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Most people would not expect a team with an average age under 23 to win its pool on Thursday of the UPA Club Championships. Nonetheless, Brute Squad beat the eventual runners-up of the tournament held October 27-30, 2005, and gave the club scene a taste of what college players are capable.
In fact, most of the women's and mixed teams at the Club Championships had current college players on their rosters this year. It is no secret that top players in college have long been able to make a difference in the club circuit either before or right after graduation, but it seems that there are more college players playing club than ever before. The opportunity to compete against many of the best players in the world comes with some obstacles for younger players to overcome. Some of these obstacles include adjusting to the unique demands of the Club Championships format, adapting to different team roles, and even being underage in a setting where everyone is assumed to be of legal drinking age. Of course, there are benefits too, namely the extra exposure to different ultimate strategies and skill-sets and the big game experience of playing in a championship tournament. | ||
| Nancy Sun, of Brute Squad and former captain of M.I.T., explains that, "In my opinion, Club Nationals is an entirely different game from College Nationals not just because the level of play is higher, but also because it is a more physically and mentally demanding tournament." The championship (often referred to as Nationals) in college is a three day tournament, while in club it is stretched out to four days with re-seeding into new pools on the second day of the tournament. Sun notes that at the Club Championships, "the extra day of power pool play really tests the depth of a team. At College Nationals, if you win your pool on Friday, you get a bye and an easier quarterfinals game. On the other hand, at Club Nationals, even if you win your pool on Thursday, you are not guaranteed anything." Sun is speaking from experience as despite Brute Squad’s upsets over Schwa and Backhoe on Thursday, they ended up losing a three-way tie for first in the power pools and had a tough quarterfinal match-up against Fury. |  Angela Tong (Brute Squad and M.I.T. '05) | |
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Often, players who have played club before know what to expect in terms of the demands of a four day tournament, and club teams are usually designed differently than college teams for that reason. Lauren Casey, playing with the mixed team Six Trained Monkeys and current player for Stanford, elaborates that on club teams, "even the least experienced players usually have a few years under their belt, so teams are much deeper in general than college." Sun agrees, contrasting club to college where "it is sometimes the case that a team without a lot of depth, but with a strong top 7 to 9 players who played well together could make it far."
Still, lack of depth was unfortunately the downfall for a number of teams at this year's Club Championships. The most compelling example of this was in Schwa’s drop from the seven seed to finishing eleventh that can largely be attributed to a small number of healthy players at the tournament. The team was also hurt by the fact that for over half the team, this was the first championship tournament (club or college) in which they had participated. However, now three college teams in the Northwest (Lewis & Clark, Pacific Lutheran, and Oregon) will benefit from the experience their leaders gained while playing with Schwa this season. Another challenge for college players competing at the club level is adjusting to new roles and expectations. For instance, college games are usually characterized by a higher turnover rate than club games, so college players are often encouraged to make higher percentage choices in club than they might make in the spring series. Also, many college players play entirely different roles and positions on their club team than they do in college. Haley McNabb (of Schwa and Lewis & Clark) and Lindsey Hack (of Backhoe and UNC-Chapel Hill) both note that while they might be handlers in college, they primarily cut downfield in club. Role adjustments are especially critical for players going from playing women’s college ultimate to playing in mixed club games. Casey and Claire Suver, who plays with the mixed team Shazam and at UW, both noted that their skills as handlers were utilized best on defensive as opposed to offensive lines on their mixed teams. Casey cites some of the differences between women’s and mixed ultimate: "The men are more often looked to fill those primary offensive roles...I think for most players, mixed requires more presence of mind regarding the various speeds of your receivers and awareness of gender mismatches." | ||
 Shannon O'Malley (Riot) in the finals marked by Molly Doyle (Backhoe and NC State '05) |
If the differences between the skill level of college and club are great, imagine what it must be like to go straight from playing juniors to club. More and more teams are utilizing juniors stars right out of high school. Take Shannon O'Malley for example. O'Malley just graduated from Nathan Hale High School this spring and has been playing ultimate for years in the Seattle youth scene. This season, her tough defense and athleticism earned her playing time on the women's championship team, Riot. Other examples of club players still in high school include sixteen year olds Amber Sinicrope (Brute Squad) and Anne Mercier (Capitals). Mercier (and her confident handling) was only one surprise the Capitals had in store for spectators. The other surprise was going from the sixteenth seed to finishing sixth overall at the tournament. | |
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For many college players, the opportunity to play in the club series is viewed as a chance to improve for the following college season. In fact, Brute Squad was formed in 2002 by M.I.T. coach James Sarvis with the vision that allowing his college players the chance to play at the club level over the summer and fall would improve the team's chances at success in the spring. The plan worked; the following college season after Brute Squad’s start, M.I.T. made the finals of the College Championships.
Since that beginning, Brute Squad has turned into a team with no less than 13 different colleges represented, most of which are from the Northeast. Many club teams draw from different surrounding colleges, which can result in increased camaraderie between teams during the college season, says Sun. "When I play against someone, what I first notice are the things she does on the field against my team. When I play with someone, I get to see all the other intangibles she brings to the team and it gives me a greater appreciation and respect for her as a person and teammate." | ||
| Brute Squad's success is even more interesting considering the team 'grew-up' in the shadow of women's ultimate legend: Lady Godiva. Godiva has been the most dominant women's club team in the history of ultimate and its dump-and-swing offense has been the model for teams across the country. According to Sun, one of Brute Squad’s original goals was to be "playing an offense that was more open than what Godiva or Rogue (the two top Boston area women's club teams at that time) were using [because that] was where women's ultimate was heading." Now there exists a healthy rivalry between Brute Squad and Godiva. Blake Spitz (of Brute Squad and former Brown player) also notes that, "I think it is significant that over the years Brute Squad has been able to not succumb to the pressure to join Godiva, and has climbed to the top entirely on its own." She likens the intercity competition to other sports, saying, "Who in Chicago isn't interested in a Cubs vs. White Sox game...? Who in New York doesn't have something on the line when the Mets play the Yankees? We have that same drama and excitement in the Boston Club scene." These two teams have had numerous close games, although Brute Squad has beaten Godiva only once so far. |  Jennifer Kim (Brute Squad and Brown '04) v. Lady Godiva | |
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Other club teams, such as Rare Air and Safari, draw on college players mainly from one school (Colorado and UC-San Diego, respectively). The 'farm system' developed between Safari and UCSD over the years has been mutually beneficial. Safari gets a constant pool of enthusiastic players to draw from each year and UCSD gets the benefit of club experience for its players. This year, Safari made it into the Friday power pools and ended up finishing ninth after winning "Ninals," the team’s nickname for the 9th place game. With a large number of current UCSD players on the team, that club experience should help the team meet its goal of qualifying for the College Championships after its year hiatus. Of course, regional rival Colorado also has current players with more club experience now too. Carolyn Matthews and Alex Snyder won't have to wait with the rest of their Rare Air teammates until the next club season for another chance at a championship title; they’ll be leading Colorado on its quest for a medal this spring.
Now that the club season is over, current college players can return to their college teams and face the challenge of not being frustrated by the lower level of play and instead working to elevate the play of their fellow teammates. Casey sums up her return to the college game: "I really look forward to playing college again...I think I will be able to be more composed, consistent, and effective on the field because of this confidence [I've gained playing club]. I also learned new ways to improve some basic skills like marking, cutting, and playing zone defense - all things I hope to share with younger players on my college team." Even if not all of the current college players playing at the UPA Club Championships could legally enter the beer garden, the successes of younger players and young teams has ensured that club ultimate is not only the domain of the veteran players anymore. | ||
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