Happy holidays!

It would be way too easy to blame my lack-of-updates on the holidays, but between Christmas shopping, Christmas wrapping and Christmas planning (and of course, a few ultimate games), well... 

So this is just to say Merry Christmas to all, and to all a great 2009!

(and hopefully, by then, the &^%$#@ buses will be back on the road... sigh...)

Pre-game rituals

(...) To get us going right away this week, we'll meet together as soon as we get the field and run a quick team warm-up, followed by the Seattle drill. We're playing a tough team this week; for the sake of your teammates, figure out what YOU need to do to get ready to play. 

–  email from my IAD captain, prior to last week's game.

Reading it got me thinking  – what exactly do I do to get ready for a game? The following applies to IAD, but it's pretty much the same routine for Friday games.

2 days prior to game time

Start thinking about the game. Look up opponents in LeagueRunner, to get a feel of how we might match up, how the game will/could go. Size up my personal match-ups, think of how to best cover/defend or play offense against those particular players.

1 day prior to game time

Take it easy. Good solid dinner, rest, review team plays and specific instructions from captain regarding the upcoming game.

Game day

Somehow, i'll start getting those telltale pre-game butterflies at some point in the morning!

At home between work and game (when possible)

Eat a proven pre-game meal, chill, review team plays one more time. Pack field bag (cleats, knee brace, Nalgene, shorts, socks, black jersey, white jersey, wristband, athletic tape, gloves, cap – not necessarily in that order. This might be surprising, but no, i don't usually take a disc to games. 55 brings the cones on Fridays.) 

Walk to Dome

Ah, now the game's truly near (unless i'm leaving early to go watch 25 play). Ideally, i leave 40 minutes before game time (this allows for the 15 min walk to the Dome, a few minutes of social time, getting cleated up), with tunes on! iPod tuned to preselected upbeat "pump up" tracks. Current favorites: Lil' Wayne's "Let it rock" and Pink's "It's all your fault". Yes, i am guilty of sometimes breaking into dance while waiting for the light to change at an intersection!

At the Dome

Cleat up, warm up. Run a lap or two to more music. Last year's best track for that was Dizzy DJs smashing remix of "Amazed", as the beat matched my running stride really well. I haven't found a '08-09' track yet. 

And the game starts... time for full focus. Nothing else matters at this point in time than that little piece of white plastic we all want :) On a side note, last week, i had Hillsong's "Let creation sing" stuck in my head all game - and repeating the chorus in my mind while getting on the field helped empty my mind and fully focus on the game (as i find that song quite uplifting). Weird?

Post game

Stretch. Slag. Review the good and bad. Home. Shower. Bed. Zzzzzzz.... and can't wait to do it all over again.

Callahan baby!

In ultimate, a Callahan is an intercepted pass in the endzone your team is attacking. When we get one, it makes your team cheer and jump for joy, and the opponents throw their hats to the ground in frustration.

Let me start with the best part of the game... the title point, the Callahan. It was my first point on of the game, i'm marking the dump. The other team's main handler (incidentally, one of the best guys in the league) is on the endzone line, near the sideline. I position between the dump and the handler, in the usual way that allows me to keep an eye on both. Stall 4. The handler looks for the dump, who's not moving. Stall 5. One last look upfield. Stall 6. Back to the dump. At this point, my full focus is on the handler, but i can still see the white of my opponent out of the corner of my eye. Stall 7. Disc goes up – and yoink, straight into my raised left hand. I hold it there for a split second as the sideline (well, my team anyway!) erupts in cheer, then i spike it, do a little dance. Damn, that felt good. 

On my next point on, i stumbled what should have been a layout D and ended up with severe turf burn. Hmmm. Need to push more and not hesitate.  

So, my third IAD game was different from the first two on a few levels - first, i covered the same girl from the entire game. Weird... but true.  I didn't do too shabby, she didn't get the disc much, and when it did get to her she first looked for dumps (which is good for me). Second, i didn't handle as much; i was usually setting up as the offside handler, and the play would go the other way. But every time i did get the disc, I caught it and every pass i made was completed :)

Towards the end of the game, i did finally take my own "push more" advice and laid out for a D that would have been a point. We then scored right off that turnover! That was the first of 4 points in a row to complete our crazy comeback and tie, with one point left in the game. I wasn't on for that one, but i cheered like crazy when we first got the D, then scored and WON!! It was so amazing, everyone worked so hard and it was the cherry on the sundae to win after trading points/being behind for most of the game. Yeah ShamWow!

***

The rest of the week

I didn't play on Friday night as 25 and I took it easy and went to a show instead. Of course, we rejoined the Friday crowd at the A&L afterwards! It was a truly crazy night, marked by Petunia's quotable quotes, the best of which shall not be repeated this time - it was a bit rude! On Saturday, 25, 55, GoGo Diva and myself attended two separate parties thrown by some ultimate peers. Lots of fun :D And Sunday... well, i caught up on sleep. Mmmm, sleep. Reminds me, i could really go for a nap, i just need a couch now........