The winter sessions were productive but had fluctuating attendance levels. We used to be able to reserve gym space twice a week for indoor practice, but this year we were only able to secure one evening a week. The mid-week indoor practices that were held saw a good number of players attending on a consistent basis. The conditioning practices were not nearly as frequently attended however. This provides for a disconnect for team cohesiveness but the number of players coming were definitely higher than previous years, so we dealt with what we had.
Indoor practices get frustrating because you can only do so much, but we made the best use of the space. We were able to focus on key throwing, cutting, and defensive skills in a controlled and focused environment. The level of effectiveness and subsequent success of the drills and conceptual discussions are definitely mixed and uncertain. Overall it was cool to see players becoming better and smarter players after a semester of play.
As indoor starts to wind down the dwindling of numbers is apparent. The decrease in numbers specifically came from the new crop of players. Fraternities started rushing, the rising committiment and intensity levels, and the losing of interest are all contributions that the team has to face. So we took inventory of our team and it became apparent who wanted to be a part of our climb out of mediocrity. In the end we're a stronger for it, because once it becomes clear who the team is, and who is dedicated, something special can come out of that.
The first tournament of the year started off with a bang. Almost too much of a bang. 6-1 and a 2nd place showing at Arctic Vogue got this team pumped. With this kind of start a team on the brink (of being "ok" to a good, competitive ultimate team) can get undeservedly confident and complacent. The team mentality on the whole did not shift towards a "we have arrived" attitude. However, our fiery start was not the catalyst for consistently high levels of play throughout the spring. This team was filled with players who had been waiting years to get good, but it was clear that a good fall and a solid first tournament does not make you anything in the college ultimate scene.
Mardi Gras is the trip of champions. We drive endlessly, weaving through cars with confederate flags, getting saturated with Waffle House signs, and being delighted by the sweet landscape that is Mississippi. There is far too much that happens on this trip to do it justice here. The Mardi Gras '07 movie tells the story much better than the rhetorical skills I learned in English 112 can. The tournament itself was the start of the roller coaster. A devestating loss to Ole Miss robbed us of the chance to finally make the pre-quarters of the championship bracket. Recent Miami teams have not faired well at the tournament, and a first game loss dashed our high hopes. We rallied to win the next three games and got second in our pool, but going 1-1 on day 2 did not prove to be the weekend on a national stage we had hoped for.
Huck of the Irish was a great performance by a small roster. We only had about half the team there but got a couple of key pick ups to subsidize our numbers. We made the quarters of a high caliber 32 team field and got knocked out by eventual champions, Delaware. The weekend was full of gritty play by a lineup plagued with injuries and lack of numbers.
The next three weeks were the lowest point of the Boogiemen's season. Embarassingly and infuriatingly low practice attendance plagued the seemingly skeleton of a team. It seemed like as quickly as the team ascended to brink of being a competitive team, that it dissolved into single digit numbers at practice and frustrating games of mini...over and over. You can't expect to be good when a team abandons practice and shows up when they want. The effects of this trend painfully played out at Huck Finn and Boogie Nights. Truly poor performances at both tournaments shattered the feeling that we were going to make waves in the College Series.
These harsh wake up calls to painful realities provided no boost to the ailing practices. Scant attendance at practice and a mountain of excuses did nothing to get the team back on track. The East Plains field looked daunting as a result. However the morning of April 14th something changed...
With a full team lining the fields at Versailles, the Boogiemen were fired up. There was never a doubt that this team had the potential and big time players, it was a matter of putting it all out there at once. Miami came out excited, storming the field after every point. As we ran faster and got louder, each team we played walked back to the line slower and found nothing to cheer about. We marched through pool play with hardly a scratch. Stifiling zone defense and a patient offense that executed with precision showed that Miami utilizes the rain and wind to their advantage. No team managed to score more than 4 points on us all day.
It was quite a turn of events and the feeling of this team fulfilling its potential hit us like a ton of bricks. We started to see what we could do and we were in the midst of something special.
Day 2 pitted us against Ohio State in the semi finals. This proved to be our only loss of the weekend. After this, we stormed through the rest of the field with scores of 15-2 (Dayton), 13-0 (Ohio Wesleyan), and 11-2 (Ohio University). Omitting the OSU loss, our total score differential was +77 on the weekend. Outscoring opponents 91-14. Miami secured the #2 spot in the East Plains Section and for the first time in most likely a decade or more, someone other than OSU, OU, or Oberlin took 1st and 2nd.
I remember standing looking out at the field where we won our backdoor final game and being elated. I had never felt so proud and I couldn't help but get choked up. A team building itself out of nothing, became the second best ultimate team in three states. Fighting through miserable cold in the 30s and 40s, unpredictable rain, and fields soaked with water I savored the feeling as I stood speechless in Versailles.
This team hadn't gone to Regionals in over 5 years, so needless to say it was a new experience. This was the best tournament any of the players had been to in their college careers and we knew we had quite a road ahead of us. The next two weeks were filled with excitement and anticipation of what was to come.
Rantoul, Illinois was the site of the Great Lakes Regional tournament. Miami showed up ready to play. With a controversial 6th seed in the tournament, we were seeded as one of the top teams in the region. We knew these few games would be our only chance to prove that we had arrived as a legitimate team in the Great Lakes Region. We came out strong, and with only a slight hiccup in the middle of the game, took charge of the first game against Kalamazoo (15-9).
The next game was against eventual winner, Indiana. Bloomington had the tournament of their lives and needless to say we caught them on the upswing in the second round. A 15-7 loss did not shattered our hopes though. We rebounded with a relatively comfortable 15-11 victory over a fellow East Plains team in Ohio Wesleyan. With this win we were at worst in the top half of the Region.
Our 4th game of the day pitted us against a tough and talented Notre Dame team. This was a game of "win and play day 2 or lose and you're done." Miami came out on fire and took a 4-1, then 6-2 lead. Notre Dame was shaken by the zone defense and tried to regroup. Notre Dame did not just regroup, they went on a tear. A complete dismantling of the Boogiemen ensued. We brokedown, became a shell of a team, and Notre Dame went on to win 15-8. It was an absolute melt down but throughout the course of the day we played hard. We played inspired. That's all I could have asked for. We ended the tournament as the 7/8th seed and I could hardly be more proud of our accomplishment.
After the game I was not upset at our loss, I was overwhelmed by a whole new set of feelings. I looked back at the season. I looked back on three years of playing. This team had gone from a scrappy group of unrefined ultimate players as a freshman to a group of guys who were talented and competitive in the college ultimate scene. I looked back on the rainy nights I spent alone on a track doing workouts to get myself and my team better. It was worth it. I had completely immersed myself in Miami Ultimate and looked to build a winning program. It was a surreal feeling to have accomplished what we did and again I looked out towards the field and tried to hide the tears forming in my eyes. Even long after the game, a hug from a departing senior made me feel overwhelmed. We had been through so much together. We played the College Series with pride, discipline, and a zealous excitement that brought an uncontrollable smile to my face. The 2007 College Series was a dream.
This team is only losing 2 players next year. Despite those two losses being important players, we have quite a year to look forward to. We now know we can be good and win big games. We now know we have a program with a serious year ahead of them. The Miami Boogiemen have built the foundation for a team poised to make a run towards something great.
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