Layout Practice!

14s were looking gooooooood.

Second Practice and Sectionals Recap

Second Practice

The second practice of the year was a lot like the first practice. There were a lot of 14's. We taught them a simple version of a three handler weave, the flow drill, and played 3v3. We ended practice by scrimmaging with the womenses, which included a lot of flirtatious fun on and off the field.

Sectionals

“ Got loads of compliments on how well things ran - congrats on a great tournament Dartmouth Ultimate!” – Matt Mackey 08'

Ah... The first tournament of the year. The aroma of tourney food (and a smiling Matt Mackey 08' and Maggie Zou 12', our venerable TD's) welcomed us to Sachem. We split into a ballin' team of 14's, led by James Kim 11' on the first day and Jon Wills 11' on the second day, and a team of returners. This was a learning experience for everyone, as we were trying to familiarize ourselves with the new offense. We had two goals going in to the weekend: one, have a lot of fun; two, get better each game.

We met both goals. The fun was taken care of pretty easily, as we all like each other, and we ate sausages and steak tips. Yummy.

Our second goal was also met. Our new coach Brook never missed a “teaching moment,” and helped us improve our timing and positioning on offense. The highlight of the tournament was our first game on Sunday against our new conference (the grouping of teams formerly known as a section) rivals, the Pranksters of Middlebury. The game was decided on universe after several lead changes and minor comebacks. Even though we lost the game, it was competitive and it was by far our most complete game offensively.

It is worth adding that a number of our returners were playing with club teams, which meant that due to eligibility restrictions they could not play with the train. But it also means that many of them will be playing at Regionals, gaining valuable club experience. Wicked.

Overall, a great way to start off the year and get the Train and Trolley rolling.

First Fall Practice!

“You guys look like an army”
Thought by awestruck Women's player, upon witnessing the horde of chiseled men warming up

Yesterday, September 23rd, was the first ultimate practice of the fall. After a boot-filled orientation, followed up by diligent stalking, recruiting, and general administrative work, the venerable politburo of Dartmouth Ultimate succeeded in luring freshmen to pastoral Sachem.
Once we had them in our grip, and after a brief warmup, the captains and Brook introduced themselves and explained some general things about the program. With the boring talking section out of the way, we started teaching them the basic skills: throwing, cutting, marking. The leadership was aided by a whole slew of “extensively awesome upperclassmen” in teaching the 14's and other newcomers, who, it must be said, displayed a great level of skill. Every year the freshman class comes in with more ultimate experience, making teaching that much easier.
After this, the returners played two points of a mandatory showcase, just to give the new guys a sense of what (close to) full speed, (gratuitous) layout-rich ultimate looks like. Then we scrimmaged.
At the end of practice the captains led us in a stretching circle in which each person introduced themselves and revealed their first AOL screen name. Highlights included: freakykid59, larsistrouble, barnthazul. Fun times. We went bananas at the end.

Attention Freshman!

Welcome Class of 2014! If you're interested in playing Ultimate Frisbee at Dartmouth then you're in luck, because Frisbee is starting up as soon as you show up for Orientation. Here are some times/places that you'll be able to hang out and play some disc:

- On the Green during all of Orientation! As often as possible we're going to be tossing some frisbees on the green and hanging out. It's a great time to come out and throw a little, ask a few questions, and get the lowdown on what Ultimate at Dartmouth is all about!

- After the first day of classes (Sept. 22). There's no better way to complete your first day of college than getting out to the Sachem Fields and playing some frisbee. There will be rides leaving from Dartmouth Hall at 2:50 to bring you to the fields. Practice goes from 3-6pm, but rides can accommodate your schedules if you have other commitments but still want to play frisbee.

- Friday, Sept. 24 Second Practice. We get to practice a couple times and get the hang of our throws before a super exciting tournament on the first weekend of the term! Practice from 3-6pm again as we get pumped for Sectionals the next day.

- Sept. 25-26 Sectionals! A tournament for Club Teams (non-college affiliated teams - the club season is in the fall, whereas the college season is in the spring). We bring two teams from Dartmouth to play since we host the tournament on our fields, one for returning players, and a whole team dedicated solely to freshmen! There is no experience necessary, and it's lots of fun. If you think you'd be interested in playing for even just part of the weekend send a blitz to MUF@dartmouth.edu .

- Informational Meeting! There will be a meeting early in the term explaining all the awesome reasons that you should join Dartmouth Ultimate, so be ready for a blitz about that in the near future.

Enjoy your trips, and we can't wait to meet you all!

~ The Pain Train & The Discomfort Trolley