Winter Won't Waiver...So Neither Will We

Temporary Ultimate Hiatus

Kapoor FTW.  Alex Rentzis - Ultiphotos.com

Well...sorta. Although it has been three weeks and a day since the Infinity Debacle and two weeks since Hopp Double Dipped in MHU Finals, to say Inception has taken a break entirely would be incorrect. Chewy will probably even chime in that there has been 6-10 overnight indoor tournaments since then. And he's skyed girls in every one. I believe at least The Saint, and maybe more Inceptors, played in a winter league final in Boulder. Since Boulder, CO is affectionately known as '25 square miles surrounded by reality', I'm going to have to say we're only counting results in the "real world", so the winter league win doesn't count as true offseason ultimate. Sorry, Boulderites.

Despite the numerous caveats, it's seemed like ages since Inception could be found tossing the plastic en masse. Cleats lay dormant in bedroom corners, slowly being covered by increasingly dirtier laundry. Inadvisable hammers going unthrown upwind. On the field, Inception is merely an afterthought in a dream (that metaphor worked out well!). 

Conversely, as dormant as Inception's on-field presence is, the off-field activity is abuzz. Email threads longer than Weezer's infamous sweater still stuff incoming mail boxes on the daily - nay - hourly. Arranging any type of organized sport gathering takes at least some preparation. And currently Inception is doing just that...along with typical offseason workouts, hangouts, and of course trash talking. The term "3-peat" still finds its way into any conversation longer than twelve seconds. Not going to live that one down for a while, apparently...

Here's a list of some of the things Inception is doing off-field, in the off season:

THE DOUBLE DIP

Inception 2013 - All smiles after making the game-to-go, but you can see the wheels already turning for an even better 2014 in each and every face.

Written by Tim Hopp
Edited by Coit 
When a club ultimate Frisbee team qualifies for worlds they attempt to “double peak” in one season – winning club worlds and USAU club championships – not any easy task for any team. Recently this has been done by Revolver, the bay area club team that has been on a tear over the past 3 years. Revolver has won 3 out of the past 4 championships with Doublewide taking the other. In 2010 Revolver bested Sockeye at the world games in Prague and came back to win their first national title in Sarasota, Florida. 

Why do I lead with this? Because I experienced the opposite on a much smaller scale – losing back to back league finals.

In my small section of the world, the biggest games I am able to get up for are the South Central Club Regionals. Inception is entering its 5th year and has not cracked Club Nationals. That is the goal every year for any competitive club team and is something that is within reach. The talent pool in the Denver / Boulder area is enough to possibly even send 2 teams to natties. 

2014 will be Inception's year. I can feel it. 

We are excited about it. One more year of experience under the belt. Mamabird kids are gaining that important sense of confidence crushing the college level. Bravo is going to worlds – surely some talent will slide Inceptions way. The offseason is for working in the gym, on the track, and on the field.

Mile High Ultimate is the best league in Denver. I can say this with complete confidence because I have played in all of the leagues. Sure DSUL has a very fun atmosphere and has been around forever but I cannot get over driving through rush hour traffic to get in 1 game. Kegs after the games help but in my estimation, not worth it. MHU makes playing league fun and easy – and the competition is decent as well. To the casual observer, league may not seem like the same level of play. Because it isn't. But in some ways playing against friends in a local league can make the games feel more powerful. I know the movements of the 13 other players on the field. I know tendencies, strengths, weaknesses, who has the killer instinct.

So learn. Much good.

Learning from the Colorado Ultimate National Team (1/25/14) -

My last post touted the benefits of playing offseason ultimate as much as possible in order to stay sharp. Today I'd like to add-on to that post by saying that while playing ultimate in the winter is good, monotony is not. 

I really try to make sure I don't get burned out on the sport by not differentiating between offseason tournaments and regular season tournaments. Basically, I'm saying to mix it up. If you're an Open Club player, find some Mixed tourneys in the offseason to work on whatever it is you need to work on, and probably boost your self-esteem a bit in process. Don't go to ALL offseason tournaments that exactly mirror your regular season weekends. Also don't forget to capture important lessons from these seemingly meaningless tournaments to apply to the games that matter. Allow me to elaborate: