Return to Play

Editor/Interviewer: hazard

As we return to play, I wanted to hear a few stories about how some of the athletes in the community have been coping, and also how they've been preparing for the return to sport. This article is intended to highlight four of those stories. However, it is worth emphasising that the advice in this article is not medical in nature, and does not address the increased viral risk we will expose ourselves to by playing sport in large groups. Please be careful out there, and be mindful of the actions you are taking. 

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Q1. Who are you, what are some cool things you've achieved, and what are your future goals? 

I’m Rhona Gordon, I fell in love with ultimate and all it has to offer at Stirling Uni some years ago now and I’ve been based mostly in Glasgow, playing frisbee there ever since. In terms of teams, I played for and eventually captained Swift, before I joined Glasgow Ultimate Mixed (GUX) for the WUCC 2018 cycle and now I’ve jumped back to the women’s division to play for SCRAM. I love all things defence, I like to pride myself on being a loud positive teammate both on the pitch and on the sideline and I think my chants are great (GUX would possibly not agree).

In terms of future goals I can’t wait to just get back on the field and play elite Women's ultimate. I’m buzzing to have a couple of good seasons with SCRAM and show the rest of the UK (and further afield) what elite women’s ultimate in Scotland has to offer. I also love being a part of the ultimate community in Glasgow; there’s a fair few local events that were planned pre-pandemic that I’m looking forward to getting involved in when the season starts up again. I always have goals around getting women more involved in the sport but I’m still learning about the best ways to do this!

Q2. How have you coped during the downtime from Ultimate, and how have you been preparing to return?

Having no 2020 season totally sucked, I missed out on SCRAM’s first Nationals in 2019 due to falling off a climbing wall so I was super excited to get back on the pitch and was totally gutted when it became apparent that 2020 was going to be a write off. However I felt really lucky to be able to make the most of the free time that would usually be taken up by ultimate. I spent a lot of time outdoors, exploring areas of Glasgow that I wouldn’t have taken the time to notice previously, doing some hiking when restrictions allowed and (like many other frisbee players) started playing disc golf. I suppose I’ve really seen how much of my time is taken up by frisbee and in a way I’ve enjoyed the break, but I can’t wait to get back on the pitch.

It’s been exciting to get back to some training, I’m lucky that Glasgow Ultimate provides resources including an interval plan that I’ve been following, and I’ve just tried to focus on doing a lot of stretching and yoga - doing the best to listen to my body! I’m also still doing physio exercises for a previously broken ankle (see previous incident with a climbing wall), so getting that rehab right is really important to me! Like everyone else I’ve been doing my fair share of home workouts this past year, but they’ve mainly just helped to keep me moving. Now I train in my SCRAM pod on Saturdays and with GUX on Sundays - it’s been exciting to have to plan workouts around training again.

Q3. What lessons have you learned from your preparation? What advice would you give to other people as we start to return to the field?
WARM UP (and cool down). In our pod sessions that have started back up with SCRAM we spend a lot of time warming up at a slow pace. It’s a bit boring but it has been so worth it to know that your body is prepared, and it helps you notice and reflect on any imbalances, or any weaknesses you have to work on. My best advice for returning to play is probably to try to manage your expectations and make the most of the frisbee experiences that you’re able to enjoy. In the last couple of years I’ve seen how things that you’d never anticipate can change your life. So, at the moment I guess I’m learning to take in the joy of returning to train with your teammates again, even if I have to accept that I can’t give them a hug or a high five. It has felt like a bit of an emotional balancing act, but I’m focussing on being grateful for the frisbee we are able to play.

Q4. Anything else?  

The ultimate community (or in particular the Scottish Ultimate community for me) is so supportive and welcoming. While it’s been great to keep in touch with teammates over zoom, I can’t wait for the first opportunity to see everyone at a tournament (party).

Rhona playing for Glasgow Ultimate Mixed at WUCC 2018 (vs Vanguard, Australia)

Photo Credit: Paul Rutherford, UltiPhotos

Q1. Who are you, what are some cool things you've achieved, and what are your future goals? 

I'm Jim Scott, I’ve been playing ultimate since 2004 and have played elite and pro level sports from an early age. 2019 was a competitive frisbee year for me. I played EBUC with GB Mixed Masters and PAUC with GOML (a grandmasters open team). 2020 was supposed to be vengeance year, lined up for another competitive cycle.  

Q2. How have you coped during the downtime from Ultimate, and how have you been preparing to return?

After initially consuming ALL of the Frisbee on the internet and grasping that “normal” was a long way off, I took the opportunity to fill the “Frisbee” hole with other options that had not been taking a priority. I taught my son to surf, learned how to make delicious smoked foods and to identify a variety of trees and mushrooms. Generally, the break set up space for a much needed reset of “muggle” life balance.   

 

My family and I were blessed to spend so much time safely together during the lockdowns, but coping with the lack of team interaction was a challenge. Fortunately, the banter and positivity from my teammates at Reading Ultimate, XST (an offshoot from the mixed masters EBUC 2019 squad) and the Great Grandmasters Beach squad was on point to keep me smiling, looking forward and striving to improve.    

 

Q3. What lessons have you learned from your preparation? What advice would you give to other people as we start to return to the field?

Over the years, I’ve had many instances of stopping competitive sports but have found it leads to greener grass because the extended quite time allows introspection and review that is frequently overlooked while training regularly. In every instance of extended downtime I’ve come back with a new perspective, technique improvement, or training ideas. These have led to better performance. The Covid pause was no different. I used the down time to deeply focus on weak points in my game: Sprint Mechanics and explosive muscle recruitment, Aerobic Capacity and VO2 max, and I retrained my forehand for a flatter smoother release using a homemade training tool (this is not patent pending, hit me up if you want the design…). I look forward to our upcoming pitch time with fresh ideas and “bionic-like” physical performance.    
 
It has been a tough 18 months, and everyone will be coming back from different circumstances. Whether you have been a complete lockdown training beast or grinding out hours on the frontline helping others, when the time comes to return together my wish is that we take care of each other and earnestly listen to our bodies; and also perhaps for that little voice whispering insight that could be offering your next big game change! 

Q4 - Anything else? 

Hugs and antics on a sunny day soon. 

 

JS #66 

 Jim (left, lower) with son Isaac (left, upper). Photo Credit: Tracy Hannigan

Jim's homemade training aid (right). Photo Credit: Jim Scott

Q1. Who are you, what are some cool things you've achieved, and what are your future goals? 

Hi, I'm Connor! I'm a current Clapham squad member and multiple time European champion with Clapham and Great Britain.

Q2. How have you coped during the downtime from Ultimate, and how have you been preparing to return?

My down time from Ultimate has pretty much been entirely replaced with Disc Golf. It's been fun to learn a new disc sport and still be able to get outside and compete. Preparing for return has been mostly getting back out running. Disc Golf has kept the shoulders and arms ready to return but the hamstrings needed some reminding.

Q3. What lessons have you learned from your preparation? What advice would you give to other people as we start to return to the field?

My advice would be to put a specific plan in place so you can gradually increase the workload. Don't go too hard too quickly and make sure the approach is measurable based on target time/distance of your run.

Overall advice: don't be too hard on yourself. Most of us have never gone this long without any form of Ultimate. It's going to take some time to get back to where we were.

Connor McHale on the disc golf course

Photo Credit: Charlie Mead 

Q1. Who are you, what are some cool things you've achieved, and what are your future goals? 

I'm Rachel Naden and I’ve been playing ultimate now for 10 years, although maybe I can get away with saying 9 if you discount this year. I’m an environmental advisor who fell in love with the sport from the moment I started my degree.

I’m really proud that I’ve been able to represent GB twice in 2019, Reading Mixed and Bristol Women at WUCC and have had the opportunity to travel across the world exploring new places and meeting new people. I’m co-president of Leeds Ultimate, it’s great to be able to provide an opportunity for the local frisbee community to play and develop.

If frisbee could only be played on one surface it should be the beach. Sand, sea, ultimate what’s not to love? Plus, it’s such a good way to introduce or raise awareness of the sport. There have been several times at beach tournaments where young girls have been watching games. I’ve had an opportunity to chat and throw with them on the sideline and to show them how strong and powerful women are, it’s something I wish I’d had at a younger age. So rather long winded but one of my main goals is to play more beach, hopefully Boracay at some point. I also want to trial for a GB squad for the World Beach Ultimate Championships. World Games is on the horizon, so I guess I can put that out there as a goal? 

Q2. How have you coped during the downtime from Ultimate, and how have you been preparing to return?
This might come as a surprise but Covid was the break that I needed but never would have taken from Ultimate. It has been a great opportunity for me to progress my career, take up cycling, relax, see more friends (even in the pandemic?) and prioritise what I want to focus on post-pandemic.

I’m really fortunate that my personal trainer (@transferabletraining) has been there for all his athletic clients throughout the pandemic, especially with lockdown 3.0, as he’s been training us 1 on 1 outside the gym in whatever the weather can throw at us. His main focus is to prepare us for the movements we make on the pitch so sprinting, acceleration, jumping and change of direction. I’m aiming to throw 2/3 times a week and hit easy wins like sleep, water and eating enough food.

Q3. What lessons have you learned from your preparation? What advice would you give to other people as we start to return to the field?
Go throw (but make in purposeful)! Despite being fundamental to the game, it’s one area that I’ve probably neglected. For me, I think I struggle to motivate myself because progress is harder to measure unlike how much you can squat, or your 5km time. However, these things will only take you so far – there’s a reason why Usain Bolt never got that contract with Manchester United he didn’t have the in-game skill/ game awareness.

Your throwing practice should not be perfect because there’s always an element you can improve on. Don’t apologise for throwing it into the ground etc. as long as you’re assessing why that might be and what you can do to adjust it. You’ve got to fail to succeed.

Make the reality of throwing 2/3 times a week as easy as possible. With the clocks changing it’s becoming lighter in the evening. Find a friend who wants to do the same, schedule it in as a priority where possible and think about the areas you want to focus on - don’t just throw the disc back and forth. 

Finally, take it easy and reset your expectations! We’ve all had a year without a summer of tournaments and weekly trainings. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll be at the same level of fitness before lockdown and that’s ok because it will come back. Listen to your body, don’t play on if you’ve tweaked something and go easy on yourself. Better to be sensible now rather than putting yourself out of action for another season.

Q4. Anything else? 

Nothing else from me, just that I’m super excited for Ultimate to return and I can’t wait to see what UKU have planned for the season.

Rachel getting in some throwing practice

Photo Credit: Rachel Naden

How a good player can become elite

Editor/Writer: Hazard

How does a good player make the leap to the elite level? What separates those players who are solid enough from those players who can be depended on when the going gets tough against all opponents? To find out those things you'd need to be an elite-level player. An elite-level player willing to impart their knowledge and wisdom to the world.

Well, fortunately for you all, I found some.

The conclusion: in addition to training at the highest level you can, some of the best things you can do revolve around what you do off the field. I've summarised the quotes (of which there was a lot of overlap) with some editorialising of my own below.


1. Throw. Lots.
Go throw. If you throw 20 mins 2 times a week focused you can be the best thrower at uni level if you do it for a couple semesters - Axel Ahmala, Clapham

Don't be fannying around doing anything else if you can't throw a decent forehand (or) break a force consistently. - Hannah Brew, GB Women/Iceni

This was by far the most dominant advice. It can't be underestimated how important throwing skills are. The more you can improve your throws - and learn the muscle memory to execute said throws - the more you can improve the range of options on field and the more mental processing power you can use to assess the validity of those options.

It is important to realise that not all throwing sessions are equal. The important part of Axel's advice is "focused". Think about what range you are throwing, and work out what range you can achieve with different throws consistently. Improve that. As Hannah said, the type of throw is also important. Practice breaks, and make sure your core skills are up to scratch. This is not to say more unusual throws aren't occasionally valid, but if you want to become an elite player, your fundamentals need to be solid.


2. Find a place to do sprints. Work on your movement.
Run more track than you think you need to. - Connor McHale, GB Men/Clapham

Know how to turn efficiently. - Hannah Brew, GB Women/Iceni (paraphrase)

I don't know about you, but when I watch track events at the Olympics, I don't often see them looking wildly around in the air. Half a second can make a big difference when chasing down a disc or following a player, and every deviation you have to take from proper sprinting form is one that is going to slow you down.

Of course, for that deviation to really affect you, you need to have good form in the first place. It's actually not the most natural movement to turn quickly with a jab step, or to keep your hips pointed forward while glancing over your shoulder to keep an eye on the disc. Again, like with throwing, the more you can commit form to muscle memory, the more it will pay off on field. 


3. "Lift heavy things" - Anon

You don't really need to know much about elite players to know they spend a lot of time working on strength and conditioning. Not only does this help prevent injury (meaning more time can be spent on field practising), but being faster and stronger is obviously an advantage in any sport.

This was actually the piece of advice that I was worst at implementing. The gym seemed like a scary place to me, and while I would (very) occasionally go with friends, I was petrified of going on my own and of injuring myself/looking like a fool. So I have every sympathy for players in a similar position.

I wont give advice about what S&C you should do - I'm still learning that side of things. But my advice for how to start doing it: find a friend and set up a schedule (nothing is as powerful as habit), look up YouTube videos videos, and try to build some sort of exercise plan you can stick to. Some people take to S&C easily. Some people don't. But it is a very useful tool in becoming a better player, so it's worth pushing yourself to do.

With that said, don't let this become the be-all and end-all. Fitness is good, but it's part of the whole picture:

Turn one (probably two) of your weekly fitness sessions into throwing/disc-based fitness sessions. Teammates want the elite with disc in hand during crunch time. - Josh Briggs, GB Men/Clapham


4. Self-reflection makes a better player

I naturally reflect on how I played quite a lot...take a focus from your reflection into your practice. - Alice Hanton, GB Women/Leeds

Ask people who are better for feedback and advice. Most people will give it to you, and you shouldn't be scared to ask. - Someone who decided not to give their name.

How do we improve? Only by realising our mistakes, and working to correct that behaviour. The easiest way to do this? Talk to people. Create goals for yourself, and then check if you meet them. This will take different forms for different people. I've known some people keep a diary, and others who hated it (cheers for the honesty Axel). I'll often chat with people in the car on the way back home, asking what a highlight was (some people need to reflect on the good things they do), and something they need to improve (other people need the other thing).

But to be able to self reflect properly, you need to know what good Ultimate looks like, and whether that matches how you play. I'm very lucky - for me, commentating is actually a very good chance to critically analyse play and recognise things I want to implement in future. But even just on the sideline at tournaments, you can recognise impressive play. What anon says is very valid though - we are a community, and we're actually very willing to help each other out. Don't be afraid to ask people for advice, both for yourself and for what they think good Ultimate looks like.

5. Have fun, and find out what motivates you

Keep playing fun things too though. Don't be a loser. - Rupal Ghelani, SYC/all the GBs.

If you look cool while doing it, it was the correct choice. - Andrew Warnock, Alba

Ok, so I'm a little bit tongue in cheek for using these quotes, but for me they do highlight something important. There are different reasons people play Ultimate, but for those elite players, they usually have a clear philosophy as for why. Some athletes play to win games, some only care about winning trophies, some play to perform the best they possibly can. On another level, some like very prescriptive play, others like more freedom and creativity.

All of them, at some level, enjoy what they do and are motivated to get better. I've known a lot of players get fatigue after finishing a high level tournament because they weren't actually enjoying themselves. You have to know what motivates you as a player, because it is a lot of effort to make the jump to the elite, and it wont come without effort. Often, that does involve, at some level, having fun.

A shot of SMOG 1 vs Deep Space at UKU Nationals.
Players from both teams put in a lot of work behind the scenes to reach the level they're at today.
Photo Credit: Sam Mouat for the ShowGame