This Week in Sports - Week #33

One With the Wind: Ultimate Frisbee Enjoys Great Success at Darden Towe! 

Blustery and relentless, the winds hit fifty miles per hour this week.  Rather than practice inside, the Tandem Ultimate Frisbee team chose to take the field - and track the disc - as it flew through the sky, uncontrollably, in all directions.  Strategically, the Badgers prepared by running a stack offense - focusing on short cuts and quick, low passes - spending as little time in the air as possible. Their time on the field prepared them for the conditions this afternoon at Darden Towe, where mother nature made a statement: she routinely sent the frisbee back in the direction from which it came! Nonetheless, the Badgers brought their A game and stood tall in the wind! Both the Blue Angels and Light Blue Badgers were up to the task!
 
On the Light Blue side, Aven scored the first point. He beat his defender to the corner of the end zone, before cutting across the field.  Dylan launched a backhand pass around the tight defense - and Aven snatched it out of the air to get the Badgers off to a great start!  Tandem continued to put the pressure on their opponent - Levi knocked the disc out of the air right on the goal line of one end of the field, and then flicked a pass right on the money the entire length of pitch.  Henry W, zooming in at full speed, caught the disc in the back of the end zone, giving the Light Blue Badgers a 2-0 lead.  
Henry P was a force on defense, knocking the disc out of the air.  He left it to Cord, who found Aven in the end zone for yet another score.  The team did a great job of getting each player involved. On one occasion, Levi made a short pass through the wind to Emma.  Moments later, he got the disc to Henry P, for a key score right before halftime.
 
James did a fine job tracking the disc when it got caught by the wind - making a smooth catch in the middle of the field. He worked with Dylan to advance the frisbee, eventually resulting in another point for the squad. The Light Blue game concluded as it started - Cord, with perfect form, made a smooth pass to Aven.  The Badgers tallied 9 points - in the howling wind - with diving catches, beautiful forehand passes, and excellent defense.
 
Speaking of which, over on the Dark Blue Angels side, Ethan knocked the disc to the ground four times in the opposing end zone!  As Lisa described it "he was in a wild time warp! He was everywhere on defense and a steady handler on offense. He showed true leadership and spirit."  Ethan flicked the disc deep, and with the wind moving it in all directions, he needed somebody to run under it. Enter William - he had several points off of long passes with the defense draped all over him.  William caught it anyway! He also, according to his team, gives the best motivational speeches!
 
The game began with Fred sending the disc towards the opponent.  Unbothered by the 20 mph wind gusts, he plays with "true confidence and a love of the game." When the Badgers were on defense, Aislin and Bo made the field feel awfully small. They covered their assignments with tenacity and technique, knocking the disc away or forcing their opponent wide where they couldn't get to it at all.  Lucy also broke up several passes - she was open the whole day - and made it so the defense had to focus on her! 
 
Jackson is described by his coaches as a "rookie that single handedly shut down half the field." The other half? Everett was everywhere, beating his opponent to the disc.  Massive wind gusts? Not a problem for this Tandem Ultimate team!  They played at a high level all afternoon - and did it with class - displaying the best of the culture of Ultimate Frisbee!
 
Congratulations to both the Light Blue and Dark Blue Ultimate Frisbee Tandem Badgers on this windy afternoon, and to Coaches Casey and Lisa who prepared them beautifully to excel in these conditions!  What a way to kick off the weekend!  If you haven't been to Darden Towe for Tandem Ultimate yet, the team is back in action next Friday and you do not want to miss it! Badger Up!
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Tandem Friends School is a co-ed Quaker day school for grades 5-12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
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