Ultimate Weekend Part 2: Herd vs Scarecrew (Sat), Herd Party and Herd Training (Sun)

Saturday: Herd scrimmage vs Scarecrew (Herd 1 win 13-10 ish)

I managed to get to the Herd afternoon session with an hour left, which just happened to be just as the Herd 1 team were getting ready to play a pre-season friendly against Scarecrew. We've had games against Scarecrew in previous seasons and whilst we've always come out on top, it's a new season with a new squad for us. Regardless, we had a greater squad size and came out strong early to start the game and started feeling good. Our defense put them under pressure and whilst our offense wasn't always flawless, we kept possession of the disc and reset it well. We had a bit of a lapse during the middle of the game and let Scarecrew back into the game, but turned it on again at the end of the game to close out the win.

Scarecrew have a good team with a couple of playmakers that at times we struggled to shut down, and they liked to attack on the break side which we weren't always able to stop with forces getting broken a little too easily. However, we forced them to be more one dimensional than perhaps they would have liked by not allowing them much of a deep game. Our offense at times looked a mess and at other times looked like scoring at will so we'll need a little more consistency with the season closing in on us, especially since we will be facing tougher competition through the season. But a win is a win is a win and overall we played well.

That evening a private room in Verve bar in Leicester Square had been organised with a Herd Pub quiz to be followed by dancing the night away. The pub quiz was good fun and included rounds where the questions/answers were based on answers provided by club members. The night was fantastic as all Herd parties seem to be and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Sunday's practice saw a reduced turnout from Saturday's and people turned up a little worse for wear, but was still good fun. An issue with our offense had been identified by the captains during the game against Scarecrew and so a new play which is an adaptation to one of the existing plays, had been drawn up. I love that the captains are spotting areas for improvement and are so adaptive, but it remains to be seen whether it can be fully implemented before the start of the season. Even so, I liked the adaptation and it seemed to work when we scrimmaged the first team vs the second team to end the session.

I had a fantastic weekend and luckily, despite all the ultimate I played I don't have any aching muscles to start the working week, even though mentally I'm still a little tired from the Saturday night party.