Dogs E-mail
Guys,
This is really important. At the first meeting of the year, we (or maybe just me) set a team goal. We set a team-goal to place third or higher at the Santa Barbara Qualifiers. This is not going to be easy. Yes, we breezed that one tournament (the name is blanking on me because it was such a shithole) but we need to put that behind us. But guys, as I've said all along, the best game was the game we lost. I want to approach every single game for the rest of the year with that kind of attitude. No more being lazy. I feel as if we have gotten a bit complacent since then, and now is the time to put it into high-gear.
This where we start. Honestly, we should've started right after the tournament, but we have no excuses any more. Winter break is an indicator of performance for the rest of the year. Teams that work hard over the break do well during the school year. This is a fact. Again, this is a fact. I can't watch you all as you're doing these workouts, and I guess more relevantly, I can't make you do these workouts. But this is a great challenge, guys, to really test our commitment and will to eachother. To test our commitment to our goal. If we were serious about placing third, then we will do our best over this break. There are only two practices left, and I don't want to waste our time conditioning. Would it help us at the tournament? Or would we be too sore afterwards because we never left the couch over winter break?
Potential, potential, potential. We always talk about potential. Well it's time to stop talking about potential. By the middle of winter quarter, we need to reach that potential. I just ended all the sentences in this paragraph with potential. When I ran for the captain of this team, it was because I knew that we stood a chance and because I knew it would be fun. Has it ever crossed your minds that we're playing ultimate to go to these tournaments? Every practice is for a tournament. We don't practice for fun. If you're having fun at practice, you're probably doing it wrong. I'm kidding. But on the real, everything we do as a team is for a tournament, and ultimately, for the college series at the end of the spring. Make these qualifiers our tournament. Let's own this tournament because we know we can. Let's own this tournament and make noise. I want people writing about us as the best B-team in the nation. Such a thing exists, and in my mind, we are already a contender for it. It takes work.
We have TWO, count them with your fucking right hand, two. One... two... practices before this tournament. Wow. And then we're off to Santa Barbara. If we were serious about our goal, now is the time to act. There are a few things that I want everyone to do:
1. Workout.
Please. That's all. Do the workout Jake sent out. Play basketball, do something.
2. Think about what we've worked on as a team.
When we get back, we're not going to have time to teach every single concept over again. We're going to REVIEW and fix. HORIZONTAL and VERTICAL STACK, throwing, cutting, defending, marking, DUMP CUTS. DUMP CUTS. One more, DUMP CUTS. END-ZONE. END-ZONE. One more, END-ZONE. If you need any of the above reviewed, please e-mail me back. I will make a word document or something to help you out.
3. Come back prepared, knowledge in hand.
This one's kind of the above two. Physically and mentally prepared. Be prepared for the review. We cannot waste any time when we get back.
I love this team. I know that some of you will take this e-mail to heart. I know some of you will brush this off. Those of you that understand the urgency and the plea of this e-mail, I applaud you and thank you. Those of you that do not understand this e-mail, I feel, don't know what it's like to be on a team. Fuck it, I know all of you are going to do this shit. If you don't, well fuck you and re-read this e-mail until you get it.
I promise you guys that I will come back from break faster. I guarantee that I will be a better player than when I left. No lie. That is a personal goal, but really it makes more sense to call it a team goal. I'm working hard so that I look good for the ladies, I look good for myself (have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror), and lastly, so I can be the best for my team. It's no lie. When I'm doing these sprints, I wear my Davis jersey. Not only because it's comfortable, but to show off my pride in my team. If you have a personal goal, e-mail me and tell me. I would like to hear from everyone about their break, even if you haven't done anything. I have a feeling Daichi will be the first person to e-mail me. So hurry and beat him before he reads this.
Thanks for reading this far. If you are a cheater that skips to the end, go back to the first paragraph and read this and then cry. I know that you guys will read this. I know you guys will work hard. I know you guys will come back prepared. I know that we will win. I have all the faith in the world in my team, my teammates and my friends.
Emile
This is really important. At the first meeting of the year, we (or maybe just me) set a team goal. We set a team-goal to place third or higher at the Santa Barbara Qualifiers. This is not going to be easy. Yes, we breezed that one tournament (the name is blanking on me because it was such a shithole) but we need to put that behind us. But guys, as I've said all along, the best game was the game we lost. I want to approach every single game for the rest of the year with that kind of attitude. No more being lazy. I feel as if we have gotten a bit complacent since then, and now is the time to put it into high-gear.
This where we start. Honestly, we should've started right after the tournament, but we have no excuses any more. Winter break is an indicator of performance for the rest of the year. Teams that work hard over the break do well during the school year. This is a fact. Again, this is a fact. I can't watch you all as you're doing these workouts, and I guess more relevantly, I can't make you do these workouts. But this is a great challenge, guys, to really test our commitment and will to eachother. To test our commitment to our goal. If we were serious about placing third, then we will do our best over this break. There are only two practices left, and I don't want to waste our time conditioning. Would it help us at the tournament? Or would we be too sore afterwards because we never left the couch over winter break?
Potential, potential, potential. We always talk about potential. Well it's time to stop talking about potential. By the middle of winter quarter, we need to reach that potential. I just ended all the sentences in this paragraph with potential. When I ran for the captain of this team, it was because I knew that we stood a chance and because I knew it would be fun. Has it ever crossed your minds that we're playing ultimate to go to these tournaments? Every practice is for a tournament. We don't practice for fun. If you're having fun at practice, you're probably doing it wrong. I'm kidding. But on the real, everything we do as a team is for a tournament, and ultimately, for the college series at the end of the spring. Make these qualifiers our tournament. Let's own this tournament because we know we can. Let's own this tournament and make noise. I want people writing about us as the best B-team in the nation. Such a thing exists, and in my mind, we are already a contender for it. It takes work.
We have TWO, count them with your fucking right hand, two. One... two... practices before this tournament. Wow. And then we're off to Santa Barbara. If we were serious about our goal, now is the time to act. There are a few things that I want everyone to do:
1. Workout.
Please. That's all. Do the workout Jake sent out. Play basketball, do something.
2. Think about what we've worked on as a team.
When we get back, we're not going to have time to teach every single concept over again. We're going to REVIEW and fix. HORIZONTAL and VERTICAL STACK, throwing, cutting, defending, marking, DUMP CUTS. DUMP CUTS. One more, DUMP CUTS. END-ZONE. END-ZONE. One more, END-ZONE. If you need any of the above reviewed, please e-mail me back. I will make a word document or something to help you out.
3. Come back prepared, knowledge in hand.
This one's kind of the above two. Physically and mentally prepared. Be prepared for the review. We cannot waste any time when we get back.
I love this team. I know that some of you will take this e-mail to heart. I know some of you will brush this off. Those of you that understand the urgency and the plea of this e-mail, I applaud you and thank you. Those of you that do not understand this e-mail, I feel, don't know what it's like to be on a team. Fuck it, I know all of you are going to do this shit. If you don't, well fuck you and re-read this e-mail until you get it.
I promise you guys that I will come back from break faster. I guarantee that I will be a better player than when I left. No lie. That is a personal goal, but really it makes more sense to call it a team goal. I'm working hard so that I look good for the ladies, I look good for myself (have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror), and lastly, so I can be the best for my team. It's no lie. When I'm doing these sprints, I wear my Davis jersey. Not only because it's comfortable, but to show off my pride in my team. If you have a personal goal, e-mail me and tell me. I would like to hear from everyone about their break, even if you haven't done anything. I have a feeling Daichi will be the first person to e-mail me. So hurry and beat him before he reads this.
Thanks for reading this far. If you are a cheater that skips to the end, go back to the first paragraph and read this and then cry. I know that you guys will read this. I know you guys will work hard. I know you guys will come back prepared. I know that we will win. I have all the faith in the world in my team, my teammates and my friends.
Emile