Welp… Regionals has come and gone, and thus, my first season as a pseudo-coach has ended. What an incredible learning experience–it was challenging, rewarding, disappointing, inspiring… quite a collection, eh? I’ll reflect on this more in a bit, but I also want to acknowledge that my first attempts as a consistent blogger have now wrapped up. I will not be quitting my day job (or program which I hope will provide a day job that is) to become a FT blogger. I was pretty bad at it. To those who read, thanks! Hopefully you gained some sort of insight. I read a number of really well-written blogs, and always was impressed at the timeliness and thoughtfulness of some posts. I guess I have a hard time articulating my thoughts, and I’m not a huge analyzer. It was a fine starting point, and maybe I’ll continue at another time. For now though, Oread Ultimate is ending.
Without Limits was a great project and I’m still glad to have been a small part of it. I’m excited to see where it goes! I’m excited to continue to find my niche in the world of women’s ultimate. I’m done comparing myself to other awesome individuals and taking away a feeling of disappointment that I could be doing more. I have such a variety of interests and desire for a strong balance in my life. I’m realizing that while I’m not 24/7 ultimate, that is a good thing. It creates diversity among our leadership. It makes me a better me. If I’m happy, I’ll be able to put more passion into the ultimate projects/roles I do undertake. I know I do have stuff to offer our community. It’s good 
So to update yall concerning the Bettys, we went 1-3 on Saturday at Regionals. We beat Texas B (seeded above us). On Sunday, we lost our last pool play game, then lost a super close one to SLU in the brackets, 10-11. Too little, too late. That aside, it was a pretty spirited and great game. Oklahoma and Arkansas ended up dropping out before that point, and I don’t have all of the details, so I’d rather not spread potential falsities. Our next game was TexasB again, and prior to speaking with their captains, our team voted to forfeit. We tried to get a line of 7, but fell one short. Needless to say, this really disappointed me. I spoke with the team on Saturday night and I knew we had some resistance to playing out the last game, and I just disagreed with that. It truly was a difference of opinions concerning the nature of betty ultimate, but I wish I would have articulated my perspective better and spoken more strongly.
I guess I don’t want to get into details per se, but our team has struggled a lot in the transition to a more competitive team and maintaining our ‘identity.’ For those in the dark, ultimate obviously is part of a sub-culture (or seriously started out that way). Everyone knows what I’m talking about–hippies throwing the disc around, barefoot, etc. Times are changing, and our sport is changing just as quickly. At KU, the bettys seemed to have a rep for partying, dancing, drinking, spirit, etc. We didn’t so much have a rep for being a really good ultimate team. I want us to become that, and maybe it’s selfish of me, but it’s true. I don’t want us to lose our individuality. I don’t think we’ll have less fun off of the field if we become a better team on the field. I don’t think you have to lose one to gain the other. The mindset will shift, but you can have both to an extent I think. Maybe I’m wrong. I’ll find out I suppose.
I think I see it work with other teams, and I think it can with us. We have some great women returning next year, and I believe those with the strongest resistance to change are not in that group. Maybe next year, we can really break down what it means to be part of a committed team. Our core might be young, but all I want is for them to be committed, respect their teammates, and always put forth their best effort. Talent will come (though our rookies do have a lot of it in my opinion!) Knowledge of the game will come. It’s the intangibles and discipline we didn’t have quite yet.
I learned a lot helping the team out this year, just like my first year as a captain way back when. I don’t know what will happen next year (like at all, I don’t think I’ll even be in KS). I will be for the fall–I’ll be finishing my last semester of class at KUMC. My coaching opportunity is really diminishing with the nearing completion of my 2nd degree (finally!). Even if I don’t get to coach them again, I’m grateful for the experience and for the dedication of most of the team members. I’ll take the good and the bad, and I’ll grow. Maybe I’ll shoot out another post someday soon (after finals) specifically about the coaching. I’m sorry I didn’t more during the season. I just didn’t make time for it with everything, life. It’s quite a job though, so hey–go thank your coach! They probs do more for ya than you know, and they really care.
Computer is dying, must go. See you all at Nationals Gonna watch anyway!!
