I’m currently out in Blaine, MN coaching the BUDA YCC Mixed team at the 2012 USAU Youth Club Championships. This is my 7th time coaching at the event in its’ 8 year history. In ’05 the girls team I helped coach came in 2nd. In ’06 my open team finished 5th. Over the past 5 years my mixed team has come in 3rd, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, and 2nd. I am very ready to take home the gold.

This morning began with early wake up call going out to all the rooms, followed by a pretty good hotel-provided breakfast. By 8am all the kids were grouped up in the lobby and we took the 4 vans the short distance to our practice fields, two of the same fields the tournament will be using this weekend. The morning was cool, bright, and slightly breezy. In other words, perfect Ultimate weather. For the next three hours the open and mixed teams ran through drills, strategy sessions, and some social games. The kids bonded, everyone had a great time, and the teams looked very strong. Before leaving the fields we took a group picture and then drove to a nearby grouping of various lunch establishments.

After a very relaxing lunch, we all headed back to the hotel where everyone enjoyed two hours of free time. Some kids took advantage of the pool, others watched Olympic coverage, and a few napped. By 3pm we were all back in the lobby and 15 minutes later we were pulling into the Bowling alley.

The kids partitioned themselves into groups of 5 or 6 and spent the next 2 hours bowling up a storm. A few kids with actual experience dominated the scores, but many new players held their own with special styles like “hopping on one foot and bowling slowly”, and, “I either miss all the pins or knock them all down”. We had a great time.

At 5:30 we got back in the vans and after making it to the Olive Garden which was totally packed, we drove the short distance to Victory Pizzeria which managed to seat our group of 50 in one area. The kids gorged themselves on pizza, pasta, calzones, and various other diners items, and quickly found themselves very, very tired.

After dinner I headed over to tournament central to go through check in while coach Westcott and Hourigan made the Target run. Less than an hour ago both teams had their team meetings and now everyone is in their rooms either sleeping or very close to unconsciousness.

Everything is set for a fantastic weekend of Ultimate!

The tournament webpage is online right here.

Mixed Schedule: Score Reporter, PDF

Open Schedule: Score Reporter, PDF

A few photos from day 1 are online right here.