We entered the Matrix last weekend as Maribor hosted its first ever tournament, Ultimate Frisbix Summer Jam 2009. The organizers did well and hosted a full 7-on-7, game to 15 event. Well done Maribor CosmoDisc!
Thanks to good organizing from Duje, we threw together a squad with a mix of skill sets and some guest players from the US, Hungary, Austria and Germany. We love getting to play with different styles of players, and our guests this weekend (Chris, Martina, Phi Je, Denes, Petya, Lilla, Mariann and Martin) were truly fantastic in attitude, performance, and everything we’re looking for in teammates. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
With a team that looked almost like a pickup squad, we did not know entirely what to expect from this weekend, and I think everyone would agree that the whole experience exceeded even the highest expectations.
Day 1 Team 1: Pool play victory vs. CosmoDisc. These were the hosts of the tournament, and it’s always a challenge to both play in and host an event. They handled these jobs well. They brought more women than in recent tournaments, and ran a deep rotation. Fatigue set in for them around half time, and we pulled away. Standout of the game was Chris, who managed to throw and score more goals than even our most veteran players. Well done. Also well done to Phi Je on the mark, and team defense in general. Duje emerged as a solid handling presence and we ‘drove the bike’ well near the endzone. We did not open up the deep game too much, as the defenders sagged off to prevent this. Nevertheless, we played underneath without much trouble, foreshadowing a need we would have going forward in the weekend. Nice cutting from a long-haired Blaz on Cosmo, but some uncharacteristic drops from his partner in crime Ivek. Those two are becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Day 1 Team 2: Pool play victory vs. Huntimate. This team was a mix of players from Hungary. In the first half, Tudor’s hammers drove a nail into our team defense. In the second half we neutralized this threat and capitalized on strategic matchups to shut down their handling. Our legs proved to have more juice than theirs, and Denes picked apart their defense with patient but creative offense. Our women, both foreign and domestic, led the team in the second half with their defense. Well done too from Jan, who took on a deep defensive presence. Our sidelines were not particularly impressive, but we identified this as a need going forward, in order to help the last back defenders and the markers to know where the threats were coming from downfield.
This win brought us to the power pool, and new matchups to determine the placement game.
Day 1 Team 3: Power pool play victory vs. GrandMasterFlash. This Polish team deserves much credit for laying siege to our offense and sneaking past our defense time and again. This game was far closer than we would have supposed, and it took a few well timed deep cuts from dominant athletes to set us apart. Perhaps we came out a bit sleepy from lunch – and another aspect is that when you start winning games, other teams start to bring their best stuff against you. We walked away with a victory, but only a hint of the on-field and sideline effort it takes to dominate.
Day 1 Team 4: Power pool play victory vs. Frizmi. This game was the first meeting between the two teams since Frizmi’s victory in the heated finals of Wild Wild West. I think both sides made significant efforts to step up the spirit without downgrading the competitiveness, and the game was a good one. Frizmi played smart matchups and attempted to shut down our main cutters – they succeeded to a certain extent, but we made enough plays (at the top, middle and bottom of our roster) to keep the game close. Especially efficient offense around the endzone. A few blocks from emerging Hungarian guest stud Denes, plus solid mid cutter play from Lilla and all-around excellence from Mariann, kept us in the game. The game was (if I recall correctly) 11-10 when the final whistle blew, and we needed one point to secure the victory. Chep got open in the endzone, scoring to seal the victory and a likely place in the finals.
Saturday night we had a nice meaty dinner and went downtown to celebrate the Maribor river festival, including some tap dancing performance and delicious fried donuts. Then, Matrix themed party. What happens in Maribor stays in Maribor.
Day 2 Team 1: Power pool play victory vs. Vertigo. Led by the able captain Bostjan ‘Bond’ Babic, Vertigo had solid handling and defense from Curly plus great spirit across the board. They played us close but we emerged with a victory, setting up a second Frizmi vs. Zagreb matchup of the tournament, this one in the final.
Day 2 Team 2: Finals loss vs. Frizmi. From our side, the analysis of this game is simple: unforced errors took us out of the game. Sunday afternoon success is all on the margin, and we came up short this time around. Despite a number of simple drops and hand blocks, we were down by only 2 breaks at half time – not an insurmountable lead – but early in the second half we did not convert our defensive blocks into offensive scores, which is the bread and butter of a comeback. From the other side, Frizmi put a thoughtful analytical lens on the game, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of both teams. For example, they prevented our deep game and avoided exposing man-to-man and woman-to-woman matchups by playing zone, and their cup was led by the able marker Damijan. They put enough pressure on our throwers to create turnovers, through a mark that did not leave the other handlers open. It reminded me of a zone they used in a late come-back victory over an Italian team at Milano a few years back, well executed. Team defense was the name of the game for Frizmi, and a troubling case of the dropsies outweighed the good handling and high intensity defense that we displayed in a tough losing battle.
Let me highlight some points for each player:
Duje – we came to rely on his handling. Increased fitness will extend that handling ability deep into Sunday.
Andrea – reliable mid-range cutting and handling. We will keep working on running form and game in the air, to develop a deep game presence.
Jan – along with Sticky, the most improved player on FDKZ in the past year. Evidence of his improvement: matchups he got from other teams, pulling some of their strongest defenders. This trickles down, and is a big deal for our team. Injury prevention and explosiveness on defense are the name of the game for Jan’s development right now.
Frki – arguably the most reliable handler on FDKZ. Reset cuts, managing the offense, and filling in on defense when necessary, especially in a clam defense. Strong veteran leadership by example.
Chep – fast on the cuts, and we’ll keep working on riding the bike plays plus consistent flow with throws.
Banana – increasing pressure on defense and consistently open on cuts. The cuts are fundamentally sound and she has gotten rid of the horizontal cuts. Great addition to our roster in the past six months. To work on: reliably breaking the mark and handling big pressure from the mark, plus capitalizing on double teams in a zone.
Zivac – reliable mid range and deep cutter. Fast developing. Throwing is the next weapon to add to his arsenal, because defense, cutting and a great attitude are in good supply thus far. Pound for pound, the funniest dude on this roster.
Lilla – she lets her game do the talking. Especially reliable as a wing/deep in zone offense, handling pressure marks calmly. She had 2 or 3 big shut-down plays on defense that created turnovers that looked easy, but were actually the result of her player being so guarded that the result was a stall 9 pitch downfield.
Petja – what a ridiculously good pull, and intensity on defense. We can all learn something from this veteran.
Denes – this is one leader who I would love to kidnap and keep in Zagreb. Calm and creative on offense, taking calculated risks that almost always pay off. He appears to be entering a new and extremely productive phase of his career.
Mariann – one of the best women I’ve ever played with. Explosive, reliable, positive and calm. Great teammate.
Phije – reliable cog in the offense and especially a potent strength on the mark. Great teammate.
Martina – always open for the reset cut, and ready to break the mark. Constant positive attitude. Well done.
Chris – first competitive tournament ever for this guy, and he translated speed into a weapon to wither the opponents’ endurance, displaying better lateral movement than could have been predicted. Keep playing, and he’ll learn how to keep creating space with his cuts and get the timing down for the deep game.
Martin – explosive midrange cutter. Martin has the makings of a great man-to-man handler defender, laying out to get blocks on everything from dumps to reset cuts to in cuts.
Thanks everyone for a great weekend. I had fun and learned a lot – coaching different players (some of whom could easily have coached the team themselves) also helps me to develop, so thank you for that as well.
Josh
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