone and catch every single disc over his Vincent DeFelice, one of BUDA’s key players, skys a DiscNW player during the championship game. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS
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Top: BUDA’s strong female players, such as Anna Kaplan, were the team’s secret weapons. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom: DiscNW’s Grant Mitchell was a constant threat in and deep. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
The game began with a bang as both teams consistently played their strongest, most energetic lines. From the start, the game was supremely athletic: DeFelice began the game by getting a flying layout D, while Seattle’s Collins sprinted down almost the entire length of the field in order to lay out for a massive deep look. DiscNW did an impressive job of halting BUDA’s offensive flow, causing the Boston team to force deep throws up the line as their cutters and handlers struggled to get open and move the disc. DiscNW’s girls gave BUDA’s all-star female lineup a better game than anyone else did: Seattle’s tight defense forced players like Kaplan to work hard at getting open, while all of the Pandamonium girls existed as real in and deep threats (and frequently turned one exhausting cut into another with little pause).
13-7. The girls dominated many of the points scored in the second half of the game. Pandamonium coach Frank Nam was the first to praise BUDA’s strong female line-up. “They use both genders equally, they are athletic and have a good coach. There aren’t really flaws. They are really polished.”
MIXED Coverage
head, stood out. So did Emmet Blau, a New York handler with an extremely strong arm. On DiscNW’s team, leaders included Grant Mitchell a Mohawk-sporting 15-year old who was a constant threat in and deep; Jonathan Collins, a guy with unparalleled explosive speed and fiery defense; and Rose Soiffer-Kosins a dominant receiver.
BUDA’s supremely refined game, however, proved too strong for DiscNW to overcome. With a small margin for error, a measured team temperament, sizzling defense, and an offensive flow that comes paired with absolute trust in the abilities of everyone on the team, BUDA overcame DiscNW
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Seamon commended DiscNW for playing an equally well-rounded game. “Seattle used their women well,” he noted after the game. “Their handlers trusted everybody; their women made in-cuts and then threatened downfield immediately, which was very difficult to guard. It’s always a great game with Seattle.” Top Left: Kaplan throws a low release forehand to avoid the tight mark of a DiscNW player. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS Right: Tulsa Douglas, one of BUDA’s star female players, reaches high to catch a disc. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom Left: NYCC’s Ben Chatham focuses intensely while getting low to catch a disc. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS
YCC MIXED DIVISION Final Standings 1 - BUDA 2 - DiscNW 3 - Maine 4 - Bay Area Disc 5 - Minnesota 6 - Chicago 7 - DiscNY 8 - Madison
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Spirit Scores 5.00 - Minnesota 4.83 - DiscNY 4.67 - Bay Area Disc 4.67 - Chicago 4.50 - BUDA 4.33 - DiscNW 4.00 - Maine 3.33 - Madison
Individual Spirit AWARDS Bay Area Disc - Ali Mathews BUDA - Justin Wu Chicago - Devin Simonelli DiscNW - Home Aalfs Madison - Peter Walker Maine - Chloe Rowse Minnesota - Emily Mattison NYCC - Nancy Ko
YCC MIXED FINALS STATS BUDA – 13 # Name 0 1 2 3 4 7 10 11 12 14 15 18 20 21 22 25 26 38 46 60 64 75
Justin Wu Anna Kaplan Marianna Heckendorn Alyssa Johnson-Kurts Julian Grant Grant Sarah Adams Zachary Bokhour Vincent DeFelice Leah Berlin Tulsa Douglas Rory Palmer Zachary Pozniak Tara Sharp Richard Lipari Mei Reffsin Emmet Blau Sam Letcher Tamar Austin Cyrus Ready-Campbell Caitlin Go Walker Mayerchak Ezra Orlinsky
TOTALS
G
A
D
TO
1 1 1 5 3 1 1
1 8 1 1 2
1 3 1 1 1
1 2
13
13
7
3
DiscNW – 7 # Name 0 2 3 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 17 19 20 21 23 24 28 29 31 32 33 35 84 ?
Paolo Eleccion Josie Gilett Miko Bagoisan Jhanelle Cadiente Nikki Bruce Martin Horst Jack Baba Julia Minkoff Steven Benaloh Sarah Afromowitz Claire Rostov Sarah Gunderson Anna Iglitzin Grace Noah Dylan Spence Owen Freed Miguel Sheets Jonathan Collins Grant Mitchell Yu Wen Chen Homer Aalfs Shane Worthington Rose Soiffer-Kosins Hallie Dunham unknown
TOTALS
G
A
D
TO
1 1 2 3
2 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
7
7
11
7
Top: NYCC’s Victoria Detres throws a flick during pool play. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom: Rising Tide: Henry Babcock soars high above his Bay Area Disc opponent to catch the disc. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
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DiscNW Rapture was unquestionably the strongest women’s team at YCC. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS
No CONTEST
U19 Women’s Coverage
By: Anna Levine
When the World Junior Ultimate Championships occurs every two summers, it is the women’s division at YCC that is usually hit the hardest in terms of losing female competitors. That’s why it was particularly inspiring to see such talented players competing in Blaine in August, even though some of the nation’s best U19 women were concurrently competing for an international title in Dublin, Ireland. 54
The women’s team that proved to be above and beyond its competition at the 2012 Youth Club Championships was Seattle’s DiscNW Rapture, a team that soundly won every one of its games by eight or more points. As the reigning YCC Women’s division champions for the past seven years, the Seattle girls clearly weren’t planning to relinquish their title this year—and they won it all by exhibiting a very low number of unforced turns, chasing after every offensive and defensive disc, and running a quick offense that left their opponents scrambling.
Cincinnati—a scrappy yet appropriately patient group of girls—was not planning to go down without a fight. Belle handlers upped the success rate of their long, well-timed forehand puts, while Stefanie Morris used her high-release flick to throw off the active marks of DiscNW players. Kelsey Gibboney acted as one of Cincinnati’s main receivers, taking off on some incredible runs down the line to catch deep looks. Taking advantage of their own big throws and the slight wane in DiscNW’s defensive intensity, Cincinnati Belle made a small comeback, scoring three points in a row on Seattle before DiscNW was able to end the game 13-5. Although Cincinnati wasn’t able to overcome their opponent, they seemed appropriately proud of their fight against the reigning champions. They were the only team that was able to score five points on Rapture.
While it may have seemed obvious that Rapture would make it to the championship game, it was much less clear who would meet them there. Although the TYUL Warhawks ended up with a less-than-perfect record on Saturday (13), they played their hearts out in three nail-biters, winning against Denver and losing to Minnesota on universe points and playing an equally close game with Cincinnati. Denver Cutthroat met Cincinnati Belle in the last round of pool play and beat them 12-8, setting a straight-up mark to cut off Cincinnati’s formidable deep looks. Because of the way seeding played out, however, Cutthroat faced Belle in the semifinals directly following their win. Cincinnati avenged their recent loss by adjusting their game to Denver’s defense and taking a seven-point lead on Denver from which the latter team could unfortunately never recover. Although the result was somewhat predictable (Seattle beat Cincinnati 13-5) the championship game between DiscNW and Cincinnati was exciting to watch. From the beginning of the game, DiscNW’s defense was on fire. In the first half, the team forced Cincinnati to turn the disc 11 times to secure their 7-0 lead, while turning it just four times themselves. From 2-0 to 5-0, Seattle Rapture played three perfect defensive points in a row. They immediately forced a turn and scored on offense without allowing Cincinnati possession of the disc. Players Jordan Palmer and Jaclyn Verzuh led the way with their unstoppable defense as Palmer seemed to rip the disc out of her opponents’ hands every time a Cincinnati player threw the disc their way and Verzuh got a particularly impressive point block.
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55: DiscNW’s Amanda Somvilay lays out during the finals against Cincinnati. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS 55: Jean Russell goes neck-and-neck with a DiscNW player to catch the disc. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS
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Top Left: Kelsey Gibboney was one of Cincinnati’s most dominant receivers. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Top Right: DiscNW’s Jessi Crowley reaches in front of Cincinnati’s Stefanie Morris to snag a D. DiscNW forced 11 turnovers to take a 7-0 lead at half. PHOTO: ALEX FRASER Bottom: Colorado’s Jackie Turner dives to catch the disc in a game against Minnesnowta. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS
YCC U19 WOMEN’S DIVISION Final Standings 1 - DiscNW 2 - Cincinnati 3 - Denver 4 - Minnesota 5 - TYUL
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Spirit Scores 4.33 - Cincinnati 4.20 - TYUL 4.00 - Denver 3.67 - DiscNW 3.57 - Minnesota
Individual Spirit AWARDS Cincinnati - Kelsey Gibboney Denver - Marcelle Spracklink DiscNW - Lani Nguyen Minnesota - Ellie Martin TYUL - Klara Calderon-Guthe
YCC U19 WOMEN’S FINALS STATS DiscNW – 13 # NAME 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 13 14 17 20 21 22 32 36 55 81
Mia Bladin Soriya Ton Maddie Gilbert Michaela Yaman Jordan Palmer Ari Lozano Elena Harriss-Bauer Amanda Somvilay Miyo McGinn Jessi Crowley Nina Job Elissa Picozzi Linnea Soo Michelle Hanneman Jaclyn Verzuh Alissa Soo Sophie Johansen Julianna Werfelli Lani Nguyen
TOTALS
Cincinnati – 5 G
A
D
TO
2 1 1 1 2 1 2 3
1 1 2 2 2 1 1 3
3 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1
2 2 2 1 1 2 5 3
13
13
14
18
# NAME 2 3 4 7 9 11 15 18 19 21 22 25 42 49 81 87 88 93 97
Sarah Fitzpatrick Andrea Willging Madison Wilker Kayla Bowery Stefanie Morris Grace Castelli Candace Borders Kelsey Gibboney Sara Friemoth Colleen Morris Malika Smoot Alora Reiff Lucy Teller Emily Dorsey Holly Koch Annie Folzenlogen Kjersti Fry Kayla Fry Emily Reutener
TOTALS
G
A
D
TO
1 3 1
1 1 1 2
1 1 2 4
1 1 1 5 4 1 3 1 7
5
5
8
24
Left: Kaci Cessna bids against TYUL. The North Carolina team won the nail-biter of a game 11-10. PHOTO: ALEX FRASER/ULTIPHOTOS Right: Kaci Cessna jumps high above a TYUL opponent to grab the disc. PHOTO: ALEX FRASER/ULTIPHOTOS
F A L L 2 0 12
57
Superiority U19 Open Coverage By:Matty Spillum
As the cheering began to fade on the fields of the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota Superior Coach Nate Wohl looked at his celebrating team of champions fresh off a ferocious final win over Cincinnati Flying Pig and proclaimed it a “fitting conclusion to this three-year journey.� Three years of building the team and preparing for this moment had finally paid off, and the coach let the players savor the moment. 58
Sam Reis, whose constant activity on and off the field was an inspiration to the whole team. “No one really needed to put the team on their shoulders,” noted coach Kevin Flynn. “We could consistently adjust our lineups to what other teams were doing.” That kind of depth and awareness of roles really only develops with game experience, and Superior was fortunate in that regard. The team put their roster to the test at the Minnesota Ultimate Disc Invitational (MUDI), where they performed well against some strong regional club teams, winning their pool before losing in the quarters. “We were able to see pretty much the whole lineup at MUDI,” said Wohl. “The guys really had to push themselves, and seeing them go out and perform well against club players let us know that they were ready for YCC.” That game experience definitely showed in the quarterfinal match against Boston’s BUDA, as the team pulled away early and put the memories of 2011 to rest with authority. With one perennial power vanquished, Superior would face the defending champions DiscNW Stag in the semifinal.
Opposite Page: A Minnesota player leaps to grab the disc over a Cincinnati Flying Pig during the championship game. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ ULTIPHOTOS Above: Minnesota had to work hard every point in order to score. PHOTO: ALEX FRASER/ULTIPHOTOS
While Minnesota has hosted the Youth Club Championships for several years now, the championship title had always eluded the host team in the U-19 division. Even as local high school teams such as Hopkins Hurt have burst into national prominence, the YCC title always headed home with another team. “A lot of these guys were sophomores my first year as a coach,” noted Wohl. “We had three or four players that were significantly better than the rest of the roster, really top-heavy, and a lot of the other players were just developing.” Even with those challenges, the 2010 iteration of this team fought hard in every game, staying close against perennial powers DiscNW and Pittsburgh.
Once again, Superior’s development as a team would be put to the test. Against an always polished DiscNW side, Minnesota would need every bit of its athleticism, talent, experience and preparation. One of the challenges of putting together a collection of players from a lot of different programs is determining what each player has or has not been taught. “I really have to give a lot of credit to the Minnesota High School League coaches for quality preparation,” said Wohl. “Our practices could focus on more advanced concepts because the fundamentals were covered for all our guys. Plus, we were able to have a much longer tryout process than in the past, so we had a much better idea of what each guy could do.” The combination of solid preparation, depth, and big game experience really came together in the semifinal game. As the two teams slugged it out in a thrilling match that went down to the wire, Superior never blinked under pressure. Even as both teams squandered chances on universe point, Superior did not seem rattled. “The more times you face a situation, the more likely you are to be able to overcome it,” said Wohl. “In that last game, our confidence and experience showed; these kids know that they can deliver.”
As this year’s tournament progressed, Superior showed how they had evolved in the last two years, capping off Saturday with a win over Delaware Valley DEVYL to take the pool and avoid a last round crossover game. A similar win last year The final against Cincinnati Flying Pig presented Superior put Superior into the quarters against Pittsburgh, but Coach with an opponent built much like them. The 2012 field Wohl was mindful of history as the team headed home to of teams in U-19 Open was stronger than ever in Wohl’s rest: “Last year, these kids were just learning to shoulder opinion. “Sure, there were a lot of the best players off at the load and figure out their roles,” Wohl explained. “We Worlds, but the teams out here just had more parity than got a lot of experience out of the weekend, but that game I’ve seen. A lot of games seemed to come down to one or with Pittsburgh exposed every weakness that the team had.” two plays here or there.” To avoid repeating 2011’s fate, Superior would have to show Flying Pig, like Superior, had a knack all weekend of making that they had what it took up and down the roster, rather those one or two plays go their way. “Cincinnati had great than relying on the efforts of just a few star players. Players chemistry,” said Wohl. “They really knew what they wanted like Tavis Leighton, whose defensive poise and big plays to do with the disc, and executed well.” kept opponents from gaining any kind of momentum, and F A L L 2 0 12
59
Early on in the game, that execution was making life difficult for Superior. Big plays by both sides showed that neither team was out of gas, and that every point was going to be worked for. “Their defense was doing a great job of taking away our lanes,” said Coach Flynn. “We needed to shift to a four-handler set to get the swings going and initiate our downfield game.” This switch seemed to make a difference, but the game still teetered back and forth. As the intensity ramped up, both teams came up with highlight reel defense and acrobatic catches. In the end, though, it would be the big game experience of Superior that would tell the tale as they once again refused to crack under the pressure. “We had a lot of 50/50 discs there at the end,” said Wohl. “They kept coming up with big, impressive plays, but I think our experience took over and we pulled it out.” Where the team goes from here, of course, is less certain. As is the nature of youth teams, turnover is a constant concern, and with the core of the team headed off to college, Superior’s chemistry and experience will need to be rebuilt. “We really don’t know what we’ll get for next season,” said Wohl, “but we know that the state keeps turning out great players who are well prepared and ready. We might get four or five guys back. This year’s team, though… they played like a college team. It’s a rare privilege to get to work with a group for the whole journey and see them come together and win a championship.” Top: Flying Pig: John Paul Bort soars above his competition to snag the disc during the finals. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom Left: Colorado Cutthroat and BUDA played an especially close game in pool play. PHOTO: KEVIN LECLAIRE/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom Middle: Superior’s Coach Wohl said that there were many 50/50 discs by the end of the championship game. PHOTO: CHRISTINA SCHMIDT/ULTIPHOTOS Bottom Right: Minnesota’s Eli Leonard catches the disc for which TYUL’s Jake Rovner makes a spectacular defensive bid. PHOTO: ALEX FRASER/ULTIPHOTOS
60
YCC U19 FINALS STATS Cincinnati – 11 # NAME 1 Adam Turner 2 Stephen Babcock 3 Jack Teller 4 Alex Young 5 Josh Fisher 7 Jacob Turner 8 Stephen Hale 9 Ryan Kindell 11 Zach Sieber 17 Jordan Kinde 18 James Morris 21 Dan Schuster 23 Paul Findley 24 John Paul Bort 28 Tristan Huck 34 Jay Ratajczak 43 Stephen Kenny 55 Joe Beatrice 69 Khafra Flynn 72 Logan Herbers 85 Tony Bort 99 Dom Schuster TOTALS
Minnesota – 13 G
A
D
TO
1 1 4 2 3 11
1 1 2 2 5 11
1 1 2 1 1 1 2 9
1 1 1 4 1 8
# NAME 2 3 4 5 8 9 10 13 15 18 19 21 22 23 32 34 36 41 47 77 88 99
G
A
D
TO
2 1 2 1 1 2 4
2 1 5 2 1 2
2 2 2 1 1
3 4 1 1 1 2 1
13
13
8
13
Ashton Robinson Caleb Coleman Jason Finkelstein Dan Rasmuson Eli Leonard Conor Kline Michael Jordan KJ Johnson unknown Nick Heid Tavis Leighton Jared Eshelman Nick Ladas Joel Morton Sam Hage Luis Caballero Charlie Dorn Sam Bumsted Ian Andre-Knudsen Soham Shah Donovan O’Dowd Sam Reis
TOTALS
YCC U19 DIVISION Final Standings
Team Spirit SCORES Individual Spirit AWARDS:
1 - Minnesota 2 - Cincinnati 3T - Denver 3T - DiscNW 5T - BUDA 5T - DeVYL 7T - Chicago 7T - PHUL 9 - TYUL 10 - Atlanta 11 - Iowa 12 - DiscNY 13 - Denver-B 14 - Spearfish
5.00 - Denver-B* 5.00 - Iowa 4.80 - Spearfish 4.67 - DiscNY 4.60 - Denver 4.33 - Cincinnati 4.33 - Minnesota 4.33 - TYUL 4.20 - BUDA 4.20 - DiscNW 4.17 - Atlanta 3.80 - Chicago 3.50 - DeVYL 3.50 - PHUL * denotes won tiebreaker
Atlanta - Sebastian Di Francesco BUDA - Eliot Bemis Chicago - Jan Szmanda Cincinnati - Josh Fisher DeVYL - Nico Lake DiscNW - Jordon Lim Denver - Mark Rauls Denver B - Diego Lander-Saldana Iowa - Ethan Kumbera Minnesota - Joel Morton NYCC - Danny Siegel PHUL - Arlo Galetko Spearfish - Austin Walker TYUL - Eric Hewell
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Matty Spillum, a long-time writer for USA Ultimate and Surly Grand Masters player, recounts his experience in Blaine, MN as a member of the winning team. As Surly gathered together for the postgame huddle, preparing to pay respects to the success of the long weekend and the memory of team talisman Marty Bakko, the warm Minnesota sun cured our victorious sweat to our skin and warmed our weary shoulders. The long-awaited rematch with defending champions Scrapple was over. Surly Grand Masters had put it together when it counted and brought home the trophy that had eluded us for the last three seasons of Grand Masters play. For a few of us, such as the Texas contingent of Don Tom, Sean McCall and Steve Quatch, Labor Day would finish off with an evening of travel. For the bulk of us, however, victory could be savored in the comforts of home. Among the more hallowed truisms in sports is the idea of home field advantage. While Vegas usually makes it worth a generic amount (say, 2.5-3.5 points in the NFL), some studies seem to indicate that the advantage actually grows closer to the end of the season when the games tend to matter more. Ultimate players, of course, like to have mini seasons every time we get on the field. Multi-game, multi-day play often follows the pattern of a regular sport’s season, with teams sometimes F A L L 2 0 12
approaching pool play with less intensity to keep something in the tank for the big games to come. For many of the higher seeds at Grand Masters, this certainly seemed to be the case. Teams like Boulder Gun Club and Scrapple were able to rotate evenly through their rosters, keeping key players fresh and getting everyone some critical time on the field. Surly, too, made sure that everyone would be prepared to get through the weekend. “We really approached those early games as opportunities to get everyone some playing time and keep the big guns rested,” said Surly Captain Jim Mott. “Even when Georgetown Brewing was trading points with us, we wanted to stick to the game plan and use our depth.” That depth was, in some part, due to the tournament being local. Many of the Grand Masters eligible guys who played the series with Surly were suddenly available this time around, making it possible to pick and choose from among the affiliated out of town players. Still, the strong connection with fellow Central region Masters team Real Huck remained. “In previous years, just getting quality numbers for the tournament necessitated reaching out
Above: Surly’s deep roster allowed players to fully exert themselves on defense and then rest. PHOTO: ALEX FRASER/ULTIPHOTOS
to the Real Huck guys,” said Greg Williams. “Especially in Boulder (2010), Johnny Hock really stepped up and put it together while the Surly guys were in Prague.” As more and more Surly players aged into the division, roster consistency (always a challenge in Grand Masters) made putting together a cohesive game plan less and less of a problem. This familiarity served Surly well in the early elimination rounds, as teams with nothing to lose gave the higher seeds their best shot. Games against Ozark Hillbillys and T-Rex started tight, but Surly’s ability to remain on task and stick with the offensive and defensive looks enabled us to keep fresh and keep rolling. Having a cohesive roster leavened with younger guys with big game experience made weathering minor setbacks much less challenging than in previous years. “After losing in the semis all those years, we were really able to gel this year,” notes Williams. “We were in all those semis, but we didn’t have that final piece.” Just having that depth and cohesion made all the difference as the tournament rolled on. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that in previous years, we didn’t have the luxury of resting key people. Since so much 63
of Grand Masters revolves around avoiding injuries, being able to plug in fresh legs that can run the game plan keeps more of those legs out of harm’s way. I remember putting in way more points than my knee could handle in Boulder while we struggled to find good rotations in Cincinnati. Surly’s depth in Blaine was a powerful weapon against teams that leaned heavily on a smaller number of their players. The Georgetown Brewing game was a great example of how our roster functioned: as the first half continued back and forth, our confidence in our numbers allowed us to stay under control and keep applying pressure, knowing that the second half would find their deep game a bit less crisp. The weekend seemed to continue in a similar vein for the 2011 finalists, Boulder Gun Club and Scrapple. Both teams used their pool play games as tune-ups, and dispatched their pre-quarter and quarterfinal opponents with similar ease. We knew that the road to the podium ran through both of those teams, and each game further confirmed that notion. The fourth top pool seed, DoG, was able to put their pool away, but not without a fight or two. While Sick Hammers didn’t give them too much trouble in pre-quarters, I wondered how well their game would match up with Georgetown’s more dynamic long looks. True to suspicion, the Seattle side was able to get past DoG to earn a perhaps unenviable morning semi against a rested and ready Scrapple. In many ways, Surly was a bit more fortunate than the other two top teams going into Monday action, since we had actually faced a bit of pressure from Georgetown Brewing. Having seen our game plan tested and found solid, we had confidence that we could execute when it counted. As Jim Mott put it, “everyone bought in to what we were doing, and even as we shortened the bench on Monday, it was a total team effort.” It was apparent in both the semis and finals that our opponents had to adjust to playing against a team that was right with them on the field. Both Boulder and Scrapple were certainly up to the task of making that adjustment, but those few points would prove telling in both games. The hometown advantage continued to rear its head, as Dave Boardman, newly eligible and well rested, joined the side Monday to provide a level of elite reinforcement that few teams could match up with. Our depth was a constant benefit for us, but we certainly needed a few folks like Boardman to push us over the edge with their efforts. Through the tight, physical back and forth of the Boulder game, Don Tom’s extraordinary calm and insightful leadership kept the team in every point. As the game ground out to its finish, his focus and the tenacious downfield play of Mike Fritz and Sean McCall were the difference. Similarly, no retelling of the tale of the final would be complete without noting the efforts of Keith Allen and Mark ‘Paco’ Enright. Allen, who made sure to remind Jim Mott the previous year that “next year, I’m turning forty,” came up with sneaky good end zone cuts at critical times in the game, while Paco’s two gutsy hammers for consecutive scores punctuated Surly’s back-breaking seven point run. As the home crowd cheered us on, and hometown brew loomed as a reward, Surly gutted out Scrapple’s worthy late run to take the title. 64
Surly’s win represented the culmination of years of hard work. PHOTOS: ALEX FRASER/ULTIPHOTOS
For our team, winning the 2012 Grand Masters Championship title represented the culmination of years of hard work and persistence. In a reflection of the Masters team’s strategy, Surly GM continued to build toward a critical mass of talent and depth. With all the changes coming to Masters and Grand Masters, of course, who knows what the future might look like? According to Surly Captain Johnny Hock, the goal this year, before the reshuffling changed everything, was “to assemble the greatest Grand Masters roster ever.” Naturally, whether that was accomplished is for others to decide. For this reporter, I feel confident in saying that 2012 Surly GM is the best roster I’ve ever been a part of. Reflecting on my personal twenty-three years in the sport, there is a part of me that recognizes the irony that, to finally get a championship, I only had to come home.
1 - Surly GM 2 - Scrapple 3T - Boulder Gun Club 3T - Georgetown Brewing 5 - Le Grande Tigre 6 - DoG
7 - T-Rex 8 - Man Down 9 - Old Line 10 - Moscow State 11 - Iron City Ultimate 12 - Brooklyn
13 - Sick Hammers 14 - Ozark Hillbillys 15 - Grandmaster Trash 16 - Old Milwaukee 17 - Age Against the Machine 18 - Thirst’n Howl
SURLY GM – 14 # NAME 0 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 17 19 22 24 28 29 32 34 36 37 44 68 70 71 80 99
Steve LaCrosse Steve Quach Chris Reynolds Keith Allen Eric Zaslow Paul Anderson Dave Steglich Greg Williams Don Tom Eric Rose Matt Zupan Matt Spillum Mark Enright Dan Rydel Sean McCall Dave Boardman Ricky Eikstadt Eric Enge Brian Corradi Jim Mott Johnny Hock Russ Adams Jeremy Alden Sky Davey Rich Berger Perry Nacionales Marc Furigay Mike Fritz Paul Devine
TOTALS
5.00 - Sick Hammers* 5.00 - Iron City Ultimate 4.88 - Old Milwaukee 4.86 - T-Rex 4.83 - Age Against the Machine 4.71 - DoG 4.71 - Le Grande Tigre 4.63 - Man Down 4.63 - Grandmaster Trash
SCRAPPLE – 11 G
A
D
TO
1 3 1 3 2 1 1 2
1 2 3 1 1 2 3 1
2 1 1 2
1 1 1 2 1 2 1
6
9
14 14
4.50 - Surly GM 4.43 - Thirst n Howl 4.38 - Ozark Hillbillys 4.29 - Old Line 4.25 - Moscow State 4.14 - Georgetown Brewing 4.00 - Brooklyn 4.00 - Boulder Gun Club 4.00 - Scrapple * won tiebreaker
# NAME 0 1 3 4 6 8 9 11 14 16 18 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 44
Len Magargee Chris O’Connor Jeff George JB Harrington Andrew Rutledge Thomas Glass Jay Soda William Maroon Dan Sage Tom Maroon Paul Minecci Paul Bonfanti AJ Iwaszko Arnold Sanchez Trey Katzenbach Sean Smith Paul Darling Patrick Vennebush Randy Ricks
TOTALS
G
A
D
TO
2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2
1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2
1 1 1 2
1 3 3 2 1 1
11
11
5
11
Age Against the Machine – Dave Fry Boulder Gun Club – Peter Delamere Brooklyn – Phil Vlahakis DoG – Simon Verghese Georgetown Brewing – Fraser Stanton Grandmaster Trash – Darryl Dahlheimer Iron City – Tom Bohman The Le Grand Tigre – Jamal Yusof Man Down – George Troemel Moscow State – Eric Diamond Old Line - Len Pettiford Old Milwaukee – Scott Severson Ozark Hillbillys – Bob Lee Scrapple – Jay Soda Sick Hammers – Doug McLaughlin Surly – Eric Enge T-Rex – Rod Hannon Thirst’n Howl – Rick Colbeth 65
W H AT ’ S T H E C A L L By: Jon Bauman, Chair of the USA Ultimate Standing Rules Committee
As players of a self-officiated sport, it is our responsibility to know the rules. This column features answers to your rules questions and clarifies common misconceptions about the rules.
?
Is there such a thing as an uncontested travel call? If you call a travel on stall 8, and the person readily agrees that, yes, they did travel, what does the count come in on?
ANSWER
Rule XIV.5 describes the procedure for resuming the stall count after a call. Since there is no more specific rule for a travel, it falls under 5.a).(2) “Uncontested offensive foul or violation,” which indicates the stall resumes at “count reached plus 1, or 9 if over 8.” So, if “eight” were fully uttered before the uncontested travel call, the stall would resume with “stalling nine.”
?
When is a ground touch versus a check required?
ANSWER
Generally, a ground touch is required any time the thrower has to carry the disc to a particular spot before putting it into play, and a check is required only when the disc is dead.
As described by the rules, a ground touch is required when a live disc is put in play. A disc is live when players are allowed to move and the disc is subject to a turnover, but the thrower cannot make a legal pass. For practical purposes, just remember that if you’re walking the disc to the goal line, sideline, brick mark or middle, a ground touch is required, but not a check. There is no need to wait for the defense to acknowledge their readiness; just touch the disc to the ground and play. A check is required when play has stopped (II.S). Play can stop due to a call (including injury), discussion or time-out. A stoppage is clearly different from a live disc scenario because all the players must stop moving. If this is the case, play must restart with a check (VIII.D). That means the defense must indicate they are ready before the offense starts play. Usually this is accomplished by the marker touching the disc offered by the thrower, but in the case that both players are not close enough to the disc, the procedure is slightly different. See VIII.D for the full description of the offensive and defensive selfchecks. In the common case, the best practice for performing a check is as follows:
66
1. Make sure your downfield teammates and opponents are ready. 2. Announce where the stall count is resuming. 3. Make sure the opposing thrower/marker is ready. 4. Count down “3-2-1” and offer the disc for a check (or touch the offered disc). 5. Loudly announce “disc in” or “in play” when the disc is touched.
?
We recently had a game in which the opposing team ran up and down the field outof-bounds, which was very difficult to defend. They would also stay out-of-bounds in the end zone and then jump from out-of-bound and land in bounds? Second, can you run up and down in the out-of-bounds area to get around your defenders?
ANSWER 1. Leaping from out-of-bounds, catching the disc in the air and landing in-bounds, is a turnover. See section IX.C: “… An airborne player retains in-bounds or out-of-bounds status until that player contacts the playing field or the out-of-bounds area. …” 2. There is no rule against running up and down the field in the out-of-bounds area.
A check is required when play has stopped. PHOTO: ALEX FRASER/ULTIPHOTOS
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Sideline Presence Winning the sidelines – every team pushing toward the top knows that having a loud and active sideline can help a team achieve higher levels of success. Ultimate is unique in team field sports in that players aren’t constrained to a bench or player area. They can roam both sides of the field and position themselves anywhere from end-line to end-line. From those positions they can use their voice to provide information to the players on the field and help them maintain consistent focus regardless of the game situation. Active watching and talking can also help players learn and keep their own focus so that when they step on the field they are ready to play. Sideline talk is near and dear to my heart because, as a player good enough to make an elite club team, but not quite good enough to get consistent playing time in big games, it was a role that I felt like I could own. With rosters pushing toward the 27-person limit in club and no roster limit in college and below, managing players will always present a challenge. Identifying and valuing contributing, non-playing roles is critical to managing a team’s success over the course of a tournament or season. There are only a few keys to being great on the sideline: 1. Be focused on the game 2. Know what to say 3. Move with the play
While in theory, sideline talk is straightforward, it is important to clarify roles and expectations on the sideline. As a coach or captain, saying “let’s win the sideline” is the equivalent to saying “just go out there and beat your player.” Without any additional instruction, you’re coaching isn’t going to help your players be as successful as possible. Many teams use a system where players on the sideline pick one specific player for which they are responsible. That system can work effectively in a zone defense, but in almost every other situation, players on the field are moving up and down the field and covering the full 40-yard width. Expecting a player to keep up with the vertical movement and have a perspective and voice on the horizontal movement is not realistic. Many teams also give instruction on how to talk on defense. This usually starts with talking to the mark. But great sidelines also know when and what to say to downfield defenders and offensive players as well. Recognizing these challenges and opportunities, the U.S. Junior Girls team this summer developed a system for sideline talk that clarified roles and responsibilities. Before each point, players on the sideline would identify their roles and communicate them to other players on the sideline. We also clarified the primary verbal queues that each role would be responsible for.
OFFENSE
DEFENSE
8th: Up, Left/Right (for disc in air deep), In/Out (for goal line help)
8th: Up, Left/Right (for disc in air deep), In/Out (for goal line help) Deep: Up, Last Back, Looking, Not Looking, Coming Under/No Under
Deep: Cut Under
Middle: Get Wide (in Horizontal), Too Deep, Wait wait, Go Go Go Handlers: “5” (on stall count), Give and Go (where appropriate), Push Downfield 8th: Up, Left/Right (for disc in air deep), In/Out (in case of turnover)
Fig 1.0 68
Middle: Reposition, Up, No Under, No Away, Looking
Direction of Offense
Mark: No Around, No IO, Strike, Contain Reset: Looking, Reposition, Push Upfield, No Upline 8th: Up, Left/Right (for disc in air deep), In/Out (in case of turnover)
Figure 1.0 shows the positions and some of the basic language that the team used in each sideline role. The system originated out of the Stanford Women’s team’s use of the “Eighth Woman” – a player that stood at the goal line who was specifically responsible for helping with in/out calls as well as “joysticking” (directing with verbal queues) defenders and receivers when the disc is in the air for long throws. This position is critical, because even teams with great sidelines are often caught with no close sideline help on hucks. By stationing players in those positions, you guarantee yourself good talk in those potentially game changing moments. “Reposition” is a specific verbal queue that we used to let a defensive player covering a passively cutting receiver to check-in with where the disc was and move to a more optimal defensive position. Some teams use “Repo” or “Orbit” to mean the same things. The player talking to the mark should be set up behind the thrower. From this vantage point, the sideline player has the same perspective as the thrower and can see where the receiving threats are coming. Using that perspective she can guide the mark into the best position to take away throws. A good talker on the mark is the equivalent of giving the mark eyes on the back of her head. Talk to the offense is naturally going to be less than talk to the defense for a couple of reasons. First, offense typically dictates the pace of play and is playing by their rules. They are less likely to get caught in a situation where they do not know where the disc is or where the next cut should be coming from. Second, defensive talk can also ratchet up the pressure and intensity. Too much talk on offense can be distracting or unnerving to offensive players. But, there are many times where sideline talk is appropriate when on offense. Good examples include helping handlers recognize that there is a handler sag and a give-and-go may be an effective ploy, or helping cutters whose backs are momentarily turned to the disc know that their defenders are out of position, or that the offense is moving to a place where they have a great opportunity to make a deep cut.
The sideline voice is an important part of an Ultimate team’s strategy. PHOTO: Kevin Leclaire/ULTIPHOTOS
talk to the person in your zone. As they move to another area of the field, you pass them off and pick up the next person moving in to your zone. Finally, it is critical that the sideline moves with the play. Except for the Eighth Woman, the movement of the sideline should resemble an accordion. As the disc moves closer to the attacking endzone, the sideline players compress closer together. This movement is necessary to keep the voices as close to the play as possible. Not all teams have rosters that can support 5 players on each sideline. If that’s the case for your team, prioritize the roles. Keep players talking to the mark and the mid, and have a player split between eighth and deep. If you’ve got new players that don’t know what to say, school them on the basics, but let them know that being loud and consistent is a good first step in being a great sideline player. Beyond helping players on the field perform better, there are many reasons why good sidelines can help a team: it gets more players involved, it helps keep focus through a tourney, and focused watching can also help players learn and improve in their game. From brand new high school teams to teams competing at club nationals, defining and practicing your sideline game can help push your team to new levels.
In this system, talk is not dedicated specifically to any one player. It is similar to playing zone defense: you
F A L L 2 0 12
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INJURY TIMEOUT By: Jamie Nuwer, MD Illustrated by Sierra Simmons
Rotator Cuff Shoulder Injuries Rotator cuff shoulder injuries are very common in arm on the ground, the supraspinatus tendon is jammed Ultimate. The frequency of laying out and falling leads against the bones of the small canal. In response, the to a high probability of landing on your arms. Landing bursa swells to protect the supraspinatus tendon. This on your hand, forearm or elbow is the most common makes the canal even smaller, furthering the problem. mechanism for rotator cuff injuries. After such an injury, The other rotator cuff muscles are also frequently injured athletes often fail to fully rehabilitate a “bad shoulder” with the supraspinatus since they all work together to and end up with chronic pain. Here we will discuss stabilize the shoulder joint. the mechanism, diagnosis, and management of acute It’s easy to test yourself for a supraspinatus injury, the rotator cuff injuries, as well as proper rehabilitation to most common rotator cuff injury. Raise your arm from avoid chronic injury. This column is not meant to replace your side up to 45 degrees sideways. Then bring it medical evaluation for your health problems. Always seek forward 30 degrees. Have someone apply pressure to medical help for worrisome or persistent symptoms. your forearm while you try to raise your shoulder up from that position. If it is painful or weak then supraspinatus is probably injured. If you cannot even place your arm in the test position, you may have completely torn your supraspinatus tendon and should consult a sports medicine doctor immediately. Here are some tests for the other rotator cuff muscles. If you have a hard time reaching into your back pocket, a subscapularis injury is likely. To test infraspinatous and teres minor, flex your elbow to 90 degrees while holding it at your side. Rotate your fists outward against pressure. If you have pain or weakness you have likely injured your infraspinatous and teres minor. Your doctor might also try to approximate the amount of swelling in your bursa by testing for impingement, the medical term for the supraspinatus tendon getting smashed against shoulder canal.
Figure 1: Cross section of the shoulder. A = supraspinatus, B = humerus, C = bursa, D = canal There are four rotator cuff muscles. Supraspinatus is the most frequently injured. The supraspinatus muscle lifts your arm from your side to above your head. It attaches to the humerus through a small canal bordered at the top of your shoulder (see Figure 1). The tendon of supraspinatus travels through a fluid-filled sac called a bursa in order to slide smoothly through the canal. When you hit your 70
Rotator cuff injury can sometimes be confused with a “separated shoulder” or a “shoulder sprain” both of which are injuries of the acromioclavicular (AC) joint. These injuries usually happens when the first point of ground contact is the top of one’s shoulder. A separated shoulder tears the ligaments holding the shoulder to the collarbone together. A shoulder sprain stretches the ligaments without tearing. Either of these injuries will hurt with all the rotator cuff muscle testing explained above. To differentiate a rotator cuff injury from an AC injury, reach across your chest to bring your injured arm’s elbow toward your opposite shoulder. If this hurts you likely have a AC injury. If you think you may have a shoulder sprain or separation, consult a sports medicine doctor before starting rehabilitation exercises. Acute management of a shoulder injury should involve rest and ice. To rest your shoulder, pull your uninjured arm out of its sleeve and pull the bottom of the shirt up into a sling. If your stomach will tolerate it, take two Aleve
(Naproxen) twice a day for 5 days. Take 5 days off and avoid any activities that may cause pain, especially any overhead reaching. Try to sit with good posture to keep your shoulder relaxed.
Figure 2: Shoulder rehabilitation exercises
Rehabilitation can begin immediately as long as the exercises are not painful. Start with the following exercises. Exercises 1-5 are diagramed in Figure 2 Ice afterwards.
1. Wand exercises: Grip the wand with both hands and move it as shown. Use a mirror to make sure both sides are even in A and B. 1 set of 10 for each exercise.
2. Shoulder raises:
Shrug your shoulders
up and hold for 5 seconds. Then bring your shoulders back as far as you can and hold for 5 seconds. Last bring your shoulders down and hold for 5. 1 set of 10.
3. I nternal rotation: Keep
and
external
your elbow at your side. Start with isometrics by pushing your fist against a wall for 5 seconds. Work up to the Thera-Band, 3 sets of 10.
4. Supraspinatus:
Make sure to keep your thumbs down! First do these exercises without a TheraBand. Just hold at the top for 5 seconds. Work up to the Thera-Band, 3 sets of 10.
5. Thera-Band deltoid:
Each exercise works a different part of the deltoid. Work up to 3 sets of 10.
6. Rotation with a weight:
Extend your arm sideways so that your hand is even with your shoulder. Bend your elbow to 90 degrees. Now rotate your fist forward and down without moving the position of your elbow. Return to starting position. 3 sets of 10 with increasing free weights. You can safely return to playing when your injured shoulder has full range of motion without pain and has regained the same strength of your uninjured shoulder. References Garrick and Webb. Sports Injuries. 1999 Rouzier, Pierre. Patient Advisor. 2004
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NEWS & NOTES College Championships Return to Madison
The 2013 USA Ultimate College Championships will return to Madison, Wis., USA Ultimate announced last August. The event, which annually crowns the Division I men’s and women’s Ultimate National Champions, will be hosted by Midwest Ultimate with assistance from the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau. The four-day tournament returns to its usual spot on the calendar over Labor Day weekend, taking place Friday, May 24 through Monday, May 27 at Redden Soccer Complex in nearby Verona, Wis. “We’re extremely excited to bring the national championships back to such a fantastic Ultimate venue and again showcase one of America’s fastest-growing sports to the Greater Madison area,” said USA Ultimate Managing Director of Competition & Athlete Programs, Will Deaver. “Thanks to the support of Midwest Ultimate, the GMCVB, and the rich history of Ultimate in Wisconsin, we expect the 2013 edition to be nothing short of spectacular.” Following the 2013 college regular season, more than 13,000 studentathletes from more than 750 colleges and universities in America will compete to qualify for nationals. Nearly 900 competitors from 20 men’s teams and 20 women’s teams will attend. Oregon met Santa Barbara in the finals the last time the college championships were played in Madison. PHOTO: Matt Lane
Ironside, Fury and Drag’n Thrust Finish Regular Season atop Club Rankings The 2012 Club regular season is in the books as familiar names topped the final rankings in each of USA Ultimate’s four competitive divisions. In the Open division, Boston Ironside claimed the top spot with 1866 points ahead of Boulder’s Johnny Bravo (1742), San Francisco Revolver (1722), Seattle Sockeye (1719) and Texas Doublewide (1676). Notable wins for Ironside included a 13-9 victory over Toronto GOAT to win the Chesapeake Invite, a 15-7 win over Portland Rhino in the finals of the Emerald City Classic and a 17-16 title game win over New York PoNY at the Boston Invite. San Francisco Fury again ended the season ranked number one in the Women’s division with 1933 points. Seattle Riot finished second with 1849 points, followed by Washington D.C. Scandal (1736), Chicago Heist (1672) and Boston Brute Squad (1642). Fury’s season included tournament wins at the Emerald City Classic and Labor Day.
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In the Mixed division, Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust earned the number-one spot with 1821 points over San Francisco Polar Bears (1814), Boston Slow White (1749), Ames (Iowa) Chad Larson Experience (1706), and The Ghosts from Boston (1691). Drag’n Thrust opened the season with a close loss to Slow White in the semifinals of the inaugural U.S. Open, but later bolstered its ranking with a tournament win at the Chesapeake Invite, avenging its early-season loss to Slow White in the finals.
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CONVENTION COVERAGE Marketing 101 (continued from p35) legitimacy of the sport in the mind of casual mainstream consumers.” While a sponsorship deal with lucrative financials and unprecedented exposure has yet to come along, recent progress has made the path to landing one a bit easier to imagine. “Two years ago we didn’t have any of those nonindustry partners,” says Lee. “We haven’t landed a “big fish” yet but it’s encouraging to see companies that have nothing to do with Ultimate become attracted to and involved in our sport. It’s not a two or three or six year thing, it’s a 10+ year thing to get the sport to where our grand visions are.”
“Every sport wants to be on TV,” says Greg Downey, NASCAR’s senior director of brand and consumer marketing and a member of USA Ultimate’s board of directors. He goes on to say that the vast majority of the money in sports comes from television and cites both NASCAR’s eight-year, $4.5 billion deal with Fox and the International Olympic Committee’s 10-year, $3 billion deal with NBC as leading examples. “Sponsors make the sporting world go ‘round.” Indeed, if visibility and sponsorship are USA Ultimate’s desired ends, then a mainstream television contract is the means. Such a deal would expose Ultimate to an exponentially broader audience than ever before, giving the sport a way to reach new players and sponsors to reach more consumers. There are three basic models for getting any event onto television: one where, like NASCAR’s deal with Fox, a network pays a rights fee to broadcast an event, one where a network and a rights holder share the production, broadcast costs and ad inventory, and one where a rights holder simply buys airtime from a network and funds the production. The first model requires a lot of popularity (think NFL, NCAA March Madness and the Olympic Games) and the third a lot of money. USA Ultimate is currently in between, using the second model to partner with CBS Sports to broadcast the College Championships. Similar to its sponsorship deals, USA Ultimate’s TV contract with CBS isn’t to the same scale as events that boast tens of millions of viewers. Ultimate has a long way to go before “Prime Time.”
Another factor to consider in televising Ultimate are the cosmetic changes that broadcasters are likely to require. “Televised sports need a certain look and feel,” says Downey. “They need to be under the lights and in stadiums. People need to be packed into stands rather than standing on sidelines. Uniforms need to be uniform— players can’t be wearing hats, socks, and cleats of all different colors.” While Ultimate players regularly embrace the first conditions on Downey’s list, the last one might be questionable to those who value Ultimate’s strong roots in individuality. If Ultimate is going to go mainstream, members will have to trust USA Ultimate to account for their preferences and to operate with their best interests at heart. “There may be a difference in the competitive standpoint and the marketing standpoint,” says Downey. “I would hope that all competitors want what’s best for the sport: to grow it.”
The recent upswing in independent Ultimate-related media outlets has been great for the sport’s visibility. Brodie Smith’s YouTube and Twitter accounts have hundreds of thousands of views and followers, USA Ultimate and NexGen Network broadcast high-level games both live and on-demand, and Skyd Magazine and Ultiworld are turning out detailed articles, editorials, interviews, and tournament previews daily. These organizations’ place as members of the Ultimate community yields excellent products. “I’m comfortable taking a NexGen-produced product to a potential sponsor because of its really professional camera angles, replay, slow motion, announcing, and commentary,” says Lee. There are critics who claim that Brodie or NexGen are more fit to lead Ultimate into the future, but they are missing the mark. USA Ultimate is responsible for providing playing opportunities for everyone as well as answering to members financially; individual athletes are not. And while NexGen and Skyd give Ultimate fans a professional product, each has received funding from USA Ultimate. As a member-driven organization that administers Ultimate’s competitive structure in the United States, USA Ultimate must be mindful of a much bigger picture than anyone else.
“I understand the community’s appetite for more cameras at more events, and I couldn’t agree more,” says Lee. “But without the viewership of other sports, there are only a “Ultimate is not a real sport.” handful of options we have from a broadcast perspective. CBS Sports has been a valuable partner of ours for 10 years It’s an assertion that we have all heard. Perhaps we have now and the exposure our sport has received because of even half-jokingly made it ourselves while on the line at a party tournament. But those who have played Ultimate that relationship has been phenomenal.” 74
know the deal: there are teams, rules, points, and strategies, along with running, jumping, and laying out. When a player steps onto the field, Ultimate is as real a sport as any other. What the statement really gets at is that when it comes to the “normalcy” of other sports— accessible local leagues, an abundance of coaches to teach kids fundamentals, and the ability to tell the guy in the sporting goods store that you aren’t buying cleats for soccer— Ultimate still has a long road ahead of it. Like learning to throw a flick or building to win a championship, the development of Ultimate is a process. There’s a lot at play, and it’s not going to happen overnight. An even-handed approach to growth and development will pay off, and that is the approach USA Ultimate is taking.
Broadcasting Ultimate is a priority in USA Ultimate’s new Strategic Plan. PHOTO: CMBT Creative USA Ultimate CEO Dr. Tom Crawford welcomes the crowd to the inaugural U.S. Open Organizer’s Convention: PHOTO: CMBT Creative The National Sports and Conditioning Association provided an interactive experience for convention attendees. PHOTO: CMBT Creative
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