Ka-Pow! Preview
After our slip down the rankings at Tour 2, Ka-Pow! are scheduled to play against LeedsLeedsLeeds, Manchester Ultimate and Reading at Tour 3.
Our first game sees us play against Manchester with our only result against them this year being a tired legs loss at Fog Lane. Manchester will be pumped to try and prove that they belong in the A-Tour and to prove that their victory against us wasn't just the result us having 9 players for that game.
Our second game comes against newly promoted Reading. After finishing 26th at Tour 1, Reading rose through the ranks at tour 2 finishing 3rd in B-Tour (20th overall) and will get their first taste of A-Tour ultimate this season.
Our last game comes against Leeds who we have again played once this season at Fog Lane where we were able to notch a victory. With us coming in off a game against Reading and Leeds coming in straight off a grudge match against Manchester, we should be trying to seize momentum early.
A-Tour Preview:
- The newly promoted JR1 and Reading could end the weekend looking to finish outside the bottom spots, but after finishing 27th and 26th at Tour 1 before rising to A-Tour promotion at Tour 2, they may have their eyes on a few upsets and continued improvement.
- Fire 1 (and Ka-Pow!) have to be going into this weekend with that 5th place finish as the aim to build some momentum for the tough London Regionals and Nationals competitions ahead with Europeans being the season goal for both clubs.
- Can Devon 1 continue their assault on the top of the A-Tour after notching a big win against Fire 1 at Tour 2? They seemed full of confidence after their big win and made some ridiculous plays including a greatest for a score against Fire 1 and will want to build on their impressive performance.
- Will anyone upset the Top 4? Clapham have already won the Tour title, but there will be no complacency to be found as they build towards Chesapeake, Regionals, Nationals, Euros and next season. Chevron will be looking at this tour as the last chance to beat Clapham without a National title on the line. GB Under 23s will be looking to win this tournament as the ultimate final preparation before the World Championships and EMO will want to consolidate their already fantastic performance throughout the tour season so far.
- Is there more to Brighton City? After two finishes outside just outside the top 5 tour clubs, they must be looking at ways to take that final step and really challenge like they have in the past.
Saturday's games to watch:
09:00 - EMO1 vs Devon features two young and athletic teams with big goals for this tournament. Will the GB duo of Colonel and Rich Gale (are GB World Games players there?) be the deciding factor between these two teams?
10:35 - Chevron vs Emo could be electric with both teams propensities for making big plays on both sides of the disc.
12:10 - Leeds vs Manchester seems to have evolve into a grudge match this year with players leaving Leeds for Manchester after the end of last year. With both teams playing each other multiple times this season and finishing with similar results this could be a tight one.
13:45 - Chevron vs Devron. Devon is jokingly referred to as Chevvy's feeder club, but it's easy to see why with a huge sum of players over the years making the move. As such, Devon will come out guns blazing trying to prove themselves and will see this as a shot for another scalp after handling Fire1 at Tour 2.
15:20 - GB Under 23s vs Brighton. In years past this could have simply been billed as an athletic youngsters versus experienced veterans game, but with Brighton's influx of University stars this year that won't be the case. Will Brighton be able to take the next step in this game or will the GB squad use this to build momentum for their final game against...
16:55 - GB Under 23s vs Clapham. A win against Clapham at tour would be the ultimate confidence booster going into the World championships with some of their USA counterparts currently sparring against top USA clubs teams on the Nexgen bus. This Clapham team seems like they are in the type of season where a stumble is unlikely though.
Friday, 12 July 2013
Thursday, 11 July 2013
Ka-Pow! weekend training
This weekend Ka-Pow! training saw almost the entire roster turnout to the full weekend in the glorious sunshine, with just the GB Under 23 lot missing.
The Saturday started with a brief chat. We know that qualification for Worlds based on our tour rankings thus far is mathematically impossible. We were all disappointed with the performance at Tour 2, not only due to the results, but also due to the emotions which were pretty down for most of the weekend (and also the weather). We agreed as a squad to move on from it and try to replicate the loose-ness and freedom from pressure which we felt in the game against Clapham, which was probably our best game of Tour 2, and this sentiment resulted in the best training weekend we've had in a while.
We also went over the core principals which can now be found on the Ka-Pow! website.
We had drills on both the Saturday and the Sunday which were focussing on different movements which allow us to alter the position of the disc in difficult situations, such as dumping, receiving a pull and getting the disc off the line. We also worked on core skills which are very important to offensive play such as breaking marks and hucking, and defensive play such as taking away the easy underneath options whilst playing close enough to stifle deep options.
We also played a game against Clapham on the Sunday. The terms of the game that were agreed upon were that they would start every point on defense and it would be first to reach 8 (half). They beat us (not sure of the final score) but the majority of our turnovers were self inflicted, with tired heads from a weekend in the baking heat leading to lazy throws or decisions. Occasionally we turned them over back and at times had some great looking offense, but Clapham were definitely better than us on that day.
Whilst this weekend is looking to be as hot as the one just gone, we know that it can't be an excuse for us, much like the extreme wind and rain at Tour 2. I am very much looking forward to Tour 3. We will be starting in the bottom 8 of A tour, but I really think we can still do well and I think excitement is pretty high amongst the team.
Additionally, my left hamstring was feeling a bit stiff/sore all weekend. Whilst it wasn't enough to stop me playing at the weekend, I made the decision to not do too much exercise this week so as to be at full strength for Tour 3. Monday I cycled to/from work and spent a lot of time in the evening foam rolling and stretching. Tuesday I had an interview so I didn't do any exercise and Wednesday was just cycling and foam rolling/stretching again. For today I feel like Yoga will help with loosening of muscles and I'll take it easy if some of the positions move to the advanced variants. I will not be exercising on Friday (other than cycling) so it's going to be a bit of a quiet week again for me.
I also bought a new pair of cleats this week which I am looking forward to debuting at Tour 3 this weekend, and I have been wearing them in during the week. They are AdiZeros which I have had before and were comfortable and ridiculously light, but didn't last an entire season. I think I may use these only for tournaments for the rest of this season and use my other pair at trainings and when it gets to the winter/offseason training and practices again to try and save this new pair to use again next year.
Tour 3 preview coming soon (most likely tomorrow if the schedule is released by then).
The Saturday started with a brief chat. We know that qualification for Worlds based on our tour rankings thus far is mathematically impossible. We were all disappointed with the performance at Tour 2, not only due to the results, but also due to the emotions which were pretty down for most of the weekend (and also the weather). We agreed as a squad to move on from it and try to replicate the loose-ness and freedom from pressure which we felt in the game against Clapham, which was probably our best game of Tour 2, and this sentiment resulted in the best training weekend we've had in a while.
We also went over the core principals which can now be found on the Ka-Pow! website.
We had drills on both the Saturday and the Sunday which were focussing on different movements which allow us to alter the position of the disc in difficult situations, such as dumping, receiving a pull and getting the disc off the line. We also worked on core skills which are very important to offensive play such as breaking marks and hucking, and defensive play such as taking away the easy underneath options whilst playing close enough to stifle deep options.
We also played a game against Clapham on the Sunday. The terms of the game that were agreed upon were that they would start every point on defense and it would be first to reach 8 (half). They beat us (not sure of the final score) but the majority of our turnovers were self inflicted, with tired heads from a weekend in the baking heat leading to lazy throws or decisions. Occasionally we turned them over back and at times had some great looking offense, but Clapham were definitely better than us on that day.
Whilst this weekend is looking to be as hot as the one just gone, we know that it can't be an excuse for us, much like the extreme wind and rain at Tour 2. I am very much looking forward to Tour 3. We will be starting in the bottom 8 of A tour, but I really think we can still do well and I think excitement is pretty high amongst the team.
Additionally, my left hamstring was feeling a bit stiff/sore all weekend. Whilst it wasn't enough to stop me playing at the weekend, I made the decision to not do too much exercise this week so as to be at full strength for Tour 3. Monday I cycled to/from work and spent a lot of time in the evening foam rolling and stretching. Tuesday I had an interview so I didn't do any exercise and Wednesday was just cycling and foam rolling/stretching again. For today I feel like Yoga will help with loosening of muscles and I'll take it easy if some of the positions move to the advanced variants. I will not be exercising on Friday (other than cycling) so it's going to be a bit of a quiet week again for me.
I also bought a new pair of cleats this week which I am looking forward to debuting at Tour 3 this weekend, and I have been wearing them in during the week. They are AdiZeros which I have had before and were comfortable and ridiculously light, but didn't last an entire season. I think I may use these only for tournaments for the rest of this season and use my other pair at trainings and when it gets to the winter/offseason training and practices again to try and save this new pair to use again next year.
Tour 3 preview coming soon (most likely tomorrow if the schedule is released by then).
Wednesday, 3 July 2013
Wednesday Gym
Had to work through lunch on Monday and Tuesday, so today's been the first day this week I've done any exercise (except cycling).
Today's gym was an almost complete session and it definitely felt tough.
Will hopefully be able to either go to yoga tomorrow and/or the gym on Friday, but this work week looks to be quite busy.
Warm up:
1 * 15 Internal Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
1 * 15 External Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
2 * 15 Single leg raised Glute Bridge - per leg
1 * 12 Press up holds (3 seconds)
1 * 12 Body weight squats
Foam rolling
Main routine:
{1 * 8 Back Squats (50 kg)
1 * 8 Back Squats (60 kg)
1 * 8 Back Squats (70 kg)
3 * 8 Bulgarian Split squats (50 kg) - per leg
{3 * Max Pull ups (hands forward/wide grip) (10, 8, 7)
3 * 5 Dead lifts (64kg *increase*)}
{3 * 8 Seated row (68kg)
3 * 8 Standing Dumbell Push Press (2 x 15 kg)
3 * 8 Lateral Step ups (15kg) - per leg}
{4 * 10 weighted press ups (15kg)
4 * 30s Dynamic Plank
3 * 8 Single Leg Swiss Ball Hamstring curls (55cm swiss ball)}
Warm down:
Hip abductor stretching
Hamstring stretching
Hip flexors stretching
Foam rolling
Today's gym was an almost complete session and it definitely felt tough.
Will hopefully be able to either go to yoga tomorrow and/or the gym on Friday, but this work week looks to be quite busy.
Warm up:
1 * 15 Internal Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
1 * 15 External Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
2 * 15 Single leg raised Glute Bridge - per leg
1 * 12 Press up holds (3 seconds)
1 * 12 Body weight squats
Foam rolling
Main routine:
{1 * 8 Back Squats (50 kg)
1 * 8 Back Squats (60 kg)
1 * 8 Back Squats (70 kg)
3 * 8 Bulgarian Split squats (50 kg) - per leg
{3 * Max Pull ups (hands forward/wide grip) (10, 8, 7)
3 * 5 Dead lifts (64kg *increase*)}
{3 * 8 Seated row (68kg)
3 * 8 Standing Dumbell Push Press (2 x 15 kg)
3 * 8 Lateral Step ups (15kg) - per leg}
{4 * 10 weighted press ups (15kg)
4 * 30s Dynamic Plank
3 * 8 Single Leg Swiss Ball Hamstring curls (55cm swiss ball)}
Warm down:
Hip abductor stretching
Hamstring stretching
Hip flexors stretching
Foam rolling
Monday, 1 July 2013
Saturday Training
Whilst missing a fairly sizeable contingent of Ka-Pow! players to ECBU2013 meant that the training wasn't going to be well attended, it was still a valuable training on Saturday.
The focuses were on a specific cutting pattern we use in our offense, off the sideline work, one on one endzone play and breaking the mark.
Weather was nice and was good to get out, but I'm looking forward to getting a bigger cohort to our full weekend training next week, prior to Tour 3 in two weekends time.
The focuses were on a specific cutting pattern we use in our offense, off the sideline work, one on one endzone play and breaking the mark.
Weather was nice and was good to get out, but I'm looking forward to getting a bigger cohort to our full weekend training next week, prior to Tour 3 in two weekends time.
Friday, 28 June 2013
Wednesday - Friday
Wednesday I played Summer League. Was against a bad team, but I got Ds, didn't get scored on and broke the mark to practice playing properly.
Thursday I went to Yoga. Had a lot of shoulder and core focussed positions.
Friday did a shortened gym session as was pretty busy at work. Meant I went a bit harder on some exercises, though. Also, as I found out at Windmill, my squat technique is nothing to brag about so my squats were very focussed on correct technique.
Warm up:
1 * 15 Internal Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
1 * 15 External Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
2 * 15 Single leg raised Glute Bridge - per leg
1 * 12 Press up holds (3 seconds)
1 * 12 Body weight squats
Foam rolling
Main routine:
{4 * Max Pull ups (hands forward/wide grip) (9, 8, 7, 6)
3 * 8 Standing Dumbell Push Press (2 x 15 kg)}
3 * 5 Dead lifts (58kg *increase*)
{3 * 8 Seated row (68kg)
3 * 8 Lateral Step ups (15kg) - per leg}
1 * 8 Back Squats (50 kg)
2 * 8 Back Squats (70 kg)
Warm down:
Hip abductor stretching
Hamstring stretching
Hip flexors stretching
Foam rolling
Thursday I went to Yoga. Had a lot of shoulder and core focussed positions.
Friday did a shortened gym session as was pretty busy at work. Meant I went a bit harder on some exercises, though. Also, as I found out at Windmill, my squat technique is nothing to brag about so my squats were very focussed on correct technique.
Warm up:
1 * 15 Internal Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
1 * 15 External Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
2 * 15 Single leg raised Glute Bridge - per leg
1 * 12 Press up holds (3 seconds)
1 * 12 Body weight squats
Foam rolling
Main routine:
{4 * Max Pull ups (hands forward/wide grip) (9, 8, 7, 6)
3 * 8 Standing Dumbell Push Press (2 x 15 kg)}
3 * 5 Dead lifts (58kg *increase*)
{3 * 8 Seated row (68kg)
3 * 8 Lateral Step ups (15kg) - per leg}
1 * 8 Back Squats (50 kg)
2 * 8 Back Squats (70 kg)
Warm down:
Hip abductor stretching
Hamstring stretching
Hip flexors stretching
Foam rolling
Ka-Pow! training tomorrow!
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Tuesday Gym
Two weeks off from the gym and a bruised nose left me a little unwilling to go back today. But I put those thoughts to one side and headed to the basement and I'm glad I did. It wasn't as hard to get back into it as I thought it may be and I felt good afterwards.
Warm up:
1 * 15 Internal Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
1 * 15 External Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
2 * 15 Single leg raised Glute Bridge - per leg
1 * 12 Press up holds (3 seconds)
1 * 12 Body weight squats
Foam rolling
Main routine:
{4 * Max Pull ups (hands forward/wide grip) (8, 8, 6, 6)
3 * 8 Standing Dumbell Push Press (2 x 15 kg)
3 * 8 Lateral Step ups (15kg) - per leg}
3 * 5 Dead lifts (48kg)
3 * 8 Seated row (68kg)
{4 * 10 weighted press ups (15kg)
4 * 30s Dynamic Plank
3 * 8 Single Leg Swiss Ball Hamstring curls (55cm swiss ball)}
Warm down:
Hip abductor stretching
Hamstring stretching
Hip flexors stretching
Foam rolling
Warm up:
1 * 15 Internal Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
1 * 15 External Shoulder rotations (7kg) - per arm
2 * 15 Single leg raised Glute Bridge - per leg
1 * 12 Press up holds (3 seconds)
1 * 12 Body weight squats
Foam rolling
Main routine:
{4 * Max Pull ups (hands forward/wide grip) (8, 8, 6, 6)
3 * 8 Standing Dumbell Push Press (2 x 15 kg)
3 * 8 Lateral Step ups (15kg) - per leg}
3 * 5 Dead lifts (48kg)
3 * 8 Seated row (68kg)
{4 * 10 weighted press ups (15kg)
4 * 30s Dynamic Plank
3 * 8 Single Leg Swiss Ball Hamstring curls (55cm swiss ball)}
Warm down:
Hip abductor stretching
Hamstring stretching
Hip flexors stretching
Foam rolling
Unfortunately, every time I went to use the squat rack it was already in use, so today I was unable to do any squats. Will add them in when I hit the gym on Friday.
UKUTour 2 Wrapup
Saturday:
Game 1: Loss vs Clapham (10-15)
Our best performance of the weekend came against eventual winners (and in doing so the clinched Tour Champions) Clapham. We managed to double the score of eventual runners up Chevron Action Flash against Clapham and we played with confidence.
Game 2: Loss vs Ranelagh (8-9)
We went up early and then the heavens opened. Jonny Clark left the game early on with a blow to the face which caused his nose to swell, and then a couple of points later in the match it happened to me as well. I've never see two nose bleeds in the same game before. Jonny and I were both unable to return in this game and we let Ranelagh back in with mistakes and heads dropping. A real shame because this is a game we definitely should have won.
Game 3: Loss vs GB Under 23 Open (??)
This game is a blur to me. I don't really remember anything about it except that my first 8 touches looked something like this:
Throw away, throw away, throw away, almost throw away, Assist, completed pass, throw away, score
Sufficed to say I was pretty out of it and probably should have sat out this game as well. After this game I went to see the First Aider who confirmed that I had a slight concussion and I shouldn't drive for the rest of the weekend (he didn't mention playing).
So a day where we lost every game meant that we couldn't come higher than 5th and would have a crossover against Fire 2 the next morning.
Sunday:
Game 4: Loss vs Fire 2 (13-10 I think)
Unfortunately, to start this game we gave up a break and heads dropped. We managed to break them back later in the game and at points were leading, but we were never able to pull away by more than one and eventually Fire 2 added more breaks to increase their lead. I felt I played pretty well in this game and wasn't affected at all by the concussion from the day before, getting a few assists, scores and a lot of deep Ds, which I was pretty happy with. This is the second time this season when Fire 2 has taken a win against us that was within our ability to take and this time it meant we dropped out of the top 8.
Game 5: Win vs DED (??)
This game reminded me of the game against DED at UKUNationals 2012 in that we had dropped out of the top 8 and were only playing for position. Our lines were relaxed and we went up early. Unfortunately, we lulled after taking the half 8-4 and allowed them to get back into the game. We were never behind in this game and closed it out eventually, but again it's a bit disappointing to have not been able to control this game from start to finish.
Game 6: Loss vs Fire 1 (??)
In a strange turnaround, Fire 1 were dumped out of the top 8 but with Fire 2's victory against Ka-Pow they found themselves promoted to the top 8. This meant that our final game was the 9 v 10 against Fire 1. They were obviously as disappointed as us not to be playing in the top 8 and like us will be looking to rise up the rankings at Tour 3. They played very well against our zone defences and were able to make some big plays in the wind. We put in a good game against a tough team but were unable to take through the confidence from our win in Game 5.
So Tour 2 was pretty frustrating with our results from our successful Tour 1 being reversed (5 Ws - 1 L at UKUT1 to 1 W - 5 Ls at UKUT2). However, we should take heart with our performances, especially in the game against Clapham. It's been tough this year as we've been struggling to maintain a positive atmosphere, which is even more difficult in tough conditions, but at times our offense looked effortless and our defense was stifling. If it's a consistency issue then I can only hope that despite the results, the outcomes of the weekend will be positive in terms of more players getting more game time and practice and that we can learn from this weekend. I am still very optimistic about this season and I'm looking forward to Tour 3!
Game 1: Loss vs Clapham (10-15)
Our best performance of the weekend came against eventual winners (and in doing so the clinched Tour Champions) Clapham. We managed to double the score of eventual runners up Chevron Action Flash against Clapham and we played with confidence.
Game 2: Loss vs Ranelagh (8-9)
We went up early and then the heavens opened. Jonny Clark left the game early on with a blow to the face which caused his nose to swell, and then a couple of points later in the match it happened to me as well. I've never see two nose bleeds in the same game before. Jonny and I were both unable to return in this game and we let Ranelagh back in with mistakes and heads dropping. A real shame because this is a game we definitely should have won.
Game 3: Loss vs GB Under 23 Open (??)
This game is a blur to me. I don't really remember anything about it except that my first 8 touches looked something like this:
Throw away, throw away, throw away, almost throw away, Assist, completed pass, throw away, score
Sufficed to say I was pretty out of it and probably should have sat out this game as well. After this game I went to see the First Aider who confirmed that I had a slight concussion and I shouldn't drive for the rest of the weekend (he didn't mention playing).
So a day where we lost every game meant that we couldn't come higher than 5th and would have a crossover against Fire 2 the next morning.
Sunday:
Game 4: Loss vs Fire 2 (13-10 I think)
Unfortunately, to start this game we gave up a break and heads dropped. We managed to break them back later in the game and at points were leading, but we were never able to pull away by more than one and eventually Fire 2 added more breaks to increase their lead. I felt I played pretty well in this game and wasn't affected at all by the concussion from the day before, getting a few assists, scores and a lot of deep Ds, which I was pretty happy with. This is the second time this season when Fire 2 has taken a win against us that was within our ability to take and this time it meant we dropped out of the top 8.
Game 5: Win vs DED (??)
This game reminded me of the game against DED at UKUNationals 2012 in that we had dropped out of the top 8 and were only playing for position. Our lines were relaxed and we went up early. Unfortunately, we lulled after taking the half 8-4 and allowed them to get back into the game. We were never behind in this game and closed it out eventually, but again it's a bit disappointing to have not been able to control this game from start to finish.
Game 6: Loss vs Fire 1 (??)
In a strange turnaround, Fire 1 were dumped out of the top 8 but with Fire 2's victory against Ka-Pow they found themselves promoted to the top 8. This meant that our final game was the 9 v 10 against Fire 1. They were obviously as disappointed as us not to be playing in the top 8 and like us will be looking to rise up the rankings at Tour 3. They played very well against our zone defences and were able to make some big plays in the wind. We put in a good game against a tough team but were unable to take through the confidence from our win in Game 5.
So Tour 2 was pretty frustrating with our results from our successful Tour 1 being reversed (5 Ws - 1 L at UKUT1 to 1 W - 5 Ls at UKUT2). However, we should take heart with our performances, especially in the game against Clapham. It's been tough this year as we've been struggling to maintain a positive atmosphere, which is even more difficult in tough conditions, but at times our offense looked effortless and our defense was stifling. If it's a consistency issue then I can only hope that despite the results, the outcomes of the weekend will be positive in terms of more players getting more game time and practice and that we can learn from this weekend. I am still very optimistic about this season and I'm looking forward to Tour 3!
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