BUDA YCC 2012: Day 3

BUDA Mixed brings home Boston’s first YCC gold!

On the second day of YCC competition the BUDA Open team went 1-1, losing 7-15 against the eventual tournament winner, Minnesota and taking down Pittsburgh 15-8, to finish 5th.

The BUDA Mixed team started off the day with a convincing 13-4 win over Chicago. The game followed very closely the patterns of the day before. We locked down their horizontal offense with a hard straight up mark and forced lots of under throws that we batted down for Ds. One change was that we did run a zone for a few points that proved for be effective.

In the semis, we went up against a very energetic brand new YCC from Maine that I was very excited to play. I know all the coaches, many of the players, and I’m always thrilled to see new teams, especially ones that are competitive, well-run, spirited, and that show no fear. Maine had beat two-time defending champs the day before on double game point and had come off a strong 13-8 win over Wisconsin coming into the semis. They had momentum.

We pulled to start the game and they played a solid O point, working it patiently through our tough person-D to put us down for the first time in the tournament. We responded with our own clean O-point. The game ramped up in intensity as we traded points to 4-4, after which we broke Maine for the first time and went up 5-4. We then put on a zone, forced a turn, and went up 6-4. Maine responded and then we gave up a turn close to the line after getting the disc back with our zone. Maine tried to break Emmet for the goal and he strongly hand blocked the throw. We then quickly moved the disc down the field to take half 7-5. Maine didn’t score again and we muscled our way to a 13-5 win, completely shutting Maine down with our crushing zone.

Next up we moved over to field 6 to relax during our bye before the finals. We spread out around the tournament, watched the Open team take down Pittsburgh, and I had a short nap on a couch at tournament central. Back over at field 6 we started warming up on one of the adjacent unused fields as the Open semi finals game on our field finished up a barn-burner with Minnesota winning 12-11 over Seattle. Shortly before 2pm we did our focus drill and then moved onto the field at 2pm to run end-zone.

We took the field fully fired up and pulled to start the game for the 6th time in 6 games. We forced a turn at mid-field then calmly worked the disc in. Seattle responded with a strong score, and then we took off, scoring 4 goals before Seattle responded. The points were all intense, contested, and we earned every turn. The game speed was higher than all our previous games and we responded well. We held our person D the entire game and it worked well. We took half 7-2.

The second half was a bit more even as we traded points for a while, but Seattle could not solve our cutting speed and the amazing power of our women. Seattle did try a zone on us, the first we had seen all tournament, and we calmly worked the disc down the field until Seattle switched to person when our women completely took over, threw the last 5 throws of the point and scored. Rory pulled down a huge layout score, Vinny dominated… everywhere, and Lipari was the engine. Anna, Tulsa, Malti, and Marianna had huge receptions, and Sam Letcher had a crushing handblock, immediately followed by a layout catch to save the possession, which he then finished with a skying goal.

We won on a short, easy throw to take home BUDA’s first YCC gold!

After our initial celebration and shaking hands with Seattle, we circled up as a team and talked about the weekend. It was a wonderful extended moment.

Back over at tournament central, we settled into the large group of people waiting for the awards ceremony to begin. Spirits were, of course, very high. BUDA’s medal run began with Eliot Bemis receiving the Open team’s individual spirit award, followed by Justin Wu, who received the Mixed team’s. Soon after, the Mixed team took the stage to receive their championship medals!

We then bussed up and had some time to relax and get cleaned up at the hotel before heading out to a big group dinner at a nearby restaurant. Everyone had a great time being social and eating a tremendous amount during dinner. By the time we got back to the hotel everyone was super tired, but many found their second wind and had a great time together in the hotel.

It’s now Monday morning and we’re all enjoying a slow wake up. At 10:30 we’re heading to the Mall of America to have some fun before catching our flight back home.

GO BUDA!

BUDA YCC 2012: Day 2

The BUDA YCC teams lit up the fields today in Blaine.

Photos from the day are online right here. Photos from yesterday are online here. Yesterday’s write-up is online right here.

The Mixed team went 3-0, beating Wisconsin 13-3, New York 13-1, and Minneapolis 13-3. The Open team went 2-1, beating Atlanta 15-7 and New York 15-6, and losing to Denver 11-12.

Full tournament results can be found here: Mixed, Open

Later this evening you should find detailed write ups of each division done by USAU reporters online right here.

Tomorrow morning, Mixed starts off the day with a quarter finals game against Chicago, most likely then followed by semis against Maine, and then almost certainly a finals matchup against Seattle. The Open team first faces Minnesota followed by their semis game against the winner of Pittsburgh and and Seattle. Who they will face in the finals is hard to predict (Either Delaware, Denver, Chicago, or Cincinnati. I’m pulling for Cincy)

Here’s how we got where we are:

The morning began with another round of early wake up calls — well, not too early since the team wasn’t too into the super early calls as invoked by… me. The Mixed team cruised through breakfast first and took off right around 6:45. By 7am we were at the fields setting up on the field we’d be playing on all day. The Open team arrived shortly after and began their warm up routine. At 8am we joined the coaches and captains meeting and by 8:45 our warm up routine was coming to a close. At 9am games began.

Mixed went up against an athletic yet small in numbers Wisconsin team. We broke them twice to start the game, then switched to a zone for a point which was thoroughly thrashed.  So, we moved back to a straight up person-D against their H-stack offense, and we shut them down. All of the potential we showed in warms up and with the raw talen on hand was fully realized and we rolled to a 13-3 win.

In their first game, Open played very well against Atlanta and won in convincing fashion 15-7.

In the second game of the day, Mixed came out on fire against New York and never looked back. Our shut down straight up person-D, careful precision O, and monster receptions propelled us to a 13-1 win.

Next, the Mixed team had a bye while Open went up against a physical Denver team. After going down 5-1 on some very tough Denver D, the Open team fought back to 5-5. After trading points the rest of the game, Denver ended up with the disc not so far from the end zone as hard cap was called. They scored, and BUDA Open ended up losing 11-12.

In the third game of the day, Mixed faced the #2 seed in the pool, Minnesota. We knew they had an athletic line and strong women, so we knew it was important to come out strong. We did, breaking them on the first two points before allowing them to score. We ended up taking half 7-3 off of some furious play by our girls who dominated. We ended up playing 4 girls 3 boys as often as we could. In the second half we sealed the deal by not letting Minnesota score.

Open ended up playing New York in their third game (a crossover with pool A), a matchup BUDA Open easily won 15-6.

After the games ended, the Mixed team took some group photos and then all the teams bussed up and drove the short distance to the tournament dinner.

We enjoyed several rounds of soft tacos and the lively social atmosphere of all the teams eating in one place. 10 players and coach Hourigan stayed to watch the coaches game and everyone came back to the hotel. All the kids are spread out either relaxing in ice baths, the hot tub, the pool, or watching TV in their rooms. Team meetings are in an hour followed by sleep.

A special shout out: The BUDA women are unreal.

YCC championship here we come!

BUDA YCC 2012: Day 1

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.