On Decisions

Some decisions are easy. Yes, I would like to try skydiving. No, I don't want to wear that prom dress to the club. Of course I'd like seconds on your delicious homemade pie.

Some decisions are hard. Should I go heavy on the eye makeup or sport some red lipstick? What do I wear to the gym? Thin Mints or Trefoils?

But the hardest decisions to make are the ones you know are right, but will have incredibly painful consequences. These past couple weeks I have been faced with such a decision. I know the right answer, but I feel great sadness when I think of what it means.

This August, I will likely be attending law school somewhere. In hearing some circulating rumors of club tryouts and whatnot, I realized I needed to decide if I was going to play ultimate this summer. Immediately I knew what was going to happen. I'm moving to the Bay Area, after all, land of the amazing ultimate opportunities. I don't know if I could make a team that would go to Nationals but I could definitely make one that was more competitive than the past two I have played on in San Diego. I would enjoy meeting new people and making friends through the sport I spend the majority of my free time playing, writing about or thinking about.

And yet, I will not be playing this summer. I can't in good conscience pay a ton of money to law school and then commit my weekends and some weekday evenings to a team. It's not fair to the team I would play on for me to be distracted by school and it's no way to guarantee I get the most out of my education. I know that's the right thing for me to do. Ultimate isn't going anywhere. If anything, the opportunities to play competitively are becoming more available. But 2013 isn't my summer. I won't be playing. I won't be writing. I won't be travelling to amazing tournaments.

I know there's great leagues in San Francisco, and I can always play in the coming years. I just can't help feeling a painful loss when I read on Facebook about the excitement building for the Triple Crown Tour, or hear my friends talking about the tournaments they can't wait to attend. There's a real fear that if I don't play for a summer I'll be "out of the loop" or will find it difficult to return. That fear might be completely baseless, but it's there.

The choice to not play this summer has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. And there's nothing much more to say about it than it totally sucks.

The Strategic Throw

In light of the fact that my upcoming Regionals tournament will follow this format, I consider this an appropriate time to write out some thoughts that have been brewing for a while.

We talk so much about in-game strategy, and equal play time, and the best way to win games to make it to Nationals. But what happens when you find yourself in a situation as we may, facing a team we know we are 90+% likely to lose to, only to drop into the second "game-to-go" bracket and face a team coming high off a win. I can name many instances where trying your ass off in that first game only leads to a team burning out and losing both games-to-go in a row, knocking them out of Nationals completely.

In this case, the best way to maximize your chances of going to Nationals is to throw the 1/2 game. Literally put two people on the line, and turf the first throw (because a forfeit in the Series is auto-DQ). Let the other team score. This will rest your team, effectively giving you a bye before your next game. You'll even have the opportunity to put in your top 7-12 in a high-level game situation before the game ends to get them warmed up. You then go on to play a team who is coming off a probably close win; they are elated, but they are tired. You run them into the ground, and take off with the second bid.

Now, is this generally considered a bad idea? Will people dislike that you intentionally lose? Is this against the spirit of the game? I know I haven't ever heard of this happening (though I don't doubt that it has, just saying I haven't heard about it personally), and honestly, the answers to those three questions are very different. First, is it generally considered a bad idea? Probably. Does that mean it is objectively against your team's interest to throw a game? Definitely not. Second, will people hate you and get upset? Probably. Does that mean your team shouldn't do it? Definitely not - people get upset in ultimate games all the time. At the end of the day, the only people who could really complain are the ones you're going to be up against in the second game-to-go, and you know what? They could have done the same thing if they had won earlier games. Third, is this against the spirit of the game? In my opinion, this question is the most relevant, and really, the only important one. Part of why I love playing ultimate is, well, the playing. Is it against SOTG to let the obvious champs run away with the win? In my mind, there are two aspects to spirit: there's on-field spirit, and general spirit of the community. On-field involves calling appropriate fouls, not spiking, not cheating in other ways that the rules really leave room to do. Off the field involves having a respect for your community, being generally supportive, and developing a strategy that will challenge your opponents and result in the best possible ultimate being played. Because of these, albeit slightly vague, personal definitions, I believe that throwing a game is completely spirited, assuming, like I said before, your team is very likely to lose. You will only tire yourself out, making the next game harder for you, and less competitive. Additionally, if you made it to the 1/2 game, the assumption is that you are the first or second best team. Another team gets a second chance to beat you because we want to confirm that this is true. If the third place beats second place (loser of the 1/2) then we chalk it up to some game error. But really, in a region with 2 bids, the first and second place team should advance to Nationals.

Throwing a game to ensure that is thus not only spirited but smart, and more fun. I hope I get to be part of a team that pioneers this strategy.

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.