USA Ultimate

 

The semifinalists had an early start to the day with games starting at 8:30 am, but the U-19 girls got the earliest finals time, meaning they would be finished early in the day.

 

Inspired by the "5 things to learn..." series by Mike Lawler about the All-Star Ultimate Tour, here are five thoughts/things to learn from the Seattle Echo showcase game at YCC.

(1)  Sometimes the game is not about the score. In the Echo showcase game, the score wasn't publicly displayed, except for a few "awesome points" given out by Abby Hecko for sweet plays. Instead, the focus was on community and showcasing the U-16 girls' division at the highest level. The two squads huddled together before the game, at halftime of the game, and at the end of the game. Regardless of who scored, all players cheered EC - HO. There were constant high fives on the field and on the sideline as players mingled with other U-16 girls who stopped by to watch after their games wrapped up. Nicole Neumiller, coach of Bay Area's Belly of the Beast, was using this opportunity to point out Echo strengths to her players.  

The level of play can still be high - even without points on the line.    

(2)  The greatest match ups are sometimes your friends and teammates, those who know you better than anyone else. These people challenge you to reach your true potential by pushing you out of your comfort zone. When someone knows your style of play, they try to take away your strengths, helping you find more strengths. Watching the Grace Patterson and Emma Constantino match up in the Echo showcase game was pure fun. Matching step for step, challenging every throw and every catch, they played with an intensity that really stood out. Overheard in the halftime huddle - "I don't usually run through my Ds, but I had to when I was guarding you."  

Take the match ups that excite you, make your teammates better, rise to the occasion when you are pushed beyond your comfort zone.

(3)  Friendships in this community run deep. Last year, Vanessa Beeler and Bailey Shigley became fast friends at YCC. Beeler was even on the sideline cheering on Seattle Uprising in the 2014 finals game. A year later, these two were reunited on the fields in Blaine where they matched up against each other in two different games. But that wasn't quite enough. As the showcase game wrapped up, Echo invited players on the sideline to hop in for a 5 v 5 scrimmage. Soon Beeler and Shigley were matched up on each other, pushing each other with huge smiles on their faces.  

It's really neat to see young players who will likely be competitors and friends for years to come - if we're lucky we'll get to watch these two go cleat to cleat across many levels of our sport.

(4)  Be able to accept uncontrollables in the sport of ultimate. This past Sunday, a storm rolled into Blaine, Minn., delaying games and scattering players between complex buildings, hotels and Super Target. Games overlapped, and spectators dwindled due to the lightning delay and the field conditions by the time Echo took the field for the showcase game. More often than not, the measure of greatness is not what you do on the field under the perfect conditions, but how you carry yourself when everything else goes wrong. Players like Yenni Lee and Tess Barton really stood out as natural on-field leaders in these moments of adversity. Barton continually reached peak height on end-zone grabs, while Lee dominated the field with her under cuts.

Your mental game matters - in ultimate and life, there are many things out of your control. Be mentally tough when faced with adversity, and people will notice.

(5)  Growing the sport for girls is a community effort. There has been so much support for GUM from players at all levels and across divisions, but we can do better to support gender equity in practice. The Echo showcase game and the U-19 girls' third-place game occurred concurrently with the boys’ finals, each with only a handful of spectators. The boys’ games across the way were three deep and had huge sideline energy. How do we create a culture where all divisions receive this support? During Friday's GUM Clinic, many players made a pledge to support girls in ultimate and committed to asking five other people to do the same.  

Actions speak louder than words - what's your GUM pledge?  

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Semifinals

The teams in the U-16 girls’ division had gotten stronger all weekend. With each point, each game and each day, they got to know one another better, and their confidence grew. That all showed when the semifinals rolled around on Sunday morning. It showed in the final scores as well.

Both of the semifinals ended up being rematches from pool play, but the teams involved were nothing but excited about the match ups. Seattle Echo I faced Cincinnati Belle, and Seattle Echo II was matched up against Bay Area Belly of the Beast. Both Belle and Belly of the Beast were excited to face off against their respective Seattle teams again, to have another chance to show what they are made of. And with good reason. Both Cincinnati and the Bay Area put up real fights against the powerhouse Seattle squads.

Athletes on both fields weren’t shy about putting up deep shots, and in particular, Cincinnati Belle’s deep game kept them in the fight against Echo I throughout the semifinal. The great hands of Rebecca Monnin kept coming down with 50-50 balls, often in the end zone. She did her fair share of throwing goals as well, but more often than not, she was downfield pulling down the hucks Cincinnati’s stable of impressive throwers put her way. Teressa Kenny especially stood out in that role.

After falling 13-3 in Saturday’s pool play match up, Cincinnati put up eight points on Seattle in the semifinals. Final score: 13-8.

In the second semifinal, Bay Area Belly of the Beast was challenging every in-cut from Seattle. Their pressure caused plenty of turns and earned them their share of possessions. But Seattle was also intensely challenging all Belly of the Beast’s cuts and throws. Echo II’s marks really shined in this game, creating footblocks, miscues and high stall count bail-out throws.

Many throws (both ways) were oh-so-close throws – good decisions thrown to the perfect cut that just happened to pop a little high on the release and just graze the fingertips of receivers with outstretched arms. Like Cincinnati, the Bay Area had made significant strides since they faced Echo II in pool play. After falling 13-1 in that first match up, they scored seven points in the semifinal. Final score: 13-7.

But seeing the progress of all the teams in the girls’ U-16 from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon left the athletes, coaches, parents and fans with nothing but excitement about the prospect of next year’s competition.  

 

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