Ultimate Frisbee at Governor's Ranch

I decided to dip my toe further into the frisbee rabbit hole and met up with "Rocky Mountain GOATed" who are planning on putting together a Mixed Grand Master's team to compete in Regionals in Minneapolis and Nationals in Aurora.  The original interest form said "Our goal is to build a fun, competitive, and supportive community of players who enjoy spending time together and playing high-level ultimate."

It was certainly a level well beyond what we do at O'Kane Park.  I got there about 15 minutes early and folks trickled in between 3:30 and 3:45.  

We started off with a jog around the pitch and then a series of dynamic stretches with lunges, shuffles, butt kickers, high knees, karaoke, zombie walks, etc.

Next we did a couple of timing drills that I was having a hard time keeping up with.  The first was an out and then a hard cut in.  The goal was to be in place and to throw at the right time.  The second was an out and S-cut back.  The goal was for the thrower to have two opportunities and the receiver to commit to the out and if it not there cut back.  This was much harder, especially when we got defenders involved.

Finally, we did a scrimmage on a short field.  They were using terms like HO and Zone Clam Shell.  I am not even sure if they were talking about offense or defense.

Most of the folks knew at least some other folks on the field.  There were (12) of us at practice.  Several others were committed, but could not make it for one reason or another.  Some players were trying out for other rosters and would make a decision based on those try outs.  I got the impression that there were half a dozen teams in the area that all had their own vibe and personalities.

The folks here were really nice.  Dustin from O'Kane was there.  He had subbed for the team in the past.

The players were all committed to traveling to Minneapolis for regionals and even talked about sharing an Airbnb house.  This was a step above anything I could imagine.

I was definitely outmatched, but it was fun to learn more strategy and movement patterns.  I liked watching how the handlers and the cutters moved the frisbee around.  I need to develop a forehand throw and flick.