Be Your Best Self

Despite my best intentions, blogging has taken a back seat to the craziness of the spring season and some unfortunate weather.  It seems that 5:30 AM is the only time I can find to write...

A few weeks ago at the Captaining Clinic, we talked a bit about how important it is to be your best self.  This is something that I have struggled with a lot as a leader, and I think it is incredibly important because of its relevance to life outside of ultimate.

A few thoughts:

Know your strengths and weaknesses.
I mentioned this briefly in my last post, and I think it is worth bringing up again.  I can be a better leader if I am honest with myself about what my strengths and weaknesses are.  This allows me to maximize my contributions to the team by ensuring that I am utilizing my strengths.  It also gives me areas to focus on as I train my weaknesses and strive to be a better leader.

Emulate, but don't compare.
Instead of comparing myself to other leaders, I should strive to pick out their best qualities and emulate them.  Be your best YOU.  Great leaders are not clones of each other.  I need to love myself for the things I bring to my team, and appreciate others for the fact that they bring different things to the table.

Surround yourself with good people.
As a leader, I need to have a circle of people I can trust.  I have been fortunate to not only have had amazing co-captains and coaches, but also talented and gracious rivals and friends.  I am who I am and I strive to be better because of these people.

Value yourself.
This might be the hardest part of being your best self.  As a leader, it is natural to take the blame for everything that goes wrong with a team.  We want to be everything for our teams-- solve all of the problems, make everyone happy, win every game, create a successful program.  We can do more of these things when we take time for ourselves and value our own mental, physical, and emotional health at least a tiny bit.

Be your best self... as a player, leader, and person.  :)

Leadership Identity

Preparing for the Southeast Captaining 101 Clinic and meeting individually with a number of college leaders (and spending a lot of time driving by myself) have led to a considerable amount of thinking about leadership.  I am learning a lot from these college players, and I always leave those conversations feeling challenged and inspired to be a better leader myself.

I have a few posts worth of content about some of what I've been learning and reflecting upon, and I'll try to get some thoughts up on the blog over the course of the next week.

At the Captaining Clinics and in these individual meetings, we talk a lot about the need for team identity and the importance of cultivating a unique team culture, setting goals, and developing a plan.  Success doesn't happen by chance.  It requires a plan and intentional movement in a singular direction over the course of many months, or even years.

As team leaders, we need to develop our personal leadership identity alongside cultivating team identity.  Every team is a reflection of its leadership, and strong leadership has goals and a plan the same way a team does.  Similar to how team identity evolves over time, our leadership identity evolves too.  As we face new challenges, and as we grow as players, leaders, and people, our identities evolve (hopefully in a positive direction!).

All of this is a bit nebulous, especially for young leaders, but I think we can ask some key questions to begin defining our personal leadership identity.

First, why do I play this sport?
Our reasons for playing ultimate ground us.  When things get rough, remembering why I play reminds me that all of the struggle is worth it.  When I get discouraged, I go back and read the list I've made.  It usually works wonders.  This list has also helped me to recognize that not everyone plays for the same reasons I do.  That recognition is key to helping me understand what makes my teammates tick, and shaping my approach to putting them in a position to succeed.

Secondly, why do I lead?
For me, articulating why I lead serves as a heart check.  When difficult situations arise and practice planning, emails, and one-on-ones start piling up next to life stuff, reminding myself of why I lead brings joy to the "work."  It also means that I can bring more positive energy to my interactions with my teammates, because ultimately, my reasons for leading are tied to them.

Next, what are my strengths and weaknesses?
Know thyself.  As leaders, we assess our roster for strengths and weaknesses, and develop a strategy based upon our assessment.  Similarly, when we know our own personal strengths and weaknesses, we can put ourselves in a position to be better leaders.  Good players train their weaknesses and maximize their strengths.  Good leaders do the same.

Lastly, what are my goals as a leader?
This John Wooden quote summarizes many of personal goals as a leader:

"Others may have far more ability than you have. They may be larger, faster, quicker, able to jump better, etc. but no one should be your superior in team spirit, loyalty, enthusiasm, cooperation, determination, industriousness, fight, and character. Acquire and keep these traits and success will follow. Define success for those under your leadership as total commitment and effort to the team's welfare."

Outcome goals (e.g. "cultivate a happy team") and process goals (e.g. "be kind in every interaction I have with my teammates") give me direction.  They dictate where I put my time, energy, and effort.  They also give me something to work toward.  Goals allow me to push my boundaries and strive to be my best self.

If you haven't done so already, go out and buy a notebook and answer some of these questions.  Document your journey.  Having it all written down will help guide you along the way, and is an awesome thing to look back on after the season.

Midwest Throwdown:: Year 6

I have been slacking big time on the blogging game, and people have been bugging me to post more, so I will try to share some content in the coming weeks.  I'll start with a pretty light post about this weekend's event.

Midwest Throwdown is incredibly special to me because of the team I partner with, as well as because it's a tournament I've had a hand in building from the ground up.  I started this tournament in 2008, and this tournament and Centex are probably two of the best metrics I have for how far college women's ultimate has come since then.  This year marks five years of partnership with both Wash U (my college regional rival) and Texas (my team in grad school).  Building a tournament is a huge undertaking, and almost nothing about building Throwdown has been easy, which makes me appreciate the event even more.

A few personal snapshots of Throwdown:

1. Weather
One cannot talk about Throwdown without talking about the weather.  This weekend looks dicey and we've had challenging weather four out of the past five years.  The first year, we lost our primary fields and backup fields, and our backup backup fields got double booked.  I should have given up then.  ;)  The next year, someone was in a Portapottie that got blown over.  Maybe next year, things will turn around...

2. Birds
I have a crippling fear of birds.  In 2009, Wisconsin found a bird head at the fields and decided it would be an awesome idea to give me this "gift" in a napkin.  I freaked out and every year since, a team has given me a dead bird. The team and methodology change from year to year, but I am now at the point where I will not accept any presents at Throwdown.  And after last year, it appears that I can't leave my personal belongings unattended either.

3. Friends
This weekend, I am staying with Abby Stephens, a Wash U alum, former Throwdown TD, and good friend of mine.  I posted a bit about how we met here.  How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference.  I am thankful for my friendship with Abby, which stemmed from that small interaction at Regionals.

Abby always asks me the tough questions, checks in on me even when I am invisible on Gchat for months, and for several seasons, has helped behind-the-scenes by proofreading all of the tournament formats and captains' packets.

I can point to many friendships that have stemmed from organizing Throwdown, and I am incredibly thankful for these people.

4. Pay It Forward
I re-posted this on Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday.  One of the reasons I work on Throwdown year after year is because Wash U is a team that understands this concept.  This year, we have half a dozen alums helping with the tournament.  In past years, the team has donated large amounts of money to projects that do not directly benefit their team.  When I began working on QCTU several years ago, they were one of the first, and only, out-of-region teams to get on board.  Their loyalty, and their commitment to growing college women's ultimate, mean the world to me.

Here's to less bad weather, no birds, and lots of friends and paying it forward.  Looking forward to seeing many of you in St. Louis this weekend.

Southeast Captaining 101 Clinic Recap

This past weekend was the Southeast Captaining 101 Clinic in Tallahassee, FL.  Since I played this past season in the Southeast (Club) Region, I had been hoping to bring one of these clinics to our region.  When I started trying to plan something last summer / fall, I got some initial interest but couldn't nail anything down.  Fast forward a few months to CCC and a chance meeting with Sarah Clark, the president and one of the captains of the Seminole Ladies. Sarah graciously agreed to look into hosting the clinic and within a month, we had a date and location set.  A huge thank you to Sarah and her team, as the clinic would not have happened without them.

Jenna (Florida) and Mariel (Central Florida) face off in one-on-one defense drill

Some of the best players in the state representing Florida State, Central Florida, Florida, and Tabby Rosa attended the clinic.  Chelsea Murphy of Ozone came down to coach at the clinic, and did a fantastic job leading a myriad of sessions including an awesome session on Mental Toughness.  Chelsea's wide range of experiences as a player and leader made her an invaluable resource to all of us.

Mental Toughness session

Florida features three college programs that could all break into the Top 20 this season.  While qualifying for Nationals is a goal for each of these teams, cultivating successful programs that are increasingly competitive is a long-term goal that each is striving to accomplish.  Training younger leaders, distributing playing time, getting team buy-in, and planning effective practices that fit into a season-long plan are all challenges facing these leaders.  We had an awesome time discussing all of these things, as well as honestly tackling the topic of SOTG and the difficulties in building an elite Florida women's club team.  I was really impressed by the honest and productive dialogue in all of the sessions.

Having some fun with the agility ladder outside

One of the most rewarding parts of the weekend was seeing the friendships being developed between teams.  Florida State, Central Florida, and Florida have had an extremely competitive relationship, and we all got to do some bonding over a pasta dinner, our shared struggles with the agility ladder, and the realization that all of our teams struggle with some of the same issues.  I am hopeful that the friendships formed and solidified this past weekend contribute to spirited play in the Southeast and help to form the basis for a unified and successful Florida women's club team.

Happy clinic participants outside in the sun after a rainy weekend

Thank you to everyone who came to the clinic this past weekend!  We look forward to cheering for you this season, and competing against you all this summer / fall.

Northeast Captaining 101 Clinic Recap

A couple of weekends ago, we were privileged to host the Northeast Captaining 101 Clinic at Swarthmore College.  It seems that every time we visit the state of Pennsylvania, things don't go our way.  Keystone Classic has been a magnet for bad weather and bad luck the past three years, and while the weather was beautiful for the Captaining Clinic, the weeks leading up to the event were nothing short of a logistical nightmare that included facility issues, two round trips from North Carolina to Pennsylvania, and both of our lead organizers ending up in boots (no, not the fashionable kind).  

Thankfully, lead organizer Emily McAfee and the Swarthmore Warmothers did a tremendous job of troubleshooting every situation and overcoming every roadblock to the clinic... their dedication and perseverance allowed us to overcome many challenges.  We were able to host 80+ players from 20 different teams.  A new Captaining 101 Clinic record!

We were privileged to have Mary Kate "Uzi" Hogan (BENT), Molly Moore (Hot Metal), Amy Hudson (Scandal), Amber Sinicrope (Brute Squad), and Tracy Woo (Brute Squad) as our coaches for the event.  They brought a ton of knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to the clinic.  One player said that her favorite part of the clinic was "getting to hear awesome stories from the Without Limits coaches cause they are all awesome players and people!"  We agree and felt very lucky to have such an awesome crew of coaches, all of whom have been dear friends for many years.

One of the more humorous parts of the clinic was after Michelle, Uzi, and Amy shared their tales of woe of leading college teams and broken hearts after not qualifying for Nationals.  Tracy stepped up to the front of the room to share her bio and said, "For me, there was no difficulty.  We won College Nationals my first year and were ranked in the Top 4 all year long."  Glad to know it works out for some people, Tracy!  ;)

We had a number of outdoor sessions that included Offense 101, Defense 101, Skills & Drills, and Scrimmaging with a Purpose.  We also held sessions in the fieldhouse and classrooms, covering topics such as Mental Toughness, Strength & Conditioning, Planning Practice for Small Spaces, Recruiting for an Established College Program, and Nutrition & Off-Field Preparation.

  

Another clinic participant had this to say about the weekend, "I felt like this was the first time in the past two years (since I started captaining) that I was getting really pointed feedback on my play from someone who knew the game really well. It was really empowering to have someone watch me play and take time to really give detailed instruction."  We hope that we achieved our goal of teaching the next generation of college leaders, and giving them tools to take back to their college teams to help them grow even more.  The future of college ultimate looks bright!

A huge thank you to the Swarthmore ladies for hosting the clinic.  Your hospitality was appreciated by all and can be summarized by this player's feedback, "LOVED staying with the Swarthmore girls. Our host was awesome, and she read us some of her original slam poetry and we had an awesome time."

Thanks to all for a great weekend!

Tournament Season Wrap-Up

Fusion this past weekend was the last Without Limits tournament of 2012!  Needless to say, I am half a person right now as I was both playing in and running the event.  It has been a whirlwind of a year with lots of unanticipated challenges, but I hope we provided lots of quality playing opportunities for teams across the country.  Thank you to all who attended our events!

We have one last clinic planned for November (http://withoutlimitsultimate.com/projects/northeast-captaining-101-clinic) and we are already ramping up for 2013.  Stay tuned to the Projects page as we confirm events for next season.

I was thinking today about how much of the tournament running process relies on friends.  I feel like every tournament has a story of sorts... and those stories all center around people.  Friends are the backbone of the events we run-- they are the reason for investment and they make all of the effort worthwhile.  Living in a hotel for a few days before Fusion reminded me of all of the wonderful people who housed me as I traveled from event to event this year and took care of me on the road.  I started making a list... forgive me if I missed you!

- Erin Hurd (Kansas State)
- Kami Groom (Wash U)
- Tobey Beaver (DeSoto)
- Lindsey Hack (Phoenix) and Raj Prasad (Truck Stop)
- Kate Wilson and Angela Lin (Ozone)
- Natalie Espino (Bucket)
- Emily Lloyd (Georgia / Ozone), Anraya Palmer (Georgia), Lane Siedor (Georgia / Ozone), Julia Fuster (Georgia), and Courtney Farrell (Georgia)
- Laura Glassman (Tufts)
- Shannon Waugh (Colorado)
- Adriana Withers (VC Ultimate)
- Kelly Wright (Loyola / IBEX) and Sara Nolan (Loyola / Gambit)
- Steve Meyers (VC Ultimate / Haymaker)
- Julie Habbert and Emily Luck (Wash U)
- Janel Venzant, Hayley Manning, and Elise Bjork (Texas)
- Paige Hill (Grinnell) and Hanna Liebl (Grinnell / panIC)
- Danielle Fortin and Kate Werry (Capitals)
- Herscus (Colorado College, Harvard, and Carleton)
- Sam Huo (Wash U)
- Carly Maconaghy (Penn State)
- Anna Schott (Molly Brown)
- Lindsey Cross (Molly Brown)
- Lauren Nelson and Stephanie Arker (Brute Squad)
- Lori Eich (Nemesis)
- Katie Dolara (Nemesis) and Dane Olsen (Machine)

I was overwhelmed by both the quantity and quality of people on this list.  Thank you to all of these friends who allowed me to crash their couches and spare bedrooms, do laundry, and steal internet.  I am certain that Without Limits would not have made it through 2012 without you.  And I'm not sure I would have either.  Thank you.

Thank you again for all of your support this year, and I hope to see all of you at events in 2013.

AGE UP: Vote Now!

Seattle Riot player and friend Hana Kawai asked us to share this piece about AGE UP, a program that she helps run in Seattle.  The program needs YOUR help to win an online voting competition.  Help this awesome program get the funding they need!

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VOTE FOR AGE UP!

HELP US WIN $5,000!!

http://maker.good.is/projects/AGEUP2012

All Girl Everything Ultimate Program (AGE UP) is a South Seattle-based girls’ leadership and empowerment program that brings together middle school and high school aged girls with world-class female athletes.

AGE UP is in the final stages of an online voting competition – and they need your vote to win big.

The group is taking part in GOODmaker’s “GOOD Summer” contest, an online vote competition that determines the awardee of a $5,000 grant. At the time of this writing, AGE UP is near the top of the pile, sixth in a field of 146 project ideas.

AGE UP is run entirely by volunteers, and every dollar the program raises goes directly to supporting young women taking their first hucks, pulls, and no look scoobers into the world of Ultimate.

But this is about so much more than just Ultimate. AGE UP uses the positive influence of the sport to engage girls in long-term intentional work, developing critical awareness, leadership skills, and positive identity. Just wrapping up their second year, AGE UP grew out of the rapid expansion of youth Ultimate in South Seattle, and is dedicated to working with low-income girls of color from this community - home to the most diverse zip code in the United States.

“The thing I like the best about AGE UP was the fact that we learned about social justice and women’s empowerment and really like helps because it’s different from school. Because guys talk about girls and b-words and you know, so it was really empowering to learn about discrimination and stuff, to rise above that,” says one participant.

Voting on the GOOD site is simple and easy, and every vote supports the growth of Ultimate and the development of the next generation of women Ultimate players and community leaders. Sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

http://maker.good.is/projects/AGEUP2012#