So Cal Warmup

Preliminary Remarks:

Although Scorch had already attended a fall tourney in Albuquerque, SoCal Warmup was the fall tournament everyone had highlighted on their calendars--what better way to kick off the season than to head to sunny San Diego to play some of the top teams in the country, teams that also happen to be in our region. Teams like UCSB (2nd place finish at 2008 college natties) and UCLA (3d place finish) had squads in attendance and other top regional competition such as USC, UCSD, and Claremont were represented as well. This would be Scorch's first opportunity to see how they stacked up against the best, to evaluate how far they had progressed in just a few short months of practice, and to realize how much further they still had to go if they wanted to be counted among the best once spring rolled around.

Scorch's original plan had been to send an X and Y squad to give everyone (but the rookies especially) some much needed experience, but having been granted only 1 bid, plans changed: a single Scorch tryout team was sent. For one reason or another, several potential A teamers couldn't attend, so we sent a squad of 16 ladies all of whom were excited at the opportunity to make one last statement about where they belonged this season: Scorch or Sirens (the ladies' B team). It was a much stronger squad than any X or Y team would have been and, as a result, our expectations increased as well.

What follows is the best recap I can give, Unfortunately, the first few games were less competitive and, as a coach still working to become familiar with all the players, I spent more time note-taking and less time actively coaching in these games. As I became familiar with all the players and as the games became more competitive, I took fewer notes and coached more. So I apologize to anyone frustrated by the lack of detail or the fuzzy memory in the recaps of the more competitive games that you probably wanted to read more about.

Saturday:

Round 1: Scorch vs. UC Irvine

UCI was a good first match-up for Scorch: a speedy but generally less skilled team, UCI relied heavily on a pair of talented handlers moving the disc laterally, waiting to get enough separation for unmarked hucks to cutters streaking deep out of a vertical stack. They played a basic man-to-man defense with an occasional strategic poach from defenders covering Scorch's off-handlers. Early on it was clear that Scorch's success would be dependent on executing mid-game adjustments to their defense and relying on strong work from the cutters to get wide open for easy downfield throws.
The first two points saw Scorch immedeately establishing it's deep game with two hucks from Jen to Anita and Caitlin respectively; the early establishment of our deeps allowed for easy flow throughout the rest of the game as the UCI defenders were forced to respect any deep fake made by a UA cutter. The first half would be dominated by Scorch's ability to shut down UCI's huck game and then flow quickly on offense following UCI turns. Points of focus for the second half would be better handler defense--UCI handlers had a few too many unmarked hucks, two of which resulted in UCI's only points in the half--and better recognition of poaches by the Scorch throwers. Score at half: 7-2 Scorch.
Scorch came out in the second half and showed that they had been listening to the coaches in the huddle: a quick D on a dump cut by Cecile led to a transition point flowing seemlessly from Erika K., to Allysa to Alix for the score and then a tough Scorch mark forced a turfed throw from UCI's strongest handler. The disc landed at Mandy's feet who had the presence to pick it up and throw the quick fastbreak to Anita wide open in the end zone. After a score on a bad huck from UCI, the teams basically traded points to a 12-4 final score.
Good first game in all with a few key things to work on as the weekend progressed: better initial coverage of the pulls, better heads up D from the whole team on floaty hucks, better recognition of poaches, and earlier and better resets/dumps.

Round 2: Scorch vs. SDSU

This had been an anticipated matchup between USC X and Scorch, but when USC could only bring one team, SDSU filled a spot. It was clear that the Scorch ladies were a bit disappointed about not getting to play one of their key regional rivals, but it was also clear that they didn't let it affect their focus or play. SDSU sported a very similar look to that of UCI: a couple strong handlers working the disc looking for cuts out of a vertical stack. SDSU seemed to be looking for breakmark throws more than hucks though. Their defense was entirely man to man, mostly with a forehand force.
Again, our ladies came out strong, with Cecile hitting Caitlin on an early deep look and Rocket putting a nice floaty flick to the back cone for Anita to pull down following a hand block by Mandy. The scorch defensive pressure was just too much for SDSU with strong marks consistently forcing bad throws on breakmark looks; Scorch's quick transition after SDSU turns and a deep game that was working well quickly pushed the score to 6-0. SDSU finally got on the board after a huck was pulled down by a non-intended receiver; better heads up defense and more talk from the sideline probably would have resulted in a D on the play and this was something the coaches would continue to stress throughout the game and the weekend as a whole. On the final point of half, it looked like Scorch was becoming the victims of their own success; looking for deep throws that had been open the entire first half, Scorch throwers were waiting too long to reset the disc, putting too much pressure on the dumps to get open in very small windows. After a couple near misses, Jen layed out huge to save a botched dump pass, stood up and threw the break to a wide open Anita for half: 7-1 Scorch.
After such a strong first half, the lack of energy and focus to start the second half was definitely disappointing with SDSU working the disc easily up the field. Scorch defenders were simply getting beat to the open side and when that happens, you get scored on: 7-2 Scorch. After a quick talking to from the coaches, Scorch came back out on the field the way they had played in the first half, with intensity and focus. After a missed huck, Scorch gets the D on SDSU's endzone on solid dump D--a one-throw score on a well executed end zone play and Scorch was rolling again. For the final play, Scorch switched things up again: instead of the Jen to Caitlin show that had been eating up yards all game long, Caitlin puts a nice break out to space for Jen to run down as the hard cap is called. Final: Scorch 11, SDSU 2

Round 3

Scorch vs. Occidental (Oxy)

A game I didn't take many notes on but a game not unlike the others before it. Scorch again came out and established it's deep game early on a huck from Laura to Anita. LP was making great handler cuts all weekend long and this one was no different, a perfect up the line cut led to an unmarked throw to Anita who had timed her cut about as well as you can--not much the Oxy D could do. The second point saw Scorch throw it's first zone of the weekend and it couldn't have worked better--the cup covered the pull, pushed the disc to the sideline, set the trap and then stayed tight, containing the disc and waiting for the D to come to them--of course it did, with Meg getting a hand block on the Oxy endzone as their handler tried desperately to throw through the cup. One short throw later, again from LP to Anita and Scorch was up 2-0. Hard person D and easy offesnive flow pushed the score to 5-0 on a throw from Rocket to Mel before Oxy finally got on the board. Oxy tried a lot of side-stacking but Scorch's adjustments to force into the stack caused major problems for the Oxy offense, generating turns on first and second throws. The first Oxy score came on an early Scorch turn as a Scorch handler tried to force a breakmark throw to an open receiver--though it was regrettable, it was an acceptable turn as the coaches were continually pushing the handler to work to get the disc to the break side. On points where the break marks were viable throws, every cutter became a threat in the offense and the offensive flow picked up significantly. The teams basically traded points from here out. Although the defense was fairly solid, Scorch had too many short pulls and nearly every Oxy score came on points when they got to start their offense from mid-field--better pulls and better coverage on the pulls will definitely be a focus throughout the season. Final: Scorch 9, Oxy 4

Round 4: Crossover game Scorch vs. USC, Unfortunately no more notes on games....

Scorch finally got the match-up they wanted: USC, not USC X or USC Y, just USC--and maybe the Scorchies bit off a bit more than they could chew this early in the season. A team that was good last year and didn't really lose anyone, USC is a very good team this year; skilled and athletic, they'll be looking to supplant some of those teams that have been sitting at the top of the region the last few years. Their offense relied mostly on a side-stack with huge comeback cuts to dangerous receivers. Initially the Scorch ladies, overly concerned about getting beat deep, were allowing the USC receivers to eat up huge chunks of yards and relatively low risks throws, the result was easy offense for USC. On the flip side, USC came down in a Z to start the game--a fairly traditional 3 person cup that would trap either sideline, Scorch was usually able to beat the trap but couldn't get the disc moving upfield much after breaking the trap--give credit to the speedy defenders of USC who were able to contain the disc after the initial break--the result was too many throws, every third or fourth one being contested, and eventual turns. The score went quickly to 4-0 and a timeout call was necessary. In the huddle we talked about eliminating the drops (most of our turns) and getting the poppers to work together to give more upfield options immediately following the break of the trap. The result was a great zone O point that worked the disc from side to side and attacked downfield following breaks in the cup: Scorch gets on the board 1-4.
Nonetheless, the story was more of the same, USC eating up huge chunks of yards on relatively uncontested in-cuts, meaning fewer resets, fewer opportunities for turns, which all equals efficient offense. Another timeout was called during which Scorch talked about making life for USC a bit more difficult by pushing the first cut away to shut down USC's initial easy looks. The plan definitely worked: after a turn on a Scorch huck, USC was pinned on it's own endzone line. Downfield defenders worked beautifully to force their marks away from the disc; with no easy throws downfield, the thrower turned to the dump to find her completely covered by Jen but she chose to throw it anyway: Mistake! The disc floated for just a bit, both players went up but only one came down with it: Callahan Scorch; pulled down by Jen but made possible by all 7 defenders on the field.
It was a great effort in an otherwise not so great game. USC was well coached with veterans and athletes up and down their line--they played well, made few mistakes and just didn't give Scorch any room to make up ground. Final Score: Scorch 3, USC 10. It was certainly dissapointing and revealed a lot of things we still need to work on, but there were definitely some positives mixed in there. Scorch is young and relatively inexperienced compared to a USC team that returned basically everyone; hopefully they use this game as motivation to continue to improve. We finished 3-1 on Saturday and won our pool, not too shabby.

Sunday: I was a little confused about the lack of bracket play on Sunday but understand the desire to play as many teams as possible--it did seem a little weird though that a few teams ended up playing each other again on Sunday. If it's going to be pool play both days, then there shouldn't be rematches from one day to the next. Luckily, Scorch didn't have any rematches--3 new teams to match up against and 3 more opportunities to improve.

Round 1: Scorch vs. Claremont

Finishing 1st in the Saturday pool gave us a first round bye that probably didn't help us much. Scorch came out flat against Claremont making mental mistakes that good teams just don't make: getting beat to the open side, forgetting the force, dropping discs because you're not watching the disc all the way into your hands--simple avoidable mistakes and it cost Scorch early. Claremont came out in an offense similar to UCI, a couple skilled handlers working the disc laterally until they could hit open cutters in the lane--the difference: Claremont was more skilled and they were willing to hit in or out cuts, making their offense a bit more efficient. They were good and Scorch's mental mistakes were making things too easy on them. Before they knew it, Scorch was staring at a 4-1 disadvantage and a big hill to climb.
To their credit, Scorch took a time out, talked about upping their intensity and cutting out the silly mistakes--actually, they did more than talk about it, they did it. Slowly they started working their way back into the game with smart defense and steady offense. Unfortunately, the climb was too little too late and the Scorch ladies fell on universe point 10 to 9. It was a good lesson that sometimes even the smallest of lapses can cost a game--Claremont was a quality team but (in my mind) Scorch was the better team. In ultimate though, it doesn't matter which team is better; all that matters is which team plays better and unfortunately, that was Claremont.

Round 2: Scorch vs. UCSD X

One critique of the coaches in the Claremont game was that we lost to a team who relied heavily on one or two handlers without ever throwing a zone--bad Scorch coaches, bad....so what did Scorch do? They resolved to set the zone come hell or high water against UCSD. It wasn't hell or high water that came but rather a steady crosswind (just slightly up and down the field) perfect for a good trap zone; clearly going zone was the right choice.
First point: Coaches put in a stong O line and though it takes them a couple of turns to do it they finally get the disc moving and score on a throw from Jen to Caitlin in the end zone offense and we were up 1-0. Once we got the disc into the red zone, our endzone offense was nearly perfect--considering our first practice on it had been just a few days before (and it wasn't the greatest of practices) that should be counted as a considerable feat. Second point we throw the zone and it gets a chance to work--it wasn't as tight as it could have been with UCSD able to get the disc out of the trap and swung to the high side too many times, but it does it's job in the end: forcing lots of throws, some of which are tough and one of which results in a turn. A couple throws later and Laura finds Caitlin again for goal number two. At this point, the coaches are managing the lines, not necessarily calling them, but the effect is obvious: stronger lines with people in the right positions--our defense looks stronger than it has been all weekend and at times the offense looks effortless. Scorch runs the table through the first half, finishing 8-0; throughout the first half the zone was definitely effective, forcing the disc to the sideline and keeping it there until UCSD made a mistake. We open up the rotation a bit more in the second half and though it understandably causes some problems with the offense, the coaches are impressed that it does not change the effort or execution of the defensive end with players like Anita, Cecile, Mel, Nell, Courtney and Erika all getting D's in the second half. Final Score: Scorch 14, UCSD X 4.

Round 3: Scorch vs. UCLA Y

Though it was their Y team, UCLA was definitely going to be a great match for Scorch--they have talented players with a whole lot of experience and some rookies that really impressed. The wind was still coming across the field but a bit more upfield, downfield than earlier in the day. We start the game pulling upwind (definitely not optimal) but somehow it works to our advantage--Jen starts us off with a great upwind pull (her pulls on Sunday were awesome) which UCLA promptly drops; a quick throw later and Scorch is on the board first. Point trading ensued after that with both teams converting consistently upwind--both teams had plenty of opportunities to punch in a downwind break, but it just never happened--very unusual. Point trading kept up all the way to 7-6 Scorch. Scorch put in a strong line in the hopes of converting the downwind break to secure half; after several turns by Scorch and two big D's by Caitlin and Nell, Scorch is finally able to punch in the score and take half 8-6.
During the half Scorch talks about finishing the tournament with their best half so far; you could tell all the players want to make a final statement before getting in the cars and driving all the way home. Receiving going downwind, Scorch puts in a strong offensive line and it's clear that what they were saying in the huddle wasn't just lip service...experienced cutters like Anita, Caitlin, Laura, and Rosie are working hard to get wide open downfield and the handling unit of Cecile, Jen and Mandy are all providing easy resets and making smart decisions. The result is a free flowing offense that doesn't make a mistake and Scorch pushes the lead to 9-6. The second half is full of strong effort, but the BLU ladies are strong and experienced and Scorch trades points with them the rest of the way to 12-9 Scorch. The last game of the day is definitely an encouraging one, beating an X/Y squad from a team that finished 3d at nationals last year is no small feat especially when considering that only half of Scorch players are returners from last year. Scorch ends the tournament 5-2 with a well-deserved sense of accomplishment.

Closing Thoughts:

Weekends like this reveal a lot about the character of a team: one game you play a team that simply does not match up against you and the next you're playing one of the best teams in the country where every single point is a struggle. Through it all, I'm very proud of the way these ladies played--the played with an intensity and focus, with a passion and spirit that should make proud any frisbee player that calls or ever called Tucson a home. The ladies have progressed a lot in such a short time span and it's evident that they will continue to grow as players; it's equally evident that they'll need to grow if they want to remain competitive in the toughest region in women's college ultimate.

At the beginning of the season, it would have been easy to look at the Scorch program and say that trouble was brewing. They had had a great season last year but lost more players to graduation than any other team in the region, there were new captains and new coaches and so many other reasons to be concerned about the future of the program. After this weekend, I hope that those concerns have been erased. Captains Caitlin and Rosie and the rest of the returners have come back better and stronger, they did a great job recruiting new talent and showing them the love of the game, B team players from last year have stepped up to the challenge of filling the roles left behind by departing players, and rookies have stepped in and let everyone know that the future remains very bright for Scorch. After just 7 games, two things are clear: Scorch is good and they're only going to get better.

Up next: picking teams: Scorch vs. Sirens

So It Begins

Holy hell, I'm blogging....I certainly never thought I'd see the day, but as was the case with cell phones and high speed internet, it seems that the needs of others is going to drag me kicking and screaming into the 21st century (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). This time the "others" are Scorch--the University of Arizona women's ultimate team--and their need is that of recognition. Of course, the ladies themselves would never say that they play ultimate for the notoriety--it's just not gonna happen; I'm guessing they'd claim a love of the game and a love of their teammates as the reasons they show up night after night, working hard to become better players and to make those around them better as well. So maybe they don't need recognition, but there's no doubt that they deserve it. With all the success of Sunburn last year, people tend to forget that Scorch was the first of the two teams to go to Natties, people tend to overlook all the hard work these ladies have put in and continue to put in to build a solid women's program here in Tucson, and sometimes people just plain forget that these ladies are awesome.

So if you enjoy ultimate, if you have any connection to Tucson or the U of A, or you just like hearing stories about how hard work pays off in the end, keep on reading; I'll do my best to keep it informative and entertaining. And if you do read this blog and happen to pass by a Scorch lady in your daily travels, take the time to ask her how her season is going, give her a high five, ask her for an autograph, or tell her about your plans to cheer on the team at their next competition.

JG

Coming soon: Socal Warm-up Recap