Get Excited

With the holidays behind us and classes starting in under two weeks, it's time to start thinking about springtime ultimate. Here's what to get excited about:

• Touching a disc again, although probably not until Knox Indoor (Jan 31-Feb 1)
• Life as a gnome again
• Freakin' ULTIMATE!!!
• Wizard staff at apt 14
  

Here's what to expect, briefly:

• Twice weekly required track workouts at Horton Fieldhouse
• At least once weekly additional run/workout (Optional but highly recommended if you want to be a part of our success this spring)
• A tryout process consisting of a few skills practices along with intra-team scrimmages and a possible tryout tournament/intercollegiate scrimmage. Invitations to the A team will be given on a rolling basis
• 1 Co-ed tournament (Knox Indoor)
• 3-4 Men's tournaments before the series (We're looking at probably Chicago Invite, Huck Finn, possibly Big Tens and maybe one more which will be decided once all of the tournament dates are announced)
• Sectionals (Usually 1st or 2nd weekend in April
  
• Regionals (1-2 weekends after sectionals)

With that out of the way, it's time to start getting serious about getting into shape for the spring season before it creeps up on us and we've all got beer guts. There are exactly 4 weeks from today to our first tournament, and only 8 opportunities to workout with your team, none of them with a disc in hand. Do you want to play in a tournament with only 8 workouts under your belt? I hope not, and I know I don't, so here's what I expect from everyone every player on the men's team, and what I recommend to every player at ISU:

• Get out for a short run (2-5 miles) at least twice a week either by yourself or during one of the optional runs mentioned above
• Do some calisthenics every day on your own to help strengthen your core, such as push-ups/crunches/pull-ups/leg lifts. I won't lay this out for your specifically, but if you don't already something like this in your daily routine, here's what I recommend: [Do 21 push-ups, then immediately flip over on your back and do 21 crunches, the flip over again and do 14 push-ups, then 14 crunches, then 7 push-ups, then 7 crunches. On the last set (the 7's), do as many of each as you can and once you get past 21, begin the entire workout at 28].
• Touch a disc everyday. And no, I don't mean slapping the disc on your wall when you leave for class in the morning and quietly whispering to yourself "Play Like a Champion Today". I mean get a disc, get a friend, and go outside (or inside) and throw for at least 10 minutes. When you're throwing with a partner, as always, try not to mix up your throws. Throw at least 10 of the same throw (a high release backhand is a different throw from a low-release backhand), and then move on to another throw. This gives your muscle memory a chance to develop and also allows you to work out the kinks in a particular throw as opposed to throwing it imperfectly once and forgetting about it.