open divison, and also to qualify for upa’s in florida.
17. What do you most like about the game? Ie. If you’re handler, does that give you the rush? Or the flow? Or the layouts? Or the d-blocks? What do you enjoy the most? That’s tough. . . I love cutting. I love beating my defender: letting him think he can cover me, thinking he’s in control, and then beating him to wherever I want to go on the field.
18. Do you listen to music prior to the game? If so, what bands or singers, and why? I like to warm up with music because it allows me to get to the mental place where I need to be. But it’s not always the same kind of music. . . I like a variety. Generally there’s some linkin park and some eminem in there though.
19. Gotta ask. . . . . . Who’s the best of the four of you? I would have to say that Derek is the best, but I would like to think the gap is getting smaller!
20. On that same note, is one of you better at one thing than the other? Do you each of strengths (better vertical, better handler, more consistent D?) Jamie has a way of making people believe stuff that no one else can make them believe – he’s a great motivator. He leads by example and leaves it all on the field. Derek is by far the most naturally skilled with the disc, and he has the ability to pick up other disc skills really quickly as well. He’s also extremely agile, making him impossible to cover on the bail. Bill is extremely consistent in his game, and through his Ultimate career he’s always had the ability to fill whatever role is required of him on the team.
21. How has the game changed from when you started? When I started it was vertical stacks and zone in the wind. Much has changed. . . . Or has it for you? When I started, everything was pretty much strictly vertical stack on offense and man or zone defense. Since then the game has changed in many ways and all areas, but the
Ultimate Canada Magazine —
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biggest change I’ve seen is in the intensity and the amount of athletes that are now playing the game. It’s great to see and it’s only getting better.
22. How do you see the sport evolving. Back to v-stacks, or something else we haven’t seen yet? I can’t fully imagine what’s going to happen, but I will assume there will be some new offensive strategies (other than horizontal, vertical or split stack) and defensive strategies as well. Again though, I think the biggest changes will be in the calibre of athletes, which is increasing as the sport becomes more recognized. There has already been a huge difference from when I started playing until now.
23. Is the Ultimate community doing enough to get the sport growing at the youth level? If not, do you have any ideas? If yes, great. I am in 100% agreement with Derek and Jamie – I think change at the Juniors level would increase the interest as well as the level of play.
24. Which are your favourite tournaments, and why? Boston Invite. The competition level is always high and it’s good to play against
such top level teams. Though we’ve never placed extremely well, it’s always a good time with good Ultimate. It’s easy to want to push yourself in that kind of environment. No Borders – it’s always nice to play so close to home, and the competition coming out has been getting better and better.
25. Often ulty players can remember big plays from years ago even. Name a couple of plays you saw or were part of that really stick in your memory. Derek made a sweet catch in the finals against Sweden at the WJUC in Germany in 2000. He made a great grab, skying two defenders in the endzone, one of which was mine who pouched off. A second is a layout D that Paul Cobb (of Phoenix) made atBoston in the fall of 2008. It was so ridiculous I don’t even have words to describe it, but if you ask anyone who saw it they would also say it was unbelievable.
26. Not counting your brothers, which male Ultimate player really impresses you from the younger ones? Which from the veterans, and why to both. In terms of the young guns, Kielan Way is someone who I’ve
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