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I have been thinking about an ultimate fantasy league for a while now and am very thankful to be apart of the first mock draft.

There are several things that I took into consideration when drafting my team. The first was team cohesiveness and overall player attitude. I believe that a team cannot succeed on talent alone and wanted to build a team out of players I love to play with/against and who work extremely hard. Many of my players have played together or know each other very well, which is a huge advantage in any team sport. For example, Mike Namkung, Steve Dugan, Greg Husak, all played for the Condors from 1999 through 2004, and Whit Clark was added as a strong member of the team for their trip to Finland Worlds in 2004. Lorenz is also very familiar with the Condors players as he played in 05' and 07'. Mike Namkung, Jon Remucal and Greg Husak recently won a National Championship together with JAM and have built strong chemistry on and off the field. Whit has recently moved to Revolver, joining Josh Wiseman as they look to make big waves in the Northwest. Chase SB, Skip Sewell, and Blaine Robbins have a National Championship or two, played in the Dream Cup in Japan, and spent many days listening to Soldier Boy or Just Blaze with Sockeye as they continue to be good friends. The young Matt Rehder joined Sockeye in 2008 and is in his second season as Blaine and Skip's teammate. I cannot wait to see what this kid does this year as the Northwest will be his permanent playground. As for the remaining players on my team, many of them are well accustomed to playing against each other and have built strong friendships and mutual respect for one another. Parker fits right in with Steve Dugan and is a fantastic competitor and very easy to get along with. This team is founded on positivity and the team chemistry will help in any tough or trying situation.

The second thing that I wanted to build my team on was experience and good leadership. Every player has been to club nationals, with Yohei being the only exception. Chase, Skip, Blaine, Steve, Mike, Jon, Greg and Kyle all have national championship rings, while Parker and Teddy have both played in the finals of nationals. Over half the team has the highest level of experience that you can achieve in the United States. But what about international play? Well glad you asked. Steve Dugan, Greg Husak, Mike Namkung and Whit have played with Condors at the 04' Worlds as mentioned, where they earned a very respectable silver medal. But not to be outdone Greg, Mike and Steve won it all with the masters team at the 08' Worlds in Canada. Mike was also a key member for Team USA in the 05' World Games. Jon decided to give it a go this year and helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in the 09' World Games. Kyle Smith was a strong tryout for Team USA and matched up against Sammy C-K for most of the tryout. Word on the street is Kyle had the upper hand in most of the drills, and although Sam is one of the best players in the world, goes to show you being well known has its advantages. Skip and Blaine also made strong showings at Worlds in Canada taking home the silver. So what about Yohei Kichikawa? He helped lead Japan's open team to a bronze at World's in 08' and managed to overcome Sockeye in the Dream Cup. He also had the most goals scored and assists of any open player at Worlds. Lets not forget about Lorenz "the Swiss Bomber" Stauffer. Lorenz has played in every major European tournament and championships for many years, and decided to take his play international as well joining the Condors in 05'. He also played in Canada for the 08's worlds rivaling Steve, Mike and Greg for experience in the game.

I have not mentioned Grant Lindsley very much and wanted to make sure he gets his credit. This guy is still in college and has already played in club nationals and won a college national championship this year. He is quickly racking up experience and is no stranger to big game situations. Josh was also huge in college as he tore up the NW with Stanford making nationals every year. As mentioned before my team has great leadership. After being teammates with Steve I can say that he is one of the best leaders in the game. He is a positive influence on anyone he teachers and has the skills to match. No wonder he is a junior high math teacher, who happens to have my younger brother in his class. So not only is he making future math geniuses, he is also developing future ultimate ballers. Mike is another player that I respect as a player and friend. If anyone was to be labeled "wise" in the game of ultimate, it would have to be Mike. I could go on about several other players, including Whit, Kyle and Greg, but this write up is already too long.

One last area that my team is built on is defense. Defense often does win championships and in this particular situation is crucial when all the teams are stacked with great players. My defense is built on great athleticism with Matt Rehder, Whit, Blaine, Skip, Greg, Jon, Grant, Kyle and Teddy. However, it is more built on intelligence. Many of the players like Steve and Lorenz may not be as athletic as some of the young guns but are very smart and great for zone plays or transition D. This is also where team cohesiveness and communication come into play. With all of the previous game time together and overall experience, my team can shut down any combination of strong throwers and big receivers.

In closing, I would like to say that this has been a fantastic experience and enabled me to explore the ultimate knowledge that I have built over the past few years. I have full confidence that if these teams were in fact made, my team would fair very well. Some people argue that you need to draft all the young guns and super explosive players, but I would argue that in a real game experience, solid throwing and team cohesion is most important.

Michael "Sultan" Kiyoi currently plays for Strike Slip