YCC Tryouts

There were a healthy number of people at tryouts for the New Jersey YCC team Sunday morning - I think we had 22, with several other people who couldn't make the tryouts also in consideration. Unsurprisingly, there was a pretty large gulf between the Columbia players in attendance and the players from the rest of the state, but there were plenty of turnovers all around - which was quite disconcerting coming from a system where turnovers are unacceptable, especially for the O team. One of my goals for the team will be to try to instill that mentality into our players, which should translate into an advantage for our team, especially with how common turnovers are in juniors ultimate.

We started with a scrimmage - it was sloppy, most of us had never played together, and nobody really stood out. Evan Walter, an eighth grader, scored both of his team's goals. Afterwards, we moved into drills. We did both throwing and cutting drills, seeing who could throw short, deep, and break side, as well as who could beat their man, make sharp cuts, and who could play hard defense. Some people started to separate themselves from the rest, but it was really apparent that many New Jersey juniors players are seriously lacking an experienced coach.

The decision making and fundamentals of many non-Columbia players were deficient - players had throws and/or athleticism, and a basic sense of how to play the game (with a vertical stack and the basic forces). But the concepts of quick disc movement, smart clearing, making space for other players, and team defense weren't visible at all. We played one scrimmage with a four-second stall count - it didn't go well. The defense didn't pressure the open side cutters enough and handlers didn't look to move the disc quickly enough. For New Jersey players to be competitive nationally and in college, more teams need to pick up coaches from nearby club teams like Pike and AMP.

But despite the somewhat discouraging play, there were flashes of what certain players can bring to the team. There are some strong receivers who can beat people deep and in regularly, and handlers who make aggressive dump cuts, both back and upline. We will definitely be competitive and able to handle the other teams. But will we be deep enough? And will three practices be enough to develop sophisticated defensive and offensive concepts? Especially when most people haven't seen a spread offense and virtually nobody has ever seen a clam. It remains to be seen. I'm still upbeat about the team, while down about the state of NJ juniors ultimate. Teams need coaches from outside the system, who can bring outside/club/college perspectives and strategies to their high school teams. Hopefully this summer will help players realize that.

On a personal note, my ankle, which I sprained two weeks before nationals, is healing pretty well. I was able to play offense at about 75% and defense at 50%, and while I felt pretty sluggish, I'm not actually that out of shape. And it was five hours, and 93 degrees. Hopefully I'll get some meaningful playing time at the Boston Invite and help Brooklyn advance to the 9th place bracket.