Mid Season Retrospective: Part 2

After a chilly weekend in columbus, the gobies were ready for what would turn out to be the biggest tournament of the season. Case's home tournament, NorthCoast saw the gobies split into A and B teams. This is Case A's story (much love to my b-team brethern though, I was with you last year)

North Coast

Case Western:15 Cincinnati: 7Though this wasn't quite the Cincinnati team that case would see later in the season, the Gobies came out strong against Cinci, and rolled off several breaks in a row before ceding a point. The gobies took care of business early.

Case Western: 12 Calvin 10
The wind decided to pick up against an athletic team from Calvin College. After pulling ahead initially, Case trailed for most of the game, and Calvin took half 8-7. Zone defense was the name of the game. Calvin threw a tight zone against Case, took issue to quite a few of our travel calls. When the goby zone made its debut against Calvin, double teams were called once again. There were even a few heated disputes over the intricacies of the rule book. Kevin Pochatila was seen in a rare moment of hot headedness, and was overheard to say "i can react to whatever the fuck i want to" after some of the finer points of cup-collapsing were discussed. Both sides cooled off, and case eventually pulled away for the win. The highlight of the game, and possibly the tournament was Jason Williams' layout Callahan to break Calvin, and essentially put the game away

Case Western: 12 Bowling Green: 9
Case Was still riding high off of the excitement of the Calvin Game, the gobies failed to bring the intensity against BG. The penguins brought a collection of alumni, and luckily case was able to hold off the wily veterans long enough to secure the victor

Case Western A: 15 Case Western B: 3
Several members of Case B played well. Old man lehman led the charge and helped case B score 3 points. Strong efforts by colin morlock and justin michel were seen as well

Day 2

Case Western A: 13 Shawnee State: 11

Shawnee was a first year team with a "few" pickups from the cleveland club scene. Understandably, they were more than a challenge for the gobies. However, Case was beyond pumped for this game. Not a single goby was ready to surrender their undefeated Northcoast record to shawnee, and it showed. Several early breaks, along with solid deep D's by jason williams and jared VanLandingham set the tone for the Case, and the gobies rushed the field after nearly every point

Case Western A: 13 Kent State: 10

This would be the "game of the tournament". Unfortunately, Case Went down big to a tough Kent zone run. I believe kent took half 8-3 However, the gobies got their stuff in order, and won the second half by a margin of 10-2. Solid play by mike macdonald, and former captain alex hunt (the cupbreaker), along with clutch d's all around helped stir the comeback. The best sight of the weekend were the crowds of gobies at the line itching to play and get a D.

Case Western A: 9 Ohio University:15

The only loss of the weekend came in the finals. OU certainly looked like one of the best teams in the section with their split team performance at NorthCoast. However, Kevin Vick was a bright spot, with approximately 4 skying scores which typically featured him beasting over a crowed of OU players. Almost all the scores took place right in front of his girlfriend. I think it goes without saying that case's big man also scored some major points with the ladies with his high altitude showing

Overall Northcoast was a great tournament, and showed some encouraging results. As always, much could be improved, but it was one of Case's best Northcoast showings in recent years

-Kevin

Mid-Season Retrospective Part 1

I know what you're thinking

"damn Kevin its been a long time since we got to read your blog stylings"

well everyone needs a break, and I figured I should focus on my in-season thrashing instead of in-season blogging.

but heres a little look back for everyone, tournament-by-tournament


Ohio State Fall Brawl
ooooh man, Case Western on the big stage in columbus ohio. Many gobies found lodging the night before with alumnus Matt "Wendy" Lehman, where they watched the fast and the furious 3 (tokyo drift), and gleaned wisdom such as "the nail that sticks out gets hammered" which would surely help them on the field the next day.
With fresh new hoodies helping them sport a fresh look, the gobies took the field flush with expectation and excitement.

certainly there were highs and lows. Armed with a mixed squad of rookies and veterans, many young gobies got to see what stiff competition is really like. throw in even stiffer wind, and near freezing temperatures... well youve got a recipe for a hard day (thats what she said). However solid effort and gutsy play prevented any such disasters

Day 1:
Michigan Magnum Reserve-Win
Despite a lot of early mistakes, and admittedly bad offside infractions, the gobies overcame an early deficit to beat a spirited Michigan team. Gabe, "rapidash" Dash comes up with one of the more memorable scores of the year

Manchester-Win
Manchester was a team that liked to play physical. Sometimes that means not ceding cutting lanes. other times that diving headfirst into a cutter 5 seconds after he caught the disc. Ok, the dudes from manchester were generally pretty spirited, but there were a few times we feared for our lives. Nonetheless we overcame another early deficit, and quite a few mental mistakes to take the win

Kent State-Win
Kent Stat brought some good competition to Columbus, and played a hard-fought game. Thanks to some critical defense by duncan davis (footblocks and foul recognition), jason williams (layouts), and kevin vick (pwning noobs with his height), case pulled out the victory

Va Tech-Loss
Virginia tech is a very good team. The gobies did not play like a very good team against them. Enough Said

Tennessee-Loss
This was a slightly more positive loss to a high-caliber opponent. Case preformed quite well against a very tight zone, and was able to put up a decent number of points on the scoreboard. Even in a loss, its always satisfying to see a high-level opponent get frustrated when you move the disc on them

Day 2:

Miami-Loss
We scored an upwind break for the first point of the game, but showed little signs of life thereafter. Troubled by turnovers near our own end zone against the miami zone, Case lost this game big. I think Kevin threw a massive full field huck to ed for a score. but whatever. dunno if anybody saw that. well maybe the crowd of case ladies who came over to watch, but yeah, no big deal

Toledo-Loss
This loss hurt. Toledo has been bringing their A-game all season, and despite some effective disc movement, we were plagued by drop after drop. Also the wind sucked, and certainly never helped us. Even the massively intimidating 3/4 field huck off the pull from Ed to Kevin on the first play of the game failed to establish a rhythm


Ohio Northern-Loss
File this one under "moral victory". After giving up a sizeable early lead, Case put the clamps on defense with a new zone scheme, and nearly pulled off an epic comeback due in part to the brief return of their captain, mike macdonald to the field. Mac made a brilliant layout to tie the game and bring it to universe, but the gobies came up just short on the final point. Still, Cases ability to activate shut down defense and close a multiple-point deficit was certainly something good to take from the game

Overall, a fun tournament. Lots of hard play, but also too many mistakes, and a lot of places to make improvements

-Kevin

Winter Workouts

Just emailed out the winter workouts and I gotta say I'm pretty excited. Last year around this time I was approximately 12 weeks into Air Alert and was getting some pretty ripped legs along with my bros. This year I'm going to try and tackle this workout schedule and go above and beyond. I remember as a freshman I struggled to make myself keep up with it and ultimately didn't do enough. I came back and wanted to puke at every practice after break. Too much dessert and sitting around I guess. This year I want to push myself to be in the best shape I can be in as we start our spring season. It is real important that we all do the same if want this as an added advantage as we begin our big push towards regionals. Shortly after we return we host CWRUL and after being part of the 2nd place team last year I want to win it SOOOOO BADLY this year. If we're in great shape and maintain our fundamentals we should be the favorites. Recently some of the bros and I have been trying to work on our abs after practices. Mark has made a great suggestion to do these workouts everyday as soon as we wake up. I started it last week and when I wake up and work out I feel great all day. I've even already started to notice results (see above) so I recommend that if you are trying to go above and beyond this winter try doing those core exercises as you wake each morning. I hope all of you on the team do your best to hold to these exercises and those of you outside of the team continue root us on in our quest for regionals. Hope to see you all running around too without your shirts on in the Cleveland cold.

-Eddie Money

More self thizzin'

10,000 views!

Club Sectionals Recap: Oh My User!

Last weekend, at the Eastern Plains Club sectionals, the goby-heavy team of "Oh, my user!" competed for a shot at the Division II sectionals title. Led by goby greats Mark Richardson and Andy Coleman, Oh my user brought some much needed swagger to Versailles OH. This is their story.

Day 1:
Oh, my User! 13: ON-YON 6
Giddy with anxious excitement (especially after having found out they woke up an hour and a half early due to scheduling errors) the team, whom we'll refer to as the gobies for convenience's sake took the field with nearly four full lines. Many of the gobies were rookies who had never played a point of competitive ultimate in their lives. That being said, they certainly didn't disappoint. Veteran Nayyir Qutubuddin started things off with a clutch layout D that set the tone for the game. Many rookies stepped up to the plate and made an impact in lines with very few veterans. Joe Koors gets a layout D.

Oh, my User!: 9: RAMJAM: 11
The next game proved far more difficult than the first. Wooster brought an experienced team that was ready to ball (disc?). The Gobies kept it close, but failed to put the disc in the endzone when they needed to. We tried a bit of zone defense, and the rookies stepped up to the challenge once again. Reports of Mike Saylor getting sick D's are most likely true. Kevin Pochatila did his best Dikembe Mutumbo impression and wagged his finger "no no no" as he defended three Wooster hucks from the deep-deep position to help the gobies win a thrilling break

Oh, my User! 14: GUINS:13
Veteran Gobies went into this game with nightmares of last years college sectionals still ripe in their minds. Bowling Green laid a thrashing on the gobies in a critical game on saturday of sectionals in Granville. We let the rookies know how much the game meant to us, and yet again, they proved ready to thrash. Mental mistakes and throwaways, along with poor execution on the goal line led to the GUINS taking half at 7-3. Points were traded back and forth, and the score stood at 12-8, game point bowling green. That was when Oh, my User! decided to wake up. A few hucks to rookie Jared VanLandingham (with his defender left in his vapor trail), along with spirited play, and probably another Joe Koors layout, and the gobies had all of the sudden evened the score at 12-12. The sideline was bristling with excitement. This was the kind of Goby Ultimate that we've been thrashing all summer for. This was the kind of comeback we hadn't seen in years. Feeding off of Keith Lupton's overwhelming sideline energy, Mark Richardson called out an all veteran "U-Point" Line which soon scored its 5th break in a row after a clutch D by Owen Mayer. After letting up a point to bowling green, and narrowly escaping defeat with the help of an Evan Frasz D, Oh, my User! marched down the field and scored on an admitedley unorthodox ricochet to complete one of the most epic comebacks in recent memory

Oh, My User! :15 Denison: 7
Still riding high off of the BG game, Oh my user had some strong preformances, especially by the rookies, who got to see some more PT for the final game of the day. Colin Warlock toed the line while pulling down a huck, along with some gratuitous layouts by Keith lupton (on O), and another layout D by Joe Koors.

Day 2:
Oh, My User! 5: Savage: 15.
Toledo showed up with a team that was ready to play, while Oh my User! did not. Plagued by early turnovers and failure to knock down goal line swill, the gobies were handed a tough loss. Bright spots included a layour score on offense by Andy Coleman. While chasing down a disc that was trailing away, Andy sacrificed his body and made the kind of play that reminded everyone why hes a captain: because he's a stud.

Oh, My User! 10: OU 15
Another game where the rookies got to see extended playing time. The mood was notably lighter, as evidenced by The return of Steve Knab and his much loved hammers. Still once again the rookies amped it up, and managed to take 2 breaks in a row against a more experienced OU team. Every once in a while the gobies threw in a stacked vet line and marched down the field just to keep the defense honest. Joe Koors gets yet another layout d. This time almost a Callahan.

Denison decided not to stick around, and Oh my user! called it a tournament.

Highlights of the Weekend:
-New cheer: The Clint Mansell "Party" cheer: videos to come
-Trent taunting Brady down the field while running down a pull
-The "Jason and Q" handler show against OU
-Chip Dean unintentionally leveling a Dension player
-Dan Kwass & co. scamming Culver's into 5+ free frozen custards using the same 5" fry.
-Intense game of "contact" in which Luke correctly guessed "Drank" with the guess "is it purple"



Everyone is currently on pump up alert for fall brawl. More intensity at practice until then

-Kevin

Mind games

"Weak minds lead to weak actions. A strong, disciplined mind, which anyone can cultivate through daily practice, can achieve miracles." ~ Robin Sharma

As we progress through week after week of Ultimate practice, we have all learned the importance of training and strengthening our bodies for the upcoming season. Our hope is that through enough physical conditioning we will be able to out-maneuver and outlast our opponents on the frisbee field. Even though this physical sculpting is of utmost importance, we must not forget to strengthen our minds and sharpen our wit.

As quoted above, "Weak minds lead to weak actions." What good is it to have a body like the Gods without the discipline to control it? What good would it be to have great hucks but not restraint to know when to hold back? And, what good would is it to be as nimble rabbit but not have the understanding of when and where to cut? Thus, the man who only concentrates on strengthening his body is no greater than the brute.

For this reason, it is my suggestion that in addition to our scheduled practice regimen, we take time to focus solely on the building of the mind. How might we do this? Board games.

Most board games focus on quick thinking, strategic planning, and outsmarting the opposition. Sound familiar? It should, because these are the traits every great Ultimate player must possess in order to achieve success on the field. There are many traits that can be learned from common board games and applied to frisbee. For example, chess focuses on making good decisions, spacing, and patience. Backgammon relies on taking risks, playing aggressive offense, and setting up a strong defense. The variant of mancala known as Kalah practices planning ahead, predicting your opponents moves, and minimizing their effectiveness. These are all traits that can and should be applied in a game of Ultimate.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you ever want to play some board games feel free to stop by the fortress. But beware, when we play chess it gets as ruthless as the game seen in the picture above.

-Andy "The Titan" Coleman

3 Spoons, 1 Bowl, 1 Goal

Two nights ago, Andy, Kevin, and I cooked up three boxes of Food Club Mac & Cheese (join the Club!). These little treasures can be found at Dave's Market for 59 cents each.

What's most important is that we ate this heap of food from the same bowl, huddled around it with Tahitian Treat (aka T Treat) to wash it down. We could've split up the Mac & Cheese into separate bowls and eaten it in our own rooms in comfort and solitude. But will solitude get us to Regionals? We think not. Every little step you take with the team, or just one other teammate, gets us one step closer to the paramount goal: Regionals 2010. Get to know your teammates; bro-out with them, listen to tunes (i.e. chill-tense) with them, eat with them, do homework with them, party with them, do whatever you can to get closer to your teammates. Because if we can't get along off the field, how will we unite as one team on the field when it matters?

So next time you are devouring a plate of pasta or guzzling down some gatorade to fuel your body for practice, offer a teammate a fork to join in or a sip of your drink.

We can't make it to Regionals as individuals; we can make it as a team.

- Mark

P.S. We will continue to eat massive bowls of Mac & Cheese at the Fortress, so stop by if you want to join in at any time. You are always welcome. At 59 cents a box, how can we afford NOT to eat this stuff as a team?!

First Prx

Frisbee ain't shit but hucks and flicks
Pick up my bags and head to prx
-Andy Coleman


Words to live by. This week saw the first two practice of the Case Western Reserve Fighting Gobies. We've reunited at last, and we're stronger than ever. Being able to pick up my bag and head off to prx at Frieberger was one of my most satisfying and exciting experiences in a while

Some highlights:

Return of the Bharath: We all knew it would happen eventually, seeing the man in person again was enough to make us all thizzly. Add on 7 weeks work of air alert legs, and you got yourself a budding stud

The John Carey Experience: What's John Carey plus 10lbs of additional muscle and newfound cutting skills? A new deep threat that the Eastern Plains section is going to learn to fear

The Candyman Cometh: Sure we ripped on Andy all summer for not hitting up club prx. Then again, only a player like Andy could come back from a frisbee-light summer with rock solid throws and frighteningly chiseled physique

Marky Mark's Funky Bunch:
Thats a bunch of throws that he'll use to mess you with. Playing hard all summer, Mark came back with a vengance and made his presence known against yours truly. Picture it: Forehand fake, backhand fake, lightning quick reset to the forehand and an unreal inside-out flick break. It was rapid. It was clean. It left me stunned

Edward Scissorcuts:
You've been hearing about this guy all summer, but how much he's stepped it up has become all the more evident now that he's taken his position as co-leader of the gobies. Born Leader. Born Thizzler

Mac'sWellhouse
Good to the last drop. The last drop, that is, hasn't happened since the mid 90's. Our captain remains as solid as ever. Minus a "few" injuries, the leadership and talent remains pure.

Fear of the Nayyir:
An oft-diagnosed condition seen in many of the Gobies' opponents. Its all still there. The smooth-gliding flicks. The step around breaks. The fakes. But most of all: The style. The man basically walks around with cool blue underglow on his feet. He doesen't move, he flows

Jason Thrilliams
aka Jason Williams, another returning vet who caught the fever. The man talks fris 24/7. He's got the fire. Couple that with terrifying speed, and the gobies have moved one step closer regionals.

"Brawndon" Corbett Walsh
Few people love the gobies as much as Corbett. Many more people are glad to have Corbett fighting for the Gobies this year. He's worked hard all summer; gotten faster, throws better, and
has a killer instict now backed up by killer skills.

Oh yeah, and we've got some legit freshman. Many of these bros are ready to make a difference right away.

We've got the tools in place. Time to put our heads down and push towards regionals

-Kevin

The unification of chill

In case anybody hasn't heard, this year there are five men among us Gobies living in the same apartment, the Ford Fortress. Everyone is welcome to come visit us if they want, and think they can handle the bro-love. One of the best parts of our new apartment is, in my opinion, the porch. This porch is the unification of all things chill.

It is important to remember that learning to be chill off the frisbee field helps one maintain chilliness on the frisbee field. This is one lesson that we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

Anyways, this porch has many various factors that contribute to its overall chilliness. First we have a grill which allows us to cook up awesome food that can be shared and enjoyed by many. We are always playing chill music (see previous posts) to set the mood and maintain appropriate chilliness levels. Besides the usual bro-ing out that happens on the porch, some fun activities that can be enjoyed are PW, b'gammon, and slumber parties. PW, aka P-dub, aka people-watching, is an important part of our lives here at the Fortress. You would be suprised at the variety of folk that walk up and down the streets of Ford and Hessler. The typical reaction of a passerby who witnesses us chillin on the porch is usually a brief moment of confusion, followed by intrigue mixed with a rising wave of jealousy that crashes down on them when they realize what they are missing. If you are up for a more intelectually stimulating way to spend your time chilling on the porch you can always play a rousing game of backgammon, cribbage, and (soon to be) chess, checkers and Go. Playing these games is a great way to bond with bros and excercise the mind while resting the body and soul.

If, at the end of the night, you feel like you haven't experienced enough relaxation and rejuvination, you can always spend the night on the porch like KP and I did recently. Waking up to the sound of a garbage truck, the sun in my eye, and Kevin's shirtless body next to me reminded me of the Road to Regionals in multiple ways. The garbage truck made me think of the all the bad things that happened last year and how we, like the garbage truck, need to take out all of the trash from before. The sun in my eye reminded me of the light at the end of the road to regionals. The morning sun was like the birth of a new day for the Gobies. No matter what has happened the previous day, a new day will dawn and we can do whatever we want with it. Waking up next to Kevin reminded me that even through times darkness my teammates will be there by my side. This trust in one another is of utmost importance on the frisbee field.

Anyways, if you want to come by and chill out at the apartment or on the porch, chances are you're always welcome so just let one of us know.

-Andy

Gushers and such

A box of gushers normally has 6 packets of delicious sugary "fruit snacks". Yesterday I picked up a box, and to my suprise:

7 packets.

it was miraculous. I paid for 6, and got 7. It made me think of the gobies. I look around at our team and wonder "who is going to be the 7th packet". Could it be one of our established players who steps up? Could it be an unknown freshman seeing goby glory? Who knows. I'm excited, almost as excited as i was when I shoved another wad of gushers in my mouth

Today was also the culmination of cleveland disc association draft league. I can proudly say, that for the first time in my life, I have won a championship in something. The finals were hard fought, and it was a challenging, but exciting game. Afterwards, my captain told me that intensity on the ultimate field was truly important, and to keep it up during the college season. He said Case needs to have dirty jerseys on Sunday, and I hope that's something we can all strive to do. The more we play balls to the wall, the more it will inspire our team to work hard as a group and achieve something great.

I'm excited to see all our new players, to see old ones go crazy on the field, and to see unexpected people step up in big ways. Hopefully we're all tweaking out and screaming after every point. Not in a douchey way or anything, but just so that we can feed off of each other and really care about something so that it pushes us to achieve. Even though it's just ultimate, that kind of attitude definitely translates to every important aspect of life.

-Kevin

Goby progress

Another few weeks has gone by, and I can say that I'm fairly pleased with the improvements and progress my fellow gobies have made on the Ultimate Field. Between open practice and summer league, there's been sheer ferocity, determination, and outright skill flying around all over the place.

Most of all, I've really been seeing a passion and desire to compete that hasn't been as evident in years past. All the gobies are just brimming with intensity and energy. Everyone really seems to love to play ultimate. That of course is probably the first step towards regionals. If everybody gets excited to be out there playing and having fun, the desire to thrash the competition will follow

more to come later. once i get more inspiration that is

-Kevin

Making it Happen

You'll be hearing "Make it Happen" coming from me pretty often these days, as I've decided to make it my new catch phrase. Its pretty great when you make a sick cut (off of swim move) and toss a nice soft pass to a handler, tell him "make it happen", and he fires off a long, clean huck that's pulled down in the endzone by another fellow cutter (i.e. mark).

"make it happen" can also be a slogan for the road to regionals. We here at the blog love to talk about, and imagine all the training montages, and glorious moments along the way, but what it all comes down to is making the reality of the Gobies at regionals actually happen. It's "real talk": cutting down to whats serious. Its a phrase to live your life by. Eliminate the extraneous stuff, just think about what you want, and "make it happen" I think its pretty legit.

Summer league has been going pretty well. I've made an official monetary commitment to clique league, and have been playing with team tron and the twinsburgh people. We've gotten off to a 4-2 start, and have definitely been shocking the league.

Draft league has also been successful. Team pink sits mightily atop the standings with an undefeated record. This isn't to say we aren't just coasting through the league. We've been putting a lot of heart and spirit into our thrashings.
I've been relegated to handling a lot in summer league, which is always frustrating me, because I'm a thrasher (cutter) at heart. Against chocolate yesterday, one of my many fans/admirers personally requested a swim move demonstration. Though I was all too eager to chump the competition, I had very few opportunities, due to my handling duties. Still, stepping out of one's comfort zone to improve a weak part of their game is definitely a step on the road to regionals.
We defeated team chocolate by a decent margin, but it wasn't without a solid performance by crunkin' Duncan Davis. The fellow goby played like a game changer. I can't tell you how legit its been to see every goby stepping their game up to the next level.

Thanks for your continued readership, as Q and I are glad to have your support. I would say the same for the other bloggers as well, but I haven't heard much from them lately

-Kevin

Goby Withdrawal

I've had the shakes lately.

I lie in bed at night, and think about my fellow gobies, and how we're going to improve ourselves and come together as a team to be victorious at sectionals. I keep thinking about us scoring that last point to qualify for regionals. We're going to win a tournament this year. We're going to bond at spring break and bro out so hard that we'll have to worry about high-five calluses. Just thinking about it gives me shivers

As fun as its been to play with a wide variety of people, I'm getting pretty antsy about reuniting with my Case teammates this fall. Once that first pull goes off, we're gonna thrash up the field like a buff hurricane. Every time I imagine it in my head, there's some badass rock music in the background with a guitar crunching out some sick riffs while we shred a zone, or break chumps. Sometimes chill-tense just doesn't cut it.

-Kevin

Dictionary Preview

So many of you have probably noticed that a few of us incorporate some interesting wordplay into our entries. For those of you that have trouble following our flow, I wrote up a dictionary a few months back to help explain ourselves (kinda). This will serve as a little taste of the full lexicon of your blogging gobies. Just a few rounds of our verbal armament so to speak. Im guessing it will eventually become expanded, and turned into an iphone app or something




Thizz: To react strongly to something in a positive manner
Ex: “I was thizzing so hard after breaking my mark. I chumped him out bad”

Antithizz: The opposite of thizz; to react negatively to something
Ex: “man, im pretty antithizz about getting beat deep on that play. I’m gonna have to train harder to make regioanals next year”

Chill-gressive: “The state of being both chill, and aggressive.
Ex: “man, he was lulling me to sleep with his chillgressive style. I totally wasn’t ready for it when he busted strike and threw a huck deep to Andy

Chill-tense: “The state of being both chill, and intense
Ex: “Dude, explosions in the sky and minus the bear is such chill-tense music”

Big: An all purpose modifier to show increase in intensity of a feeling or action
Ex: “I’m about to go big eat some food
Ex: “I’m big antithizz over the fact we didn’t make regionals this year”

Rep: To “represent”. Also commonly used to denote ownership or usage
Ex: Dude, let me rep that umbrella, its big rainy outside
Ex: I’m repping big hucks so hard today

Chump: A person who is not at the standard of others. Also can denote a shaming or dominating action over someone else
Ex: Dude, that punk is the biggest chump ever. I just callahanned him so hard
Ex: I’ve been chumping punks all day, I keep beating them on in cuts like nobody’s business

Nub: Modification of “noob” or “newbie”. Someone or something that is inexperienced or not up to par
Ex: Dude, western Kentucky made us look like total nubs when they eliminated us from Great Lakes Secitionals 09. We’re not gonna be nubs like that next year

Legit: If something is legitimate; worth some measurable value
Ex: “Yo, it was so legit when you let off that low release forehand. You owned him hard.

gg: “good game”. To finish someone or something.
Ex. Yeah I just caught a huck for the win. gg nub
Ex. Oh man, he just gg’d that chump with that break throw

-Kevin

Wisdom and Bagels

Its been a while since I blogged. Spilling water on one's computer (a second time) tends to be a detriment to internet access. As myself and my fellow gobies work hard through the summer, it becomes pretty evident how much i miss the company of our Pittsburgh Bretheren, Mark and Andy. Last weekend at no surf, with pittsburgh teams oozing all over the fields like a bunch of big sooty pimples, I wished that I could be skying pretty eyed, or bulge-enhanced chumps.

No Surf was an excellent tournament in which i got to participate against some high quality competition. It was definitely a learning experience for myself. Also the bagels were excellent.

I've been having to go to a lot of "summer on the cuyahoga events", and the last one I attended was a talk at shaker country club hosted by none other than the cavaliers GM danny ferry. The dan man imparted some sage wisdom about the cavs, and cleveland sports in general. He said:

"We're not cursed, we just weren't good enough to win"

Being the proud and mighty gobies that we are. We often tend to think that we "should've won that game" or failed to beat a team when "we're better than them". I think in times like these we need to remember the Dan Man's words. Once we become an excellent team, there won't be frustrating losses. We'll just be better.


-Kevin

Player Profile: Michael MacDonald

Name: Michael MacDonald
Nicknames: Mac, Macwell, Mac Daddy, Mac Attack, Granville (On the Block)
Age:20
Height: 5'11
Major: Engineering Physics <---I hear this is difficult
Special Move: God Mode

Case's Resident LeBron, Mac is the veteran captain of the Gobies. Sporting multiple hairstyles and multiple throws, Mac is a threat to "go off" at any moment. His God Mode ability is often activated during frustrating games against lesser opponents, and does not shut off until victory is attained. Mac has a crippling weakness for protien shakes, chocolate covered raisins, and skying people. He enjoys physics, and bro-ing out at the ford frisbee fortress, where he is always the first to offer a high-five.

-Kevin

Summer '09: Mixing it up

Gobies,

It is wonderful to see the strong numbers that continue to make it out to Cleveland club practices and local summer leagues and to hear about those of you outside of the area making waves for the Gobies in your local areas. As we all are catching the Ultimate bug that leads to such dedication it is important to remember how much time still stands between today and Sectionals '10. Once school starts we expect you all to remain dedicated and show the new rookies what Ultimate is all about as you also dedicate time to school. It is important not to get burned out before the school year starts because, assuming we all put in the time we are putting in now, we have A LOT to be excited about this year.

So please, when you're not on the field and looking for a way to stay in shape consider some enjoyable alternatives. I've been playing basketball 3 times a week which helps keep me in shape and keeps me jumping. I love me some pickup Ultimate just as much as the next guy but consider hosting some full court pickup basketball or soccer or whatever else you can think of to keep you in shape. Bored by tossing? Go play a round of frisbee golf with your Ultimate disc and work on those hucks and making accurate throws. And - maybe most importantly - if you begin to feel injured or burned out from playing Ultimate please sit a day or two out. This is the time to do it.

All that being said, stick to your goals (or make some goals) of coming out to club practice and working out and doing whatever else you planned on doing over the summer to be ready for next year. We haven't even played our first club tourney yet but I'm already excited about our first tourney as Gobies in the Fall because I see the drive in so many players that I know will take us to a higher level of play this year.

Enjoy your summer.

Ed

On the Road again

So this past Saturday the Pittsburgh Summer League officially started. As Mark mentioned before, he and I got on the same team along with two of our friends from high school. Our team turned out to be pretty good, and it seemed like the majority of people were younger than 21. This means we had lots of fresh legs (we also had like 30 people show up) but a slight lack of experience. It seemed like everyone had the fundamental skills down they just needed some game experience, for instance who to pick up on D, making sure to clear out, keeping the force.

For me, this weekend was a bit of a kick in the butt. There were many things I could have done better but also some good things that encouraged me. Right away I noticed that I was less in shape than I hoped. I got tired faster than usual and on one occasion it made me give up a point. I guess my workouts of pushups, situps, and Wii fit isn't enough. There was one time I could have layed out for a D but chumped out, and one time when I should have layed out but more like stumbled-out. That was a little embarassing, I missed the catch and bruised my shin. I had 3 hucks throughout the day, one which was caught, one was a diving (missed) catch, and one anyone over 5 feet would have caught. So overall I was pretty happy with that aspect, one of my goals for this summer league was to work on my hucks (and handling in general).

Some of the best plays I made were when there was synergy between me and Mark. It seemed like when one of us had the disc the other would know exactly where and when to cut. We probably had 4-5 upfield/break throws this way. Other than that I had a few good throws/cuts/heads up plays that made me feel good about my overall playing.

As far as our actual games, we ending up beating both teams we played. The first game we went up 14-5 but somehow let them come back 14-13 before finishing it. Woops. The next game was a hard fought battle, we stopped them on their game point and took the next three points to win by two.

Overall this weekend was a lot of fun and a good reminder to me that I need to be working out (running/jump-roping) and working on my thows more outside of games/practices.

I hope the rest of your summers have been filled with flying discs.

-Andy

Kevin's Week 2 Summer League Recap

Minus two of our top players, week 2 saw team pink nearly dethroned from their seat of dominance. We played a hard-fought game against an energetic ice team which featured standout gobies Evan Frasz and Jason Williams. Those two were like trying to mark a barber shop. There were cuts everywhere, they dished them out at a frequent rate, and when it was finished, they made me look bad. Though we went up 5-1 on them, they fought back and injected some emotion and intensity thats normally unseen in a Cleveland summer league game. Though I made quite a few mental mistakes, victory was ours in the end. I think everyone on both teams had a great time. It was pretty awesome to see something casual turn into something spirited and intense. We were all gasping for air at the end of each point, and the celebrations after each score were like something out of the college series.

Nayyir posted his workout schedule in an earlier post. I've been trying to keep to the same routine, but my summer obligations with SOTC have been frustrating. Forced socialization with geezer alumni certainly gets in the way of thrashing my quads.

-Kevin

The "other" summer league

Pittsburgh summer league starts this Saturday. The setup is different from the Cleveland summer leagues. Instead of one game every week, we have double headers on Saturdays scattered throughout the summer (6 or 7 total Saturdays I believe).

The important thing though is that Andy and I managed to get on the same team, along with two of our bros from high school. I think (and hope) that us four will have to be the big contributors of the team if we want to win. I look forward to being a potential leader of my summer league team.

Summer league is always an interesting psychological battle for me. Sure, there are great players and good players on every team, but sometimes the games don't seem very intense and competitive. It's very easy to just kick back like everyone else on the field, play lazy defense, and make poor, but exciting decisions.

There's a shit ton amount of teams (24 or something), and it's nearly impossible to gauge how good or terrible our team will be. But I mean, we have the chemistry of Andy and I that stretches back to sophomore year of high school, not to mention experience with our other two bros, Jaymes and Niko. If anything, I know it'll be a great time playing with these guys.

Some goals for myself at summer league:

1) Backhand, backhand, backhand. My backhand needs a LOT of work. I've been working on it in my free time and at club practice, but I think at summer league I can take more chances and gain confidence in breaking people. Most of my issues with backhand is due to lack of confidence.
2) Shut down defense. My man shouldn't get the disc. It's as simple as that. The hardest part is making myself play hard when others might not be playing 100%.
3) Gain complete confidence in my low release forehand. The Huddle says to work on your strengths more than your weaknesses, and I think this is my best throw. If I can have the confidence to consistently break people with a inside low release flick, that would be great.

Hoping to start off 2-0,

Matsi

Summer Dynamics

Summer is in full swing, and we're all still getting a handle on all of our unique schedules. I personally have been pretty busy with work and the Summer on the Cuyahoga Program. Mandatory programming and events have been keeping me from thrashing ultimate as much as I liked so far, so I've been itching to play more than ever. Last week i took a spur of the moment drive down to Versailles for D3 nationals, which turned out to be a lot of fun

The working world can be rough for one's planned ultimate training schedule, but Nayyir and I have been making sure to talk as much ultimate strategy as possible while running tests and preforming analyses on all sorts of helmet technology at Team Wendy LLC.

Here is a sample of a typical conversation

Kevin: Hey Nayyir, can you do the impulse analysis for the 5th impact?

Nayyir: Yeah yeah yeah i can rep that

Kevin: Aight, cool. I've been working on my low-release forehand. One day it will be as vicious as mark's

Nayyir: Yeah dawg, thats what im sayin'. Lemme rep this article about zone offense.

Kevin: Dang, thats some cool stuff. I'm going to go research sensors.

Tron (on Gchat): 01001001 00100000 01100001 01101101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110100 01110010 01101111 01101110


Also, we've been paying more attention to health and nutrition. As ultimate players, We all have a tendency to nom whatever we please, because of our massive energy use from playing. However, in order to maximize our training, and bring our bodies to peak condition, we should try to follow proper dietary guidelines. As the son of a dietitian, i can say that the most reliable source for nutrition is located at www.nutrition.gov. However, if you find yourself wondering what you should eat, you can never go wrong with the five dollar foot long. They're cheap, delicous, nutritious, and you can even get tuscan chicken for $5 if you're Q in East Cleveland. He has a way with the black ladies.





-Kevin

D-III Nationals Recap

This weekend the Gobies traveled to Division III Nationals in Versailles, Ohio. We had a slightly disappointing turnout, having only 9 players on Saturday and 13 on Sunday. The extra help of two ladies, Kumi and Kari, and Kevin's friend Justin was much appreciated.

Our Saturday went like many of our Saturdays of this past season: we underperformed and we knew it. We lost our first two games against Rice and Vassar, and won our next two games to finish the day off at 2-2. It was apparent that we had the skill and talent to win our pool, but the offseason definitely took a toll on our team chemistry and physical conditioning.

Due to our win in the crossover game, we barely made it into the championship bracket as the last (18th) seed, and were due to play the 1 seed, Los Positas. They were definitely a solid team, but at the same time, I think our sectionals team could have beat them. Our biggest problem as a team (in my opinion at least), the inability to convert on the goal line, was shown this game. Los Positas took half at 8-2 or something similar, yet there were at least three points that we turned over on the goal line that they in turn marched down the field and scored. If we had converted those three points, suddenly it's a tie game at 5-5. It's disappointing: we work so hard at that part of our game in the spring, yet it still plagues us in game. I think if we can solve this issue for next year, we will see huge improvements in tournament results. We must be doing something wrong, we just have to figure it out.

Our first game in the 13th place bracket was against Kalamazoo (I think). We started off strong, then fell apart mid game, and then finished great with our backs to the walls, but fell short in the end to lose 13-11.

Other than the first two games of Saturday, our play was pretty solid. We definitely need to learn to play our best on Saturday and Sunday, not just Sunday, which seems to happen all too often (such as High Tide). Even so, our play was impressive considering all of the key players that were not in attendance for the weekend.

Notable performances. We finally used Kevin Vick's height to our advantage, as he skied many chumps throughout the weekend on hucks. Evan, the MVP of the weekend, came down with at least a few clutch grabs with defenders all around him. He's a fun-loving guy and jokester off the field, but he always brings intensity and heart to the field when it matters. He will be sorely missed on and off the field, as this was his last official tournament as a Gobie. He was never ashamed to show his bro-love to all. Bro, you're our bro, bro.

- Mark

Poll Results

So the poll "how pumped are you for regionals '10" has closed

I'm glad to see that 62.5% of you are "super pumped" and a respectable 12.5% are "big pumped"

but what is frightening is that 1/4 of you said "nah, im just chill"

I sincerely hope this is just a strategy for getting yourselves from a state of chill to chill-tense. Being chill about the prospect of regionals is absolutely unacceptable

-Kevin

Tricks of the Trade: The Swim Move

While watching the Gobies, I'm sure a lot of you have taken note of our incredible skillset of effective and stylish ultimate moves. So I'd like to take this opportunity to dissect the anatomy of my own special ability: The Swim move

Step 1: Begin Your Approach


















Show your defender that you mean business and start coming at him like an angry freight train carrying a shipment full of cuts. He'll be too busy wetting his pants thinking about you burning him deep to be prepared for the trickery you're about to pull


Step 2: Plant and Turn
















The swim move starts like many other cuts. It may be hard to slow down your burly, hulking, glittering mass of muscle (see picture), but this is one of the most important parts of the move




Step 3: Get low and close






























Lowering your center of gravity helps keeping you from tipping over while making your cut. Also, staying close to the hips of your defender confuses the crap out of them. While they turn around to see you go past them, you duck out of sight and begin your path towards the disc.




Step 4: Confuse Your Defender













The gentle, non foul contact will not only confuse your defender into thinking you're going to the endzone, but also cause him to be confused sexually. While he faces the endzone in frustration wondering where you went, you'll be hurtling headlong towards the thrower wide open with a defender left stuggling with his inadequacy.





Step 5: Attack the disc











With the swim move complete, all thats left is for you to grab the disc, lock and load, and fire off a huck to a waiting teammate. However, make sure you let them know you're about to swim move. They may get distracted and aroused while watching you swing your hips around your defender.


class dismissed:

-Kevin

Essentials #2: Chill-tense: for your listening pleasure...

It's been a long tradition of any sport that a player/team listens to pump-up music before a big game. You know, listen to pump-up music, chest bump, yell out of sheer adrenaline, rip off your warm-up apparel and roar like a lion defending his land; every team does it to get psyched for the game. But is this music selection really the best choice?

I think not.

Sure, getting pumped up will help intimidate the other team, but in the great sport of Ultimate, patience and "chilly"ness is usually more important than sheer manliness. How do you think our short and small team dominates wild beasts of nature from larger D-I and D-II schools? We play smart and conservative, and wait for an opening and take advantage of it by striking quickly and effectively (example: K. Poke lulling his defender to sleep by looking like a lazy chump while the handlers are swinging it. Just when his defender gets distracted, he busts deep and catches a perfect huck from The Bulge).

We've found out that we need to listen to music that represents this play style. We call it chill-tense music (chill + intense, duh). We first tested out this music pre-game at High Tide, and look how well we did there. Listening to this music will get you pumped up, but in a more intelligent way. We know we gotta play chilly, but always be ready to take advantage of a big play opportunity.

If we get the whole team to embrace this new musical way of thinking, we will be the chillest and the ill-est of the teams out there. You better be ready.

Some artist recommendations of chill-tense music:

- Minus the Bear - the music listened at High Tide, recommended by Kevin.
- Explosions in the Sky - this music will make you explode in your pants from its awe-inspiring mixture of chill, intensity, and pure epic-ness. THE definition of chill-tense; also recommended by Kevin. Recommended song: "The birth and death of a day".
- Sigur Ros - my personal favorite of chill-tense (I know the ac and evan love them too). If anything, they just make you feel all good inside. They sing in icelandic, so you know it's legit. Recommened song: "Saeglopur"
- EDIT: thanks to Andy for pointing out one of if not THE MOST chill-tense composers of them all: Clint Mansell, the man behind the Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain soundtracks. Recommended song: "Death is the Road to Awe" (The Fountain)

Get yo chill-tense on; it's good for the heart and soul.

- Marky Mark

It Has Begun

Yesterday I completed my first offseason workout. With the help of alumnis Matthew, "Wendy" Lehman, and Daniel "Cumminghard" Cunningham, I blasted almost every major muscle group into the next dimension. That would be the buff dimension. We maxed out pretty hard, and just when we thought we were totally maxed out, we pushed it even further to the limit. We even did these sweet sit ups while we threw medicine balls at each other. It was legit.

Wendy is training for the new cleveland club team thats forming this summer. And I guess I am too, because I'm totally ready to get in shape to play some ultimate at a higher level. Even though the two of us are going to be teammates this summer, I made it clear to wendy that my heart is with the gobies, and with every workout, I'm thinking about how it will help us get to our one goal:

Regionals

-Kevin

Player Profile - Ed Yanosik

Name: Ed Yanosik
Nicknames: Big Chill, Big Captain, Big Calves
Age: 20
Height: ~5' 11" + 20" from Air Alert
Position: D-line Master/Cutter/Handling Threat
Major: The best major around, Computer Science
Special Move: Smooth fakes, the opposite foot foot block

Description: Ed is basically the Jack of all trades of frisbee. When it comes to defense Ed will make your job of getting the disc almost impossible. If you do manage to get the disc (which usually only happens when he is poaching the lane and actually wants you to get the disc) he will put on a mark so sick that he’s still contagious.
On offense Ed usually starts off the cutting making a perfect short/deep threat. If he cuts in he’ll beat you to the disc and then be more than capable of throwing the up field continuation. But don’t be tempted to cheat in on him because he will burn you deep and sky you if he has to. Ed also has the hands to drop back and handle if he is needed.
Off the field, Ed is the chill-est of the ill-est. He’s always voted best dressed and most lovable person on the team, and for good reason. Overall, Ed’s the man and we are looking forward to having him as a captain next year.

A Fellow Bro,
Andy

Ladies

Follow the girls:
courtesy of webmaster Kumiko "Kumitron" Sano

Lady Gobies: The Road to Nationals

Kevin's GL Regionals Wrap Up

So great lakes regionals has come and gone. It was pretty hard to see the ladies come up just a bit short for the nationals bid. Still, watching them suck wind on the sideline and keep themselves in the game because they wanted to do everything in their power to win was pretty endearing. It really shows how great ultimate can be. Every tournament we go to, we see people going out and dying for a game that most people regard as little more than recreation. We've always said that the first step to improving your game is start to love ultimate. I'm pretty sure everyone out on the field at regionals today, guy or girl, loves what they're doing and if our whole team can get that sort of passion, we've got a chance of being there next year. I'm proud our girls got as far as they did, and I know they'll get even further next year. After all, Its better to have lost, and gave a shit about what you were losing than to just fail and write it off. Even if we don't make regionals next year (but we will), I'll be satisfied that we actually cared enough about something to change our approach to the sport. Its even pretty satisfying just to care enough about something to make a freakin' blog about it.

Gongrats to Timmy Lee and Magnum for making nationals. Too bad it had to come at the expense of OSU. It wouldve been nice to see both teams at columbus this year.

-Kevin

Essentials on the Road To Regionals: Part 1: The Trust Fall

So I think it's about time for a new blog series. I will call it "Essentials on the Road to Regionals"; pretty self explanatory: simple, necessary things that if done enough, our chances for Regionals 2010 will increase dramatically. All players on the Fighting Gobies should take these to heart and implement them in their daily "thizz over regionals" session. I hope my fellow bloggers will continue this blog series and get in on the fun.

Essential #1: The Trust Fall

Who: you and a fellow teammate, especially one that you need to increase your bro-ing out level, chemistry on the field, or just overall confidence in one another.
What: See below in description.
When: whenever you and your teammeate need it.
Where: anywhere, but preferably on an Ultimate field to increase your Ultimate awareness and passion.
Why: Playing, living, breathing, sleeping, dreaming, eating, training, and trust falling as a team is the only way we'll accomplish our goal of regionals

Description: Master Bro K.P. showed me this beautiful little bonding moment last night at the women's practice. One teammate stands behind the other, a short distance apart (a few feet to start, then further apart as your trust points are increased as you level up). The person in front is the "faller". He sticks his arms out horizontal. Before you make the fall, declare with passion 2-3 statements demonstrating your trust in your fellow teammeate (such as: Me: "Kevin, I know when I cut break, you will somehow find a way to release a beautiful backhand break to me for the score. Kevin, I know when in the rare case I get beat deep on defense, you will be there in a flash of speed and manliness to D the deep throw to my guy. Kevin, I know when I have a bad day, you will always be there to lean on for support and comfort."). Following these words of trust, the faller will proceed to fall backwards with no intentions of breaking the fall, placing all trust in his teammeate to catch him (OPTIONAL: faller can close eyes to increase sense of placing complete trust in teammate). The teammate will catch the faller with his powerful, muscular arms. You then switch roles, the faller becoming the catcher and vice versa.

Note: these procedures can be repeated if you feel you haven't reached the level of chemistry and trust needed to get to Regionals.

Note #2: Can also be done with multiple catchers as shown in the picture above; ideal for teamwide bonding.

If anyone needs a demonstration, let me know, I'm always glad to help show the path to regionals.

- Mark

Player Profile - Andy Coleman

Name: Andy Coleman
Nicknames: Bulge, The Bulge, Candy Coleman, Candy, ac, King of Air Alert
Age: 20 years young
Height: he'll sky you. that's all that matters.
Position(s): Used to mostly cut, now seems to be filling in the role as handler.
Special move(s): skying anyone that challenges him and super smooth throws

Description:
One half of the dominant force that hails from Pittsburgh, Andy's ultimate career really took off after completion of Air Alert III. Never before has anyone seen jumps so high or calves so big until Andy stepped onto the field in spring '09. In addition to being a beast of raw power as a deep threat, Andy has always had super smooth throws (see special moves) that helped the team this sectionals and will definitely be an integral part in our road to regionals next year. What, you're gonna cheat over on the mark and attempt to stop his beautiful flick? Oh, he'll just break you with an even more beautiful backhand for the score. If anything, his signature "bulge" will have opposing teams second guessing their own manliness and will have girls on the sideline thizzin' over him.

In fact, I wouldn't even try to sky him if I were you. Don't embarrass yourself.

- Mark

Milestone

Just some self-thizzin' but.... 1000 views!!! We are spreading our influence.

The summer, and getting intense

The majority of my colleagues are currently bogged down with their work for computer class (NERDS!), so I'm gonna take a break from my mediavision to draw up a post for all of you to chew on as your primary mode of entertainment this friday.


It was windy today. Then again, the winds of change never blow without letting you know. Also, its finally getting pretty warm outside. I guess you could say C-town is just preheating the oven for the regionals run we're cooking up this year. I ceremoniously removed the plastic window wrappings in our house in an unofficial declaration of the beginning of summer. I also signed up for Cleveland Summer League (Draft league), and am prepping for a nice warm season of ultimate. It'll be good to hear people on the field saying its "warm as balls" instead of "cold as balls" in the coming months.

After our appropriately-lengthed end of year meeting last night, we held a co-ed scrimmage with the ladies. It was in a word "chill-gressive". The mood was light, but the playing was hard. We're all excited to see the ladies rock out with their ovaries out in Oberlin next weekend, and we're ready to cheer them on. Our sideline presence will squeeze extra intensity out of them like a big manly beautiful (e.g. Mark) juicer.

I thought I would provide a few tips for the ladies on how to get super pumped for their competitive sports event

1. Music: This is key. I would reccmommend getting a "boom box" and play something thatll really get you pumped. Lebron listens to Jay Z before games, so that's likely the best bet. You'll likely be shaking with anticipation, so let the beats flow through you, and high five each other till you stop skaking, or start bleeding. Whichever comes last.
2. Meditation: Nothing lets the other team know how much of a baddass you are by being the person who steps to the side and crouches down and just "feels it" for a minute. Sit still and take a few deep breaths, then make a show out of stretching extraneous muscles, then break out of meditation mode by screaming and chest bumping your teammates. If you do this, the other team will likely be expecting you to shoot flames out of your eyes once you take the field
3. Get injured and return: *cough*macandalex*cough*. Take it upon yourself to play with reckless abandon to the point you break a bone or tear a muscle. This may hinder your team slightly in the short run. But the pump-up inspiration factor of limping on the field and re-dominating will be enough to inspire your entire team to thrash the competition when it counts
   

-Kevin

Change we can believe in

Tonight there has been a changing of the guard. History has been made. I would like to introduce the leaders of tomorrow:

President: Allison Williams
Vice: Mark Richardson
Secretary: Diana Jiang
Treasurer: Brian Nelson
Men's Co-Captains: Mac & Ed Yanosik
Women's Co-Captains: Elaine Leung & Kumi
Northcoast TD: Alex Hunt
CWRUL TD: Kevin Pochatila
Safely Officer: Corbett
Apparel: Q

By the power of the people, these select few have been elected to help lead our team to victory, and to help us look super fly in the process (Q). It is under their leadership we must come together as a team and work our way to excellence. Congratulations everybody who was elected, thanks everybody who ran, and good job to everyone who got an award tonight!

-Andy

Steve's newest video

Steve sent me this today. Oh man.

-Ed

Inspiration

As Kevin said we take a lot of inspiration from the Cavs. If this reference does not make sense to you, WATCH THE CAVS, or check this out.

-Ed

Bumps on the Road

I've found maintaining our "road to regionals" vigor has been a more difficult task than we expected. On Monday, we assembled on the village field for another round of training and encouragement. However, we ran into a few setbacks. Only myself, Ed, Andy and Mark bothered to show up.
Because of the rain during the day, we deemed the stairs too be too wet and slippery to be properly thrashed. Feeling slightly disheartened, we took to the track for our 2 mile warm up jog. The pace was brisk, but I don't think we were near exhaustion to the point that Owen pushed us on thursday. Without any stairs to thrash, we were left a little confused as to what to do next. We knew we had to push ourselves to the limit, but I think we're not quite sure just what our limit is. I suppose our potential is limitless, but we've never really gotten there. It will definitely be a goal of ours to go balls to the wall as often as possible. We ended up devising a nifty little 4 man huck drill, but were dismayed quickly as to the quality of our hucks. Then we moved on to an endzone "on the block" drill that was well recieved, but left me feeling a bit dissapointed. Everyone was getting broken on forehand throws, and it just reminded me how hard it is to guard a true stud like Ed. After that drill, we were invited to help the ladies scrimmage. However, the mood was decidedly light, and I think Mark was the only guy really showing some solid intensity. He was a solid defender, and really made his presence known on offense. Mark wont be there tonight because of an unidentified ilness, but you know hes the kind of guy who will flex that sort of stuff right out of his system, and come back more powerful than ever before, which is impressive, because he has a pretty high power level to begin with. Luckily the day ended with Andy devising a sweet drill that I named "legit-i-cides". Its basically a sideways shuffling suicide. Works the crotch muscles. Pretty critical stuff for a guy like Andy (read: bulge).

I'm getting pretty inspired by the Cavs right now, especially Lebron James. The way he takes over a game effortlessly is something we all need to be able to do. Also, like Lebron, I plan to name my children after myself, and the Gladiator from "Gladiator". I suppose that's redundant, but whatever. That reminds me. Q left out a few of my nicknames in his profile. There's also k-ruv, poke-a-gorilla, quesadilla (from my phys ed teacher) and "the Spaniard".

Here is some "thizzspiration" for everyone. Russel Crowe is one of the main atheletes I try to model myself after:


In Gladiator, Russel Crowe fights not because he chooses to, but because he has to. He fights to honor his dead wife and to seek revenge against Joaquin Phoenix, who killed his mentor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris aka dumbledore version 1). Thats basically the complete opposite of why I play ultimate, but the fluidity of Maximus' swordplay is something I'd like to emulate in my fakes.




-Kevin

Player Profile - Nayyir Qutubuddin

Name: Nayyir Qutubuddin
Nicknames: Q, The Question, Q-Hundred, The Quotient
Age: 20
Height: 5' 10"

Position: O-Line Handler
Major: Chemical Engineering - 2010
Special Move: Nasty Fakes

Description: As long as I've known Q, he's been a handling god to me. His forehands are like butter (they taste like butter, but they're NOT BUTTER!) and his backhand breaks will always go off if you cut for it. His forehand huck could probably fly forever. He has passed the Air Alert Challenge and has stared the devil in his eyes, and broken the bastard. Q also has introduced us to timeless classics like "I ain't tryin' to have no babies" and is a master of speaking cool. Q will gladly throw to you on an in-cut but damn does he love to hit you deep.

Q.

Be a Witness

-Ed

Player Profile: Mark Richardson

PL
Its about time you got to know some of the Gobies a little bit better. In the spirit of teamwork, we'll be profiling each other (I'm not vain enough to write my own profile) with fascinating facts

First off is Mark Richardson, the team's resident "pretty boy"

Name: Mark Richardson
Nicknames: Marky Mark, Pretty Eyes, Ocean Eyes, Delonte, Prius, Pleasure Master
Age: 20
Height: Tall Enough
Major: Computer Science
Postion: Hybrid Handler/Cutter/constant threat to score
Special Move: Super sick effortless low release forehand (the "money" throw)

Description: Stare into his eyes for too long, and the next thing you'll be seeing is a cloud of dust... and Mark 20 yards away pulling down a score. He's a threat on all sides of the disc. Go ahread try to stop his forehand. Heck, you can put a brick wall on his right side. He'll still throw under it. And for good measure, he'll break you with his regular ol' backhand. Regular enough to travel 50 yards on a line straight into a fellow Goby's waiting hands. Mark is often called on to handle, but his mastery really comes out when he lulls his opponent to sleep in the ho stack, only to make his move for a big gain on an in cut, or pop outside to catch an easy break for the score. Yeah its smooth, but sometimes the sharpest cutters are the smoothest

-Kevin

Our Journey Begins

Oh, the long road to Regionals. Now is the time to start preparing for this long journey ahead of us. Let me pass on some advice offered by some great sages of old.

First: “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” We have heard this so many times before, but it is so important for us to remember. We must start walking now along the road to Regionals if we ever hope to get there.

Second: “The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” It sounds trivial, but in order to get to Regionals we must not think of ourselves as only a Sectionals caliber team anymore. This is the mindset we must have if we plan on achieving the glory we deserve. We must not settle for anything less than greatness if we hope to reach our goal.

Third: “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” If everybody gets excited now about preparing for the upcoming season, it will become natural to us and we will constantly be looking for ways to further ourselves along the road to Regionals. It will be like learning to walk again, slowly putting one foot in front of the other, but soon we will naturally be taking strides down this long road ahead of us. This quote applies particularly well to the story of a few brave souls’ journey down the 15 week path of Air Alert (3). Our voyage had a rocky start but we all motivated each other to keep going. Around week 3 the excitement that had kept us going the first two weeks was starting to fade, but, at that point, doing the workout had already become habit to us and we stayed strong through the final weeks.

I hope this advice has inspired you to take that first step along the road that will lead us to glory. It is important to remember that the Fighting Gobies can be a Regionals caliber team; we just need to prepare ourselves to be Regionals caliber players.

-Andy

Summer '09: A Call to Arms

Gobies,

With a whole year until Sectionals 2010 it can be easy to fall into the trap of laziness. But we cannot afford to lose what we have gained this year. We all have made huge strides this year, athletically and as Ultimate players. We must continue to build on our skills over the summer. My challenge to you: get out and run, throw the disc around, play summer league, join a club team, join the nationals team, do whatever you can do to get better. I, of course, will be representing the US again at the World Championships (see me in action above). So I challenge you to take on whatever challenge you can. Work hard Gobies and next year will be our year.

-Ed

Week 1: A Starting Point

April 13th. Monday. 5:00 P.M. It's been 8 days since sectionals and I'm still as depressed as when we left the field in defeat against WKU. Just doing some thizzics (that's physics, for those of you who don't know). I get a phone call from Kevin P. :

"Gobies. Regionals. April 2010. I'll see you at the Village at 8:15." And he hangs up.

I know what this means... time to forget about our agonizing defeat against WKU (and #77) and start afresh for next year. What better time to start than 356 days until next sectionals?

We show up to the Village and start off with a nice little 2-mile warmup job at an easygoing 5 minute mile pace. We're hardly winded at this point. Now we start the real workout. We make our way over to the other side of the track and look ominously at the behemoth that is the Village stairs. We decide to run 3 sets with sprints in between; a daunting task indeed.

About halfway through the last set I start feeling fatigued. But as I look up in distress and see Kevin's thundering calves in front of me bounding effortlessly up the stairs like a deer prancing in the forest, I realize, did I expect the road to Regionals to be easy? We finish the stairs and sprints, and add a few more sprints on the track afterwards for good measure. Day 1 complete.

Day 2. Thursday April 16th. Kevin and I are joined by more teammates, Andy "big calves" Coleman, Ed "reppin the hat" Yanosik, John "I got flow" Carey, and Owen "big chill" Mayer. John and Owen are still only freshmen, and already they have the vision and dedication that we all need to take the next step to regionals. Gotta love it. We start off with the normal 2 mile warmup jog. After the first mile, Owen decides to push us all by picking up the pace considerably for the second mile. Once again, gotta love the spirit of these young ones. After this difficult warmup, instead of chilling out and taking it easy, we up the ante and undertake 4 sets of stairs with sprints in between. We only made it through 3 before collapsing from exhaustion. Nah, just kidding. What do you think we are, chumps? We finish the stairs (all 4 sets) and the sprints, and end the night by playing with the women (who are going to regionals, we'll see you ladies there next year, I guarantee it).

Week 1 complete. Some calves were throbbing, some tears were shed, but it was all worth it on the road to regionals. Hope to see more of you chumps on the field on Monday 8:30.

The Fighting Gobies: Where amazing happens.

- Delonte aka "pretty eyes" aka mark

The Road to Regionals: An Introduction

This blog is a view into the world of the Case Western Reserve University Fighting Gobies Ultimate Frisbee Team's Road to Regionals

After a 9th place (Though really 8th place, because we didn't feel like beating chump-tucky a second time) showing at sectionals, the gobies have been flush with a desire to redeem themselves at the 2010 east plains upa sectionals. From April onwards, the gobies will be training hard with sprints, distance running, throwing, general buffening, bear hunting, and other manly endeavors. Every single thing they do from now until next April will be another step towards regionals (yes, making this blog certainly qualifies).

Sit back and enjoy the ride, as you enter the lives of a handful of charismatic and handsome members of Case's ultimate team. We may just huck our way into your hearts, but be prepared to be hammered by our inspirational accounts

-Kevin