Nothing/Everything to Lose

The tournament that was Central Regionals is now over. The Van Buren Boys are heading to Sarasota, Florida. That...just...happened.

It wasn't pretty and it wasn't easy, but we fought through some early tournament funk to finally play like the team we were supposed to be.

The fourteen-team format had us playing 6 pool play games to 11, one erroneously to 13, and three bracket games to 15. It made for a lot of points of ultimate. It started at 8:30 on Saturday, when we went to 13-9 against Rawhide from Tulsa. They scored more on us in this game than in all of the others combined. I don't remember much of this game. I don't think we were up to par, but nothing to think that we were in trouble, just a rusty first game.

We knew the second game would be the most important of the day, but as it is, so did Machine. We came out slow, unenthusiastic, and ready to lose. Machine jumps out to a 5-0 lead, we make it 6-2 by halftime, but overall, don't get anything going. Final score 11-4. This was a very demoralizing game, as we were outmatched in every way.

Subzero was next. I talked with a few players about bagging the game, and we all thought it was a good idea, but in the end, decided not to follow through with it. Zero scored the first two, we got the next three, and zero got the next 9. So, it was simply a game of runs.

So, three games into the tournament, things aren't looking good. The offense is struggling, some players in particular, and it looks like the spiral of the season is making its' final descent down the drain.

We have to pick ourselves back up and go play Hustle. Our offense gives up some breaks and we don't take half, trailing 6-5. Defense comes out and plays good enough to win in the second half and we end up winning 11-9. This game marks a change in the season where our sidelines are loud and the players on the sideline seem very involved in the game.

After a bye round, we played the Illinois college team. They came out with nothing to lose, hucking at will and coming down with them. We coldn't stop them. They took half 6-3 and we were suddenly looking at taking fourth in our pool. In the second half, our defense comes out firing, we waste no time scoring when there are turnovers, and we don't allow the offense back onto the field. The sidelines are loud and may have been imtimidating to the younger college players. We win the game 11-6. We survived, but for how long?

Early Sunday morning we finished out the day against Dingwop. The game was a continuation of the Illinois second half. We came out fired up and intense, winning 11-2.

Next game went just as well. Games were now to 15. General Strike plays a 5 or 6 handler set with one dominant cutter, it seemed. We did our best to cut off breaks and swings, shut down upline dump cuts, and poached deep. It worked great. We took a 5-0 lead, took half 7-2 or 3 and won the game 15-4 or 5. Things were going great.

Our next opponent was Big Ass Truck, or BAT. They commonly make nationals and certainly planned on going back this year. We play the game in the rain, sometimes sprinkling, sometimes pouring, and are able to use it to our advantage. A couple of short field turns for them are converted into easy scores for us. We take a 8-6 halftime lead. The offense is playing incredibly well, catching everything in the pouring rain, sending up great hucks, and throwing some good breaks. At times it seemed as if we were playing in normal weather and they were playing in the rain. A 30-minute storm delay worked out to our advantage, as we stayed warmed up and they didn't. We ended the game on a 6-1 or 2 run to win the game 15-9 or 10. It was our most decisive victory of the year and our best played game. The defense was great, collecting six or seven breaks over the course of the game. The offense, while not flawless, was only broken once. They had a large amount of turnovers, but their defense always got the disc back. There were some incredible layout defenses by Jon and Mike, in particular. Players were coming up with big grabs deep and the hammers were flying.

They was a long break before the last game against Madcow. I think it started at 5:15 or so, after the tournament was supposed to be over in the first place. We start on offense, which had been a problem for us this tournament. Offense turns once or twice, but is able to score. They don't turn and score. We make it interesting again, while they don't turn and score. All in all, our offense scored on 7 of 7 opportunites in the first half, even though they had about 10-15 turnovers. Our defense only gets the disc two or three times, but makes good on one of the opportunites to get the break before halftime. 8-6 Van Buren. I suppose I should mention the wild start to the game where it seemed like it was a national final. There were many off-disc cutting fouls, travel calls, up/down arguments, marking fouls, etc. Madcow was screaming over and over about observers. So what did we do? The Van Buren Boys went and asked for some observers. The game settled down and none of our calls were overturned, so I was pleased about that.

The second half was the tensest half of ultimate I've ever experienced. I've played in some tense games before, having to win at regionals to qualify for nationals, playing in semifinals and finals at nationals, etc, but late Sunday was almost too much for me. The tension seemed to grow with each point and with each successive failed defensive effort, the burden on our offense grew larger. They just kept responding. If they failed to score, their defense would simply not allow the other team to score. Ellsworth made some incredible defensive plays. From 11-10 or so, we traded offensive points until the final 15-13 score.

-Wimer said there was something magical about Sunday that he just didn't understand. He knew about CLX and some of the drama that had unfolded over a number of years, but had never experienced anything like it. I kind of attribute it to our playing style that developed late Saturday. At the one point in the season when any single mistake could be the end of our year, we suddenly played as if there was nothing to lose. The hammers flowed, the hucks flew, the big grabs abounded, risks were rewarded, players who didn't lay out all year were suddenly picking up layout D's, the jersies were dirty, and the marks were stiffling. We were playing because we loved the game and wanted to achieve something together, playing as the team we were supposed to be.

-The entire team effort it took to qualify made winning so enjoyable. Our defense kept us in the tournament against Hustle and Illinois. They started us off right against Dingwop and General Strike and played their best game of the year against BAT. It may have taken a lot of pressure off of the offensive squad, or it may have allowed them to rest, but they seemed to run out of gas in the Madcow game. The offensive squad picked up the slack and scored on all but one of their possessions.

-Each section of the offensive squad played very well. Mike, Jon, Wimer, and Stu played very well on Sunday, having very few short field turnovers. It wasn't easy in the rain, but the breaks were flying all day, especially in the second half of the Madcow game. Jon's three high-release forehand breaks come to mind in the final point.

-Dave and Barrett played great together, dominating the middle of the field, cutting deep when necessary, and hucking lights out. Barrett was a part of many scores, whether busting out a 50 yard forehand, or reeling in the score over a few defenders. Dave and Barrett are our gunslingers. You send the disc to them and see what they can do. These two guys are so important to the team and we will always have a chance to win if they are playing big.

-Our deeps, whether Ben, Matt E, Matt B, Drew, Wes, or Josh played great. We were even getting quality hucks from these guys in important situations. They played their part and came up with some big grabs. Having Berkseth back helped switch Drew and Wes into some defensive situations, too, which really helped our defense.

-The defense played great early Sunday, setting the tone for the entire day. Ross produced the miracle throw point after point starting late Saturday. We moved him to the defense to create some scoring opportunities and it may have been the best change made all year. Brendan was nearly flawless in the handler position and everybody played well, moving the disc even in poor weather. Jimmy had some key hucks in vital situations, too.

-Our big guys far exceeded expectations. I had felt like Drew, Wes, and Josh hadn't been performing to their capabilities at spots during the season and all three of them played great at regionals. Josh played his best tournament since Minneapolis, making some big grabs and adding to the defense. Wes had a layout D in the Madcow game! Drew played dominant in the deep position and his aggressiveness early in the tournament set the tone for our offensive cutters. I was really happy for these guys.

-I could go on and on, so I should stop. I can't really believe we are going to nationals, I was certainly not expecting to go. I don't know what to expect from nationals. If we play like we did on Sunday, we could surprise some teams looking past us and who knows what could happen from there.

-Oh yeah, I cried like a baby when we beat Madcow, I couldn't help it.

Thank you to all those who have supported The Van Buren Boys this year, your support has meant a lot to me and to the rest of the team.