USA Ultimate

Event Website U-16O Scoreboard

[PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]

Before we get into Sunday’s action, this reporter would like to take the opportunity to correct a misconception that was communicated in Saturday’s write up. The U-16 team from the Seattle area is not officially affiliated with the DiscNW organization, but was rather the work of several dedicated parents along with Seattle Rebellion Coach Reid Koss. Apologies for any confusion that might have resulted from this error. 

Sunday morning rose overcast and cool. As teams prepared for their quarterfinal matches, the light breeze and lack of sun made for good running weather. Johnny Hock, coach of Chicago Micromachines, mentioned that fatigue remained a factor: "A lot of these kids aren’t used to getting back on a field on Sunday. You get a team with depth, and that could well be the difference." Minimizing mistakes and keeping kids focused at this age was also a concern. As Valerio Iani, Bay Area Aftershock coach noted, "we need to work on the mentality. The players sometimes don’t realize that they are good, that they can play at a high level."

One team that certainly could be recognized for its quality was Seattle Rebellion. All weekend long, the Rebellion side was able to break down whatever their opponents threw at them, make the adjustments, and make them work. Facing Cincinnati Flying Piglets early, Coach Reid Koss could be heard exhorting his defense: "It’s all number 10 (Flying Piglet Craig Kaiser)! Stay on him tight!" The strategy, like many others Koss tried out, worked to near perfection. Though loaded with talent, Rebellion doesn’t seem to rely on just a few names on their roster. While players like Nels Schimek and Xander Cuizon-Tice show up on the stat sheet quite a bit, each of Rebellion’s games leading up to the final was a total team effort. After churning through the quarters versus Flying Piglets and semis against Aftershock with relative ease, Rebellion prepared to face their opponent from the first game Saturday, Delaware Valley DeVYL. 

DeVYL’s road to the final was significantly less smooth. Facing a depleted but fierce Pittsburgh Pulse in the early round, DeVYL struggled to keep in rhythm as the game churned slowly on toward cap. Both teams traded big plays and big turns, and while Pulse rode the increasingly weary Bobby Lincoln’s inspiring play, DeVYL got a lot of mileage out of Nehar Damle and big D from Connor Stratton. After the cap went on, Pulse would score the consolation point, but the game was already out of reach, giving DeVYL a shot against defending champions, Triangle Area Greatest Hits, winners over Minnesota Superior U16. This game was one for the record books. A fiercely contested game went back and forth, with neither team gaining control. DeVYL took half, but Greatest Hits’ trap zone brought the game closer. DeVYL captain Sadie Jezierski raked in a layout Callahan to stop the short Greatest Hits run, and then the teams traded points until DeVYL was able to capitalize on Universe point on a Nick LaRue to Kevin Stelmach score. In the end, Greatest Hits’ Marc Rovner and Dillon Lanier’s excellent play were unable to fully reverse the damage done by early break scores from DeVYL’s Connor Russell. 

The Rebellion/DeVYL finals preparation was a study in how far the U-16 division has come. Both teams looked as locked in as any club team, and their coaches plotted to bring the right strategy to the field. Ryan Belline, coach for DeVYL, planned for his team to "take the vertical outs and stretch the field when we can. We also want to try to slow their handler movement, which is well beyond their years." Rebellion coach Reid Koss had his teams in an offense/defense full scrimmage: "We need to come out strong so we don’t have to make a come back… I want us at game intensity." The end results of that preparation were clear as the game wore on. While the Saturday match had been somewhat closer, Rebellion’s preparation and all-around game were more than DeVYL could handle. Despite heroics from Nick LaRue, Alec Hundziker and Sadie Jezierski (including skying a crowd of opponents to tear a score out of the air), DeVYL could not find a consistent rhythm, and the backbreaking D play of Rebellion, led by Xander Cuizon-Tice, was able to shut the door decisively, making Seattle Rebellion the 2012 YCC Open U-16 champions.

Among the players to watch on Sunday were:

• Aaron Hom, Bay Area Aftershock, coming up huge for the game-winning layout score against Chicago Micromachines. 
   
• Michael Rydel, Minnesota Superior U16, making several key throws in the quarterfinal against Greatest Hits.
   
• Craig Kaiser, Cincinnati Flying Piglets, making several big catches and a crucial D despite having Rebellion players keying on him all game in the quarterfinal. 
   
• Abe Eichner, Triangle Area Greatest Hits, bringing down several scores over the day’s action. 
   
• Nick LaRue, Delaware Valley DeVYL, driving the DeVYL side on both O and D all day long. 

Final Standings: 1 - Seattle 2 - DeVYL 3 - TYUL 4 - Bay Area Disc 5 - Cincinnati 6 - PHUL 7 - Minneapolis 8 - Chicago Full Results		Spirit Scores: 5.00 - Cincinnati* 5.00 - Bay Area Disc 4.67 - TYUL 4.33 - Seattle 4.00 - Chicago 3.33 - DeVYL 3.33 - Minnesota 2.60 - PHUL * denotes won tiebreaker
2012 YCC U-16O Champions: Seattle  [PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]  2012 YCC U-16O Finalists: DeVYL [PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]		Team Spirit Award: Cincinnati [PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]   Individual Spirit Award Winners [PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Leclaire UltiPhotos.com]