Spring Shootout Update

Nation,

As we mentioned in a previous post, the Ottawa Spring Shootout will be taking place February 28, 2009.

We're please to announce that VC Ultimate has sponsored all MVP jerseys for the tournament.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at the tourney, and I hope you win some of VC's newest product line.

Finding that next Pipeline of Talent, and other cliches

Nation,

I've been waiting to post this for some time. About two months ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed two players from India, who were participants in a Million Dollar Arm reality show. In a nation full of cricket players, no person from the one billion population of India had ever signed a baseball contract outside of the country.

Kudos to the Pirates for innovative recruiting (the reality show was not their idea, it was a sport management firm) and making efforts to increase their competitiveness. Let's be honest- the Pirates are still terrible and will be for some time- but they may have the inside edge on a new mine of cheap (very important) talent.

I can only wonder why no other baseball team thought of this before?

Major League Baseball has a entry player draft system, but this does not apply to players outside of Canada and the United States. It's essentially a free for all outside of those borders. The backbone of the Blue Jays success in the 1980's was based on their development of a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. Hello Tony Fernandez, George Bell, Damaso Garcia and Juan Guzman. The Jays could pay the "students" next to nothing, get them under contract, and promote those with talent. The Dodgers and many other teams quickly copied this tactic, and teams moved throughout South American in search of hidden gems. Soon, players were being dug out of Korea, Australia and Japan. In all country cases, the richest teams swoop in an ruin the market by overspending until only they can attract the best of the foreign players. That's why the Pirates or the Jays can't sign the latest Japanese star, and need to look elsewhere.

Does this apply to Ultimate? Of course, or I wouldn't be rambling. :)

League teams take from lower level league teams. Coed steals from league, and Open and Women take from the youth leagues and the coed/league offerings. We don't play for cash (yet, for the forseeable future) but teams at every level always have a sales pitch- better level of play, status, etc.

At a certain point, highest level club teams realize that they can no longer rely on just what comes to them through existing channels. They need to start their own programs to improve the quantity and quality to choose from.

How does your team find new talent?

• Do you lure it from existing teams outside of your town (find jobs for them)?
• Do you take from feeder system in the city (that you don't control)?
• Do you run your own development program (high school, youth, etc)?
• Are you in the gyms and fields of other sports, actively recruiting prototypes from different sports
• Do you lack any plans/strategies regarding player development?

Each and every year, how we go about finding new talent will be more and more important at the club level. I don't think we'll ever be importing Indian or respective African talent for ultimate purposes in my lifetime, but I do think that those two areas (as well as Asia) will continue to develop in the sport and pose serious threats to Canada. With their population, Canada faces a very tough task to continue its position at the top of the World Championship.

Ottawa Spring Shootout Tournament- February 28 2009

Nation,

I'm pleased to announce the Ottawa Spring Shootout tournament.

The tournament will be an OPEN hat tournament with special consideration given to

• University players in Ontario and Quebec
• Club players

Prizes will be given to the MVPs of each team. Also, early entrants will have the chance to select one of the following formats in the final time slot of the tournament

-An All Star challenge versus a competitive club team
-An exhibition game of Goaltimate

Here are the details

Date: February 28, 2009
Time: 9:00 PM-12:00 PM (potential of extra time added)
Location: Frank Clair Stadium Dome
Cost: $20 per player (Paypal payment will be accepted)
Tournament after party and party host to be announced

Format/Rules
Quebec City Variant AKA sub on the fly 6 versus 6
25 min games

Registration Information

Please contact me at steven.trainor@gmail.com with the following information

• Name
• Club
• Skill Level Out of 5 (1= low tier league player, 5= Elite Level Open Player)
• Town/City
• Do you need accommodation? Do you want assistance in finding accommodation?
• Preference for 1) All Star Match or 2) Goaltimate Match
  

Us Against The World!!

Nation,

I'm distracted by a key decision this month- I-phone or Blackberry? Anyone want to weigh in on this?

It's playoff time in the NFL, and once again our sports channels are bloated with cliches and "expert analysis". My favorite thing to do at this time is

• Listening to players being interviewed and count how many times the word "You know" is uttered during an interview. (It's hard not say it, but it is still shoddy and takes away from these speeches)
  
• Hearing experts contradict themselves with tired cliches that are just plain wrong. With the Ravens still alive, you can expect the same "Defense Wins Championships" sludge being thrown around.
  
• Watch some damn exciting football. It would be a lot better if the Patriots or Cowboys were around, but still lots of good stories.

A disturbing trend in the post game reactions has been occuring during the entire playoffs. It seems every team that has won every game says the following

• "no one thought we could win"
• "no one gave us a chance"

Seriously? The NFL, one of the last venues of sheer testosterone, resorts to passive aggressive pats on the backs . I understood the Giants feeling that way last year in the Super Bowl. However, every team in the entire playoffs? You really think the world didn't give you a chance to win over a team with virtually the same record? Vegas would differ.

I understand that these comments are simply a by-product of team attitude and preparation. People with something to prove have an easier time being motivated. However, it makes me (and others) miss the cockiness of the Patriots in recent year. Swagger can be fun.

So, what about your team? Does your team and its leader try to play the underdog card when you're facing equal competition? Does your team expect to beat all comers? Would you change the way you team approaches the competition? Given the lack of parity in ultimate and the rarity in which an elite team goes down, Us against the world is a tactic that might be more easy to stomach in ultimate.

Is Junior Success a Curse?

Nation,

There is a major hangover in Ottawa this week. It's not snow related, or transit strike related. (Those both suck in a major way however... I'm angry)

This past month, Ottawa has been host to the World Junior Hockey Championships. The tournament was a major success in many ways. The home team won in an exciting final. The tournament was memorable and there was plenty of stars discovered. Slovakia and Kazakhstan teams were adopted as local favorites. The economic impact of the tournament is estimated to be about $50 million.

I've personally been hooked on the tournament for years, and for many reasons. The timing during the holidays is great. It's a chance to see future stars. And if you put national jerseys on players, I'm instantly interested. (i.e. North American fans watching FIFA World Cup). One of my favorite parts of the tournaments is looking at the tournament history and seeing which stars of the pasts have made it in the professional leagues, and what happened to those who disappear after junior glory.

What the hell happened to Daniel Tkaczuk, Christian Dube, Mike Craig, and Brent Tully? It might simply be a case that these players lack the physical gifts to move to the next level, but were able to compete at an all star level in juniors because of efforts/intelligence/promotion.

Of course, my thoughts turn to ultimate and its juniors. I think its fantastic that we have world junior competitions, and that Canada is a team that challenges for the championship in both mens and womens. I also think it is a little disturbing that many of the players selected to represent Canada did not move on to the club level, and fail to show the progress and success that such a nod would promise.

I understand that life gets in the way for many junior stars in ultimate. That being said, I wonder our expectations should be with our Juniors:

• What should be the acceptable graduation rate for these players?
• What standards should we set for our coaches and team selection groups?
• Should we be concerned with the recent performance of our juniors, and should we be willing to make changes to keep ourselves competitive as the world seems to catch up?

In hockey, a brief time of failure (1998-2001) lead Hockey Canada to critically analyze and redevelop how players were developed and how players were selected. I was particularily impressed by how thorough Hockey Canada looked for and found the selection camp and eventual team roster (They don't just pick 1st round entry draft picks or leading scorers in juniors anymore) . Is it time for Canada to be more proactive in juniors development?

Happy New Year!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Hope you had a great 2008 and are ready to have an even better 2009.

Please find to the right polls for individual Canadian awards.

Public Service Announcement: UPA Survey

Nation,

Given the recent threat to the College series, the UPA is now trying to assess their product and make changes to their service.

Here is the info the survey link.. if you're involved in college ultimate, here is your chance to have a say. The UPA is listening.

__________________________________________________________________________________
I'm sure you're all aware of the College Restructuring Task Force the UPA has set up. The UPA has created a survey to get feedback on some proposed changes that will take affect for 2009. Please take 5 minutes out of your day and fill out the survey yourself, then take another 30 seconds and send it to your teammates, other team contacts, etc. If you're a TD, RC or SC, send it to your team contacts from last year or this year. The more people who take the survey, the more accurate the results will be in helping the Board make some tough decisions. I believe the survey is open to alumni as well.

Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=eG2NVCVWGx7i_2b8kKz_2f6agA_3d_3d

To read more about the Restructuring Task Force: www.upa.org

Survey should only be open until the end of December, so don't wait. The results could have a great impact on your 2009 season, as well as your team in future years.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Dave Branick

Metro East Open RC