Category Archives: Timeline

Small Participants, Big Potential

July 23, 2013 -

Timeline

On Friday, Chris and I were privileged to attend the San Mateo Youth Ultimate camp. The Bay Area Disc Associate hosts five such camps for youth aged 8-14 throughout the summer. Each camp runs for a full week from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon.

Youth Director Valerio Iani explained that he designed the curriculum to teach kids the basics of the game while mixing in other activities to keep them interested. The kids run drills and scrimmage frequently, but they also play games like disc golf and frisbee tag. We even got to join in ln a few of the activities since there were only 15-20 kids this weeks. Other camps in the area have drawn as many as 45 participants.

Whatever the curriculum entails, its clear that it is working for a number of kids. Maggie Ruden, the San Mateo Head Counselor, says that the kids improve a lot throughout the week and they really enjoy the camp. In her third year as a counselor, she has seen a number of kids return for a second or third year. This year, she even has a former camp participant on her counseling staff.

Val, Maggie, and the Bay Area Disc Association have done a great job in creating an outlet for young children to learn to play Ultimate. We wish them the best of luck in continuing to inspire kids to pick up this sport. As you can see, some of this kids are going to become really good, spirited Ultimate players.

For more information on these youth camps, visit bayareadisc.org.

Rocketsauce, CA

July 20, 2013 -

Timeline

Ever been to a pickup game that’s been going on for 15 years straight? How about one that has its own logo, discs, and jerseys? If you answered yes to both of these, I’m sure you enjoyed Rocket sauce pickup as much as we did.

I had the opportunity to attend two Rocket sauce pickup games (Chris made it to the second one) an we also attended two Naughty Love practices, where many of the Rocket sauce attendees play club Ultimate. Rocket sauce is run by the one and only Calvin Chan, a cultivator of Ultimate pick-up games. Calvin, pictured above has created and run several pickup games in the LA area, the longest running of which is Rocket sauce.

Rocketsauce has a large variety of players, from guys who have been playing in the Monday night game for all 15 years to high school boys and girls who were just learning to walk when the first game was played. Calvin tries to maintain a balance of veteran players with a strong knowledge of the game with younger players just getting into the sport. Then, when he feels that players are ready for the next level, he introduces them to a club or league team. Club teams have even started coming to him to recommend players they should look at.

So, I lied. I wrote one more post about LA. But Calvin and the crew had too cool of a setup not to mention. I mean, there were over 40 players both times I attended Rocket sauce! And they were all good! LA really is a great place to be introduced to the sport of Ultimate. But we’ve had enough fun in this city. Bay area here we come!

A Blast in the Sand

July 18, 2013 -

Timeline

Every once in awhile, when you’re on the road, you get a little homesick. For Chris and I, this past weekend was one of those times. Eau Claire hosted the Gus Macker street ball tournament and the Kubb national championships, my family had our annual Wagner Open golf tournament and family reunion, and many of our friends spent the weekend in Chicago for the Sandblast beach Ultimate tourney. It was a lot to miss, but we weren’t about to let that get us down. In fact, we spent some time at the beach ourselves.

Neither Chris nor I have ever played beach ultimate, so we were looking forward to a new experience. Venice beach pick-up is certainly no Sandblast, but Christopher Schoonover and his crew know how to have a good time all the same. Chris’ brother Aaron and his friend, Matt joined us for the game and we’re glad they came along. Aaron took some sweet photos and Matt had, without a doubt, the play of the day: A layout score in the back of the endzone, reaching around his defender’s outstretched arm while in mid-air.

We’ve had a great time in LA and a big thanks goes out to everyone here, especially to Aaron Schasse, his girlfriend Ellen, and her cat, Dolly, for their Kickstarter contribution and their hospitality. This may be the last posts I write in LA, but the Schasse brothers have a lot of footage that we havent used yet and I have a feeling they might be up to something…

Lunch Time in LA

July 15, 2013 -

Timeline

Since we had no plans for Wednesday afternoon, we decided to check out a lunch time pick-up game in LA. We drove to a nearby park and met up with a group of guys who work together and play Ultimate four days a week on their lunch break.

The game was extremely relaxed: no cleats, no strict rules, and no clearly defined end zones or sidelines. Everyone could throw and catch proficiently, but the point of the game is not to be competitive. It’s just an outlet for a group of co-workers to take an hour out of their day to get together and toss a disc around.

Despite the fact that most of these guys work together, they leave the door open for anyone that wants to join. About a week ago, two young boys decided to seize the opportunity. 15-year old Evan and 11-year old Ryan are brothers who live across the street from where this pick-up game is played. The guys who run the game allowed them to play and both Evan and Ryan have gotten pretty good. We talked to them for a while about how they can become more involved with the sport and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them turn into very strong Ultimate players. Thanks to Neal Hanke and Rob Mattison for helping make their day!

We really enjoyed seeing Ultimate exist at such a casual level. It’s not often you find a group of people who play together for fun on their lunch break. It’s even more awesome that these guys are helping two young kids learn the sport. That’s the thing about this game: No matter your age, experience, or ability level, you can always find a game and a group of people to fit in with.

A Spikeball Spanking

July 12, 2013 -

Timeline

About a year ago, I was introduced to a game called Spikeball by my good friend, Dan Kaler. Spikeball is similar to volleyball except that it is played 2-on-2 and the objective is to hit a ball off a bouncy net so that your opponents are unable to return it. It quickly became the go-to game to play during byes in an Ultimate tournament and after awhile, I bought my own set. I’ve taught a lot of people how to play and fancied myself as one of the better players among my group of friends.

A few weeks into our trip, we found out that there was a Spikeball tournament happening in Santa Barbara when we had planned on being in LA. For the modest price of $10, I signed The Break Side up for the Amateur Division of the All American Spikeball Tournament.

Chris and I arrived just in time for pool play and soon realized that there was no such thing as an Amateur Division. In fact, counting the two of us, there were a total of three people at the tournament that I would consider amateurs. The long and the short of it is that we lost all six games of pool play, most by large margins, and were ousted in the first game of bracket play. You know that kid who shows up to his first Ultimate tournament and thinks he’s hot stuff because he can throw a backhand AND forehand better than all his friends? I have a new-found level of respect and sympathy for that kid.

In any case, here’s some footage of some GOOD Spikeball players. If you think you can keep up with these guys, you’re a better man than I…

The music for this video is by Joe Weber – a man whose house we are currently crashing at. This song is titled “Hammer.” You can check out this and other amazing tracks at https://soundcloud.com/bzukajoe

A Record Breaking Week!

July 6, 2013 -

Timeline

“You picked the worst possible time to come to Phoenix.” -Literally everyone we met.

With record-breaking high temperatures the past week, Phoenix residents spent most of their time indoors. However, the area seemed to have no lack of brave Ultimate players as we attended four pick-up games while in Phoenix. The games are scheduled either early in the morning or late at night to avoid the hottest part of the day, but the temperature was still always recorded in triple figures. Despite the heat, every game we attended had at least enough participants for 7 on 7 and Sunday and Wednesday night even drew a crowd big enough for two games.

We met some interesting characters at these games. On Tuesday night, John Barber was nice enough to show off some of his athletic skills for the camera. I actually met John about a year and a half ago in Georgia, and it was cool to see a familiar face all the way out in Phoenix. Watch closely, and I think you’ll see a move that up until last night, was only ever completed by my grandpa “Big” Jim Wagner in his younger days.

Phoenix boasts quite a few players with a lot of talent off the field too. Take Ashley Stahl for instance, who invited us over to showcase her flute “beat-boxing” abilities. Speaking of my grandparents, I think the only way this performance could have been better is if Ashley had been accompanied by Kay Wagner ticklin’ the ivory.

My grandparents are pretty awesome, so I wanted to throw a shout out to them. And as you can see, the folks here in Phoenix are pretty awesome too. I hope you enjoyed watching them as much as we did, and I hope LA is as much fun as Phoenix was!

The 4th in Phoenix

July 4, 2013 -

Timeline

We’ve been in Phoenix for a week now (don’t worry, a full recap of what we’ve done, including a few videos, is coming soon…) but we decided to stay here to celebrate the good ole US of A. This decision didn’t come easy, but a few plans fell through in San Diego, so we decided we could extend our time in Phoenix and skip Ron Burgundy’s favorite city. Plus, we were feeling pretty spoiled by having our own condo to stay in and didn’t want to leave just yet.

As it turned out, both Schasse and I were very happy with the decision. Tim and Roz (Schasse’s aunt and uncle) invited us over for lunch where they treated us to healthy portions of potato salad and baby back ribs. The food was garnished with freedom, independence, and the pursuit of happiness, so it sure tasted like the 4th of July!

After lunch, we went to a pool party in Tempe where we swam, played volleyball, grilled out, and drank a few American craft Brews. We even had time to give several discs away. The first went to Zac, the ten-year old son of Kaysi, a fellow Ultimate player and pool party attendee. Growing up with a mom who plays the sport, Zac was already an old pro with a disc in his hand. Here he is showing off an intense pose that his disc donor, Khoa Do would be proud of.

Since one is never enough on the 4th of July, we handed out two more discs to a pair of awesome little dudes who were chilling by the pool. Joshua and Jordan were having a great time tossing around with our group of friends. Schasse suggested giving them each a disc and after I hit one of them in the head with an errant throw, it sure seemed like the right thing to do. Thanks Richard West and Judde Golliher for making two kids’ day!

A Disc for Jackson

July 3, 2013 -

Timeline

Jackson was excited to receive a disc from Bryan Thompson. Schasse’s aunt runs a day care in Phoenix that Jackson attends. While spending some time with his aunt and uncle, Schasse taught Jackson how to throw a backhand and how to properly catch a disc using two hands. Jackson – however – laughed at Schasse’s advice as he easily caught the disc over and over again with one hand. What a boss!

The Flagstaff Family

June 26, 2013 -

Timeline

We spent the last three days in Flagstaff, AZ, a town that was originally not even part of our summer itinerary, being hosted by a man and his seemingly endless stream of roommates and friends. We were initially a little leery about what would be in store for us in Flagstaff. I had talked to him on the phone the night before we arrived and decided that he would be either really cool or really weird. Either way, it was going to make for a good story.

This man runs a bike shop out of his back yard, but if you think that just means he keeps a couple of parts around and helps fix up his friends bikes, you would be as wrong as we were. While he doesn’t have an exact count, he told us that he has between 70-80 bikes in his shop, mostly vintage, and all pretty valuable. After a lengthy conversation about our backgrounds, covering topics well beyond Ultimate, he took it upon himself to show us around HIS town.

He sized us up for a couple of his bikes and we spent the next two days riding all around town. He took us to all his favorite spots so we could experience the Flagstaff culture, one that is unlike any other place we’ve been so far. We played Ultimate, spent time in café’s, ate at his favorite restaurants, and went to a short film festival and outdoor concert, all in three days. We met more people than we can count, many of whom greeted us with a hug and treated us like family.

The point of our trip is to make connections through Ultimate and show people all the awesome experiences that can be had just by reaching out to other players. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough room in this blog to effectively show that, but we wanted to post something just to keep you updated. However, we will be releasing a video featuring him and his town within the next few weeks that will hopefully do them justice. Stay tuned.

’tis Better to Give Than Throw Away

June 25, 2013 -

Timeline

The Grand Canyon is a humbling place. You realize just how small you are and how big a world you live in when you first look down. You realize that your legs aren’t as strong as you thought they were when you try to climb up. And you realize that your throwing and decision-making skills need some work once the canyon claims two discs you were supposed to give away. (Don’t worry; we’ve got extras!)

Still, for each disc we lost we managed to donate one to a deserving Grand Canyon visitor. We met 12-year-old Nathan at a water stop while hiking back to the top. We figured anyone who can still smile that earnestly after hiking several miles uphill would make for a good Ultimate player. Nathan hasn’t played any Ultimate but he promised to check out our site and give the sport a try. We hope that Scott and Sandy Breuer (Wags’ mom and step-dad) have inspired another kid to reach for his potential on the Ultimate field.

While we were asking Nathan if he wanted a disc, another Grand Canyon hiker expressed her interest in getting one. Kristen is a little outside the demographic of our previous disc recipients, but we decided she was worthy anyway. She was lamenting the fact that she and her friends had traveled from California without a frisbee, so who were we to deprive her of one any longer? Schasse didn’t think Cindy Moeding would mind her disc going to someone who really wanted one, especially since Kristen is such an awesome kid at heart.