#4: One Month Down (many sprints to go)

10/23/2017

So, Tiina and I had ambitions of writing weekly. While we have plenty to say and would love to be sharing as much of our process as possible, we just have not found the time. For now, we are not going to promise any specific frequency to these Zooletters, just that we’ll keep them coming over the course of the season.

What has happened over the past month?… a lot!

D Team Updates

First off, we are excited to announce that Will Thornton ’17 is quickly returning into the fold with Zoodisc as our 2017–2018 D team coach. We’re lucky to have Will stepping into this role. He is a hyper-positive, hard-working, and high-energy leader who already fits in with the developmental aims of our program. We all have high hopes for the D team this season. Last year was a success by all measures, but there is plenty of room for us to improve on this aspect of our program. We’re hoping to set this team up with more opportunities for competition and more opportunities against regionals/nationals level teams.

Gene L’Heureux welcomes Will Thornton back to the McGuirk Fields

Last year, despite being down to seven players at the end of their conference tournament, the D team was only one point away from qualifying for D-1 regionals. That is a result we plan to improve on, and to do so the entire coaching staff plans to invest in the D team at an increased level from last year.

Club Nationals

This past week the USAU Club National Championships for the Women’s, Mixed, and Men’s divisions took place in Sarasota, FL. I was glued to my computer all week following along with current and former Zoodisc and Lady Zoo players, and trying to keep up with Tiina’s reports from the fields.

In the next few days, we’ll be sharing some of Tiina’s thoughts as well as some reflections from players who were there competing.

In the meantime, check out this incredible block by Jesse Shofner of Denver’s Molly Brown:

Not only is this a tremendous display of closing speed and explosion, but it also perfectly highlights the type of defensive awareness that we have been preaching to Zoodisc. Jesse’s ability to read the thrower, quickly check over her shoulder to find the other players attacking the disc, and then make the play without dangerously contacting another player is a perfect display of help defense.

Practice Notes

In practice we have had four weeks of focusing on fundamentals. Yes, that is what our team’s success is predicated on. Nothing fancy, no whiz-kid strategies, just boring fundamentals. We’ve been working on:

• Techniques for engaging your core as a stabilizing force. (see below)

Nate Ryan’s running form is a testament to the value of a stable core.

• Lateral quickness/explosion, or how to activate your glute muscles to become a more effective athlete. We’ve got a host of exercises for developing these muscles and movements.
• Marking and the necessary athleticism and focus to succeed on the mark.
• Downfield defensive principles: Even in person defense, we want players to focus on what spaces they are taking away. Too often as defenders we just try to stay close to our person, but the next level of defense requires consciously making choices about what we take away and what we give up. Another big principle for us throughout the season will be defensive focus and readiness. We’re looking forward to introducing some new drills for practicing this capacity this week.
• Downfield cutting principles: So far we have focused on our vertical offense only. In this offense (and many others), we are asking Zoodisc not to focus on making cuts that get them the disc, but rather cuts that create motion, and distinct spaces for their teammates to fill. MOTION is a big word at our practices, and will be all year.

1st year Ethan Smith practicing his mark on Tannor Johnson

Quote of the week:

Culture is how teams work, behave and communicate every single day. Culture is not a poster on a wall, cool hashtag, or a fun team activity.
Gary Curneen

With each practice we are growing our culture. We do this starting from the basic building blocks, the principles, that guide success in that activity. Once players understand those principles, there is a lot of freedom for how they translate them onto the field. Once they have a basic level of understanding, we will continue to increase the adversity they face in trying to practice these principles. It’s nothing fancy, just a lot of hard work and focus.

Note: We want to know what you want to know. Are any of the topics above something you’d like us to expand on in future posts? Something else? Please comment below with any thoughts.

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