- Pawel Janas
Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.
Ciao amici e benvenuti a un'altra edizione di…*record scratch* *freeze frame*
*Commissioner’s booming voice from above: Noooooo
I don’t know about you, but I seriously do not enjoy watching sporting events between two evenly-matched teams. This is why, after two weeks and eight games of the 2023 WUL season, I am sending an SOS to all the players and coaches reading this: please stop competing.
My issue is not so much ideological - local growth, the spread of talent, blah blah blah - as it is physiological. You see, the stress of not knowing the outcome one hour before the final buzzer does a number on my delicate tummy. All I want to do is get up and leave when I see a tied score at halftime (did I even bring my pepto? where is it?). By the 4th, if the score is within 2 or 3, I start questioning why I came to the game in the first place. Twenty bucks for this gastrointestinal inflammation? Never again.
Needless to say, this commentator is not enjoying watching WUL games this year nearly as much as he enjoyed watching them last year. The soothing 26-18 and 27-14 Tempest beatdowns were some of the best games of 2022. The Sidewinders’ 16-11 and 18-12 victories were a bit close to the bellyache territory, but still thoroughly enjoyable. This year? Pretty much every game has been too close for comfort, which, in my humble opinion, makes the product way less digestible. If the league wants to flourish in the entertainment industry, it has to put an end to the competitive discomfort that I - and many others - have to suffer through.
So please, let’s bring back the reassuring certainty of sports. Do it for the fans. And their toilets.
Recap
Did you know that the WUL has the best frisbee data infrastructure on the planet right now? And yes, putting the satire on hold, I am serious (Editor’s note: for once!).
All you have to do is go to https://westernultimateleague.com/, hover over “Schedule”, and click “WUL Stats Hub.” There, you can access detailed data on players and teams for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Special shout out to Ben Sadis - the in-house data wizard- and Ryan Kindell and Remy Schor for collecting this awesome data every week.
Scrolling to last weekend’s games, you would notice that Malina Wiebe (SF) had 6 goals against San Diego, which ties Blair Messner for second most in a single game. She’s already had 10 goals through the first two games, which is the most in anyone's first two games of their WUL career. As a homework exercise, please look up the production of Avery Jones, Paige Kercher, and Kat Songer. Juicy numbers y’all.
Question for March 23rd, 2023:
It is clear that parity is the name of the game so far this season. There were no blowouts this past weekend, and teams were within 3 or 4 points of each other in most games. Of the teams that lost this past weekend (CO/SF/OR), which one - if any - should feel good about keeping the score close? Next, imagine you are the coach for all WUL teams at once. What adjustment would you work on at next week's practice (*cough* endzone *cough*)? And finally, who you got winning at the Super Bloom Beach Bowl?
Balance
Ange: After one quarter, the SD @ SF game had blowout vibes, so good for the Falcons for tying it up in the 3rd and staying close throughout the rest of the game. Since there are no longer moral victories for Oregon (who now sits at 0-3), I’ve gotta crown Colorado this week’s moral victor for their debut WUL match. But like my 96-year-old grandad says, “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades”…and I guess point diff, but that’s not as catchy.
Bryce: I'm feeling good about my team's performance if I'm San Francisco Falcons. Their O-line Defense especially played really well throughout the game and kept it a one-score game all the way into the fourth quarter. They lost a losable game (if making championship weekend is the goal) but will need to go at least 1-1 this upcoming weekend, with a win on day 2 against the Sidewinders, to keep the season on track.
Nicole: We love parity! Close games are so exciting (Editor’s note: *nausea incoming*) . Of the 3 teams that lost this weekend, San Francisco should feel pretty good about keeping the score close. San Diego came into the 2023 season being a favorite, and SF, by comparison, had to prove themselves. And they have. Especially because they were down by a bit at the start, generated a ton of turns, and converted against a really tough team.
Kenny: What I love about an eight-game regular season is that it's never too early to speculate about the playoffs. And it's very possible we see point differential decide which team or teams go to Championship Weekend this year. Of these three teams, San Francisco is probably going to care most about point differential right now. They took a game from LA on Week One with a six-point margin. That differential got cut a little bit with their loss to San Diego, but if they can pull off another divisional win or two, and take care of business against one of their other cross-divisional matchups later, keeping the games they lose close might be their way to punch a ticket to the big show in Seattle come June.
Pawel: Colorado has to get all the pity points this week, right? I mean, the first game in franchise history against a very good Utah team, on the road, and one 3rd quarter meltdown away from winning? Alas, I digress.
Basics
Ange: The only thing that keeps me up at night about the league is how often teams allow open-side, front-cone scores. Can someone - ANYONE - please stop the up-line score to the front corner so I can get my 10 hours of beauty sleep each night?! You have to know where your player is trying to score by this point in the season. So, Shut. It. Down. (Editor’s note: yaaaas.)
Bryce: Stepping back a bit and viewing the season from 30,000 ft, club ultimate players have been playing June-October for a long time (insert your personal favorite reference to Daiquiri Decks and Sarasota Winds and games to 21 or whatever makes you feel good about how old you are). Further, we're used to regular seasons that have a near-zero bearing on post-season play because everyone qualifies for the first round of the post-season in club ultimate, so it doesn't matter if you start the season slow. I LOVE the WUL (and all semi-pro games) because each time you're taking the field, the result of the game matters. So given the context and the fact that we're all collectively learning this transition, it makes sense that teams have been less-than-crisp in the details in these March games. But game 1 in the WUL matters; a slow start, no matter how great you look after the last regular season game, can relegate you to a fan in the stands for championship weekend. I hope coaches are preaching a sense of urgency for the finer details of the game. Red zone efficiency and break chance efficiency are the two that stick out to me. Get those numbers working for you instead of against you this weekend.
Nicole: If I'm the coach for all the WUL teams (thankfully I'm not, ya'll are doing a great job though), I don't know that I would coach more endzone. No need to set up an endzone, just throw more hucks and score. I'll leave that to Pawel. (Editor’s note: *finger snaps*) The only adjustment I'm making is "throw more hammers." PLEASE. I know the throwers on these teams have this in their back pocket. While we're at it, let's see some scoobers, push passes, and thumbers. I don't even care if they aren't completed throws, just give the people what they want! (Like I said, thank goodness for these teams that I'm not a Coach, I'd be terrible at it.)
Kenny: If I have one message to give teams from a coaching soapbox, it has to be Defensive Line Offensive Efficiency. If you've got it, you will win. Defenses are doing a great job at disrupting the offense so far this season. We have turnovers aplenty. In Week One, teams averaged more than 30 per game. That's a lot of opportunities for a decisive D-Line to take control, and in fact, we saw it happen when San Francisco surprised Los Angeles. Their DLOE was around 30% that game, and the scoreboard showed it. Seattle's DLOE was 30% when they knocked off San Diego in Week One as well. It might mean moving a couple of key handles across lines or even just hammering disc possession into defenses. But at this point, we can expect the defense to get opportunities to score even against the teams sitting at the top of their divisions. If we see more great upsets this season, my bet is that it will come from good defenders making great offensive plays.
Pawel: Respectfully, I am running a 3-hour practice with only end-zone reps, for both the O- and D-lines. Red-zone conversion in the 30-40% range is poop, and that’s where all the teams are at right now. Don’t blame the wind or first-game jitters. Utterly horrendous.
Boom Goes the Bloom Beach Bowl
Ange: I have no plans to drop a game at home this weekend, so Super Bloom is going 2-0 at the Beach Bowl. Write it down. Put that money in the bank. (Editor’s note: yeah, in Silicon Valley Bank, oh snap!)
Bryce: After Arizona and San Diego both go 2-0 this weekend at Super Bloom Beach Bowl, we'll get to see those two square off on April 8th; so that’s when we'll know who won the SBBB?
Nicole: This weekend will be super exciting for those of us that live in the Southwest, I finally get to see the AZ Sidewinders play live (yes, even as a practice player during their 2021 season, I still have not been to one of their games). As an LA transplant, betting on the LA v AZ game is tough... I can't pick a winner. I just want all my friends to have fun and make sick plays.
The other games, I will call easily:
SF v SD - we're looking at another close game, but I'm betting on SD by 3.
SF v AZ - AZ looks strong, and I have to root for my hometown heroes. AZ by 5
LA v SD - I know Maggie O'Connor is in her villain era, and the team is looking to prove something. LA by 2.
Pawel: Everyone in LA is pissed. It’s been raining all winter. It’s cold. What the hell, man? And for that reason, Astra is going 2-0 this weekend.
This Week’s Contributors:
Kenny Baldwin (he/him) is a contributing writer for the WUL and a broadcast commentator for the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred. Catch him on Twitter at @FlatballKenny.
Nicole Garnes (she/her) has played Ultimate frisbee since 2016, playing Club in both the Women's and Mixed Divisions in Arizona, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Nicole on Twitter @bring_snaaacks.
Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.
Bryce Merrill (he/him) is a youth ultimate organizer in Utah, Head Coach of the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred, and the inaugural coach of the Utah Wild for the 2021 Winter Cup.
Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community.