Ultimate
Though I posted one pre-Series piece already, I feel like posting another about ultimate's playoffs. Maybe this will add some more emotional context and energy to this part of the year.
I'm feeling nervous right now about the series... the kind of nerves I remember feeling headed into the series with gdub my senior year.1
Going into Sectionals '05, we had not played Hopkins or Delaware in a while; and we had lost to Maryland at Easterns. I was new to the captaining thing, after having strong leaders and guys I trusted at the helm every previous year.
Now with Monster, I'm playing in a new region for the first time. And I'm playing a role that's different from what I've played before for an elite team.
The team has had its ups and downs:
I just hope we can get past our simple mistakes, anger and frustration; with the added intensity of the series, I feel like we could go way up. But the possibility of the opposite scares me.
Note: the USC Ghettobirds, the team I coach, are also going to Sectionals... I won't spend any time with them while at Sectionals cause I'll be with Monster, of course. I think its good for the team to go, but some guys on the squad have had reservations. We'll see.
1 - gmail chat with evanleer, 9/14/07
Going into Sectionals '05, we had not played Hopkins or Delaware in a while; and we had lost to Maryland at Easterns. I was new to the captaining thing, after having strong leaders and guys I trusted at the helm every previous year.
Now with Monster, I'm playing in a new region for the first time. And I'm playing a role that's different from what I've played before for an elite team.
The team has had its ups and downs:
- Up: beating Condors at Davis
- Up: making Finals at Chico
- Down: losing to Condors at Cal States
- Down: losing five of six at Labor Day
- Down: wednesday night scrimmage this week (although d-line didn't consider it a down)
- Up: history of synergizing in the Fall Series
I just hope we can get past our simple mistakes, anger and frustration; with the added intensity of the series, I feel like we could go way up. But the possibility of the opposite scares me.
Note: the USC Ghettobirds, the team I coach, are also going to Sectionals... I won't spend any time with them while at Sectionals cause I'll be with Monster, of course. I think its good for the team to go, but some guys on the squad have had reservations. We'll see.
1 - gmail chat with evanleer, 9/14/07
5 comments:
How does your social justice/pc side deal with the fact that the team you coach, which is probably predominantly white and upper middle class, is called the "ghettobirds"?
how do i deal with it?
Part of our experience in south LA is tens of helicopters flying around our neighborhood at all hours of the night. the first 'ghettobird' i knew of was the loud ass police 'copter going down broadway and figueroa. team members point at the thing and yell Ghetto! its a bonding thing.yeah. i'm coaching a team at a school known as the University of Spoiled Children.
and USC students that i've talked to have lots of trouble hearing and coping with the reality of economic and ethnic diversity in LA. keep in mind, though, that USC isn't in Westwood like UCLA. USC is in a less well-off part of the city; and the ultimate team has their humor about it... like the SUNY Shiites discussion: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.disc/tree/browse_frm/thread/b57135d03923752c/7397b9bad4da58a0?rnum=21&q=suny&_done=%2Fgroup%2Frec.sport.disc%2Fbrowse_frm%2Fthread%2Fb57135d03923752c%3Ftvc%3D1%26q%3Dsuny%26#doc_d345aa91dc8766d1
how do i deal with it?
as a coach, i've never done all the cheers that the team does. i let them develop the real pride/accountability in the team (and team name) and i try to stick to on-field things.
also, even though the dress code for work is informal to the max, i don't wear the Ghettobird jersey to work so that i don't have to answer this question. i guess that's one way of covering up some non-pc parts of my life.
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.disc/browse_thread/thread/b57135d03923752c/c33779dacf1d3915?lnk=gst&q=suny&rnum=1#c33779dacf1d3915
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.disc/
browse_thread/thread/b57135d03923752c/
c33779dacf1d3915?lnk=gst&q=suny&rnum=1#c33779dacf1d3915
that's an amazing team name...what does the jersey look like?
good luck this weekend. cali can't hold you down son
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