Disc-usted with myself (oh yes I did)
I’m getting frustrated by my lack of contribution to my ultimate team. I’ve played four seasons now (three falls and one spring), but I don’t think I’m adding anything to the team that I didn't my first season. My throwing and catching skills are slowly improving, but I’ve realized that it’s kind of a moot point if I never use them. I’ve been playing too timidly in general and especially in important games. I don’t think I touched the disc at all in our finals yesterday, which is making me kind of sad today.
Ultimate is structured in such a way that I play a lot more timidly than I do in soccer or softball. The disc is thrown down the field, with each team trying to get it into their end zone. If the disc is dropped, the opposing side gets to take over. I do all right with the catching, but I get a little unnerved by the throwing, especially if a flick is forced. There’s still enough unpredictability in my flick that I don’t want to throw the disc if I know there’s a 25% chance I’ll cause a turnover. Consequently, I don’t make enough of an effort to catch the disc in the first place. What most frequently happens is that I’ll start a cut and then see another teammate also running toward the disc. I’ll drop back because - if it’s an option - I’d prefer to have my teammate catch and throw, since I have more confidence in him or her than I do in myself.
Soccer is less stressful because turnovers are so frequent that it’s less of an issue. If I kick the ball to the opposing team, one of my teammates can usually steal it back. In softball, our roles are regimented enough that I don’t need to worry about whether I’m playing smartly for the team. When it’s time to bat, I get up to bat, since no one else can do it for me.
Clearly, I need to work on my confidence in ultimate. If I want my skills to improve, I need to be more selfish and take the team down with me as I throw discs into the ground. I went to pickup twice over the weekend (where I still played too timidly…) but I think that playing more pickup is the only way I’m going to improve. Pickup should theoretically be as low-stakes as it comes, so it won’t be a problem if I cause turnovers. I just hope my teammates keep throwing to me…
Ultimate is structured in such a way that I play a lot more timidly than I do in soccer or softball. The disc is thrown down the field, with each team trying to get it into their end zone. If the disc is dropped, the opposing side gets to take over. I do all right with the catching, but I get a little unnerved by the throwing, especially if a flick is forced. There’s still enough unpredictability in my flick that I don’t want to throw the disc if I know there’s a 25% chance I’ll cause a turnover. Consequently, I don’t make enough of an effort to catch the disc in the first place. What most frequently happens is that I’ll start a cut and then see another teammate also running toward the disc. I’ll drop back because - if it’s an option - I’d prefer to have my teammate catch and throw, since I have more confidence in him or her than I do in myself.
Soccer is less stressful because turnovers are so frequent that it’s less of an issue. If I kick the ball to the opposing team, one of my teammates can usually steal it back. In softball, our roles are regimented enough that I don’t need to worry about whether I’m playing smartly for the team. When it’s time to bat, I get up to bat, since no one else can do it for me.
Clearly, I need to work on my confidence in ultimate. If I want my skills to improve, I need to be more selfish and take the team down with me as I throw discs into the ground. I went to pickup twice over the weekend (where I still played too timidly…) but I think that playing more pickup is the only way I’m going to improve. Pickup should theoretically be as low-stakes as it comes, so it won’t be a problem if I cause turnovers. I just hope my teammates keep throwing to me…