End of Season Wrap-Up

It is with great sadness that I begin my final posting to this blog as a member of SOL, however our 2009-2010 season has had much to celebrate. I thought about re-capping Regionals, but quite frankly, between graduation, papers, and what not, I really am pretty loaded with stuff to do...and besides, the McIntire Library is no place to get emotional during finals week. Even if I were to re-cap Regionals, what could I possibly say?

Our team four years ago was a whopping ten to eleven players. We have grown to be one of the most successful, brand spankin' new, small, public school teams in the country. (Most descriptive way to talk about our team since I can no longer claim that we are D-III, because, by UPA standards we do not meet those requirements)

When I joined SOL three and a half years ago, I had no idea what ultimate was. I was merely looking for something to fill the void that college softball left when my cartilage-free knees were simply too bad to continue to catch anymore. Looking for something to push me the way that softball had, I was torn between rugby and ultimate. My parents talked me out of rugby, saying it would not be a good factor into the knee equation. So ultimate it was.

It was a 6 am indoor practice with six girls. That’s what hooked me. Laying out for a disc on the tile floor of the McPhee gym was exhilarating. Failing miserably at throwing my first forehand throws, not so much.
Much hasn’t changed since then about my feelings towards the game (thankfully my forehand has…). The feeling that I get after completing a huck to my teammate who just layed out for the most ridiculous grab because I put it just a little too far to hit her in stride. Working to get that layout D to help pick up my teammate after a missed opportunity. The excitement of seeing my teammates succeed both on and off the field fills me with a sense of pride that only my teammates can understand.

I am so proud of what SOL has accomplished, not just as a team, but as a program. Working side by side with my teammates to help lay the foundation of a solid program has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding experiences I have encountered in my brief 23-year life. I cannot wait to see what SOL achieves in the future. To look at SOL in the future and say that I was apart of that has made this whole thing worthwhile.

I have had the opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful individuals in my life through the game of ultimate. Luckily, I can continue to keep playing competitively, but it doesn't change the fact that this was the team that jump-started this passion for me.

So what can I say about Regionals? I have never seen our team so in sync as we were on Sunday. We played in one of the most exciting college womens games in Central Region history (I guess I can’t say that for sure…but that’s what I keep hearing from friends, and I honestly believe it). Looking to my left and to my right before pulling right after our team put together three consecutive breaks to tie the game at 10-10 against the team with one of the longest histories of nationals appearances in the game…I think that says it all.

Miss you SOL.

<3 Robyn