Day 2

Author: Brian Jones

Returning to the booming metropolis of Versailles, Ohio with a perfect
record to its name, Ghetto Force arrived for the second day of the
East Plains Club Sectionals with its eyes on grabbing D2 gold and thus
eternal ultimate glory. Nothing would stand in their way.

The test for the day was to once again defeat Ram Jam from the College
of Wooster. While Ghetto had narrowly snatched a victory the day
before, the level of difficulty in obtaining another was increased
from the previous day. The guidance of coach Evan Corcoran would not
be available, as he was unable to return for the second day.
Additionally, the extremely valuable cutting abilities of Ragen Frost
(lost to the Black Plague) and Pete Larkin (lost to an epic freestyle
battle Saturday night) would not be present. Ghetto did however add
the skills of the unassailable Ross Gueltzow to its already impressive
handling arsenal. The team prepared for the game by unleashing a
perfectly executed rendition of a cheer from Denzel Washington's
classic "Remember the Titans", and UD Men's Club Ultimate was ready to
roll.

Ghetto overcame a rough start to take an 8 - 6 lead into half time.
With Frost and Larkin gone, new Ghetto Superstars were given the
chance to shine through. Showing off great disc reading abilities for
a newbie in his first tournament, Jesse Grewal added more than just
diversity to the team, nabbing several key grabs in scoring points for
Ghetto. Birthday boy Adam Tardio showed off his speed and experience,
and among other key grabs beat his defender to the force side of the
end zone when given the iso-call, catching a flick from Jones for a
key upwind break.

The game remained a hotly contested battle throughout, with Ram Jam
bringing the score to 9 - 10 just after hard cap was blown. This meant
Ghetto would be receiving a pull and would need to score upwind to
avoid a universe point situation. After a few turns/turnts by each
side, "Marky Mark" Fedorenko unleashed a great upwind huck to fellow
freshman stud Patrick Kaufmann. Kaufmann, who proved to be as talented
as he is lanky, snatched the throw out of mid-air just short of the
end zone line. After being advised to by veterans to take what may or
may not have been a legal time out, Kaufmann and the rest of the
offense set up a plan to punch in the winning score. Both teams set up
in the end zone, and the disc was checked in and immediately dumped to
Marky Mark. Wooster's defensive strategy was very formidable, and Mark
was forced high into the stall count. With the taste of victory
tantalizing his taste buds, Jones darted from his right side handling
position towards the far cone looking for a break-side strike throw.
Halfway through the cut however, Jones realized that the throwing lane
was not there. Utilizing a level of agility and quickness that he
quite simply does not posses, Jones planted hard and cut back
horizontally to the force side. Mark stepped out wide and threw a
beautiful outside-in flick into the end zone. Jones' defender made an
admirable bid for the disc, which flew just inches by his outstretched
hand right to Jones in the end zone. The veteran handler, not used to
being on the catching end of a score, performed a textbook head-spike
in celebration of the dramatic victory and the completion of Ghetto's
quest to become the undisputed 2010 East Plains Section Division 2
Champions.

Thanks to Oberlin College's decision to leave the tournament a day
early, Ghetto Force managed to avoid an annoying and inexplicable
scenario in which they would have had to beat a team that did not
compete in Division 2 in order to win the Division 2 Championship. It
is believed whoever decided this system of play has the IQ of a small
soap dish. In short, Ghetto's dramatic win over Wooster was the
conclusion of a very exciting first tournament.

Ghetto appears to be in great shape entering the young season. After
losing many of its top-tier players to an ever present epidemic know
as "graduation" last season, many around the team expected 2010/2011
to be a rebuilding season for Ghetto. However, a plethora of young
talent combined with the great improvement of its veterans has Ghetto
hopeful of a season even more successful than the last. The dawn looks
increasingly bright for Ghetto Force, and the coming season should be
one for the ages.

(Note to the reader from the blogmaster: Below is a short synopsis, written by Josey. I have highlighted a couple paragraphs for your reading convience so you don't elect not to read it because of how short it is)

Ghetto Force entered the fall's first tournament (or "turntament" as
some may say) with a unique challenge to overcome. Several of the
team's seasoned veterans were unable to play for Ghetto due to a
previous engagement with Dayton's premier Club Ultimate team,
"Enigma". This left the team with only two players (Zach Kaylor and
Brian Jones) with more than a year of college ultimate experience
under their proverbial belts. Nonetheless, Ghetto came into the
weekend with one thing on its collective mind; pure domination.

Ghetto Force began the tournament/turnament taking on the first of
three Division 2 foes; Rocket Oxen of Case Western. A very formidable
wind created a point trading scenario for the first half hour or so of
the game, until Ghetto decided to string together by far the best
three point stretch of the weekend and potentially the entire fall
season. After scoring downwind to take a one point lead, Ghetto pulled
upwind. After a turnover/turntover by Case, Kaylor swung the disc to
Jones on the right side of the field. With coach Evan Corcoran
standing just yards away on the side line, Jones summoned some of the
alumn's handling greatness and released an upwind huck that few would
dare attempt. The throw sliced cleanly through the wind, flattening
out and descending gently in the back corner of the end zone to the
outstretched hand of Blue Chip recruit Patrick Kaufmann. A victory cry
of "Crab Cakes and Football!!" was unleashed, and Ghetto celebrated
it's first upwind break of the day. However, much more exuberant and
fanatical celebrating was soon to follow, and for very good reason.

Not 40 seconds after the Jones/Kaufmann connection, Ghetto pulled
downwind to their now shaken foes. The fear which Ghetto was
instilling quickly became evident, as the first handler swing pass
Case threw sailed over the intended players head and high into the
air. With the look of greatness in his eyes, Zach Kaylor summoned the
Ultimate lineage which flows through his veins and darted towards the
disc as it quickly descended towards the ground in the opponents end
zone. With the disc angling away from him and just inches from the
ground, the son of Ghetto Force's founder threw his body forward in
hopes of completing one of the greatest plays a Ghetto member has made
since his father crafted the team so many years ago. A split second
after Kaylor leaped, time stood still. With his body completely
parallel with the earth, Zach clasped his hand around the lip of the
disc only centimeters above the grass. The clouds above opened, and a
choir of Ultimate angels descended on the field to celebrate the
completion of one of the most phenomenal plays that can be made in a
competitive game of ultimate; a layout Callahan. While the events
described in the previous sentence may be a bit dramatized, the play
was freaking awesome. Many players wait their whole lives for the
chance at any sort of Callahan, let alone a layout in the first game
of the season. Understandably, pandemonium ensued.

After the Callahan celebration subsided, Ghetto prepared for another
attempt at an upwind break. After a very solid pull, Ghetto's other
Blue Chip recruit Mark Fedorenko lived up to his first name by putting
on a phenomenal mark and forcing another handler turnover/turntover by Case.
Marky Mark then picked up the disc and tossed it to the Callahan Man
himself, Zach Kaylor, for Ghetto's third straight point and their
second upwind break of the day. Case called timeout in an attempt to
regroup, but it was too late. The momentum from this greatness-filled
three point stretch carried Ghetto to an impressive 13 - 8 victory to
start the day.

In the next game Ghetto took on a slightly more formidable opponent in
Ram Jam from the College of Wooster. Even so, Ghetto put forth another
impressive performance, with the new recruiting class making quite an
impression. Mark Fedorenko proved to be as skilled on both offense and
defense as any opposing veterans the team saw all weekend. Patrick
Kaufmann was a deep threat that opponents simply could not deal with,
using his freakishly lankly build to great effect. Great performances
were not limited to these experienced freshmen however. Ragen "Iceman"
Frost displayed a tremendous understanding of cutter movement and
defensive positioning, all while dealing with a sickness whose
symptoms lead this commentator to conclude that he has a contracted a
case of the Black Plague. Details to follow. Famous rap artist Pete
Larkin also delivered an outstanding cutting performance, even with
some sever injuries to the back of his hands that reportedly were the
result of walls getting in the way of his moving fist. All of these
stellar efforts along with the veteran leadership of Kaylor and Jones
propelled Ghetto Force to a thrilling 10 - 9 victory over Wooster.

Ghetto was left with one more task for the day: Take down the Athens
Bulldogs of Ohio University. While Ohio's top tier players were
competing in the D1 part of the tournament/turnament, Ghetto was still
ready to face a tough opponent. Ohio University is a perennial
powerhouse in the East Plains section, nearly knocking off the ever
dominant Ohio State at last spring's College Sectionals. Ghetto knew
their opponent would be well coached, an expectation which was well
met. The Ohio game was the first time during the day that Ghetto was
forced to contend with a zone defense. With a group of largely
inexperienced cutters and just 3 experienced handlers, this proved to
be quite a test for the young team. However, Ghetto was well up to the
challenge. Red-shirt freshman Josh Weitz quickly mastered the proper
positioning when cutting in a zone offense. Thanks in part to his
blazing speed, and in part to his heads-up field vision, handlers were
routinely able to find hit Josh through holes in cup and get him the
"ball-ball-ball" quite frequently. Ghetto cruised in its final game of
the day, winning 12 - 6 and completing a perfect 3 - 0 record. It also
must be mentioned that newbie handler Brian Walsh caught what was
clearly the grab of the day (minus Zach Kaylor's Callahan of course),
by securing a disc that thanks to odd winds ended up on his lower
back/buttocks region while he was most of the way through falling over
forwards. He was subsequently given a gold star sticker and a Capri
Sun juice packet for his efforts.

With a very exciting day one in the books, Ghetto returned/returnt home to UD
to relax, and many enjoyed a cinematic adventure entitled "Hard Ticket
to Hawaii," which reportedly won the academy award for Best Movie Ever
Made.

Day 2 recap coming soon.

2010 East Plains Division 2 Club Sectionals Champs!!

News Flash! EXTRA EXTRA.

This just in....Following a 5-o victorious campaign Ghetto Force has just been named the 2010 East Plains Division II Club Sectionals Champions... Stay tuned for updates......

Safety In Numbers

With the date of club sectionals looming in the horizon the first ghetto force practice started with the intensity and emotion that comes with one of sex-panthers vegetarian bowel movements. Banished to the badlands of the University of Dayton property (the “fields” at the corner of Main and Stewart), Ghetto Force still managed to draw 28 to the first practice. As the team cleated up, Captain Phil set the tone for practice, deciding that Handler movement to be the focus for the day. After running through the time-honored partner throwing, the team ran through a series of go-to catching drills showing the freshman the speed and intensity that real ultimate is all about. The outstanding freshman class was able to show off their speed and superior hand to eye coordination. After break, Captain Phil introduced some advanced physic theory, known as the “handler weave” or to some as the “dump-swing”. Proving to be an easy task for the team including the freshman. After conquering the handler weave, the team transitioned into some scrimmaging. Still rusty after coming back from the summer off, Ghetto went through some growing pains. Suffering from frequent drops and an obvious lack of breaks, the sub-par performace reminded the team of how much we need to improve before the College season starts.

Stay tuned for news about ghetto’s sectional performance…..

Soaring Eagle, Cowering Snake, Leaping Frog

Day 1 of Ghetto Force Tryouts

Wednesday, September 1st marked the first event leading to the kickoff of the 2010-2011 Ghetto Force season. Working towards an improvement on last years successful campaign, Ghetto hopes to progress deeper into the Regional tournament. Ghetto has high hopes for the incoming class of new players and is greatly anticipating including new talent into the lineup.

If you were to predict the outcome of the season based on the single performance of first day, the outcome would be bright, blindingly bright. The first day of tryouts was an outstanding showing of effort and positive attitude. The new players showed not only tremendous athletic ability but an understanding and awareness of the game. As the team quickly ran through drills, Coach Papa Cork recorded the performance of new players and kept an eye out for the noob chaff to burned in the fires held deep within the Ultimate Mountains of Noob-dom. After some easy going obligatory agility and catching drills were out of the way, Capitans Phil and ButtRexs ushered the team into the perspiration gauntlet, the thresher for noob chaff, a drill only slightly better known as hills. This exercise is the fastest way to separate an Ultimate player from a bleeding heart, liberal, "Frisbee" tossing hippie, after numerous rounds of hills, the team came out the other side of the punishing drill alive and full of energy. "READY FOR MORE!!!" cried the Veteran, Sex Panther into the faces of a few freshman, as he sprinted down the hill ripping his shirt in half which subsequently set the tone for the rest of the try outs. Picking up on this blood thirsty energy, the team then transitioned into partner throwing and a water break.

Filling the remainder of the time was a short scrimmage. It was during this spectacle that many freshman were able to shine and show off their ultimate skillz and potential. Running vertical stack both teams were able to teach the fundamentals such as forces and stall counts. The scrimmage enabled the new recruits to experience only a sliver of what a real game in a tournament would be like. But overall the level of play was outstanding for the first day.

The final task in Tryouts was perhaps the most important, ladders. This drill showed the new recruits how to band together and overcome the physical demands and struggles that they will experience throughout the season. Even though everyone was tired and thirsty, the team still sprinted with the intensity that is expected out of a Ghetto Force squad.

Stay Tuned for More Updates on Ghetto Force and we'll see you at Day 2......