After a slight delay on the boys side, the UPA has finally named its teams for the WFDF World Championships in Vancouver from August 2nd to 9th. The Open team has 22 players, including 8 college players, 14 east coast players, 1 Texan, 4 Paideia, 4 Amherst, and 3 Northwest School players.
Link: United States Open Junior National Team
Link: United States Girls Junior National Team
Are there any surprises? Snubs? Thoughts on how the teams will mesh?
Thursday, April 03, 2008
UPA Names Junior Worlds Teams
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53 comments:
Greg Arenson is on of the best players and he didn't make it that is absurd
what greg has that none of the guys who made it have is ridiculously boyish charm and a great bod.
looks like a pretty sweet team
worlds is a great opportunity, and very important for many people, but I am good friends with Greg, and he might be disappointed about not making the team, but he has another great opportunity for the summer, which he is now going to be able to take... Greg came back from tryouts with only good things to say, and that is how we should start this thread. Greg is a fantastic player, who I also think should be on the roster, but he is also a fantastic person who would like to wish only luck and congratulations to those who make.....or I could be completely wrong and Greg is going to kill everyone who made the team instead of him....
Congratulations to everyone who made the team, you should be proud of your accomplishment, but disappointed in that you wont get to hang out with Greg in Vancouver.
Asa Gotlieb
# 50 Hurt
p.s. Greg hates when I talk about him...but I think he will be ok with me saying this!
all the college kids come from northwest paideia or amherst. funny.
well, plus andrew lunetta representing needham, not a college kid, but graduated from high school last year, so still one of the graduates
All of the college students on the team happen to be excellent players REGARDLESS of where they were originally from.
No Matt Raider? what?
Matt Raider didn't make it because of his bad attitude don't ya know?
please explain. rehder happens to be the best high school deep in the nation, and a pretty cool guy off the field.
it's criminal that he didn't make it.
word up
Rehder is a baller. I'll second it: criminal.
bad attitude!!?? you can't be serious. rehder is a great guy with a great attitude and he's tons of fun to play against and with. its unfortunate he didn't make it, but coaches have their reasons, and those do not include rehder's "attitude".
Umm... If I were to hazzard a guess, I'd say that anonymous 3:37 AM was being sarcastic.
It feels like the West Coast is really unrepresented. It seems that Revelas, Janin, and Childs-walker are the only west coast high schoolers. This seems a bit weird considering how much the west coasts dominates at YCC, and just its level of play in general. Seattle in particular is a huge ultimate spot, but only two high schoolers made it from the state of washington.
Maybe the Atlanta tryouts had more places on the team because the tryout was more recent, or maybe the coach has a dislike of the west coast, but either way it feels a little weird.
I agree with anonymous 11:46 it seems strange that only 2 high schoolers from Seattle made the team even though Seattle tossed everyone at YCC. I expected Jimmy Hooper and Matt Rehder to make the team, but it looks like the coaches had an east coast bias.
Matt Rehder is the best high school player in the nation.
Let's keep in mind that Seattle "tossed" a YCC crowd that was missing Atlanta and Philly, who easily dominated the mixed division themselves.
And NE was in the open finals over other western teams such as Denver.
I clearly _do_ have an east coast bias, but it's important to keep this all in mind.
I think it's hard to claim bias if you weren't at both of the try-outs to see how everyone looked.
And as for YCC results, it's important to remember that the west coast only sent 2(!) teams in the open and mixed divisions (both Seattle). The other 14 teams were from the central and east coast. So while Seattle won the open division (with some close wins over NJ and New England) it could just mean that the talent in the East Coast is more spread out. Also important to keep in mind was that Philly and Atlanta both only had mixed division teams.
I'm not trying to start any kind of East v. West argument. I just think before you start accusing the coaches of bias in a public forum and casting doubt on them and the players that did make the team you should be fairly certain of it.
Those who tried out read BVH's rejection letter. They know that he said the coaches saw many more worlds caliber players than there were spots. As an attendee of one of the tryout camps, I agree with him. The team doesn't neccessarily consist of the best 22 players in the country (I would posit that it definitely doesn't contain all the best high school players) but it is cohesive, and it will be successful. I'm sure the discussion ran more toward "well, we have this on the team, now we need a complimentary skill set" than "well this player is better than that one and so we'll select him." Stars who were left behind should be confident enough in their own abilities to recognize that they are the same players they were before not being selected. Those posters who are bemoaning said stars dissapointment should consider the growth in our youth league: if these players are as good as advertised, there will be many opportunities for them to show it at a high competitive level.
well said.
you know what everyone....i really think that BVH hates everyone on the west coast. he's out to get all of you. i heard that when he was young, he had a bad trip out there (to the west) and he's been biased ever since...man....it's a big conspiracy...actually no, it's a huge conspiracy.
you've obviously never played with matt rehder
Greg Arenson should have made it hands down. It is a shame that he is not going to be playing with team USA
no...i think it's a shame that you're not the coach. bummer, really. I mean, obviously you know more than BVH and his assistants, the selection cmmte. should have picked you...hmm, I wonder why they didn't? good question. maybe you should think about THAT, then decide if your complaining is worth the air that I breathe.
representation of the west is actually better then everyone says:
Julian Childs-Walker-West
Casey Ikeda- West, 1st place YCC and Westerns
Jacob Janin- West
Jeremy Norden-West, 1st place YCC and Westerns
Michael Revelas- West
Milo Snyder - West, 1st place YCC and Westerns
Evan Winograd- West
7 out of 22
YCC Break down:
Finishers:
1. Seattle
2. Budda -
Jonah Herscu - 2nd place Easterns
Andrew Kieffer- 2nd place Easterns
Tommy Li
Andrew Lunetta-
Pat Roberts- 2nd place Easterns
Russell Wallack- 2nd place Easterns
3/4 Pitt-
Alex Thorne
3/4 Minnesota
5. New Jersey-
Josh Cincotta-
6. Denver
7. Wisco
8. Cincinnati
Coed Division Finalist Players:
John Terry
George Stubbs
Grant Lindsley
Ollie Honderd
First place Easterns players:
Isaac Saul
Random Guys who are great players and should be on this team:
Nick Stuart vicious cycle
Lee Richardson
Not only is team USA a great team, but it has good representation of first place teams in the UPA High School Series.
-Jake
Does Matt Rehder play for seattle academy?
sometimes - he used to go to SAAS - but now hes at Roosevelt where he is the heart and sole of the team. I think he has and will attend some tournaments with his old team. watch out, hes out to get you.
what kind of "bad trip" did BVH have out west?
anon. 12:25
very very well put.
Looking at the girls and guys roster, it is for sure leaving out star players, who compared to individuals on the team, may be better, but teamwork is what ultimately will lead to success not individual skill levels.
Using the open Worlds roster as a snapshot, (over 2/3s from the east)I think youth development on the west coast should be examined. If you take Seattle out of the picture, it looks pretty bleak. In particular, I see less coming out of California. Two years ago there were two California hs players from the bay area. This year there is only one player from California and he is a college player who played high school ultimate in Seattle.
The youth ultimate programs on the east are more numerous and stronger than the west coast. Unless the west improves its programs, future Worlds teams will continue to be dominated by the east.
This isn't meant to be a knock on anyone. It is just reality that good programs promote competition, and good competition attracts and promotes good players.
I can't believe Matt and Jimmy didn't make it. Although they both have a "bad attitude" at times they are both totally coachable. I was so dissappointed when I learned that neither of them made it. I know its too late now, but heck.
"I think youth development on the west coast should be examined."
Get rid of Mixed. More HS tournaments. More involvement of local college and club players with local high schools.
And why are there absolutely no visible HS teams in the LA area?
jacob janin is the best high school player in the nation. he will tool anybody. he is damn filthy. no question. matt and jimmy wouldnt be able to hold there own on a national caliber club team like jacob
Have you seen Matt or Jimmy play? How can you say that they wouldn't be able to hold their own? It's foolish to think that a two players that are as skilled as Matt or Jimmy wouldn't be able to hold their own on the nation level. They are both incredibly skilled players that usually hold their team together even against tough opponents, which will appear on the national level. Talking about one player being able to tool someone is unnecessary because on the national level, it is about team play, not solo level play.
Well I was trying to stay out of this one but....
1. Anonymous comments are lame.
2. Anyone who says Matt Rehder has a bad attitude does not know the Matt Rehder I know. I coached him on the Seattle YCC team and he had a great attitude the whole time. He reminded me a lot of Chase S-B from back in the day except Matt is stronger at this point. If Matt sticks with it and stays healthy he will be on a US national team somewhere down the road.
3. Any talk of BVH or the coaching staff being biased is silly. I'm willing to bet every Frisbee trophy in our trophy case that BVH felt horrible about having to leave great players out. I'm also willing to bet that even if the US wins worlds, BVH might still consider it more bitter than sweet because he had to cut kids he really liked. And of course if the US loses... well I wouldn't want to be that coach.
4. I'm really glad to see Milo on the team. He has been a bedrock of the success that Seattle and NW ultimate has had since the first day he laced up his shoes in 6th grade. He has always been one of the best players in his age group and still is.
5. Quick backstory: I offered my services to be an assistant US coach at my own cost twice (2 years ago and 4 years ago) and was turned down both times for various reasons. I was pretty pissed off. I figured why stick my neck out for the UPA if they aren't going to give me the honor of being a coach? I got over it pretty quickly because there wasn't a coach on the staff who didn't deserve to be there and there were many others who also could have been there. Then this past cycle I had to chose between applying to be the US coach and observing YCC or coaching the Seattle team at YCC...I chose to coach (along with my great co-coach Sam Harkness) the Seattle YCC team. The reason was... YCC is the tourney with better competition and the deeper talent pool. I was in Boston for the last worlds and while it was great to see Seattle players playing and coaching on the US teams, the level of talent at the tournament was shockingly average to me. I could only assume that it was a down year for everyone but the US and Canada. Frankly, most of the teams on the open side of Westerns, Easterns, and YCC this past year are good enough (Philly, Eugene, and Atlanta included) to medal. The worlds tournament was a really neat event though and it sure is great to see people you know in US jerseys. But I don't regret my decision to coach Seattle YCC at all... except for the part about having to cut so many great kids from the Seattle team. That really took the fun out of the whole thing. And I wish we would have stayed at the hotel with waterslides.
-Mike
I'll second that anon 10:33. janin is filthy. Matt and jimmy are skilled players but they wouldnt be able to play on a team where they arent the star player, hence why they didn't make the team.
okay a few more things...
1. Jacob Janin is the real deal too as are some other kids who didn't make the team. See my other comments above. And by they way I am a big fan of both the Janin brothers. One of my fondest memories of youth ultimate was watching Eli Janin matchup with Phil Benjamin at the finals of Westerns a few years ago. Wow! And Ben Vigus was on the field and Nate Castine was nearby in the medical tent getting his shoulder looked at. Talk about four of my starters on the "all-overlooked & underrated" team. I love coaching those kinds of players.
2. Ryan wrote: "Get rid of Mixed. More HS tournaments. More involvement of local college and club players with local high schools." in why California isn't a bigger player in the ultimate community. Wrong, wrong, and sort of right. Mixed is great for elementary and middle school kids which is where the development should be taking place anyway and when those kids get older they will take it with them to HS if someone provides the infrastructure. Tournaments are terrible for retaining coaches. Who wants to give up all those weekends. Leagues are where it is at. But you are right about ultimate players giving back though I would aim at the younger kids as I have noted.
3. Yep, the west is a little down this cycle in the talents of juniors and seniors. But the group that just came through in the past three years. Wow! That said, one of the current juniors or seniors could very likely be better than those who came before.
4. East vs West? Who cares? The questions is who is the best local organizing body. The NE is solid but I am really surprised there aren't way way more teams up in New England based on the head start they have had. Where are the MS teams? Same in Atlanta. Some amazing coaches and players but where are the leagues? Colorado is coming along, as is Philly (why aren't they in YCC this year?), and Minnesota. The Canadians are doing their own thing. Eugene will have to make sure it doesn't fall apart without Luke - and had Eugene sent YCC boys teams these past three years they would have been competing for the trophy. They could make something really special happen down there. Who did I miss. Seattle... nope not Seattle. We are doing some good things but we are not #1. My vote goes for Pittsburgh. I really like the way they are building infrastructure out there. Is anybody noticing that? Infrastructure is everything.
That's all I got...except that posting anon is lame. Put your name on it.
-Mike
Philly is at YCC -- DEVYL is PA/NJ, not DE (Yes, the Delaware Valley involves much that isn't Delaware).
Glad to know Philly will be represented. Thanks.
the person who was commenting about janin vs rehder or hooper i believe was referring to how janin found success on the club national level with rhino. neither jimmy or matt got a chance to try out for rhino so we would never know if they would have made it. but i agree that jacob is probably the best high schooler in the nation.
oh and mike if anonymous comments were banned due to their wak-ness, this site would probably lose most of its commenter's due to shyness or they would just get obscure emails to sign them with.
Worlds was clearly not based on all talent. If the coaches would have picked the 21 best players in the nation, Rehder and Hooper are definatley on that team. However, the U.S does not need to send the best possible team because there is harldy any competition. We won 15-7. That is a complete blowout. Thus, The coaches are able to pick any team they want as long as it is decently good and will not lose. the Starting 7 is going to win worlds this year, but the team is not that great overall.
People are making a lot of stupid accusations.
"all the college kids come from northwest paideia or amherst. funny."
NEWSFLASH: Paideia, Amherst, and Northwest, are the three most well coached, well built, and well supported programs in the country.
I talked to Milo at Junior Worlds tryouts and he was saying how Northwest does what they do with only a couple hundred kids (?) if that, in their their grade, or school. These kids are good, they deserve to be there. The teams were selected by people who have no association with any of those three programs. Norden, Ollie, Grant, Stubbs, Milo, Patrick Roberts,and Russell are all great players, and have been coached by the best. They're there for a reason. Just let it go.
I have heard from my sources that college players were dominating and the only reason many (not all)high school players made the team was because there was a cap at how many college players could be accepted.
Anon 4:36 youre a little punk. The players' psychology is so much more important than raw talent for an event like this.
Almost everyone who tried out probably has the athletetic potential. It's the coaches' hard job to guess who's going to mesh.
Jimmy Hooper's an amazing playmaker, but his ego's out of control. Half the dumbass comments are probably his:) but I still respect the dude.
Let's stop dissing so hard on the other countries. Same with the coaches, Let's give them more respect.
Yay Lee! 1st player from the great state of KY to rep at world's. I am soo proud -- Coach Wu
One of the strengths of this year's team will be the experience of the college players. Five of the college players are former Worlds teammate from 2006. Furthermore, three of the five have played together for years at Paideia. The other two played together at Northwest and when you add Milo Snyder, that makes three from Northwest who have played together since 6th grade.
Last year, Paideia dominated the East and Northwest dominated the West. So this year's Worlds team has a core of proven winners who have played together. (And I haven't even mentioned their club and college experience!)
This experience should make it easier for the team to come together in the short time they have to train. If they are successful, the story out of Vancouver won't be about crazy layouts or athleticism, but how the experience and sophistication of the US team beat the other teams.
no profanity.
"f" word = profanity = post deleted.
don't be lame. buy a thesaurus.
chill
thats what i said.
i am very much anti-censorship in all forms, so it pains me to delete comments.
don't make me do it people
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