2011 Preview – SPSU Pure Bliss

[stextbox id=”alert” color=”050505″ bcolor=”6cc3f8″ bgcolor=”ffffff” big=”true” image=”null”]School: Southern Polytechnic State University
Team Name: Pure Bliss
Captains: Justin Grabe, JMah (Justin Mah), Kyle Thomas, & Kevin Pellum
Year Founded: 2000
Jersey Colors: Blue and White, Galaga
Website: http://ultimate.spsu.edu/
2010 Record:10-15
Score Reporter[/stextbox]

Jeremy Dinkins (#22) lays out big.

Tell us a little about yourself. How did you get involved with SPSU Ultimate?

JMah: I’m a 5th year Mechanical Engineering Technology major from Acworth, GA.  I started playing pick-up Ultimate in my senior year of high school after class with friends.  I was never the guy who could throw it deep or out jump everyone, but i was fairly speedy.  Freshman year, I signed up to be roommates with Kyle on the basis that we both liked Ultimate.  We found out there was an Ultimate team on campus, we both showed up to the first practice and I was instantly hooked.  Ultimate is my drug.

How did your team do last year?

JMah: Last year didn’t go as well as I had hoped, but then again the past 5 years have been building years for Pure Bliss, so it’s a work in progress.  It rained at Sectionals, so if you weren’t playing for the at least fifth place then you were done on Sunday.

Pure Bliss' stellar jersey design

Who is your favorite team to play against?

JMah: Georgia State.  They are our rivals and yet still a fun team to play against.  We beat them twice at their own tournament, then lost to them at sectionals, and then beat them again in a scrimmage early this fall.  I love their intensity and the way they play because they’re just as competitive and hungry as we are, but they’re not going to pull questionable calls like those in the Carleton-Florida game.

What player is most likely to make a huge play as a thrower? As a receiver? On D?

JMah: Grabe’s basically the guy that I huck to if we’re in a jam, but then again I’ll huck it anyway to whoever goes deep.  We’ve got a couple guys that have made clutch catches like Jeremy Dinkins, he can jump, run, and sometime do both at the same time.  Kevin Pellum, he’s a speed machine and a beast on D. So is Jordan O’Loughlin, he got a couple layout Ds last year that were sick.  In fact, Kevin and Jordan will lay out on O and D, which I like because those are the kinds of player I like to have because they’ll keep the play alive.  We also have a Layout D dollar that gets passed around during tournaments.  The last person to layout D gets to keep it until the next tournament.  Grabe likes to throw hammers….which is odd because he won’t huck it… haha just kidding, but seriously he doesn’t huck unless provoked..

Jacques Weatherby with one hell of a bid

How does your team bring new players up to speed?

JMah: We use our experience to teach new players the game of Ultimate.  We spend most of the fall going over fundamentals, drills, offense, and defense.  Its a lot of information for the rookies to handle, but we also weed out players who don’t want to play competitive Ultimate.

Without giving too much away, what does your team like to do on offense and on defense?

JMah: One word: Hucks.  I personally like to score quick points, Grabe likes to work it down conservatively.  So disc movement is key whether its a huck or just handler movement to break the zone. In terms of defense, hard man…like hard on.

JMah (#8) readies a flick against UCF at College Southerns

Has your team set any goals for this season? What are they?

JMah: With the restructuring of the college division, Southern Poly is now in the DIII level, which suits us perfectly.  Normally, we would play teams in our area, but most of them are DI colleges and its tough to compete with teams that have a lot of talent to pull from.   Our main goal is to make it to DIII Nationals this year.  We didn’t lose any key players last year, and with everyone coming back and the the new players that we’ve picked up, we have a great shot at making a run to the big dance.

What has your team been doing this fall to prepare for the spring season?

JMah: Running, Track workouts, Drills, GTL, Campus Disc Golf.

What tournaments do you plan to attend in the spring? Which one are you most looking forward to?

JMah: Our schedule for the spring, we’re planning on going to Joint Summit, Discs Over Georgia, In Heat of the Huck 3, College Southerns.  College Southerns is the one tournament I’m looking forward to.  They have great fields, lots of competition, and overall its just a solid weekend.

What does your team do to get pumped up for a big game?

JMah: Go Bananas, El Camino, maybe throw in a Disney Song like Hakuna Matata or the Pokemon theme song.

What song would you pick for the soundtrack to your team’s 2011 highlight video?

JMah: I hear Guile‘s Theme works with everything, some other choices would be Like a G6 by Far East Movement, or a song from Girl Talk’s album All Day.