This past weekend I made the trek down to beautiful Rantoul, IL. It was a last-minute decision on my part but I am very glad I chose to go! When I arrived Eastern was facing the #1 seed Illinois in a re-match of last years conference final. The weather wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the year before but it was relatively, chilly, wet, and a bit windy. The game looked sloppy from the start, Illinois dropped a bunch of open looks and Eastern did not look nearly as outmatched as the first half of last years conference final. OC had some solid high-percentage looks that our cutters were doing a great job of setting up and scoring on. Shortly after I arrived Reaper rattled off 3 breaks in a row and and the game was somewhere around 7-8 until Illinois cleaned up there O and Reaper just couldn't generate the turns on D. Someone also threw an awful callahan to end the game (ouch). A very solid game beside that last hiccup, considering Eastern was set to play day 1 without 2nd team all-region stud Michael Schwenk.
Next up was the reason I made the drive down to watch Conference. The 4 seed Loyola-Chicago vs The 5 seed Eastern Illinois. Any Reaper veteran knows what we have had something of a history with Darkwing. Back in the day we had some very chippy games that were highly competitive and closely matched. The exception being last year at conference when Reaper crushed the once again higher-seeded Darkwing 13-4 on our way to the conference finals. This year though Darkwing and Reaper appeared to be a closer match in score reporter results with many new faces on both teams and many veterans graduating from both squads.
It's pretty funny to note that Loyola opened the game with a cheer we did at every single tournament last year including our conference game AGAINST Darkwing last year! I assumed it was just a coincidence but many vets still found it hilarious that Loyola opened with Ray Lewis's pump up cheer.
Anyway you could tell that both teams knew this was going to be a highly contested affair right from the get-go. I am a bit disappointed to say that I think Reaper started off some tough calls and while some of them may be legitimate (like Braydon's strip call). The way in which some of you guys acted could have been far less dis-respectful. Being able to keep a level head and at least having the courtesy to hear someone's case and calmly explain your own is something we should be able to provide to all opponents we face. This game was tough to watch because of the low level of spirit, it's great to be heated and fired up but that in no way means that you should ever disrespect your opponents. That being said I don't believe that any calls this game were game-changers and I am also not saying that Loyola did not have any questionable calls either both teams were guilty.
While we traded early Eastern eventually broke first and held onto a 2-3 point lead into half. Nate Kinsinger #9 had a great game with his handles anchoring the offense and distributing the disc very well. Zach kept the offense moving getting the under cut 90% of the time and using his great throws to keep our offense moving forward with solid continuations! Brian, Kyle, Hinze (THAT WHOLE HOUSE!) provided solid deep threats and defense on this younger/athletic Darkwing squad and did an excellent job opening up the field! HR did an excellent job playing chilly low-turn offense and making the tough throw when needed, especially a few nasty I/O breaks. As a team we did a solid job of working the fundamentals better than our opponents. We didn't let ourselves get beat strike NEARLY as much as we did later in the tournament, our cutters did a great job of realizing when they were giving us the under cuts and taking the easy throws. Our deep shots were smarter than I have seen in quite some time and our defense was solid. This was also the MOST pumped up I saw our sideline all weekend. That's a good and bad thing boys, good as in this was an important game, bad because this wasn't our MOST IMPORTANT game. We have been to able to motivate each other and bring this type of intensity and talk to that Northwestern Game and to that Illinois State game day 2! You should know by now how much it helps to have someone in your ear and trusting them to help you on defense, return the favor! Anyway Reaper would break first and not look back, cruising to a 11-7 victory over Darkwing. I felt compelled to show off my new ink after this victory :).
Next up was Southern Illinois University's Full Tilt. Eastern jumped to an Early lead only to find Tilt creeping back into the game with 2-3 point runs. Tilt also utilized a clamy zone that tripped up our handlers to start and until we effectively found ways to work it up the sidelines past Southern's wing's we had a lot of trouble on offense. Brock, Traver, Chris D and hardie all played quite well this game. With Hinze doing an excellent job of stretching the field. Josh K also did a great job cutting, grinding it out and having the mental toughness to keep doing what he was doing to get open and eventually make the catch and pass for the score! Tilt looked tired as the game dragged on, understandably so as they only had around 10-12 guys I believe. Anyway Reaper takes care of business and finishes 2-1 on the day with an 11-8 win over Southern Illinois.
Sunday proved to be sunny and warmer but also much windier, with clear up wind vs down wind play. I arrived later than I expected but with Mike back on the field the wind played to our advantage as we appeared to have the stronger upwind hucks and the taller athletes to bring the disc down. Schwenk said that ISU broke us first then we responded right back by marching it up the field to get the game back on serve. Both teams still had a lot of drops and mis-throws that I saw because of the wind and ISU didn't give up so easily hanging tough all game long. They looked like a very young squad with a lot of talent and great flow. Every player on that team was comfortable enough with there throws to make solid upwind continuations but it wouldn't be enough as our smothering D just kept generating turn after turn. We would take the game 13-9 and get a shot at improving on our 3rd place finish last year vs Northwestern.
The wind felt like it picked up even more, or perhaps it was just because both teams were closely matched. Either way since ZACH lost the flip ;) we had to work it upwind to start. Whenever OC, Nate + alex/traver/brock worked it away from the windy sideline our chances and looks upfield improved dramatically. I would say during the first 5 points we had much more dangerous movement and looks upwind than NUT did. Mike and Zach did a great job working it up and keeping the disc moving forward whenever possible. Ultimately getting beat strike 4+ times upwind vs mis-matches was our downfall. Unfortunate to see but that gives you guys 2 weeks to fix mistakes. Marks which had been fine all tournament long also seemed lazier this game. Perhaps it was fatigue but most of NUT's downwind points seemed to be coming from the breakside.
Overall it was a great tournament and quite an honor to watch you guys break seed and qualify for Regionals. In my last blog post I asked you guys as a team to step up your game, to bring a different attitude to this tournament and to play Reaper ultimate. I saw all 3 of those things happen this weekend and it was AWESOME! That being said the season is not over yet for you guys. Work hard these two weeks and take care of your bodies and any injuries you might be nursing. Work on controllable things (you aren't going to be able to learn a 70 yard flick bomb in 2 weeks if you can't do it now..) things like, simple upwind 10yard passes with a friend (KYLE + HINZE!!!), pivoting more, working on your mark, or simply running through a disc at full speed etc!!! Regionals is the last college tournament for a core of seniors on the team and means a lot. Regardless of PT right now think about the future of the team and where you stand. Regionals is a tournament this team should strive for year round and next year there will be plenty of room for those willing to step up and fill big roles on the team. It all starts at practice and the mentality the TEAM takes. Get excited boys, this is our 2nd year out of 3 that we have qualified for regionals since we've become a legitimate program. No matter what happens next weekend you guys have done great this season, I look forward to seeing you all in Naperville!
James
Eastern Illinois Ultimate Frisbee Club - Team Reaper
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Last Call III
Last Call III was this past weekend in ChuckVegas and I thought I would do a recap before conference this upcoming weekend in Rantoul. The handsome and talented alums + friends (Thanks Sarah, Rachel, Ben, Mike, made our strongest and most legit showing as a group this weekend, dominating the party, winning the bars, breaking the hearts of maidens, and showing how much older and wiser we have gotten, oh and playing a bit of ultimate I guess.
After getting plenty of rest (approx 4 hours) the alums scrapped together 8 people and played our first game against SIUE. The game was closer than it needed to be but ultimately we came out on top. Next up we played Knox women's team.. Scavo played like the champion he is with smothering defense and our 1-5-1 zone was the key to our success.
We then played Illinois Chicago and while we were up most of the game they strung together a few breaks towards the end of the game to steal the win. Regardless of the loss Evan had a MONSTEROUS horizontal layout D in our zone this game... still got it!
Last up was the game we were all looking forward to Reaper Alum vs Reaper. As I recall the first half was relatively close. Karlson managed to throw some bombs to Dan and Evan even after hurting his infamous hamstring, it wasn't enough to silence the Reaper boy's heckling in the end though as the young guns did a great job using there deeper and more conditioned roster to wait for the open throw and take advantage of our mismatches. Reaper also did an excellent job against our junk zone with great break throws through the middle from almost all the handlers. Dan N had a solid game, coming up with quite a few skies and kept our offense moving but also would make the really hard play then make a silly mistake in the redzone, a problem for our team all tournament long ;). Sarah scored at least 2 points this game showing the boys what's up and if MANNY didn't ruin our endzone celebration like a tool we woulda further capitalized on our awesomeness (Manny did have a few nice hucks this game, still not cool fer ruining our disc execution!). Will showed that not only does he still look damn good in his oakleys but also that he still is speedy as ever and often was able to beat his man on the under and keep the disc moving same with the original Drew T who even after not playing for something like 3 years still played remarkably well all weekend long. A drunken burlet also made a few plays in basically the only game he was able to play all weekend since apparently he thinks alcoholism is a joke, needless to say he lost that battle (see later comments on day 2). Beyond that it was nice to see a lot of the Reaper boys get in this game. Braydon and Traver played solid from what I saw not only in this game but all of day 1. I think the final score ended up being something like 13-10. It was both a hard fought game and a fun game from both sides, I look forward to next year!
Illinois Chicago forfeited day 2 so we ended up taking 2nd in the pool ne way.
Day 2 - Happy EASTER
We played ISU B and won 13-3 I think in a pretty darn windy game, picked up porter and rolando and lost will and mike :(. Burlet scored like 3 points but ended up puking in the corner of the endzone and then passing out for the next hour + before half.
Semi-finals we played ILLINOIS B... who was closer to ILLINOIS X as they had a few non-illini players, a coach or 2, and a few A team guys on the team. Either way this was a really frustrating game as we went up something like 4-0 off the bat only to lose by 3-5 points. They did two key things much better than us. They used and exploited the breakside especially when we were caught poaching and they adjusted to stop our huck game. After yours truly acted like a child and threw a tantrum during half illinois finished the job and moved on to the finals against Reaper.
Knox forfeited the 3rd place game which I think most of us were just fine with as it meant we got to play fantasy ulti and watch the current team face off against a solid illinois b/x-ish team. Reaper started off playing awesome with a great reset D, and a few layout D's on IL! If anything I think the sidelines coulda been louder and more pumped because multiple players were making great plays out there! Alex had a ridiculous full horzo layout in the middle of the field during the first half that was just nasty! Traver, Hardie, and Nate played solid all game long on both sides of the disc. Braydon, zach, alex, brock, hinze all brought nice pressure on D and made Illinois fight for every possession. After U of I brought the game within 1-2 points toward the end Brock had a FILTHY layout D in the endzone, one of the best plays I saw that game from either team. Motherbird got skied for like the 5th time in his life (probably because of his goofy tucked in shirt..) but still played like the absolute beast he is with multiple layout D's, athletic skies, smart and dangerous hucks, and a great smile to boot! Anything short of all-region 1st team would be an understatement as to how great a player and more importantly a teammate Mike has become, club scene... watch out! Anyway, Reaper pulled it out in the end winning by 3-4 and finishing the weekend undefeated as the #1 seed. I honestly didn't see anyone play particularly bad, clearing, fundamentals on defense, and keeping the stack well spaced are still issues that need to be better come conference but honestly as a team you guys played excellent and it was great to see basically everyone get some great PT and show some much needed depth! Congrats on the win boys!
Conference this weekend
The series starts tmrw Reaper. Being the 5th seed you guys are not SUPPOSED to qualify for regionals. You should feed on this fact and play with an underdog mentality every game because you guys have the talent and depth to ruin someones day and earn a spot. Note that I say EARN though fella's, nothing is going to be given to you guys and it's up to not only you as individuals but as a team, as a whole to come together and trust each other on and off the field this weekend. Want it more than your opponents every point, every game, don't get content! I'm telling you right now that mistakes are going to happen and teams are going to string points together against you guys. How you react to this is what's going to make or break it this weekend. Veterans, it's on you guys to set the tone for the weekend. No matter what role you have on the team everyone needs to be involved after points, stay positive even when someone messes up, be the 8th man on the field by talking on the sideline, especially on defense, etc etc etc!!! I thought Mike put up a very eloquent post on the facebook group, "Conference this weekend is the payout for all of the hard work from the past two semesters and for some of us four years. Get rest, relax, and come out ready to play on the first pull." Cherish your seniors guys, for some of you these games mean more than I can adequately describe. Conference and the series are some of the most intense and fun games I ever got the pleasure of playing and it's awesome getting to show off how good you've become as a team! Rise or fall together boys. You are fighting to play another day; show how much you want it every chance you get to step out there on the field! Trust in your captains and whatever game plan is laid out for each game, trust the team's style of play and above all else have fun Reaper!
-James
P.S. I should hopefully be coming Sunday at the very least, can't wait to watch you guys play. Good Luck! Fear the Reaper.
After getting plenty of rest (approx 4 hours) the alums scrapped together 8 people and played our first game against SIUE. The game was closer than it needed to be but ultimately we came out on top. Next up we played Knox women's team.. Scavo played like the champion he is with smothering defense and our 1-5-1 zone was the key to our success.
We then played Illinois Chicago and while we were up most of the game they strung together a few breaks towards the end of the game to steal the win. Regardless of the loss Evan had a MONSTEROUS horizontal layout D in our zone this game... still got it!
Last up was the game we were all looking forward to Reaper Alum vs Reaper. As I recall the first half was relatively close. Karlson managed to throw some bombs to Dan and Evan even after hurting his infamous hamstring, it wasn't enough to silence the Reaper boy's heckling in the end though as the young guns did a great job using there deeper and more conditioned roster to wait for the open throw and take advantage of our mismatches. Reaper also did an excellent job against our junk zone with great break throws through the middle from almost all the handlers. Dan N had a solid game, coming up with quite a few skies and kept our offense moving but also would make the really hard play then make a silly mistake in the redzone, a problem for our team all tournament long ;). Sarah scored at least 2 points this game showing the boys what's up and if MANNY didn't ruin our endzone celebration like a tool we woulda further capitalized on our awesomeness (Manny did have a few nice hucks this game, still not cool fer ruining our disc execution!). Will showed that not only does he still look damn good in his oakleys but also that he still is speedy as ever and often was able to beat his man on the under and keep the disc moving same with the original Drew T who even after not playing for something like 3 years still played remarkably well all weekend long. A drunken burlet also made a few plays in basically the only game he was able to play all weekend since apparently he thinks alcoholism is a joke, needless to say he lost that battle (see later comments on day 2). Beyond that it was nice to see a lot of the Reaper boys get in this game. Braydon and Traver played solid from what I saw not only in this game but all of day 1. I think the final score ended up being something like 13-10. It was both a hard fought game and a fun game from both sides, I look forward to next year!
Illinois Chicago forfeited day 2 so we ended up taking 2nd in the pool ne way.
Day 2 - Happy EASTER
We played ISU B and won 13-3 I think in a pretty darn windy game, picked up porter and rolando and lost will and mike :(. Burlet scored like 3 points but ended up puking in the corner of the endzone and then passing out for the next hour + before half.
Semi-finals we played ILLINOIS B... who was closer to ILLINOIS X as they had a few non-illini players, a coach or 2, and a few A team guys on the team. Either way this was a really frustrating game as we went up something like 4-0 off the bat only to lose by 3-5 points. They did two key things much better than us. They used and exploited the breakside especially when we were caught poaching and they adjusted to stop our huck game. After yours truly acted like a child and threw a tantrum during half illinois finished the job and moved on to the finals against Reaper.
Knox forfeited the 3rd place game which I think most of us were just fine with as it meant we got to play fantasy ulti and watch the current team face off against a solid illinois b/x-ish team. Reaper started off playing awesome with a great reset D, and a few layout D's on IL! If anything I think the sidelines coulda been louder and more pumped because multiple players were making great plays out there! Alex had a ridiculous full horzo layout in the middle of the field during the first half that was just nasty! Traver, Hardie, and Nate played solid all game long on both sides of the disc. Braydon, zach, alex, brock, hinze all brought nice pressure on D and made Illinois fight for every possession. After U of I brought the game within 1-2 points toward the end Brock had a FILTHY layout D in the endzone, one of the best plays I saw that game from either team. Motherbird got skied for like the 5th time in his life (probably because of his goofy tucked in shirt..) but still played like the absolute beast he is with multiple layout D's, athletic skies, smart and dangerous hucks, and a great smile to boot! Anything short of all-region 1st team would be an understatement as to how great a player and more importantly a teammate Mike has become, club scene... watch out! Anyway, Reaper pulled it out in the end winning by 3-4 and finishing the weekend undefeated as the #1 seed. I honestly didn't see anyone play particularly bad, clearing, fundamentals on defense, and keeping the stack well spaced are still issues that need to be better come conference but honestly as a team you guys played excellent and it was great to see basically everyone get some great PT and show some much needed depth! Congrats on the win boys!
Conference this weekend
The series starts tmrw Reaper. Being the 5th seed you guys are not SUPPOSED to qualify for regionals. You should feed on this fact and play with an underdog mentality every game because you guys have the talent and depth to ruin someones day and earn a spot. Note that I say EARN though fella's, nothing is going to be given to you guys and it's up to not only you as individuals but as a team, as a whole to come together and trust each other on and off the field this weekend. Want it more than your opponents every point, every game, don't get content! I'm telling you right now that mistakes are going to happen and teams are going to string points together against you guys. How you react to this is what's going to make or break it this weekend. Veterans, it's on you guys to set the tone for the weekend. No matter what role you have on the team everyone needs to be involved after points, stay positive even when someone messes up, be the 8th man on the field by talking on the sideline, especially on defense, etc etc etc!!! I thought Mike put up a very eloquent post on the facebook group, "Conference this weekend is the payout for all of the hard work from the past two semesters and for some of us four years. Get rest, relax, and come out ready to play on the first pull." Cherish your seniors guys, for some of you these games mean more than I can adequately describe. Conference and the series are some of the most intense and fun games I ever got the pleasure of playing and it's awesome getting to show off how good you've become as a team! Rise or fall together boys. You are fighting to play another day; show how much you want it every chance you get to step out there on the field! Trust in your captains and whatever game plan is laid out for each game, trust the team's style of play and above all else have fun Reaper!
-James
P.S. I should hopefully be coming Sunday at the very least, can't wait to watch you guys play. Good Luck! Fear the Reaper.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Chicago Invite 2012 - MY perspective
Been a while since my last post but I was able to make it out and see a few games this weekend at the Naperville Polo Fields. When I arrived Reaper was playing a very familiar opponent, Illinois State. Frankly both teams were playing quite sloppy and making drops + poor decisions left and right. We'd come up with big layout D's one point then the next a seemingly unmarked ISU player would score off an easy huck with no Reaper defender around. Offensively if anyone on the team dropped the disc or didn't run through all I would hear on the sidelines is disheartening remarks and negativity while on the field all I would see is useless yelling at each for messing up and players hanging there heads after mistakes instead of hustling to get back on D. It seriously looked as though half the guys out there didn't know which side was the force side and which was the break side while EVERYONE including veterans were poaching left and right and it often seemed to lead to nothing more than extremely open ISU players getting the disc deep.
After this game I didn't think it was our effort that failed us, I BELIEVE that everyone was simply not on the same page and didn't trust whatever game plan was laid out. I purposefully kept my mouth shut in the huddle for this game because I wanted to see how you guys would react. Instead of talking about things like bringing the stack in and actually setting up/starting cuts from the middle, defending the force side and trusting your marks all you guys seemed to do was continue to yell at each other and blame getting broken every now and then for your TEAM shortcomings. VETERANS, breaks happen... this isn't an excuse to poach 15 yards off your man sit in the lane. When we were marking on the correct side I thought overall our marks did a fine job. Down field was where you guys were losing the game in my opinion. Have a plan laid out and adjust in terms of how you guys are marking and team-defending. Are we playing tight on the unders and staying between our guys and the disc or are we playing a bit behind and containing, do they have certain players we are playing differently than others, if so what's the plan? Are we giving their handlers easy swing throws or are we playing tight etc etc etc I could go on. I feel like the effort was there, nobody was trying to lose there guy and let him go deep but without better field awareness and defensive UNDERSTANDING you guys fell short to a team that valued the disc better.
The next game I saw vs Wheaton was much of the same to start. Wheaton depended on 2 solid handlers with solid break throws to run the offense and feed off give n goes. We started out playing with the exact same shortcomings and attitude as the ISU game. Down something like 7-2 at half OC asked me to make some comments and I pointed out many of the things listed above. I would like to pretend that my tips were what caused you guys to play like a ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TEAM in the second half but who knows. Whatever the reason you guys played far better and brought the score to something like 10-8 Reaper. As a team with the personnel we currently have we like the deep shot... nate and oc in particular have excellent deep throws and brian, kyle, hinze and basically everyone else know this and love to go deep. That's fine but you guys need to stick to an offense and be dangerous on the under cuts as well. If I could practice with you guys I would say work super hard on setting up your under cuts better and utilizing the breakside more (especially when OC has the disc... CUT BREAKSIDE AND EXPECT THE DISC!). Handlers kept us in the game most of the time but consistently got in the habit of almost doing too much. I mean that in the sense that you guys need to improve on your timing and stick to the cut you are suppose to run. Which side does the wrap-around reset (cooter-cut) come from? Who initiates? Often the strike or dump would go before the handler with the disc would look for it and almost as often the handler with the disc would hold it for 6-8 stalls before even looking anyway... these are the basics guys. Hold each other accountable but don't put each other down what good is that really going to do? Reaper would lose to Wheaton on universe point after receiving the disc and working it all the way to the goal line, I forget exactly how the turn happened but once it did Wheaton jacked it deep to a wide open player for the upset and the win. You guys played like a team in the 2nd half and that's something to be proud of.
Day 2 playing in the 33rd place bracket was where we belonged. When you guys cleaned up your offense and spread the field you showed how dangerous Reaper can be. The sidelines were not only loud but constructive and helpful with talk and support especially Ivan, it was great to see everyone coming off the line and getting on the field after points, that is huge. Zach also brought fresh legs played like a veteran helping to keep the offense moving with dangerous under AND deep cuts and excellent continuation throws. You guys played like a team and valued the disc so much more than day 1, you can claim it was because you guys were winning but even when you guys were down you never seemed defeated as you did on day 1. Don't let your emotions cause you to forget how we run an offense or just huck the disc on stall 3 to marked deep look. You guys laughed at me once in practice when I said that our team is like a dog... we growl and bark at each other and play best when we are yelling at each other. That may have seemed true to me then but I don't believe it with this team. You guys play best when you AREN'T yelling at each other but when you are being having fun and being positive. Drops and mistakes happen, get over it and pick each other up.
I wish I could have seen your last game (a close 10-11 loss to a team I have never played) but I had to go to work. I hope you guys take more away from this weekend than the fact that you lost 5 games and won 2. Every player that stepped on the field in Naperville should take a step back and evaluate what they need to work on and what they did well along with what they need to improve on. To further simplify this I talked to Caleb about working on pivoting faster while he is being marked, and Manny on positioning himself between the disc and the guy he is marking to protect the force side better. Both of those players will be more dangerous at Conference if they put in the effort at practice. While on the flipside I thought Caleb had a solid mark overall, yes he got broken a few times by some of the opposing teams better throwers but his positioning was overall solid and he reacted well to sideline talk (no around vs no invert). Manny has a great forehand and likes to look deep and break when he gets the disc. Know your strengths and weaknesses and work on BOTH.
I hope to see improvement on those aspects of there game from both Manny and Caleb at conference and if they put in the time and effort at practice they will be even more dangerous as players. If the whole team does this... Reaper will tear some teams up.
Learn from your losses guys, it was great getting the chance to watch you guys play and regardless of what score reporter might show I saw great plays from basically every guy out there. Win or lose as a team and don't forget you aren't in this alone. Ask questions and practice practice practice! Gerlerlerler, Will, Myself, Dan, Nick, and the rest of the alums who couldn't make it are always here for you guys at the end of the day and will do what we can to help. Use what resources you have and I know this team will do great things.
(Except when the alum team crushes you guys at Last Call III...)
-James
After this game I didn't think it was our effort that failed us, I BELIEVE that everyone was simply not on the same page and didn't trust whatever game plan was laid out. I purposefully kept my mouth shut in the huddle for this game because I wanted to see how you guys would react. Instead of talking about things like bringing the stack in and actually setting up/starting cuts from the middle, defending the force side and trusting your marks all you guys seemed to do was continue to yell at each other and blame getting broken every now and then for your TEAM shortcomings. VETERANS, breaks happen... this isn't an excuse to poach 15 yards off your man sit in the lane. When we were marking on the correct side I thought overall our marks did a fine job. Down field was where you guys were losing the game in my opinion. Have a plan laid out and adjust in terms of how you guys are marking and team-defending. Are we playing tight on the unders and staying between our guys and the disc or are we playing a bit behind and containing, do they have certain players we are playing differently than others, if so what's the plan? Are we giving their handlers easy swing throws or are we playing tight etc etc etc I could go on. I feel like the effort was there, nobody was trying to lose there guy and let him go deep but without better field awareness and defensive UNDERSTANDING you guys fell short to a team that valued the disc better.
The next game I saw vs Wheaton was much of the same to start. Wheaton depended on 2 solid handlers with solid break throws to run the offense and feed off give n goes. We started out playing with the exact same shortcomings and attitude as the ISU game. Down something like 7-2 at half OC asked me to make some comments and I pointed out many of the things listed above. I would like to pretend that my tips were what caused you guys to play like a ENTIRELY DIFFERENT TEAM in the second half but who knows. Whatever the reason you guys played far better and brought the score to something like 10-8 Reaper. As a team with the personnel we currently have we like the deep shot... nate and oc in particular have excellent deep throws and brian, kyle, hinze and basically everyone else know this and love to go deep. That's fine but you guys need to stick to an offense and be dangerous on the under cuts as well. If I could practice with you guys I would say work super hard on setting up your under cuts better and utilizing the breakside more (especially when OC has the disc... CUT BREAKSIDE AND EXPECT THE DISC!). Handlers kept us in the game most of the time but consistently got in the habit of almost doing too much. I mean that in the sense that you guys need to improve on your timing and stick to the cut you are suppose to run. Which side does the wrap-around reset (cooter-cut) come from? Who initiates? Often the strike or dump would go before the handler with the disc would look for it and almost as often the handler with the disc would hold it for 6-8 stalls before even looking anyway... these are the basics guys. Hold each other accountable but don't put each other down what good is that really going to do? Reaper would lose to Wheaton on universe point after receiving the disc and working it all the way to the goal line, I forget exactly how the turn happened but once it did Wheaton jacked it deep to a wide open player for the upset and the win. You guys played like a team in the 2nd half and that's something to be proud of.
Day 2 playing in the 33rd place bracket was where we belonged. When you guys cleaned up your offense and spread the field you showed how dangerous Reaper can be. The sidelines were not only loud but constructive and helpful with talk and support especially Ivan, it was great to see everyone coming off the line and getting on the field after points, that is huge. Zach also brought fresh legs played like a veteran helping to keep the offense moving with dangerous under AND deep cuts and excellent continuation throws. You guys played like a team and valued the disc so much more than day 1, you can claim it was because you guys were winning but even when you guys were down you never seemed defeated as you did on day 1. Don't let your emotions cause you to forget how we run an offense or just huck the disc on stall 3 to marked deep look. You guys laughed at me once in practice when I said that our team is like a dog... we growl and bark at each other and play best when we are yelling at each other. That may have seemed true to me then but I don't believe it with this team. You guys play best when you AREN'T yelling at each other but when you are being having fun and being positive. Drops and mistakes happen, get over it and pick each other up.
I wish I could have seen your last game (a close 10-11 loss to a team I have never played) but I had to go to work. I hope you guys take more away from this weekend than the fact that you lost 5 games and won 2. Every player that stepped on the field in Naperville should take a step back and evaluate what they need to work on and what they did well along with what they need to improve on. To further simplify this I talked to Caleb about working on pivoting faster while he is being marked, and Manny on positioning himself between the disc and the guy he is marking to protect the force side better. Both of those players will be more dangerous at Conference if they put in the effort at practice. While on the flipside I thought Caleb had a solid mark overall, yes he got broken a few times by some of the opposing teams better throwers but his positioning was overall solid and he reacted well to sideline talk (no around vs no invert). Manny has a great forehand and likes to look deep and break when he gets the disc. Know your strengths and weaknesses and work on BOTH.
I hope to see improvement on those aspects of there game from both Manny and Caleb at conference and if they put in the time and effort at practice they will be even more dangerous as players. If the whole team does this... Reaper will tear some teams up.
Learn from your losses guys, it was great getting the chance to watch you guys play and regardless of what score reporter might show I saw great plays from basically every guy out there. Win or lose as a team and don't forget you aren't in this alone. Ask questions and practice practice practice! Gerlerlerler, Will, Myself, Dan, Nick, and the rest of the alums who couldn't make it are always here for you guys at the end of the day and will do what we can to help. Use what resources you have and I know this team will do great things.
(Except when the alum team crushes you guys at Last Call III...)
-James
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