Under 23s has wrapped up in Florence, Italy. It was a very successful tournament for the women's team, the Stingrays, who won the whole thing and are now Under 23 World Champions. Grouse! Apparently they bested Japan in the final in a game that went down to 15-all, universe point. Canberra's very own Misch Phillips pulled down the final goal to give the Australians victory. Nice work ladies.
The lads had a disappointing loss in their quarter final but showed their class to win all their remaining games and come in fifth. It's tough to keep fighting in the 5-8 bracket and it's a credit to the team that they stayed focused and won their games, including a win over Great Britain that would have been pretty sweet. All the twitter updates indicate that Andrew "AJ" Jackson was a real weapon for the Goannas on offense which, given his performance on Canberran teams, is no suprise.
So there you have it. The Stingrays are Under 23 World Champions.
Stay tuned for the next exciting installment of international ultimate. In a week or so the Under 19s World Championships start in Heilbronn, Germany. The ACT is represented in the Open Division by Ben Matthews-Hunter, of the local Matthews-Hunter frisbee dynasty. It's really exciting to have an up-and-coming defensive handler in the squad and we're all keen to see how the Aussie teams go. Hopefully I'll be a bit more organised about getting updates out too. Except if you've read this blog in any detail you'll know that such promises are usually followed by months of silence. At least this time I'm being honest with you. When I talk about long silences. Anyway, I'll try.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Under 23s
The first two days of games are over for the two under 23s teams. In the open division the Goannas have had 2 wins and 1 loss. The beat Italy first up 17-3, then lost to Canada 14-12, then beat Sweden 17-8. Apparently local heartthrob AJ caught a Callahan goal in the last game. (I'm not sure what the rules are in league at the moment, but in international tournaments if a player catches the frisbee in their scoring endzone that's a goal, even if they were on defense. A Callahan is just such a goal, where you're playing D all the way down in your opponent's endzone and manage to catch an intercept. It's considered a pretty awesome thing to do.)
As for the women's divison, the Stingrays won their first two games 17-0 against Germany and Ireland, which is a great way to start the tourney. In their last game they went down 17-15 to Japan.
Simon Talbot who runs the www.forcesideline.com website is putting blow by blow accounts up on Twitter. Check out his website for details.
As for the women's divison, the Stingrays won their first two games 17-0 against Germany and Ireland, which is a great way to start the tourney. In their last game they went down 17-15 to Japan.
Simon Talbot who runs the www.forcesideline.com website is putting blow by blow accounts up on Twitter. Check out his website for details.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Under 23s starts today
In the latest installment of international frisbee, the Under 23 World Championships starts today in Florence, Italy. Canberra is represented in the Open division by Andrew "AJ" Jackson. We're also sort-of represented in the Women's division by pseudo-local Michelle "Misch" Phillips.
Good luck to AJ and Misch and the rest of their teams at Under 23s. I'll post some scores up once they come in or you can keep an eye on the scores website: http://scores.wucc2010.com/?view=teams
Good luck to AJ and Misch and the rest of their teams at Under 23s. I'll post some scores up once they come in or you can keep an eye on the scores website: http://scores.wucc2010.com/?view=teams
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Final day wrap-up
OK, I've missed a few days and left you all hanging. Sorry, I've been a bit distracted. Here's the update for the last day's play.
On Friday morning Kaboom squared off against the original first seed Axis of C'vill from the states. We'd been chafing to play some Americans for a while and this game was our big chance. I'm not actually sure what happened unfortunately because I had to go to hospital to get my knee checked out. Mica came too to translate so the team was down 2 handlers. Apparently we were scrappy in the first half and went down 9-3 before stepping up in the second half and bringing the score back to 17-13 or something like that. Again, we got a bunch of the disc and our offense needed to convert. The team did well to stay motivated and fight hard after the dissapointment of the day before.
In the afternoon Mica and I rejoined the team for our final game for the 11th/12th playoff. We played Canada's Chaos again and it was clear from the start that we wanted the game more. We were willing to tough it out and be patient to score, we played for each other on O and D and within no time we were pummeling the hapless Canucks. They lacked the heart to run with us and we're willing to play for each other so late in the tournament. It was awesome to see Kaboom still working for each other and playing as a team in the last game and it was a performance we were all proud of. We shortened the game to a 15 point cap and won something like 15-9.
With a final record of 9 wins and 2 losses we had a bunch of good results. It's a shame that our record only took us as far as 11th but we played as a team and showed we were totally capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world. Pie Wagon and Smurf made it through to the quarters then played off for 5th and 6th (Newwie got up) so it was a really strong performance from the Australian teams in general.
As for the knee, I've torn my ACL and there's some bone or cartelidge floating around in the joint. I'm working with my insurance company to come back to Canberra to get surgery so I can on with my rehab and get back to business soon.
I want to say a huge thanks to Kaboom for all their work over the last 2 years. It's been a huge effort from everyone involved and I hope we built a club they're all proud of. It's been a real priveledge to coach and work with everyone and we've all improved heaps through the process. Good luck with the rest of your travels and I'll see most of you back in Canberra soon.
And if you ever wanted to know what the inside of a badly swollen knee looks like, just go to a Czech hospital. It looks like this:
On Friday morning Kaboom squared off against the original first seed Axis of C'vill from the states. We'd been chafing to play some Americans for a while and this game was our big chance. I'm not actually sure what happened unfortunately because I had to go to hospital to get my knee checked out. Mica came too to translate so the team was down 2 handlers. Apparently we were scrappy in the first half and went down 9-3 before stepping up in the second half and bringing the score back to 17-13 or something like that. Again, we got a bunch of the disc and our offense needed to convert. The team did well to stay motivated and fight hard after the dissapointment of the day before.
In the afternoon Mica and I rejoined the team for our final game for the 11th/12th playoff. We played Canada's Chaos again and it was clear from the start that we wanted the game more. We were willing to tough it out and be patient to score, we played for each other on O and D and within no time we were pummeling the hapless Canucks. They lacked the heart to run with us and we're willing to play for each other so late in the tournament. It was awesome to see Kaboom still working for each other and playing as a team in the last game and it was a performance we were all proud of. We shortened the game to a 15 point cap and won something like 15-9.
With a final record of 9 wins and 2 losses we had a bunch of good results. It's a shame that our record only took us as far as 11th but we played as a team and showed we were totally capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world. Pie Wagon and Smurf made it through to the quarters then played off for 5th and 6th (Newwie got up) so it was a really strong performance from the Australian teams in general.
As for the knee, I've torn my ACL and there's some bone or cartelidge floating around in the joint. I'm working with my insurance company to come back to Canberra to get surgery so I can on with my rehab and get back to business soon.
I want to say a huge thanks to Kaboom for all their work over the last 2 years. It's been a huge effort from everyone involved and I hope we built a club they're all proud of. It's been a real priveledge to coach and work with everyone and we've all improved heaps through the process. Good luck with the rest of your travels and I'll see most of you back in Canberra soon.
And if you ever wanted to know what the inside of a badly swollen knee looks like, just go to a Czech hospital. It looks like this:
Friday, July 9, 2010
What a day!
OK let's start at the beginning: Pre-quarter against Upsadaisy from Austria. Kaboom are nervous before the game and it shows- a quiet warm-up and dramatically reduced shenanigans in the corridors of the palatial Hotel Slavia.
Early in the game, Kaboom struggle with Upsadaisy's long game. They huck to contests over and over and come down with a lot of the disc. We try a few different defenses before finally getting some purchase in match force backhand. By this stage we're down a couple of breaks. Our offense is nervous - our handlers are squirreling around and we're throwing to some bad options. When we do patiently work the disc in it's clear that Upsadaisy have no answer to patience and quick movement but their skill in the air sees them win just about all the contested discs. Despite time-outs, a stupid team pointing and dancing game and a bunch of solid points Kaboom can't settle and we're not converting our offenses. By now we're regularly winningthte disc on D. We've got them pinned down in a backhand force and we're winning back our breaks but without reliable offense we can't quite close the gap.
Time cap goes and we score to make it 12-10 game to 14. They call a time-out and we're feeling good-we've won from here before. This proves not to be our day as Upsadaisy score their O and we trade out the last points to lose 14-11. We're prety gutted at missing out on the quarter finals but we're resolved to keep playing hard.
The next game sees us face off against Jeremy Codhand from the UK. Before the game we bring it in during a slightly unconvincing warm-up. We decide that we want to be proud of this game, our intensity lifts and we take the field. Codhand get up a break early against stome scrappy offense from Kaboom. A few points later, Kaboom are about to score when a defener lays out, gets a great block and lands on John's left knee. He goes down screaming and is out for the game.
In John's absence Kaboom lift and by the time he's got ice on his knee and collected his wits the team is pulling ahead. They continue to trade and break throughout the end of the first half and through the second. Our offense is patient and calm again and Ian, Asher, Mica Riss and Jes are holding our structure together. Codhand also find that they can't stop our quick movement and sensible option taking and we pull away to win something like 17-11.
Tomorrow we play 2 games, with the goal of finishing 9th. We're looking forward to some solid games against great opposition, starting with American team Axis of C'Ville, who were in fact the #1 seed and undefeated until they also suffered a loss in their pre-quarter game.
And now, to bed.
OK let's start at the beginning: Pre-quarter against Upsadaisy from Austria. Kaboom are nervous before the game and it shows- a quiet warm-up and dramatically reduced shenanigans in the corridors of the palatial Hotel Slavia.
Early in the game, Kaboom struggle with Upsadaisy's long game. They huck to contests over and over and come down with a lot of the disc. We try a few different defenses before finally getting some purchase in match force backhand. By this stage we're down a couple of breaks. Our offense is nervous - our handlers are squirreling around and we're throwing to some bad options. When we do patiently work the disc in it's clear that Upsadaisy have no answer to patience and quick movement but their skill in the air sees them win just about all the contested discs. Despite time-outs, a stupid team pointing and dancing game and a bunch of solid points Kaboom can't settle and we're not converting our offenses. By now we're regularly winningthte disc on D. We've got them pinned down in a backhand force and we're winning back our breaks but without reliable offense we can't quite close the gap.
Time cap goes and we score to make it 12-10 game to 14. They call a time-out and we're feeling good-we've won from here before. This proves not to be our day as Upsadaisy score their O and we trade out the last points to lose 14-11. We're prety gutted at missing out on the quarter finals but we're resolved to keep playing hard.
The next game sees us face off against Jeremy Codhand from the UK. Before the game we bring it in during a slightly unconvincing warm-up. We decide that we want to be proud of this game, our intensity lifts and we take the field. Codhand get up a break early against stome scrappy offense from Kaboom. A few points later, Kaboom are about to score when a defener lays out, gets a great block and lands on John's left knee. He goes down screaming and is out for the game.
In John's absence Kaboom lift and by the time he's got ice on his knee and collected his wits the team is pulling ahead. They continue to trade and break throughout the end of the first half and through the second. Our offense is patient and calm again and Ian, Asher, Mica Riss and Jes are holding our structure together. Codhand also find that they can't stop our quick movement and sensible option taking and we pull away to win something like 17-11.
Tomorrow we play 2 games, with the goal of finishing 9th. We're looking forward to some solid games against great opposition, starting with American team Axis of C'Ville, who were in fact the #1 seed and undefeated until they also suffered a loss in their pre-quarter game.
And now, to bed.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
We win more games
Just a quck post because I'm very tired and I want to put some high numbers into our personal wellbeing scoring tomorrow morning, which means a good night's sleep and low fatigue.
Today we played Frizzly Bears who despite their terrible team name were pretty decent at ultimate. Because of the rain yesterday the game formats changed a bit and we won 15-9 in a fairly convincing display. They had one handler who was very difficult to stop so we just stopped everybody else and threw enough different defensive looks at them to keep them off their game.
We also had the number 1 Canadian seed Chaos. They got a break right at the start but we settled in to go up a couple of breaks before half. Time cap went and they scored to make it 10-9 game to 12 (with us leading). We scored, they scored twice and we scored another universe point goal to win and take the notional fourth seed run into the elimination rounds. We played well and they made a bunch of terrible calls so it was really satisfying to beat them. We're now the highest seeded team not from the USA and if all goes well in the next few games we'll improve on that. We've got a round of 16 game against Upsadaisy from Austria tomorrow at 10:45 which should be a corker.
I'll get some more detail up on how we're travelling tomorrow some time.
Today we played Frizzly Bears who despite their terrible team name were pretty decent at ultimate. Because of the rain yesterday the game formats changed a bit and we won 15-9 in a fairly convincing display. They had one handler who was very difficult to stop so we just stopped everybody else and threw enough different defensive looks at them to keep them off their game.
We also had the number 1 Canadian seed Chaos. They got a break right at the start but we settled in to go up a couple of breaks before half. Time cap went and they scored to make it 10-9 game to 12 (with us leading). We scored, they scored twice and we scored another universe point goal to win and take the notional fourth seed run into the elimination rounds. We played well and they made a bunch of terrible calls so it was really satisfying to beat them. We're now the highest seeded team not from the USA and if all goes well in the next few games we'll improve on that. We've got a round of 16 game against Upsadaisy from Austria tomorrow at 10:45 which should be a corker.
I'll get some more detail up on how we're travelling tomorrow some time.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
WUCC Day 3
Just one game today. We played Columbia's Team 2600 at 8:30. It was another close affair with 2600 really suprising us with their intensity and physicality on D. We got up a couple early on and managed to hold a break or two for most of the game with 2600 breathing down our necks. Their poachy D really rattled our offense and a bit of extra wind took the edge off our execution. Eventually we scored after time cap to make it 14-11 game to 16. Some poor option taking and a few mix-ups in our deep defense saw Columbia creep ever closer until eventually they tied it up at 15 all. They pulled to us and we hucked it away only to get the disc back near their endzone and score. We win. Yay!! It was a little disappointing to see our offense lose shape and our decision making go off the boil but it's a pretty nice luxury to be able to be disappointed about a win so I suppose it's not so bad. Everyone's ready to lift tomorrow and get back to business with the disc in our hands.
Tomorrow we play Frizzly Bears who seem to be something of a mystery. They regularly lose to Sugar Mix but game teams like Pie Wagon much more trouble than the Stuttgarters during their pre-tour. Apparently they run heaps of offense through one very dynamic handler, so hopefully we have the antidote to that.
After that we've got Chaos, the number one Canadian seed and fourth seed overall. They seem very aggressive deep and are happy to give the disc up and try to win it back on D. If our offense fires again it's a great opportunity to take our first North American scalp. We'll have scalped a team from all the continents represented at WUCC if that happens.
Both games have been shortened to 80 minutes to squeeze more games into tomorrow's schedule. We had a little bit more rain today and lots of the fields got closed so the tournament organisers are keen to fit the cancelled games in tomorrow. Games are to 15 rather than 17. We're over at Strahov tomorrow as well, so we'll be playing on great pitches in crazy old crumbling soviet stadiums. It should be a great spot for some hard running ulty.
As it is we're five wins from five games and we're basically guaranteed a round-of-16 spot and a top 16 finish. More wins tomorrow will give us a slightly easier path through the finals.
I've also added honorary Canberran Misch Phillips to this blog for the duration of the tournament so she can tell you about some of the events happening off field. Stay tuned for the tragic tale of "Big Tom and the Sink" and the tale the whole family will love, "60 Euros each for Team Monkeys".
Pokrok Kaboom
Tomorrow we play Frizzly Bears who seem to be something of a mystery. They regularly lose to Sugar Mix but game teams like Pie Wagon much more trouble than the Stuttgarters during their pre-tour. Apparently they run heaps of offense through one very dynamic handler, so hopefully we have the antidote to that.
After that we've got Chaos, the number one Canadian seed and fourth seed overall. They seem very aggressive deep and are happy to give the disc up and try to win it back on D. If our offense fires again it's a great opportunity to take our first North American scalp. We'll have scalped a team from all the continents represented at WUCC if that happens.
Both games have been shortened to 80 minutes to squeeze more games into tomorrow's schedule. We had a little bit more rain today and lots of the fields got closed so the tournament organisers are keen to fit the cancelled games in tomorrow. Games are to 15 rather than 17. We're over at Strahov tomorrow as well, so we'll be playing on great pitches in crazy old crumbling soviet stadiums. It should be a great spot for some hard running ulty.
As it is we're five wins from five games and we're basically guaranteed a round-of-16 spot and a top 16 finish. More wins tomorrow will give us a slightly easier path through the finals.
I've also added honorary Canberran Misch Phillips to this blog for the duration of the tournament so she can tell you about some of the events happening off field. Stay tuned for the tragic tale of "Big Tom and the Sink" and the tale the whole family will love, "60 Euros each for Team Monkeys".
Pokrok Kaboom
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Photos?
Have a look at Pete's blog:
http://www.gdayeh.com/wpg2?g2_itemId=2610
There are a few pics from day 2. Notable mentions: Page 7, bottom row, second from the left - Misch skying Tinsel. Page 9, middle photo - Tom's "Rank it!" goal.
Have I mentioned that more scores have come up? Have a look at Max's 6 assist streak.
http://scores.wucc2010.com/?view=gameplay&Game=1477
We're in Pool M now, with Chaos (Canada #1), Frizzly Bears (Germany #2) and Team 2600 (Columbia #1) to play. Tomorrow is one game at 8:30am against Team 2600.
http://www.gdayeh.com/wpg2?g2_
There are a few pics from day 2. Notable mentions: Page 7, bottom row, second from the left - Misch skying Tinsel. Page 9, middle photo - Tom's "Rank it!" goal.
Have I mentioned that more scores have come up? Have a look at Max's 6 assist streak.
http://scores.wucc2010.com/?view=gameplay&Game=1477
We're in Pool M now, with Chaos (Canada #1), Frizzly Bears (Germany #2) and Team 2600 (Columbia #1) to play. Tomorrow is one game at 8:30am against Team 2600.
Kaboom play offense. Good offense.
Yes faithful readers it was only a matter of time until Kaboom stepped up their offensive completion rate. We all knew that some unlucky team was going to come up against us in that fateful game where we just didn't give the disc back and that hearts were going to be broken. Well today our friends from Sugar Mix who so kindly hosted us in Stuttgart were subject to a Kaboom offense that was precise, patient and in control. The result? We beat the second seed in our pool 17-9, which is a more punishing scoreline than for our game against the fourth seed, Ah Ouh Puc.
Before our game against Belgium's XLR8Rs this morning we set the task of controlling our structure and improving our option taking. After a warm-up that was distrupted by lightning passing over we took some crucial steps in the right direction with our handlers staying in position and holding our play together. We closed the game out a comfortable 17-6.
As we warmed down we caught the last few minutes of Sugar Mix against Squal. Sugar Mix were up 13-11 after time-cap, making it game to 15. We initially cheered for Sugar Mix (since they billeted us) but the terrible spirit of one of their players (#10, whom we later nicknamed "Tinsel") soon had us supporting Squal, who had been spirited and fair all the way through our epic universe point win against them the day before. A bunch of dubious calls and fouls helped Sugar Mix edge the Japanese out in their second universe point loss, which is crazy because literally EVERYONE else on Sugar Mix seems lovely. By the time we came to play them we were out for justice.
First point - statement of intent: We pull, chase hard, earn the disc in midfield and punch in a quick goal. We pull again, they huck to a contest and score. They pull and play zone - it took them to victory against Squal. We crush it. There's too much space in the middle for our active handlers and poppers. We pull again, they score on another contested huck. We score another clean offense. Mica gets a run-through block on Tinsel (#10) who's already given us the disc and we score. Adam gets a great block on a swing pass and we break again to go 5-2 up. We trade and they break back once to get to 8-6 before we break them again and take half 9-6. Their offense is clearly rattled. They're playing a bunch of iso-ish offense with their big male targets in the middle of the field. They're struggling to hit those targets and when they do our women have their downfield receivers covered. The pressure is clearly showing with a bunch of execution errors and bad options from Sugar Mix. We on the other hand are clinical. We've had maybe 3 turnovers in the first half and two of those are in the same point. They can't cover our cutters or stop our disc movement in match and their zone is too spread out.
In the second half our investment in team defense and clinical offense pays off. We're on O after half and we score, then break again. Some trading takes us to 14-8. They don't have a lot of answers and are struggling with consistent pressure. The score on of their offense points after our D line gives up the disc against their zone several times and we take the score to 16-9. We rest our guns and come down in match with a forehand force. They work the disc up the forced sideline before spraying a shot out of the field and we come up on O. The disc moves to the middle of the field, Erin Wallis makes a great break side cut which draws Tom Walcott's player. With his player running towards the break side and the thrower Tom goes where an unmarked 6 foot 7 receiver goes naturally: Deep. His cry of "Rank it" makes James Ley on the sideline smile and John hucks it deep for a goal reminiscent of a different team and a different time. That said, he does have the presence of mind to make it a footrace between Big Tom and the unfortunate girl who switched onto him so he's still allowed to be a techincal handler. Tom scores, we go nuts again and everybody's happy that Kaboom's offense has finally turned up in Prague. Except Tinsel, who's proven he's all about decoration.
The other day Max and Hebs were an a queue behind some of the players from Mental Floss Tycoons. With a surfeit of international experience and a bunch of world titles under their belts the Tossers just had a nasty scare coming from behind against Pie Wagon to win 17-15. With Max and Hebs flying under the "all the good players are North American" radar they were privvy to the candid fears of some of the greats of the mixed division. "If those guys [Pie Wagon] were the third Australian team, we'd hate to play the first Australian team." It's nice to see that Australian teams don't always have to match up against North American teams as the intimidated little guys. Thanks Pie Wagon.
In other exciting news, Adelaide mixed team Smurf knocked off ONYX, the Canadian third seed, to top their pool. Congrats to Smurf for taking the first North America scalp for the Aussies in the mixed division. Let's hope it's the first of many.
Keep sending through your good wishes, it's awesome to know the home fires are still burning.
Before our game against Belgium's XLR8Rs this morning we set the task of controlling our structure and improving our option taking. After a warm-up that was distrupted by lightning passing over we took some crucial steps in the right direction with our handlers staying in position and holding our play together. We closed the game out a comfortable 17-6.
As we warmed down we caught the last few minutes of Sugar Mix against Squal. Sugar Mix were up 13-11 after time-cap, making it game to 15. We initially cheered for Sugar Mix (since they billeted us) but the terrible spirit of one of their players (#10, whom we later nicknamed "Tinsel") soon had us supporting Squal, who had been spirited and fair all the way through our epic universe point win against them the day before. A bunch of dubious calls and fouls helped Sugar Mix edge the Japanese out in their second universe point loss, which is crazy because literally EVERYONE else on Sugar Mix seems lovely. By the time we came to play them we were out for justice.
First point - statement of intent: We pull, chase hard, earn the disc in midfield and punch in a quick goal. We pull again, they huck to a contest and score. They pull and play zone - it took them to victory against Squal. We crush it. There's too much space in the middle for our active handlers and poppers. We pull again, they score on another contested huck. We score another clean offense. Mica gets a run-through block on Tinsel (#10) who's already given us the disc and we score. Adam gets a great block on a swing pass and we break again to go 5-2 up. We trade and they break back once to get to 8-6 before we break them again and take half 9-6. Their offense is clearly rattled. They're playing a bunch of iso-ish offense with their big male targets in the middle of the field. They're struggling to hit those targets and when they do our women have their downfield receivers covered. The pressure is clearly showing with a bunch of execution errors and bad options from Sugar Mix. We on the other hand are clinical. We've had maybe 3 turnovers in the first half and two of those are in the same point. They can't cover our cutters or stop our disc movement in match and their zone is too spread out.
In the second half our investment in team defense and clinical offense pays off. We're on O after half and we score, then break again. Some trading takes us to 14-8. They don't have a lot of answers and are struggling with consistent pressure. The score on of their offense points after our D line gives up the disc against their zone several times and we take the score to 16-9. We rest our guns and come down in match with a forehand force. They work the disc up the forced sideline before spraying a shot out of the field and we come up on O. The disc moves to the middle of the field, Erin Wallis makes a great break side cut which draws Tom Walcott's player. With his player running towards the break side and the thrower Tom goes where an unmarked 6 foot 7 receiver goes naturally: Deep. His cry of "Rank it" makes James Ley on the sideline smile and John hucks it deep for a goal reminiscent of a different team and a different time. That said, he does have the presence of mind to make it a footrace between Big Tom and the unfortunate girl who switched onto him so he's still allowed to be a techincal handler. Tom scores, we go nuts again and everybody's happy that Kaboom's offense has finally turned up in Prague. Except Tinsel, who's proven he's all about decoration.
The other day Max and Hebs were an a queue behind some of the players from Mental Floss Tycoons. With a surfeit of international experience and a bunch of world titles under their belts the Tossers just had a nasty scare coming from behind against Pie Wagon to win 17-15. With Max and Hebs flying under the "all the good players are North American" radar they were privvy to the candid fears of some of the greats of the mixed division. "If those guys [Pie Wagon] were the third Australian team, we'd hate to play the first Australian team." It's nice to see that Australian teams don't always have to match up against North American teams as the intimidated little guys. Thanks Pie Wagon.
In other exciting news, Adelaide mixed team Smurf knocked off ONYX, the Canadian third seed, to top their pool. Congrats to Smurf for taking the first North America scalp for the Aussies in the mixed division. Let's hope it's the first of many.
Keep sending through your good wishes, it's awesome to know the home fires are still burning.
Monday, July 5, 2010
WUCC day 1
This morning at 8:30 Kaboom finally took to the field at the World Ultimate Club Championships in Prague. Day 1 proved to be something of an epic for us as we fight for the top spot in our pool. Placing first in our initial pool of 5 teams gives us a great position in the next phase of the tournament and close to guarantees a spot in the round of 16 later in the week. At 8:30 we faced off against Ah Ouh Puc, a French team captained by two Canberrans who have been based in Paris for the last few years (and recently returned to the bright lights and clean air of the Australian capitol) and also starring one-time Canberran Cyril Cayla. Kaboom rested some of their top players and started slow, with Ah Ouh Puc taking the first two points. Kaboom fired up to trade to 3-1 down before going on a 5 point run. The French scored twice to keep it close but Kaboom responded with three more goals before half and two after to go to 11-5. Ah Ouh Puc scored a few here and there and Kaboom ran out winners at 17-10. As usual, Kaboom led the way with stifling defense and clinical execution around the disc. In a hilarious typographic error, Kaboom technical handler John Horan was attributed 6 assists for the game. In an equally baffling result, Gareth Beyers scored once and assisted once without ever stepping onto the field.
No doubt you're all wondering where the epic bit comes in. Sure, a 17-10 win from a scratchy start is OK, but where's the glory we've come to associate with Canberra teams? Well, dear reader, let me tell you about game 2.
12:30. Kaboom vs. Squal, Japanese second seeds. We're missing Gareth, Myall and Riss.
Kaboom seems to be struggling with the heat and look flat in their warm-up. It shows on the field with Kaboom giving up 3 soft turnovers to go down 4-0 to Squal who haven't made a turnover. Simple execution errors and over-generous defensive cushioning cause some of the Kaboom cheer squad to give up on their heroes in the bright yellow shirts.
WRONG. Kaboom finally score on offense with a paradigm shifting Heather Tolley layout goal and we come out in zone to stop the precise Japanese deep game. Two quick defensive breaks see Kaboom draw close at 4-3 down. The cheer squad rethink their early despondancy. Squal and Kaboom trade, first 1 each, then 2 each to bring the score to 7-6 Squal. The wierd half-time cap rule means half is at 8. Kaboom are losing control of their defense in zone and have gone back to trusty match, this time forcing forehand.
Squal take half 8-6 and Kaboom hit back straight after to make it 8-7. Our defense is stifling now, we're jamming up the open side on offense and winning the contests deep. Tom Watson comes down with a bunch of the disc on D, Heather Tolley makes her player look slow, Laina has stepped up her physicality and stopped her defender from shoving her. Defensively we're in control, but our offense still needs to score.
They score again and we score and break to level up the game at 10-10. Squal have been playing 4 women on offense all game but our women are beating theirs on D and getting free on O. They score and break to go to 12-10. We trade and time-cap goes and they score to make it 13-11, game to 15. By now we're getting heaps of the disc. Offense is still sketchy though - unfamiliar D, heat and fatigue are sending a bunch of shots stray and people are anxious to score in a hurry. We stack our D line, win the disc and punch in a goal. Matt Dowle is a nightmare for the Japanese, pulling out some trademark Dowle Family Magic to get a bunch of blocks on the increasingly pressured Japanese long game. We grind out another goal to level things at 13 all. Squall settle and work in an impressively clinical offense to edge closer to victory, 14-13. Kaboom send out another strong line, win the disc and score. It's universe point, 14 all, we're on D. Matt lands a great pull in the corner of the field. Japan swing and huck it deep. They make a tough catch just outside the endzone and throw a certain goal that Laina Hall snaffles with a great block in a very compact piece of defense. We go nuts. Matt informs us all that the huck was a travel, the disc goes back. We stop going nuts. Great pressure around the disc leads to another turn in a stronger position as the Japanese throw a dodgy hammer to a wrong-footed receiver. He falls down, Max gets it and the poor Japanese guy has to leave the field with cramps. Misch Phillips runs deep and the huck goes up but it's too floaty and Misch is soon surrounded with defenders. Something bad (but not majorly bad) happens and she leaves the field with another injury sub. Erin Wallis comes on to keep up our running on D. Again, we grind it out against the Japanese horizontal stack. Our women are dominant in the back field and our one boy in the cutting lanes is working to help cover on deeps and still bid on the unders. The sideline is going nuts again. Again we win the D. The disc swings to Adam who launches a huge hammer to Matt but it's out of bounds and Matt can't keep it infield. Back to D. Again, huge pressure pays off when a throw to one of the Japanese women is overcooked and she drops it. Our third offense is gritty and patient - there's heaps of traffic around the cutters and the handlers continue to recycle and swing. Moving the disc laterally is easy but cuts upfield are hard. Finally, we swing across the endzone to Matt who hits Max running to the forehand front corner. Max catches the final goal and we go really really nuts. Tom and Adam make out on the field (seriously) and we win 15-14 in 125 minutes. Many of us have lost 1.5 to 2 kilos of fluid in the second game and all of us are pumped about a big win and awesome fight back. We've never been behind like that before so it's exciting to know we can punch in goals when it counts. That Kaboom defense just keeps winning the disc.
Tomorrow we play XLR8Rs and Sugar Mix. Check out http://scores.wucc2010.com to stay abreast of developments (I don't think they're live, but then that's probably a good thing because if they were Pete Hemphill would be up all night keeping the baby awake). Spirits are high in the Kaboom camp and we're looking forward to more tough games tomorrow. Once our offense synchs up we're going to be criminally good.
P.S. If you do see Pete Hemphill, say something nice. Poor guy.
No doubt you're all wondering where the epic bit comes in. Sure, a 17-10 win from a scratchy start is OK, but where's the glory we've come to associate with Canberra teams? Well, dear reader, let me tell you about game 2.
12:30. Kaboom vs. Squal, Japanese second seeds. We're missing Gareth, Myall and Riss.
Kaboom seems to be struggling with the heat and look flat in their warm-up. It shows on the field with Kaboom giving up 3 soft turnovers to go down 4-0 to Squal who haven't made a turnover. Simple execution errors and over-generous defensive cushioning cause some of the Kaboom cheer squad to give up on their heroes in the bright yellow shirts.
WRONG. Kaboom finally score on offense with a paradigm shifting Heather Tolley layout goal and we come out in zone to stop the precise Japanese deep game. Two quick defensive breaks see Kaboom draw close at 4-3 down. The cheer squad rethink their early despondancy. Squal and Kaboom trade, first 1 each, then 2 each to bring the score to 7-6 Squal. The wierd half-time cap rule means half is at 8. Kaboom are losing control of their defense in zone and have gone back to trusty match, this time forcing forehand.
Squal take half 8-6 and Kaboom hit back straight after to make it 8-7. Our defense is stifling now, we're jamming up the open side on offense and winning the contests deep. Tom Watson comes down with a bunch of the disc on D, Heather Tolley makes her player look slow, Laina has stepped up her physicality and stopped her defender from shoving her. Defensively we're in control, but our offense still needs to score.
They score again and we score and break to level up the game at 10-10. Squal have been playing 4 women on offense all game but our women are beating theirs on D and getting free on O. They score and break to go to 12-10. We trade and time-cap goes and they score to make it 13-11, game to 15. By now we're getting heaps of the disc. Offense is still sketchy though - unfamiliar D, heat and fatigue are sending a bunch of shots stray and people are anxious to score in a hurry. We stack our D line, win the disc and punch in a goal. Matt Dowle is a nightmare for the Japanese, pulling out some trademark Dowle Family Magic to get a bunch of blocks on the increasingly pressured Japanese long game. We grind out another goal to level things at 13 all. Squall settle and work in an impressively clinical offense to edge closer to victory, 14-13. Kaboom send out another strong line, win the disc and score. It's universe point, 14 all, we're on D. Matt lands a great pull in the corner of the field. Japan swing and huck it deep. They make a tough catch just outside the endzone and throw a certain goal that Laina Hall snaffles with a great block in a very compact piece of defense. We go nuts. Matt informs us all that the huck was a travel, the disc goes back. We stop going nuts. Great pressure around the disc leads to another turn in a stronger position as the Japanese throw a dodgy hammer to a wrong-footed receiver. He falls down, Max gets it and the poor Japanese guy has to leave the field with cramps. Misch Phillips runs deep and the huck goes up but it's too floaty and Misch is soon surrounded with defenders. Something bad (but not majorly bad) happens and she leaves the field with another injury sub. Erin Wallis comes on to keep up our running on D. Again, we grind it out against the Japanese horizontal stack. Our women are dominant in the back field and our one boy in the cutting lanes is working to help cover on deeps and still bid on the unders. The sideline is going nuts again. Again we win the D. The disc swings to Adam who launches a huge hammer to Matt but it's out of bounds and Matt can't keep it infield. Back to D. Again, huge pressure pays off when a throw to one of the Japanese women is overcooked and she drops it. Our third offense is gritty and patient - there's heaps of traffic around the cutters and the handlers continue to recycle and swing. Moving the disc laterally is easy but cuts upfield are hard. Finally, we swing across the endzone to Matt who hits Max running to the forehand front corner. Max catches the final goal and we go really really nuts. Tom and Adam make out on the field (seriously) and we win 15-14 in 125 minutes. Many of us have lost 1.5 to 2 kilos of fluid in the second game and all of us are pumped about a big win and awesome fight back. We've never been behind like that before so it's exciting to know we can punch in goals when it counts. That Kaboom defense just keeps winning the disc.
Tomorrow we play XLR8Rs and Sugar Mix. Check out http://scores.wucc2010.com to stay abreast of developments (I don't think they're live, but then that's probably a good thing because if they were Pete Hemphill would be up all night keeping the baby awake). Spirits are high in the Kaboom camp and we're looking forward to more tough games tomorrow. Once our offense synchs up we're going to be criminally good.
P.S. If you do see Pete Hemphill, say something nice. Poor guy.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Welcome to the Czech Republic
Welcome all players to Czech Republic. Please be advise that there is strictly NO TRAINING.
It's Saturday at the action end of the world and after a few days hanging around Prague we're all itching to get started. We had a training session on Thursday morning to get used to the area. On Friday we lined up a practise match against New Zealand's Duke (who we played at the NZ Beat Up that I've posted about earlier) after Chad Larson Experience pulled out of their scheduled match against us because of injuries. Fortunately, however, Friday was also the day where we were introduced to the beautiful Czech custom of NO TRAINING. With this new cultural sensitivity under our belts we went to the pool. Going to the pool is like living through a Kafka novel. Amazing.
Today we're going on a tour of the fields to get our bearings and find super important things like toilets, water tanks and places where NO TRAINING will be conducted. Plus, we're testing out public transport between the two fields sites. We're at the beautiful, soviet inspired vrsovice area in Slavia (which is a suburb-type thing South-East of the city. They have a saying in this part of town: "Is concrete, is Slavia!", which is a fine way of expressing their love for their local architecture. Basically, this is a haven for all those planners who always wanted to make all of their buildings brown concrete rectangles. All shades of brown are represented in the Slavia region. The other fields are at Strahov on the other side of the Vltava river and up on top of the hills that run along the western banks.
Tomorrow is GAME ON! We play Ah Ouh Puc, the top French team, then Squal, the second Japanese team. Ah Ouh Puc star recently returned Canberrans Kelly Kidman and Andrew Lance who have been living in Paris until recently. We hope they're just as excited as us about the improvement in ACT ultimate over the last few years.
I'm off to buy a fridge now. Seriously. We at Kaboom don't stuff around when it comes to keeping our milk cold.
It's Saturday at the action end of the world and after a few days hanging around Prague we're all itching to get started. We had a training session on Thursday morning to get used to the area. On Friday we lined up a practise match against New Zealand's Duke (who we played at the NZ Beat Up that I've posted about earlier) after Chad Larson Experience pulled out of their scheduled match against us because of injuries. Fortunately, however, Friday was also the day where we were introduced to the beautiful Czech custom of NO TRAINING. With this new cultural sensitivity under our belts we went to the pool. Going to the pool is like living through a Kafka novel. Amazing.
Today we're going on a tour of the fields to get our bearings and find super important things like toilets, water tanks and places where NO TRAINING will be conducted. Plus, we're testing out public transport between the two fields sites. We're at the beautiful, soviet inspired vrsovice area in Slavia (which is a suburb-type thing South-East of the city. They have a saying in this part of town: "Is concrete, is Slavia!", which is a fine way of expressing their love for their local architecture. Basically, this is a haven for all those planners who always wanted to make all of their buildings brown concrete rectangles. All shades of brown are represented in the Slavia region. The other fields are at Strahov on the other side of the Vltava river and up on top of the hills that run along the western banks.
Tomorrow is GAME ON! We play Ah Ouh Puc, the top French team, then Squal, the second Japanese team. Ah Ouh Puc star recently returned Canberrans Kelly Kidman and Andrew Lance who have been living in Paris until recently. We hope they're just as excited as us about the improvement in ACT ultimate over the last few years.
I'm off to buy a fridge now. Seriously. We at Kaboom don't stuff around when it comes to keeping our milk cold.
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