I am currently writing LIVE from Statesboro, GA where sMITe just finished the first day of Southerns. Today's conditions were beautiful. We were up just as the sun was rising and our fields, although really really far away from disc central and any bathrooms, were beautiful with lush green (short) grass. There was a little bit of wind, and it was warm but not hot,
We started off playing Georgia College & State in our first round. There was still a lot of dew on the grass so everything was really slippery and it was hard for people to make hard cuts. But it was great to get our feet under us and run hard and use a full-sized field! We started out with horizontal stack and man D and won the first three points readily making it 3-0. GC&S liked their backhand hucks and I got broken on my mark around a bunch of times and it was sad. They were in general a really scrappy team and looked for deep looks from their main handler. But we took half 7-4.
In the second half we traded points until the end of the game. There was one point where Becky had the disc and the stall count was getting high. I made a dump cut but didn't get open, then Smeri was the bail-out dump cut, but she wiped out on the wet grass as she was making her dump cut, and took me out too. I was really excited about all of Becky's nice dump cuts and swing. We spent a lot of the first round working out our positioning on ho-stack, which got a lot better throughout the day. We also worked on our three-man cup which was semi-successful but their main handler still got a lot of hucks off. Anna also had an awesome lay out in the end zone for a score. Final score: 11-8.
After our second round bye we played Mary Washington. We worked more on our ho-stack and got a lot better. We took half pretty quickly 7-1. Michelle, one of our star freshmen, had an amazing lay-out grab. This was also the game where Ashley, our new sophomore recruit that joined in January, started getting a ton of run-through Ds. Final score: 13-3.
Our next round was against Florida State, aka the pink team. They had a lot of nice I/O breaks and we had a frustrating first few points and the score was 3-6. But we got our heads back in the game and came back to score a few points but they took half 7-5. The second half of the game we didn't let them score and won 9-7. Come-back!!
Our last game was against Duke and we lost half 2-7. But we got our heads back in the game, stepped our defense, and traded points. Final score 6-13.
First round tmr is 8:30 vs Wake Forest.
Tired... sleepy... Jin needs her computer back. Thanks Jin!
Oh yeah, and THANK YOU DAPHNE for saving our butts on Friday when Budget Rental Cars were giving us a hard time (another post of its own).
Good night!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Ha
me: clare's funny
Eugene: what!
so are you
and i still can't believe you guys are going out
Eugene: what!
yea i can see why
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Georgia tomorrow! Southerns this weekend! Smeri and I are going to the World of Coca-Cola to kill time. I mean, to spend quality roommate bonding time with each other while in another state. Yea... I'm also really excited about sweet tea and biscuits at Bojangles!!!
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Georgia tomorrow! Southerns this weekend! Smeri and I are going to the World of Coca-Cola to kill time. I mean, to spend quality roommate bonding time with each other while in another state. Yea... I'm also really excited about sweet tea and biscuits at Bojangles!!!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Game vs. Harvard
Crap, I started this last week and forgot to finish it.
Last Wed we played Harvard on their outdoor turf. It was a relatively warm night (maybe 40s) and no wind at all! It took a few points at the beginning for people to get used to stretching their legs and running all out and to not be afraid of falling (the turf won't hurt you!) I think after a while of indoor ultimate, people tend to hold back because the indoor track isn't that big and depending on the type of shoes you have there is little traction so ppl slip and fall and twist ankles more easily. So it was awesome to be able to play outdoors and run all out.
We started off in ho-stack and it was a little stagnant at first, but people remembered to cut deep for your buddy, and then to cut in after you cut deep. Our endzone plays were also a little messy and undisciplined, but I remember it working once or twice, which was really exciting!
We played a little bit of everything: vert and ho offenses, zone O, zone D, straight up man D. Some things we need to work on:
1. Playing more conservative and using our dump/swing more often
We have a tendency to get over-excited on the endzone line and throw high-risk throws that inevitably result in a turnover.
2. Man defense and switchy defense
Harvard played a lot of ho-stack and it would've benefited us to help each other more on defense. I think we know in our minds what we're supposed to do, we just have to practice it with each other and be intentional about doing it.
I honestly don't remember that much from the Harvard game. =P Anyway, this weekend is Southerns! http://scores.upa.org/scores/#college-womens/tournament/6658 Yay
Last Wed we played Harvard on their outdoor turf. It was a relatively warm night (maybe 40s) and no wind at all! It took a few points at the beginning for people to get used to stretching their legs and running all out and to not be afraid of falling (the turf won't hurt you!) I think after a while of indoor ultimate, people tend to hold back because the indoor track isn't that big and depending on the type of shoes you have there is little traction so ppl slip and fall and twist ankles more easily. So it was awesome to be able to play outdoors and run all out.
We started off in ho-stack and it was a little stagnant at first, but people remembered to cut deep for your buddy, and then to cut in after you cut deep. Our endzone plays were also a little messy and undisciplined, but I remember it working once or twice, which was really exciting!
We played a little bit of everything: vert and ho offenses, zone O, zone D, straight up man D. Some things we need to work on:
1. Playing more conservative and using our dump/swing more often
We have a tendency to get over-excited on the endzone line and throw high-risk throws that inevitably result in a turnover.
2. Man defense and switchy defense
Harvard played a lot of ho-stack and it would've benefited us to help each other more on defense. I think we know in our minds what we're supposed to do, we just have to practice it with each other and be intentional about doing it.
I honestly don't remember that much from the Harvard game. =P Anyway, this weekend is Southerns! http://scores.upa.org/scores/#college-womens/tournament/6658 Yay
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Awesome practices
Yay for numbers and intensity at practices recently! We even played 7 on 7 last night and it was awesome! And tonight we're playing Harvard so we can finally play someone else besides ourselves! Yayyy :D
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Make your mark
Marking! It's a pretty important part of defense -- you're preventing throws to half of the field with an effective mark!
The underlying goal of marking is to force the thrower to throw to where you're allowing them to throw (the open side). There are many things that are related to that, but I think that if you can dictate where the thrower throws, you've done most of what you're supposed to do as a mark.
From that, these are a few things I think a great mark will do:
- Pressure the thrower into making mistakes
- Communicate to the rest of her team when the disc is thrown (by yelling "UP") and where the disc is going (if the mark is broken and the disc is traveling down the breakside, yell "BROKEN!")
- Keep her ears open and listening for instructions from her teammates (shifting "inside" or "around" or preventing a huck "no huck")
So, how to be a great mark:
1. Know the force!
It sounds trivial, but if you don't know what the force is, you can't be a good mark! As a very confused rookie at Northwestern, it took me almost a year to learn force. And the little saying everyone kept repeating to rookies was "Butt to away unless you're on the mark" (if the force was "away") and vice versa for home. That means... when you're defending someone in the stack, you're butt or back is facing the force side. It's a silly saying but it helped me a lot!
2. COUNT
Make sure you're stalling when you're marking! You can start stalling when you're within 10 feet of the thrower. Don't say "stall" in between numbers, it slows you down (don't say "stall 2, stall 3, stall 4..." You can get LOUDER as the stall count gets higher to let your teammates know what the stall count is so the defense can play tighter D. If it's an inexperienced thrower you can even sound more frantic as the stall count gets higher. But please don't scream in the throwers' ear - that's just bad sportsmanship (*ahem* Ozone *ahem*) Actually, some people have told me that they get softer during higher stall counts so the offense doesn't know what the stall count is. Eh.
3. Athletic stance: Stay on your toes and bend your knees
Marking is hard work! A mark is not a stationary stance but an active, dynamic position where you are bending your knees (while keeping your back straight) and staying on your toes. This means, you should be TIRED after 10 seconds of marking! (Or maybe you shouldn't be, if you've been lifting! :) ) Bending your knees is important in keeping a low center of gravity so that you can move quickly without falling over. Staying on your toes is important in being mobile and having a fast reaction time. It's hard to be quick like a fox if you're flat-footed with your heels on the ground, which leads me to my next point:
4. Shuffling
Shuffling is moving your LEGS not leaning your body towards one side or another. To shuffle towards your left, move your right leg towards your left leg, then your left leg over. In other words, don't move your left leg first or else you might get caught in a situation where your feet are too far apart and you can't move quickly. A few years ago someone told me to "mark with my feet" and shuffling embodies that. You're much more effective moving your feet (and your body with them) rather than lunging or leaning to try and block the disc.
5. Arms out - "It's like hugging a fat person."
Position your arms away from your body, shoulders closed a little bit, like you're hugging a tree (or fat person). If you're playing a non-man defense and you're always marking, make sure you don't run in this position... in other words, while you're running from one marking position to the next, run like you would normally run and when you get there, put your arms out to mark.
6. Where to look? "Why are you always staring at their boobs?"
A lot of people look at the disc when they're marking, which is normally directly in front of the thrower's body, which makes it look like you're staring right at their chest while you mark. I used to do this. And Bryan made fun of me A LOT. So I started looking at their eyes, because people normally throw to where they are looking. But then everyone else started making fun of me a lot. It freaks throwers out to have their mark staring them down for 10 seconds. But as a thrower, I don't notice my mark at all so I don't think it'll work on me.
Eugene says, "Never never look at their shoulders." Shoulder-fakes work wonders :) One quick little jerk of your shoulders to one direction will send a mark flying in that direction if the mark is looking at the shoulders and quick to bite.
Another place to look is the throwers hips. It's a pretty good indication of where they're going to throw. Be mindful of what's happening on the field. You can shift your mark to cover the dump better if you see out of the corner of your eye that the dump is setting up and that your thrower is getting antsy to get rid of the disc.
7. Communication
Marking is a team effort defense. Listen for calls from on-field players or sideline like "no inside" or "no around" to cover the I/O throw or the around break throw. Calls like "no big" or "no huck" means stand directly in front of the thrower, take a step off, and be big to prevent a huck. And when the disc is thrown, tell your teammates by yelling "UP."
8. You're not done
Just because the disc is thrown doesn't mean that your job as a defender/mark is done. A lot of good handlers will move immediately after throwing the disc to get the dish so be ready to move with them!
Did I miss anything? I probably missed a lot of things, so you should read this: http://the-huddle.org/issues/25/
Tomorrow we have a game at Harvard. 7-9pm in the bubble, come watch us!
The underlying goal of marking is to force the thrower to throw to where you're allowing them to throw (the open side). There are many things that are related to that, but I think that if you can dictate where the thrower throws, you've done most of what you're supposed to do as a mark.
From that, these are a few things I think a great mark will do:
- Pressure the thrower into making mistakes
- Communicate to the rest of her team when the disc is thrown (by yelling "UP") and where the disc is going (if the mark is broken and the disc is traveling down the breakside, yell "BROKEN!")
- Keep her ears open and listening for instructions from her teammates (shifting "inside" or "around" or preventing a huck "no huck")
So, how to be a great mark:
1. Know the force!
It sounds trivial, but if you don't know what the force is, you can't be a good mark! As a very confused rookie at Northwestern, it took me almost a year to learn force. And the little saying everyone kept repeating to rookies was "Butt to away unless you're on the mark" (if the force was "away") and vice versa for home. That means... when you're defending someone in the stack, you're butt or back is facing the force side. It's a silly saying but it helped me a lot!
2. COUNT
Make sure you're stalling when you're marking! You can start stalling when you're within 10 feet of the thrower. Don't say "stall" in between numbers, it slows you down (don't say "stall 2, stall 3, stall 4..." You can get LOUDER as the stall count gets higher to let your teammates know what the stall count is so the defense can play tighter D. If it's an inexperienced thrower you can even sound more frantic as the stall count gets higher. But please don't scream in the throwers' ear - that's just bad sportsmanship (*ahem* Ozone *ahem*) Actually, some people have told me that they get softer during higher stall counts so the offense doesn't know what the stall count is. Eh.
3. Athletic stance: Stay on your toes and bend your knees
Marking is hard work! A mark is not a stationary stance but an active, dynamic position where you are bending your knees (while keeping your back straight) and staying on your toes. This means, you should be TIRED after 10 seconds of marking! (Or maybe you shouldn't be, if you've been lifting! :) ) Bending your knees is important in keeping a low center of gravity so that you can move quickly without falling over. Staying on your toes is important in being mobile and having a fast reaction time. It's hard to be quick like a fox if you're flat-footed with your heels on the ground, which leads me to my next point:
4. Shuffling
Shuffling is moving your LEGS not leaning your body towards one side or another. To shuffle towards your left, move your right leg towards your left leg, then your left leg over. In other words, don't move your left leg first or else you might get caught in a situation where your feet are too far apart and you can't move quickly. A few years ago someone told me to "mark with my feet" and shuffling embodies that. You're much more effective moving your feet (and your body with them) rather than lunging or leaning to try and block the disc.
5. Arms out - "It's like hugging a fat person."
Position your arms away from your body, shoulders closed a little bit, like you're hugging a tree (or fat person). If you're playing a non-man defense and you're always marking, make sure you don't run in this position... in other words, while you're running from one marking position to the next, run like you would normally run and when you get there, put your arms out to mark.
6. Where to look? "Why are you always staring at their boobs?"
A lot of people look at the disc when they're marking, which is normally directly in front of the thrower's body, which makes it look like you're staring right at their chest while you mark. I used to do this. And Bryan made fun of me A LOT. So I started looking at their eyes, because people normally throw to where they are looking. But then everyone else started making fun of me a lot. It freaks throwers out to have their mark staring them down for 10 seconds. But as a thrower, I don't notice my mark at all so I don't think it'll work on me.
Eugene says, "Never never look at their shoulders." Shoulder-fakes work wonders :) One quick little jerk of your shoulders to one direction will send a mark flying in that direction if the mark is looking at the shoulders and quick to bite.
Another place to look is the throwers hips. It's a pretty good indication of where they're going to throw. Be mindful of what's happening on the field. You can shift your mark to cover the dump better if you see out of the corner of your eye that the dump is setting up and that your thrower is getting antsy to get rid of the disc.
7. Communication
Marking is a team effort defense. Listen for calls from on-field players or sideline like "no inside" or "no around" to cover the I/O throw or the around break throw. Calls like "no big" or "no huck" means stand directly in front of the thrower, take a step off, and be big to prevent a huck. And when the disc is thrown, tell your teammates by yelling "UP."
8. You're not done
Just because the disc is thrown doesn't mean that your job as a defender/mark is done. A lot of good handlers will move immediately after throwing the disc to get the dish so be ready to move with them!
Did I miss anything? I probably missed a lot of things, so you should read this: http://the-huddle.org/issues/25/
Tomorrow we have a game at Harvard. 7-9pm in the bubble, come watch us!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Save-the-dates
We borrowed #9 from a Hatch teammate, #25 from Jin, #20 from Footsteps, and #10 from my dresser. Bryan's roommate Jin (non-sMITe-Jin) set up a mini studio in Bryan's low-ceiling-ed room and took pictures of us in various poses (I look kinda awkward in the #25 jumping shot because I was hitting the ceiling every time I jumped). Bryan photoshopped us from the background pixel by pixel, then arranged the images in photoshop. (Me: "It looks like you're punching my face.")
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sme-ren-is
This post is for Smeri and Doris because they are awesome. Bryan and I are creating our wedding website right now, and for me, introducing Smeri and Doris were the easiest and most fun things to write about.
Dorbear
(Bridesmaid)
(Bridesmaid)
Dorbear(Bridesmaid)
Her name is pronounced "Doooorrrbeeeaaarrrr" like she's really fat and slow. But in reality Doris is actually really thin and fast. That's just one of the reasons why Karen loves Doris but even if Doris became fat and slow, Karen would still love Doris very much.
Karen and Doris met during Karen's first year at MIT in 2006. They played on sMITe, the MIT Women's Ultimate Frisbee team, for 2 years until Doris graduated and went to work in the real world. But then they decided that they liked each other so much that they wanted to live together so they found a place and moved in along with their other friend Smeri (see below). They also wanted to play more frisbee together so they started up a new women's team in Boston called Hatch. This is the 5th season Doris and Karen have played frisbee together. They have a very special relationship on the field: Karen will throw the disc really far and Doris would run really fast and catch it in the endzone and get all the glory.
Doris only eats vegetables because she thinks animals are too cute to eat (even though some animals, like shrimp, aren't really that cute. But Doris tries not to judge... well, maybe a little, but she doesn't do it out loud). She is also very beautiful and tries to teach other people how to be beautiful too.
(Bridesmaid)
"Smerbear" is Karen's special nickname for Smeri. Her actual name is Meredith but no one actually calls her that, as much as she tries to get people to change. Smeri was one of the first people Karen met on sMITe, the MIT women's frisbee team. They spent a lot of time driving to tournaments together, playing a super fun get-to-know-you game called "Hot Seat" that Smeri now hates. But now at least they know each other pretty well. Smeri and Karen also have a very special relationship on the frisbee field: Karen throws the disc really far and Smeri runs really fast to catch it and score. Sometimes they like to reverse their roles just for funsies but it only works sometimes. Smeri has been Karen's most faithful frisbee friend on sMITe and this year is their last season of their glorious 4-year journey together. :(
Smeri enjoys eating plain pasta, bread, dark chocolate, and cheese. In fact, those foods consist of 90% of her daily diet. She's also the hardest worker out of everyone Karen knows, but unfortunately her dedication to science doesn't rub off on Karen as much as it should.
Smeri, Doris, and Karen live together and Smeri coined the term "Smerenis" to refer to the three of them. They like buying each other roommate-items, such as roommate-socks, and roommate-slippers, all of them featuring cute animals like pandas, penguins, koalas, and snowmen. Smerenis are also the same height and weight so it's very easy to share clothes and shoes between the three of them. In fact, Karen will be saving her wedding dress for the other two so that they can wear it at their weddings.
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