Mammoth Rebellion, y'all!!

Awareness on the Field

2009-04-28T09:12:00.001-04:00

Water water water

2009-04-28T09:11:00.001-04:00

hydration during a tournament

Nutrition for your Body and Ultimate

2009-04-28T09:10:00.001-04:00

Daily eating habits

Eating during a tournament

Equipment for Ultimate

2009-04-28T09:07:00.002-04:00

equipment for ultimate

shoes

importance of good shoes
finding the right shoe
shoe support
different cleat types
hard ground
soft ground

Clothes

responding to weather
sun
natrual!

Attitude and Intensity for ultimate

2009-04-28T09:04:00.002-04:00

Attitude

Positve, good spirited attitude
Spirit of the game
represent Messiah

Intensity

higher intensity wins--period.
down by two
bubbles

Dealing with Injuries

2009-03-25T09:34:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to clarify some points about injuries, so we can keep healthy, and there are no misunderstandings. I hope all of you feel a strong bond and commitment to the team, but I do not want you to feel obligated to put yourself at risk for damaging yourself. Ultimate is a life long sport, and I hope each of you enjoy playing it for many years to come. Also, this discussion is based on my experience as an ultimate player and coach, not athletic trainer or medical knowledge.

So, here are some points about injuries:

First, ultimate is a tough sport on the body, and it is essential to take care of your body. Taking care of your body is the best way to prevent injuries. Taking care of your body to prevent injuries includes good health habits--eating right, hydrating, stretching, resting, sleeping, using proper equipment, etc... More about that in a later post, some day!

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Another good injury prevention technique is good fitness. The stronger your muscles and the more fit you are, the less likelihood of injury. Strong muscles prevent joints and ligaments from exceeding their limits of range and flexibility when under duress. Fitness prevents you from being tired--when you are tired, your body is prone to injury. The best way to good ultimate fitness is intervals straight up hills and/or steps. They build strength, fitness, and speed in one nice little exercise. You can read about fitness training in the prior posts.

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Some of you may have pre-existing injuries or ailments that may affect your ability to play. If you have any minor conditions that can affect your ability to play or put yourself at risk (e.g., you tore your acl in high school, asthma, etc...), let your coach and captains know. If you have any serious potential health conditions, including respiratory, pulmonary/circulatory or head/neck/back conditions, please consider the risk you put on yourself and those around you!

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If you are injured, it is vital you let me and you captains know! We must know so there is communication and understanding as to the extent of the injury, and there is no undue pressure about playing.

Most serious ultimate injuries ( e.g., a pulled muscle or torn ligament) are not visible. Unless it is Dean's body swelling up. No one knows how much the injury hurts, or the extent of it, except for you. You must make any decision about whether or not to continue to play when injured. Neither your coach or team captain will require you to play when you are injured--that is your decision. Conversely, your coach or captains may insist you do NOT play due to an injury to protect yourself. And know that if you are injured, and feel like you are letting the team down, please do not feel bad or guilty! We all have been injured and in pain, and will be understanding and supportive to you.

The catch phrase for deciding on whether or not to play is "listen to your body!". Pain is your body's way of telling you something is wrong, help brain! Only you know the extent of your muscle pull, bruise on your toe, or whatever it may be, and you must make that decision to rest or to play.

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As far as pain killers (ibu, candy, etc...), I am personally against using them to mask pain in order to play. As stated above, the pain is your body's method of informing the brain that something is amiss. Masking that message may enable you to play, but may also lead to further damage and more severe injury.

I understand that after the play is done for the day, ibu and other drugs may aid in reducing swelling and in recovery. Again, that is your personal decision. Personally, I do not like any synthetic drugs for most anything. Natural treatments, natural drugs, are preferred, if necessary.

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Different injuries require different responses. Some ultimate injuries are superficial and can be dealt with easily. These include the various cuts, scrapes and bruises we all encounter. Another set of injuries are pulled or strained muscles. Another set is related to joints, from ankles to knees to shoulders. Another set is related to ligaments and tendons. Another is anything rleated to the head/neck/spine. Each of these injuries require different responses from you and even the team.

Coach Pat

Tuesday Practice Handler Cuts and Defending Them

2009-03-25T08:15:00.004-04:00

At practice last night we discussed making and defending typical handler cuts.

The four basic cuts for a handler are:

1. upline, also chainsaw (fist)
2. dump (thumb up)
3. vee, also composers (two fingers)
4. flare (open hand)
-------------I realize there may be different names for these cuts, but we will use the above for uniformity.

Each of these cuts are available on most field positions, even when we are trapped on the sideline. We can even evolve to using some hand signals () to improve communication between the thrower and the cutter. Practice these cuts! Use fakes--these cuts work because of the threat of the other cuts.

===========================

For defending these cuts, remember the most important thing--positioning! The first rule of defensive positioning is to put yourself in a stance that enables you to see your mark and the disc. Seeing the disc is vital to defending handler cuts (think about how many dump passes you see that some defender just misses because they did not see the disc soon enough), and it increases your overall awareness of the flow of the game.

The second rule of defensive positioning is to put your body in a position that takes away one of the cuts/open areas that a handler can cut to. Generally, the best position is one that takes away the upline cut. The upline cut is typically the most dangerous, giving up the most yards and an open throw. Use your body position to deny the upline cut. If you take away one of the areas they can cut too, it is much easier to defend a handler.

The dump cut is typically the least dangerous, because it is negative yardage, and you should NOT allow the swing pass, and keep the force on. So our opponent dumps the disc, lost five yards, and is still trapped on the sideline. However, we do not want to casually allow the dump pass, especially when most teams look to dump when the stall is high or just to get the disc back to their best thrower. DENY and CONTEST EVERY PASS! If you do allow a dump to go to your mark, make sure you establish your mark positioning by stopping the break force swing pass as you approach the disc. (of course, when we are on offense, that is exactly what we want to do on the sideline, dump, and a break force swing to open up the field!)

The second most important aspect of defending a handler is teamwork. To emphasize the irony of the Santa Barbara video"if win we our individual battles....."--you cannot win your individual battles without help and support from your team! When you are guarding a handler, and they are making a cut you MUST shout out to the marker for help (the sideline should also being doing this). Strike for the upline cut, no dump for the dump, no break for the flare. The maker then MUST shift/shuffle/move to stop the pass to the handler.

As a tactic, I would rather deny the disc to a handler (i.e., the BEST, most experienced thrower on the other team) by temporarily losing our force, and even allowing a break force throw to a less experienced thrower on the other team. In the college ultimate world, this can work to our advantage. They can throw to their freshman all they want :). If we deny the disc to the other team's main handlers, we will win the game.

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As counterpoint point to good positioning, a poor position to take as a defender is to stand directly behind your team mate that is marking. Making a short throw threw a maker is difficult! There is no reason to stand there! Especially if you are playing off your mark a few yards, trying to poach. If you are going to poach when we are trapping, then get all the way in the throwing lane up the line. Or just get back on your handler and deny the dump.

This is also true for cuts that we make on offense. If your cut ends up behind the other team's mark, and you are poached, and wondering why your team mate is not throwing you the disc--it is because you are standing exactly where they cannot throw it to you! MOVE-make a cut upfield or go for the dump/swing. Do not stand behind the mark yelling 'poach'.

Another tactic we use on defense against a hozo stack handlers or a split stack handlers (what long beach used against us in Vegas), is to have the defender on the force side poach off their mark into the upfield throwing lane. This is what Issac (and others) did successfully this weekend. When we poach into the lane, we are denying an upfield pass, and allowing the swing. However, the swing is in the direction we are forcing, and if completed, narrows the amount of field we have to defend. Further, our defender we be in position to approach to deny a break force swing, especially since the break force swing pass would have to be right back to the opponent that just threw it--who should be well covered!

Ironically, in this defensive set-up, the handler we need to most closely guard is the one on the break force side. We must not let them get open, slashing across the handler in the middle for an upfield/upline cut, or a break-force dump cut. Deny all passes to them! Make them throw to the force side, where we can trap them and have less field to defend.

As a final note on defending handling cuts, it is an art. It takes a lot of heart, fitness, intensity, awareness, experience and anticipation to guard a good handler. You will also over the game have to learn how each different handler cuts, where they like to get the disc, and even how they throw (if you are unfortunate and you let them catch the disc). Even beyond one game or one tournament, you will face these players again and again over the years. If you are good, you can learn how to shut down a team's main handler one tournament--and the next time you face them you can mentally take them out of the game before it even starts! LENNY IS IN THEIR HEADS!!!!!

Coach Pat

Millersville tournament

2009-03-25T07:56:00.005-04:00

Great tournament boys. I know it is sad to not defend our title, but we did play well, just ran into a solid American team--twice.

I felt everyone really stepped up this weekend, and we grew as a team. Especially in the awareness of the game--which you know is one of the most important aspects of the game I teach about. Seeing Issac learn how to poach, Lenny marking in a zone, Tyler clamping on the other team's handlers, John flying down the field on pulls, Jimmy and Micah just running and skying all over the field, one of the Hoppes brothers laying out, and the other continuing to huck and play with no breaks, Gabe laying out more than Dean on Sunday, Kyle stepping up to handle in zones and throwing strongly into the wind, Rhino laying out fully extended--which got the whole team pumped in the ESU game, Ricky working his timely O cuts, and Dean punishing the field, the sand, the grass, and several opponents by throwing his body at them.

The other important game aspect we learned about is attitude and intensity. We really turned up the effort and intensity in the ESU game, and look how we played--awesome!! Now the trick is to have that intensity and attitude when we start every game. Sprinting down the field on pulls, diving blocks, diving catches, ruling the sky, active marking, all that stems from intensity. So think about that feeling you had during the ESU game, and how you can get it back--and help your team mates to get it back--for this Saturday morning at G'burg.

Coach Pat

Wednesday Night's Practice

2009-02-26T07:33:00.002-05:00

Great practice last night boys. I love the enthusiasm and effort everyone of you is putting into playing and learning ulti.

Just to re-emphasize a couple of points:

quick, accurate movement of the disc is essential for the offense. It keeps defenses off balance and out of position, and creates opportunities for the offense.
if someone is open, throw it to them!
if someone is open breakside, throw it to them! Do not say "I couldn't make that throw, or the mark was there". You need to learn to make the break mark throws, practice them.
play FAST, but do not rush! Ulti is a fast, transition game. We need to take advantage of turnovers, before the other team has a chance to set. We need to move the disc right away on pulls, with a set string or play. We are going to be a fit team, that uses our fitness and speed of play to run other teams down. (I hope you boys are running)
we need to work on using short give n go passes more
I liked everyone in the scrimmage opening it up, throwing deep, trying throws. My favorite play was when Jimmy made a dee play in the endzone, ran up to the line, and threw 60 yards the other way. That is the way to take advantage of a turnover.
keep working on AWARENESS. Always know where the disc is. Always know where your mark is. Always feel the flow, and anticipate the next logical pass. Always know the game conditions (see that old post on seven things you should know on the line). Always be in a position to help your teammate, on O or D. Do not be the noob that says, "I didn't see the disc," or get pwned because you didn't know the force.
do not worry to much about catching and throwing perfectly, that will get better with time. If you want to improve you catching, carry a disc around. Sleep with it. Carry it in your hand when running. And when you have time, throw, throw, and throw.

Coach Pat

Unused fire

2009-02-04T17:09:00.003-05:00

http://www.spinultimate.com/collections/hotproducts/products/fire

Just firing up the old blog... everyone know about your fire. Protect it.

Elements of Making a Cut

2008-11-10T16:04:00.003-05:00

Elements of Making a Cut

Proper Positioning
· Make yourself dangerous. Always put yourself in a position where the defender has to guard against two directions/cuts.
· Keep the defender off balance, keep them moving
· Clear out fast after a cut (keep around the disc clear and keep the deep clear)
· If you are tired, rest in the stack
· If you are not tired, you should be moving
· Know your position on offense
· Know your role on set plays

Terrific Timing
· We should provide the thrower with two options/cuts at all times.
· Time your cut with other teammates. When a teammate receives the disc, establishes the pivot foot, and turns to look, you should be breaking into the open at that point. If you cut too soon, you will be too close or too far away.
· Different positions on offense have different cuts. The middles/deeps should be always timing their cut off of a handler cut.
· Continue cuts are important. E.g., a swing to one side of the field should have a continuation cut in the same direction.
· It takes experience to learn timing.

Fabulous Faking
· Long fakes are the best. E.g., run 30 yards downfield and then come back
· Get eye contact with the thrower. You should be able to read if they want you to continue or abandon the cut.
· Do not break off cuts unless dismissed by the thrower! Sometimes throwers will look away to pivot and fake, and expect you to still be there.
· Do not dance with your defender.
· If you are being fronted, run at (not into!) and by the defender.
· Another good fake is to go hard toward your defender—when they commit, you break.
· There are many fakes, eye fakes, head fakes, stop n go, shoulder, etc…

Super Speed
· Cuts should be made at full speed.
· Run all the way through the disc, catch the disc, then slow down.
· Clear out fast too
· Give the thrower a target, especially on in cuts.

Shippensburg Tournament

2008-10-27T12:42:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

Just a quick couple of notes on the Shippensburg Tournament.

First, I thought the game against Millersville Friday night was our best game. We played strong defense, counter attacked quickly on offense, handled their zone (so they didn't use it much), and we just made many great highlight plays on O and D. Dean's diving horizontal DEE (and catch!), and then executing a give and go to get a diving horizontal goal was awesome. Dean doesn't say much--just watch and him and play like him!

Secondly, all the other games we played nice defense--except that last one on Saturday. Defense is the foundation to playing good ultimate, and no matter what the score, weather, calls, whatever--we must always played hard on defense.

Let the other guys be too cold, or too hot, or too worried about non-game issues--we need to be mentally tough. Mental toughness is a hallmark of Messiah, started and epitomized by Chris Schultze.

Thirdly, on offense, we had some good flashes. We just need to eliminate drops, and be a 100% on our short passes. That will come with practice and more playing, just be patient and persistent. We also will work on cutting, and the timing of cuts. Check out the video posted by Charlie, and notice the movement of everyone without the disc.

Coach Pat

How to cut! with Sockeye and Johnny Bravo...

2008-10-22T15:26:00.003-04:00

Okay, so this is sweet.. point by point of the first half of the 2007 UPA Club final, the Huddle taped it from a wide angle so that each cut is shown. Watch how people cut off of each other's cuts, how the defense tries different things to prevent easy throws. In addition, the Huddle interviewed a player from each of the teams (Sockeye and Johnny Bravo) to explain what the stradegy for that point was. They follow the action through the first half with one video per point so you don't get lost.

Enjoy, kids!

Love,
Charlie

Practice Warm-up and Stretch

2008-10-22T11:44:00.000-04:00

Dynamic Stretching Routine

Below is our standard sequence of dynamic stretches to start practice:
1. Walking High Knees
2. Walking butt kicks
3. Walking lunge
4. Walking straight leg kicks
5. Walking heel raises
6. Walking side lunge
7. Running high knees
8. Running butt kicks
9. Running jumps
10. Running carioca x2 (side skips)

This routine can be supplemented with other stretches specific for each individual, if necessary.

Our warm-up for practice should consist of a few minutes of throwing, a few minutes of throwing and moving/running, a one lap jog, and then the dynamic stretches.

For more information on the dynamic stretches, check the link below:
http://orgs.jmu.edu/strength/JMU_Summer_2000_WebPage/JMU_Summer_2000_Sections/9_summer_dynamic_flexibilty.htm

Key Elements for Good Defense

2008-10-17T08:05:00.001-04:00

Key Elements for Good Defense

Fitness. You cannot guard anyone if you are not in top shape, and can hang with them cut after cut.
Speed/power. In order to play good defense, you need the speed to close a gap—this not some 100 yard dash or 40 yard sprint, but a burst of speed in a few steps.
Desire. Good defense takes effort, and in order to put in the effort, you have to want to play good D and deny you mark.
Awareness. Good defense requires anticipation, even more than reaction. You have to see the flow of the game, anticipate the flow, the plays, the moves.
Team. An individual cannot stop anyone on D. It takes a team effort to play good defense.
Position. You have to be in the right position, at ALL times. You have to be constantly shifting your position, when your person moves, when the disc moves, when the situation changes.
Match-up. The right defenders have to be matched on the right people—considering speed, fitness, height and positional play.
Sacrifice. You have to lay out. You have to twist, turn, jump, fall, dive, use your hands, legs, body, even face (and get the scars to show for it), what ever it takes to get a block or disrupt a play.

So what can you do to become a better defender?

Respond to the elements listed above. Some of these elements can be taught, some not. Fitness, speed, that is just work. Desire/sacrifice, well, that comes from your heart. What can be taught is awareness (although some athletes naturally have this), team defense, positioning, and match-ups.

So here is what you need to do. First, increase your fitness level, and your speed. You can refer to some of the workout information in other write-ups.

As far as, desire/sacrifice, you have to want that from the heart. The more you try it, the more you give, the easier it will become to do. Laying out at the right time is not just an instinct, it is a habit.

For the rest of the factors, awareness, team defense, position, and match-ups, I will discuss each of those in separate papers.

Is college ultimate as we know it changing?

2008-10-16T13:41:00.002-04:00

College ultimate as we know it is changing. Well probably.

Cultimate, one of the larger companies on the ultimate scene, has launched their idea for a new way of deciding the national title for college ultimate, based on a system more similar to NCAA and professional than UPA's current system. This new thiiiiing is called Conference1.

UPA is none too pleased that Cultimate announced this first without talking to them, apparently.

Flordia has agreed to join, while Georgia has declined their invitation. Each had their own reasons which they outline in those links.

The Huddle has five good articles about this, and most of the links in the right column have or will have their thoughts on this in the next few days.

We are absolutely sitting on ultimate history right now, fellas. I don't know what to think as of now.

The End Is Near,

Charlie

Long Term Training Plan

2008-10-15T21:16:00.002-04:00

Just a note to recap what I said at the end of practice tonight.

This fall, we want to learn ulti and get in shape. You should plan to run hard the rest of October and all of November. December you can rest (you still run, just not as hard!).

In January, we will run hard to get our base back, February we will run and play to get in game shape, and in March and April we will play many tournaments. Our focus is to do well at Sectionals, which is usually in early April.

Fitness and speed of play is a hallmark of Messiah Ultimate. Keep the tradition going!

Weekend Schedule

2008-10-07T20:58:00.002-04:00

I know everyone is heading home at some point on Wed/Thur, so there will be less practice time this week. But given the good practices we have had the last several weeks, it is important to keep the hard working going. So consider doing the following on your little vacation this week:

Wednesday--Run some hills/steps!
Thursday--play catch with some friends
Friday--run some hills/steps!
Saturday--do a longer run, 3-4 miles.
Sunday--rest

Make sure you take a disc with you, toss with your friends, family, old high school girl friends, play disc golf. Throw and catch!

Coach Pat

Practice

2008-10-07T20:56:00.000-04:00

A Note on Practice

How you practice reflects the way you live. If you rush through practice, or give a weak effort, this will be reflected in your life. If you are overly serious or putting too much pressure on yourself or even comparing yourself to others, most likely you will do this in your life. Are you joyful, light, fast, vibrant? Are you practicing hard and having fun? Again this reflects in your life! We must watch how we race through practice or fitness training--just to say, “I practiced today.” Savor each breath, enjoy the running, the throwing, the layouts, the catches, the blocks--appreciate the game of ultimate and notice how you will appreciate your life.

The 7 Deadly Sins of Ultimate

2008-10-06T14:57:00.002-04:00

Today we bring you Joel Thomas with 7 biiiiig time no-nos. There are certainly others but these should be things we all make sure are basic for us come spring. And now, Joel Thomas with the 7 Deadly Sins of Ultimate.

Dropping your head on a turn
The point is never over until it's over. Never give up on a play no matter how bad you screw up on offense. The best thing you can do after blowing it on O is to turn around and get a freaking sweet D.

Getting beat to the cone
You're going to get scored on. It's a part of ultimate. However, making it easy for the other team is not an option. Never ever get beat to the front cone on the force side in the endzone.

Getting beat deep
This is by far the worst thing you can do on defense. It gives the other team an easy goal and keeps their offense fresh. Always keep your man in front of you. You can always layout forward, but it's dang near impossible to layout when the disc is going over your head.

Switching the force
Always, always, always, know where the force is. If you don't, then yell and ask, but this is something that should be discussed on the line before every point regardless of if you're on offense or defense. When you hear the force, always echo it so your teammates are also aware.

Getting stalled
You should never ever get stalled out. Even if you have no one on the field to throw to, the disc should never be in your hands when you hear the "T" of ten. If you hit stall 8 or 9 and you still have nothing, chuck that bad boy as far down the field as you can.

Not running through your cut
NEVER EVER STOP YOUR CUT! If you make a cut you better make sure you are sprinting the whole time, 'cause as soon as you slow down or God forbid stop you're going to get layout D'd.

Standing still with the disc
Pivot! Never stop moving when you're holding the disc. Just because you're not a handler doesn't mean you don't have to pivot. Keep the defense on their toes and never give them a good read on where you're going to throw the disc.

Joel Thomas, ladies and gents!

The Ten Yard Pass

2008-10-03T07:05:00.001-04:00

The ten yard pass

The ten yard pass is the most important in ultimate. A faulty dump pass or an errant swing pass just gives the disc too easily to the other team, typically close to the goal line. The ten yard pass is also the most typical pass that starts a play, or offensive flow.

The elements of a successful ten yard pass are simple:

Aim—the pass should be aimed at the chest of the receiver.
Target—the receiver should provide the thrower a target, with their hands in receiving position in front of their chest
Lead—the pass should lead the receiver along their current path, allowing them to continue running without changing direction
Placement—while aiming for the chest of the receiver, the placement of the pass should also be on the side away from the defender
Pass type—in general (for right hand throwers), a pass to the right should be a flick, and a pass to the left should be a backhand.
Pace—the pass should be of moderate pace (speed), so it has stable flight, but not so hard as to not allow the receiver to react.
Height—if there is no wind, the pass should be chest high—higher passes are more difficult for defenders to lay out and block.
Angle—the pass should have a slight angle, so the disc curls in slightly to the receiver.
Eye contact—you should have eye contact with the receiver before you release the throw.
Pivot/fake—do not forget to pivot and fake to make space for the throw and to confuse the defense.
Weather/wind—in windy conditions, keep the throw lower, with more spin.
After the pass—after a successful completion, don’t forget to move, cognizant of the play that is called. Move up-field out of the way, move in dump position, move for a give n go, just move!

In addition, you should be able to complete a ten yard pass to any side of the field, no matter the mark, force, weather, poachers, or other factors.

Advanced throwers are also able to throw a flare pass. The flare pass actually curls out and around the cutter/defender, leading the cutter to open space away from the defender. This pass is very difficult to block, and is important to learn to throw when cutters are guarded closely.

Patrick M. Wright
© 2007

Speed for Ultimate

2008-10-02T15:35:00.004-04:00

Speed for Ultimate

Ultimate is a fast game, requiring both speed of foot and speed of mind. Speed of foot is technical speed, basically how fast you can run. Speed of mind is tactical speed, basically how fast you can think, react, even anticipate events in the game.

Our training will emphasize both aspects of speed. This lesson will deal first with Technical Speed, and training your body for the types of speed needed for ultimate.

Ultimate requires a unique combination of speed and endurance. Speed in ultimate can be equated with power, the ability to explode quickly to top speed, to cut and accelerate, to stop, go, and jump. Thus an ultimate player needs a fair amount of power in their legs to propel their body quickly in very short distances.

Conversely, an ultimate player needs to run with endurance for two straight days. A typical game can require several miles of sprinting and running. So an ultimate player needs endurance, in addition to the power.

This power can be nurtured through a variety of common exercises and routines, including:
§ Short sprints
§ Sprinting stairs
§ Sprinting hills
§ Suicides, come backs, shuttle runs
§ Various pliometric exercises, Russians (running downhill as fast as you can), etc…

The key to succeeding in building strength through these exercises is repetitive effort, basically intervals. My personal favorite is sprinting hills, and also doing steps. Stadium steps work well for this type of training.

The key to the training is to explode, sprint as hard as you can, 100% effort, up the hill, up the steps. Follow this effort with a slow jog down the steps or hill, then explode back up. The first couple of steps are vital–this is where you want to develop instantaneous power and acceleration. This type of training should last around 25 minutes or so. A nice jog to warm up and cool down is essential.

The second aspect of speed that needs development is endurance, which can be developed through longer sprinting. This longer sprinting also helps develop a good stride. The longer the stride, the faster the sprinter. Stride can be nurtured through longer distance sprint training. It’s difficult to delve into the details of proper form stride in a short paper such as this–perhaps another time. In general, though, run ‘tall’ (i.e. don’t crouch/slouch), keep your shoulders relaxed, arms should drive back with the elbows (not across the body), and run on the balls of your feet.

The long sprinting program I used is based on a 3-2-1 concept, running 3 then 2 then 1 mile of sprint intervals. The first session you run 3 miles of 800's (two laps, repeated 6 times). You want to run these at about 70-80% effort, concentrating on lengthening your stride, improving your form, and breathing (yeah, relax while going full speed). You should run these at around 3 minutes. In between laps you jog one lap around the track for recovery–don’t stop moving. The second session you run 2 miles of 400's (one lap, repeated 8 times). Run these at 80-90% percent effort. You should be running around 80 seconds. The third session you run 1 mile of 200's (one-half lap, repeated 8 times. Run these at 100% effort, with full recovery inbetween. You should be around 30 seconds.

Given these two training methods, a typical week might be as follows:
Monday–800's
Tuesday-hills
Wednesday-400's
Thursday-hills
Friday–200's
Saturday–long run 4-5 miles
Sunday–rest

Always have a good rest day for recovery. I also typically do a three week cycle of intense training, then ease up the fourth week. Be careful of over training, and fatiguing your body.
I have found this balance of training, the power and the long sprints, to be excellent for ultimate. You have the long, fast easy stride to follow around your mark, cruising and breathing effortlessly with them, then, at the right moment, you can explode by them for a block, or stop and turn and accelerate past then on a turnover, etc...

Some folks like to stress agility training and pliometrics. Personally, I have found that I get plenty of agility work practicing/playing ultimate. However, definitely tailor the program to what your body needs.

While training, don’t forget the essentials of any program:

1. Listen to you body, know when you can push it, know when you might need a day off, know when you might be injured.
2. Stretch! The current thought is to do some dynamic stretching before your workout, and static stretching after your workout.
3. Training with a friend(s) is helpful. Everyone has those days, when the only reason you show is because you committed to a friend to be there.
4. Drink water.
5. Eating properly when you stressing your body is vital to respond successfully to training. Give your body the fuel and nutrients its needs to respond to the training and build speed.
6. The stronger your legs and your body, the less likely you are to be injured. Strong muscles keep ligaments and tendons and bones in the right place despite adverse stresses.
I have played ultimate for over 25 years, and missed ONE tournament to a leg injury–I rolled an ankle when I landed on someone’s foot--(I did not actually finish one other tournament, but that was due to my backhand follow through hitting someone in the face. Ironically, the guy I nailed, bloody face and all, kept playing, while my hand swelled up like a cantaloupe–so it wasn’t a leg injury!).
7 . Stick with it! I have found that it takes a good three weeks to feel the rhythm of any training, and a good two months before the effects are really pronounced. Any successful training requires consistency.
8. Wear the right equipment, take care of your feet. Wrong shoes can hurt your feet, your knees, even your back. Checkout the shoe finder on www.runnerworld.com, it can help you pick the right shoe type for your feet.
9. Time yourself, monitor your progress.

What times should you have?
A top level ultimate player should be able to run a mile in 6:00, and a 40 yard dash below 5 sec. But better than a forty-yard dash (which I believe is a real poor indicator of real game speed) a shuttle run works as an excellent indicator of speed, power and cutting. A simple 10 yard shuttle run should take around 9 seconds.

© Patrick M Wright 2006

The Basic Tenets of Messiah Ultimate

2008-10-02T15:23:00.002-04:00

Basic Tenets of Good Ultimate
1. Attitude
2. Fitness
3. Skills
4. Tactics

Attitude
1. Spirit of the game
2. Intensity and desire
3. Composure and poise

Fitness
1. Technical speed
2. Sprints, hills, steps

Skills
1. Catching
2. Throwing
3. Cutting
4. Positioning

Tactics
1. Awareness
2. Tactical speed
3. Defensive sets
4. Offensive set
5. Set plays

Welcome to the blog, everybodyyyyy!

2008-10-02T14:38:00.002-04:00

So we have a blog. Cute, no?

What that means for you is an easier way to find everything related to ultimate and Messiah Ultimate. Below I have posted 42 minutes and 23 seconds of Messiah highlight videos to get you pumped. To the right there are many glorious glorious links about ultimate for you to enjoy when you should be studying.

Information about our fall (and later spring) schedule will be posted here so that when you accidentally delete the email, you will be able to find it. If something is going to be weird or special about a specific week of practice, it will be posted here. You can send this along to your parents (mainly this is for my mom and Mr. Johns) so that they will be up to date with things. Pat's workout will be posted here, unabridged.

Basically, you are gonna wanna bookmark this little spot of the interwebs.

If anyone wants to be able to post here, tell me and I will make the magic happen.

"Illuuuuusion, Michael,"
Charlie

Washington, DCish Maryland

2008-10-02T14:29:00.000-04:00

Roll Call 2008.

That time it was cold and windy and we won a tournament...

2008-10-02T14:28:00.002-04:00

...it's Big Moose Disc 2008 at Millersville. Always nice to beat Bucknell...

What happens in Vegas gets put into a highlight reel

2008-10-02T14:22:00.004-04:00

From Trouble in Vegas last spring, 2008:

part 1

part 2

Kickin' it old school...

2008-10-02T13:49:00.002-04:00

Some old talkies from before you all were born:

Trouble in Vegas 2007, part 1

Trouble in Vegas 2007, part 2, featuring a very Ocean's 11 moment for all...

Sectionals 2007, including a win over Edinboro and a game against Pittsburgh

Enjoy!