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Bears 1 Men’s Indoor Regionals Captain’s Report 2014

On behalf of Frigate

We came second overall qualifying for nationals. Overall well done to all bears teams and players that took part.

Game 1: Worcester (12-4 Win)

We played well for the first 10 minutes getting a good lead and the opposition struggling against our zone. Our offence was good overall with few mistakes. We got a bit tired and lost focus near the end of the game which caused a few turns and the opposition scored a few long shots against our deeps.

Game 2: Swansea 3 (13-0 Win)

We played strongly for the first 15 minutes, but after that we had a few points where we started throwing a bit long and zippy, rather than keeping it cool and simple. This caused pressure on the handlers but eventually after some good D we put the game to bed. This game taught us to continue playing at the same intensity, even if we are far ahead, and to keep our cool so that we don’t try to make rash decisions as the opposition may get back in the game.

Game 3: Birmingham 2 (9-2 Win)

Both teams came out quick scoring quickly with UBU wanting to throw long shots off the pull and playing stack offence. Thus we put a zone on which managed to shut this down and cause many turns. Our offence flowed well and was nice and smooth.

Game 4: Cardiff 2 (12-8 Win)

Good second team against our zone where they were calm and worked it through. Against our man, they had a good long game with us not putting enough pressure on them. We capitalized on their mistakes and errors with our very good offence against their man. We had fewer turns and thus held out the game comfortably.

Game 5 (Semi -final): Cardiff 1 (5-3 Win)

After we played the seconds, we had some idea that we would expect some hard man defence and overall the game was a battle of defences with many turns on both sides. We took a quick 2-0 lead but then the opposition started to work it through our zone using their very tall player who pulled down a lot of discs. We then refocused to man and, especially Victor, put pressure on their main agile handler. We then traded the game to 4-3. We then played a long point which featured many turns from both teams. Due to many turns on my behalf, I decided to put myself into the endzone to let the others play. Finally the long point ended 15 seconds from the end with a nice hammer throw from Chris and catch. Although perhaps a bit rash considering we only had to hold onto the disc for another 15 seconds to win haha.

Game 6 (1-2 final): Birmingham 1 (6-8 Loss)

This was a tight game, with our main defence playing man yet worrying about the deep shots. UBU managed to get a lead and then we traded until near the end of the game. However, as we were behind due to the start, we had to rush and thus Birmingham got the last point. Both teams played tough defence causing a few turns on both sides; Rollo’s force being especially difficult to break. Near the end we lost a bit of focus and a few errors occurred as we were chasing the win. I think with focus throughout the whole the game we would have been even closer.

Game 7 (2-3 playoff): Staffordshire (7-6 Win)

Our closest game of the day. They only had 6 players but were a very good team. Again early mistakes meant we went 2-0 down and had to chase the game. With a small team they played a zone and thus we had to do lots of short passes and be careful/patient to score. On D we tried many different approaches to try and stop there effective iso plays and good throws. Playing man meant it was too easy to hit the breakside. Though against their 3,1,1 offense (3 handlers, 1 middle iso, and 1 in the endzone) this stilled caused a few problems. Eventually we went to a zone to clamp the iso plays and this caused lots of passes, a stall out and one rushed pass. Now we stayed organised on offence and kept calm and scored the next two turns giving us the lead. With a clinical offence, we managed to trade until then end. We were challenged mentally, but played well under pressure as we reacted positively.

Overall well played to all and great graft. I am very proud of everyone. Now we have Division 1 Nationals to look forward to (in a few days)! From our region Birmingham and Staffordshire also got through. We are eager for the chances of rematches and great, tight, high quality games from the other regions. Come watch us play this weekend at the Alan Higgs in Coventry if you are free!

What a handsome team!! ;)

What a handsome team!! 😉

Romit Patel

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