I recently participated in tryouts for an elite Ultimate Frisbee team from Philly. The team is Pike and they are known as a "team to beat" in the Ultimate World in the Club level Open division (Open = men's) at least on the East Coast. This was an excellent experience for me. I have just come off a really fun, yet fairly disappointing College career in terms of success. I have never made it past the first round of the Championship Series (Sectionals, Regionals, Nationals) in College. Pike is a team that used to consistently go to Nationals until recently and the captains seem hungry as hell to make it Nationals once again.
I started the tryout period by going to random pick up games in both New Brunswick and Philly. There I meet some of the veterans on the team and learned how their system worked a bit. The main tryout weekend was an intense experience. The last weekend of May anyone that wanted to try out for the team was invited to a brutal tryouts in Philly at the Edgely Ballfields. After that weekend was the first time I realized just how much I need to grow and advance in my Ultimate skill level. I felt like I was lacking athleticism, consistency, and knowledge of the game. I knew I had a lot to work on. I was invited to continue with the team after that weekend and made it through past the first round of cuts. Phew!
I then participated in two tournaments as a Pike player and two practices all in June. Talk about an intense month! At practices, I felt like I was improving as a player but still lacking too much. During the first tournament I tweaked my hip flexor (the tendon that lifts your legs [thighs] up: great for things like running and going up steps) which sidelined me for another practice. This worried me greatly, because I was unable to participate in drills and continue to excel. After much mental debate in my head about whether or not to risk playing on a sore hip flexor for the last tournament, and my last chance to show what I can bring to the table, I decided to play.
The tournament is called the Boston Invite and included the best teams in the entire mid-Atlantic, Northeast area. Day one: very limited playing time. I was called out to play on 6 drives the entire day. Most games average about 25 or so drives a game and there are 4 games a day. Yeah, that did not help my self-esteem. Day two: more playing time. I was on for about 15 drives, but only cause we were playing worse teams. I honestly felt like I played so of my best Ultimate in the limited opportunities I was giving.
That's it. The tournament was over and now the anxious, stomach churning waiting begins to see if I made the team's roster. We were told it would take about 3-4 days to get a response. Three days later, nothing. Four days, nothing. Five, six, seven, nothing. Ok... WTF? Day nine, we received an email saying that they have been busy and would try to get them done in a few days. DAMMIT PEOPLE! I want to know if I made it or not! Day 13, the email came. I did not make the team.
I had busted my ass for one and a half months with this team and I didn't make it. The email I received from the captains was extremely detailed and 100% accurate. They liked my athleticism, heads-up play, and my strong effort, but it was not enough. I lacked experience which clearly showed on the field. Also, I was good at everything. It sounds like a good thing, but not at the club level. The club level is full of guys who are great in at least one thing (sometimes everything). Being decent at everything was fine for a decent College team, but means crap if you can't excel in something. My throws, handling, pulling, different defenses, were all pretty good, but nothing stood out. So I didn't.
I don't view my the tryouts as a failure. On the contrary, I now know what I need in order to be an elite Ultimate player. I know I can do anything, but now I need to do at least one thing BETTER. I have 10 months...
I started the tryout period by going to random pick up games in both New Brunswick and Philly. There I meet some of the veterans on the team and learned how their system worked a bit. The main tryout weekend was an intense experience. The last weekend of May anyone that wanted to try out for the team was invited to a brutal tryouts in Philly at the Edgely Ballfields. After that weekend was the first time I realized just how much I need to grow and advance in my Ultimate skill level. I felt like I was lacking athleticism, consistency, and knowledge of the game. I knew I had a lot to work on. I was invited to continue with the team after that weekend and made it through past the first round of cuts. Phew!
I then participated in two tournaments as a Pike player and two practices all in June. Talk about an intense month! At practices, I felt like I was improving as a player but still lacking too much. During the first tournament I tweaked my hip flexor (the tendon that lifts your legs [thighs] up: great for things like running and going up steps) which sidelined me for another practice. This worried me greatly, because I was unable to participate in drills and continue to excel. After much mental debate in my head about whether or not to risk playing on a sore hip flexor for the last tournament, and my last chance to show what I can bring to the table, I decided to play.
The tournament is called the Boston Invite and included the best teams in the entire mid-Atlantic, Northeast area. Day one: very limited playing time. I was called out to play on 6 drives the entire day. Most games average about 25 or so drives a game and there are 4 games a day. Yeah, that did not help my self-esteem. Day two: more playing time. I was on for about 15 drives, but only cause we were playing worse teams. I honestly felt like I played so of my best Ultimate in the limited opportunities I was giving.
That's it. The tournament was over and now the anxious, stomach churning waiting begins to see if I made the team's roster. We were told it would take about 3-4 days to get a response. Three days later, nothing. Four days, nothing. Five, six, seven, nothing. Ok... WTF? Day nine, we received an email saying that they have been busy and would try to get them done in a few days. DAMMIT PEOPLE! I want to know if I made it or not! Day 13, the email came. I did not make the team.
I had busted my ass for one and a half months with this team and I didn't make it. The email I received from the captains was extremely detailed and 100% accurate. They liked my athleticism, heads-up play, and my strong effort, but it was not enough. I lacked experience which clearly showed on the field. Also, I was good at everything. It sounds like a good thing, but not at the club level. The club level is full of guys who are great in at least one thing (sometimes everything). Being decent at everything was fine for a decent College team, but means crap if you can't excel in something. My throws, handling, pulling, different defenses, were all pretty good, but nothing stood out. So I didn't.
I don't view my the tryouts as a failure. On the contrary, I now know what I need in order to be an elite Ultimate player. I know I can do anything, but now I need to do at least one thing BETTER. I have 10 months...
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