BananaCut

I thought I'd go back over some of my older posts--I have a feeling that with the influx of new readers this blog has seen over the past couple months, it's likely that some of the stuff I started posting in the summer, when I changed from simply recapping my ultimate experience to (attempting to) share how I've learned to play, has been overlooked.

This sport is growing exponentially in high school. Being a player on a good YCC team no longer translates into immediate success in college. The level of play jumps dramatically, and without knowledgeable and experience leaders, players are left stunted in their ability to grow their skills.

Both 17-year-old Caitlind Lusty and 19-year-old Shaw Dungate of Barrie have something in common... Having been named to their respective Canadian teams, the pair has qualified for a week of grueling international competition in a sport many have never heard of.

Every team in a Region gets to vote for the seven players that make it on to the All-Region teams, so everyone knows that if a player is on an All-Region team, she commanded the attention and respect of her regional rivals. For the 2008 season, there are 18 players across the country that have been recognized as All-Region caliber (some more than once!).

Over the last few months I have come to realize that basketball and ultimate are very similar and in looking at one, you can make inferences on the other. When considering these things I thought I would share some thoughts.

Wow, what a year. It began with my team write-ups and it ended in the best way possible, a front row seat at College Nationals in Boulder, CO.

But overall, people were amazingly friendly, certainly to me and my team. I think I mentioned once before, I enjoy my nanocelebrity status. I got a lot of "Good game, Jim" in the line after the game, people introduced themselves, and I even got VIP access at the finals (worse seats, but free beer).

Brad Jones, a graduate student and coach of Mississippi State's Ultimate club team, was among those observing the team's final point in the Bama Open Sectionals tournament in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Apri

One of the things I learned through my masters (school, not the division) and through life experience is that handling the relationship between yourself and those you lead on the field is a delicate p