Fear as a motivator

The public reaction for coronavrius in Seattle has gone from 0 to 100 in about 2 weeks.  2 weeks ago, the world was a normal place.  On Monday and Tuesday the first official COVID related deaths are reported. Tuesday evening, Amazon emails everyone in Seattle to let them know someone in a SLU office tested positive. Wednesday most folks work from home, then on Thursday Microsoft and Amazon tell everyone to start working from home through the end of March. From there the curve has gotten much steeper.

The rate at which the world has flipped upside down feels unprecedented in my short life. It's been a sad & frustrating couple of days and I'm heartbroken for the college season to end so suddenly. I empathize with everyone who's lives are impacted much more than mine.


However if you're skeptical about whether the public reaction to coronavirus (as of March 13) is too aggressive, watch this video (~9 mins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kas0tIxDvrg

It's a good reminder that, 1) Your life is literally now a high school math problem and
2) Any significant reduction in the rate of infection can have a very impact on the total infected population.

Correctly applied fear can bring about rapid change. "If no one is worried, that's when you should be worried."

Some broad generalizations about Seattle

- Seattle drivers are terrible on the freeway.
- People in Seattle do not j-walk.
- Seattleites are polite and conflict averse.
- Everyone owns a flannel.
- Everyone owns chacos or similarly rated heavy duty sandals.
- Everyone drives a Subaru.
- Climbing is popular in Seattle.
- Everyone in Seattle hates Amazon, but everyone also works at Amazon.
- Seattleites love waiting in line for no reason.
- There are more dogs than children in Seattle.
- It is acceptable/expected to be 30-60 minutes late in Seattle.
- There are lots of Asian people in Seattle.
- Seattle public transportation is slow.
- It rains a lot in Seattle.
- Seattlelites love hiking, camping & spending time outdoors.
- Everyone is a liberal.

The Bug

The frisbee bug is a virus. I caught it in summer 2016. I just wanted to play. I worked out four days a week. I learned how to throw a flick farther than 20 yards. How else could I get better? I watched film. I recorded myself and requested more throwing feedback. The grind was sweet and the rewards were sweeter.

I had the bug in 2017 & 2018, and even 2019, but I don't have it anymore. I haven't lifted since a month before regionals. I haven't been throwing more than twice a week since sectionals & I've been feeling like I'm on autopilot since July. I wasn't getting excited for practice & I'm not upset now that the season's over.

I'm not sure how I lost the bug. It's tempting to blame Birdfruit, but that's selfish and doesn't really line up since BF was a real fun team with some real fun ballers. Mixed doesn't seem like a good culprit either since mixed mini & regionals in college was one of my favorite parts about frisbee. Plus mixed teams in Seattle are a competitive bunch.

Work might be to blame. After switching teams, expectations have grown and I'm finding myself spending longer days at work, investing more mental energy into my time in the office, etc. But this is the classic excuse, ('I have too much homework!,'), so it doesn't count either.

My shoulder injury might be the cause. My left shoulder subpluxes or slides on about 3 out of 4 layouts and sometimes while extending upwards quickly. Physical matchups can also knock it loose. I'm laying out less frequently and playing more timidly as a result. This doesn't hold water either, as plenty of other players have suffered worse injuries and retained their passion.

Julia & Kamal still have the bug. Roy might have lost it for a little bit, but he's got it again I think. Dan and Judith don't have the bug anymore, but they've both played since high school & they're already quite accomplished and talented.

Maybe it's just time for new bug. Or maybe I'll catch the frisbee bug again. Kenneth is talking some pretty big game so maybe I'll mess him up.

Club Tryouts 2019 Post Mortem

I'm writing this before tryouts are actually over. As of right now, I'm awaiting decisions from the final round from Lights Out and Birdfruit. Voodoo has their next tryout on Saturday June 8, when Sockeye cuts will be rolling in. Ghost Train has offered me a spot.

 This is my first experience trying out for club teams in Seattle. It's also the first time I've truly had to make a roster since fall 2015 when I tried out for NUT. In 2016, I was more or less safe as a NUT returner & in 2017 I captained (easiest way to lock in your spot). Summer 2017 I walked on to Union and summer 2018 I walked on to Ghost Train.

In 2015 I remember having an extreme amount of anxiety about my NUT tryout. Even after attending MLC and receiving multiple pieces of positive feedback from Bruns and others, my nerves refused to subside until after the final roster was released.

College was a simpler time. In college, all the players try out for one team. If they don't make it, they play on the B team. A clear hierarchy with only single gender divisions. Nathan Dan and I have reminisced about the relative ease & lack of coordination required to make or set a roster in college.

In contrast club players try out for multiple teams that are in different divisions, have different timelines, and operate as completely independent entities. There are pockets of pick up and pods to attend, there are tryout committees and captains to meet. Players have to consider outcomes ranging from making every roster all the way down to zero.

Despite the increased complexity of trying out for 4 different club teams simultaneously, I am not nearly as wired as I was in 2015. At times it's been easy to start spending a lot of time and energy worrying about results and imagining different scenarios after each round of cuts, but I try not to get caught up thinking about variables that I can't control. Julia and I agree that we both play better when the #1 goal is to ball out.

I'm a much better player now than I was in 2015 & more confident as well. I've had a 6 month offseason of mini, throwing, footwork, and strength training to improve some of my targeted areas for growth. My game is good & I'm having fun. I'll play for the best team I can make this year and have another go next spring if I'm not satisfied. Can't wait to grind this summer.

Lessons Learned/Other Thoughts

• There's a ton of really good players floating around in the Seattle. This has been clear to me for awhile but I was still impressed by the overall talent at all the tryouts, especially younger players still in high school.
• The club scene here feels very much like a market where teams are sellers and players are buyers. For the best teams, ie. Sockeye/Riot/BFG/Mixtape, it's a sellers market - most players will accept an offer to play for those teams. The next level down however, Voodoo, Underground, Lights Out, Birdfruit - in this tier the players have a little more bargaining power, depending on what they can bring to the table. For players who are exiting the top tier of their own free will, or because they got cut in the last round, these second-tier teams have to do a little more to convince players that theirs is the roster they want to target. Players who only have an outside shot at playing for an elite team have much less room to wiggle and are more likely to take what they can get. This is where I lie right now. If we go down one more tier, to third-tier teams like Ghost Train, Soul, or Pegasus - these teams are in a buyer's market.
• Related to the previous two points - I think there's room in the market for another low-second-tier men's or mixed team. Based on the quantity and quality of players I've seen in the Voodoo/Lights Out/Birdfruit circuit and the realistic number of spots available, there will be some pretty good players that don't get offered spots on club teams this summer.
• A lot of people complain that trying out for multiple teams can bring a lot of stress on their bodies. I didn't really experience this. I think that the mental strain of juggling outcomes for 4 different teams is much higher.

 Update 06/04:
Birdfruit 2019, let's ride.
I need to throw more breaks and less turnovers. 

New Team

So you're looking for a new team. What are you looking for?

I want a team that has good culture.

I'm looking for a team where I'm valued & can contribute.

I'm looking for a team where the senior members can help me grow.

I want a team that's solving interesting & complex problems. I want a team that's playing high quality games.

I want to be excited to talk about my team's product. I want to get excited when my team scores.

I expect my team's leaders to be in sync.

I expect my team's leaders to communicate well.

I expect my team's procedures to be well documented. I expect my team's practices to be well planned.

I want my team to be constantly looking for ways to improve.

I want to work with engineers that I admire. I want to play with teammates that impress me.

I want my team to win.

NUT Captain Dump

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.”

            -Lao Tzu

Kenneth asked me to write this post. There is a lot of relevant literature which have undoubtedly shaped my opinions about captaining & leadership in general so feel free to read or revisit:

http://kbthemovement.blogspot.com/2015/05/being-captain.html

http://kbthemovement.blogspot.com/2015/10/an-email-from-chuck.html

http://champeman.blogspot.com/2017/11/demanding-best.html

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Staying organized

A well organized team is a happy team. A team that doesn’t know where or when their practices are or who’s on the roster gets frustrated and struggles with attendance. Clear and constant communication with the entire roster crucial. This includes, but is not limited to:

·      Being clear & transparent about expectations and consequences

·      Letting everyone know as far in advance of practices, tournaments, and meetings

·      Being clear with players about their roster status

·      Submitting bid fees and arranging travel & lodging on time

·      Having one clear voice as a captain/coaching group

·      Planning thoroughly for practice and tournaments. Kevin was huge for this in the 2017-2018 season.

·      Making lots and lots of spreadsheets

Ghost Train, a team with many logistical woes, is a good team. Ghost Train, soon to enter Select Flight, would be an even better team if we could get our shit together more than 24 hours before a tournament.

Setting the tone

Kevin talked about the power of body language this season and I wholeheartedly agree. The leadership communicates with the team via their words and their actions, all the way to down to how you carry yourself on the sideline. If you’re a coach or captain you can’t be seen pouting when we get broken. Your attitude is like a fire, it will spread easily.

Setting the right tone does wonders for creating good team culture & motivating players. Creating team buy-in is a multifaceted issue but a big part is creating energy at practice, and I think that in-practice intensity feels the most genuine & compelling when you can clearly see that the leadership is buying what they’re selling. If the captains are going to demand the best from their team, they need to meet or exceed the expectations set for their team:

·      They’re at every practice and pod

·      They’re a devoted thrower

·      They have high energy at tournaments and high focus during practice

·      They’re engaged in drills, cutting hard, and not being sloppy with low-percentage shots.

As NUT steadily grows a program and graduates from a ~10 hour a week team to a ~15 hour a week team, the captains should be at the helm of the increased time commitment.

Pass the ball

Spreading responsibility is almost always a good thing. Identifying younger players who are enthusiastic about taking on more responsibility within the team an important task, especially in college where you be required to pass the torch down at the end of your tenure. Getting Micah and George involved in the leadership team was a big deal for NUT last year. Their involvement made it possible to manage the rising cost of our season and eased our logistical workload.

Change is bad

This is a one liner I use frequently, enough that Keith noticed. Captains face resistance anytime anything changes. The classic example of this is NUT 2015 that didn’t want to go to Easterns.

In my experience, most if not all decisions provoked a non-zero amount of grumbling. Someone doesn’t like the new jersey designs, and someone else thinks it’s silly to log throws. Another guy questions the wisdom of implementing a new offense. Dealing with this and sticking to your guns is part of the job. Ed said it best: “At times, this is a thankless job.”

Talking in the huddle

Talking in the huddle is overrated. Every year during the NUT email thread there’s comments about how candidate X would “probably would have a great huddle presence.” I think usually this means that this candidate is a good public speaker, or has a big personality. I don’t think that either of these things matter so much.

a.     There’s probably someone else who can do the talking

b.     If you can’t articulate your thoughts well in person, just send an email

That being said, talking in the huddle is also hard is shit and I am envious of anyone that can do it well. I never knew what to say in the huddle. When I actually opened my mouth, I tended to misspeak and I suspect that nobody knew what I was saying. In general, we deferred to Kevin in the huddle for much of the season - long huddles are very bad and I never felt like I had anything to add after Kevin had finished.

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Captaining NUT was far and away one of the greatest things I did in college. I got at least two gray hairs in the process, but being able to serve the team in an increased capacity was immensely satisfying. I will likely throw my hat in the ring again if I have the opportunity.

Don't Spike the Disc

I scored my first goal for Ghost Train at CBR on a nice continue after a deep shot. It was a break in a tight game, so I spiked the disc over my head. The next point on the sideline, one of the captains took me aside. “Hey, great job out there, way to go. But don’t spike the disc though. That’s not us.” I quickly apologized and agreed to omit the spikes in the future. I love Ghost Train and I don’t mind if spiking isn’t part of their culture.

But what in the world is wrong with spiking the disc?

I see nothing wrong with spiking the disc. A spike is an explosion of joy & passion. A spike allows a player to add their own personal flare to the point.

Julia: I wish there was more spiking in women’s college! One time I spiked the disc after a huge break at Pres Day and someone from the other team was like, “Ummm, hey that’s disrespectful…”

Spiking the disc isn’t disrespectful. Spiking the disc on someone is disrespectful. I’d wager that less than 5% of spikes are meant to actively antagonize the opposing team or player.

Ducky: Spiking is just lame, scoring is not that big a deal so chill out.

This is a better argument. During my brief period of time as a wide receiver, our coaches drilled in that celebrating in the endzone wasn’t acceptable because it wasn’t classy. “Score like you’ve been there before.”

My policy on spiking: Spike the disc when you’re excited. Probably shouldn’t be spiking in a game that’s not close. Casual spikes are great.