(hereby referred to as Sectionals—sorry USAU)
I know I’m quite late, and for that I apologize. I had a really really really big exam to take last week, and I’ll leave it at that. Anyway, please read on for some reflections from the Ozark Sectionals if you’d like!
Our Section included: Wash U, Missouri State, Arkansas, SLU, Oklahoma, Truman, Kansas, Missouri, Kansas State, and Hendrix (I still kind of don’t know where Hendrix is located…). We were fortunate compared to many other Sectionals from what I hear—no insane storms, and we didn’t have to worry about Easter. It did rain all day Friday and needless to say, we were pretty stoked when they cleared us to play on Saturday morning at 7am. The fields were soft, but not too soft. Really, we just had a lot of wind as per usual in Kansas and specifically at Shenk fields. There are no large buildings around, so we get the pleasure of playing in that wind often in the spring.
Kansas vs. Kansas State, 9:00am
Win, 11-5
I don’t have a lot to say about this game mostly because I don’t know many of their specific players’ names. I maintain that we should all wear nametags when we play… or have last names on our jerseys. I actually spent a lot of the day taking photos for the girls while coaching US. I didn’t particularly analyze our opponents. It’s easy to see the playmakers and notice the little things they are doing to beat you, but I didn’t take detail into much this game. And what I’ll say is that I see K-State as a team with a ton of potential. They are an incredibly young team, but their members seem to be invested and ready to improve. There were a lot of great plays made, but they need more consistent fundamentals. The wind certainly didn’t help either. (This is actually a common theme for almost all the games I watched this weekend—fundamentals. Our region doesn’t need thick playbooks or insane winter workouts at this time. We need more fundamentally strong and committed teams first. We are improving, but still have a ways to go to catch up with other Regions). I’m stoked the state of Kansas has another Women’s college ultimate team—whose next? Emporia, Wichita State, Fort Hays State, McPherson?? I thought about trying to start a team at KU Med, and then realized most of us barely have time to breathe at times. I think I’m an exception, and that’s because I choose ultimate over a lot of other things. And I’m okay with that. How do these other schools get to the point where they can start teams? I think it’s either through men’s ultimate (like how the Bettys started in the 80s), exposure to ultimate at leagues, or youth ultimate. I hope to see it someday!
Kansas vs. Wash U, 10:40am
Loss, 5-11
They’re talented. They’re invested. They’re smart. And they have some great leaders. Over the entire weekend, they only had 15 points scored against them total. I think this team is fundamentally strong. They have some clear leaders on the field, but their support staff can certainly hold their own. Everyone seemed to have the ability to catch a high percentage of passes, most of the throws were on target, and they seemed to all know their roles and work together to achieve a high level of play. It didn’t seem like they were doing anything ground-breaking or ridiculous. They just played good ultimate and they played hard. I was proud to watch a lot of my Club teammates play so well, and I can’t wait to see them play again at Regionals. One difference from the fall—Julie H is back, and she definitely is another weapon for Tilt. I hadn’t seen her all season, so it was nice to see her back from abroad. I know people like to read about themselves, but there are too many good players to list and discuss—you know who you are. Now represent at Regionals.
Kansas vs. Truman State, 12:20pm
Win, 8-7
This game was definitely our most epic game of the weekend. Indeed, out of 20 games played on Saturday, this was one of just two upsets. Props to all those who contributed to seeding! Anyway, this game had some serious marathon points (wind = turnover city) and it was clear both teams really wanted this win. Kansas got the first break, and Truman got the next right before hardcap to tie it up. With both teams tied at 7, we had one more point to play and Kansas was going up-wind. Another long point ensued, and finally ended with a kind of swilly huck from Marotta to Christy. It was gutsy and effective, and we broke seed. What I really enjoyed from this game was that our sidelines eventually really got into it. I have been trying to get the sidelines more involved because they are incredibly important, and I think our girls got it this game. The future goal will be for them to that involved each point, each game. It’s a lofty goal, but I feel like it’s obtainable in the future. I don’t mean we have to rush the field or cheer “BE-TTY) after each point, but I would like to see our girls on the sidelines making up calls, helping the O see the field, repeating a change in defense, etc. Truman played with a ton of heart, and the game was fun as per usual. They are a great team, and I’m sad they can’t accept the bid they played so hard for on Sunday. I hear they have graduation and limited funds to make the super long trip to Houston. I know their younger girls still benefited from the fight though, and will keep pushing themselves.
Kansas vs. Arkansas, 2:00pm
Loss, 2-11
Our 4th game in a row (last round bye) was against Arkansas. The score is pretty drastic. Watching this game, our girls just looked tired. We didn’t look focused, and I don’t think the majority of us believed in our ability to play with Arkansas. Though their team isn’t as large as WashU or Missouri State, these girls play with just as much effort and heart. A few Bettys were focused and putting in some serious effort, but it wasn’t enough. It isn’t enough during the Series. Those 7 on your line have to be in each point 100%. I don’t like excuses, so I won’t attribute the loss to any of the above factors. Sure, it is a combination of factors, but to be blunt—we were outplayed despite those factors. I’m hoping if we see them again at Regionals, we give them a better fight and show them that we can play better. Every loss, even the bad ones, has something positive to take away from it. That was the most important thing in this game for the Bettys, and we’ll see if they retain what we learned in a few weeks.
During the last round, we watched SLU vs. Oklahoma. We would played the loser the next morning for 5th. If we won, we got a bid to Regionals. If we lost, we’d have to play one more game and win to get the 6th bid. This was the other upset of the day, with Oklahoma beating SLU, 11-9. Afterwards, a number of the girls went to 23rd St. Brewery and then came over to my place for ice cream and movies—Mean Girls. One word: quality. 
Kansas vs. SLU, 11:00am
Win, 12-8
This was our most important game of the weekend… this is the one we had to win. Despite the importance of the game, some of our girls showed up late to warm-ups. This was really upsetting to me. After discussing it with the captains, we decided our team commitment was more important than having our best girls on the line, so those who showed up late sat out the first half. Our girls got it done without a few of our more experienced players, and we took half by a few. SLULU went on a run to start the second half, but our girls did not give up despite almost losing our lead. We played on, had active sidelines, and closed out the game on our own run to win by 4. The wind wasn’t a huge factor this day like it had been on Saturday, so it was nice to see some more man defense. SLU had some great players, and some sick bids. It will be fun to watch them again as they learn to refine their play more and more.
Really, a lot of teams have so much going for them. It’s just that extra something, that extra push, that so many teams in our section need. I know I’ve talked about it with friends before, but many teams look a lot like WUWU a few years ago. Some fair talent, some great effort. I’m still not sure what the transition is from this place to the place where WUWU is now. I know they had an awesome recruiting year and a great coach. From that year, they have just continued to build. I think their large team and success attracted more talent, and from there, it’s been a self-fulfilling prophecy. That said, I know that success doesn’t always breed success. You still have to work hard, you can’t take anything for granted. You still have to put forth the effort to obtain excellence. It’s inspiring to watch teams rise up to that, and I hope that there are many Ozark teams to follow.
Check out my album of photos from the weekend (aka just Saturday, as I spent all of Sunday yelling from the sideline hehe).
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10100163183231459.2572238.16817369&l=93b3b0a293
