Rice/UH Collaboration Tournament

Rice University and the UH womens' team are happy to announce Houston Antifreeze 2011. Come warm up your team for the spring semester in Houston, January 29-30th, 2011! This is a round robin of 8-10 teams at Rice University, the top team will win prizes!

What we have to offer:

- USAU sanctioning

- at least 7-8 games (2 days of play)

- tournament essentials (bread, peanut butter, bananas, etc.)

- a Saturday night dinner/mixer

- gear for sale

- Prizes for the winner!

- housing and on-campus showers if necessary

Tournament fee is $200. If you are interested in attending this tournament, please submit your bid (team, contact name and info, any questions/concerns) to houstonantifreeze@gmail.com by January 15th.

Harvest Moon 2010

First tournament of the year!

So the team theme was "To Infinity and Beyond" focusing mostly on Disney characters! We had an interesting collection of characters who ended up on the U of A fields in Fayetteville Saturday morning. There was a nice layer of snow covering the fields when we got there - which quickly melted by the time rounds started. A good lesson to learn, wake everyone up 45 minutes before you want them to leave....

Our first round was against Hendrix - who ironically enough were also Disney characters. Because we only had 8 players, we switched into our super fancy blue jerseys (who Lynn so kindly spent the week working on) and got ready to play. It was our first game of the year playing together with only 3 girls who had actually played together last year. Pretty incredible. Choosing to focus on really tight open side defense and stifling marks we managed to shut down their offense. Our offense looked pretty sharp, having never played in a tournament before. The cuts were smooth and effective, rookies really stepped up in this game and made great in cuts. Wheeler

and Ruthie began their downfield domination which would carry through the rest of the tournament. We saw some nice bids and some great hucks from our handlers (Kathleen, Fran, and Erica). This game ended pretty quickly with a score of 13-3, Miss Red.

Our second round was against the Fame Monsters (Arkansas home team). The Gaga beasts played very poachy defense and through a lot of zone against us. Having never actually played zone offense, we had a bit of trouble figuring out how to break their cup. They through the trap cup along the sideline and by the second half we had figured out a general idea of how to get the disc moving. The handlers had to stay away from the sideline and move amongst themselves. It was a pretty rough game for us, but the hucks were there. We had a few fights, a few quick slugs to the nose and stomach, but by the second half we had our head on straight and managed to put some marks on the scoreboard. Game ended 6-13, Fame Monsters.

The third round against Endzone Entruders (Mizzou) was our chance for revenge. We came out really strong, focusing on shutting down any open side options. The marks did a very good job shutting down the breakside. Their handlers were not given the opportunity to swing the disc and many of their hucks were unsuccessful. We saw some sweet defensive bids from Ruthie and Wheeler as well as some great denial D from our freshmen! It was a promising game and we took the game 8-3 at hard cap.

Fourth round on Saturday was an eye opener for our rookies. Our last game of the day we faced the SlUperheroes. This team is not nearly as good as they were two years ago - their primarily handlers having graduated I assumed. Nevertheless, with an almost savage tea

m we had trouble keeping up with their offensive deep cuts and getting a lot of their swilly hucks. To switch it up we put Kathleen on their primary handlers and forced straight up for a lot but when you're tired, you're tired and keeping up with deep cuts gets rough. On our offense, we started having Kathleen take the in cuts and looking for the dish which worked brilliantly. A lot of the offensive structure that we had earlier today started to crumble but Wheeler and Kathleen kept the disc moving. Marie and Ruthie did a nice job stepping up into the role of handler and we did manage to score a few more points against Slu by the end of the day.

Overview of Day 1: We accomplished our goal of forcing the right way on the mark, not getting broken, and playing excellent open side defense. On offense, we did a great job keeping the disc moving and timing our cuts. For the most part, we made good decisions about when to swing and when to huck. It was a fun day of ultimate and everyone really learned a lot!

Saturday night: Ruthie slept for 13 hours. And I'm pretty sure we ate more calories than we expended...something pretty hard to do when playing with 8 people.

Day 2 - The climb to the Chumpianship!

While normally, I would be very upset with being in the Chumpianship bracket, it is the first tournament of the year and the only upperclassman playing had been in South Africa for the past semester. I was actually really happy on Sunday!

Game 1: Tulane -So never listen to drunk tournament TDs because they actually have no idea when you are supposed to play. We showed up late for this game which put us behind for the rest of the day. This group of girls were not very experienced and had trouble completing passes. When the wind started picking up, our defensive job got easier. Fran (mostly), Kathleen, and Erica had plenty of opportunities for some downwind hucks. We saw Ruthie and Wheeler put up plenty of throws, some nice bids, and even a few handblocks. Marie had a sweet bid in the endzone and again Rebecca and Sarah seemed to be open in the endzone (a lot). The game ended at cap with a score of 9-3 or something.

Game 2: Mizzou again! Similar story but we learned to start poaching in the lane with the beginnings of a very effective front wall. Upwind, we started having Kathleen and Fran run a very quick dominator until they found someone open downfield. The score was capped again in our favor.

Game 3: THE CHUMPIANSHIP! JBU was again, a very different team. Their star cutter ended up handling for them and they had trouble completing passes. With a game cut short (because we started the day really late...) we saw a lot of great plays. Everyone was really stepping

up and the hucks kept flying. By the end of the day the endzone was looking a lot better and Fran and Kathleen dominated that inside out break all day.

Highlights of the weekend:

~ Wheeler catching the disc on her face (many times!).

~ Wheeler getting a sweet callahan before the sole of her cleat ripped off.

~ Ruthie getting a callahan.

~ Kathleen getting a callahan? I can never remember if she catches her Ds or not.

~ Marie's break (and bid).

~ Rebecca's defense.

~ Sarah scoring a lot.

~ Fran's handblocks then hucking it straight into a girls finger.

~ Erica's sweet deep defense and her lefty hucks to the endzone.

Let's carry this momentum as we get ready for San Marcos this weekend!

FIRST WEEK OF PRACTICE

Practice starts on Monday, the 23rd:

Monday: 4:30-6:30 pm

Thursday: 4:30-6:30 pm

Saturday: 9-12 pm

COME OUT AND PLAY!! NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!

Ramblings on Recruiting

I have been thinking about recruiting for a bit and decided to give you guys a little bit of help. I'm sure you could use some assistance in figuring out how to try and outcompete me for recruits. I have a few rules:

1. Never accept defeat. Body language will tell you what someone really wants to do. If they are watching practice or throwing with a careful eye but when you ask them, they act shy or busy, you are halfway there to getting them to come out for Miss Red.

2. Give them what they want. Sell the sport and the team. Try to understand where your recruit is coming from and relate to them as best you can. You see they are very focused and studious so play on that aspect of the team - we are nerds but we play frisbee. If they were really strong athletes, explain to them how much athleticism is involved, their potential, and where the team is headed. The trick is to get them to come to practice, from there, it is their decision to stay (which if you got the right athlete, they probably will).

3. Don't sacrifice your own intensity and goals for the team and the recruit. Sometimes you might feel compelled to say a little too much to convince them to come out (Maybe lie a bit?). Well, you shouldn't do it (nods head yes). Just remember that in the end, you want a recruit who is going to be your teammate at Regionals who is going to catch that critical pass to win the game. So sure, say what you need to say but remember that in the end, you want to find the recruits who are gonna be attracted to the sport.

Random recruiting ideas:

1. Find the athletes (i.e. Club Soccer)

2. Fliers and personal attention

3. RECRUIT YOUR ROOMMATE!! :D (that's how Kim was recruited)

4. Late night Miss Red study breaks

5. Fish Discs :) - i guess thats mostly to teach freshmen how to throw...

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Winner of the recruiting competition gets a WFDF World Championship 2010 Jersey!!! Also available a WFDF 5 wristband.

End of the Season

"It's like breathing"

This is a long overdue post. There is little to say nearly 2 months post-Regionals. Sectionals we dropped seed and went into Regionals ranked 3rd from the Texas section. We were then ranked 7th going into Regionals. We held seed, tying with Missouri State for 7th place.

I can say that we played hard at Regionals. There is nothing to hold our heads about. While there are things that I would change, the way we played showed that we have a lot of heart and that we are ready for the challenge. Our 2 hour season recap of many sobs and tears showed that we have planted the seed for greatness. If there is anything I can take away from that tournament, is that we have touched the corner of a dream. It will take dedication, hardwork, teamwork, and friendship but the talent and the drive is there. The competition will be tough, when we face A&M again, they will also be a stronger team. But we will also be stronger - more talented and stronger fighters.

There is a lot to be said about college ultimate. It is very much a battle of skill but it is more of a battle of athleticism and drive. In the South Women's division, we don't see a lot of kids who played for 4 years in HS and went to the Eastern/Western championships. Instead, it is comprised of very young athletes who are relatively new the sport. Most of the players are just at the beginning of their learning curve and have so room for development. But these are the players that change the game for everyone else who is lucky enough to play with/coach them. They bring a new vitality and energy to the game - something novel and exciting. They are filled with potential and promise. You can see them catch the ultimate bug and realize that this is something that can change their life and also a world they can change. It provides them with a sense of community and freedom to be whoever they want on and off the field. It is also a relatively new sport that it is a place where they can excel and compete against some of the very best. This year, I have met a phenomenal class of freshmen ("A New Hope") to propel Miss Red forward under the leadership of our sophomores and juniors. It has been an honor to captain and play with these players - watching them fight hard for every disc, witnessing how much Miss Red has grown since my first tournaments with them as an obnoxious freshmen. I am so thankful and proud of everyone who has stayed with me with my ridiculous plans/grandiose images of glory.

While winning was the goal, my secret plan was to share a little bit of what ultimate means for me. It may appear like an inhuman obsession - who spends a ridiculous amount of money and time to fly to tournaments, suffers through a million track workouts in the Houston sun and says that its FUN? There is no way to describe this in words, ultimate is like Buddhism, a philosophical way to live life. It has taught me a lot about working with people, what hard work and dedication can bring, what it means to REALLY want something. There are very few things in life that I can say I truly want, that in the end of all adversary, I will still stand up and fight - I will fight for the chance to show my teammates what it's like to be a champion.

Don't lose sight of who you are and what you deserve. At the end of the day, you know your teammates will be there for you.

DIII Centex

WIN! Sorry, no jerseys. Apparently I don't read the captain's packet carefully enough.

Philly Classic 2010

Philly Classic 2010
March 14-15

Where: State College, PA

The time was 0900 and the rain would not let up. In chilly low 40 degree weather with a wind chill that sucks the heat out of you, 12 Miss Red girls lined up on a turf field to play! Warm-up did not look promising as the weather conditions were foreign to college kids from Houston, TX. Flicks flew left and right, hucks were stopped at midfield by the wind, and discs bounced out of frozen hands.

But when Boston College Flix lined up against 7 Miss Red girls, all of that was forgotten. Granted, there were a few flicks that flew out of peoples hands, a few drops, and some failed hucks, but with amazing 3 man zone defense and the best man-to-man defense of the season, we managed to dominate the game. We broke through their zone defense multiple times with skillful handling, quick movement among the poppers, and active deep cuts among the wings. Going downwind, we played some controlled huck and Z points that turned to our advantage giving us many endzone opportunities. Everyone stepped up and made a play this game! Honestly, I can think of at least one spectacular play from every person that played this game. Due to the conditions, we were 5-5 at hard cap. Both teams were rallying for points, and Miss Red was playing the best man D of the entire year. We must have forced 7+ turnovers and broken their zone upwind at least twice to get near scoring position. But in the end, they got a lucky huck off and a score.

We could not rebound from the loss in the next game against Case Western. They had a few skilled handlers and some quick hucks. There were still spectacular plays especially incredible shut down D from Foster, deep defense from Edith, and some pure athletic showboat plays from Wheeler. Kathleen adjusted quickly to the short deep position and managed to get a few solid Ds there. We learned a lot about zone offense against this team that threw a 5 man cup/wall. The trick was the dump and swing. Once we got it through the wall, if we kept the disc moving, we could work it through. It was increasingly difficult to raise moral and to convert on offense as people started to tighten up due to the weather. In the end, the fighting energy had disappeared and mentally, we had let the cold get the best of us.

After running to the heated cars and driving to the new location, we bounced back against Towson for an easier victory. They were a younger team having difficulty adjusting to the wind. On downwind points, we had quick easy offense points and scored. On upwind points, we had ore trouble. The game ended 11-3 (I think?) with a special shout out to Toni for coming down with a lot of swill! Our last game of Saturday was a game of survival. Fran was escorted to a heated vehicle because she could not move and was shivering uncontrollably (I mean, we all were but she was incapable of moving and crying), Edith and KP had tightened up and couldn't run anymore, and I don't really remember who else was not playing because I was trying to remember how to move my legs fast enough to stay warm. Northeastern managed to break through our cup and was getting easy unders on our man D. We had a few points of spectacular play against their zone, working it up in their cup and learning to adjust against the trap cup to get a swing off, but in the end, our legs could not keep up with theirs. Kudos to the people who managed to play out this game. There was never a point where I believe we were not playing with whatever we had left. On the last point, we knew we had to score - we would not give up without a fight. They threw a zone on us again. I told Wheeler (surprise surprise) to split the deep with the other wing. On a swing from the side handler, we put a throw, which was far from perfect, and Wheeler came flying in for a score. I would like to say great job from Kathleen and Lynn for playing chilly handler offense and to Evi for working the popping position like a pro.

Sunday was another story. The weather had changed, it was less cold and less wet. Throws and catches were more on target and we were returning to more normal play. Against Brandeis, we played some solid D and O. They had one girl with a crazy inside out flick that kept breaking us. We let them get 3 points up on us on the breakside but then held them. Matching them point for point, we played a solid game against them, never letting up. Our cuts were getting a little more sloppy but we still had some good flow starting from the handlers. It was just those few points they got on us but we played hard despite the fact most of us were crippled by then.

Yale was our last game of the tournament. We had lost a few players but gave them a run for their money. Our zone O continued to improve here with great popping/wing movement through the zone by Evi, Toni, and Lynn. They kept the disc moving well. While our cutting started to get sloppy, everyone was still running hard on the field. We saw some incredible plays and moments of greatness - and we know that in warm weather, we would have been able to beat most of these teams. If they end up coming down to beautiful 80 degree weather with 70% humidity, we will run them into the ground (which is not really an excuse but it makes me feel better).

Weekend summary: Despite crappy weather, this was really a true bonding tournament. We learned to play together and to trust each other on the field. Our zone offense is no longer a huge intimidating and threatening factor, and we saw players step it up when we needed them. Lynn played solid under defense on every girl she marked, made the give and go plays that we needed this weekend. Kathleen was a rock on offense and defense throughout the tournament. Toni managed to come down with so much swill and take out girls a foot taller than her (Wheeler). Lara and KP had great hand blocks on tough handlers. Kat Powell had some clinch time grabs. Foster was incredible on D and had some really important grabs in the endzone. Fran was always open on the in cut when you needed it most. Evi was shredding ever zone offense with incredible popper placement. Wheeler was Wheeler - despite losing her backpack to some stupid NYC HS kids, she was 100% in the game taking down her man on D and then owning her on O (Wheeler, keep making that cut! I am going to throw it to you.) Edith played awesome deep defense and was a cornerstone of our offensive handling all weekend long!

We did it guys, we played our hearts out and left everything on beautiful turf fields in the cold, rainy, miserable weather of State College, PA. We've developed so much as a team and as individuals on the field. There should be no doubt in your head right now that we can match up against any team in the South this year - we just need to keep working hard everyday at practice. We play how we practice so bring that intensity (once you can walk again Toni) everyday with you and every time you touch the disc. We will still have fun (especially on Thursday) but we need to treat it with the same mentality that we had playing BC on Saturday.

I couldn't be more proud of us! Enjoy Willy Week!

Spring 2010 Season

This is where we came from:

And this is where we will be: 2010 College Championships, Madison, WI