Things to note thus far at Worlds:

Sockeye is staying in the dorms. Some teams worried about the comfort and noise level of the dorms, but it hasn’t been an issue. There are mutliple “blocks”(1 through 10, I believe), and many have a small bar or convenience store attached. Bar 10 has been a fantastic place to watch the World Cup games (projection screen in the bar), and I must say that watching the WC surrounded by teams of all nations is a special treat.

The weather has been hot (it’s getting very hot today), and hasn’t had much effect except for Tuesday, when the rains ended our Revolver game early. At 13-10 we had certainly put ourselves in a tough position, but it was quite unfortunate it ended when it did, as we had just scored a loooong O-point and felt a good momentum push on our side. It could have turned into a closer game, but again, we failed to put ourselves in that position early and paid the price.

While earlier days were certainly exciting, now is when it really gets interesting. The biggest game yet has to be Doublewide’s loss this morning to Viksjofors, not only an upset, but slightly controversial. Double-game point, Viks with the disc, they bomb a huck to a receiver who catches the goal and spikes it. But wait, DW calls not in. 20 minute conversation ensues, which I’ve been told included a phone call to the TD for resolution. The debate as I understand it (I wasn’t there) being that under USAU rules, an observer would’ve called him in or out and that would make the difference. However, without observers, it becomes an instant debate, and therefore causes a stoppage of play and the disc becomes dead, without a turnover being possible. If I’m not mistaken, this was the final resolution, and Viks punched it in to send Ddub to the ninals and themselves into quarters this afternoon against Buzz Bullets.

Tonight we face Ironside and are excited. This should definitely be a winnable game for either side, making it a good showcase game. It’s too bad for us that the other showcase features Riot (against Huck from Japan), but oh well.

Thus far our road has been strong, and has certainly tested us. Our initial pool climaxed with a game against Heads of State that I’m sure they wish they could play again, going down 8-1 early and certainly not showing their true level of play. In power pools, the Swiss team Flying Angels proved a difficult team to topple and gave us a great match in the heat of yesterday, and Revolver was our hardest test yet of the tourney, making our offense work very, very hard to move the disc and giving our D all they could handle. They were by no means flawless, and our defense was getting looks, but we had a tough time keeping our defense on the field early on and this proved to be our demise as lightning called this one before any comeback could be mounted.

Finally, time has been hard to come by, surprisingly. Even with just two rounds a day (save for yesterday’s 3 due to the rain the day previous), I find myself constantly searching for time to get to the computer lab; with team meetings, team dinners, world cup games, and generally enjoying the tourney and the atmosphere (while trying to keep an eye on how I am feeling and what I need to do to prepare for each next game or next day), it’s quite busy. The sheer number of players here is astounding, and watching and listening to the interactions alone is enough to keep one entertained. This is a truly special experience for everyone here.

     It’s been tough to decide what to write for the “Sockeye 2010 Worlds Preview,” because

a) I’m not sure what you want to read (you’ll already have scores, write-ups, etc)

b) I don’t want to give away trade secrets (or say something that my fellow captains would consider helpful to another team– my fellow captains are paranoid), and

c) I feel like I should be saying “something smart” (I lean towards dumb and simple or rambling)

     With that said, I’ve decided that our trade secrets are really quite simple concepts– nothing new– and that I could offer a more intimate look into how a club team competing at Worlds thinks and operates. So here we go. On to the blogging!

     If you didn’t know already, Sockeye has had a ton of turnover in the past few years, losing more superstars than many teams dream of having. You know the names- Nord, Chase, etc – and now the roster is filled with a lot of people who’ve never been featured on Ultivillage DVDs or played in a National or World Final. This year’s team was faced with the difficult task of discovering its own identity, one that every player — from the seasoned veterans like Bestock and MC to the young noobs like Frank Barich and Phil Murray — could feel a part of. This isn’t an easy task, but for Sockeye, is an absolutely essential element.

     And this is one of the “trade secrets” I was talking about above. I’ve never been a part of a more cohesive team than Sockeye. More work is spent on creating ways to bro-out, act like morons together and create perhaps the dumbest inside jokes than I thought possible. And trust me, it is work. But it’s this relentless enthusiasm for the game and for each other that allows the team to practice and train as much as it does, consistently bordering on too much, and without it I do not believe Sockeye would compete at the level that it does.

     An example: as a warmup, we often start practices with a mini-game, 4 on offense and 3 on defense, played in tiny rectangular field that is only about 3-4 yards narrow and 15-20 yards long. Start at one end, try to get to the other, normal ultimate rules, that’s it. Way, way more fun than any warmup I had known before joining, and one of many of the small things that make Sockeye a team that simply enjoys the game of ultimate.

     Another example: our new, crazy offense. In Marc Seraglia’s (of Furious) words, “Your offense looks terrible.” He might have said “worse than ever,” but you get the jist. Basically, we barely know what’s going on. It’s like free form jazz without the structure. Watch us, and if you can figure it out, I will buy you a Pilsner and then you can explain it to me. A lot of it is based on the principle that most every member of Sockeye plays some form of small-sided disc game often, be it Mini or Goaltimate, and there’s a level of creativity and skill there to leverage and apply to ultimate. Simply put, we find what we enjoy, and try to do that, a lot.

     Last example: we overdo it at tournaments. Some teams mandate staying in, no drinking, stay healthy for Sunday. We did the opposite this year; in Texas we had already mapped out our downtown bar crawl routes and bought Seattle Hoops basketball jerseys (fitting, since our offense uses basketball terminology) before arriving, and we made Flowerbowl a “Big Buck Hunter” themed tournament, with half the team hitting the town on Saturday night as hunters and the other half as game. Did staying out late hurt us in the finals? Maybe. But was it an overall win to create those relationships and that trust that are now our foundation? Undoubtedly.

     This gives some insight into Sockeye2010. For us, smiles creates success, rather than vice versa. If you can tell we’re having fun playing the game, we’re probably playing as best as we can, and we’ve found that this makes for a much more enjoyable and rewarding season than one based upon fear of punishment or a results-based enjoyment of any particular game or play.

     Current seeds would (I think) put us (5) with Australia’s Heads of State (20), an unknown team to be determined(29), and the Dominican Republic’s Domino(44). [updated 6/24 with correct teams] What to expect of these teams? We’ve seen Domino recently in Colombia, and know their athleticism and talent can give any team fits when they’re on, and Australia always field incredible teams, so that should be a great game as well. Having a TBD team in our pool is fitting, as we’re going in focused on us rather than who our opponent is, and on playing our game throughout the tourney– fast, fun, and fair.

     Finally, what to expect from me at Worlds? Well, logistically, I hope there’s easy computer access/WIFI in the dorms. Given that, you can expect daily recaps of our games, notable events, and insight into what the players are seeing around the tourney as best as I can give. 13 days till first games!

TK

tkinley@gmail.com <– email me if you want any specific focus or info, feedback is helpful and encouraged!

ps- on a personal note, I worry that the “Sockeye Throwing Happy Hour” comes across as pretentious, or snooty, or something other than what we intended, as if we’re the masters of throwing or something. We aren’t. But, we have developed some drills that have helped us get a bit more out of every day throwing, and we think sharing them, as well as creating an event for people to meet, get in some throws, and get off to a great start would be fun, and we hope it ends up that way.