2/27

Workout:

5 min plank
5 min wall sits

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

4-0 in caps with Ding. Paying for it now. Worth it.

2/26

Workout:

10 min plank (making up 5 from yesterday)
5 min wall sits
3v3 for 1.5 hrs

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

WF signing party. Trent is the man. Should be better than last year.

More crafting with Hair.

2/25

Workout:

5 min wall sits
Handler defense
3 man marking
Throwing - focus on moving the mark

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

Lazy Saturday.

2/24

Workout:

5 min plank
5 min wall sits

Reading:

I read more of Good Morning, Midnight today.

Notes:

Caps + craft. Can a Friday night get better? Nah.

2/23

Workout:

New daily challenge:
5 min plank
5 min wall sits

Reading:

I read more of Good Morning, Midnight today. I'm still struggling with the style. It is not smooth flowing.

Notes:

I started watching The Clone Wars yesterday. Cool to get more Star Wars stories. I don't want to go through it too fast though, because I want to be doing other things.

Screw you Sahaj. Wall sits suck.

2/22

Workout:

Breaking the mark clinic before practice
   Focus on throwing flicks outside my near rather than in front
Hucks and jumpballs with Yiding
10 150s @ 1:2 rest
   First one under 23 seconds. All under 27 seconds. Top 3 in every rep.

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

2/21

Workout:

Dojo w/Yiding, Walden, Trent, Pawel
   Warmup
   Agility Ladder
   3 v 2
   Open Side handler D
   Trap Side handler D
I experimented with some footwork today during the d drills. Felt like some worked and some didn't. Overall much better than the first session a few weeks back.

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

My body is real sore and tight. Need to do some yoga and or other stretching or something.

Clinic on breaking the mark tonight before practice. Gonna get some video of myself marking for Walden to look at.

Eric got a full-time job at Microsoft!!!

Warm-Up 2017

This past weekend was the first tournament of NUT's season. It was an absolute blast! I can't believe how much fun I had even though I wasn't playing. Some of the fun was probably because we were doing well, but in general I think I just really like coaching.

Micky mentioned that it was killing him not to be playing, and while I absolutely had those feelings last year, I didn't have them this weekend. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm another year removed from playing college, or because this year I'm contributing in other ways. There were a few moments when I wanted to be on the field, but for the most part, I was happy to be helping from the sideline.

I feel like I am much more effective as a coach at tournaments than at practice. Not sure why on this yet, but I definitely feel like I bring the most to the table as a coach when I'm talking to someone about something that just happened that they can improve on. I think Yngve is better at motivating people and thinking about the big picture. My brain is seemingly very detail-oriented and it focuses on lots of little things.

NUT went 8-2 and finished 3rd overall. Guys make plays when things are going well. The energy dependence in Ultimate is crazy, and like no other sport I've seen. If things aren't going well, guys don't make the same plays. Gonna do some more thinking on this to try to avoid the lulls in play when there are lulls in energy.

After the coaching clinic in December, I felt like I didn't absorb as much as I could've/should've, but coming out of this weekend, it turns out more sunk in that I initially thought. I think I was able to frame things very well for the defense. I think I was able to express the idea of lenses very well in order to keep them from getting down on themselves every time they got scored on.
A defense isn't going to get a block every point, and they certainly aren't going to score every time. So if you tie your mentality to those metrics, the only option is failure.
Instead, you must look through a specific lens and grade yourself on whether or not you executed your game plan. I really love the idea of looking through lenses. It really is just setting proper expectations for a situation. Did you make the other team do what you wanted? Did you generate pressure? Did you force them into tough situations? These questions, as opposed to 'Did you score?', enable a defensive line to stay upbeat after a long frustrating point.

Another great idea I think I implemented well this weekend is the reaction to imperfection as Matty put it. Let's say perfection is scoring every point. So each point you don't score is imperfection. How then do you respond to that imperfection? Do you just let them stew in their own frustration after a missed bid, or a blown assignment? Or do you run onto the field and tell them what they did right? Do you gather them after every point to tell them they failed? Or do you tell them that that point was a win for reason x?
I wish I had some of these messages when I played in college. I often tied my performance to impossible expectations - scoring every time - and was often frustrated as one might expect.

ARC

PS Raul is gonna be a monster. All the young guys will be good if they stick around. They have the work ethic and desire.

2/20

Workout:

I did not workout today.

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

Lazy day recovering from the weekend as I had the day off for President's Day.

Today was a missed opportunity though.

2/19

Workout:

I did not workout today.
But I did stand all day coaching.

Reading:

I read a bit on the plane home but fell asleep.

Notes:

Another 2-1 day for NUT with wins against Texas and Texas A&M!
Another loss to Grey Duck. We were able to generate a lot more pressure, but still no breaks. Offense will come.
Finished 8-2 on the weekend!

Coaching is awesome!

2/18

Workout:

I did not workout today.
But I did stand all day coaching. Still tiring.

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

2-1 day for NUT today. Unable to generate any real pressure against Grey Duck. They are championship contenders.

Played some Hanabi and pool with fellow coaches.

Also had roti from the Kumar's freezer! Yummmm!

2/17

Workout:

5 min plank in 2 sets
100 pushups in 4 sets
100 hucks with Yiding
8 300s at 1:1 rest. Very slow. I blame the Florida heat.

Reading:

I did not read today. Hoping to do more this weekend

Notes:

4-0 day for NUT. Lots to work on, but flashes of greatness.

2/16

Workout:

I did not workout today.

Reading:

I did not read today. Hoping to do more this weekend.

Notes:

First tourney of the spring. Time to shake some cages.

2/15

Workout:

Hucks with Hair before practice.
8 300s @1:1 - I won the first 4. Felt pretty good.

Reading:

I did not read today. Hoping to do more this weekend.

Notes:

Had a work dinner today. Was a lot of fun. Got to hear some interesting stories about my bosses.

Leave for Florida tomorrow. Pumped.

2/14

Workout:

Dojo w/Walden, Pawel, and Trent
   Warmup
   Agility ladder
   Open side handler d
   Trap side handler d

Gym w/Haj
   1 mile bike warmup
   Rear-elevated split squats w/20lb dumbells: 3 sets of 8 each leg
   Deadlifts: 5x135, 3x195, 3x225, 5x255
   Grip strength work: walking with 40lb weights
   Ab circuit: 10 ab rollouts, 40 crunches, 10 ab rollouts, 2 min plank, 10 ab rollouts

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

Had a number of good conversations about Scenario today with friends and family.

2/13

Workout:

I did not make it to the gym as I got stuck at work.
Alas. Tomorrow it is.

Reading:

I started reading Good Morning Midnight today. I got it from a list that Megan sent me in order to be able to learn and see through women's points of view. It is a fragmented/frantic style that I am certainly not comfortable reading just yet. I'm sure that I'll get more used to it as I go.

Notes:

Played Magic with Walden tonight. He won the set 2-1.

Dojo tomorrow morning.

Scenario

Someone calls you with an emergency.
To how many people, outside of your family, would you say "Yes, I'm on my way!" without a second's hesitation no matter the time/place/situation? 

Comment with your number.
Mine is 11.

Ok now a bunch of followup questions.
Of the number on your list, how many do you think have you on their list?
Of the number on your list, do you know any of their entire lists?
Of the number on your list, for how many would you be the first person they try to call?
Of the number on your list, are there any for which you don't know anyone on their list?

2/12

Workout:

3v3 for 2 hours in Evanston.
Meant to go to the gym as well. Alas. Tomorrow it is.

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

Dang I love frisbee.

It was so beautiful outside today!

2/11

Workout:

Pre-Practice workout
3v3 for 1 hour

End/Post-Practice
6 300s @1:1 rest
Hucks and jumpball.

Reading:

I finished The Tao of Pooh. I like the way it is making me think about thing. Favorite anecdote from the book explained how things seem to workout if you don't try to hard or worry about the outcome as much.

Notes:

Watched scrimmage film from last weekend. Lots of good discussion with Yiding and Kevin.

I also took a nap today for the first time in who knows how long. Pretty glorious tbh.

2/10

Workout:

I did not workout today.

Reading:

I continued The Tao of Pooh. It is a very light and uplifting book.

Notes:

Crisp is fire. 10/10 would recommend.

Hanabi is a great game. Thanks for introducing Hair.

2/9

Workout:

Workout with Ding!
Stretching and warmup
Tri-Set 1 - 4 sets
Deadlifts: 5x135, 5x185, 5x215, 5x245
10 Ab rollouts
3 SL broad jumps each leg
Tri-Set 2 - 4 sets
Squats: 5x135, 5x185, 5x215, 3x245
10 perfect pushups
7 split squat cable cross chops
Tri-Set 3 - 3 sets
Full-body getups
5 SL squats each leg
6 chinup holds

This workout was hell. And I felt weak. Last set of squats and deadlifts were supposed to be 5+. Failed miserably on squats.

Reading:

I continued The Tao of Pooh. It is a very light and uplifting book.

Notes:

I think I need to go back down in weight on my main lifts and focus more on form.

2/8

Workout:

30 perfect pushups
Handler cutting
Breakmark
Handler D
2 sets of 6 300s @ 1:1

Reading:

I started The Tao of Pooh. It reminds me very strongly on my grandfather. He was a natural Taoist. This book is quite nostalgic as not only was Harry like a Taoist, but I also remember sitting on his lap while he read Pooh stories to me. I miss that man.

Notes:

Doing the two sets of 300s at most practices is really paying off. I felt really good last night and broke 60 seconds for the first time. I think I was in the top 5 every rep.

Either I'm gonna crush Ding when he starts running and I'm gonna be mad that he's not pushing me, or he will be able to compete and I'll be pissed that he can compete after not running all these with me. Lose lose. Darn it Ding.

2/7

Workout:

I did not workout today.

Reading:

I finished Born A Crime. The ending was pretty terrifying, heartwarming, depressing, and hilarious all at the same time.

Notes:

Gonna start The Tao of Pooh tomorrow. Excited.

2/6

Workout:

Rest day

Reading:

I listened to more of Born A Crime. I've been listening at 1.25 speed. Might try to speed it up even more for the end. It sounds totally normal at this point.

Notes:

Breaking up with someone is a truly awful feeling. 0/10 would recommend.

I cut Hair's hair today. Looked funny on my daily to do list.

2/5

Workout:

Rock climbing w/Hair, Jay and Arseniy - Bill was also there.
Front squat form - 95x5x4
2 mile run to Kevin's house
Throwing with NUT

Reading:

I did not read today.

Notes:

Superbowl was nuts. Biggest choke of all time.

Brian and Jenelle are engaged! Happy for them :)

2/4

Workout:

Workout before practice - handler d, hucks, 1v1 cutting
Clowned on NUT for a few hours.
8 300s @1:1.5 rest

Reading:

I did not read today, but The Tao of Pooh came today - from Eric. I'm excited to read that once I'm done with Born a Crime.

Notes:

Man I love playing frisbee.

Hair and I crafted today. It was great. 

2/3

Workout:

The Dojo

30 perfect pushups
5 min plank

Reading:

I continued listening to Born a Crime today.

Notes:

Today was a long day, but waking up at 5 wasn't as hard as I thought because Walden literally jumped up before his alarm even went off!

Walden also gave me a bandanna as a gift. It says 'Cry in the Dojo, laugh on the battlefield'. I love it.

2/2

Workout:

I did not workout today.

Reading:

I continued listening to Born a Crime today.

Notes:

Dojo tomorrow morning bright and early!

2/1

Workout:

30 perfect pushups
5 min plank in 3 and 2 min sets

3 man marking - man my mark stinks real bad.
upline defense - felt good about taking away what I wanted for the most part
2 sets of 8 300s @1:1.5 - 1 set with Kevin, and 1 set with NUT

Reading:

I continued listening to Born a Crime today. One part had me literally in tears on the 'l'. I think that means he's a good storyteller.

Notes:

16 300s is hard, but I felt pretty darn good. I even beat Arseniy on the last rep.
Warm-up is coming fast. I'm stoked.

1/31

Workout:

30 perfect pushups
5 min plank in 3 and 2 min sets
Deload week:
Back Squats: 5x45, 5x115, 5x135, 5x165x2
   Was able to watch myself sideways in the mirror. Back looked good.
Deadlifts: 5x45, 5x115, 5x135, 5x165x2
   Was not able to look in the mirror. Not sure how my back looked on these, but I was focusing on keeping my chest forward as much as possible.

Reading:

I started listening to Born a Crime today. I like Trevor Noah's cadence and storytelling.

Notes:

Haj bailed on me again at the gym.