Pick Up Thoughts
Ok.. due to tons and tons of variables, our pickup games (this goes for Tues/Thurs as well as Sunday) are frequently lower level than the players playing in them.
Why?
Is there something about Pickup that makes players play sloppily on purpose? Is sloppy play more fun? Is it due to lack of chemistry? Is it due to heckling? (you throw a completed dumb, nothing gets said.. you throw up a big 50/50 disc that resules in some great looking grab or D and everyone enjoys heckling the resulting play)
Just curious what folks thoughts are.. and if they are happy with it the way it is. (Or if they have suggestions for what we can do to make it better, as we have control over the Sunday pickup games.. and lesser over tu/th games, though we can help eachother make a difference.
I'll post my thoughts in the comments.. please add yours!
Why?
Is there something about Pickup that makes players play sloppily on purpose? Is sloppy play more fun? Is it due to lack of chemistry? Is it due to heckling? (you throw a completed dumb, nothing gets said.. you throw up a big 50/50 disc that resules in some great looking grab or D and everyone enjoys heckling the resulting play)
Just curious what folks thoughts are.. and if they are happy with it the way it is. (Or if they have suggestions for what we can do to make it better, as we have control over the Sunday pickup games.. and lesser over tu/th games, though we can help eachother make a difference.
I'll post my thoughts in the comments.. please add yours!
posted by RHL at 11:01 AM
5 Comments:
If I can't work on something, I don't want to be out there. One thing I have recently been wanting to work on is being able to be an effective handler in a 2 handler zone O. In reading about it, the job of the handler there is to make low release throws, which I can, and lots of "over the top" throws. The current feeling as well is that "High Release Backhand" is a HORRIBLE decision most of the time and you are actually better off using a scoober. As such, I have been trying to add this to my game.. this results in plenty of bad throws (not bad decisions neccesarily, but bad throws as I come to grips with how I can throw this and when) and all that experimentation makes my personal play a lower quality. If everyone is doing that, the resulting play will be lower quality as well.. so
Is that the case? Is that the problem? Who knows.. maybe the collective BRDM world knows.. lets find out :)
I definitely play sloppy offense at pickup. I make a lot of low-percentage throws - mostly because I want to practice those harder throws (and sometimes because it's fun to be risky and sometimes because there's not a great cut coming in). But it feels selfish - I cause a lot of turnovers or force teammates to make awkward catches, and that's no fun.
But I like practicing my cuts (when there's space to make them), and I really like practicing my defense.
Overall, I'm having a fantastic time at pickup.
I think the biggest thing that drives the quality down is the idea of being watched.
In a real game your teamates on the sideline know if you've let the team down. Whereas on a pickup field, few if any people care or notice. The only sorts of things that get you noticed on a pickup field are relatively selfish.
Example:
On defense holding the mark...not much glory in pickup. Poaching and getting the d...more glory. This leads to a punishment vs reward equation which favors trying to only make plays...and not play defense. having your hard mark result in a poor throw that gets d-ed by someone else is certainly nice, but in terms of knowing that the fans (ie, those on teh sidelines) saw you do something great...it's not much.
same thing on offense. swing passes aren't sexy. they're useful. essential and critical to a real offense. but in pickup the cheers and attention come to those who jack it long, and those who bring it down. At least for me, pickup can be really fun, but it's like pickup basketball. It's not about building a real skill set. It's about jawing with your friends, about showing people up. about trash talking and generally seeing what kinds of plays you can make.
I don't pretend any of these things are good. but I think for me, they help to explain some of my and maybe other people's behavior at pickup.
Hmm.. Interesting thoughts Aaron.. I know when I watch pickup, i watch very carefully what certain players tendencies are, and take note of people who swing instead of taking the crazy throw.. and it does impact my thoughts on that person as a player.
For example.. there are players I classify in my head as "pick-up players" they are great on a pickup field. You want them on your team. BUT.. in an organized game (be it club or higher up clique) I would never want them on my team and always want them on the oppositions team.
Besides that, as a captain, i like watching to see if people are working on things I think they should be working on to get better.. and I normally try to talk to folks who I don't see doing that and give them ideas of things to work on. (Not all safety stuff either, obviously.. a big thing to work on for lots of folks is hammers and break mark throws.. risky things.. but neccesary tools in the toolbox.. and throwing around with them doesn't give you the practice a game situation does, even pickup.. so i like seeing people work on them.)
I completely agree with Jason/Shamik et all that the easiest way to pick up the level of pickup is to pick up the D. It's satisfying to you to shut a player down.. and it forces the player you are covering to work harder.. so when they cover some one else, they are fired up to play harder and so on.. so by the end you have everyone playing hard (or as hard as they can after playing 467 points in a row)
Good thoughts by all though.. interesting stuff...
Re. 1 game until 40 people show up...
Noooo!! If it were a 4 or 5 hour game, maybe. But we only have 2 hours, so I want to play as many points as possible. I don't want to struggle to stay warm and awake on the sidelines! I'd much rather play 467 points in a row. (Granted, I'd like to play 467 points in a row under most circumstances.)
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