Yeah, we all have been reading about it on RSD, but they don't got an O-line, D-line breakdown like I'm about to give you. Here's my top 14 players that I would want on my team (this is based on YCCs mostly and some word of mouth). All continued below the fold...
Numbers and teams are according to YCCs.
D-Line
#17 Adam Miller (Seattle) - had atleast 2 big point blocks on us (Pittsburgh) and had 4 or 5 goals in Finals. Great speed, good throws. Handled and popped against us, but definitely seems like more of a downfield guy than a handler.
#9 Robin Stewart-DeMartino (Amherst) - made huge Ds in Finals, but chased most of the game against us (so I rarely saw him do anything amazing). Handles, but I'm sure he could be a great cutter, too.
#21 Chris Brenenborg (Pittsburgh) - matched up with Ben Carlson of Seattle for a few man points and dominated him (got 3 Ds on one point). Good throws, good mark, solid defense (really starting to improve here). I imagine he would handle because while he is a good athlete, some of these other kids are exceptional.
#15 Dan Schmit (Minnesota) - pretty ridiculous athlete/receiver. Had the best D I saw all weekend and was one of two reasons Minnesota hung around against us.
#3 Adam Shear (Seattle) - tall, good disc skills, good defender. Handled a ton for Seattle against us, but looks like he could be HUGE downfield. Big contributer in Finals.
Noah Saul (Pennsbury) - wasn't at YCCs because Philly had no team, but with Pennsbury being something like 17-1 and Saul being their big player, I assume he's pretty good. I hear he has some big D and is more suited to cut. Can't wait to see him.
#9 George Stubbs (Georgia) - nice throws, pretty fast, club experience I hear. Really smart player, never threw a short turnover against us and only one huck turn.
O-Line
#15 Darden Pitts (Amherst) - I know we all think of him as a D-machine, but honestly, he's just a great matchup advantage for a Juniors offense. Unless USA plays a team with 6'4" monsters that also have the experience Darden does, he can pretty much be an unstoppable receiver.
#16 Ben Carlson (Seattle) - Great handler, good defense. Just a top notch player with awesome disc skills. Had a ton of assists in Finals. Not a lot of hype around him, just a player who makes plays (and we all know that's what Jimmy P. would want).
Avi from Minnesota - Lots of word of mouth here, but Hopkins was impressive at Easterns and he was apparently their top guy.
Ryan from NMH - I hear all the handler hype about him, gotta be good. Didn't really see him at Easterns, but I was really impressed by both Columbia and NMH, so the top players were likely awesome.
Evan from Columbia - Same thing as Ryan, but I saw him a bit in finals. Made some really sick plays.
Eli Janin of Churchill - Saw some clips of him online, great Ds. Handler and led his team to a matchup in Westerns Finals.
#6 Nate Castine (Seattle) - didn't see him against us (they weren't playing 2-3 guys because they played Amherst after us). Had an amazing D in Finals and surely had a few others that were good, but only paled in comparison. Pretty ridiculous player.
Some others that didn't make the starting 14.
Sam Burnim (Amherst) - great handler, but didn't do amazing things as far as I saw.
Andrew Ji (Madison) - this kid can jump better than anyone I've ever seen.
Other Georgia players - probably have 2 more guys that were real solid (#4 and #29 I remember). Both are tall and would likely be good defenders/receivers (although #29 - think his name was Rivas - seemed like one of those tall handler types). #4's name might have been Ollie?
Jesse Evans (Pittsburgh) - might be too old, but was a huge part of our team. Solid throws, good hucks, okay defense that could be great if he didn't bait so many things.
Lets hear some other talk because man oh man do I not remember much from Easterns and obviously know nothing about Westerns (other than Seattle).
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Youth Worlds Hype Party
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15 comments:
i have a feeling the real impact at worlds will be sleeper picks.
not that i in any way deny that athletic and ultimate talent shown by the above mentioned competitors.
but there are so many amazing team players from little known programs that could make huge impacts.
who do you choose? the guy who makes a few big plays, or the guy who allows and pushes others to make a ton of amazing plays.
depending on who coaches and who fields the recruitment of the worlds team will decide alot as well - will they decide to take the vein of the miracle on ice team for the us in the 1980 something olympics - not the best players by any means, but the players who could play best as a team.
or will they go the route of the usa basketball dream team, which can go either way - 1992 olympics - jordan era, they win hands down because they mesh as a team. or they could slide the way of recent years, just a bunch of hot head overpaid superstars in their own realms in no way playing as a team.
im a little off topic here but im sure you get what im saying.
its a team, not individuals which wins championships.
i am a firm believer that a strong team of nobodies can beat any team with a few superstars.
All-star teams can and will be beaten (but not always) by lesser talented teams with chemistry. I am too lazy to look it up right now, but there are examples out there. You could probably start with when some of the USA basketball's dream teams that lost at the Olympics. I don't follow basketball, so I can't truly tell you how talented the players were that lost, but I do know they play in the most competitive league in the world.
Matt - I like the link colors much more now :) They still stand out but don't distract me!
Well for Junior Worlds, I think its almost impossible to create something like Miracle on Ice or other sports. They practice together for like 4 days total and are initially selected from word of mouth and applications. I think a big thing they probably look for is Club experience because that shows that the player has played at an upper level. Someone can be a dominant player in a High School league, but would have no chance playing Ultimate at the Worlds level. I doubt there will be a ton of digging for hidden players. Not enough time, not enough exposure, and so far it hasn't mattered. We've been taking care of business.
Not sure about many of the West Coast players (help Luke), but here's what I do know:
Darden Pitts: DoG, went to Nationals
Robin Stewart-DeMartino: Twisted Metal, went to Nationals
Chris Brenenborg: Burgh, made MA Regionals
That's all I know, but I would assume a decent amount more played at that level in some way or another.
George Stubbs: Chain Lightning, went to Nationals
West Coast Players:
I have been working on a major write up of the players from the left coast, but for now, here are the players that I know of mentioned:
#21 Eli Janin (Churchill HS) - graduated just this last spring. top player not only on our team, but easily in Eugene if not west coast. Has the best throws of any HS player last year. This is not hype, just fact. It isn't his fault that his dad played on Rhino Slam back in the day and from the age of 3 was throwing a disc on a near daily basis. Eli has the most experience of any HS player I've ever met or known of. Eli also has played Club level for two years. First on Darkstar, Eugene's club team that placed 9th at Regionals in 2004. And then this year he played on Rhino (formely known as Axe), Portland's club team that placed 5th at Regionals this year, but nearly knocked off Jam in a game that went to double-game point on Saturday...
#6 Nate Castine (Seattle's Nathan Hale) - one of the most insane players I've met and had the pleasure to actually play against (he lay-out hand blocked me in a showcase game at Slopfest back in 2004). In the semi finals of Westerns this last spring Nate went out near the end of our game with a screwed up shoulder. I would argue that without Nathan Hale losing Nate, we would have ended up losing that game. Nate tried out for Seattle Sockeye, but was not at their level (yet). When comparing players, he would have been good enough to play for nearly any other Club team, but the northwest is dominated by Seattle, Jam, and Furious... Hard when you're just a high school kid wanting to get some action.
Not trying to hate but...
Eli Janin is easily one of the best (between him and Matty Sung) handlers on the West Coast, and he did have that huge layout D on Northwest...
yet I have often seen him beat because he played lazily or couldn't athletically keep up with his man. He also has some major anger/no-spirit -of-the-game issues.
Nathan did NOT tryout for Sockeye, and would NOT have made it past the first cut. If Ben Carlson didn't, he would definitely not. I mean that kid is dumb as a doornail, he could be Danny Trytiak's son. Much respect for his game, but no respect for his attitude or smarts. I love you Nate.
SH
Ben Carlson and Sam Harkness are the best players to come out of High School in the last 10 years. If Nate got into college he might have had a chance.
So I was talking to Shannon O'Malley about who could the other of the last post could possibly be. I suggested maybe Nathan Castine.
Her response:
"No, I doubt it. Too sophisticated."
Zing!
SH
What about the ladies' side of things?
i officially hate SH, but in all honesty, it doesnt sound like nate, i talk to that kid online everyday and he doesnt type/talk like that. plus he would definately talk about himself.
lov ya nate!
-smurf
SOOOOO basically Sam harkness and shannon O mouwry are douche bags that love to talk trash... In all honesty I "Nathan Castine" did not tryout for sockeye and i dont believe i would have made past first cut. But i can say i think whoever is trying out as a freshmen in college its going to be damn tough to get a spot.
NC
As for the ladies...
Amber from Amherst - She plays on brutesquad and seems to be a huge part of the team. Definately played a big role for amherst at YCC also. She can pull, huck, play sick D. Itd be surprised if she didnt make it.
Claire Suver - Handler on Shazam, ok so they took ninles but would have done worse without her. Also YCC would not have torn it up without her, her handling skills and awareness of the field are amazing. Not to mention shes fast as hell.
Drew Johnson - Homeschooled Prodigy. This girl is amazing, started playing with Nathan Hale last year and Moho and from then tore it up at YCC. This girl will huck it deep and then run at catch the score, watch out. She'll also lay out D the crap outta you!
Vanessa from Columbia. - On the team years ago and is fast as hell her defense is amazing. Often played a one in the 1-3-3 and stopped everything.
Id say those are my top 4 candidates. Others like Molly Suver, Hana Kawai, and Leila Tunnel are huge players.
and by 'years ago' i mean two years ago! yay for not proofreading or whatever!
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