2006 - the PlayUltimate Year in Review - Most Commented Posts

After much delay, the 5 posts with the most comments for the year 2006...

5./ 32 Comments - 11/10/06 - Open Thread

4./ 35 Comments - 10/20/06 - Fall Brawl Open Thread

3./ 41 Comments - 5/20/06 - Westerns' Weekend Open Thread

2./ 41 Comments - 11/1/06 - Fall PHUL 2006

1./ 54 Comments - 10/22/06 - Cold Fusion October 28th, 29th

I have a feeling that these records will be shattered in the year to come, i have a feeling everyone will be more chatty about Easterns and Westerns - possible upsets always make for some interesting banter. Just keep it civil and we'll all do fine.

Any other favorite articles from the past year? Feel free to post a link as a comment.

(the UCPC in Boston is tomorrow, and I'm sure our other contributors will be weighing in with developments and commentary on the subject, but ill put up an open thread if anyone has some last minute things they'd like to hear from the conference)

open thread - football anyone?

football conference champs just finished up pitting chicago against the colts in the superbowl?

any fans of either? i know most of our readers are fairly coastal in origin, but any high school ultimate players out there from the Indiana or Illinois areas?

(if you dont like football, feel free to talk about whatever you want, more content-fruitful posts coming in the near future.)

Open Thread: When does your team start practice?

Anyone care to chat? Ground might not start to thaw in most of the country for a few more weeks (unless you live in some of the areas where it never froze to begin with), many athletes are in mid-season for their winter sports, so when does your team start practicing as a team for the spring season?

Do you jump right into it picking up where the fall left off? Or is there a gentle transition from an "off-season" to full-blown practices? Are recruitment efforts as excited as they were in the fall?

(If this topic doesn't suit your fancy feel free to talk about whatever you want)

How to run a high school Ultimate tournament

On Saturday January 27th I will be presenting at the UCPC on the topic, "How to run a High School Ultimate tournament".

My presentation will cover issues from basic tournament essentials to how to expand your event to the next level. For the past five years a big part of my life has revolved around high school Ultimate tournaments, so I have developed many strong opinions on what makes for a successful event. Over the next couple weeks I would like to further expand on my ideas by posing the following questions to the PlayUltimate community:

1) In your opinion what are the most important traits of a well run HS Ultimate tournament?

2) What are your Ultimate tournament pet peeves?

3) If you've ever organized an Ultimate tournament, what advice would you give to people who are thinking about running a HS Ultimate tournament for the first time?

4) What do you think is the most crucial element that separates well run HS tournaments from poorly run HS tournaments?

2006 - the PlayUltimate Year in Review - Part 2

[the second in a series... of two.]

These are some of my personal favorite posts from the second half of 2006...

July
International Focus - Australia's WJUC Open Team by Matt
A quasi-in-depth look at the boys coming from half-way around the world to Devens, Mass to compete in worlds. Complete with interviews from the captains.

August
A West Coast take on YCC by Miranda Roth
Miranda gives her take on the recently completed YCC tournament. Complete with thoughts on all divisions.

September
Football & Ultimate by Luke Johnson
Luke talks about the experience of putting on a show during half-time of a high school football team. Complete with video coverage of the event.

October
CHS: Westerns 2006 Open Story by Luke Johnson
Luke posts an extremely comprehensive video of the 2006 Westerns tournament. Including an High Def format. Very worth a look.

November
Something positive with the sport by Matt
I wrote a story about two players from Tennessee who started a tournament in the memory of a lost friend to raise money to prevent the cause of his death.

December
Ultimate Coaches and Players Conference Boston 2007 by Tiina Booth
Tiina announces the first Ultimate Coaches and Players Conference to be held in Boston on January 27th.

Do you have a favorite post from the year? Feel free to post it as a comment. Still to come, the top 10 commented on posts of 2006.

PlayUltimate Mailbag: Easterns and Westerns Scheduling

Fresh from the inboxes of PlayUltimate -

I am new to the youth ultimate blogging scene, so forgive me if this topic has been
rehashed over and over but I believe the issue is the number one problem with the junior championship series and that is graduation conflcts with Westerns and Easterns.

I understand that the HS tournaments fit best for the UPA after college, before summer, not in the fall because of club. Some have argued that April is too early and June is too late, but I argue that the date should never be set on any high school's graduation. It is inherently discrimatory. It is unfair. In the last 5 years of coaching ultimate Nationals and Easterns has fallen on our graduation date 3 times. Paideia, one of the top ranked HS teams in the nation has had similar conflicts. I admire Mike Baccarani and his crew. I have never heard him complain once about this issue. I am not that strong. Its wrong and I wish I could enact change. I've spoken with Will and Kyle and emailed board members in past years, but all in vain. So, we plan on taking a Freshman-Junior squad to Easterns this year. There will be no complaints on the field, but the bottom line is it isn't fair.

Sincerely,
David Wu, Coach
Lexington Catholic HS

So what do you think? Should the UPA ask for all school's graduation dates? Should they accept all the teams and then select a date that allows all to attend? Or should things remain as they are now?

As a fan of the game it stinks not to see a top team at the most prestigious tournament, essentially the closest thing to a national championship we have for high school teams at the moment. But is there a feasible way of correcting this? I know my high school graduation was a weekend in early June, as i think most schools in the area were. But is there regional disparity here?

On the same subject, it is also my personal opinion that all state championships should happen before easterns and westerns so that they can be taken into consideration when admitting teams. and in the same line of logic, local league and city championships should be held before states. NFL playoffs are going on right now and as im sure you have heard, it is referred to as the second season, the games take on a whole new level of athleticism and competition because teams are now fighting for survival. But i digress, the connection here being, in some ways it can be unfair to judge a team's regular season individual games for a tournament such as easterns or westerns, because who knows who had a test that day or perhaps playing time was mixed up. Whereas with the direct progression a more accurate depiction of who the best teams are late in the season will come to the forefront.

Agree? Disagree? Let's hear it.

2006 - the PlayUltimate Year in Review - Part 1

Here are some of the best posts from 2006.... (the first six months)

January
Elite Juniors Tourney Announced in Georgia by Matt

February
Slopfest V Preview by Thomas Sanchez

March
Colorado + Predictions by Harrison Fast

April
WJUC Historical Rundown: Swedish Dominance by Matt

May
Sports Illustrated/CNN - Testing the Ultimate Market? by Matt
Westerns Review - Teams by Mike Mullen
(There are a TON of awesome posts from May, including previews for almost every team in Westerns, Houston City Championships, Highlight videos, Easterns previews and recaps, Virginia State champs recaps and more, check out the whole month by clicking here.)

June
2006 College Choices by Matt (list of around 100 graduating high school ultimate players and where they are going to college)

coming soon...
top 10 most commented posts of 2006 and maybe a few other recaps

PlayUltimate Mailbag: RRI Reset...

A reader wrote in with this comment -

I read the playultimate blog pretty regularly and have
a suggested topic for a headline. It concerns the
youth RRI and the fact that they get reset after
January 1st. I have talked to my coach on this issue
and he has suggested reseting the youth RRIs in the
summer when most teams graduate players, not in
January when most youth teams are generally
unaffected. I just wanted to suggest this topic to see
what other people have to say on it.

so what do you guys think? id argue for that the high school scene this makes a lot more sense. I'm also of the opinion that as long as it is feasible money-wise for the UPA they should maintain all results ever recorded for the RRI system. perhaps reset the current RRI for a team once a year, but maintain the results and a history of that teams progress and their past rankings.

i think it would be awesome to see 30 years of college ultimate history for a team, (hopefully not all on one page) but perhaps underneath their record links for each year that would have pages with those results and also the rosters.

in the dream world there would also be an RSS feed for every team so that people could stay up to date with all their favorite teams' scores.

what do you think though?

(a side note, email the site with your comments, or questions, story suggestions, or just to chat - playultimateblog@gmail.com)

Going off to College

In the fall of 1995 when I was athletic director at The Northwest School, I was looking to add a spring sport that would serve our student population. I ended up choosing ultimate over rugby and lacrosse. One of the main reasons I chose ultimate was that it was a sport that our student athletes could play in college. The goal of playing in college was not so our graduates could go win college championships (some have), but that during their first few days on a new campus they could meet a big new group of friends and mentors instead of only knowing the people in their dorm. This is of course one of the great things about being on a college team in any sport.

So here it is more than a decade later and this is still one of the main reasons that ultimate is a sport at our school. We are a prep school after all. It is great to hear from former students who are playing ultimate in college and who appreciate the fact that they walked onto campus and met a bunch of people through ultimate. Some of those students (and current HS seniors who already know where they are attending next year) are also very involved in building the programs at their colleges and universities. A couple have asked me how they could get the word out that their school is building a competitive ultimate program. I gave the obvious answer that Tiina is maintaining an excellent service doing just this on her NUTC site: http://nutc.net/college.cfm

Beyond the NUTC site this post and thread will allow PlayUltimate readers who are going off to college to say: "This is X from Y HS and I am going to attend (or I already attend) Z College/University. This is what the program is about and why I chose to attend as a young former HS player."

I am asking that people keep comments positive and that there is no bad mouthing of people or schools. I also think that if someone has something to say they should be willing to put their name on it.

Good luck to everyone going off to college.

-Mike Mullen, Boys Ultimate Coach, The Northwest School

Merry Christmas

From everyone at PlayUltimate - Merry Christmas

Have a safe and happy holiday!

new things on the site and happy holidays

blogger has been updating itself to a new beta version for the past few weeks (a much needed update) and as a result has allowed for a few new features such as labels, different archive methods, rss feeds for comments, as well as a few other neat tricks.

over the next few weeks i will be working them into the site design, any requests or ideas or suggestions are more than welcome though, just leave a comment or email playultimateblog@gmail.com

also, dont forget that if you have videos somewhere online showing high school ultimate (youtube etc) we would like to link to them from the site, so send us a link or again, post a comment with the address.

on the subject of user suggestions remember you are always welcome to suggest topics for posts or discussion by sending an email over to playultimateblog@gmail.com

so on that note, have a happy holiday and hopefully you will be seeing some updates and improvements to the site over the next few weeks.

(feel free to use this post to talk about whatever you would like)

Best Fundraising Ideas

With the costs of transportation seeming to double in the last 2 years, but so much to be gained from tournaments, what are teams doing to get their players to tourneys that require travel? I would venture a guess that many teams have had to scale back on how many tournaments they're able to attend and out-of-state options are becoming something reserved for only the most serious of teams... With Westerns and Easterns being out of state for many teams this last year, how well did your fundraising efforts go to getting your players there without killing their families bank accounts (or college funds)?

Our Churchill program has been fortunate this year to have a couple dedicated parents who have worked in various other settings that have required massive fundraising efforts. Last years' Westerns in Boulder, CO cost $500/player to attend, so after fundraising efforts we were at about $300/player. This stretched a few families to the breaking point and their plea is that we don't do the same this next year. The ability to fundraise this spring will be the determining point as to what tournaments we're able to attend plain and simple.

That said, even for the teams out there that are just participating in local tournaments, there are still financial needs. I'm curious what teams out there are doing in regards to fundraising? Both the big efforts and the small? Your idea could be what allows that one new team to make it to the state tournament they've missed every year or that player to join in who didn't think they could afford it. For many, ultimate provides a sport that is not only superior to other sports, but also more affordable. What ways have your programs kept costs down and play up?

Moho at UCPC

Hi there this is Miranda from out west, updating about my contribution to the UCPC this winter. Ben and I are very much looking forward to this meeting of the minds and we hope to be able to provide a unique, informative look at how Moho works.
As an introduction, Moho was started as an opportunity for Seattle kids to play more ultimate than was offered by their individual high schools. This stemmed from the fact that not many high schools had teams back then, but there were some very talented kids who wanted to play...a lot. Luckily there has never been a shortage of coaches in Seattle, and we have recently received great support from our local organization, DiscNW (discnw.org). Moho won a junior national title (before consortiums were disallowed) and has produced individuals who have gone on to become champions at junior nationals (mens and womens), junior worlds (mens and womens), college nationals (mens and womens), club nationals (mens and womens), club worlds (womens) and the world games. Our coaching staff includes Moho alumni as well as past high school/college/club/world champions from atlanta, corvallis, boston, seattle, san francisco, austin and boise.
You may be thinking to yourself...how is moho so successful? how do you coach practices with every level of player of both gender over a 4 year agespan? is it really free for the kids? Will it work in my city?
Well, then you'll just have to come to Boston to check it out. My specialty is running drills that teach great ultimate to players with varying skill levels and I will focus part of my presentation on these drills as they are integral to the success of the program. Ben's specialty is organization and vision (as well as marking which you will see in his separate presentation) - he will describe how Moho has gone from disorganized teenagers playing on poached fields to a regular coached clinic with upwards of 40 kids in attendance weekly. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to comment or email me.
In addition, I will be representing Carleton College and the University of Washington at the college ultimate fair so feel free to come find me about those as well.
Cheers,
Miranda

Below the fold action...

New CHS Videos

There are two new videos that have been completed and were shown at this weekend's Churchill HS Ultimate Fall Banquet. The first is a Highlight video from when Churchill attended the OR Club Mixed Sectional Tournament back in September. The second is from Turkeybowl3 in November with our JV team.

Club Mixed Sectionals:
Mixed Club Sectionals 06 HL (ipod video - m4v - 55.5MB) - 640x480
YouTube version

Turkeybowl 3:
TurkeyBowl 3 HL (ipod video - m4v - 38.1MB) - 640x480
YouTube version

Ultimate Coaches and Players Conference Boston 2007

George Cooke and I spend A LOT of time hanging out under the tent at NUTC. We watch the kids play, the counselors counsel, the trainer tape, and wait for camp emergencies. But most of the time we just talk. The idea for the Ultimate Coaches and Players Conference was born in this environment, two years ago, and it is finally arriving this January 27 in Boston!

Years ago, (skip this part if you hate stories that begin "years ago"), before the Internet, if you wanted to schedule any ultimate games or get into any tournaments, you HAD to attend a Captains' Meeting, often held in Philly or Purchase, N.Y. You would spend the day there, listening to organizers announce their events, talking about the rules, or meeting with other players or captains. While it often involved using up a whole day WITHOUT playing any ultimate, it was still a lot of fun to meet ultimate folks OFF the field.

We are hoping to recreate this experience at the upcoming conference. If you go to www.buda.org you can see our full slate of seminars. We are very pleased that players and coaches from around the U.S. will be attending as presenters and participants. Our keynote speaker is Dr. Alan Goldberg, a nationally known sports psychologist who works with athletes of every level and caliber. He is very entertaining and knowledgeable and, as one NUTC counselor told me last summer, listening to Goldberg "changed my life more than anyone, outside of my family."

Additional presenters who may appeal directly to high school players include:

"Developing a Successful Ultimate Program"
Brian Dobyns--Efland, North Carolina
Brian coaches Backhoe.

"How Moho Worked: Growing Youth Ultimate in Diverse Environments"
Miranda Roth--Seattle, WashingtonBen Wiggins--Corvallis, Oregon
Miranda plays for Riot; Wiggins for Sockeye.

"How to Run a High School Tournament"
Josh Seamon--St. Johnsbury, Vermont

"Real-Time Decision Making in Ultimate"
Jim Parinella--Sudbury, Massachusetts
Jim plays for DoG.

"Drug Use, Abuse, and Dependence in Ultimate"
Dr. Charles Reznikoff--Minneapolis, Minnesota
Charlie plays for Sub Zero.

"Developing Summer Day Camps and Clinics"
Catherine Greenwald--Concord, Massachusetts
Anne Westcott--Concord, Massachusetts
Catherine and Anne played for Lady Godiva.

"Marking: Techniques and Strategy"
Ben Wiggins--Corvallis, Oregon

"Fitness and Training for Ultimate"
Dan Cogan-Drew--Somerville, Massachusetts
Bryan Doo--Waltham, Massachusetts
Bryan Doo is the fitness trainer for the Boston Celtics.

"Applying Mental Toughness Strategies to Ultimate"
Tiina Booth--Amherst, Massachusetts

When you are not attending one of four seminars throughout the day (it will be difficult to choose, I think), you can attend the Ultimate Expo. The Expo consists of two parts:

a) The Trade Show
All types of vendors, from high schools to established companies, will be selling ultimate gear and merchandise. Tables are available for any school team who would like to promote their program and do a bit of fundraising.

b) The College Recruiting Fair
We believe that this section of the Expo will appeal directly to high school ultimate players and their parents. The Fair will feature various tables staffed by college ultimate players. They will be available to answer questions and promote their programs. (for those of you just starting to look at colleges and ultimate, don't forget to use the NUTC College Directory available at www.nutc.net)

And, finally, at the end of the day, we are going to all meet again for a panel discussion about the Future of Ultimate. The questions the panelists will be addressing are:

What is the future of Ultimate?

Where should we go?

How should we get there?

Early registration opened on Dec. 1. Cost for attending the entire conference is $40/person. If you sign up after January 8, the cost goes up to $60. And if you decide after January 20 to attend, you'll be paying $80. Please note that if your school wants a table at the Expo, the cost is $40, which ALSO includes one admission to the conference!

So that's a quick look at this inaugural ultimate conference. Six years ago, when I founded NUTC, we had 28 players attend for one week. In 2006 we had 217 players over 3 weeks. We are hoping for a similar type of success for the UCPC. We believe that as the sport of ultimate develops nationally and internationally, there will be a greater need for these events. The UCPC is dedicated to the "promotion, teaching and growth" of ultimate. We hope to see many of you there who also want to see our sport expand, develop and thrive!