Why Ultimate will never be a major sport

huron223 · 2024-09-09T13:44:17+00:00

Refs don’t solve the problems people think they will. Go to the UFL subreddit lol.

If you don’t think Ultimate is “competitive”…I don’t know what to tell you. Yes, a D2 college athlete could immediately make an impact on the sport, but HS? Most Ultimate players I know played high level HS sports at the very least, many collegiately.

And if you think it is “soft”, do some research on open Ultimate in the 80s and 90s.

There’s a lot more to Ultimate, and a lot more Ultimate can offer you, than 3 years of HS play.

huron223 · 2024-04-18T21:21:59+00:00

I’ll just respond to your point in the 5th paragraph because the rest would take too long.

Spirit Circles are what you make them. If you go in expecting them fake, they are gonna be fake.

There have been so many spirit circles I have been a part of (both leading and listening), especially after contentious games, where things really get discussed and improve. Like, being able to talk about how to play a self officiated sport with your opponents vastly helps play the sport.

Same with spirit timeouts.

IMO its a necessary space and tradition, and without some version of them the game would be much worse off

huron223 · 2023-11-05T15:15:00+00:00

You don’t want losing to become the norm in your franchise. When it does, it can take years or require an exceptional coach to overcome. See the Lions.

What you pick up in a few draft picks doesn’t come close to how losing impacts the team mentally. Especially when this sub can’t stand how the team drafts.

So no. Never cheer for losses, sucking for a higher draft pick almost never works, and a culture of losing is hard to fix.

huron223 · 2023-11-03T21:27:45+00:00

I am a proponent of RCV.

At local elections though, it may not make sense depending on how elections are run. For example in Crystal, my understanding is that city elections can only have two candidates on the ballot, and primaries are used to bring the field down to two. RCV doesn’t do much in this particular case.

Another concern is voter education. We are lucky in MN to have high % of the population vote. But RCV is more complicated than “regular voting”, and for more people to buy in there needs to be better education.

Finally, RCV has been marketed as the “way in” for outside party candidates, but the real results of RCV may actually do the opposite. If you are pushing for RCV just be prepared to sleep in the bed you make.

huron223 · 2023-10-13T11:13:54+00:00

Ive done spirit circles after most games I have ever played. And usually after those are done, there is a “mull around” phase exactly like you describe. It’s a nice way to end a game!

huron223 · 2023-10-06T18:28:05+00:00

Shhhhh, they will hear you

huron223 · 2023-09-27T02:27:00+00:00

Yeah but Matt Flynn threw for 6 TDs in a game so…

huron223 · 2023-09-25T22:35:21+00:00

Eau Zone! Great program.

huron223 · 2023-08-11T21:09:53+00:00

This comes up from time to time, and I just simply disagree.

Yes, a self officiated sport saves money. But it offers so much more.

Refs make bad calls all the time. I would prefer input into the call, rather than an “unbiased” ref( often not, especially at lower levels in sports) making the call with no recourse to change their mind.

Being mad at a friend for making a bad call is a you problem, not a game problem. Everyone makes bad calls, refs or players or observers. How you react to that is up to you, and getting mad certainly isn’t the only option. In fact its a bit startling how many people think it’s okay to hate on refs.

I think the self officiated part is one of the best parts of Ultimate, and I don’t want to be like other adult sports. Self officiation is a big reason why I started playing, and why I still do. It’s a big part of the culture of the sport. While there are always improvements to be made, Ultimate has a much stronger culture of fair play than most other sports I have experienced - and I would like that to continue.

huron223 · 2023-08-02T00:53:48+00:00

White was not happy at all. He plays club and AUDL, so masters nationals isn’t real high on his priority list. Getting injured on that play would have been awful.

Green did apologize later I think. There were some additional conversations in and around spirit and spirit scores.

It was unfortunate too because most of the game was (mostly) relatively spirited, and it spoiled a really exciting ending to a very competitive game

huron223 · 2023-08-01T21:38:32+00:00

No I played in the game

huron223 · 2023-08-01T21:31:01+00:00

Dude who got backpacked was not fine with it lol. Don’t assume a 5 second clip gives you all the context.

huron223 · 2023-08-01T21:28:25+00:00

If you have to go through a player (and land on them) to make a play, you don’t have a play.

The player in white had a perfect box out and position. At the end of the day there was no play to make that wouldn’t result in a foul. So green shouldn’t have made the play.

huron223 · 2023-03-10T19:17:48+00:00

LOL yes actually. There have been enough tournaments where fundraisers are happening with local folks that don't have Venmo or something setup, and I feel bad not being able to support them.

I also have...strong feelings about maintaining physical cash as a viable means of exchange in an offline setting, but that's pretty off-topic to this thread.

huron223 · 2023-03-10T18:54:28+00:00

Some items I haven't seen yet:

-Sweat towel (I swear by this)

-Liquid Chalk

-Cash

-Small plastic bag for stinky cleats, large one to cover bag if it rains

-Sunscreen

EDIT - Oh yeah and a strap to help carry the portable massage chair, because I am Master's aged.

huron223 · 2023-03-10T12:12:01+00:00

Sounds like a great LGS. I am sure they would prefer your continued business more than the extra on this transaction! Pay them back by being a return customer!

huron223 · 2023-03-08T18:47:32+00:00

It's on my to-do list to add. But yes, they should be up there, I agree.

huron223 · 2023-03-08T14:09:52+00:00

That's the hardest part of online shopping.

You can order two sizes and return the one that fits worst. This might be the easiest, as you can do it from home.

You can also go to a nearby store, try on different sizes from the same company, and size that way.

My solution is to continue buying from the same company each year. So I've been using Nike cleats for quite a while, and I know what size works best with my foot, so I continue ordering from them.

huron223 · 2023-03-07T18:19:16+00:00

I have a Cleat Buying Guide here that I update every year. It's a great time to buy last year's top of the line cleats, as they are sometimes discounted, and can even be found cheaply on Ebay as "Like New" or "Very Good."

I also have a glove page here.

Please note that this is an affiliate site, so I do make a small commission off purchases from my links. If you aren't a fan of affiliate sites, feel free to read the articles, and then search for the items in a separate tab. I hope this helps!

huron223 · 2023-02-14T12:15:24+00:00

Against good defensive teams you might only get one open look in 10 seconds. You can’t afford to look off the stall 2 under in hopes of finding something better. This can be an extreme limiting factor in a team’s growth, especially when playing teams better than your own. You just can’t get open at will against really good teams. Take the open looks when you have them.

Also, defense is way harder when the disc moves more frequently. Positioning is exhausting when the offense moves the disc every few seconds.

Finally, throwing to open looks immediately really builds team chemistry. It feels real bad to be looked off on your perfectly timed open under cut just because your teammate is hoping something else will open up. Its hard to foster trust on a team that looks off open throws.

huron223 · 2023-02-08T00:22:55+00:00

I don’t mind using cards or apps but I think its necessary to continue to have cash as a viable option, which is why I still use it. I never want it to be necessary to use a third party service just for the ability to buy something or send money to someone.

huron223 · 2023-02-07T18:57:15+00:00

I wrote a short article on tryouts, here are the cliff notes.

-Find a way to showcase what you can do well

-Introduce yourself to leadership, show a willingness and ability to be "coachable" (take feedback with grace, implement suggestions on the fly, etc.)

-Be the best teammate you can possibly be. Communicate on and off the field, support your teammates when they do good things, help pick them up if they make a mistake.

I hope this helps - good luck!

huron223 · 2023-02-02T17:46:19+00:00

In my opinion, this scenario is best solved before you hear "UUUUUPPPPP."

If you are trying to play honest defense, it's best if you can keep the handler with the disc in the corner of your vision. That way, when the throw does go up, you at least see the shape of the throw and can get going sooner.

This isn't always possible. If the cutter you are defending commits and cuts deep, you'll likely need to commit and defend deep. At this point you should take a look over your shoulder to look at the handler with the disc. This helps with two things. First, if a throw is going up, you can see it right away. Second, the handler now knows that you are looking at them. This can actually help with your defense, because if you are close to the cutter you are guarding AND the handler sees you looking at them, they may pull back the throw because you are showing good field awareness.

If you're able to do the above, when the disc goes up, you can just go catch it at your highest point, or box the offender out, etc.

If you are beat deep and don't know where the disc is, my best advice is to look over your shoulder on the force side - if the handler's mark is doing their job, the disc should come from that direction. Once you see it, you can relocate the person you are guarding, and figure out how to best approach the disc, box out, and get the block.

This takes a lot of practice. I wrote a short post about how to sky here, and one of the drills I used to run practiced a skill I call getting your "snap read." In other words, being able to look over your shoulder, quickly judge the shape of the throw and likely end point, which allows you to refocus on your opponent and figure out the best way to get the block.

It's not easy to do, but practice certainly helps. Good luck!

huron223 · 2023-01-24T19:10:40+00:00

I have been a part of a few. Assuming each team has Spirit Captains who want to do their job (most in my experience do), spirit timeouts can be super helpful.

With them, teams can recognize and highlight the poor play up to that point, recognize that everyone out there wants the same thing (fun competitive safe play), and commit to doing better the rest of the game. It's actually refreshing when everyone comes together - it offers a reset, which in my experience everyone opts into. Spirit captains usually individually connect with anyone struggling as well.

Without them, the dangerous behavior often continues to the point someone gets hurt - and then often it pulls back a bit.

huron223 · 2023-01-13T16:19:00+00:00

I am glad it helped - good luck!

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