EMO invitiational - this is the first year that EMO (east midland open) have hosted this tournament and it showcased some of the A and B tour club teams, mixed in with some of the better uni teams as well as a unknown team from across the channel.
1. Iznogood - CHAMPIONS
2. Brighton
3. The Brown
4. Sharks
5. emo
6. Devon
7. Leeds
8. Release
9. Bears - PLATE WINNERS
10. Vision
11. Haze
12. Kent
13. Steal
14. Flyght Club
The french team won and emo didn't do as well as I expected. Brighton showed that as usually they are tough to beat and the reformed oxford team - sharks - staked a claim in the A tour. That's my interpretation of the results. I wasn't there so I wouldn't like to make any more assumptions.
Friday, 6 March 2009
a fresh start...
So I haven't blogged in quite some time, in fact I actually closed the blog for a while. But now I'm ready to start again, turn over a new leaf and begin posted some good stuff.
The first thing I need to decide on is a new name. To be honest 'brickers' ultimate (frisbee) ramblings' is a bit of a lame title and was only ever meant to be a short term thing. Right now I'm not feeling particularly inspired but over the next couple of weeks I'll try to come up with something a little less clunky. If anyone out there has any ideas please let me know.
Probably more important is fresh content, some good new posts - I think I'm going to post some tournament reports written by my friend and very able captain Adnan. I'm also going to do a write-up of UK uni nationals next weekend (it should be quite an event).
I want to start posting lots of tournament results that I deem significant. This includes club and college competitions from both sides of the pond.
I might do some more team profiles but that will have to wait.
All in all my intention is to write more and try and make (insert name here) into a better blog than it ever was before.
The first thing I need to decide on is a new name. To be honest 'brickers' ultimate (frisbee) ramblings' is a bit of a lame title and was only ever meant to be a short term thing. Right now I'm not feeling particularly inspired but over the next couple of weeks I'll try to come up with something a little less clunky. If anyone out there has any ideas please let me know.
Probably more important is fresh content, some good new posts - I think I'm going to post some tournament reports written by my friend and very able captain Adnan. I'm also going to do a write-up of UK uni nationals next weekend (it should be quite an event).
I want to start posting lots of tournament results that I deem significant. This includes club and college competitions from both sides of the pond.
I might do some more team profiles but that will have to wait.
All in all my intention is to write more and try and make (insert name here) into a better blog than it ever was before.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Taking knocks…
In Ultimate we all take knocks from time to time. More often than not the knocks are physical, a dodgy ankle, a gamee knee or god forbid a shitty shoulder injury. But that’s not the type of knock that I’m talking about. Every now and then someone (usually someone important) will make a comment about your game that really hits a nerve. For some uber-confident players I’m sure this never happens but for those like me, acutely aware of their weaknesses and probably a little too eager for praise, a single, well-placed comment can make you feel like your whole game is being undermined.
In Ultimate, like in all sports confidence is paramount. When you step out onto the pitch you need the confidence to know that you can dominate your match-up, the confidence to know you can break the mark. If in sport you don’t believe you can do something, then you’re probably not going to be able to do it when it counts. And I suppose this is why it feels so rubbish when someone you admire tells you that you can’t really do something that you yourself feel is fundamental. That confidence can evaporate like a drop of ethanol in the Sahara.
The sort of comment I’m talking about is not constructive criticism in the traditional sense. Of course it is essential that every player can take criticism. As I’ve found out coaching ‘Thrown’ over the last year some people can take it better than others. What I’ve found works well is to make criticisms one at a time, providing advice in an attempt to fix the problems as you go along. The sort of criticism I’m talking about stings, it makes you question yourself over and over – it makes you think about giving it all up because, basically, ‘I’m shit’.
I suppose what is important in these situations is to take a step back and really think about the criticism, and also to think about the good things about your game. Take stock and think about the changes you are going to make. Seek good advice, and work hard to improve. Then when the time comes, at a try-out or in big match, you can show that actually, your not that shit after all.
In Ultimate, like in all sports confidence is paramount. When you step out onto the pitch you need the confidence to know that you can dominate your match-up, the confidence to know you can break the mark. If in sport you don’t believe you can do something, then you’re probably not going to be able to do it when it counts. And I suppose this is why it feels so rubbish when someone you admire tells you that you can’t really do something that you yourself feel is fundamental. That confidence can evaporate like a drop of ethanol in the Sahara.
The sort of comment I’m talking about is not constructive criticism in the traditional sense. Of course it is essential that every player can take criticism. As I’ve found out coaching ‘Thrown’ over the last year some people can take it better than others. What I’ve found works well is to make criticisms one at a time, providing advice in an attempt to fix the problems as you go along. The sort of criticism I’m talking about stings, it makes you question yourself over and over – it makes you think about giving it all up because, basically, ‘I’m shit’.
I suppose what is important in these situations is to take a step back and really think about the criticism, and also to think about the good things about your game. Take stock and think about the changes you are going to make. Seek good advice, and work hard to improve. Then when the time comes, at a try-out or in big match, you can show that actually, your not that shit after all.
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Some Links on Wednesday
Sport Link
Tennis: a sport with many similarities to ultimate. Here are the BBC write-ups on the spectacular performances at Wimbldon last weekend. Fed is still my favourite.
Mens Final (Federer vs Nadal)
Womans Final (V Williams vs S Williams)
The Physics of Frisbee
Here's a link to a scientific paper on the physics of a frisbee in flight. http://web.mit.edu/womens-ult/www/smite/frisbee_physics.pdf
Fairly interesting stuff... if you're into that sort of thing.
Fitness
I'm embarrassingly out of shape at the mo.
Here are some inspiring conditioning tips on the huddle.
and finally
Comedy Genius
Frank Huguenard...?
Tennis: a sport with many similarities to ultimate. Here are the BBC write-ups on the spectacular performances at Wimbldon last weekend. Fed is still my favourite.
Mens Final (Federer vs Nadal)
Womans Final (V Williams vs S Williams)
The Physics of Frisbee
Here's a link to a scientific paper on the physics of a frisbee in flight. http://web.mit.edu/womens-ult/www/smite/frisbee_physics.pdf
Fairly interesting stuff... if you're into that sort of thing.
Fitness
I'm embarrassingly out of shape at the mo.
Here are some inspiring conditioning tips on the huddle.
and finally
Comedy Genius
Frank Huguenard...?
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The Ultimate All-star Line-up
Bored at work yesterday I started to contemplate my ultimate dream team. If given the choice of any sportsmen currently playing at the highest level, what 7 would you pick to play on your universe point line? (Ultimate players not included). Here is my line-up:
Manning, realising he chose the wrong sport
Handlers
Roger Federer (Tennis player) - Lost to Nadal this weekend but still, in my eyes anyway, the most technically accomplished racquet sport player of all time. I dream of the things he could do with a disc.
Peyton Manning (Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts) - Undoubtedly the best quarterback of his generation he has wonderful vision and a tonking throwing arm.
Dan Carter (Fly-half, USA Perpignan and New Zealand) - Probably the best distributor of the ball in the modern game, this man has vision, skill, pace and tremendous footwork to boot.
Cutters
Brian Habana (Winger, Bulls and South Africa) - The second rugby player in the line-up, Habana has jaw-dropping acceleration and great straight line pace. He does 100m in 10.4, has been known to race cheetahs and set the 2008 Rugby World Cup alight. He also has great awareness and can catch. I don't see him having problems getting free on an ultimate pitch.
Randy Moss (Wide Receiver, New England Patriots) - Lightning pace, sticky hands and an inbuilt ability to loose his man - just look at this record. He would make a pretty sick deep player on any ultimate side.
LeBron James (Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers) - My ignorance of basketball is considerable and that’s probably why I have picked only one basketball player for my 7. But if you had to pick on one is would be this chap - he is a truly awsome athlete.
Terrell Owens (Wide reliever, Dallas Cowboys) - Another dominating wide receiver, holds the NFL record for most reception in a single game (20). Won’t be winning any spirit prizes with this guy though.
Subs - Here are a few stars that didn’t quite make it into my top 7.
Edwin Van Der Sar (Goalkeeper, Manchester United and Holland) - Hands like glue, reactions of a cat, good height and the ability to jump and layout. He certainly has a host of qualities that could make him a great receiver, but then again I've never seen him run.
Andrea Pirlo (Midfielder, AC Milan and Italy) - Another footballer. Pirlo is the creative force behind a world cup winning Italy side and a Champions League winning AC Milan side. His vision is amazing and he strikes the ball with precision and subtlety. I'd like to think these qualities could be put to good use in ultimate.
Honorable Mention
Shane Warne (Spin Bowler Rajasthan Royals and Australia) - Probably the best leg spinner ever to grace planet earth, Shane Warne can do things with a cricket ball that you wouldn't believe are possible. He's also quite handy with a bat. If he can make a disc spin like he can make a ball spin I reckon he'd made a pretty useful static handler.
Who would be on your Ultimate All-star line?
Manning, realising he chose the wrong sportHandlers
Roger Federer (Tennis player) - Lost to Nadal this weekend but still, in my eyes anyway, the most technically accomplished racquet sport player of all time. I dream of the things he could do with a disc.
Peyton Manning (Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts) - Undoubtedly the best quarterback of his generation he has wonderful vision and a tonking throwing arm.
Dan Carter (Fly-half, USA Perpignan and New Zealand) - Probably the best distributor of the ball in the modern game, this man has vision, skill, pace and tremendous footwork to boot.
Cutters
Brian Habana (Winger, Bulls and South Africa) - The second rugby player in the line-up, Habana has jaw-dropping acceleration and great straight line pace. He does 100m in 10.4, has been known to race cheetahs and set the 2008 Rugby World Cup alight. He also has great awareness and can catch. I don't see him having problems getting free on an ultimate pitch.
Randy Moss (Wide Receiver, New England Patriots) - Lightning pace, sticky hands and an inbuilt ability to loose his man - just look at this record. He would make a pretty sick deep player on any ultimate side.
LeBron James (Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers) - My ignorance of basketball is considerable and that’s probably why I have picked only one basketball player for my 7. But if you had to pick on one is would be this chap - he is a truly awsome athlete.
Terrell Owens (Wide reliever, Dallas Cowboys) - Another dominating wide receiver, holds the NFL record for most reception in a single game (20). Won’t be winning any spirit prizes with this guy though.
Subs - Here are a few stars that didn’t quite make it into my top 7.
Edwin Van Der Sar (Goalkeeper, Manchester United and Holland) - Hands like glue, reactions of a cat, good height and the ability to jump and layout. He certainly has a host of qualities that could make him a great receiver, but then again I've never seen him run.
Andrea Pirlo (Midfielder, AC Milan and Italy) - Another footballer. Pirlo is the creative force behind a world cup winning Italy side and a Champions League winning AC Milan side. His vision is amazing and he strikes the ball with precision and subtlety. I'd like to think these qualities could be put to good use in ultimate.
Honorable Mention
Shane Warne (Spin Bowler Rajasthan Royals and Australia) - Probably the best leg spinner ever to grace planet earth, Shane Warne can do things with a cricket ball that you wouldn't believe are possible. He's also quite handy with a bat. If he can make a disc spin like he can make a ball spin I reckon he'd made a pretty useful static handler.
Who would be on your Ultimate All-star line?
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Team in Profile: Chevron Action Flash
Each week from now on I will feature a team detailing achivements, history and trivia. I also hope to include interviews with players in the future. This weeks 'team in profile' is Chevron Action Flash, current holders of the UK Tour title. I've tried to be as accurate as possible but if you see any incorrect facts please let me know.
We are Chevron, we are Chevron, super Chevron, from Brazil, we are Chevron, super Chevron, we are Chevron and we're skill (The Chevron song, sung to the tune of 'Sailing' by Rod Stewart).
Manchester based Chevron Action Flash commonly known as Chevvy are one of the top British Ultimate clubs, with teams competing in both Open and Mixed divisions of the UK Tour and National events.
The team officially formed in 1995 as a graduate team for ex ‘Fingers 6’ (Manchester Met Uni) players.
Manchester based Chevron Action Flash commonly known as Chevvy are one of the top British Ultimate clubs, with teams competing in both Open and Mixed divisions of the UK Tour and National events.
The team officially formed in 1995 as a graduate team for ex ‘Fingers 6’ (Manchester Met Uni) players.
Chevron Action Flash at Open Tour 3 in Mansfield (courtesy of Roland Tomlinson of BU: See http://snowspeeder.co.uk/ultimate/)
Since then Chevron have consistently finished as a top 5 team in the UK Tour, claiming five Tour event wins along the way, but never, until 2008 that is, winning the Tour outright. After chasing the title for over a decade Chevron finally managed to capture the elusive Ben Rainbow Trophy with three fine performances. Finishing as the loosing finalists to Clapham at Tour 1 in Bristol; Winning Tour 2 with a tight sudden death (universe point) victory against Fire in Cardiff; and securing their place in history with a dominant win over Clapham for the 3rd place at Tour 3 in Mansfield. Chevron have yet to show their true colours on the international club scene, their highest European finish, a somewhat disappointing 8th at EUCF in 2008.
Chevron have also had success in the mixed division winning mixed nationals in 2000 and finishing 2nd overall in Mixed Tour 2007. They are currently battling to win the 2008 Tour title, finishing 1st at Mixed tour 1 in Brighton and 2nd at Mixed tour 2 in Burton-on-Trent. The deciding Tour will be held next weekend in Birmingham.
The current Chevron Open side has a great mix of experience and youth with plenty of GB junior players drafted in for the 2008 season. Their squad is large in comparison with other top British teams and this certainly seemed to play to their advantage at times during Tour this year. Several Chevron players will be travelling with the GB Open team to Vancouver (WUGC) this summer. Stars include Matt Beavan, Dave Grayson and the dominant Stu Mitchell. After Vancouver Chevron will be looking to complete the season with high place finishes at Open and Mixed UK Nationals and EUCFs. Now stronger than ever before, I have no doubt that Chevron Action Flash will continue to feature at the very highest level of British and European Ultimate.
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Mixed Tour 2, O & D lines?
This past weekend I enjoyed a fantastic couple of days playing for Flump at Mixed Tour 2 in Burton-on-Trent (results here). We had a great team – not only quality players but a really fun group of people. I think the rapport within the team really helped us achieve a good standard despite a severe lack of practice / preparation.
Flump on the line (courtesy of Dr Hird)
Props to Blockstack TV who put on an unexpected party on the Saturday night. It really added to the weekend for me and from lots of other people I’ve spoken to. I was less impressed by the Marston’s Pedigree (beer brewed next to the fields) – it still tasted a bit like eggs.
So, to the point of this blog. Something I noticed playing with Flump this weekend and also with Brighton at Open Tour 0. We had a lot of guys down to play (10) and none of them were ‘droppable’. Our captain had the smart idea to split them into O & D lines. On the surface this seems to be a good way to get people lots of people playing well together quickly, however I got the feeling that things were a little disjointed on the Saturday. Unfortunately we lost two of our best players to injury and I was a bit worried on the Saturday night. We went out on the Sunday morning a little hung-over but more ‘streamlined’ as a team. The decrease in numbers seemed to have benefited us as we played a more fluid, comfortable style. We won our cross-over well and continued to play similarly throughout the day.
I recall a similar thing happened whilst playing for Brighton at tour 0 playing. We scraped through the first day playing set O and D lines, mixed things up for day two and won the tournament.
Whilst I’m sure offensive and defensive lines can be invaluable when used for large teams who practice very regularly have a depth of quality I feel that they should be used with caution. At lower levels ie. UK university, or B-tour its probably more sensible to be flexible, calling lines in response to the situation at hand. Trying to force people onto O & D lines may end up keeping valuable players off the field when you need them most. Saying that I think flexibility within a squad can provide a great advantage at all levels; lines should never be set in stone.
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