Regionals Preview: Northwest, Central, Mid-Atlantic

I wanted to post my notes about the other regions that I didn't cover in Skyd here so they don't get lost in the mix. They're not so developed but are just my thoughts on what could happen. Check out another great review of the Central region by 808 here.

Northwest

The stacked Northwest is going to be crazy this year. Polar Bears: returning champs. Bigfoot: the best of the best from Seattle. Mischief: historically top ranked, with a solid season promising the same. Blackbird: in it to win it. Team Fisher Price: a low seed going into regionals – can they pull out some big wins to snag a spot? American BBQ: they’ve got an uphill climb, but it could happen. With three bids, it’ll probably be Polar Bears, Bigfoot, and Mischief. Now who is Wolverines? Well, they won Oregon sectionals by 1 (15-14) to Dogfight. That’s not too impressive, but with Mental Toss Flycoons, the only real challengers in their pool, having a low-win season, they’ll probably win the pool, then not make it past quarters. So while everyone else is moving around the pools a bit, but I think our semis will be Polar Bears, Bigfoot, Mischief, and Blackbird, with the last spot to Sarasota between Blackbird and Bigfoot. One more to mention: Eats, Throws, and Leaves has kept under the radar this season, but in my opinion, is most likely to have an upset. It would be fun to see them in Sarasota.

Mid-Atlantic

It’s a little hard to give a prediction for this region, due to the lack of high-level matchups with teams in other regions. They sure played each other a lot, though, and from that, a few top dogs emerged. Last year, none of the Mid-Atlantic teams made it past quarters at nationals, finishing 11 (AMP) and 12 (wHagonwheel), respectively. With few significant regular season wins, it’s hard to say how 2011 will end up. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if wHagonwheel doesn’t even make it – they’ve lost every matchup this season to Cahoots. AMP does have that win against Drag’n Thrust to indicate some real strength, but it was early in the season at Philly Invite; that same tournament, they lost to Ambiguously Grey, one of the few teams to play against other top-ranked teams from other regions. With significant wins over Drag’n Thrust and Gun Totin’ Teddy Bears, I expect them to make it to Sarasota with AMP as a second. After that, it’s likely that we’ll see National Championship results similar to 2010.

Central

This region’s gonna see some beat-downs. They’ve got 3 bids, and four teams of interest. Yep, it’ll probably end up being a fight between the top four seeds for those tickets to Florida. In case you don’t know CLX and Drag’n Thrust already, they’re pretty much stomping all over everyone they play, and are sure to make it to Nationals. But the team I’m really interested in is Steamboat. Without them, it would be no question if Overhaul would make it to Natties. But with a 12-14 loss to Steamboat at sectionals, who knows? We've heard that win was a fluke, that it indicated Overhaul’s coasting into third place was over, and that Steamboat was gonna take down the two other big dogs. Basically, everyone’s saying something else, which means we really have no idea, but I think Overhaul will show up and snag that spot. They’re too determined to go to Sarasota to lose again, and they’re primed and ready to revenge their sectionals loss.

On Injuries or Why Lifting is So Important for Ultimate Players

This weekend was many things. It was fun. It was epic. It was an adventure.

It was also incredibly brutal on my body.

Game 1 vs. Polar Bears. On the mark, the thrower tries to break me around, steps out, knees me in the side of my knee. Hard. I collapse, leg at an odd angle, scared that I have re-injured my old ligament strain. By now, I'm sure we all know the fright that comes with knee injuries. I ice, the trainer sees me, he says if I can jog and feel stable, do some squats and sprints with no pain, I can play. I stay out the rest of the Polar Bears game, but warm up and get right back to it in a game vs. KillJoy.

A few points into that game, I'm guarding my girl really tight as she cuts towards the sideline about 10 yards from the thrower. The throw goes up. I'm in perfect position to get the D. As I reach out I see out of the corner of my eye that the dump had cut up the line. The dump cutter is a tall, strong, guy. I throw up my arm as he slams into me, I feel the hit, and then I land on my back on the ground. Instantly I'm trying to scream from the shock but I just had the wind knocked out of me so it's coming out in high pitched gasps. I do a quick mental evaluation: no broken bones, no sharp pain, my previously injured knee is alright, my head feels okay. I start to laugh - of course I'd just come back from an injury to get laid out by a dude. I stumble off the field, sit down somewhere, catch my breath, and get back in the game. And yes, he caught the disc.

As if that wasn't enough, Sunday rolls around. Of course, the first game (vs. Bi-Winning), my neck and back are incredibly sore. Warming up is pretty painful, but I'm determined to fight through it so I'm able to play. The first game goes great; during the first point I even get a handblock on our endzone resulting in an easy score. We win that game. All is good.

Our next game is against a team called BigFoot. Tough looking girls, really nice people, and I recognize a friend on the team. We know they're better than us, and as a team we're determined to make this game fun, and learn a lot. Well, we're pretty much trading points for a bit, and we all get really pumped up. The next point I go on, I'm determined to leave it all on the field, and as my girl jukes to the open side front corner of the endzone, I try to dive and knock the disc out of her hands. Okay, maybe it's because I've never really done that before, but I aimed really poorly, and her cleat ended up catching my knee (the other one), ripping my underarmor leggings (do you know how expensive those are??), and causing me to let out a few curses and limp off the field. Today, that knee still hurts much more than the one with the potentially strained ligaments.

On to my point. Ask anyone on my team, these weren't light hits. In fact each one pretty much took me out of the game for at least a point or two. You know what let me recover so quickly? Strong quads, and hamstrings, and calfs. You know how I could land flat on my back and be okay? Squats, deadlifts, pushups, pullups, core work. In general, what keeps a body stable? What keeps joints from blowing out upon impact? Support from the surrounding tissues, the muscles. I can guarantee if I hadn't been lifting in the past, I would have been in serious pain after this weekend. I can also guarantee that if I had been lifting all season, I would have been in even less pain than I was. Do you want to get hit by people bigger than you, get up, and walk away? Lift. Lift, lift, lift. With weight is the best, but if you're not at least adding some strength work (situps, air squats, and pushups don't require a gym membership!) into your ultimate training, you're doing yourself a disservice.

Little Girl's First Famous Tournament

Do you remember the first time you participated in a big tournament? You know, one of those tournaments you hear about, dream about getting a bid to, know all the big players are going to come out full force?

I do. Or rather, after this weekend, I will. At least for my club experience, I haven't had the chance to play in any well known tournaments (this year my team has gone to GRUB in CO, and hosted our own 72 and Sunny here in San Diego).

This weekend, On the Rocks is travelling up to San Francisco to play in Labor Day 2011. I've been hearing about this tournament for years. Literally. I know it attracts high level teams. In fact, we're seeded only 14 (and looking forward to breaking upwards). I don't even know what I've heard about this tournament other than that, but there's something to being able to say, "Yeah, I was at Labor Day. No big deal."

Sure, it's not natties. It's not one of those epic tournaments like Kaimana or Poultry Days.

It doesn't matter.

I'm stoked. My team is stoked. The best part? The second I step on that field I know it's just the first of many such fields that I'll see in my ultimate career, and I can't wait.

On Commencement

From Dictionary.com. Commencement (kuh-mens-muhnt): noun. an act or instance of commencing; beginning

Intriguing, considering we call our graduation ceremony Commencement. Beginning? I thought this was a celebration of these past four years. The bad times, the good, the late nights studying, the late nights partying. Beginning? I thought this was a time to glad-hand the upper echelon of the educated, to celebrate with friends I may not see ever again, to rejoice in the fact that (at least until grad school) I never have to take another final. Beginning?

Yes. Beginning. Beginning of the next chapter of life. A celebration of the completion of my higher education, receiving a degree that will be a ticket to a job, which will allow me to make money, to start a family, to eventually settle down and achieve whatever successes I desire. A beginning of a new outlook, new worries, new joys. Who knows what the future will bring? The world is my oyster and I intend to extract every darn pearl I can.

Commencement. Beginning. Congrats to UCLA's class of 2011 - we did it!

On Social Media

I joined Twitter this week. I guess I like it. However, the first thought that crossed my mind was "now I have too many things I need to update when something happens to me." I never signed up for Twitter before because I tend to update my Facebook page like one would a Twitter. Theoretically, I could update a Twitter more often, but no one reads it anyway, so why does it matter.

This got me thinking: "Do we use social media just to have another excuse to hear ourselves talk?"

Sure, Facebook can be used to keep in touch with people. Old classmates, distant relatives, long lost friends... I wonder how many people use Facebook solely for this purpose. I pretty much use it to get feedback on what is happening in my life, and to give feedback to others. "Liking" someone's post has replaced calling them up and congratulating them on getting a new job. To some, relationships don't mean anything anymore until you've told the Facebook world they exist. By looking at the pictures a "friend" is tagged in, judgments are made, possibly before people even meet. And if you're only going to use Facebook to add the people you truly know, then why bother? You probably speak to them regularly anyway.

Already, after a few days, I have 14 followers. These are 14 people that have agreed to see everything I "tweet" about. Recent tweets include announcing my participation in a tournament, commentary about the USAU College Nationals, and shouting out to friends (that I speak to daily). Why bother? I'm not really sure. I don't know why I made an account, but I did. I look forward to exploring the potential that Twitter has to actually impact my life. I know Twitter can be a good source of news, for those too lazy to scan the nets (really, it's a good source, and is really quick and easy). It also can be a good place for businesses or celebrities to tell the world about their lives. Beyond that, I'm unsure. If I want to start a real discussion with someone, I'll call them. Maybe I'll email them. Maybe I'll set up a time to grab coffee and have a face to face chat.

I am in no denial that I personally joined Twitter to fuel my own ego. Seeing friends post congrats for getting a new job or responding to questions posted is fantastic. And the best part is I can view it all from my comfy chair in my room. I hope that one day I find a real use for it, but for now, follow me: @EhmZiv

Just realized another use for Twitter: quickly sharing my blog posts.

On Things

I have come to the conclusion that I seriously dislike how dependent on objects I have become. We joke about checking our email all the time on our smartphones, but I'm not sure we can comfortably go without them. We are so dependent on watching our sports games on our TVs while recording that show with the TiVo box. Buying something new makes us feel better.

Last week, my car wouldn't start. I admit it, I freaked out. I was so overwhelmed by the thought of not being able to drive that the worries turned into a mini life crisis. I thought to myself, "Lucky me, I was going to drive up north with my boyfriend, and my coworkers can give me a ride to work. I also walk to campus, so I can still attend class." Now I can say that I wasn't lucky. There really are just ways to function without a car. My roommate takes the bus to work every day. Sure, he doesn't need to. He definitely has enough money to buy himself a car and pay for gas. But he doesn't have to. And he gets along just fine.

This whole experience just makes me want to truly disconnect. Note, I say want to. I don't think I actually will, but just because I'm not sure what the overall benefit will be, other than proving a point. I think the closest I will get will be to not have phone or internet access during my upcoming trip to Israel (but I will have a phone on me in case of emergencies, so maybe that's not truly disconnecting). Here's my thought: During that 10 day trip, what is REALLY going to happen that requires my immediate attention? Probably nothing. If something even does go wrong, I'm sure it will get worked out or can wait until I return.

I just feel sad that I think more people would rather plug into their iPods than listen to the birds chirp in the morning. They're so used to the convenience of driving that instead of walking that mile to the post office, movie theater, nearby restaurant, they will get in a car. That instead of meeting up with a friend for coffee they will just Skype. That entertainment revolves around video games and television instead of just going to a park with some friends.

Unfortunately, I have no solutions. I hope that one day we will all decide to disconnect and encourage our friends to do the same, but until then, I'm going to enjoy playing solitaire on my Droid during boring lectures. And celebrate my new battery (yes, that's all it took) by taking a trip to San Diego this weekend. Hooray!

MetCons or A Life Changing Exercise Mentality

First, go here.

I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the concepts of Metabolic Conditioning earlier this year. At first, the routines seem simple. Some situps, some squats, whatever, right? WRONG. What I have found is that these workouts are all about pushing yourself. High intensity. Getting your heart rate up. Pushing yourself. Finding that breaking point and pushing yourself past it. Each workout can be modified, changed, invented anew, to suit your needs.

For example, today I took a normal routine I enjoy (5 pushups, 10 squats, 15 crunches) and changed the crunches to v-situps. Makes it a million times harder. Lucky for me, my roommate came in close to my failing point with those situps. Even luckier: she hears me say "fuck it, I'll just do situps," turns around in her chair, and screams at me, "NO! Let's go! Give me five more!" She counted me all the way up through that last set of 15.

Which bring me to the next awesome part of this type of workout - the ability to make it into a partner exercise. I was especially surprised to find that I really enjoyed this changeup, being so incredibly independent when it comes to working out. Maybe it stems from insecurities, but I especially dislike working out with guys. Why would I want to watch someone obviously stronger than me just kick my ass? Perhaps that is also partly my competitive nature, but I enjoy "racing" myself, not someone else who will obviously beat me. Where's the motivation there? Anyway, last weekend I tried a workout of this nature with my (very) athletic boyfriend. Wow, not only did I work out with a guy, but with someone who, though I am in a fantastic relationship with, still try so hard to impress? YUP! We decided to modify a workout ("Mexican Standoff" - I tried to find a link to explain it, but couldn't, then realized it doesn't really matter) we had previously heard about to the following: 150 pushups for time. Only one person does pushups at a time, while the other person hangs (in whatever way they want) from a pullup bar. When either person needs to switch, you stop, and do 10 squats before switching. I think we did it in 10:27 or something. But that doesn't really matter to me. What matters to me is that it was fun! I was surprisingly motivated to work hard with another person there. Just getting one more pushup in each set meant he had to do less overall, just hanging for one more second, helping him count down, motivated him to do the same for me. And laying on the ground for a good few minutes afterwards feels so amazing.

I couldn't stop giggling after; the rush of endorphins was exhilarating. So get to it! Make up a workout! What is your favorite exercise? Situps? Pushups? Overhead Squats? Put them together and do 'em quickly. It's 15, 10, even 5 minutes of your life you won't regret.