Final Night

Thursday brought with it some great weather for ultimate: cool with a few clouds, and just a little breeze. Navy and Red paired off for the finals, with the knowledge that Navy was going in undefeated, so if they lost, there would still be a tie between those two in bracket play. In that case, would they play a second game so one could claim definite championship rights, or would Red have the chance to take it all in this one game? The consensus was to lay it all on the line with just one game to 15. It started close, trading points till it was 4-3, Navy. But, then Navy took a strong lead to 8-3 at half. With the majority of the Navy team present, and Red missing some key players, there was just too much for Red to overcome. Navy pulled ahead even more with a decisive win.

On the other field, Royal showed with good numbers for their third place game, but only 3 players from Green showed up (not sure if it was miscommunication or something else). So in the spirit of summer league, those present from the two teams split for some pick-up scrimmage, pulling in a few bystanders as well.

Overall, it was a fun night, and a fun season. Congrats to all for some good ultimate, and thanks to all for participating! Bye, until next summer....

Thanks very much to those who helped with the organization and leadership: Larry Becker, David Schrieber, Collin Smith, Jay Choi, and Pat and Mindy Force.

Finals next

Heading into the final night, here is where we are...

The final bracket play is double elimination. The first night last Thursday, left Green and Navy with 1-0 records, and Royal and Red 0-1. Last night in the second round of the bracket, Green and Navy paired off, with Navy the victor, making them 2-0 going into the final night. Red was able to topple Royal, which placed Royal in the third place game on Thursday. Red and Green were now both 2-1, so they played a second game of the evening to determine the chance to play Navy for the top spot on Thursday. Red toughed it out, as they had played savage all night, to bring home the win for that spot in the finals. Kudos to Red, for their amazing comeback, and cheers to Hannah M for coming back after an injury to be the only Red girl the past two nights - playing every point!

So, Thursday is the final night. Navy and Red pair off. Red will need to beat Navy twice to earn championship bragging rights, to hold to the double elimination. If Navy wins, they have it. So, given the possibility of two games for these teams, we will again plan to start early, by 6:30. On the opposite field, Green and Royal will play for the third spot.

Tonight's Games (August 10)

First games start tonight at 6:30pm! Be at the fields by 6:15 p.m. so we can begin on time.

Last Thursday was the first night of the playoff bracket. The Green vs Red game came down to universe point, with Green making the final score to win. The Navy vs Royal game was not so even, as Royal was playing with 7 savage players, and Navy had most of their stacked team present.

So, tonight we will have Green vs Navy, and Red vs Royal. There will be a second game following for two teams, so that's why we are starting early tonight.

Playoffs begin tonight

Tonight and Monday will consist of playoff games, leading into finals next Thursday. Any team can still be the champs of summer league. Basically, there is a double elimination playoff bracket. Seedings at this point are based on the previous games, with Green seeded first, Royal second, Navy, and then Red, who may be last, but still in it as they showed us with a big victory on Monday.

Heading into playoffs

Two weeks of summer league left. There is one more night of regular season games on Monday. Then Thursday starts our double elimination playoffs, with the finals on Thursday, August 13th.

Here are pictures from last Thursday night.

EYSL photos

Here's a link to some photos from night 6 of summer league, posted on flickr.

Creating the 2009 Westerns Video (linked below)

I just wanted to make a couple remarks about the following video that I just released. It chronicles the story of the South Eugene High School ultimate team (know as the axemen) on their run at a Western Championship. The tournament was held in Blaine, MN back on May 16th/17th. They were the only team that came without a coach and their success on the field is all their own (as they are indebted to their parents who took care of every other logistical obstacle).

I was invited to attend, watch, film, and provide nuggets of wisdom along the way, and this experience was unique. I have been honored to be their advocate and am proud of their run at the championship. The following video took more time, energy, finances, and help from other people to complete than any other video I have ever made... I stopped keeping track of the hours after returning to Eugene earlier this summer when Dylan and Trevor stayed up until 5am working on video extras like the stats. The camera itself broke while in Minnesota, but this was not discovered until afterwards when I could not gain access to the video. After a major camera repair I was able to capture 80% of the video, but sadly was missing the entire finals and portions of the semis. After finding a crazy work-around that required capturing the unplayable video in slow-motion, I was finally able to finish taking the stats and editing the highlight. There were many other complications to this project, but it has all come together in what you can now see.

Thank you to Kelly Marshall, my girlfriend and partner in video editing. Without her there would never would have been the musical selection or highlights cut in the way they were. Thank you to Dylan for making significant improvements and watching the video multiple times to help work out the kinks. Thank you to both Dylan and Trevor (and others?) for taking meticulous stats. Thank you to Kimber for putting up with us working on this video while you desperately just wanted to watch Nationals footage. Thank you to Kathy and Ted Smith for housing me in Eugene while we worked on this project. And for those of you who I missed, thank you for your contributions.

Hope you enjoy it.

2009 UPA HS Western Championships - SEHS (part 1)

2009 UPA HS Western Championships - SEHS (part 1) from luke johnson on Vimeo.

Option click here to download the ipod version.

2009 UPA HS Western Championships - SEHS (part 2)

2009 UPA HS Western Championships - SEHS (part 2) from luke johnson on Vimeo.

Option click here to download the ipod version.

Night #2 Results (July 9)

Team 3 over Team 1 (15-09)

Team 2 over Team 4 (W-F)

So, the standings so far are:

Team 3 (2-0)

Team 2 and Team 4 (1-1)

Team 1 (0-2)

See you all on Monday! (1 vs 2, 3 vs 4)

Team Rosters

The score results and upcoming schedule are posted below, but here are the team rosters. The teams will have names eventually, for now it is Team 1-4.

Team 1: Red
Nathan Bofto
Tyler Cable

Kimber Coles
Andrew Henry
CJ Jost
Andrew Katz
Spencer Latarski

Hannah Merrifield
Trevor Merrifield
Carter Nelson

Taj Newman
Stefan O'Neil
Courtney Phillips
Luke Schwedler
Joseph Sibilia-Young
Jason Simms
Jordan Trepp

Kaya Trepp

Team 2: Royal
Hannah Anderson
Evan Andreason
Gina Bauer
Jack Brainard
Kenny Bryan
Vinh Bui
Joey Carlson
Makaya Fine

Kyle Glidden

Aaron Honn
Matthew Newman
Claire Neyman
Cameron Parker

Mike Schrieber
Trevor Smith
Angela Tocchi

Mary Vertulfo

Team 3: Navy
Jordan Banks
Ciera Bishop
Ryan Brown

Ian Campbell
Wesley Force
Tristan Hediger
Jacob Janin
Britton Johnson
Jacob Kranitz
Peter Kranitz
Kevin McKimmy
Peter McMillan
Lisa Neyman
Natalie Seeger

Kelly Vigil
Brian Ward
Maia Watkins

Grace Whitmore

Team 4: Green

Shay Applegate
Ivy Armstrong
Hannah Baron
Jimmy Brissenden
Steven Chinn
Caden Clark
Keigan Clark
Tom Duke

Dylan Freechild
Jakey Gelrod
Joe Kler
Chris Klonoski
Sophie Sessions

Austin Sharp
Charlie Wilson-Moses

Night #1 Results (July 6)

Hey everyone - Thanks for coming out to the first night of EYSL! It was a great first night with two close games and some amazing Youth Ultimate. Be sure to get in your forms/money and a light/dark jersey for the next games on Thursday, at 6:30.

The teams are going to have names eventually, but for now here are the results:

Team 4 over Team 1 (12-15)

Team 3 over Team 2 (11-15)

Thursday's Schedule: Team 1 vs Team 3, Team 2 vs Team 4.

See you then!

First night, Monday, July 6th

We will be playing a game on Monday

What to Bring for the first night:

Light & Dark jerseys/shirts
Cleats
Water bottle

Forms and fees if you haven't turned those in yet. See below for further info.

First Night approaching

This Monday will be our first night of summer league. We meet at 6:30pm on the Century fields, which are on the back side of Roosevelt Middle School. It should be a lot of fun, we have around 65 players.

We will be collecting fees and forms. This is what you need to bring:
1)FEE: $35 dollars, unless you are a current UPA member then it's $30 (active member for 2009). Checks can be made to Eugene Youth Ultimate or Kathy Smith. If you've already paid via PayPal, then thank you!
2)UPA liability waiver form: We need one of these for everyone, unless the UPA has one on file for you for this year (ie: you are a current member).
3)Medical Authorization Form: These are required for all players who are under 18 years old.

If you are under 18, the forms need to be signed by a parent. If you are 18 or over, you may sign your own liability form, and you don't need the medical one.

Last Call for Registrations

We have a good number of players already signed up. We will be dividing players into teams on Wednesday, July 1st. If you haven't registered yet, do so now! This will help us split teams most evenly.

More details will be posted regarding the schedule later this week.

Announcing 2009 Eugene Youth Ultimate Summer League

The fields are reserved, the dates are set...

Eugene Youth Summer League will be happening again this summer two evenings per week for six weeks, marking our third year in existence. Our start date is pushed back a couple of weeks this year due to field availability, but otherwise, expect the same old good times.

We are planning a format similar to last year, with evenly divided, mixed (co-ed) teams. All students, middle school through college freshmen are welcome to register. Other college players will be a part of our leadership team. Players of all ability and experience are encouraged to play. Our hope is that this can be used as an opportunity to introduce some new students to this amazing sport. To make that happen, it will take current players extending invitations to friends and classmates.

Monday & Thursday evenings
July 6th - August 13th
6:30pm-9:00pm
Roosevelt Middle School (Century fields)
$30 for current UPA members or $35 for non-UPA members

Submit your on-line registration below, and print out appropriate forms. Everyone needs a UPA Medical Authorization form, and non-UPA members also need the UPA Waiver. Payment and forms can be mailed to Kathy Smith, or brought on the first night.

YCC Final Post - Video & Photos

So our YCC adventure is now over, but here is the highlight video from our time as well as the link to the photo gallery.

YCC 2008 Highlight Video:
(ipod - .m4v - 640x360) - 135MB
(iphone - .m4v - 480x270) - 76MB
(SD quicktime - 640x360) - 131MB
(HD quicktime - 1280x720) - 295MB
Vimeo Stream (coming)
Youtube Stream (might come in two parts as they limit the videos to be under 10min and this is 11:18)

Photographs:
Flickr Site

The luke vehicle...

My car has ciera, Bofto, Jordan, and lily in it.

Minneapolis from above

I took a couple shots with my phone. If I was on the other side I
might have gotten the fields...

Baggage Claim

Now we wait for what comes. Hopefully we get everything we checked.

Touchdown

We are now in Seattle. Next up a nice little drive down I5

-luke johnson

No shoes, no service, no flight

An (almost) issue on our plane...

One if our flight attendants is just standing in the emergency isle
while our plane is just sitting here...

Wait, now we are moving and it looks like we were just delayed. But,
he still looks awkward sitting there.

Our flight should leave just a little late, but the journey long and I
am sure we will make up the time.

Challenge of the morning

Can one eat a burger king croisanwhich in less than 2 bites? I think
not.

Collin nearly kicked out of the airport...

In a brave and daring move, collin smith decided to pack his mini
travel size crest mint toothpaste inside his tolietry bag WITHOUT
putting it first inside a clear plastic bag and second, WITHOUT
removing it from his bag.

But the always on top of it security personal at the MSP airport
caught him and stated blazenly, "BAG CHECK!". To which collin hung his
head in shame... He had been caught. He had been ousted. He had been
exposed and what would the consequences be? Would they confiscate his
toothpaste even though it was less than 3oz? Would they take his whole
bag? Would they strip search him? Would they require him to wear a
special bracelet that indicated his horrible infraction? Or would she
just give it back to him and say, "have a good morning"?

It would be the later of these my friends.

Airport, here we come

It's way too early.

Wakey wakey....

5:30am is way too early. But we have to get the rentals back to the
airport before 6:45am and still need to get across town and fill them
up with gas.

Showers... Thank you

The Wulf family invited us over for showers. Thank you.

Will Deaver

Mike the score reporter

The awards are about to be given out and our team will then be
officially done. Three players just finished their last high school
points and for them we say thankyou; David Schrieber, Collin Smith,
and Ivan Becker-wayman.

It was a pleasure coaching this team and the 7-0 run they made at this
tournament. It was a joy to be part of the experience and for that I
thank you.

Eugene wins!

Claire Neyman grabbed the final point from lily and the 15-6.

We now have the awards ceremony...

-luke johnson

Minnesota finally scores...

Our breaking streak was just ended as minesota just scored making it
12-4 EU

-luke johnson

Eugene up 2 breaks.

Receiving the disc on O for the first point, we broke them twice in a
row before they came back with their own O point and a break. We then
answered back with another run that has led us to 7-2!

-luke johnson

Eugene in the finals!

The final score was caught by none other than David for the 15-4 win.
Kyle approached me after the game and had a conversation about the
history of "Oregon ultimate always having observers on it", despite
this year not having that called at westerns or states or even the
year before. We would have to go back to 2006 when Churchill had
observers called on them by lakeside...

That said, Kyle had some good observations, yet I must point out that
even though observers were called on us, there was not one time they
were used...

Eugene takes half 8-2

And in dominating fashion.

-luke johnson

EU up 5-2 on another break

Clarifying observer request

After a couple calls made by both teams it seems that Kyle, the
Atlanta coach, is concerned the right calls are not being made by us...

A bit ridiculous considering their last two calls. The first was a
foul on the mark clearly and very much contact generated by the
thrower way after the throw. And the second was a strip that was
caught by Aaron first.

-luke johnson

EU gets first break up wind 3-1

And during our time out atlanta requested observers.

Bye round kite flying

Bracket is set.

541 over 206

Eugene rocked Seattle 15-2 in a game that demonstrated the
effectiveness of our zone. The final point came from Dylan to ivan.

-luke johnson

Eugene up 11-0!

In what Seattle probably describes as an assault on their patience, we
have thrown a standard zone for the last 11 10 points. The only point
they nearly scored on was our starting O point in the second half...

Up 11-0, Seattle just took another time out.

10 minutes to game time

Not sure how much was due to hard play yesterday, but we have a number
of players hurting and feeling crappy.

Lily has an ackilies ankle that she has trouble putting weight on.
Collin's hip flexer is bothering him and he hopes to not play until
the semis. Dylan's new cleats are giving him massive blisters. Ian
still hobbles a bit despite being able to push himself with a huge
layout d yesterday that got called back. CJ also has blisters from her
new cleats and angela is simply out of it this morning for unknown
reasons...

Wake up

6:45 came and went and we are now at the fields. Most of the other
teams arrived before us and we are going to be playing catchup in
being ready...

Falling asleep...

Most of the crew is sleeping at this point, but a few are still
lingering around on their couches they selected the other night when
we first arrived.

Tonight the youth group here was having a Mexico mission trip reunion
overnight and has been and will still be playing games in the building
until at least 2am. A few of our players joined in for capture the
flag before calling it quits. With the growing maturing of these
players I don't feel the need to tell them bed time. All those who
were even playing knew midnight was quiting time cause tomorrows games
are important.

On that note, it still amazes me how serious a few of our players take
this sport. It both inspires me to want to be a better player and
coach, but it also concerns me as there are more important things in
life. So often I see friendships and relationships get put out of
priority for going further in this sport. Trading up maybe is a way of
putting it, but that doesn't quite encompass what I see sometimes
happen. A contributing factor also then is the competitive edge
players get and the lack of respect for their opponents. This is shown
by both words and actions and I have to admit I am sometimes very
embarrassed for what takes place on 'my watch'...

And I am also saddened and concerned with how critical I can be with
our players. The competitve drive in me to be the coach of the team
that wins is often out of line. I catch myself sometimes wanting the
win so that I look good, and forget or have as an after thought the
joy the players will have. That isn't right. And I know it.

I want our players to play this game because it has connected them to
a community worth spending time with. It is a sport that allows one to
individually become a better person physically, mentally, and socially
with relationships. And it is for this reason I sometimes am saddened
when winning and ego and pride get in the way.

My goal for tomorrow's games is to be a speaker of positive words and
to encourage and inspire. I don't want to criticise or bring down the
team a I know I have and did today. This is their time and their
experience. And I hope I can be the coach they need me to be.

Hey hey

Post dinner slide show

A few moments ago the photo of Dylan skying the MN player "cheetah"
came up and the crowd went pretty wild. Interesting considering that
no other photograph has generated the kind of response from the crowd
and we are in the mixed division... A bit ironic when our division is
not given the same kind of respect.

We may elect to chill here and watch the supposed coach vs player
showcase, but is suspect we will be heading back to the church. I hope
we can get back into the church... With no key...

The spread...

Hopefully they will fill up.

Eugene takes atlanta 15-8

In an ugly game that we tanked in the second half, we finally put in
the last point... Props to Atlanta for digging deep and giving us a
nasty and hardlast round game.

-luke johnson

Atlanta breaks

Climbing back into the game with two breaks, Atlanta is now breathing
down our neck 8-6...

As I write ian hucked to claire, fouled on catch and then gave it to
lily for the score. 9-6 us

-luke johnson

Eugene takes half on Atlanta 8-3

Somehow... They get a break...

Playing lazy and not caring we just gave up an O point and then a
break. I hate giving teams hope, and we just did...

But taking a time out we now just came out of it and rallied off two
more points. The first a claire to lily that got called back and then
the second a floaty thing from Trevor to David.

Eugene up 5-0

Five straight breaks... Nearly scoring faster than I can update you all!

The last one was a sweet up the line and sky by ian. Before that point
trevor sent Aaron deep who had a sick layout for the score.

And while I was typing, dylan pulled so well that it was dropped!
Trevor to Kati for the last break.

Eugene over MN 15-9

In a brilliant last point, Dylan skied the crap out of minnesota top
player for the win. We played better than we have all tournament and
it looks like as long as we take it to Atlanta we should remain the
top seed.

Eugene trade and breaks

Going up 12-9 by a sweet up the line cut by Dylan, Eugene is now
looking to be much more dominate.

And seconds later they threw it right back into our hands and claire
broke the mark to Ciera for 13-9.

-luke johnson

Eugene breaks again!

First break off a nice shadow layout d from Jordan led to Schriber
hitting collin in the endzone 10-7.

We called a timeout to talk a Z point and got the turn twice before a
drop of theirs led to dabit being hit by collin for another break 11-7.

And while I was typing MN got the O point making it 11-8 us.

Eugene breaks to take half 8-6

A throw away on the goal line by us after already getting turn, it
looked like they'd catch us at 7 a piece, but instead ian had a huge
layout sky behind his guy for the turn that led to another huck to
Schriber deep and half 8-6.

Second half has now started and MN has already brought it to the goal
line and called a time out.

-luke johnson

Eugene breaks back... But remains even

A sick layout d by minnnesota gave them a string of points, but we
answered back with an I point and break.

Minnesota answered and is playing solid offense and defense. This will
be a rematch of what the finals are tomorrow... Mark my words.

5-5 all and on serve down wind.

-luke johnson

Eugene gets the break back

We started rusty and the second pass was a drop by CJ... But she is
going to get it back I know it. We came out and scored our I point on
a David catch to live side.

The third point was a break after Jordan got a great poach d in the
endzone. Claire then hucked it to David for the break back and now we
are on serve 2-1

-luke johnson

Thoughts from the car

I needed some shade from the blistering sun and forgot that the team
was warming up in 5 minutes. That was 10 minutes ago and I sit in here
and am proud of what I see. It's not just that they began warming up
on their own, but it is the smybolism that it demonstrates. They are
capable to run this team completely on their own. Sure, kathy and I
need to drive them places and keep food coming their direction and
even an occational reminder of something is probably helpful, but for
the vast majority of the time... They have this and are an autonomous
group of friends capable of great things.

Next game is Minnesota and I'm honestly a bit worried. They are big
and old with a large percentage of their roster being graduates. They
have also beaten everyone by as much as we have beaten our
competition. This will be a great game and I'm stocked to see if EU
can bring the kind of talent they are capable of.

-luke johnson

YCC Mixed Division Standings

YCC Open Division Standings

Again, only the first two rounds are done.

YCC Girls Division

I am not sure how often josh will be posting, but here are the current
standings in all three divisions.

Eugene takes down another

The game ended on another break point and sweet sequence on offense.
It seems to me that our offense is clicking better and better. And
defensively, our zone is stiffling the other teams with efficiency.

Claire also got the layout d that put us on top at the end!

To Christine...

The team misses you and wished you were here!

-luke johnson

Eugene takes half 8-2

Eugene up 6-2 on denver

Running our number 3 play after claire called a timeout, collin was
easily able to cut to live side and get the upwind break.

Dylan pulled the following point and to no surprise, they didn't want
to catch it and they were trapped in their endzone. With angela on the
mark, try swung only a few times before claire steped in for the poach
d. Seconds later, she had the score.

Final score

The final point would be caught by David on a simple O point. Next up
Denver's mixed team.

Our zone worked well this point with our ladies fighting hard in the
cup and forcing an eventual turn. Solid handling from ivan didn't hurt
either and with deep looks to David all day I suspect we will be
taking it to Denver much like we did new England.

Eugene throws zone

First zone d point and our ladies rip it up and we are now up 12-3 in
a game to 15...

-luke johnson

Eugene takes half 8-1

Off a sweet huck by ivan to Dylan we take the first half

-luke johnson

Eugene up 4-0 on BUDA

-luke johnson

Warming up

We arrived a little after 7:30 to only two other teams here; one of
which is the BUDA team we play first.

A little box drill right now and in a little more than 30 we play!

Shaved heads...

I forgot to mention that dylan, ian, and Trevor all shaved their heads
this evening. It took more time than imagined and there were a few
moments where it would have been fun to have stopped them in mid cut,
but they are all happy with their new dos and ready to stomp tomorrows
competition. Games start at 9am our time, or 7am Oregon time.

Guts indoors

After our long and extended visit to the mall of America, we came back
to the tournament hotel to register our team and get the player packs.
No special chap stick this year, but instead a nifty whistle and key
chain.

The program packs show just how big the other teams are in size and
age.. Which was a bit of a surprise after feeling confident we were
more stacked with collin, Ivan and David.

It will be interesting to see how well we will actually do now that we
have a slightly better idea who is coming or at least height and age
wise. I give us a 90% chance of taking the tournament based on the
current knowledge of the rosters and given newness of a few teams in
our division. Having played last weekend at Klienman was also a huge
help for those who came, but with Dylan, ivan, nathan, and Kati, it
will be interesting how well everyone will gel. I fear the tension
between our guys who think they are the more important aspect of the
team and our girls who have been huge pieces on teir Womens team now
feeling like they are in the way. We will win this thing if we can
figure out and figure out early how to best use BOTH genders while we
are playing.

The photo below shows a little of our guts two on two action that
Dylan started 5 minutes before we were to be in bed...

I'm going to post this and then get to sleep.

Note to parents: I get the comments people post, so if you want to
send a message to your kid, I will pass the word.

Expect posts throughout the day until my phone dies!

Mall of America

On our way back to the church now. Sleepy time!

Late lunch

We slept until nearly 12:30, but it felt great and I know I am feeling
much, much better and rested.

We made sandwiches after kathy and few players went to get groceries.

At the Church

We made it! It is way too early to be functioning, but we are just now
waiting to get into the church as it doesn't open until 8am.

Cold breakfast next and some more sleeping!

Arrived

Not many slept, but we are here in one piece. Just before we began
boarding we nearly forgot lily and CJ who were enjoying a nice
conversation a little ways from our terminal. A bit freaked out, both
kathy and I had them paged... "calling Eugene ultimate players CJ and
Lily"

Oh, CJ... Your brain has yet to develop completely.

Going for an airplane ride!

Boarding the flight

We are boarding the plane right now and should be in MN sometime
around 4am Oregon time. The entire plane seems to be ultimate players
as the Seattle open, girls, and mixed squads are also with us. One man
outside our group commented to his wife when he saw us, "not gonna get
any sleep tonight..."

In the airport

Colombian steals Dylan's Phone

Needing to kill some time before the Junior ladies take on Japan in the semi-finals, Dylan, Trevor, Ian, Claire and myself all decided to sit down and watch the quarter-final match up between the German and Colombian boys. The game was dicey and full of spectacular plays. The Colombians played amazing, but the Germans even better. Super fast speed and huge skys were a common occurrence. As the game was nearing the end, the Colombians were down 10-9 in a game to 12. A few kicked discs and tempers were flaring. The 3rd place team from last year, they were facing elimination and after a long extended point at 11-10, the Germans punched it in for the win 12-10. The Colombian team colapsed in frustration and dissapointment.

Dylan hopped up right away with Ian and began throwing the disc on the field as the two teams slapped hands on the far endzone and began to circle up. After a few minutes, Dylan yelled at me to come out and play some World Cup (which is just a variation on 3 catches that lasts longer). I got up from talking to Kathleen Dugan (Jacob Janin's mom for those who didn't know) and as I was doing this, Dylan was taking his shoes off and put them on the back left sideline near the endzone cone. He took a few steps forward and then forgotten that he had his phone still in the Aaron Honn sewn in pocket of his shorts. Too lazy to come back to his shoes to put his phone in, he causually tossed his phone towards his shoes where it cascaded in a rolling motion a few feet from his shoes and off the sideline. I thought at that moment as I was walking near it that I could put it into his shoes, but his lack of care encouraged me to not care...

As we began playing World Cup, the Colombians began taking their final cool down lap around the field. We continued to throw and catch as they Colombians then made their way back to their bags and packed up their things. Dylan would win the first round of World Cup and the group seemed to want to play a second game. As the second game commenced, the Germans took a lap around the field. With both teams nearing the end of their cool down; Colombians downcast and bummed they had lost and the Germans pumped in their upset win, I said that I would like to watch some Guts. So we stopped our third game that was only one throw begun and began picking things up. Dylan grabbed his shoes, while the others grabbed their gear that they had left near the tree farther from the fields... Nearly at the tree, and after picking up his shoes, Dylan announced to Claire, who was behind him, to pick up his phone that he had left there. She coudn't find it and then Dylan, with a perplexed look, came out to see if he could find where he threw it. A search then commenced that resulted in bewildered looks and confusion on who would have picked it up.

Dylan suspected it could be the Colombians, but they were the team he had been rooting for and wanted desperately for them not to be the ones who took it. He approached their loose cirlce and didn't have the courage to ask any of them, but think about it... would you? We then checked the lost and found, hoping that a volunteer had picked it up and put it there. But, nope... Where was his phone? It had to be one of the Germans or the Colombians. But why? And how to figure it out?

Nearly 15 minutes after the phone had gone missing, we finally had the bright idea to call it and see if someone would answer. No answer. And then the smarter idea of walking around the teams and see if we could hear it. If they were smart, the person would have turned it off. Dylan had already called once. No answer. The second time he approached some Colombians under the tree. Nothing. Then the tent with the food. Nothing. Then he saw some Germans and Colombians hanging out in the injury tent. He called it and hear his ring tone. Immediately the bag it was in was zipped up by the Colombian player and he began to walk out of the tent. Dylan approached him and said, "I think you have my phone". To which he replied, "I was going to return it to the lost and found tent as soon as I was taped up". Sure.

Mystery solved and the phone is back!

Worlds Update - Thursday afternoon

We just finished watching the US girls take on Canada in the play-in game to stay in the championship bracket. Going down early, they ended up taking half after a small run 9-8. But then Canada fought back with an easy O point and then two breaks 11-9 Canada... It looked like the US was going to be done early, especially with the inconsistency the girls continued to struggle with. Fundamentals continued to be the problem rather than Canada really doing anything to hurt them.

The US girls got into a rhythm with soft-cap looming and spun off 5 straight to go up 14-11, game point US. The girls weren't done being stupid though and let Canada bring it to 14-13; still game point US. In a long and drawn out final point, the US finally put it in and secured a chance to play for the championships.

Their next game will be at 2:30pm today (our last game we'll watch before needing to head back across the border) against Japan (who had beaten Columbia in yesterday's power pool).

You can see all the results here.

Happy Birthday Trevor Smith!

At Worlds: 2 day recap

We got in Monday night around 8pm after taking over an hour and a half at the border... We picked the right line though as number 3 guy just asked us a couple questions and then let us through (we'll see how hard it will be to make our way back to the US tomorrow).

When we finally found the fields and such (I had to get out and ask for directions), we were all a bit edgy and frustrated with missing games and being in the car for that long. We argued about where to stay and finally agreed to go along with the plan Angela had set up the week before at some RV park. The directions went on an on an on as we left west Vancouver for downtown and then headed back out of it. The RV park was right underneath the large bay bridge and right away we knew we were in sketch-city.

We got groceries at some supermarket for both breakfast and lunch the next day (I'm horrible at this kind of planning by the way) and then found a BK for dinner as we didn't know what to make at nearly 10pm.

Setting up camp between two RVs was interesting, and the crew all elected (or I strongly suggested) that they stay in the big tent while I stay in my own. Though tired and exhausted and getting on each other's nerves, all I heard as I fell asleep was their laughter and giggles.

The next morning we were all up by about 7:30am and making our way to the fields. We juggled our time watching the Juniors boys first and then the Junior girls. The girls were playing in the stadium and as we approached the fields, the game had just begun and Kimber was playing the first point. We yelled from the back and cheered her on as her team got a D in that endzone that allowed her to stretch to the back for an endzone play. She hadn't yet heard us, but when she was five yards from the back she saw us and a "holy sh*t!" came from her mouth... She smiled huge and nearly came out of the endzone to give Dylan a hug, but then had to refocus on the point at hand against Finland. After their game, we spent some time hanging out with Kimber and heard about her experiences thus far. She wasn't allowed to leave with us to see other games as they had another game later that day against Canada. We split up and a few of us went to see the Junior boys kill Canada. And on that note, Jacob played really, really well.

In between the long stretches between junior games, I watched real GUTS and this game is pretty sweet. The merchandise tent had some sweet gear, but the prices were ridiculous. And Vancouver is so beautiful...

The last game of the day for us was between the US Junior Girls and Canada. The US struggled and it was frustrating for us to watch as we saw Kimber sidelined over other girls who continued to make mistake after mistake. It was aparent that the US coaches had picked their favorites and wanted to stick with them; thick or thin. In the 2 games that we watched of the girls, Kimber played solid on offense and on defense had a staggering mark.

We then found this travel lodge after some debate on how much to spend (just before I filled up Kathy's van with a full tank of gas for $100!). Getting the room, a few of us felt a little sick and stayed in doors, while the rest went out for some fresh air and A&W. There was a small scare early on as we had to get a room for "4 people" and yet had 7... Getting everyone in without being too deceptive or sneaky was challenging... (The ethics of this are hard to grasp, but that is for another blog at another time).

We all slept well and are now packing up for the ride back to the fields to see the Junior boys play Columbia (who are both 5-0) and then the girls vs Great Britian in their back-door pool play to still have a chance at the tournament championships. Hopefully they put things together this morning.

Final Night

The final night of play began with a play-in game between Rhino and DOG. Rhino, playing with only 6 players (of which included Christine Wilson who was not planning on playing and had not brought her cleats). DOG was missing Jacob Janin, but this was no surprise as he had been gone most of the season anyways. The game started out even and points were traded until 3 all. Rhino would get the first upwind break, but DOG would fight through the next O point and have a chance to force the break back... After a great number of turns, Rhino would score the point and take precious ticks of the clock. In a game that started late, the was not enough time for DOG to battle back through and for the next 20 minutes both teams would trade downwind points until Rhino emerged victorious 10-8. It didn't hurt that they picked up Collin Smith after he awoke from his late afternoon nap half way through the game.

The semis proved to be the most amazing games of the night; both going to universe point. Furious and Rhino did battle on the first field, while Chain and Sockeye fought on the second. Rhino and Furious traded points early, but Furious snuck in a break sometime while I was not watching. Furious gave that break right back after Daniel Force dropped a pull that probably was as much a result of the sun dropping as it was anything else... On the other field though Chain was ripping Sockeye a new one going up 7-1 with just over 25 minutes before cap. Somehow Sockeye started to make a run on the confused Chain and next thing they knew, Sockeye had tied things up at 8 a piece. Both games would be capped as the both Sockeye and Furious were able to score, forcing double-game point. Sockeye would manage to get the break on Chain, while Furious was unable to do the same on Rhino. Hard fought games on both sides led to a late start for the finals between two teams who showed up with just enough players to play a full 7 on 7.

The finals were nearly immediately determined as Rhino got the first break upwind and forced another minutes later as Sockeye struggled with the dwindling sun and gusty winds. The finals would be watched by only a few, but Rhino would emerge victorious after having tied for the worst record with DOG earlier this week... Congrats to Rhino for their amazing come back!

PHOTOGRAPHS

Thursday - FINAL NIGHT

5:00pm: Rhino vs DOG (to determine the 4th seed)

6:00pm: Furious vs (4th seed) & Sockeye vs Chain

7:15pm: Finals

Semis & Finals delayed for a play-in game!

Last night Rhino agreed with DOG that if they ended the season with the same record, they would play a special play-in game to take on the number one seed Furious. With only 6 players showing up, Rhino was in a world of hurt and lost their first round game to Chain 5-13. On the other field DOG was taking on Furious in a match-up they had never won... And when the hard cap blew, DOG had taken down the giant 10-6.

Now, the special play-in game was possibly no longer needed as Rhino was facing elimination in their game against Sockeye. Both Rhino and Sockeye were down players and started the second round game with sixes... With the game tied, and hard cap looming, Rhino dug in deep and took the final point from Sockeye 10-9. There would need to be a special play-in game to determine the 4 seed in the final championship.

So, 5pm on Thursday there will be a play-in game between Rhino and DOG that will then lead into the semi-finals that will start at 6pm!

Okay... so there is only one way...

There is only one way that the standings can change and that is for Chain Lightning to jump Sockeye for the number two spot overall. For this to happen, Chain has to win their last remaining games against Furious and Rhino. This will put them at 9-7 for the season. Also, Sockeye would have to loss their final game against Rhino, and also putting them at 9-7 for the season.

So, with both at 9-7, we would go to point differential between Chain and Sockeye in their four match-ups... With the first three going to Sockeye on universe point and the third going to Chain 9-6, we are tied... So, it will then come down to all opponents point diff... After adding and subtracting all the numbers, Sockeye is up +9 and Chain is up +2. But, again, Chain will have to have won both their games on Monday. If for some strike of craziness Chain wins both games by a total that when combined with Sockeye's loss is 7, then we have a COMPLETE TIE and will then need to have a quick one point play off.

Okay, so I'm done staying up late and figuring out these kinds of things...

Second to last night of pool play

So, this evening showed another night of pretty sweet ultimate. Much like Monday evening when Furious and Sockeye battled it out for the top spot and it went to universe point, this evening showed DOG and Rhino (the two teams at the bottom of the standings) fighting to universe point. Both teams are fighting for the 4th spot and a chance to remain in the final championship tournament on next Thursday. Unfortunately for DOG, they are trying to come back from a 2-10 record earlier this week. They were able to beat Rhino on universe point (9-8) and thus kept themselves only one loss behind Rhino in the stands. But, Rhino battled hard against Furious in the second round and won 10-8. So, even though DOG was able to bagel Sockeye in the second round 13-0, they are still down one loss to Rhino with only one game left. This means that if DOG wants to spoil Rhino's hopes at the 4th spot, they have to win their only last game on Monday night against Furious AND Rhino has to loss both of their games to both Chain and Sockeye.

So, with the championship bracket nearly completely figured out for next thursday night, monday's games are a bit mute. There is a chance that Rhino could win both their games and then Chain loss both of theirs and thus both would end up 7-9 for the season. But, with point diff being then in place, Rhino would have no chance at making up the difference with an early season forfeit...

So, again, it looks like the Championship Semis are going to be set as:
1. Furious vs 4. Rhino
2. Sockeye vs 3. Chain

Summer Solstice XXX Rhino HL

For your viewing pleasure... I know it isn't from summer league, but this should be still fun to watch.

Summer Solstice XXX 2008 - Rhino HL from glossjohnson on Vimeo.

Another night... Another universe point loss...

Tonight was much like it has been, but there were a couple twists. The first was a pretty bad hyper-extended knee of Dylan Freechild in the second round. It put him out for the rest of the night, and then forced him to drive his own car home because no one knows how to drive a stick. This also put Rhino in a pinch even being up 5-3. Chain rallied and ended up winning 9-8.

DOG also had another rough night, with another loss that they'll just toss upon their pile of nine previous ones. Playing down with only five players after Ariel Stavitsky went out with her continual knee problems, and having the youngest of all five teams, DOG is very much the underdog in this summer league. If only Jacob would come out, and Aaron would be back from his vacation, and Brian Ward would start bidding...

Anyways, that's all to report for the night.

Another Monday...

Tonight was fun. Chain came up just a bit short after forcing double-game point. A high leaping David just came out of reach of the d needed to bring the disc back up the field, but instead a grounded Bofto took the disc in hand and the 9-8 victory for Sockeye. The other first round game was between DOG and again a short-handed Rhino. DOG played well and solid and took the game 10-7 with leadership again provided by Aaron and Tyler.

The second round games were much less close with Furious dominating Rhino 13-5 in a rare game that didn't go to cap. The other game was between DOG and Sockeye and though they fought well, DOG simply could not compete with the experience of the Sockeye players who would take the game 12-6.

Third night

The third night for summer league was tough with at least one team playing with less than 7 people all evening. The fourth of july celebrations for many had begun earlier in the day and had taken them away to the coast or cali or somewhere other than summer league central; RMS. That didn't stop us from playing though.

The evenings' first round put the last 4 teams up against each other for the first time in the series that will allow all teams to play each other 4 times. Furious took on Chain on the first field. This game quickly became Furious' even though they came with no females and had to play down with 6 people. Kimber's furious would be led this evening by Andrew Henry, Daniel Force, Jay Choi, and Jimmy Brissenden. Not having Kimber, CJ or their other girls should have hurt them, but this older team played effieciently and with poise throughout the entire night. The would hand Chain another loss 13-4. On the other field it would be Sockeye taking on Rhino. Rhino would not have the leadership of Dylan, nor the talents of Charlie or Ivan or Collin or Austin. Led this evening by Autumn and Christine, Rhino simply couldn't get things done the way they wanted and lost to another team who was playing short handed; Sockeye. This game would end 11-6 in favor of Sockeye.

The second round games of the eveing proved to be the most interesting. On the first field Furious was keeping up with Sockeye early on. But a few mis-steps and some well guided hucks led to a quick few breaks by Furious and half 7-4. The second half would explode in favor of Furious, who though exhausted and tired from still playing only 6, would be able to capitalize on their height and speed. This game would end 13-5 in favor of Furious. The other game would show DOG taking on Chain. Chain after suffering their earlier game loss came out a bit more determined in this second game. Unfortunately for Chain, DOG was not going to be willing to roll over like one and it would be DOG getting the first upwind break in an evening with steady 5-10mph winds. DOG would not be able to keep their upwind break after a decision was made by both teams to allow the game's format to be open... Chain would break upwind and then take the downwind break and half 7-6. Both teams would trade points the rest of the evening with the hard-cap approaching. DOG would be broken a second time and face a cap in less than a minute. They would fight hard to get the upwinder in time to potentially force a double-game point, but a drop would allow Chain the time to work the disc up the field until cap went off. At that point the game was done, despite DOG scoring last. The game would end in favor of Chain 10-9.

Second night...

There isn't much to say other than that there was another great night of summer league action that took place! 3 of the games were decided by 2 or less points again showing that our teams are fairly well balanced. Dylan's Rhino powerhouse tore through Furious in their first game, winning 12-5, but having zero subs didn't help in their second game against Chain. This would be the game to watch in the second round as Rhino scored a quick goal with only a minute left before hard-cap and down 11-9. If they could score before hard-cap they could force a double-point game, but they simply couldn't get the turn soon enough and though they would score the last point, it would be Chain upsetting the number one contender Rhino 11-10.
In the first round, the game between DOG and Sockeye was a fun one. With 15 seconds before hard-cap was to be sounded Sockeye was able to get a turn and score allowing them the chance to force double game point if they could manage one more turn... Fate wouldn't have it though as DOG took the final point and game 11-9. DOG would lose their second round game by two to Furious who was rumored to be taking their sweet time back to the line... But, until these rumors can be confirmed, the game stands and the current standings will hold to the right.

5 Teams - First Official Night

This evening the first official games for our summer league began at 7:10pm. Both games started off a little late, and quickly both Chain Lightning and Furious George jumped out to early leads 6-2 against both DOG and Sockeye. Though the first games would end at 11-4 and 9-4, the second round games would be a different story. After a first round bye, Rhino would play DOG and Chain would play Sockeye. Both games would stay even the entire time until cap. Universe point on both fields and it would be Sockeye and Rhino emerging victorious.

Reminder, that next week games will be starting at 6:30pm!

Welcome to Summer Youth Ultimate League

The official registration for the summer's youth ultimate league begins this week! We would love to have everyone registered the week before games begin on Monday, June 23rd so that we can have teams set, meaning registration closes on Wednesday, June 18th (EXTENDED). The cost for EYSL will be the same as last year with $30 for players who are already UPA members and $35 for those who are not (checks written out to: Eugene Youth Ultimate). For those who are not already UPA members, we will submit a membership/waiver file on your behalf along with the $5 one time event fee. This allows us to keep the league sanctioned and thus provide us with the insurance needed to reserve the fields.

To register you must complete the following 3 steps:
1) Submit the online registration form on the right
2) Mail in $30/35 registration fee to Luke (checks written out to: Eugene Youth Ultimate)
3) Mail in the UPA medical form on the right to Luke (download and print it out)
3b) complete the UPA Membership/Waiver if you are NOT already a UPA member

For those who are new to the summer league or simply need a reminder, the purpose to doing this is three-fold:
1) The first is to provide an opportunity for players from the entire Eugene area to come together and play this amazing sport of Ultimate. As the sport continues to have its' growing pains with school based teams fluctuating in size and strength, this provides a unique opportunity to play with people from other schools who you would otherwise not be able to.
2) Second, in order to best grow the sport of ultimate in our community, it needs to be exposed to new players and that means your friends who don't yet play. Last summer there were a good number of players who had never played before who came out, and we want to see this again. For teams looking to recruit new players for their school based teams, summer league gives you a great opportunity to invite them out in a friendly and easy going environment.
3) And third, by running an official summer league that is UPA sanctioned, we allow ourselves the opportunity to gain a guaranteed bid to the Youth Club Championships hosted each summer.

This summer we would like to have 10 mixed teams playing games on two nights a week. This can only happen if we are able to get enough players registered. Take a moment and think of a couple friends you've wanted to experience ultimate and then give them a call about summer league.