Three ultimate frisbee scenes...

1. There's just been an opposition throwaway and a quick turnover. I run to the grounded disc, lying just inside the playing field several metres from my own endzone. My team reacted quickly and there are a couple of boys running long, they're pulling away from their defenders who were caught off guard and didn't react quickly. From the right corner of my vision I see a defender running towards me to get a force on. As far as I can see there's no choice, I have to throw one hell of a huck - it will be a beautiful inside out backhand - one of the longest I can throw to hopefully make the endzone and safely into the hands of my team-mate without being snatched by the defence. I line it up, almost as though I'm pulling off the line except this time i don't have my three steps. With my pivot foot planted i lean to my left and wind up, I pull my arm from the shoulder and extend my right arm for the release...

2. I've got a hard backhand force on my offender. I'm well positioned on the balls of my feet, my legs are slightly bent, bit more than shoulder width apart (I have long legs...), bouncing a little with good arm positioning.
"NO BREAKS!" I hear called, I jump slightly further around as he turns to look for what I assume to be an easy dump pass. But something isn't right. As his body turns I watch his eyes and head and they don't seem to turn with the body, he's faking! Just after I land further around his side he completes his fake motion and quickly rotates back to his backhand throw position. I see it now all in slow motion, he's wound up, stretching right out and looking to make a low, wide backhand throw to a receiver now free, there's only one part of my body that can reach that low and far away in such a short period of time needed to get the block...

3. It's a standard offence against a junk. I'm the middle handler and I've just received the disc from my left handler. I quickly look upfield and notice one of my deeper team-mates cutting back under his wing defender to get free. With my right handler a little further up field I realise we can make some good metres with a swing-upfield series of throws, I line up for a mid-height backhand throw to my right handler...

What happens after all these three scenes? Well...



1. I am jerked awake by the ferocity of my huck. I look to my side milliseconds afterwards to realise that I've narrowly missed hitting the woman sitting beside me on the train in the head with my elbow. She's not overly aware of it because her focus was on the book she was reading off to the other side of her body from me. She looks around anyway but by now my head is no longer in my arms, rather I am now totally bolt upright, having been down there shortly before while dozing off on my train trip home...

2. The only body part I can get to block such a low, wide throw (since I'm forcing quite strongly) is my lanky right leg. I throw my leg out hoping that I get a sweet foot-block. I wake up immediately with a pain streaking through my right foot. I've just fallen into REM on my bed and by throwing my right foot out I've kicked my piano...

3. My mid-height backhand throw also jerks me awake - milliseconds after the extension of my arm is cut short by the pile of boxes that live next to my bed. It's been around 4 minutes since I started to fall asleep the first time. Within the space of two of those minutes I've now hurt my right foot and my right hand.

I think this four nights a week of ultimate frisbee and an extra night of pulling/hucking practice is really starting to control automatic muscular functions...