sMITe! 2010

This was a great year for sMITe - we had a solid (though small) core of returners, and lots of amazing first year players who were able to step up and fill big roles. We had first year players be primary cutters, be (fake) handlers, and even play deep deep. They all threw upfield by Regionals and were able to dump fairly consistently, which is actually a big step up from last year's team when our offense was built around the dish.

That said, I do wish we had had more experience on the team - not so that we would do better, but so that the newer players would have more role models and see the structure of the game more easily. It's hard to learn to play a certain way if everyone is learning it, too, but dropping in 1 or 2 newbies with an experienced line would let them fit into the offense/defense more easily. Don't know where to stack? Just get in line with everyone else. Don't know when to cut? Your teammates will yell at you when it's your turn.

Our defense, I think, has actually suffered quite a bit from not having an experienced offense to play against. We still chase because we can get away with that at practices against ourselves. We haven't learned to anticipate the flow of the disc on defense because our cutters are still figuring out their timing. When we played a team like Williams (really really impressed with them, btw) who had great flow, solid dump/swing/continue and up the line/short away continues, we weren't able to stop them. We were repeatedly caught out of position because we weren't anticipating where the next cut was going. Sure, this takes experience, but I strongly believe that you get what you practice, and in our case, our practices just didn't have consistently good offense flow to defend.

Williams actually somewhat reminds me of Godiva's offense 5 years ago - very conservative and rarely struck deep (I can't remember who, but one of my Brute teammates or coaches told me to just front them because they never looked deep). They were very good at their offense, but because they didn't use the deep option, they also didn't defend the deep as effectively and Brute certainly took advantage of that. We're very lucky to have solid handlers and huckers so that our newer players all know how to cut deep and have been learning how to read the disc, which means next year, all the blades Michelle puts up will be caught! (just teasing, Michelle)

This was the last year for 4 of our players - Karen, Smeri, Amy and Agnes. Agnes had a breakout spring - she has developed a really big scary mark, and great field sense - her timing is impeccable, and in the past 2 tournaments, I cannot remember a single time that I thought she was clogging, or in the wrong space, or positioned improperly on defense. Pretty great for a 2nd year player! She has one of the hardest work ethics on the team - even when she was injured, she came to every practice and worked on her throws for 2 hours. She takes our feedback well and I can see her working on changing her play on the field based on what we said. We're going to miss our zone mark!

Amy has become a solid handler with consistent throws and beautiful dump cuts for resets. She doesn't make flashy plays, but when she is on the field, the offense flows a little bit better because she is doing all the correct things. This type of player is easy to overlook, but her quiet movement on the field is what helps the offense glide smoothly.

Karen I get to still coach because she plays for Hatch! Except for weird flick huck flubbing during the Harvard game (I hear a sprained thumb is to blame), she plays with a joy and intensity which is always fun to watch. She never gives up on a disc, O or D, and she had several great plays last weekend where I really thought she wasn't going to get there, but she proved me wrong. Yay track workouts.

Smeri...dith. Oh I am going to miss her. She tells me that she's never going to play ultimate again. (I hope it's not all my fault!) She has become an extremely versatile player - she can handle, she can cut, she can huck, and she's faster than everyone! I am reminded of a younger Rana Suh when I see her play - that girl that you just don't know how to guard because you'll just be beat either way. She continues to just get better and better, and I wish I could see what a few years would do, but alas, she's way too hard-headed to be swayed.

So ends another year of sMITe. Much has changed, and the future is bright. We're getting at least one experienced player (Claudia from Brandeis) and hopefully the HS girls choose MIT. In the meantime, it looks like most if not all of our players will be doing summer league, so I'm expecting big things next year!