Dartmouth Men's Ultimate

Let the new season begin!

2011-09-15T18:44:00.002-04:00

Welcome 15s!! And others too I guess.

For all you who don't know what Dartmouth Ultimate is all about, feel free to explore our website and learn more about the program.

Here's what's going on these days, and also looking forward into this Fall:

During the 15s Orientation week (9/14 - 9/20) there will be lots of frisbee tossing on the green, with more organized Ultimate-like games (mainly "boot") going on at 2pm every day. This is a great opportunity to get to know some of the current players who are unbelievably eager to meet you, as well as fellow 15s.

Practices are held Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3-6pm at the Sachem fields (a mile down Main Street). There will be rides leaving from Dartmouth Hall at appx. 2:50 on those days. Practices will begin on Wed. or Fri. the first week of classes. No experience is required, and everyone is more than welcome to show up. There will be plenty of people there who have touched a disc once or twice or never, so don't worry about lacking experience! We will spend the first few practices teaching rules and fundamentals so that by week 2, everyone's on the same page. If you want to know when practices start, see the next bullet point.

Get on our blitz list! If you want to know what's going on in the Dartmouth Ultimate community, you should absolutely send a blitz to muf@dartmouth.edu saying that you want to join the blitz list. That way you will receive information about when people are tossing, playing on the green, and when we're having practices.

We look forward to seeing you out there!

Centex Day 1 Update

2011-03-25T09:28:00.001-04:00

A good first day for the Train at Centex. It was sunny and intermittently windy today, with some zones thrown around, windy throws warmed up, and Texas BBQ for dinner. We went 4-1 and will be headed to quarters tomorrow morning after finishing second in our pool. Games were to 11, which meant that we had to start out strong and keep our foot on the gas.

1. Dartmouth 11 – Missouri 5

We started out our first game a little flat, with some unnecessarily long points, and some rusty wind throws; but after half we started rolling and playing our game. We used our new “Japanese” zone along with some man d with some success. Our d-line really stepped it up and continued to do so all day. O-line barely touched the disc in the second half. Yeah buddy.

2. Dartmouth 11 – LSU 8

Haze had a few good handlers with high release windy throws, which worked well against our zone. Once we switched to man defense later in the second half, we started pulling away.

3. Dartmouth 11 – Texas State 3

Our d-line played very well during this game, running them to the ground with some hard-nosed man defense. Jason Mintz ’11 had a sweet Callahan to get us going. Good plays from everyone.

4. Dartmouth 10 – UCLA 6

This game was long. There were a few too many long points and turnovers. Captain Lars Osterberg ’11 had a great layout block. The game was close to begin with, but we picked it up later on. The soft cap went on and we ended it at 10.

5. Dartmouth 5 – Colorado College 11

We were very excited to play Wasabi again. We lost to them on universe point in Pres Day, after leading 9-6. But this time we came out very flat and our offense wasn’t clicking. There was very little energy on the field and on the sideline. Two exceptions were Dan Rosengard ’13 and Spencer Diamond ’14, who played with a lot of fire. Hopefully our third meeting will turn out differently.

President's Day Classic Day 1 Update

2011-02-20T01:20:00.002-05:00

I'm dead tired, this post is mostly for Ian Engler. Hey Ian we miss you.

Game 1: Dartmouth - 11 San Diego State - 13
So, outdoor frisbee. What is that? We found out during our first game. Worked out the kinks on a weird weird day in San Diego. Some of their calls threw us out off our game a bit. The weather was unpredictable; summer in New England. One moment it was raining and snowy, the other it was sunny. Crazy town. This one was to get our legs under us. Offense had some miscues, defense wasn't dictating. One of the bright spots was Captain Lars, who had a few sick layout ds. We were still tight with them, gave em their best game of the day.

Game 2: Dartmouth - 13 Texas A&M - 9
We began to find our rhythm here. After going down two breaks in the first two points, we decided to start playing our game. Rosie got a callahan, and we were off to the races from there. Took half 7-6 and didn't look back.

Game 3: Dartmouth - 13 UCSB - 8
This was definitely our best game of the day. The old guys started bringing up old grudges from Vegas in '08. We were on time and in charge from the very beginning, no assessing points here. Our defense looked good during this game, shutting down their plays, killing their flow, tight on their handlers, doing a lot of good downfield switching. Offense looked crisp and much cleaner.

Game 4: Dartmouth - 7 Minnesota - 12
A few breaks on both sides until half, which Minnesota took 7-6 after two missed opportunities with the d-line o. Then our energy diminished and we lost focus. Miscues, throwaways, and dropsies galore in the second half. Not our best game. The wind and rain really picked up in this game. Come on San Diego! You were supposed to be warm and sunny.

Showers, food, team meeting, sleep. Boomslam. Colorado College tomorrow in prequarters. Up it up Train.

Attention Boston-based Ultimate Alumni and Friends

2011-02-17T10:42:00.003-05:00

Come meet the 2011 Pain Train!

The boys are traveling through Boston TONIGHT Thursday 2/17 on route to San Diego for President's Day. We'd love for you to join us for dinner! Nothing fancy, just a nice way for Dartmouth Ultimate folks, young and old(er), to meet new members of the program. Stop by for just a drink or get real and start carb-loading for your weekend game. Either way, it'd be great to see you!

What: Meet the 2011 Pain Train!
Why: Rehash old memories, eat some bread sticks, rosham tray with the busboy, and meet other local Dartmouth Ultimate folks!
Who: Deez nuts.
When: TONIGHT! Thursday 2/17, 9-11PM
Where: Bertucci's at 799 main St., Cambridge MA

Alternatively, if you're out near San Diego, meet us at the fields!

Be sure to follow our tweets for live scoring updates, pictures, and inside jokes that you surely won't understand (because you're old).

Sincerely,
The Pain Train.
woo. woo.

Sweet links!
http://dartmouthmensultimate.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/DMouthPainTrain
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ultimate/mens/
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ultimate/mens/content/official_site/Alumni_Page.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVz1gKm44aI

The Train Heads West

2011-02-17T10:22:00.003-05:00

We fly early Friday morning to sunny San Diego, and then we begin pool play Saturday morning at the President's Day Classic.

Follow us on twitter for in-game updates: http://twitter.com/DMouthPainTrain
Or monitor this blog for longer day recaps.

Dartmouth Ultimate Clip

2011-02-02T16:10:00.002-05:00

Pretty sweet video about Dartmouth Ultimate, featuring the Pain Train and Princess Layout. Created by Natalie Miliano '12. Check it out.

http://animoto.com/play/wQFJSCd405sea5H5YRpJBg?autostart=true

Pain Train Hosts Round Robin

2011-01-31T10:38:00.002-05:00

We're hosting a round robin this weekend, featuring Middlebury, UVM, and UNH. We'll be playing outside on some turf fields, in the cold.

Saturday, February 5th, 9PM - 4PM. Location TBA.

UOA Day 2 Highlights

2011-01-24T10:41:00.002-05:00

Check out this awesome video of the Train during the second day of UOA Nationals (and a few clips from UOA Ivys as well). Video courtesy of Ian Engler '12.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POfrnTgM9bU

In the meantime, we'll be paying our dues in Leverone.

Winter Update

2011-01-21T19:50:00.004-05:00

The Train is in training right now and will reemerge on the 19th of February in San Diego at the President's Day Classic.

Until February, we've been hitting up Leverone, the gym, and the track. Every day the snowy green is filled with pairs of tossing Pain Trainers, despite the sub-zero temps and 2 feet of snow. All we have to look at is this gorgeous picture (courtesy of Misha Sidorsky '10) from our UOA Natties trip to N. Carolina. Yeah buddy.

In other news, check out our new team profile on Skyd Magazine.
http://insidebreaks.skydmagazine.com/2011/01/dartmouth-pain-train/#more-129

Fall Epilogue - Yes Friend!

2010-12-02T16:43:00.000-05:00

Our fall season has been one of the best in recent Pain Train history. We went 24-5 this fall. Two of our losses came on universe point. Of all the teams we played this fall, Pitt is the only team we did not beat. Some teams beat us (UMass, Cornell, Tufts), but we always managed to win against them at another point. Some impressive stats for the 2010-2011 Pain Train.

We now head into Leverone for practices and track workouts and into RVC/Wayne’s/Alumni Gyms for lifting. We will also be missing some of our guys, who will be taking the winter term to do great and awesome things in non-Hanover locations. We will travel to at least one tournament this winter, but otherwise, all Pain Trainers, whether in Hanover or elsewhere will be training very hard until spring break and the college series. We have a lot of work to do until the spring, but as we say: “ain’t nothin’ to it but to do it.”

And do we enjoy what we do? Hell Yeah. Woo Woo.

UOA Nationals Recap

2010-11-27T01:10:00.001-05:00

Our last fall tournament, UOA Nationals was a good opportunity for us to get some quality ultimate in before our confinement to Leverone. We did exactly that, winning 7 of our 8 games, with our only loss coming to eventual champion Pitt, on our fourth game of the first day.

We narrowly missed the championship game, as VT had a better point differential. The Pain Train is now 15-1 in UOA games, tying Pitt for the best record in UOA play this fall.

After a long drive on Friday, a relaxed night at the hotel, and a Denny’s breakfast, we headed out for day 1.

Day 1

Dartmouth 15 – Brandeis 11

This was our third consecutive UOA game against Brandeis, we came out fired up and took half 8-5. This was a bit of a windy day, but not that much of a factor in this game. In the second half, Brandeis crept back a little bit, as we had some trouble converting our turns into breaks. But a huge Matt Murphy ’12 layout d got us our mojo back and we took the game 15-11.

Dartmouth 15 – JMU 9

We didn’t know much about JMU, except that co-captain Chase Raines ’11 had some friends on the team. The wind picked up a bit and we saw and threw some zone looks. Our focus this entire day was working on our transition looks, throwing zone for the first few throws to disrupt the other team’s pull plays and then moving into man d. We were guided on trannies by Assistant Coach #1/Official Pain Train Tweeter Writer/Former Pain Train captain, Misha Sidorsky ’10. We improved as the day progressed. Coach Brook went Belichick during and following this game, concentrating on high strategy, supreme command, and the preparation of PB&J’s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOaGkPXn9LQ. While the first half was a bit closer than we hoped (8-6 good guys), we broke away in the second half, taking the game 15-9.

Dartmouth 15 – Tennessee 11

This game was sloppy. From the beginning we felt in control, partly inspired by an early Callahan, which led to some careless play afterwards. Though it was a win, it was definitely one of our least inspiring performances of the weekend. After breaking to take half 8-6, we worked to increase our lead in the second half, eventually taking the game 15-11.

Dartmouth 8 – Pittsburgh 15

This was our first game against a non-New England (USAU) nationals-caliber team this season. We went up early, 2-0 with an o-point and a break. We were pumped. But Pitt broke us to get it back on point, and broke once again to take half 8-6. Still, the game was wide open at this point. But for some reason, we weren’t in it. The sidelines were quiet, we weren’t focused on the field, and soon enough the game got out of hand for the Train. Pitt took the lead convincingly in the second half and our rotation became a lot looser. We ended up losing 15-8. Only later did we realize that a few more points would have made a huge difference.

Day 2

Dartmouth 15 – UCONN 13

After our disappointing first (and only) UOA loss against Pitt, we came in to Sunday hungry. First of all, we got woken up very early by the leadership. Secondly, we didn’t go to Denny’s for breakfast, just breakfast sandwiches at Dunkin’ Donuts. We got to the fields so early that the parking lot’s gate was opened as we rolled up. It was a good start. We had UCONN up. We haven’t seen them yet this year, but they are always tall, athletic, and huck-happy. The wind completely died down for the entire day, which created a very different dynamic from Saturday’s zones and up-wind down-wind games. We were trading points until half, with a Cecil Qiu ’13 layout d that led to the o-line recovering and taking half 8-7. It was similar to the Tennessee game in that we felt in control, so we played a bit sloppily. But eventually we came out on top 15-13.

Dartmouth 15 – Virginia 12

We knew we had to step it up here. Although they were missing some guys, UVA is another good team, and last year on spring break we had a miserable loss against them in Charlottesville, VA. We were very excited for this one. This was a good game all around for the train, with our offense looking particularly sharp. After some halftime adjustments to flatten out our marks, our defense stepped it up as well. Ended up winning the game 15-12, and felt good heading into the VT game.

Dartmouth 15 – Virginia Tech 12

This was our best game of the tournament by far. VT beat Pitt, and Pitt beat us, so in order to have a chance to play for the championship we would have to beat this team, though we weren’t exactly sure by how many points. The first half was on point, with a few opportunities to break that went unfulfilled. But the Train came out strong in the second half, breaking VT 3 times in a row to take over the game. Spencer “Chuck” Diamond ’14 and Robin “Beanio” Meyers ’10 are developing impressive chemistry on offense, scoring and assisting many of our points. Also notable was “Good” Dan Rosengard ’13, who was sick all weekend – at one point leaving a huddle to boot – and played like a warrior. We traded points until the end. Equally important were our sidelines. All of our guys were involved in the game, talking to the marks, cheering loudly, supporting each other, bringing water to timeouts. This was huge, and one of the biggest differences between this game and the Pitt game. And it clearly showed.

At this point there was a lot of conferring by the UOA guys, our leadership, Pitt, and VT. Since us, VT, and Pitt all had a 6-1 record, with us beating VT, VT beating Pitt, and Pitt beating us, point differential was the way to work this out. We lost the finals spot to VT by 2 points. Sad, but such is life.

Dartmouth 13 – Virginia 11

In the 3^rd place game we opened up our rotation, more or less wholesaling every single line. The game was to 13, but we still wanted to win. Pretty solid play from the Pain Train. It was also clear that we had more legs than the ‘other’ train. One of the nicest moments came when Scott “scottoscotty” Sottosanti ‘12 threw a floaty huck to BFF Lee “Skinny” Farnsworth ’12, who made a great catch in the end zone to score. That’s kind of their thing. So when Lee came down with the disc, Scott ran the fastest he’s ran all weekend, with a shit-eating grin (and a noticeable halfie) in order to execute their meticulously planned high-five. Gotta love the big guys! Anyway, the Pain Train came out on top, finishing the weekend 7-1, and total 15-1 in UOA competition, tying Pitt for the best record.

We're in North Carolina!

2010-11-20T19:30:00.004-05:00

We left the falling snow of Hanover on Friday morning to drive down 15 hours to sunny Greenville, NC to compete in UOA Natties!

Check out the scoreboard: http://ultimateobserversassociation.com/Nationals.html

Quick summary before we go do our homework/watch Harry Potter 7:

-We went 3-1 today, beating Brandeis, JMU, Tennessee. Losing our final game to Pitt. 'Twas a windy day.
- Then we had Five Guys/Olive Garden/Panera.
-We have a big day tomorrow. UCONN, Virginia Tech, and UVA with a fourth game against a-team-to-be-determined-later. We're still in the thick of it.

Follow us on twitter for some live updates: http://twitter.com/DMouthPainTrain

Huck a Hunk O' Burning Pumpkin Day 2

2010-11-07T18:38:00.002-05:00

After going 2-1 on the first day, the Train was ready for some bracket play. As usual, it was windy; the top of Mt. Washington.

Game 1 - Dartmouth 15 BC 11
We played through some heavy wind this morning to come out with a strong win to advance to quarters.

Game 2 - Dartmouth 11 Cornell 12
Playing on a field that exacerbated the upwind/downwind dynamic because it was one long slope, the Train looked for its second win over Cornell this Fall. After letting the Buds get up 4 breaks in the first half, the Train staged a second-half comeback to reach universe point. Despite forcing 4 turns during the point with our hard man defense, going upwind and uphill on the last point proved to be too much; Wall Street Executives bonuses.

Though two losses on universe sting, the Train learned a lot this weekend, and is going into the final stretch of the Fall with a good idea of what it needs to work on and accomplish before the spring.

Our last fall tourney, UOA Nationals (Nov. 20-21), should be an excellent test of how much we learned this weekend, as well as a great opportunity for some outdoor ultimate before the cold New Hampshire winter forces us indoors.

Greenville NC here we come! Woo Woo!

Huck a Hunk O Burning Pumpkin Day 1

2010-11-06T21:16:00.003-04:00

Here are the results from the Train's first day at Brown's fall tourney.

Game 1: Dartmouth 15 Wesleyan 12

Game 2: Dartmouth 15 Brown Y 3

Game 3: Dartmouth 16 UMASS 17

We were up 14-9 and just couldn't close it out. A lesson in humility.

UOA Ivy League Video

2010-11-02T14:03:00.001-04:00

Check out some video from this weekend, filmed by Caleb Ladue's 14' brother, Arlin.

http://vimeo.com/16418725

UOA Ivy League Recap

2010-11-02T11:11:00.006-04:00

Things we learned this weekend:

The MBTA costs money
Taking the car pool lane on I-93 southbound makes you late to your first game
Callahans are awesome
Our 14's (freshmen) rock.

Our second tournament of the year was incredible. Despite the absence of Coach Brook, we went undefeated (8-0) and won a bid to UOA nationals. This was the first non-sectionals tournament that the Pain Train has won since 08' Regionals.

This was a UOA tourney, so the rules were a little different and there were observers counting stalls for us. This was supposed to be an Ivy League tournament, but Cambridge is far, so good non-Ivy (Umass, Brandeis, Tufts) teams were used to round out the pack. Check out the website if you're interested to learn more about the UOA: http://ultimateobserversassociation.com/index.html.

Day 1: Saturday

Game 1: Dartmouth 15 Umass 10

Funny thing about first games that start at 8:30 AM – sometimes not all of your team is there on time. The beloved sprinter van, carrying all of our captains, the disc bag, and all but 8 players arrived at the fields at about 8:27. In addition, one of our players (who shall remain nameless), was late because he got kicked off the bus. Unlike Advanced Transit, apparently you have to pay to ride the buses in Boston. Oddly enough, this worked to our advantage, we kept it loose and made fun of our own navigational incompetence. We went up a couple of breaks and never let go. Nice first win.

Game 2: Dartmouth 15 Columbia 0

Score speaks for itself.

Game 3: Dartmouth 15 Brown 12

As it turns out, this was our closest game of the weekend. It was windy so we threw a lot of zone at them, but as usual Brown's handlers were solid and made us run a lot. We toughed it out to earn the win.

Game 4: Dartmouth 15 Tufts 8

We were all looking forward to this one after last weekend, where Tufts beat us twice. So far, they're the only team to beat us. We were hungry. Tufts just had a tough universe loss against Harvard, and looked tired. Even though it was windy, we decided to go man on them and make them run. After a close first half, we broke away and took our revenge. Team president Alex Taylor 11' took it home for us with a layout catch in the end zone.

Dinner

Anna's Burritos!!! There is no better way to celebrate an undefeated day than with some delicious burritos. Thanks to former captain Alex Kell 10' who let us stay in his house in Needham afterwards.

Day 2: Sunday

Game 5: Dartmouth 14 Yale 11

This was a sloppy game to open Sunday. On a windy day, we had a lot of drops in the end zone, we left at least 4-5 points on the field. Cap went on and the game ended with another Dartmouth victory.

Game 6: Dartmouth 15 Harvard 9

After the sloppy game against Yale, we went up against regional rivals Harvard. Boy, were we pumped for this one. Coming out on D, Robin Meyers 10' Th 11' caught a Callahan off a tipped disc. We got a break the next point as well, and ended up taking half 8-4 on a Lee Farnsworth 12' catch of a well-placed Scott Sottosanti 12' huck. Sophomore Sensations indeed. We didn't let up and took care of business.

Game 7: Dartmouth 15 Brandeis 0

Due to the seeding and design of the tournament we were slated to play Brandeis twice in a row, once to finish off pool play and once again in the championship game. Brandeis has a 10-player squad and they had a number of tight games. The UOA is very strict about playing all games, but since our championship spots were locked up, Brandeis practiced dropping pulls. That was ridiculous.

Naptime:

We had about an hour to burn before warming up, so there was a lot of sideline spooning. We definitely won the cuteness championship.

Game 8 (Finals): Dartmouth 15 Brandeis 11

We rarely play Brandeis, but they looked good on a very windy day, breaking our marks around a little too often. Our offense was looking smooth in the wind, despite a few miscues against the zone. Especially dominant were Spencer “Chuck” Diamond and Dan “Fat Albert” Harris, both 14's. On defense we got a lot of turns, but sometimes had trouble converting them into goals. “Good” Dan Rosengard 13' understood this. On game point, after a spectacular Caleb “Burrito” Ladue 14' pull, Rosengard decided to end the shenanigans and caught a layout Callahan to win the championship game and end the tourney. Boomslam. Ivy league champs baby (check out the pictures below and above to see what we look like)!

UMassacre Update: Day 2

2010-11-01T08:37:00.003-04:00

Everyone wants to update the blog regularly, nobody wants fail their midterms.
So it took a week to post this meager summary of the second day. Such is life. Here are the results.
After a delicious breakfast, courtesy of the Diamonds, we headed out to the fields.

1. Dartmouth 13 UMASS B 0

Caleb Ladue 14' got a point block and earned a burrito from Coach Brook. Too bad he only point blocks for burritos.

Dartmouth 15 Amherst 10

Solid game from us, we ran our zone a lot. Check out Robin Meyers' 10' Th 11' acrobatics below.

Dartmouth 15 UMASS 12 (Semis)

Close, tough game against the hosts. We ran a lot of man d to disrupt their handler motion, with co-captain Chase Raines 11' submitting a notable performance.

Dartmouth 12 Tufts 15 (Finals)

Heartbreaking loss to Tufts in the finals. Revenge will come soon.

We were 6-2 on the weekend, with our only losses coming against Tufts, on our first and last games. Great first tournament for the Train, we have a whole lot to be excited about this season.

UMassacre Update: Day 1

2010-10-23T18:28:00.005-04:00

First day of the of the first tourney for the 2010-2011 Dartmouth Pain Train. A lot of learning was done, especially on our zone looks. More details (and some pics) will come later with the Day 2 post. For now the results:

1) Dartmouth 9 Tufts 13
After taking half 7-6, we let our foot off the gas and Tufts ran away.

2) Dartmouth 13 Cornell 6
Our zone d was looking better with each point we played. There was essentially no wind, so it was particularly awesome to force some turns.

3) Dartmouth 13 ARHS 9
Once again, we rode our zone d.

4) Dartmouth 13 Wesleyan 8
The wind picked up during this game. After building up an 11-2 lead, we let our foot off the gas and Wesleyan came back. We got there eventually.

Overall, 3-1 on the first day. A lot of good stuff from the train, but also a lot of room for improvement. We have UMASS B tomorrow morning to finish up pool play and then bracket play later in the day.

A huge thank you to the Diamonds, parents of Spencer Diamond '14, for inviting us into their home, making us pasta, and collecting blue glass. You are our sunshine.

Yo Alums!

2010-10-12T00:06:00.002-04:00

We're compiling a list of where Dartmouth Ultimate alums are playing these days (thanks to Mike Zargham '07), so check it out and add anyone else you know of. This will be a good way for alums to catch up with each other at tournaments and whatnot. Here's the google doc:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=thqsHoo6DYcrjFn_4-fNmkA&hl=en&authkey=CIX6_4sK#gid=0

Congrats to Zargham, Misha, Rohre, Mandy, Marika, Kevin, Liz, Siegs, Agan, and Shmi (and likely others) for making it to Natties!

The Immaculate Inception of the 2010-2011 Pain Train and Discomfort Trolley

2010-10-04T23:27:00.004-04:00

Today was the first day of tryouts for the 2010-2011 Pain Train, as well as the first day for the 2010-2011 Discomfort Trolley. These are their stories:

Pain Train

The first practice of the Train justified the team name entirely – as it was both painful and locomotive. The level of intensity was high and all of the tryouts were working really hard to impress the venerable Politburo.

The tryouts began with the 3-handler weave drill, which got some the blood flowin' and the sweat drippin' despite some chilly New Hampshire temperatures. This was promptly followed by a good old fashioned go-to drill with some west-coast dishy-like twists.

After the drills we split into three groups (Team Chase, Team Lars, Team Sam) which alternated between scrimmaging and doing the super-nasty/triangle-of-death drill. The combination was challenging to say the least, but also incredibly fun – we got to play competitive ultimate and cheer on our teammates, to that we say: boomslam.

Our next activity was focused tossing: 150 throws. 25 flat/inside-out/outside-in backhands (75 throws). 25 flat/inside-out/outside-in forehands (75 throws). Breadbaskets were hit.

Lest we rest for too long, we did full-field sprints followed by what is now known as either “Misha-Time (M-T)” or “Misha's Booty Boot Camp (MBBC)” (NOTE: do not google the second term). Misha Sidorsky 10' will be using his ultimate experience, encyclopedic knowledge of strength and conditioning, and hot bod to train us this fall. We are all incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have Misha instruct us in painful, yet ultimately constructive, calisthenics. One of the best parts of our conditioning was how vocally supportive we were of each other. Some, though not all, of the magic of this team stems from it closeness, and it clearly showed today. Ronnie Coleman quotes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO45iY7hilI) abounded.

After our first encounter with MBBC, our legs were gelatinous, our shoulders hurt, and our cardiovascular systems were heavily taxed, Nottingham under Prince John.¹ On the bright side of things, doing all that core work at the end of practice directly caused a bunch of dudes to take off their shirts and dazzle the lady-folk with their abs. Thanks Misha!

Discomfort Trolley

On the other side of the road, past the practicing women, the DT started working its magic. After some wildly irresponsible scrimmaging to start things off, the Trolley settled down with some concentrated throwing. Moving right along, though at an uncomfortable pace, the Trolley-ers did some flow drill and went over the mechanics of handler and cutter motion in the ho-stack.

After some more scrimmaging, there was working out of abs and pushing one's body off the ground repeatedly, as well as the freshman cone drill, with a cameo by Jon Wills 11'.

According to one anonymous, and incredibly biased, account, the practice “went awesomely!”

1For more information on the Likeless Simile, the literary device used in the sentence, please refer to:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Likeless%20Simile

Layout Practice!

2010-09-30T23:48:00.000-04:00

14s were looking gooooooood.

Second Practice and Sectionals Recap

2010-09-30T21:46:00.007-04:00

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!

2010-09-26T18:53:00.001-04:00

“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!

2010-09-05T18:04:00.002-04:00

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

Yale Coffee Cup Recap

2009-11-02T22:35:00.003-05:00

After it was postponed a week due to not clement weather in New Haven, the Yale Coffee Cup tournament hosted Dartmouth's newly-selected Pain Train, as well as our very own Discomfort Trolley and 4 other teams (several teams that had initially been signed up dropped out after the tournament was rescheduled). Due to the small size of the tournament, the format was changed to a single day of round robin play, so we had 4 games Saturday and then we were done.

This writeup will be for the Pain Train's weekend--the "Disco Troll" will (hopefully) get their own writeup online soon.

SATURDAY: (surprisingly warm, with increasing wind throughout the day)

Game 1: vs. WPI (Worcester Polytech)
After a sloppy first point, the Pain Train pulled together and put together some very solid ultimate. The O-line was running smoothly, the D-line getting turnovers and working the disc, and overall Dartmouth Ultimate took care of business.
Dartmouth 13, WPI 4.

Game 2: vs. UConn X
Our second game of the day pitted us against UConn X (equivalent to UConn B I think), another fairly easy matchup for us. Our O-line was again running smoothly, and we were getting turns on defense. We were far shakier than we should've been in the red zone (near the end zone), however, which is clearly something for us to work on. In the end though, we were able to punch it in on nearly every point and cruised to victory.
Dartmouth 13, UConn X 1.

Game 3: vs. Yale
This game faced us off against a much more competitive matchup than our previous games had, but we rose to the challenge in the first half. The wind had picked up noticeably, which was causing both teams' throws to behave poorly and extended points enough that, combined with starting the game behind schedule, lead to the soft cap going on during half time (we were up 7-6, after starting on D and getting a break in the first half; a "break is the term for scoring a point which the other team started on offense). But we came out of halftime looking unfocused and sloppy and gave up two breaks almost before we knew what had happened. It was only at this point that Yale informed us that soft cap (usually adding 2 to the highest score and playing to that number) at this tournament actually meant only adding 1 to the highest score and playing to that, and just like that we had lost the game. While it was certainly a shame that it had happened like that, we need to be better about staying focused and keeping our energy up throughout an entire game.
Dartmouth 7, Yale 8.

Game 4: vs. Amherst College
Coming immediately off the Yale game, we were out of it for the beginning of the last game of the day, vs. Amherst, and our O-line gave up several breaks right off the bat. From here, we got rattled and were unable to recover any ground through the rest of the first half. A big problem of ours this game was man defense, as we seemed to have a hard time taking away simple in-cuts. Our zone offense struggled as well, either being too hesitant with the disc or trying to hard to get it upfield quickly. We regrouped at halftime and were able to settle down and get a couple breaks in the second half, but the damage had been done.
Dartmouth 6, Amherst 11.

All in all, it was a good first weekend for the Pain Train. We got some experience playing together, did some things well, and found other things that we need to work on--pretty much all you could ask for from a fall tournament. We'll be heading down to Brown in a couple weeks to see if we can improve on our first showing and head into the winter on a high note. And a thank you to Yale for hosting despite the setback of having to reschedule the whole tournament.

Purple Valley Recap

2009-10-25T00:52:00.006-04:00

It's been a week since the Tryout Train rumbled through Williams for the infamous Purple Valley tournament, but what is seven days if not the perfect amount of time to wait before writing a tournament recap?

Early on the monring morning of October 17th, a bunch of Pain Train tryouts rolled out of bed/Hanover around 6 am and headed down to Williamstown, MA for Purple Valley, a tournament hosted by Williams College every fall. This tournament has always featured a mix of teams who brought their A-team and come to win as well as teams like Dartmouth, who are still in the middle of the tryout process. We kept the subbing rotation open and gave our guys a lot of chances to play ultimate, and if the score sheet didn't look too great, so be it.

SATURDAY: (chilly with light wind)

Game 1: vs. UMass
Unfazed by the fact that we were unable to find out which field we were playing on until 15 minutes before the games started, Dartmouth Ultimate came out focused and ready against UMass, who was the 1 seed in our pool. After a few strong points to open the game, however, the inexperience of our younger guys and our open subbing rotation began to take its effect and we started slipping behind. Nonetheless, we saw a lot of promising play from our tryouts and playing against an A-team really showed us some things we could work on as well.
Dartmouth 5-ish, UMass 15.

Game 2: vs. UConn
UConn was another strong team in our pool, who had shown up with an A-team and were in it to win it. This game featured some zone defense (and therefore zone offense) from both teams, which was a great opportunity for us to improve at zone, which we had only practiced a little so far this year. Our tryouts played very well throughout the game, standing toe-to-toe with a solid fall A-team.
Dartmouth 5-ish, UConn 15.

Game 3: vs. Williams B
Our last game of the day squared us off against Williams B, a much less serious and competitive team than the two we had played so far. Results-wise, this game went much better, but we started to get a little sloppy and complacent towards the end, giving them more chances than we should have and not valuing the disc enough when we had it. Nonetheless, a fun game and a good way to wrap up the day.
Dartmouth 15, Williams-B 3.

SATURDAY NIGHT: (dark, not warm)
What happens at Williams stays at Williams.

SUNDAY: (Forecast: highs in the 30s with a 100% chance of rain/snow; Actual weather: temperature in the 50s, with only a slight drizzle in the afternoon)

Game 1: vs. Wesleyan
Day 2 started on turf fields for us, with a good game against Wesleyan. They appeared to be in the same situation we were, in trying out players, and as such it was an even game with several good points. We went up early in the game thanks in large part to the strong play of the members of the class of 2011, but sadly gave up our lead soon afterwards and went into halftime down a couple. All of our guys played well this game and we saw some real talent from the underclassmen tryouts. Though the final score didn't go our way, this was a great game from our perspective (as a tryout team).
Dartmouth 11 or 12, Wesleyan 15.

Game 2: vs. Middlebury
It's hard to know what to expect from Middlebury ultimate; as a program, they seem very much on the side of fun ultimate over ultra-competitive ultimate, yet for all that they have been a good team in recent years. Last spring, in fact, they came in 3rd in the New England region. For this game, we went through our entire warmup without seeing any trace of the Middlebury team, and then right when the game was supposed to start they materialized on the field behind an array of tables and cardboard boxes that we couldn't recall being there earlier. Once the game had actually started, however, we played highlight ultimate, making plays all over the field as well as in the air. Unfortunately, in our excitement we often immediately threw away the disc after such plays, but we'll fix that by the spring.
Dartmouth 9 (?), Middlebury 15.

Game 3: vs. ???
We technically had another game scheduled, but our opponent had apparently left already, and we had (home)work to do back in Hanover as well, so we piled back into our vans, got lunch, and headed home. And a big thanks to Williams for hosting a solid tournament and providing us with a place to stay Saturday night!

Cornell X/Y Recap

2009-09-28T01:08:00.004-04:00

This past weekend, the 26th & 27th of September, found 19 intrepid Dartmouth upperclassmen braving Ithaca and a 6 hour drive to play at the Cornell X/Y tourney. Since it was an X/Y tourney, there were no full A-team rosters at the tournament--instead, teams were generally a mix of veterans and rookies, and those in between. These tournaments give teams a chance to see their underclassmen in action on the field, while giving those underclassmen experience playing higher-level ultimate. Win-win!
As for us, the Pain Train brought a team of mostly sophomores (2012s) and juniors ('11s), and they did not let us down! Despite having only a few handlers with us, we were able to put together a bunch of solid performances that speak well for the future.

SATURDAY: (Sunny, some wind)
We started off our tournament Saturday morning with a game against Cornell X (Cornell fielded an X and Y team, as well as their B team). A good game with several flashes of brilliance from our young guys, but the Buds solid play and a couple extra errors on our part meant that we were always a little behind on the scoreboard.
Dartmouth-X 10, Cornell-X 13.

The wind picked up a bit for our second game, this one against UConn X (UConn brought an X and Y team), so we decided to try out our zone defense, which we have yet to practice this year (due to just starting classes last week). Despite that, our young 'uns stepped up and we were able to cause lots of turnovers, many of which we eventually converted into scores of our own. This game was also good experience for us in dealing with wind on offense, and despite the fact that we won 13-4, this game took almost the full 2 hours.
Dartmouth-X 13, UConn-X 4.

The third game of the day faced us off against Williams X (the only team Williams sent to the tournament). Nothing seemed to go right for us in this game, as WUFO jumped out to an early 5-1 lead and we were never really able to recover. Many of our problems in this game came from simple execution errors, dropping passes or throwing it away, and Williams didn't give us enough second chances to recover our confidence. They were ready for our zone as well, and their extra practice time so far this fall (we had practiced twice, total, before this tourney) showed as they ran away with the win.
Dartmouth-X 3, Williams-X 13.

Game 4, and the last game of Saturday, matched us up against UConn Y, who gave us many more problems than UConn X did. The wind was again strong in this game, but UConn Y's handlers were ready for our zone and they were able to score on it consistently. On offense, we had a mixed bag--some points were like works of art, where we were able to move the disc beautifully and score quickly; others were sloppy and featured several drops and off-target throws, usually leading to a UConn score. In the end, we didn't have enough of the good points and UConn pulled away.
Dartmouth-X 8, UConn-Y 13.

SATURDAY NIGHT: (Dark, rainy)
Everyone was tired and not interested in getting rained on, so we stayed cozy in a house the Cornell women's team was kind enough to let us use (they were at a tournament in Buffalo). Thanks Cornell women's ultimate!

SUNDAY: (Overcast, rainy)
Sunday got off to a delicious start with breakfast bagels at a place which is nearly identical to Hanover's own Bagel Basement, except this place (College Street Bagels, perhaps?) was not in a basement. Our first game was against Brown X (the only team Brown brought) and we came out playing very solid ultimate across the board. In addition to some big plays by the upperclassmen, including several bids by co-captain Alex Kell '10, a slew of '11s and '12s stepped up for us in this game. Among them, Garrett Simpson '11 played well all-around and had a tremendous layout D in the endzone, and Scott Sottosanti '12 was a rock-solid handler for us in a close game where each possession mattered.
Dartmouth-X 13, Brown-X 9.

After the Brown game the rain started to fall, and we found ourselves playing against Cornell's B-team. Our zone D had holes that need patching (practice!) but our man-to-man D was stifling and despite some miscues and wet-disc-related mistakes, we were able to punch it into the endzone on most points. We displayed definite improvement through the course of the game--it was a great game for showing what we can do, what we need to work on, and for getting our players a bit more comfortable with a wet disc.
Dartmouth-X 13, Cornell-B 3.

The rain continued through the last game game of the day, this one against Cornell Y. The fields at this point were a torn up mess of mud and wet grass, which made sharp cutting more difficult. Our lack of handlers became a more serious handicap in the rain also, as we had trouble connecting on deep shots. This allowed Cornell to really pressure our in-cuts and we struggled to drive down the field on offense.
Dartmouth-X 4, Cornell-Y 11.

With our last game of the weekend over, we changed into dry clothes, piled back into cars and headed towards Hanover. A big thanks to Cornell for hosting and running the tournament--it went smoothly and was a lot of fun and good experience for the team.

Attention Freshmen!

2009-08-21T10:25:00.002-04:00

Ahoy class of 2013! Chances are, you're reading this because you're interested in playing Ultimate frisbee at Dartmouth. Luckily for you, you'll have several opportunities to do so even before classes begin!

•Firstly, throughout orientation we're going to do our best to be tossing on the green as often as possible. Join us! We'd love to meet you and toss a disc with you.

•Secondly: the weekend of the 19th-20th is Western New England Club Sectionals, a tournament for club teams (non-college affiliated teams--the club season is in the fall, our main season is in the spring). However, Dartmouth hosts this tournament at nearby fields and we field two teams: an upperclassman team, for returning players who are on campus, and a freshman team, for you guys! Literally no experience is necessary, it'll be a lot of fun and we'd love to see you out there (rides to the fields will be provided). If you think you'd like to play, blitz MUF@dartmouth.edu and let us know!

•We'll also have a much more comprehensive informational meeting about Dartmouth Ultimate right around when classes start, so keep your email-reading eyes peeled for more on that.

Have fun on trips! We can't wait to meet you!

~The Pain Train & Discomfort Trolley