Ultimate Fryjol

Publico del blog de Fenix, hace alrededor de 5 dias recibi una de las entrevistas mas enriquecedoras que he leido sobre ultimate. Del email de Mike Caldwell, Sockeye nos responde como equipo una serie de preguntas, entre esas, de manera detallada, como es un entrenamiento de el campeon actual de la UPA. Como les conte en otro post, por razones personales, no me ha sido facil hacer la traduccion, asi que decidi publicar la entrevista completa en Ingles, para que, en un par de dias, este la version en espanol. Reitero, mucha atencion equipos a la ultima parte de la entrevista donde esta un cronograma especifico de uno de sus entrenamientos, sobre todo por que es probable que me cueste mucho trabajo la traduccion tecnica de esa parte. Disculpas a los lectores en espanol que son la mayoria, en un par de dias lo tendremos listo.

Sin mas preambulo, Fenix se enorgullece en aportar esto:

INTERVIEW

HISTORY

> Please, tell us something about the history of the team, how was created, who made it possible?

Sockeye has been the top Open team in Seattle since the early-mid 90's. There were strong teams before the Sockeye name; but a run of three straight years in which the team made the National final solidified the name (95-97, losing to Boston's DoG each time).

> How many players did you have as an average in the first year as a team?

Good question; the total team size has been between 18-26 players, but I don't know what it was in the first years.

> How long was it before competing in a high level?

Seattle had a ton of Ultimate talent at the beginning, and Sockeye was a very good team from it's inception. It helped that, unlike earlier years, there were not two teams in Seattle competing with each other for the best talent.

> What is the age average for this team?

We have players in an age range from 20 years old to 32, with the average age being 27.5 years old.

> What about the height average?

On average, we are a little under 6 feet tall. Our tallest player is 6'4'', and our shortest is 5'5''.

TACTICS

> Man defense or zone defense?

We typically are strongest in man-to-man defense, though this year we vastly improved our zone defense as a team.

> Quick passes or hucks?

We are known as a hucking team, but usually most of our passes are short and quick; this helps us set up hucks in the second half of the field.

> Flow or scripted plays?

We run very few scripted plays, and none of these plays does more than organize the first cut. We rely on our ability to fastbreak and to read the defense much more than trying to run perfect plays.

> Happiest moment on ultimate?

Every day we get to practice or play together.

> Saddest moment on ultimate?

In 2005, team leader Lou Burruss tore his hamstring in the UPA Final in what would be his last Sockeye game after 10 years on the team. That was really sad. This last year, Danny Trytiak was hurt badly in a game at our NW Regional tournament, and we found out later that day that he would not play again that year. That is about as bad as it gets.

> Best match ever played?

The 2006 UPA Final was an incredible game; our opponent (Furious George, from Vancouver, Canada) played extremely well and every throw was hotly contested. We won that game against the top team in the world 5 turnovers to 7. That game included a Greatest for a goal (from Mike Caldwell to Moses Rifkin) and an incredible catch by Matt "Skip" Sewell to take a defensive point for halftime.

> How different is the international game from the UPA?

There are high-quality players in every part of the world; the difference in the UPA is that there are more of them, so the teams are deeper. In the NW Region of the UPA we have ourselves, Furious, Rhino, Revolver, Voodoo and Jam...any of these teams could make it to the UPA semi's on any given day. Because our region is so deep, often only 2 or 3 of those teams get to go to Nationals.

The rest of the world is catching up quickly; the Japanese, Australians and British are all top teams now and Sweden/Finland/Germany/Italy have been competing very well for many years. Now, will the new strength of South American (Colombian and Venezuelan) and Asian (Philippino and Taiwanese) teams, World tournaments will be stronger still.

One key difference is the set of rules under which the games are played, the UPA 11th Edition or the WFDF Rules of Ultimate. Most elite Open players in the UPA are pretty used to observers, and most teams request them for elimination games at Regionals and Nationals. We see them as a useful tool for quickly resolving honest disputes (or, differences in opinion) in intense games. But observers aren't a part of the WFDF rules, so we sometimes feel a little naked playing high-stakes international games without them. Additionally, there aren't any language barriers between UPA teams; so, the 30-second discussion limit (in the WFDF rules), with a bit of a language barrier thrown in, can be a bit nerve-wracking at times.

The joy of playing the game is very much alive in international competition, more so than we experience season-to-season in the UPA. Most of the top-level UPA Open teams are very familiar with each other - they don't change much year to year, and play each other between 2 and 6 times each year - and so we're not reminded so often by our opponents of why we love Ultimate. This has been a much more common occurrence for us in international play.

> How would you describe the style of your team?

We are incredibly supportive of each other. We don't yell at each other during games and when someone makes a mistake, we have their back. We listen to our captains and trust them to make the right decisions, and then we spend all our energy playing instead of worrying about these. There is a lot of trust between Sockeye players that everyone has the same goal.

Our practices are competitive from the first day of the season to the last...sometimes it seems like the best defense we play all year comes from our own team. I think this gives us an advantage in tournaments where we are used to the intensity level and are ready for it.

TRAINING

> How many times a week do you train?

1 Track workout per week

1 Pod (small group, focusing on fundamentals) practice per week

1-2x 3-hour practice per weekend

Starting in late April, going until Nationals in October, with breaks in July (3-4 weeks) and September (1-2 weeks).

Tournaments in June (2, the first of which is when we decide on the team), August (2, ECC and Labor Day), September (2, Sectionals and Regionals) and October (1; Nationals).

Our tryouts last from late April to early June, and anyone can tryout.

> How hard do you stress fundamentals?

We focus on fundamentals, especially footwork, a lot. We have Pod practices every week which are almost entirely fundamentals/fitness, and then of a 3 hour practice on the weekend there will usually be at least an hour of pure fundamentals, both offensive (throwing, cutting, catching, clearing) and defensive (marking, footwork, covering).

> What would you advice for the younger teams as for the training routines?

Young teams need to learn throwing and catching much more than they need fitness. Fitness is for competition, but fundamentals can make you a great player. For young players; try to play with as many different, quality players as you can and learn how they do things that seem effective. There is no single correct way to play.

> If you had to choose one between fundamentals, tactics or fitness for the first 2 years of a team, what would you choose?

Fundamentals, then fitness. Tactics are usually only helpful after you are good at the first two things. You can run the perfect offense, but if you can't throw and catch, it won't work. Similarly, you can have the perfect kind of defense, but it you can' cover anyone, it won't work.

> Please, give us a little description of one typical training in your team

At the bottom, I have included a typical weekend practice plan and a typical Pod practice plan.

SPIRIT

> How do you guys define spirit of the game inside your team?

Play fair, respect your opponent, play safely.

> How do you guys regulate that in game situations?

We use a system of signalling to each other when we want to help out with a call. If one of our players make a call, and our sideline players disagree...they will signal each other and get a quiet opinion. This helps us to be sure about our calls; the player from the sideline can signal "yes, you made a good call" or "no, you should take this call back". We talk about spirit in practices and at tournaments.

> Is it possible to be a great ultimate team while having a great spirit of the game?

Absolutely.

> What is the reaction of you guys when facing a team that is taking advantage of the spirit of the game to do calls and turn the game in their favor?

Well, this would be difficult. We are lucky; the best spirit of the game anywhere in the world is that spirit that we find in the best Open teams. Teams like Furious, Jam, Bravo, Condors...we know them and they know us, and no one wants to be known as a cheater. I think there is a lot of honor in these teams. Personally, the best and most consistent spirit I have ever seen is in the top levels of the Men's game.

Finally and seriously, what would it take for your team to compete in a tournament here in Colombia?

Seriously; it is mostly about money. Our team loves to travel together, but many on our team are not rich and take pains to have enough money for our season; which can be expensive. Travel outside of this is expensive, and we just can't do it. We are going to Japan in March, but this is because the Japanese are able to pay most of our expenses. In the future, we would absolutely LOVE to come to a tournament in Colombia, at least with half of our team...but it is almost entirely a matter of cost at this point. Our sponsors help, but until the sport becomes at least semi-pro, we will probably almost never travel outside of North America, unfortunately.

One of our team has recently travelled to Colombia to play and coach, and I am sure others would be willing. We are very excited to hear about the growth of the sport in Colombia, and we hear more good news all the time from Mauricio and from watching the Youth team when they came to Boston. We are big fans of Colombian Ultimate and we hope to see you all soon!

Saturday Practice Schedule 7/29, 2006:

Here is the lowdown for practice this weekend. Be on time and bring lunch

if you can.

Goals:

1) Come together as a team, both on-field and off-

2) Improve offensive scheme and fundamentals:

Focus on Clearing and Fast Break O

3) Sharpen individual defensive toolset

Focus on Clamping on Handlers, Heads Up downfield

Mindset: Win 1v1 battles, help each other win these

battles against top players, then fly to the disc

4) Get in better shape

5) Kick ass and have fun

10:00am Cleats on and jogging (come earlier if you need time to gear up)

Warmup/Plyos

Sprint set #1

10:28 Personal Time

10:30 Warmup Drills

Initial set of throwing/marking/cutting drills

10:45 Quick water break

10:47 Offensive Focus

3 Minute Chat: Clearing Angles

2-3 Offensive Drills focused on effective clearing

11:25 FastBreak Offense

7v0 FastBreak Drill

4v4 Live Fastbreak drill

11:40 Quick O recap/Sprint set #2

11:45 Water

11:50 Defensive Focus:

3 minute Chat: Defensive team image

2-3 D drills

12:20 [Time and Progress depending] Live 7v7

12:40 D recap/ Sprint Set #3/ Cooldown

12:55 Done, Break for Lunch

1:50pm Cleats on and Throwing

2:00 Team Discussion:

Moses's 'Sideline Voice' presentation

Accountability: something very new...

2:20 Pre-Game warmup

2:32 Personal Time, O and D 90 second huddles

2:35 Game Time, O versus D

3:45 Hard Cap then Sprint Set #4

3:55 Cooldown/Recap, quick planning discussion, play OddManOut to decide

who buys the beer....

Thursday Night Pod Practice

0:00 Jog, 6-7 light plyos, stretch

0:15 7-8 higher intensity plyos, 3x30 yard UpAndOut

0:25 Water 5

0:30 Hollywood squares-phase I through III

Phase I: Sideways, then turn and go (both sides)

Phase II: Forward, back diagonal, turn and go (both sides)

Phase III: Diagonal, slide across the far side of the box,

diagonal back and catch

Offensive Mindset: Chopping feet and getting low,

turn on outside foot

Defensive Mindset: Getting low and opening hips,

turn 315 degrees and slide facing thrower, snap open hips and hit last

diagonal hard

0:35 Buzz Drill w/ new defense

4 minutes of Buzz Drill, with handler and huck options

New Buzz Drill: 2 cutters w/ 1 defender (TBexplained tonight)

0:40 3-man Marking Drill: stopping intial thrower attacks

Go throw 1-2 times 3 marks each person, focuses on 1) Stopping

one chosen throw, 2) forcing as many pivots as possible.

New: Marker marks for 15 seconds. Thrower tries to break mark

as man times as possible in 15 seconds. Restart the count at whatever

it was at with new disc after each throw. (so, Idaho could break Ben

six times in 15 seconds, or 2 times, or no times). Do this 3 times

each, with enough rest in between to make it useful.

0:50 Dishy-stop Drill (the Biggins drills)

To be explained at pod tonight

0:56 Quick Water Break

0:59 Nord's triangle drill. 6 person triangle marker, then dump

defense drill. Use with audible 'flat' defense call.

1:05 3v3 OR 4v4 (preferred) Endzone drill. Use a slightly deeper and

wider endzone if 4v4. One throw scores don't count against attempts. 3

times through on offense with rotating defense, numbers permitting.

Focus: In 4v4, someone is going to need to keep the stack established,

and some smart standing in place can be really effective. This

simulates the closest 4 people in the EndZone O.

1:25 Game-like Tabatas

To be explained at pod tonight. Focus on winning the middle and

anticipating cuts

1:35 Long throwing. Keep em low and flat. Integrate pivots. Finish

with 10 hucks (mix of forehand and backhand), grade yourself out on

those last 10 for location and pivots. 10 minutes.

1:45 Cooldown/stretch.

1:55 Done.

Fots tomadas del website oficial del equipo: http://www.seattlesockeye.org/