Performance Enhancing Drugs in Ultimate... Final Results

-17 votes
-1 Saying we do have a problem
-16 saying we don't

My comments
-Get your heads out of the sand!! :)
-Have you seen the WADA list?
-Should game day enhancers like Sudafed be allowed?

Attention Youth Coordinators.. Mainstream Development

Nation,

It seems that some of the successful ultimate leagues in this country and our neighbors of the south are implementing more structured youth programs.

This is generally a very good idea.

One of the things we notice about the makeup of boards and staffs with ultimate groups is they are usually volunteers from all walks of life. Usually none of them have any sports management background. This is both good and bad. Non sport ultimate leaders can bring fiscal responsibility, innovation and are free of some of the conventional wisdoms of sport management. I won't bore you with the things National Sport Organizations face.

One of the major drawbacks of the non professional in ultimate leadership is a lack of technical direction. Specifically to youth, we're not taking advantage of the research and information available to us on athlete development.

Take a look at this site. There are a lot of things to peruse and discuss regarding the document. I think it's very important to have a system for basic development of athletes within a sport system. Being cognizant of this system and implementing the valuable parts will help attract more credibility to the sport.

It's reassuring to parents and sport administrators that ultimate has a plan that is inline with Sport Canada, and that makes the game easier to sell. Let's not fall into the "It's cheap to play" and "It's fun" sales pitches.
__________________________________________________________________
Off of the youth point, I want to look at the suggested levels of training for serious athletes.

One key thing that I discussed with a close associate (Hell, let's call him a friend :))

• According to the hard copy document of this program, it is suggested that athletes located in the training to train and training to win stages of LTAD should be doing sport specific technical, tactical, and fitness training anywhere between 9-12 (training to train) to 9-15 times per week.
  

I think this gives you an idea at the level of effort our Olympians and national representatives in sport give. I think it also sets a new bar for me in terms of training for the summer. Sadly, we're not carded athletes with time to train, but it gives a new perspective on where the dedication/effort to ultimate is headed as the quality of the sport improves.

So, they poll question today seeks to get a sense of who trains (play, practice, train) more- college players, open players, or recreational players.

Talking with Trainor- Derek "Franchise" Alexander

Nation,

The name Derek Alexander has elicited a buzz in Canadian Ultimate since he appeared at the UPA championships at the tender age of 19. Before that, he dominated in sports such as baseball, football, and basketball.

By the time the 2005 summer season ended, Derek had done things many in ultimate chase into their late thirties. 2 UPA championships with Furious George, a world juniors championship, a world championship, and an appearance at the world games. A starter on a UPA champions located on the other side of his country, Derek also was doing double duty as the captain and leader of local open club Phoenix.

Suffering a serious accident in the fall/winter of 2005, Ottawa's most talented has been out of action for the past two summers. He has spent the time coaching and rehabbing.

Poised for a possible return, it was natural to interview him for this site.

Who was the first to nickname you Franchise?

Wow. That was a long time ago, but I think the first to call me Franchise would have to be Ling Lee (a teammate on WaX). Actually, at the same time I was playing on the high school basketball team and a newspaper article written at the time wrote that yours truly and one other player were our teams "franchise players" so that helped to make sure the nickname stuck.

Who brought you into ultimate?

One of my older brothers, (Billy Alexander) a teammate on Phoenix, introduced the game to me when I was 14 years old. He started playing Ultimate through our high school. Our teacher was Michelle Gauthier, and at the time she played for the competitive womens team in Ottawa (Stella). Looking back and seeing all the great things that I have received from ultimate, I guess it would be an understatement to say I owe a huge thanks to the two of them.

What's your favorite moment from ultimate?

That is a tough question to answer. I have been very fortunate to have a lot of great memories on the ultimate field. I would say my best moment would be my first UPA championship in 2002. I was picked up by Furious George to play for the tournament and it was my first real look at the highest level of ultimate played in the world. I was able to make my way onto the O line as a starting handler and in the semi - finals we played against DOG from Boston. It was a great game played by both teams with only 5 turnovers being made all game and on Universe point we received the disk and worked it down field where I caught the disc on the sideline and was being defended by Fortunate Mueller. I was about 20 yards out of the end zone (early in the stall count) when I saw that Oscar Pottinger had a step on his defender Josh Zipperstein. I placed the disc in the corner of the front end zone and Oscar laid out to catch the game point to send us to the finals, which we ended up winning. I think completing that one play helped me to realize that I could play at that level with those teams. I have to give a lot of credit to the line caller Andrew Lugsdin. To have myself and Oscar (two 19 year olds) on the field on universe point must not have been an easy decision to make. I would not have liked to be in his position on that day.

What's easier- Coaching or Playing?

Without a doubt, Playing is way easier for me. When I am playing, I am able to focus on myself and the situation at hand. I felt that when I was coaching, I had to be everywhere at once. I think that coaching would be something that I would like to do when I can't play the game at a high level anymore and I have learned enough to be able to teach it properly. I am not at this point yet, and probably won't be for a while.


You've always been touted as a player with nerves of steel. Has this always been the case?

I can't remember a time that I was ever nervous for an ultimate game. Not when I played for Phoenix, UPA finals, or World finals for Furious. I guess I have always been like this on the ultimate field, but it is not the same in all the other sports that I have played.

What's your current injury situation? Is a return next year possible?

I have been playing for the past month here in Ottawa and it is very encouraging. My injuries are going to make me a different player in some ways. However, if I can continue as planned I should be back playing fully by tryouts. My elbow and wrist limit my throwing, but in time I am confident that I will be able to work these things out and be back playing a high level of ultimate soon enough.

What was your thoughts on the Worlds 2004 experience?

It was a great experience. I was pleased to be a part of the team and had a great time on and off the field. We had a very strong team and we played well as a team for most of the tournament. I wish the final game could have been a much better game for both the teams and the fans but it was what it was, and we were able to grind it out for the victory. It is great to be a part of a Canadian team at Worlds because we seem to do very well in every division. I personally enjoy finishing ones game and then to going to cheer on another Canadian team. I hope that I am able to make it back to that level and those tournaments again.


What meant more to you- UPAs and having won 2 titles with Furious? or Worlds Gold?

The 2 upa titles mean more to me because I feel that the overall competition at UPA's is much higher then at Worlds. At worlds we are able to beat a few teams by more then 10 points and then win a few tough games to win the tournament.

I felt that every game we played in at UPA's was a battle and either team could have won the game. In order to win UPA's, your team has to play it's best ultimate 4 full days in a row. I know that when we won those two titles, I along with my teammates felt it was a great team accomplishment.

I specifically remember Jeff Cruikshank saying something to me after we won the second one. Jeff said to me and Oscar " You lucky *******! We worked our asses off for this moment for many years and you 2 guys just walk on to the team and win your first 2 UPA tournaments in a row. You guys don't even know what this means". He did not say it in a mean way at all, but I did understand his fustration behind the comment. I knew he was right at the time but now I think I better understand how he felt.

Do you think Canada repeats at Worlds 2008?

I think they have it in them to repeat at worlds. However, I would say that they are not the favorites and a lot of work needs to be done as always. I think this worlds tourney will be much more competitive then in the past. I won't guarantee that Canada will win, but I would not be surprised to see them take the title in Vancouver. For some of those guys it would be a great way to end there careers. If I had to guess I would say Canada, USA, Japan in that order but I might be biased.

Who was your favorite teammate in high level competition? Who was you most respected opponent?

Choosing a favorite teammate is tough because I have had so many great teammates over the years. However, if I had to choose, I would say Oscar and Cruikshank from Furious. I have a lot of respect for Jeff a as a player and as a leader. He is a great motivator and a great talent to play with and he is on the field for no reason but to WIN. I have been lucky to be on a number of teams with Oscar. We won Worlds together in Juniors, Mens, 2 UPA titles together and we were both selected for the past World Games team that went to Germany. He is a blast to be around off the field and he helped my transition to Furious easier. He has a great mind for the game and the athleticism to go with it. I am glad to see that he is involved in the leadership on Furious now and I am sure he will do a great job.


Who is the best player you played with and against?

I would have to say the best players I have played with are Mike Grant, Jeff Cruikshank, and Al Bob (Roberts). The offensive abilities of Mike and Jeff speak for themselves. They are tops in the world. Al's defense can and has won many games at the highest level. From what I am told, I was not even playing ultimate when Al bob played his best defence. Despite this, he is still one of the best in the game. There are so many great players that I have played against. I think it is tough for me to say who the best opponent I have ever played against. Many come to mind. Josh Zipperstein, Alex Nord, Chase, and many players from other countries (I am not even sure of their names). I have not played against or even seen him play yet but there has been a lot of talk about Beau (Kittredge) from Johnny Bravo lately as one of the best in the game.

In your opinion, what does GOAT and other contenders need to do in order to beat Furious? Is it a case of players, mindset, or strategy?

I think they (GOAT) are talented enough to play with most teams in the world and they showed that at this year's UPAs. I think they might need to work a bit on their strategy in order to stop the Furious Offense. I think the biggest thing stopping them is the team mindset. They have lost many games to Furious in the past and I think they just need to get that one big win against them and then the mental advantage that Furious has had in the past will be gone. I think that after the UPA tournament that Goat just had, I think it would be fair to say that future match ups could go either way.

What is your take on Ottawa ultimate and how can it be improved? Are things going in the right direction?

I think that Ottawa has a lot of work to do in the mens/open division. I think we are headed in the right direction by having a coach for the top team, but we need to focus more on the basics of Ultimate as a program. We need to work on our throwing, bailing, cutting, defending. We don't have 50 great athletes to work with, so we need to have a much better skill set and ultimate IQ then we do now. Our players seem to be putting in great effort in terms of working out but the same amount of effort needs to go into the understanding and breaking the game down. I think if we are able to do this, we will have a better chance of keeping good ultimate players in Ottawa (winning games for us) and not in Toronto (winning games for Goat).


What is your current assessment on Phoenix? Is Dave Brook's leadership of both Open teams good for the program or bad?

I think having a coach is great for any team, and a passionate coach like Dave is something Phoenix can really benefit from. I think Dave would be the first one to tell you that he does not know everything about ultimate and that he doesn't always have the answer to your question. He is learning along with us and doing a great job along the way. Last season was his first year with PHX and it was a tough year for him as the team had only 5 returning players. He had to start all over with the team and had decent results for his first year. From what I understand, he demands that his players play hard and practice even harder. I think that with the system and attitude he wants to install Dave as our coach is best for the program. I think year 2 will bring better results then last year and if the players continue to put the time in he will get positive results.

Ultimate Resolutions..

Happy Holidays everyone. I hope the season finds you happy and well. I want to thank the approx 8000 people who have visited the site since I started tracking via Google Analytics.

I'll be back with a big interview and some think piece posts after my trip out west is over, but in the meantime I wanted to ask visitors what their new year's Ultimate Resolution is?

Talking with Trainor- Dan Fassina

Nation,

Fresh off a UPA Masters Championship with DoG, Dan Fassina took the time to answer some of my questions about the game we all enjoy.

Montreal's Fassina becomes the first Canadian resident to win the UPA Masters. This was possible because his club team Mephisto was not active in the Fall series, and because Dan is good enough to play with DoG. He's represented Canada at Worlds (as recently as 2004 with the Masters team) and Mephisto has been a final four presence at Canadian nationals for over ten years.

What's the secret to his longevity? What are his opinions on other players, teams and the state of the game? Read on.

• I've been advised you were on DOG's Masters team this year. True?

Yes, my regular club team, Mephisto, didn’t participate in UPA Fall Series this year so I put myself out on the “free agent” market and I was fortunate enough to be invited to play for DoG.

• Describe the experience of playing with DoG?

It was an absolutely amazing experience. When I committed to playing with DoG my main goal was to get a chance to play with some of the players that I looked up to when I was learning the sport in the late 90’s. I was also hoping to get a chance to finally play at UPAs. I didn’t realistically expect that we would win the whole tournament.

It was a huge rush to get to play with legends of the game like Parinella, Alex De Frondeville, Steve Mooney, Paul Greff, Seeger, Lenny, John Bar and Jeff Brown. These guys also know so much about ultimate; I can’t imagine that there is a group of players more knowledgeable about ultimate than these guys. I tried to be a sponge around them and absorb as much information as I could.

• What teams/strategies impressed you?

I was impressed with all of the teams that we played. I expected a few of the teams to be stacked, with it being a Worlds qualifying year but I didn’t expect all of the teams to be as strong as they were. Ten of the twelve teams had a realistic chance of winning the tournament. Going into UPAs I was thinking to myself, “it’s Masters, it’ll be easy,” but there were a lot of players still capable of playing top level ultimate. Surly had a handful of guys who were on Sub-Zero and BAT last year, Boneyard had some former Ring of Fire guys and OLD SAG was loaded with guys straight out of the Philly open scene; all of whom chose Masters this year to try to qualify for Worlds.

As for strategies, most of the teams ran the standard plays that you would see anywhere else in ultimate. It was all standard vertical or horizontal stack. It seemed like a lot of the Masters players were new to the division and have brought their plays and strategies from the Open game with them. The strategy that actually impressed me the most was our own offense. It was straight out of the 1994 DoG Playbook. It hasn’t changed since then; it is so basic and it shouldn’t work but we just shredded through defenses with it.

• What does DoG do differently that any teams you have played with?

The big difference between DoG and any other team I’ve played on is the professional work ethic that they bring to every game. The focus that they bring to each game and the confidence in their abilities and training is unparalleled. I’m sure it’s largely a byproduct of their history of success but for them there is never any doubt about the outcome of a game. They are never disrespectful to the opposition but it’s more a sense that no matter how well the other team will play, DoG will play better. It’s a mentality that they back up with ridiculous amounts of hard work and effort.

• Moving on to National stuff, how was your Worlds 2004 experience?

Worlds in Finland were a great experience. The Finns did a great job hosting the tournament and really made all the teams feel like they were taking part in a World class event. It was a lot of fun to play against all the teams that I had never faced before like the Japanese, the Brits, the Swedes and even the American team, which was based out of Miami, whom I’d never faced before. It was really interesting to see how other countries approach the sport. Another thing I’ll never forget about that Worlds were the fields. Turku had the best fields I have ever played on; the amount of maintenance they put into their fields is comparable to what golf courses do over here.

• Would you like a second chance to win Masters gold at Worlds? Can Canada do it in 2008?

Since I normally play Open I think I’d rather have a chance to help Canada win gold in Open but if that doesn’t happen I would definitely relish a second shot at Masters gold. It will be difficult for the Canadian Masters team to beat the US in Vancouver but we do have the talent to pull it off. I think it’s too early to really talk about it because a lot depends on which players DoG and Tombstone will pickup to strengthen their rosters.

• What's your strongest asset as a player?

That’s a tough question to answer. In my mind every part of my game is an asset but what goes on in my mind and reality aren’t always the same. I’d have to say at this point in my career my biggest asset is the experience that I’ve picked up over the years; it helps get me out of dicey situations, helps me get into the right positions on the field, lets me make the correct throw choices (most of the time), allows me to exploit other players weaknesses and minimize my own.

• What's the most underrated skill in ultimate?

I’ve always been a very defensive minded player so I’m a little biased to that part of the game. I think the most underrated skill in ultimate is the ability to play strong silent defense. Players who play silent defense are easily overlooked because they aren’t getting big layout blocks and you don’t notice them since their player won’t get thrown to. But put a bunch of players with that ability on the field and you won’t need the big blocks, you’ll just pressure the opposition into turning it over on their own.

• What was your take on nationals 2007? What teams impress/disappointed you?

I was happy with the overall level of play of most of the teams but there is still too large of a gap between the top teams and the middle and bottom of the pack. I think there were too many teams in the tournament; I’m a big believer that Nationals should be a competitive tournament and not an expensive, party tournament. It makes it difficult to attract teams like Furious and Calgary to Nationals every year when half their games aren’t even a challenge and I really can’t blame them for only coming when Worlds is on the line. I think it’s a huge problem for Canadian ultimate right now. The focus since Nationals in Montreal in 2003 seems to be to try to have the most mind blowing party rather than on hosting the most competitive tournament. CUPA has to decide which way it wants to go because it can’t have both.

I’ll get back on topic though; of course Invictus, Goat and Furious were very impressive but there were a few other teams that impressed me, especially Red Circus. They gave us a really tough game, they had a good mix of experienced handlers and really athletic receivers. They were just missing that little bit to really breakthrough to the next level.

• Montreal Stuff.. how was the name Mephisto created? Are you an Original Member?

I wasn’t there when the captains came up with the name. I believe the story was that Mark “Shaggy” Zimmerl and the other captains sat around for hours trying to come up with a team name but couldn’t come to any sort of consensus. When everyone was on the way out the door Shaggy mentioned it was a shame they couldn’t come up with a name because he had this great drawing of Mephisto that he wanted to use as the logo. Right there everyone knew they had found the name. That happened in ’95 but Mephisto didn’t field their first regular team until ’96. I didn’t have anything to do with the team until ’96 so I don’t know if that qualifies me for original member status but it puts me pretty close. It also makes me feel a bit old. Shaggy and I are the only two players from ‘96 who are still on the team.

• How did you start playing ultimate?

I started playing ultimate in the fall of ’95 with the Concordia University Ski Team. We did it as a team building activity during dryland training. It just so happened that the field where we played was on the way home from work for Shaggy. Ever few days he would stop off and play a few points with us. Over the course of the fall he managed to convince a few of us to come to Mephisto tryouts in ’96. The fact that I managed to make Mephisto with little to no experience is more a testament to how bad we were that year than of anything else. It’s been really exciting to have been on the team from pretty much day one and to have been involved in building the team from nothing to a perennial semi-finalist at Nationals.

• What's the best Mephisto team ever (year)? Why?

Mephisto has had some really strong teams over the years. A couple that come to mind are the 1999 edition, which was the first Mephisto team that made semis at Nationals and the 2007 edition which made semis despite numerous injuries and a large number of rookies. But my vote for strongest team would go to the 2000 edition. We had a lot of great players on that team and it was the year that we finally managed to get the upper hand on Toronto when we beat Yes in the quarters.

• What is your opinion on the state of ultimate in Montreal? Quebec?

The Montreal ultimate scene has grown tremendously over the past decade. My first year playing there were only 8 teams in the league and in 2007 there were something like 150 teams. That's just the summer leagues; there are now all sorts of fall and winter leagues thanks to the explosion of both indoor and outdoor field-turf fields in the Montreal area. Probably the largest part of this growth is thanks to the increase in Francophone players in Montreal. When I started playing, ultimate was almost exclusively a sport for English speaking university kids but it's finally starting to reach more people. A lot of the Anglophone kids would play in the league for a few years and then go back home once they were finished school whereas the Francophone players are more likely to stay in Montreal since they are already home.

Currently the Montreal league is being managed by some very capable people and I can only imagine that this tremendous growth is going to continue despite the same old challenges like field availability.

This growth obviously has a trickle down effect on the level of competitive ultimate in Montreal. Mephisto's success for so many years was on the backs of students at McGill who would spend three or four years in Montreal and then move back home. That's obviously not the best way to try to build a team but it was very tough to find the talent to play at the level we wanted without relying on those players. We finally have enough local talent to build a team almost exclusively with Montreal based players; that can only be beneficial to Mephisto.

There are a lot of other teams and leagues in Quebec that are starting to develop into strong programs. The challenge for them will be to gain the experience playing high level ultimate that will really help push their growth forward. The big difficulty is that the demographic reality of Quebec is that the types of people who currently have this experience are more likely to leave the province than to move to it. As the talent pool continues to grow in Quebec there will continue to be a dispersal of this ultimate experience from Quebecers who move within the province. It's a slower process than importing a top level player into your city but you can finally start to see the results of this as some pretty solid teams are emerging from places like Quebec City, Sherbrooke, etc..

• Who's the best player in Montreal right now?

That’s a tough question to answer. I guess it depends on how you define the best player. According to my definition, it’s clearly me. Seriously though, it’s either Shaggy or Eric St-Amant. Shaggy is a remarkable player who has managed to play at the top level of the sport for a really long time. He was picked up by Goat for their latest Fall Series run and was used as a handler on the O line. Eric was also picked up by Goat this past fall; he is a machine. He’s relatively new to the game but anybody who scares the opposition as much as he does deserves to be considered among the best.

Pictured: Erik St. Amant and Mark "Shaggy" Zimmeral (#5)
Photo Source: Craig Stephen Photography

Worlds 2008 Applications- Are we asking the right questions?

Nation,

With the exception of juniors, all of our teams that will represent us at the World Championships in 2008 have posted Team Canada Applications.

I really like the concept of adding players throughout the country to help bolster our respective lineups. It gives people throughout the country more of an affinity to Canada's efforts during the tournament. I also think that the decision makers on these teams are very serious about looking at applications. This is refreshing.

I don't pretend that these teams will compose a lineup much different than the ones that represented their cities at the 2007 nationals. However, given the progressive push by the USA, Australia, and Japan, Canadian teams needs to ensure they add players that can offset increased competition.

What are my thoughts on the current application process? I think we have to understand the logistical and financial problems that prevent true tryouts and evaluation. However, I think there are also some current flaws in the flawed process we know use. Let's look at some of the questions asked by the teams in their applications.

Photos Courtesy: http://www.wugc2004.org
Photographer: Juha Kankaanpää

• Strengths as a player
• Outside of personal bias and overestimation, this is pretty good
• Experience
• A necessary evil. It might speak more to past glory than current value. It's like when teams play a 32 year old free agent millions for what a player did in his late twenties
  
• Current Team
• Generally, good teams have good players. But, even better players may play on less successful team. You're not picking teams to join your team.
  
• References
• We have built in BS detectors to filter sport references. People usually pick people who will give them a superficial reference in the positive area.
  
• Age
• This is an important one for masters and juniors. Can you make a decision based on age? I see a lot of young players fresh off world juniors who lack the fitness of people in their late twenties and early thirties. You want to give future stalwarts a shot, but many ultimate players don't learn how to train/prevent injury until later on.
  
• Height
• "You can't teach height" (P-Mo)
  
• Weight
• If you're going to go there, why not just ask for a body fat ratio?
• No fatties!!! Does your weight (within limits) affect your ability to play ultimate
  
• Commitment Level/Availability
• Very good question. The further away you live, the less chance you have. Most teams list their expectations, and they are ambitious.
• Is being available more important than talent?
  
• Role
• Are players in the right/optimal role currently
• Can you really peg people in ultimate? The game is pretty organic.
  
• Photo
• This was a random request, by the girls surprisingly.
  
• If I think I know you, you have a better shot
• If you're good looking, you have a better shot
• I'm sure this could be requested after team selection
• Top Major Tournament Finishes
• This speaks to the team. Can't stress this enough.
  
• Major Tournament Experiences
• What's the value of a past worlds/nationals/upas?
• If you played in many major tourneys, and choked personally in all of them, does that still go down as an asset?
  
• Past "Big Game Experience"
• Playing well 4 years in Helsinki is more valued than being able to play big in 2008?
• How valuable is experience? If you don't know how it relates to your team's chances and player value, than why ask it?
• Do we pick experienced players because it's safer?
  
• Athletic Ability
• No discussion/request for 40 times or anything of the like.
  
• Like all the other questions, good intentions but...

What to do?

Really no easy way to fix this process. However, with the increase in game film and stats, it will be easier to scout and evaluate potential talent.

Here's an example. Go Big Recruiting is a website dedicated to posting game film of college hopefuls. It has replaced the process of sending many tapes/dvds to schools. Recruiters can instead log in and everyone can view your ability.

Like hockey, Team Canada recruitment will get better after we fail at the international level. From desperation and want comes the need for innovation.

Practice Rumblings.. what really frustrates me..

Nation,

I try to keep this site geared towards the game in Canada, rather than about myself. However, I'm going to let off a rant off . Here goes:

People don't use practice to its full advantage.

Ottawa has an excellent men's league set up this winter. We're getting lots of great scrimmage in, and we're running great drills. But constantly (including players outside of Ottawa I've played with and watched), I see players who don't approach practice in a way that can translate into game success.

Unknown Ottawa Girl
Source: Ultypics.com
Photographer: Alan Pieroway

• When you're running a drill, you run it like a game situation. Thus, you don't cheat in the drill in a way that wouldn't work in a real game.
• Technique is F-ing important.
  
• You should not measure a play being good/bad based on the outcome of the play solely. It's really the decision involved AND the execution. If you keep throwing the same bad break throw to someone's shoetops, but it gets caught, it doesn't mean you're onto a great strategy. Conversely, if you make the right play but fail in the execution, that doesn't mean you should limit yourself.
  
• There is a difference between running a play/drill right and wrong.
• I amazed at the amount of times people run drills like robots. Look/Adjust to your throwers/receivers..
• Those warm-up throws are going to affect your game throws..
  

Good practice can make perfect. $hitty practice makes less than perfect.