Monday, December 17, 2007

The Club Championship that wasn't (for me)

The 2007 club season has since drawn to a close, and very unremarkably at that for me, personally. A family emergency kept me from attending this year. It was a decision that I didn't (and still don't) resent. My teammates were all very supportive, which I very greatly appreciated, as I still felt like I was leaving them in the lurch. I obviously would not have lead Zero to the finals had I been there, but that tournament is what we all train for all year long. We often would mince words about not looking past Regionals, taking one tournament at a time, etc etc, but in reality, the entire season is a lead-in to making power pools and further.

In those few days while I was working from home, I mashed the F5 button more than I care to admit. The other benefit of working from home was being able to yell at my computer as I watched Zero lose to Chain, almost lose to Furious and trail Jam most of the way. At some point we need to figure out how to holdour initial second slot in the first day pools (and how to beat Chain at Nationals while we're at it).

While Quarters is all well and good, I still remain very optimistic about Zero's future, as this year definitely felt like a roll of the dice, both regarding the new personnel and a much more aggressive approach to offense. I'd like to think of us as a poor man's Bravo of a few years back, as in a young team putting in solid performances year-round and looking to put it together to push into Semis (if not further).

It certainly seems like there's a great deal more parity in the 4-10 range now that Furious is showing their age, Boston hasn't fully put forward one focused strategy and mindset yet, Chain gaining more talent, and Goat and Condors always lurking.

I guess now's the time to start recruiting more mercenaries to Minnesota.