I hate writing about Nationals. Whether I played or watched, it always feels so final, and I don’t like that. Yes, the season is over, and yes, it’s always good to take a step back and reflect on things that meant something to you. I just don’t enjoy putting the thoughts that come out of those reflections on paper. It’s not like I’m done with ultimate (surprise, surprise), and every season I’ve ever been involved with still means something in the present.
That said, the last few days have been full of decompression from my involvement with the 2011 USA Ultimate College Season and Championship Series. Boulder was incredible: the air, the mountains, the space. Oh, and the frisbee was good too. We’re going to record a podcast that’ll go up after the weekend, so there’s time a’plenty for talking about the teams, players, and strategies that took the field.
Before all that, I want to stop and say unreal this season was. From the initial emails that asked for help with team profiles to watching the AltGames tunnel blow away before the start of the final, it was all so, so, so much fun.
For that, I want to say thanks to everyone. Thanks for reading over the past few months– I’m pretty sure that neither Joaq nor I saw Inside Breaks blowing up the way it did, and it is extremely gratifying to know that people have appreciated what we’ve put in to this. Thank you, Elliot. you are the man. People, if you enjoy reading Skyd, you owe a world of debt to how hard Elliot Trotter works. Thank you, Andy Lee and Matthew Bourland at USA Ultimate, for seeing value in coverage and analysis. And to the innumerable players, coaches, parents, and fans that were kind enough to share the information and thoughts that made it happen, thank you as well– I’m personally better for it, which is why I got into this in the first place.
We’re not done. In fact, I’m excited to see where my own motivation for writing comes from once the summer really gets going. But when Justin Norden caught Carleton’s winning goal in Monday’s final, the first chapter came to a close. Whatever your involvement with Inside Breaks, I hope you stay around for the next.
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