Last night was our first double header of summer league. The first game got going late, and was actually a bit of a let down. Noone was running very hard. Nobody showed any energy. The points came pretty easily, and we ended up winning. The game was just weird though and I didn’t enjoy it at all.

The second game was totally different. We played against the top team who was undefeated. They had many excellent players including a husband/wife combo who are both national level players. The rest of their team was just damn good. This game would be a challenge to us.

Sure enough they got off to a great start. They were up 6-1 and it wasn’t looking so good for us. Then we changed our luck and started playing better. We scored a couple points and started to get a little momentum. The teams went back and forth for a while experimenting with zone and man coverage on a perfect ulti night (a slight breeze, sunshine, and warmth).

I managed to catch a couple points on the night and felt my throwing was pretty decent. I screwed up a couple times, but overall I was happy with how I felt. On defence I made a few blocks to be proud of. In all my game was going pretty well.

Then there was the play that made my night. My team was on offence and I was striking for the endzone. I had broken from my check and was right where I should be. Then I looked back and saw the disc was going to come up short. I put on the brakes, dove backward trying to make the catch. My fingers hit the disc. It flipped up and I fell down hard on the ground. I then felt the disc land on my outstretched arm. Quickly I looked up and saw it balanced on my arm. With my other hand I reached up and trapped the disc against my arm before it touched the ground. An opponent was right there watching (one of the national level players) and he called it a fair catch. Somehow the disc never hit the ground. He congratulated me on the catch and the rest of my team caught up. Big smile on my face. Of course, the ground was hard like cement so I lost some skin on my knee, hip, side, and elbow.

As time was winding down we were down by a point. We tied it up, then scored another on the last point. We had won the game. Totally awesome.

Ulti tonight was a blast. I had such a great time, and played really well. I had some wheels tonight, and felt strong the entire game. It was a close one too.

It was slightly windy which meant a lot of zone coverage. The team is doing very good with the zone and that makes playing so much more enjoyable. I played all over the field on defence too. I was in the cup for a while, I was mid mid, and I was even deep quite a bit. There was one player on the other team who was really good. For many points we simply had one person follow him around trying to shut him down a little. I was that rabbit for a couple points and that was rather tiring.

Also on defence I made some excellent reads on the disc. Since it was windy, sometimes it would float way up there, and sometimes it would dive for the ground. The other team liked to huck and zone, and I made quite a few d-blocks that stopped points. The only thing that wasn’t so nice was that a couple of them were on women, but it was to prevent a point so I don’t feel that bad. I even made a diving block that almost worked. I got a couple fingers on the disc, but wasn’t able to catch it, and the receiver still got the disc.

On offence I was throwing well which was great since I was handling a fair amount. I was very pleased with my throwing, and managed not to throw it away.

One point that still brings a smile to my face was a set play. It was a downhill point, and we called a huck and zone. I let the hucker know where to throw it and he agreed he could get it there. At the pull I ran downfield fairly fast and watched the handler set up for our play. I cut left, got behind my check, then cut hard right for the sideline as the handler hucked. It was a little far away from me though so I had to push it pretty hard. I saw a teammate attempting to catch the disc, but it was over her head. I was getting close to the sideline in a full sprint, and the disc was starting to dive for the ground. My only option was to dive. This resulted in a spectacular one handed grab, just inside the sideline, and a full body slide. That put a smile on my face for quite a while.

Nearing 8:15 the score was 10-9 for the other team, we stepped up and scored the points needed to win the game 13-11. That was one of the most fun games I have played in a long time. Strong opponents, my team played well, the weather was a little unpredictable, and it wasn’t a blowout.

Tonight’s ulti game was awesome. It was a super windy night, but at least it was sunny. The wind was gusty too which made passing very interesting.

Our team played quite well and we had a lot of fun. There was lots of zoning which we did quite well with. I was proud of the team in how we played.

I was very happy with how I felt the entire game too. I felt strong and fast the entire game and could have played longer. I was playing all sorts of positions too. On defence for some points I was in the cup, some points a mid, some points a long. On offense I was a handler, a mid, and a striker. All around I played every position out there.

On defence I read the disc well, and many times ended up in the right place at the right time to stop the other team from catching it.

On O I threw fairly well despite the wind. I had a couple stupid passes that I regretted instantly. I also caught a couple points. One I called for the team to stack up, then when it was my turn sprinted to the open area, blowing by my check to catch the disc inches from the sideline.

Lots of fun, and we got the win. On the third point we scored an up wind point and the rest of the game we traded points.