Saturday, August 12, 2006

WJUC Preview open thread...

anyone have predictions out there? team USA dominance? Wonder from down under? Tiina posted her review of the Team USA vs. Amherst warmup game in a comment on the last post, here it is again for you fools out there who dont read the comments and thus miss out on all the wonderful PlayUltimate banter...

Amherst vs. Team USA

ARHS scored first and went up 2-1 before it was tied at 3's. USA took the half 8-5. We couldn't get closer than 3 or 4 for most of the second half, with our best being 13-10, I believe. USA then scored the next 2 to win it. (Captains for the USA boys are Sam Kanner, Darden Pitts, and George Stubbs.)

Having been on both sides of this equation (USA coach and today trying to challenge USA), I would have to say that they are exactly where they should be. Both teams had lots of unforced turns and neither looked particularly crisp for long periods of time. I know that Team USA has been working very hard at camp and now they need to rest and recover. I am certain that they will continue to grow and improve throughout the week and, of course, I have to pick them to win it all again.

After I left NMH, I went to watch another juniors match down the road in Leverett. Great Britain, after having some monstrous problems flying in to Boston, was playing the NE YCC team. NE went up early, but GB took half 8-7. NE eventually won 15-12.

We have been very lucky in New England to be able to host many of the international juniors teams. I heard the Israeli team was playing Needham this past week, and many ultimate players in western Mass. had a chance to play Australia, GB and USA. I suspect that there will be HUGE crowds in Devens this week to see how it all plays out. I know I'll be there!
also, there have been some reports circulating of players from other national teams being injured? anyone hear anything about that? post it if ya got it.

9 comments:

Kevin said...

Boys - USA, Canada, Sweden
Girls - Canada/USA, Australia, Canada/USA

Anonymous said...

I'm personally rooting for Israel. One of our recently graduated Hurtems is actually a duel citizen being born in Israel and will be playing with the Israel team at Junior Worlds. THE WHOLE TEAM IS 17 YEARS OR YOUNGER BECAUSE KIDS GO STRAIGHT INTO THE ARMY WHEN THEY TURN 18. I was told that some of the better players on the team are 13 years old!

Anonymous said...

That's sweet. Go Isreal!

Anonymous said...

Im surprise that GB lost to the NE YCC team. Im sure the NE team is skilled but at YCC they did not look sharp and the team did not fair that well.

Anonymous said...

Needham beat israel 15-6. The second half of the game israel seemed to
come together more as a team, fixing some first half mistakes. They had
great spirit, and will be fun to watch next week.

Anonymous said...

Boys - USA, Canada, Australia
Girls - USA, Canada, Sweden

You heard it hear first.

Anonymous said...

or maybe the GB team was jetlagged or the YCC team played better or it was a full moon or . . . that's why we have tournaments for Petes sake!
These kind of extrapolations are just silly.

Kevin said...

I'm out here in Boston with a laptop, video camera and two digital cameras. Each night I'm going to post recaps, video, pictures and whatever else I have the time and energy for.

Right now go over to www.kevindraper.blogspot.com for pictures of the opening ceremony, and then check back each night for more.

Kevin

tiinabooth said...

Just LOVED the first write-up on the opening ceremonies, Kev! Great pictures, although I can't really figure out what the US teams were doing.

See you in a few hours!

Tiina