Neck Smash!

A bunch of us played a rowdy game of 6 on 5 Ultimate Frisbee last night. All was going well until John (a.k.a. the Wrecking Ball) plowed into me halfway through. I practically went into orbit and my neck got all sorts of sprained. This morning, even after 3 pills and focused heating, I’m still feeling mighty stiff.

But it was worth it. What a game! For the whole evening there was a very light rain which really added to the mayhem. I’m going to have to start working on some good maneuvers to escape heavy defense. They had me double teamed a bit last night and it was frustrating. And really, when The Wrecking Ball wasn’t attempting to break my bones, he was doing a very good job of guarding me fiercely.

Interestingly, I’m beginning to feel far more comfortable with the forehand throw then the backhand.

5 thoughts on “Neck Smash!

  • 9/20/2006 at 8:09 am
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    you do realize that ultimate is a non contact sport?

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  • 9/20/2006 at 8:28 am
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    Yay for Ultimate.

    I’m going to the European Championships in a couple of weeks (in Florence, Italy), because one of the UK teams dropped out and Brighton were the next team down in the national rankings. We’ll be playing against the best teams in Europe (gulp) so it’s going to be pretty hardcore.

    For escaping your marker, make strong, believable fakes. You have to make it look like you’re really going to make a cut in that direction so make the fake more than a couple of steps. Ideally they buy it and you can reverse direction and get free. Otherwise, if they don’t buy the fake… keep going in that direction because they’re not marking you closely anymore and you’ll be free.

    Also, be aware of where your marker is looking – if they are focusing soley on you and not the disc, they won’t know which way you want to cut or when you are likely to cut which makes your fakes easier to time. If they are looking at the disc and not at you, that’s a great time to make eye contact with the guy with the disc* and one of you can indicate where to cut/throw (by pointing or nodding). If they can huck, then bust long and your marker won’t realise until too late. Finally, if your marker is standing side-on so he can keep an eye on you and the disc… well they can play good D and it’s up to your fakes to get you free :)

    Obviously if they have one extra person on their team and he’s marking you as well, getting free is pretty much impossible (unless you are very sneaky) ;)
    Hope that was helpful though – I’m by no means an expert, but I like to think I’ve picked up a thing or two in the last 6 years (has it been that long already?)

    *This is good practice for all cuts, but it’s especially helpful in that situation

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  • 9/20/2006 at 9:25 am
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    First off, congrats on the European ticket. That’s awesome.

    I will try your advice on fakes next game. My fakes were definitely short… occasionally as little as a jerk of motion. I’ll try extended reversals next match.

    When you play do you stick with your man all the time? or do you stick to zones (like soccer)?

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  • 9/20/2006 at 11:08 am
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    Depends what D play we called on the line. Most of the time we play Man-on-man marking, but occasionally if the situation warrants (if it’s windy, for example, or if the other team doesn’t have (m)any good handlers) we’ll play Zone. We’ll only play zone in ‘serious’ training sessions or at tournaments though – it’s too boring (and too much hard work) to play during pick-up games.

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