An (hopefully) amicable breakup

There are times when I reflect on why I decided to play this goofy sport to begin with. I came to GW because I didn't get into Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, BC, or Tufts. I had just earned All-State honors in track, and was eager to continue running. Unfortunately for me, GW did not (and still does not) have a track team. So I came out for ultimate, having played it for workouts quite a few times. That's why I started.

But why did I stay? I stayed becuase I have fun on this team. I stayed, even through the time when I gave serious thought to transferring to a different (and much cheaper) school. Most of my friends are on the team and we have great times together, so although the reason I started playing was because I need competition and physical exertion in my life, I stayed because of the people and the camaraderie. And that's why I continue to play for GW, and will probably continue playing for whatever graduate school to which I go.

This summer I tried out my first club-level ultimate, trying out for a D.C.-area team called Truck Stop. Its leadership is composed 2/3 of GW alumni, and the team consists mostly of college, or recently out of college, players from the Colonial Section. They're a good team, and they've got the potential to be way better than last year with the people they have. I would almost venture to say I wouldn't have made the team with the talent they have out there. That said, yesterday I withdrew myself from the competition to make that team.

There are several unimportant reasons why I made that choice, and at least one important one. My only hope is that my teammates won't think any less of me for having pulled myself off of Truck Stop. I hope you all know how much this sport means to me and how much of my free time I dedicate to not only playing and practicing, but figuring out behind-the-scenes stuff that very few of you even think about. I hope you know how badly I want to get better, and how fed up I was with myself this spring season for being out of shape for the majority of the time. I don't enjoy being an average player, and I'm going to use the summer to get in better condition, work on my throws, and be at every recruiting session I can conceivably make.

All that said, the reason I stopped playing Truck Stop is because I wasn't having any fun. This is not to say that the Truck Stop guys aren't fun guys -- they are. I mean, the best party I'd been to all year was a party mainly composed of guys now playing for them. I guess club ultimate may not be for me, and it's disappointing that I've come to that conclusion. To anyone out there who is thinking of playing for Truck Stop: do it. They're good players, and they're good people. Maybe it's club ultimate, maybe it's just their team dynamic, but something just wasn't for me.

I learned a lot from high school football, and I like to think I'm applying one of those lessons here. By the time the last month of the season rolled around my senior year, I just stopped enjoying going to practice. For that month or month-and-a-half, I wasn't happy. I just plain wasn't. And I really don't want to sour on ultimate as much as my opinion of football soured in that last month. For that reason, I'm going to stick to pro league and corporate, and extend a heartfelt thanks to the Truck Stop guys for allowing me and encouraging me to try out.