YCC Practice

Well, Glenn did a pretty good job describing practice on Sunday. It was a grueling five hour practice that helped get players familiar with one another and working in an offense that was unfamiliar to each of the 16 players there. Included was a two-dump set that was similar to, but much simpler than, Stanford's. Unfortunately, this was an offense-focused practice, so there was not much introduction to defense until the hour or so of scrimmaging we had at the end. We split into rough versions of O and D teams for the first time. Most players will have been used to playing nearly every single point for their high school teams, so the transition to making the most of their playing time will be something they'll need to adapt to. I'm confident that being able to rest will be a welcome change - especially if the O team can have a conversion rate comparable to a high-level college team's and the D team can continue to get D's at a high school level.

Interestingly, I was put on the O team. I was really encouraged by our quick disc movement - we didn't have to mention holding on to the disc too long at all during the scrimmage. We still need to play a little more conservatively if we're going to have a high conversion rate, and pick the times to huck a little better. Overall, it was very encouraging for a first practice. The D team looked hungry but had some problems gelling on offense, but again, it's a first practice. Once we get more time playing together and some time to actually practice defense, I think the team will look very strong.

In terms of health, my ankle didn't bother me much, although I injured my shoulder on an early layout and cramped up about 10 minutes from the end of practice. I'm still not ready to play at a high level without the brace, although I played about 2 hours of low-level pickup on Saturday without it.