Kali Ultimate

Monday 7:30-10 @ Kittredge Fields

Wednesday 3:30-6:30 @ the Business Fields

Thursday 7:30-10 @ Kittredge Fields

Kali just got back from two 3-day tournaments in a row, during which we had pretty exciting weather!  Full write-up to come, but check out some great pictures for now:

This weekend Kali drove to Kansas City, MO for the Elite Eights tournament. Overall, we had a great time and learned a lot. We brought a small squad of only 14 girls, so everyone got tons of playing time and experience. Some highlights from the weekend:
Emery scored almost all of our end-zone transition goals. She also had several sick hucks over the course of the weekend!

Harvard played deep in the zone a lot of the weekend, and got several D’s from this position. She also proved to be a key puller for the tournament.

Sheila and Kirsten get most improved for the weekend. They both made great cuts and got several D’s (especially during zone) that we were able to convert into scores.

Waugh was a crazy deep thrower this weekend, and she had super chilly throws in zone, and crazy break marks all day long. She runs really hard, and was a huge leader on the field, by calling and running our plays.

Trouble was a deep-cutting machine this weekend, running down several almost “out the back of the endzone” deep hucks from Courtney, which she caught EVERYTIME for the score, leaving her defender choking on her dust. Trouble is finally trying out her longer down field throws!!!

Bucket and Shannon have been breaking the mark like crazy! These two spent the majority of the weekend practicing their new throws, assisting goals, and picking up the disc (a lot).

Dana was delirious and sleepy for most of weekend. On Saturday, during one of the few points that she was able to play, she got a HUGE D on a huck with her straight-up mark that probably left a welt… She was able to play on Sunday, and was great at being chilly and making good decisions when behind the disc.

amERIKA was a superstar this weekend, putting out 200% effort all the time, no matter what she was doing. During one point, she got 3 SWEET run-through D’s because her man defense was so sick! Erika runs deep and cuts all the way in…. over and over again….EVERY POINT SHE PLAYS. Sick.

Courtney was ridiculous all weekend. Determined to win a pair of sweet shorts, she got a ton of indescribable layout D’s, plus some of the sickest catches on O that I’ve seen in women’s ultimate. Her break throws are also looking siiiiick.

AZ had some trouble with her (very painful) toe this weekend, but pushed through and was able to play all but the last game of the weekend. AZ is a very good downfield cutter, is super chilly with her throws, and makes really good decisions on the field.

LT skied lots of bitches, coming away with the disc on many crazy throws that went up. She also proved her handling skills when Whit made her 1st or 2nd in pull play on Sunday basically every point she was on.

Not only did Jfizzle lead us in every ear shattering cheer, but she hustles like its her job, she cuts so hard! Jfast had an amazing layout catch which got interfered with when the Michigan player bit Jfizzle’s face. She rocked the quasimoto look the rest of the tourney and it was HOT. Jfast handles with ease and runs hard 100% all the time!

Overall, the tournament was exhausting and awesome! Every player got a chance to improve their skills, and we meshed a ton as a team. Plus, newbies got a taste of the ENDURANCE factor at tourneys! Sick playin’ Kali. Can’t wait for Spring!!

-Waugh and Shannon

Kali entered this tournament in hopes of gaining experience for both vets and rookies alike. This was a first tournament for some, and an opportunity for new responsibilities on the field for others.

Saturday we played 4 games, as well as a showcase game against Melee. The day ended well with a 3-1 record, putting us in a good position to begin Sunday. Sunday began with the last game of pool play, another victory for Kali! We then played in semi-finals, triumphing over Texas A&M, allowing us to advance to the finals. Kali played an even rotation the entire weekend. Kali lead most of the way, finding ways to break through the cup on zone points, getting layout d’s, foot blocks, and keeping patient offense. The soft cap went on when we were up 11-9. We pushed for the win with 13-9!

Melee was a super fun tournament, filled with SICK plays from everyone! … Including, but not limited to: Brenna with at least 5 layout psych-out D’s, plus a HUGE layout D on Sunday; Dana all over the place with a ton of sick grabs a lay-D’s, Lili scoring the winning goal of the tournament, LT’s callahan on Saturday, Emery’s FOUR footblocks as point in the cup, Boots getting 3 sky D’s in the SAME point, a rookie line first possession score, and Bambi LEAVING HER FEET in the finals!!! This was a great first tournament, with a great finish.

-Bucket & Waugh

Oh, club sectionals—that chaotic early season tournament full of firsts. The rookies are able to see what ultimate can and will look like for them in the future, and the vets are able to see how much the rookies have learned in just 3-4 short weeks. Plus, it’s just that much fun. At this year’s Colorado Club Sectionals, played in Boulder, Colorado, Kali faced some tough competition. Our club region includes Rare Air and Box Lunch, two national caliber teams, Rare having played in the semis of the 2006 Club Nationals. In short, our day was destined to be a (good) challenge.

Our first game on Sunday morning was against Rare Air. In facing Rare we were not only facing one the best club teams in the country, we were also facing the past and present of our own team. Playing Rare gave the rookies (and other vets too) the opportunity to see just how talented some of our players are. Heather (Waugh), Ali (Hammer), Julie (Jfast), and Brenna have all been busy this fall balancing school, Kali and Rare. Sectionals was a chance for everyone to see just how awesome these girls are. During the game against Rare we put up a good fight, but we are a young team, and we had a difficult time connecting.

Our second game of the day was against Box Lunch. Box Lunch, too, is full of Kali alumnae and we are always excited to play them. This game ended the same as the game against Rare without Kali scoring a single point. But, the score doesn’t in any way reflect the amount of improvement in Kali’s game. So many young players had the “ah-ha!” moment during this game and it was sweet to seem them go from confused running around to hard sharp vertical cuts! (Not to mention the money layouts.)

The third and final game of Sectionals was against a local high school team, Colorado Academy. The girls on Colorado Academy had been working hard (pre-season summer practices, practice 5 days a week) and it was evident. However, Kali had been hard at work too. The game was tight, both teams remained even and we saw so many players step it up with huge d’s and sick marks. However, just as our momentum was accelerating, there was lightning in the area and the game had to be called at a tie.

Originally we were supposed to have scrimmaged the Colorado State women’s team but the weather turned sour for the rest of the day and we were unable to do so. Never the less, sectionals fulfilled everyone’s expectations: it was super fun, everyone learned a lot, and we were able to see our unlimited potential this season.

-Aaren

In my quest to find words that were both adequate and excited enough to describe the Kali squad this coming season, I kept coming up short. Not short in the sense of a lack of information, but more so as a result of how completely overwhelmed I am about how awesome every single one of the new girls is (not to mention the veterans). Luckily for me, Whit sent out an email this past week praising some of the girls for toughing out a practice in nasty weather. Even though it was directed at about half the team, I feel like it accurately describes the sentiment of our team as a whole:

Big ups:
- for battling to double game point in the rain
- for throwing and catching with confidence
- for laying out during four corners
- for running hard in throwing suicides
- for launching themselves into that huge puddle
- for pushing through injuries, sickness, and busy schedules to play
- for doing it all with smiles on their faces
- for supporting from the sideline and during warm ups even if not able to play
- for showing how much character, fight, and scrap this team has
- for being hard core

This season is the first one since I’ve been on Kali (so I in guess in three years?) that Whit has been around in the fall. As a result of Whit’s guidance we are learning things right now that we didn’t even begin to introduce until early/mid spring last season. Kali is also really excited about having so many new freshmen girls some of whom already know how to play and others who are beyond exited and motivated to improve. With Whit here to teach us and with a ton of enthusiastic players (old and new) the 07-08 season seems to be shaping up to be pretty awesome.

-Aaren

6-7pm, January 14th, RCCR1-2 (Rec Center Conference Rooms).

Please attend if you are interested in playing for Kali this spring!

Monday 3:15-6:15pm, Kittredge Fields
Wednesday 3:15-6:15pm, Kittredge Fields
Tuesday Throwing 3:30-5:30pm, Business Fields
Friday 3:30-6:30pm, Business Fields

Wed, August 27th

5-6 pm

Rec Center Conference Rooms 1&2