Aisle 10...irregulars

Submitted by Bill

It was great to have a game of 5 on 5 Friday when many of the regulars were not here. Welcome out Pete & Dan. It was my first time playing with both of you and welcome back Tim & MattM who, though fairly new, have been coming out pretty frequently lately. Sometimes, when somebody new comes out they get discouraged that their “playing wind” is not quite what they want it to be. Me, being the compassionate and empathetic guy that I am, I had one of the new guys, Dan mark Swinny to start the game.

Hey, what do I know, he looked young, in shape… a few times down the field Dan, made a couple nice grabs and throws but was bent over trying to catch his breath. “Want to switch” I offered, knowing I couldn’t keep up with Bryan, but secure in my shortfalls.

“No, thanks. I’ll be okay when he starts to slow down” Dan said (breaking New Guy rule #4 ‘Never overestimate your ability to keep running’).

“Well, I’ve been playing with Bryan for a year now and I haven’t seen him slow down yet” I replied. I was marking Matt at the time and he was running a like a mad man also but I thought I’d give Dan the option.

Bryan had apparently already sufficiently briefed Pete about the pain and running as I checked in with him about midway through the game “Hey, don’t kill yourself out here, we’re not trying out for any Olympic team yet”.

“Yea, don’t worry” Pete responded “I’m trying to keep the running to a minimum”. Ah, Ultimate wisdom…it’s a keen quality. Know your strengths and play to them. Pete made some great throws for a first day out and not having to chase Swinny or Matt probably helped.

Hey Rodney! What the heck did you do with our old Warrant Officer? I could have sworn that was you sprinting behind the defense on several occasions for long huck scores. Sprinting and catching on the same play. Who knew? Tim & I just want to thank you for giving us somebody to actually throw to.

No sign of Travis, MattC, or Justin this week. Jason did come out Friday and was at least one soon departing player looking to squeeze in as much Ultimate as possible before transfer time.

Conrad was also getting in his last game before hanging out up north in Baltimore these next two weeks. Best wishes also to Brady who will be headed to the DL after surgery. Heal quickly but don’t try to come out too soon (check with Wings for the official disclaimer there).

Lon, did you say you were bringing another facet of your game out on Friday? Well, I heard somebody comment that you were running all over the place. I assured them that couldn’t have been you but they were pretty adamant. Did Rodney share his secret potion with you? You guys need to quit bogarting that brew and hand some over this way.

The cookout is on hold after some less than overwhelming response about attending. I guess I’ll try and follow my own advice and play to my strengths.

Force home!