Regionals 2013 and One Pitch to Rule Them All!

Last week didn't get a post. I was feeling kinda down and didn't really feel like writing. I'll explain in a few moments...

Sam and Chris, the Dynamic Duo.

....now actually. We went to Regionals! I was originally meant to captain our second team and anyone who knows me knows I'm not much of a leader unless the time calls for it. I was however promoted to 1st team for the weekend...which I wasn't too sure how to feel about....I know I'm not the greatest player in the world but equally I'm not the worst. I'm sure I've mentioned how Lex describes me on pitch as "inconsistent" and that's probably the most accurate way to describe it. One minute I can be great and catch anything you decide to send my way, the next I'll drop the simplest discs ever thrown. So yeah, inconsistent. 1st team's usual members were a couple men down (1 being in Lativa and the other in Ireland) so to avoid iron manning it they pulled me from the ranks...must have thought I was good enough otherwise they wouldn't have picked me to go with them right? So I went to regionals on first team...really quite nervous since their level of play is...well a lot better than mine usually is...I went determined not to disappoint and hopefully I didn't...

Saturday we were doing really well (least I thought we were). I arrived slightly late due to a bit of a fuck up on my part booking the wrong ticket...this actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise since someone (...Lex) left Jack's bag at the train station when they left. So I had to phone the train station which if you've ever tried to phone a train station will know that it's not a straight forward process in the slightest. Managed to get them to find and store the bag for me until I got there to pick it up and hop on my train down to St. Albans. How we ended up in St. Albans for the Midlands Indoor Regional tournament I'll never understand...but hey ho! The rest of first team got there before me due to my cock up and Lex's saving grace and had to iron man the first game for about 5 minutes before I arrived thanks to Georgina picking me up from the station. From there I think we played quite well, I can't remember any of the scores but I don't remember feeling pissed off and disappointed at the end of the day...just tired and achy but that's the sign of a job well done right? That night, Lex, Jack, Lewis, Amy, Chris, Petey and I all crashed in the sports centre we'd been playing in all day....it lead to an uncomfortable nights sleep, especially since I like to sleep in near arctic conditions. We went to get dinner at a "nearby" KFC that turned out to be about 20/30mins walk away, mostly down a dark and creepy track off the college campus. It had been raining most of the day as well which meant the path was strewn with puddles which was annoying when you're wearing clean dry socks and canvas shoes....

Sunday morning we woke up groggy and bleary eyed thanks to the hard wood floor and some American bloke next to us having an intimate conversation with his missus into the early hours. We found out that we weren't playing in the same place as we woke up in and had to high tail it over to the other sports centre for our first game. We arrived well enough, except for some asshole yelling "Bus Wankers" at they drove past...southerners eh? We really needed to win our first game of the day, it was the 8th vs 15th cross over match...if we lost it we would have moved down to 15th and not had a shot at getting to Nationals. We lost. I can't help but feel more than a little responsible, I just didn't seem to be playing all that well at all. We all seemed a bit slow and off form for the first 10mins of the match allowing the Warwick Bears 2nd team to go 7-2 up...we started to bring it back in the last 10mins making it 7-5 on the final buzzer. The guys didn't say much when we walked off the pitch...what was there to say really? I admit I was the weakest member of the team there and then...and personally I felt fucking awful after that first match on the Sunday. Felt like I'd let not only the team down but also the club (cliche and melodramatic but true) since we were there to get to nationals and we didn't make it. It was a team effort and everything but that doesn't change the fact that I was the weakest player there and made more than my share of mistakes...just hope the guys don't think too badly of me for it...I did my best out there and I hope they know that. I felt honoured to be invited to join first team (along with nervous and scared for the reasons above) and I wanted to get us to Nationals as much as they did, why would I not? End of the day, we didn't make it and it's in the past now. Can only learn from my mistakes and hope not to repeat them...We went on to play 2 more matches that day and won them both, finishing 13th out of 32(?). Will said the last game of the day was the best he'd seen me play all weekend, I just replied with "Shame I couldn't do that earlier..." obviously feeling kinda down about the whole thing...

The week after regionals was just like any other week really, can't really remember anything outstanding or amazing happening. Stuff and things and junk. Worked on my assignment. Finished the main storyline on Darksiders II, was a little disappointed by the ending of it if I'm honest. The game was great, don't get me wrong. Just the ending seemed kinda rushed and a bit lack luster to me but that's a tale for another time. 

Lex and future Mrs. Lex (Ally)

Saturday, November 2nd was the first day of Lex's tournament hosted as an effort to raise funds for his upcoming wedding, entitled "One Pitch to Rule Them All". It was hilariously fun as Lincoln tournaments always are. Lex was stressing out in the lead up to it due to a few drop outs at the last minute lead to him fearing he'd have to cancel due to lack of teams. Luckily some teams came through and made it an awesome weekend. Being a fun tournament the pressure was far less intense than the weekend before, everyone being there just to play some ultimate, have a good laugh with some great company and if they take home a prize then all the better! I was demoted back to Lincoln 2 as joint Captain with Alana. Kinda glad for it really, don't get me wrong, I loved playing with the lads from 1st team the weekend before but I felt pretty bad after we lost that crucial game on the Sunday, so being back on 2nd was a load of my mind. We had a bit of a dynamic and shifting team for the weekend, starting with Louis, Lewis (Huey), Petey, Will Elliott, Mat Shaw, Alana and myself. Then ending the weekend without Petey or Will (he injured his ankle) but the addition of Brick, who had returned from playing in Women's regionals in Norwich on the Saturday. I can't remember details of the days which is bad considering it was yesterday and the day before....ah well. We fought hard against all the teams we played, having some really close games and some not so close games, but being a relatively short team we were at a bit of a disadvantage really. Still we ran hard and gave the rest of the teams a good fight. Played some good fun calls and generally had a great laugh all weekend. We ended up taking home the Spoon for finishing 7th. 

The only members of Lincoln 2 who could make the team photo

This weekend really made me think though, this is potentially my last year playing with the guys...that sucks...how the hell has the time gone so fast!? Best make the most of this year really! 

That's it for now folks, 

Catch ya later