Boogie 2009-2010

What’s goin on boogie!?! I hope everyone’s summer is going well. I wanted to take some time to let everyone as a whole know what we are looking for when we get back together this fall in Oxford.

Before my freshman year the captain, Mastro, put a list up on here of things that needed worked on for that coming season. I printed the list out and still carry it in my bag as a reminder of what I can do to better myself as a player. When I would go play pickup with friends, or play in summer league, I would look at that list and focus on two or three things to work on that day during the games. When I look at the list now I see that some of those things are still what we need to focus on for this coming season.

The fundamentals of ultimate, throwing and catching. Looking back at the tournaments we played in this year, I was happiest with how we played at Music City and Boogie Nights. When I tried to figure out why those tournaments stuck in my head as the times we executed the best, this is what I came up with. We played good smart ultimate. We weren’t giving the disc away on dropped in-cuts, and we kept the number of throw-aways to a minimum even in the wonderful weather we had for Boogie Nights. Take it upon yourself to say hey, I’m not going to be the guy who turns the disc over; value every possession. Count how many times you turn the disc over in a game or a tournament and look to improve on that number every time you play. Make 100% throws and don’t force anything that doesn’t need to be.

When sectionals and regionals rolled around this past spring it was apparent that man defense was something we didn’t put enough time into. Whether it was conditioning or laziness, the moment we stopped playing lower tier teams and started playing the MSU’s and Dayton’s, we looked sluggish. We would get beat to the open side and wouldn’t even be in a close enough proximity to have a play on the disc. This reminds me of something my soccer coach told my team back in highs school. When the time the first game comes around its ok if we don’t know our exact formation or set plays or your teammates abilities because that will just come with time and practice, but the one thing you as a player have complete control over is your fitness level. We better not get outrun or outworked during any game of the season, not even the first game of the first tournament. Everyone needs to be able to keep up with their man on defense and be able to do it for a few points in a row. Take this summer especially when you might night be able to get even a 5 on 5 game going to go out on your own and do something for your fitness whether its running or plyos, do something. The other part of this I feel like was our tempo at practice. It was extremely apparent that we didn’t practice how we played. We need to practice, and warm up, with the same intensity we have when we play in tournaments. I think this is something that will greatly improve our readiness come game time and get rid of our now well apparent first game of the day, coming out slow, going down 4 points, calling a time out, regrouping, fighting back, and taking half routine we have gotten into. We need to be ready from the first pull.

More specifically, I’d like to see everyone come back this fall and be able to throw the disc 40-50 yards both backhand and forehand. The deep look is such a huge threat and if we can have everyone on the team have that threat we can create some havoc for every defense we see all year. Also, we focused a lot this spring on getting everyone to throw breaks. We need to have more than just the handles be able to break their mark. It’s a great weapon to have in your arsenal of throws and can rip a defense to shreds. All it takes is a good, realistic fake, and you have any throw you want. Also, work one moving off the throw. If you’re a handle and dump the disc, you should be the first person open for a cut. Don’t just pivot and throw but use that pivot as a first step. You are already going to be in front of your man because he didn’t block your throw. Use that pivot to gain separation and after a quick first few steps you should have enough room to be able to get the disc right back.

For the cutters. Field vision is huge. Notice where your other cutters are and use the space they create to your advantage. Another thing the cutters would do would be on deep cuts they would run away and if they didn’t get the disc they would jog back in. being that far away from the play should show you exactly where the space is you should run to. You need to cut back in as hard as you went out. We also need to work on gaining separation to make the handles job easier of putting the disc to the open space. One step fakes aren’t going to do much. You need to take to or 3 steps in the direction your making your fake in to sell it and then go the other direction, you can even throw in a stutter step to keep your mark guessing. When you make your real cut, do it in a straight line towards the handles shoulder this puts your body directly between your man and the disc leaving little to no room for him to D you. It’s simple geometry.

On the other side of the disc, we can’t get broken for the same reason I stated above. Have faith in your teammates that they are in good enough shape that they won’t get beat to the open side and above all don’t get broken. While hand blocks are nice, don’t give a long reach to get one and open yourself up to get broken. The other thing I think defensively we need to work on is getting everyone to layout. It was great at the end of the year seeing some of the freshmen starting to leave their feet. We know you want that glory of chasing down that huck and laying out for it in the endzone, but I want to see it on defense. Bid through your man, and bid at discs you’re not sure if you can get. You’ll be surprised at how much more area you cover and what discs you can get to when you layout. Also, by sticking with our man on defense you will open up more opportunities to layout and get the big d’s we need in close games. Get comfortable with it because it’s just part of the game.

Those of you who know me know I watch a lot of highlight reels. I encourage all of you to do the same. Look at the way the upper echelon cuts, throws, fakes, and bids. Watch how the offense cycles and where the cutters go to fill gaps. You can learn a lot from the upper level club teams as well as from the nationals level college teams, and while you’re at it you can see some pretty sick plays.

I hope you guys start checking back to the blog for more updates cuz I'm going to try to keep up with it. If you want to read Mastro’s full list that I keep in my bag, it’s in the archives and can be found here…
http://miamiultimate.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html

Also, any incoming freshmen that come across this post please drop the captains an email at MiamiUltimate@gmail.com and tell us about yourself.

More to come,

Dubs

Boogie Nights 2009

Preparations for Boogie Nights is underway. It will be one of the last tournaments in the area before the College Series, and we are excited to host a Spring tournament again after last year's weather-induced hiatus. Up to date info can be found on UPA's Score Reporter database: http://www.upa.org/scores/tourn.cgi?div=127&id=5831

School is starting and we are about to start a new season of Ultimate. I am really excited for this years team. We are returning some really good players and have some great experience to build on. We will be starting pickup at Cook Field this coming Monday, 08.25.08, and be running it for two weeks. We'll play from 4-6pm. If you linked here from our Facebook Ad we would love to have you come out and play with us. This will be a good chance for players new to our team or the sport to get used to the college level of play and see if they are interested. Bring a light and a dark shirt, a disc (if you have one), and some water and we'll see you there. If you have any questions email us at MiamiUltimate@gmail.com or check us out on Facebook.

Four years of Miami Ultimate

I’m sitting here at one in the morning and thinking about what I want to say to sum up this season and my four years at this program. It’s hard to quite know what to say. I do know that I will never think of college without thinking of ultimate. It has become such a part of me, who I am, and what college was about for me. The practices, tournaments, road trips, friendships, ups, downs, and everything in between; it’s been unbelievable. It’s defined so much of who I am and what my college experience was.

This season was the pinnacle of the four years I spent here and most likely the pinnacle of our program thus far. We went from regularly traveling to crappy tournaments and placing at the middle or bottom of the pack at Sectionals to making long road trips to the best tournaments in the country, becoming a force at Sectionals, and mattering at Regionals. The transformation has been quite extraordinary.

My personal transformation is an interesting evolution in its own right. I came in as a freshman who couldn’t throw a backhand and was incredibly unskilled. Then I was a sophomore with a major knee injury and someone who was placed in a surrogate captain role for the majority of the year (one which I was wildly unprepared for). Then I was elected captain my junior year and started to come into my own as a player and a leader. My senior year was the genesis of my college career, where I finally put a lot of the pieces together and felt comfortable in myself as a player and comfortable with where I was leading this team.

In a lot of ways, it wasn’t the end result that drove me, it was the struggle. It was to be a part of something bigger than myself; to dedicate myself to a team and work relentlessly hard to be great. I’m going to remember that time you woke up with me on a Saturday morning to do sprints when we could have been sleeping in. I’m going to remember that time you sacrificed your weekend to make yourself and our team better. I’m going to remember when you e-mailed me and asked what you could do better. I’m going to remember that time that I stood beside you on a line and we played with everything we had.

I don’t think I’ve ever worked as hard as I did this year. I wanted to make sure that I paid my dues off the field, so when I was on it, I knew I was better and more prepared than the guy marking up on me. These last eight months have seen us give so much as a team. Two hour practices 4 days a week, conditioning on off weekends, plyometrics, water practices, indoor practicing, track workouts, monsters, drills, scrimmaging, and more drills. That’s what put us on the field on Sunday in Detroit. That’s why teams no longer look past Miami University.

There are few things in my life that I’ve ever been so passionate about and I feel fortunate to be able to play a four year college career. I have had opportunities that only few people do. I travelled the country playing the sport I love. Not only that, the school paid for most of my expenses. How fortunate I’ve been is truly humbling. I sometimes have difficulty reconciling how privileged of a life I lead and my experience with ultimate is a big part of that life. I’m healthy enough and financially capable of pursuing the life I want; I couldn’t ask for anything more. I’ve taken advantage of my privileged position and invested so much of myself into this team and this sport.

The culmination of my college career in Detroit was an unbelievable personal experience. It tied so many things together for me. I felt like we truly put together a weekend to be proud of and we played our best when it mattered. I went into this weekend thinking it could be my last (but always fighting for a shot to play in Boulder) and soaked in every moment on that weekend in Michigan. It felt so good to captain a group of guys to College Regionals that wanted to be there, that paid their dues, and were so deserving to be there. Sharing that experience with all of you will stick with me for a lifetime. I even got to share this weekend with my brother. His support, enthusiasm, and genuine love for what I do is tremendously moving. It means everything to me.

One of my absolute favorite parts of this experience is stepping back and looking at what we did. We took this program on our backs and made it something. It felt so gratifying to stand in a circle with some guys after Regionals and talk about how much we’ve made out of this team. We came in and decided to define an era of Miami Ultimate. Together, day by day, year by year, we built a legacy. Conditioning practices when we were freshman were maybe a mile around the track; could you imagine that today? We’re used to grueling 90 minute workouts of plyometrics, intervals, sprints, and miles upon miles of running. That’s what we did, we changed this team. If nothing else, always remember that. Always feel proud and accomplished of what you did.

I think we built something. I hope this program goes on to eclipse all of the accomplishments of last year. There’s nothing I’d love more than to buy a plane ticket to watch Miami University at College Nationals.

Soon I will be an alumnus of Miami and follow this team from a distance. It’s sad to leave, but I’m excited to see this team under new leadership and see new players come into the system.

It really has been a hell of a journey and in the moments I look back I can only feel gratitude for all of the memories.

It’s hard to read Toes’ comment on “Regionals – Day1” and not get tears in my eyes. It’s hard to talk about the past four years, hug a teammate, or think of leaving all this behind and not get tears in my eyes. A part of me will always be on those van rides, the team dinners, the sprints off the pull, the pre-game jog, the post game celebration, and all the moments I’ve shared with this team. I can honestly say I put everything I had into this program and will leave this school and this team with a piece myself still in Oxford.

Matt Mastrantuono
Miami University ’05-‘08

Regionals - Day 2

So here we are, Day 2 of Regionals. Only 6 teams left. Michigan, Illinois, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Miami, and Northwestern. We were slated to play Notre Dame at 9 am Sunday morning. As was said before, Notre Dame ended our season last year after a devastating collapse from Miami and tenacious run by the boys from South Bend. It’s a different year and we were determined to make it a different story.

We arrived at the fields before 8 am and began to prepare for a battle. Notre Dame, much like us, returned almost their entire team. They had a very impressive spring season and were the third seed overall at this tournament. They suffered a loss against Illinois in the semis and we knew they wanted nothing but their shot at nationals. Unlike last year, we were a different team, a more prepared team, and a more talented team.

9 am. Gametime. Miami vs. Notre Dame, win or go home.

Miami started the game on offense and were ready to work the disc through another formidable cross wind. The offense marched down the field, refusing to give up the disc, and found themselves 10 yards out of the end zone. An isolation on the goal line and a tough catch in tight coverage put Miami on the board first. Fired up and ready to shock the teams and spectators in Detroit, we sprinted down the field off the ensuing pull, fiercely seeking a break. A stingy defense forced the turn and a composed offense put the disc securely in the end zone for the first break of the game. Miami 2 Notre Dame 0.

From the start this weekend felt different and we had already put together a College Series for the Miami history books, but this team was not content with one game on Sunday. A couple of quick points affirmed our energy and intensity and set the tone for the rest of the game.

Notre Dame is not the type of team that folds under pressure and we expected them to regroup. They found their break several points later and put the game back on serve. The rest of the half consisted of both teams trading O points. The first half was a mixture of zone and man D and some grueling ultimate. Both teams were playing for the rights to another game and it showed. A layout here, a big sky there, it was an excellent showcase of talent. The score at half was Miami 8 Notre Dame 7.

It was at halftime that we realized we were really doing this; we were really contending for a spot at Nationals. This wasn’t just playing to see how far we got, we weren’t just happy to be there. We were beating a team consistently ranked in the top 25 in the nation and paving a legacy for this program.

Notre Dame is always a different team when they come out of a huddle. They have the tendency to regroup very well and change the dynamic of the game. That’s exactly what happened here. They came out of halftime and punched in their O point. Then in the blink of an eye they broke our O twice. Their surge brought the game to a 10-8 score in favor of Notre Dame. We stopped their momentum for a brief moment and converted our O point. Another ND goal followed and the score was 11-9. Miami then found itself giving up another break and being down 12-9.

We were in the same spot as Michigan State, down 12-9 in a “do or die” situation. We called a timeout and got together as a team. We huddled up and chose to leave everything on this field. Miami’s offense walked back to the line determined to change the tide of the game. A solid offense point led to a Miami score. Notre Dame 12 Miami 10. Was it happening again? Could we really pull off another late game comeback?

We pulled the disc to ND and they converted on O, so our backs were against the walls; Notre Dame 13 Miami 10. I looked over at my co-captain and we decided to construct the same set play that helped change the momentum in the Michigan State game. We received the pull and the pass came to me in the middle of the field. I look at Snaps , he faked in, and then took off deep. I set my sights on the end zone and launched a forehand huck. Snaps had steps on his defender and was poised to get the score. The wind pushing down on the disc, forced the huck lower than I had wanted. Snaps turned on the jets and was about to make his attempt. His defender was not in position to make a play so it was just Snaps and the disc. As the disc started to pass his defender, Snaps prepares himself for one last lunge. He throws his body out in front and extends his arms to make a play on the disc. Despite a great bid, the throw had been sent too far for his outstretched fingers.

This turned out to be the final opportunity for Miami to claw its way back in the game. ND took the disc back and scored to push the game to its final point. Another ND break would signal the end to the game and an end to Miami’s season.

Notre Dame scored 3 straight points to close out the game. It was a heartbreaking finish and Notre Dame found a way to end our season for the second straight year. The final score was Notre Dame 15 Miami 10.

That was it. An end to a season and an end to many college ultimate careers. It was hard to know what to say or what to feel. A lot had happened this season and it all culminated on the polo fields in Detroit on a brisk Sunday afternoon. It was a great run this year and there are way too many things to say about it in this post. I’ll put something up in the coming days about the season, this team, and Miami University Ultimate.

Regionals - Day 1

It all came down to this. Detroit, Michigan played host to the 2008 Great Lakes Regional. The top 16 teams from Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky took the field to determine which two teams would represent the region at Nationals.

We had taken the 2^nd seed in the East Plains Section and were now seeded 8^th going into the tournament. The Great Lakes Regional was set up in a double elimination bracket format. Two losses, you’re out. No time to get it back Sunday, no other tournament to rebound; your season is over.

A 40 minute drive ahead of us, we left the hotel at 7 am sharp (good work on that one guys). We arrived at the polo fields with copious amounts of warm up time, so we took advantage of it and got ready to play. Cleated up, we started our warm up about an hour before our game. Some dynamics, drills, sprints, scrimmages, story time with headwear, and a hell of a lot of excitement highlighted the hour of anticipation until we stepped on the field. It was game time.

Miami was pitted against University of Chicago (9^th seed) in our first round game. We came out strong and refused to let them in it from the start. The wind was gusting and we threw a smothering zone to take their offense out of it. Miami takes the first 3 or 4 points and forces Chicago to take a timeout and regroup. There was electricity in the air; after every score we ran on the field letting the entire complex know Miami was here to play. Our defense refused to let them move the disc, pushing them back, and trapping them on the sideline. We took a convincing halftime lead and decided there was no letting up. A hiccup for a few points was fleeting, but instead, Miami’s patient offense and hard defense steamrolled through the rest of the game. Big plays on both sides of the disc and good execution led to only 6 scores from the Chicago side and gave Miami the 15 points it needed to get a quarterfinal matchup with #1 seeded Michigan.

We like to make a point of refusing to let the “big boys” intimidate us and prepare and play like it’s any other team. Once we get it in our heads that we can run with the top teams, we loosen up and play some solid ultimate. We came out of the gates with a clear apprehension to execute the way we know how. The exceptional season that Michigan was having and their extremely talented roster put us on the defensive from the start. We surrendered O points like it was nothing and could not make use of turns on D. A lackluster first half found us down about 8-1 or 8-2. It was a brutal game on our end and the final score reflected it. Score reporter has it at 15-6, but I happen to think it was 15-4. Michigan’s elite group of players and our inability to find any semblance of an offense were the nails in the coffin. Not looking to dwell on the loss, Miami took a long, deep breath on prepared for our next game.

In between games we’d run around and catch all the awesome action unfolding on all of the different fields. We learned that our next game would be against Kalamazoo (repeat from last year) after their win over Indiana. In the Michigan game we abandoned our zone D but decided to put the pressure on the Kalamazoo handlers. This game started much like the Chicago game. We were fired up and ready to come back from a blowout loss. Kalamazoo couldn’t run an effective zone offense and our defense forced turn after turn after turn. Besides flirting with some sloppy points, we had the game under control from the get go. Regaining the fire we lost in the Michigan game, Miami put up another 15-6 victory.

Here we were again. Win/Loss/Win. A fourth game on Saturday to determine who gets the right to play on Sunday. We were in the same game last year and put up a 6-2 run to start the game on Notre Dame. A timeout from Notre Dame and a complete meltdown later, we lost 15-8. A disaster of a last game. We huddled up and committed to a different outcome this year. Only half the teams in the Great Lakes were left standing, still with a shot at Nationals. Michigan State stood in our way to a ticket for a second day of play.

We learned quickly that State was another team that zone was not going to work against. We abandoned the defense that had bolstered victories earlier that day, dug our spikes in, and played some hard man D. A close first half was highlighted by inordinate amounts of turns. The wind was gusty and strong all weekend, making it hard for cutters to safely and easily catch the disc. We took the half 8-7 and punched in another to go up two breaks. That’s when it started to fall apart. They scored their O point and then we got broken. Tie game, 9-9. Our offense gives the disc up, they break, 10-9 State. Another break, 11-9 State. To make it 5 straight points, State scores another and widens the gap to 12-9.

Miami is a team that can go on runs; a team that can get emotional and take over a game. We can get momentum and do some special things. This ending was special.

We scored our next O point after the horn had sounded for soft cap. 12-10 State in the lead, with the cap on, game was to 14. Miami buckles down and breaks MSU to bring it within one. Feeling the momentum swinging, feeling that electricity running throughout our day, we were mounting the comeback. We forced another break to tie the game at 12s. Nothing’s stopping us now. The entire game had a question looming “Would this be the last time 8 seniors would ever play in a College Ultimate game?” The answer was in the balance and Miami capped a spectacular 4 point run to push MSU to the brink. At 13-12 (Miami leading), Michigan State took their offense down the field and put in a goal that forced the 13-13 tie.

Double game point, universe point, the last point to decide who’s going home and who still has a shot at Nationals. One more point would decide the fates of many and the evening air was palpable with nerves and excitement. The culmination of a season, of many seasons, came down to this one point. A line of stalwart veterans received the disc and went to work. An incut here, a swing pass there, Miami was patiently working the offense up the field with wind gusting across the field. Out cuts were difficult to pay off because of the intense wind but Snaps was deep. He was deep and he was open. This game was all or nothing and Jack decided to make it all or nothing on this throw. He puts up a flick huck from mid-field, with a considerable head/cross wind, and time just stopped. Our hearts stopped and no one inhaled or exhaled for those 6 seconds. The flick was forced OI and it started to travel the length of the field. It started to carry left and Snaps backtracked, inching closer and closer to the out of bounds line. He peddled backwards some more and it looked like the wind might carry the throw a few feet too far. An entire season on the line and it was going to be decided in mere moments. The throw starts coming down hard, Snaps stops a couple feet from the line, and puts his hands up. Behind his defender, two arms extended, Snaps catches the most decisive huck in Miami history. The disc firmly in his hands and feet in the endzone, we erupt. Time went from completely stopping to a complete blur. Someone hit the fast forward button because in an instant a scattered mass of white jerseys stormed the field and mobbed Snaps with sheer elation.

With a sideline of cheering onlookers, we jumped around the end zone in pure chaos. A sea of bodies celebrating what we had accomplished as one. We completed an unbelievable late game comeback by scoring 5 of the last 6 points. It was an unprecedented feat for this program, a thrilling game, and we were still alive to play another day. Out of over 500 teams in the nation, (at this point in the respective Regional tournaments), we had outlasted all but 35 of them. A chance to play on Sunday and take our shot at the 2^nd spot to Nationals; it was beyond exciting. All of the conditioning, drills, and countless hours preparing ourselves through the years was paying off.

We somehow composed ourselves enough to survive a car ride back to the hotel. We showered up and made our way over to the Olive Garden conveniently situated next door to our hotel. Salad, breadsticks, and excessive amounts of pasta/lasagna/chicken/etc. sat triumphantly in our stomachs ready to turn into energy for Sunday. We retired to our rooms and slept soundly with dreams of upsets on a road to Boulder…

Great Lakes Regionals 2008

Here are the teams that we be on the Detroit Polo Fields next weekend:

Michigan Section:
1) Michigan
2) Michigan State
3) Kalamazoo

Central Plains Section:
1) Illinois
2) Notre Dame
3) North Park
4) Northwestern
5) Chicago
6) Indiana

East Plains Section:
1) Ohio State
2) Miami
3) Dayton
4) Ohio
5) Ohio Northern
6) Oberlin
7) Bowling Green

A lot of excitement coming out the various Sectional tournaments. Preliminary seedings are swirling on RSD. It should be a slugfest in Detroit.

Thoughts on Regionals? Will Miami break seed and play on Sunday? Any alumni thinking of making the trip? Bueller?