On Friday night I ran the showcase game against ECU. As it was my
show, I needed to attend to the minutiae, meaning it fell to me to
work the door even as the game begun. Eventually Moses relieved me of
my duties, as he had just twisted his ankle. He didn’t look very
positive (who would, when they get injured?), but I didn’t think much
of it…. until I got into the stadium only to hear we were down 4-1.
ECU ran a poachy transition defense that successfully shut down any
pull plays and effectively stopped flow until manning up. It was new
enough that it took a couple of points to adjust to, and apparently
forced a few errors that ECU was able to capitalize on. When I
entered, the momentum was clearly on their side. We finally punched
one in on offense and got our D back on the field. After trading a
few, the game was becoming somewhat sloppy. Both teams had weird
turnovers, and more than a few times we were able to get a hand on a
disc, only to have it caught by another non-intended ECU receiver. We
fought back well, bringing the game to 12-11 ECU, receiving. Good
pressure, though, earned them a turn, and they were able to break to
win. This was a tough loss that foreshadowed the weekend to come.

Saturday proved a test of our mental strength. Here we are, coming off
of a fairytale run through Worlds earning a silver medal and beating
Ironside and Chain, and we immediately lose to ECU. Now we face Truck
Stop, who we lost to on double game point (13-14). That result
would’ve shocked me if you told me in the middle of the game though,
as I felt strong about our performance to that point. We were clearly
not in Worlds form– throws, timing, precision were all very, very
rusty– but our D was good and I felt in control of the game. What I
didn’t expect was the lull. We definitely let off the gas, and Truck
Stop never did. They fought and fought, and earned that win as much as
we lost it. Frustrating way to start the day, and much of it was our
own expectations.

Boston was up next. Early in the game, again, we get a break and take
a lead and look and feel strong. Our D was there. But, as we were both
missing key players (MC, Bestock, Moses was off and on, Rehder was off
and on, Sam KS was tender, Frank was working up to being ready, the
list just goes on), and we were rusty, they were able to capitalize on
offensive mistakes with good pressure D, some big plays (Reinhardt had
a nice big layout), and good defensive O. After getting the momentum,
they won out– we were never really in this one after they got the
lead back.

Pony gave us fits until the end. It was a relatively close game
throughout, with each team looking rather sloppy, and both teams
liking the huck, whether it was working or not. In the end, we were
able to pull this out on double game point, with us pulling to them.
They gave up the first turn on an overthrown huck, I gave it back with
a terrible upwind flick huck that was just a poor decision, and BJ
Sefton got it back by getting his cleat on a throw and knicking it out
of bounds. Literally, a half inch of cleat was the difference, as that
huck would’ve been the game winner for them. Subsequently Castine shot
it deep to me and we were able to pull this one out, but it could’ve
just as easily been our third loss.

To finish the day we saw Ring. At this point we were down to 16 total,
and Ring had numbers on us. They’d divided their team into 3 lines of
7, and they were making solid playson O and D. We held a lead after
converting a few breaks early, but our O got broken multiple times in
a row on fatigue errors and good Ring D. They’re athletic, for sure.
Both teams were pretty gassed- one hell point near the end had at
least 7-8 turns, and it was a killer for us. Having been on that
point, I can say that by the end of it I simlpy couldn’t do much
beyond a jog. Ring pulled this out in the end, 14-11.

Our huddle after that final game was actually positive. Having
reassessed our expectations based on where we are _now_, rather than
where we were, we could feel good about portions of our play in each
game. In the Ring game, everyone felt strong about our fight– there
were errors, yes, but it felt correctable, whereas early on, we simply
looked lackadaisical or apathetic or simply uninspired at times, which
is a far larger hurdle to overcome. We had regained our energy and
fire, and that felt good.

Sunday was another body blow, as we went down to Bodhi immediately
4-0, all breaks. Ugh. After that, we finally got an O line onto the
field to score a point, and this deficit pushed us back into the hard
work mentality. We finished the game out stronger than we started it
and, even though it was a loss, you could see that guys were figuring
out a new chemistry for this new season. Throughout this game our D
was strong and forced good turns.

Up next was easily the most interesting of any games we played-
Revolver. And we won this game. Handily. But how? Well, this was the
first game where, as the “second best team in the world,” we were the
underdogs. Now, I’m sure everyone will immediately say that we should
clearly know we’re no longer the second best team in the world, but
you still go into any game with some expectation of “easier,” or
“tougher,” or “expect to win,” or “we’re the underdog with nothing to
lose.” In this case, it was the first game that, before the tourney,
we would’ve called it the latter, coming in as the underdogs. And we
came in on fire, both on offense and defense. The first point we (I)
turned it over on an errant inside out look on the first pass (which
sucked), but our post-turn D was gritty and hungry. They put it in,
but it was clear that we were approaching this game differently than
others. We knew they’d score, we knew we’d get broken, and we knew
we’d have to fight back to even make it close. Our D was very hungry
the entire game, and their O, without Robbie, made several
uncharacteristic mistakes which we barely saw at Worlds. Our offense
was good with both deep and underneath looks, and we had a very good
scoring percentage whenever we had the disc, whether it was receiving
the pull or off the turn. This was easily the best game we played all
weekend, and much of it was because we were able to shed the
expectations that come along with being the supposed better team.

To finish the tourney, we crossed over against Streetgang. This game
was all about proving to ourselves we could win a game, regardless of
the opponent. Our D was great this entire game, and forced a lot of
late stall count hucks from streetgang. Their lefty handler was still
strong, and their downfield receivers were very capable and made some
great grabs, but our pressure and desire, based on the cumulative
frustrations of so many losses and so much underperformance was really
unleashed on them and we were in control from the 3rd point on.

Looking forward to Labor Day 2010!

Matt Rehder, a 3-year Sockeye veteran while still only 19 years old, won a World Championship with the Team USA Boys in Heilbronn, Germany. Team USA gave up a total of 45 goals in 10 games against their international opponent, and beat a very strong Team Canada in the final 17-7.

(Sockeye would also like to congratulate the other incredible players on Team USA with Seattle roots: Casey Bateman, Simon Montague, Justin Norden, Julian Childs-Walker, and Casey Macphee. Along with South Eugene’s Aaron Honn and Dylan Freechild we’ve had the pleasure of watching, and in some cases playing, with you for years and we are glad to see the World get a chance to watch you play together.)

In even more incredible news:

Sockeye’s Jaime ‘Idaho’ Arambula and Mauricio ‘Best’ Moore helped coach the Colombian Junior Girls to a World Championship today in a thrilling 16-14 win over Team Canada. This is the first major championship for any South American team, and we are proud of the Fish coaches that have worked so hard, and the brilliant young women that make up this outstanding team. Todo nuestro amor, y que chimba ultimate Colombiano!

For Idaho, this makes two major coaching championships (including Pacific Lutheran’s DIII US College title) in as many tries.

Sockeye rarely gets to play in hometown Seattle, and we hope this game will be a good showcase for our fans!

Gates open at 6:30pm, game to start at 7. Admission $5, $3 for any under-18, with halftime events for prizes and more!

Unbelievable.

Current accolades:
- Debuted on ESPN 7/27/10 as a highlight from Worlds
- Discussed on ESPN SportsNation as potential ESPY Award Winner
- On SportsNation Poll, 70% of viewers were impressed, and both hosts were wondering how 30% could not be impressed.
- On ESPN’s Top Ten Plays (7/28/10) as #1
- Featured on ABC’s “Winner’s Bracket” as the #1 seed, which pits top plays against one another in a tourney-style bracket format, and comes out the winner, beating clips from around the world!
- ESPN’s Top Play of the Week! (8/2/10)
- Featured on ESPN.com’s front page, AOL Video, Sports Illustrated online, Deadspin, Seattle Weekly online, Seattle PI online, and hundreds of blogs

Andrew is humbled, and is being diligently sought after by Rogaine for a sponsorship.

After our surreal silver medal run at Worlds, not to mention earning the Spirit Award along the way for fair play, the Fish are back at it starting this upcoming weekend on the field and the track.

Most exciting of all? It’s not disappointment that’s driving us now; it’s the chance to play together again.

It’s that fun.

The Seattle Sockeye are having a throwing practice on Saturday, July 3rd, where we will be doing many of the best throwing drills that we have developed and learned. As part of the experience that is WUCC, we’d like to invite all interested players and teams to join us for a Throwing Mini-Camp.

If you are interested in learning new ways to work on your throws, come join us at 6.30pm at the park fields at Strahov area after the Captain’s Meeting. These fields are near the main Strahov field site, but further to the west (20 minutes walk from the Check-in). There will be few Czech players waiting in front of the Check-In to pick you up at 6.00pm and take you there.

Jaime ‘Idaho’ Arambula will lead a session of the 20-minute ‘Ninja Throwing’ routine, and Ben Wiggins will lead a group through the ‘Zen Throwing’ routine. Sockeye players will be around to answer questions, possibly run a few light drills, and analyze throwing form if you would like. Or, just come to throw with us as a warm-up for a huge week!

Questions/comments/greetings? Write us at info@seattlesockeye.org
Bring a disc if you have one, cleats are optional. Free for all WUCC and Czech Ultimate players.

We hope this is a great way to get ready for the Day 1 games, to meet new friends and to give back some of the Ultimate knowledge that we have been fortunate enough to learn. See you on the 3rd!

Sockeye’s first traveling tournament of 2010 was a huge success. We were hosted wonderfully by the Austin community (thanks Will, Ray, Gordon and los Berenses!). Even though Continental and Delta tried to sap our strength by keeping us at an average of 3 hours of sleep (per person, per night) we had enough energy to enjoy great weather, great Ultimate and the great capital of Texas.

In extremely short form, here is the synopses of our games:

Game 1: v Clapham

We refused to return Adam Holt to them, then spent the first half trying to figure out the English offense before Eddie started stealing blocks by the handful. 15-11 in a capped game, Fish win.

Game 2: v Suess

This team of Tejas and beyond youngsters puts up a fight at every position. Frank got a couple of blocks as a deep-deep, and Ray started cutting every-other to pull ahead. Sockeye wins, 17-8.

Game 3: v Revolver

Revolver is even more talented this year, having soaked up a large portion of Jam’s talent and athleticism. Sefton made a ridiculous catch over a pile of people to tie it at 12s, and MC’s run-through block led to a key fastbreak goal from Charlie to Bailey. Sockeye in a squeaker, 13-12.

Game 3.5: v Rudy’s BBQ and 6th street

Sockeye v Brisket and Sockeye v Big Buck Hunter were big wins. Sockeye v Double-disc court was a hotly contested tie.

Game 4: v Houston

A fun group of up and coming players (like Doc) led by savvy veterans (like Calvin). Sockeye’s offense starts to click in the second half heat, and we all go crazy when Sam puts someone in the Shark Tank. Sockeye wins, 17-6.

Final: v Doublewide

We’ve played so many important games against Dee-dub in the past few years that we are starting to expect them every tournament. This one didn’t disappoint. A well-fought and fairly-ref’d game saw Doublewide take the tournament 19-16, even though Spencer drove Sockeye two 2 breaks almost singlehandedly. Great game, can’t wait for the next one!

- Frank Barich- Wowed the PC with his dominance in the air and steep learning curve.

- Aaron Talbot- Bringing veteran savvy and a superb throws.

- Phil Murray- An athletic and hungry player who knows how to make plays and win games.

- Bailey Russell- Strong, experienced downfield cutter with a deadly combination of throws and hops.

- Charlie Ellis- A dominant big-man presence with an incredible work ethic and big play capability.

- Mauricio Moore- An incredibly versatile player, able to  handle or cut, on offense or defense to exploit his matchup.

We welcome these new Fish with great anticipation for the coming ‘2010 season!

http://www.frisbee.cz/clanky-sockeye.html

The talent pool was deep, as over 100 players ranging from high school and beyond divided amongst 6 team were able to play highly skilled and competitive ultimate. Sockeye certainly benefits from the amazing ultimate culture that exists in Seattle, and through this tryout process hopes to build a team the rewards the emerald city with a pair of trophies this year.

At the end of the day, we hope that everyone can say that they played a lot of great ultimate, made some plays, learned something new, and got to play with someone new. While not everyone moves on to the next stage of the tryout process, every Fish appreciates the hard work and talent that each and every tryout brought and looks forward to seeing everyone out on the field again in the future!

RSVP: If you are planning on attending, and have not done so already, please give us your information by emailing Capt. Ben Wiggins. The Combine is already larger than 70 players, but we have space for more… so don’t hesitate to tell other interested players to sign up at our website!

Time: 10am to 5pm. 10am will be our jogging-start time, so you should arrive as early as you need to in order to be ready to start warmups at 10 sharp. We’ll warm up, run through a set of drills within our Combine teams, and then play several games together.

Location: The Combine will be at Sky River Park in Monroe, WA. Map your way to: 818 Village Way, Monroe, WA 98272. It takes roughly 35 minutes to make it from Wallingford to Sky River.

Cost: To cover field/supply costs, we’re asking for $10 per player. This includes all players from last year’s Sockeye team as well. This is the same cost as last year.

Waivers: If you are over 18, we’ll have a standard waiver for you to sign at the fields (just to legally protect the organizers of the event). If you are under 18, we have attached a parent/guardian waiver that we need you to sign and bring to us. Please PLEASE make sure to bring this waiver, or your trip to Monroe will go Ultimate-less.