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10,000 hours and small town life for Superstars

Muffin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:14:00 +0000

I grew up in a small town, and I always felt it was a disadvantage in sports compared to the competition one can find in big cities. Well, it turns out that I was partially wrong. This article in Wired discusses how the superstars in North American sports come from smaller urban centers.

Of course, they probably classify a town of 4000 as small and probably too small. Second, my choice of sport, basketball, is a horrible choice for small town Canada.

For those of you hoping your little ones will be superstars, I think the key message is let them explore a range of activities. Even better, let them find their own way and encourage them all along.

Peter

My Prediction of 2010 College Football using Academic Rankings - No Bets Here

Muffin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:52:00 +0000

If you take the US news College Rankings and apply it to College football, how would your school finish?

ACC Standings

ATLANTIC	Academic Rating
1 Wake Forest	25
2 Boston College	31
3 Maryland	56
4 Clemson	64
5 Florida State	104
6 North Carolina State	111

COASTAL	Academic Rating
1 Duke	9
2 Virginia	25
3 North Carolina	30
4 Georgia Tech	35
5 Miami (FL)	47
6 Virginia Tech	69


Big 12 Standings

NORTH	Academic Rating
1 Colorado	86
2 Iowa State	94
3 Missouri	94
4 Kansas	104
5 Nebraska	104
6 Kansas State	132

SOUTH	Academic Rating
1 Texas	45
2 Texas A&M	63
3 Baylor	79
4 Oklahoma	111
5 Oklahoma State	132
6 Texas Tech	159

Big East Standings

TEAM	Academic Rating
1 Syracuse	55
2 Pittsburgh	64
3 Rutgers	64
4 Connecticut	69
5 Cincinnati	156
6 Louisville	176
7 West Virginia	176
8 South Florida	183

Big Ten Standings

TEAM	Academic Rating
1 Northwestern	12
2 Michigan	29
3 Wisconsin	45
4 Penn State	47
5 Illinois	47
6 Ohio State	56
7 Purdue	56
8 Minnesota	64
9 Iowa	72
10 Indiana	75
11 Michigan State	79

Mid-American Standings

EAST	Academic Rating
1 Miami (OH)	79
2 Buffalo	120
3 Ohio	124
4 Temple	132
5 Bowling Green	170
6 Kent State	183
7 Akron	Tier 2

WEST	Academic Rating
1 Ball State	179
2 Western Michigan	179
3 Central Michigan	Tier 2
4 Eastern Michigan	Tier 2
5 Northern Illinois	Tier 2
6 Toledo	Tier 2

Mountain West Standings

TEAM	Academic Rating
1 Brigham Young	75
2 TCU	99
3 Colorado State	124
4 Utah	129
5 Wyoming	153
6 San Diego State	183
7 New Mexico	Tier 2
8 UNLV	Tier 2
9 Air Force

Pacific-10 Standings

TEAM	Academic Rating
1 Stanford	5
2 California	22
3 USC	23
4 UCLA	25
5 Washington	41
6 Oregon	111
7 Washington State	111
8 Arizona	120
9 Oregon State	139
10 Arizona State	143

SEC Standings

EAST	Academic Rating
1 Vanderbilt	17
2 Florida	53
3 Georgia	56
4 Tennessee	104
5 South Carolina	111
6 Kentucky	129

WEST	Academic Rating
1 Alabama	79
2 Auburn	85
3 LSU	124
4 Arkansas	132
5 Mississippi	143
6 Mississippi State	151

Miami University wins the MAC.

No more ultimate…just Cultimate

Muffin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:49:00 +0000

Well, I'm branching out, and that means not much Ultimate discussion. The Cultimate Opinion is going to include writing (if at all) about other things...

PJ

Throwing or running: Which will benefit you more?

heacox — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 01:39:00 +0000

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of getting a ride to and from (not to mention playing) Wildwood with Josh Markette. This was the most we’d hung out in a few years, so there was a lot of chatter about ultimate-related and non-ultimate-related t...

Back on the horse

parinella — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 23:29:00 +0000

Last weekend saw my return to ultimate with the Grand Masters Nationals in Boulder. As you know, I had some tingling in my arms on occasion dating back to last year's GM tournament, then there was that little temporary paralysis thing after regular Na...

WUCC 2010

Muffin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:18:00 +0000

World Ultimate Club Championships 2010 - Boston IronsideEurope is nuts. Prague is hot. Amsterdam jacked my saline solution, forcibly checked my luggage (cleats!), but allowed Surly Beer through unscathed. Ultimate players dominated the scene. The ATM...

The Benefits of the Status Quo

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:44:00 +0000

Now that the American World Cup fever has broken, we can all go back to our regular lives, pending any sort of international commitment. However, it would be a tragedy if we did not learn any lessons from the premier showcase of the world's game.In wa...

On a Sunny Afternoon

Hh — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:38:00 +0000

It's possible that you have found yourself, sunning on a spotless day in your bedroom, alongside the nude figure of your significant other. The haphazard blinds, partially open, lay ribbons of light on her torso, and she steals a curious glance in you...

R.I.P.

kd — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Seems like an awfully long time ago that I was immersed in the HoF discussion, a discussion that in turn became a cheating, steroids, defamation of character, refzervers discussion. There was a time when I planned to respond to some of the comments tha...

Plays

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:05:00 +0000

From a recent e-mail:I think that plays fall last in a hierarchy that goes1. Principles2. Formations3. Audibles/Directives4. PlaysAs for 1, a team can't operate in flow unless people knowwhat to do based on what's happening on the field -- andtime ...

USUA Nationals

Muffin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:25:00 +0000

Wow.Coaching a college team has come and gone for me (for now). What a blur. On one hand, I'm thinking a ton about what I would have done differently, what I could do better, suggestions for the team next year, etc. On the other hand, I'm enthusiastic ...

Heros Get Remembered, but Legends Never Die

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 03:34:00 +0000

Today marked the end of Ken Griffey Jr.'s career and for those that know me well, such a day brings a significant amount of emotion into the heart of an already emotional person. To call me a Griffey fan is an understatement. Beginning at the age of ...

CUT vs. Florida

Mon, 31 May 2010 22:03:00 +0000

First, congratulations to Florida. I went into watching this game the same way that I went into the 2006 Final against Wisconsin. I felt like there was no way that Kurt, Tim and company could stop an army of solid ultimate players. Again, I was wron...

Field Vision

parinella — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:49:00 +0000

I have a new column on Field Vision up at the Huddle.Here is the opening paragraph as a teaser:How do we make decisions? In many real-life examples we create a list of choices and features, maybe take some data, rate how each option stacks up in each f...

The Blue Print: The Road to the Repeat

Wed, 26 May 2010 04:35:00 +0000

In many ways 2008 was one of the worst years of my life. My graduate work was in shambles, my personal relationships a train wreck and, worst of all, I suffered a Jones Fracture at the first practice of the club season and was sidelined during the bes...

state OH10! (mostly varsity)

Mon, 17 May 2010 07:02:00 +0000

Best year ever? I've had some amazing kids come through the school, but this was my most successful mixed team yet. We lacked the one cannon armed kid we've always had, but had great depth accross the board. IN fact, I don't think we connected on a...

The UPA Unofficial Ombudsman

Muffin — Sun, 16 May 2010 18:19:00 +0000

I'm starting a new recurring "feature" where I talk about timely UPA issues and give my opinion and, where appropriate, offer suggestions. I know there will be some that say "Oh that Kyle Weisbrod, he IS the UPA." Yeah, I spent 4 1/2 years employed t...

PED’s in Ultimate

Tue, 11 May 2010 14:43:00 +0000

Is it possible? Is it impossible? Is there a sport better suited for PED use?After following the Cushing story for a little while, I can not help but consider the possibility that PED's are in our sport.Ok, first off, lets re-visit the definition of ...

Summing up AC Regionals

Muffin — Mon, 10 May 2010 17:03:00 +0000

I've been meaning to put some other thoughts up about team/coaching preparation for crucial tournaments, especially the series, but they're all still kind of half-baked. Hopefully, they'll be good fodder for later.As for now, the fact that Jojah barely...

The Importance of Stats

Thu, 06 May 2010 16:19:00 +0000

Last night I caught "61*" on HBO and for those that have not seen it, the movie is a pretty sweet depiction of the homerun race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Marris in the summer of '61. Billy Crystal, a huge Mantle fan, articulates the struggles of...

Paideia Cup Finals

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:09:00 +0000

This past Sunday we (Paideia Men's Varisty) played Amherst in the finals of the Paideia Cup. We had played them on the last game of Saturday, losing 4-15. It was a solid drubbing where we failed to successfully deal with their 1-3-3. After a tough s...

‘Teachable Moments’

Muffin — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:22:00 +0000

This is a question/thought that has been brewing since before I got permission to post. I'm pretty sure it's been addressed before, but I think giving a specific scenario will clarify things. At present, I'm working with a team whose talent distributio...

Now on the Huddle

parinella — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:41:00 +0000

I will be among the many authors on The Huddle this year.My first piece is titled "Chain: The New DoG".Comments about this or the other articles welcome here.

The Paideia Phenomenon

Muffin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:20:00 +0000

In a comment from a previous blog post "Mike" wrote "How did you (or your team more specifically) build up the ultimate culture to get where it is now at Padeia?"It's a tough question to answer because I think there is a large confluence of factors - s...

post-post surgery

parinella — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:01:00 +0000

It's now been 24 days since surgery, and I return to work on Tuesday. I plan to go back full-time, but I will have to see whether I will be able to work from home occasionally or if I would want to scale back temporarily to a 32 hour week.I am feeling...

On Carts and Horses

Muffin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:01:00 +0000

During my rookie season at UMN, I saw a teammate throw a high-release flick, the first I had ever witnessed. Being the young, bright-eyed frisbee enthusiast I was, my I was soaked in admiration. Naturally, I asked said teammate to show me how he did i...

More Mush From the Wimp

kd — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:24:00 +0000

Phil,The character count made it impossible to reply in a comment, so you may have to read another post. Sorry.But I really do think it’s kind of unfair for you to ask all of those questions and then tell me no more long diatribes because it’s maki...

A quick introduction

Muffin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:37:00 +0000

So, my name is Kevin and I suppose I'm the latest addition to the blogging/coaching consortium that posts here at ultifris. Although it's likely to read poorly (see that first sentence), I thought I'd do this just to make it clear who I am and why I as...

Toxic Avenger

kd — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:43:00 +0000

Hey! Think the time is right for a palace revolution 'Cause where I live the game to play is compromise solution Well, then what can a poor boy do Except to sing for a rock 'n' roll band 'Cause in sleepy London town There's just no place for a street f...

I Am A Jelly Doughnut

kd — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:36:00 +0000

I'm not quite sure what I expected, but with apologies to those who took the time to respond, I was a little disappointed with the stories. When the Call to the Community went out there were more than 50 responses which, if I'm to believe what I was to...