Red Circus

2009 Season Overview

This year, the Halifax open ultimate program is looking to run two teams. Red Circus will be the elite level team, and Blue Carnival will be the developmental team. The commitments required vary depending on the team you are on. Red Circus will practice twice a week (from early May to late Sept), and will require travel to a minimum of 4 tournaments. Blue Carnival will practice once a week (from early May to late Sept), and will travel to 3 tournaments (non-mandatory). Please see the attendance policy and tournament schedule below.

Our expectation for players, regardless of what team they are on, is a strong commitment to the team and the program. This requires good attendance at practices and tournaments, a desire to put in the work required to improve individually and as a team, and a good overall attitude.

There is the potential for movement between teams so players who start the season on Blue Carnival may play with Red Circus at some point in the summer, and players who start the season on Red Circus may be asked to play with Blue Carnival at points during the season.

The goal of the men’s competitive program for this season is to set the standard for the commitment and work ethic that we know will lead to the development of all players involved and eventually to the rise of the elite team to a top 5 team in Canada and in the Northeast region of North America.

Tryout Guidelines

Here are some general guidelines about what to focus on to have a more successful tryout:

Get used to the idea of playing in a system that involves the whole team. Many league teams rely on 2 or 3 guys to do most of the getting open and throwing. This results in a lot of running around and cutting people off and making risky passes while looking off easy open ones.

If you can, adjust to the idea that the team you will be trying out for has many good players all of which could get hot and dominate a game. But normally, they play within a structure that allows them to get open and their teammates to contribute as well.

Throwing long does not equal throwing long well. Most club teams have established deep throwers. The way we see it at tryouts, if you are going to throw expect to complete it. Sounds stupid, but at the college/league level the above statement is not always utilized.

Play hard. You must think to yourself that the play is never over. Follow the play or the big huck.

Remember that you are playing with 6 other guys who are good. You do not have to win the point yourself. Be an unselfish teammate with the disc (i.e. always hit open guys).

Play good d. Limit break marks. If you are not getting the d, are you always there? Are you always getting burned under or deep?

If you believe you belong, then you will be able to hang. Just because you are playing against someone with a "name" does not mean they are better than you. Always make the player covering you (or that you are covering) earn it. Successful players expect to win their match-up. Unsuccessful players don't. Expect to win your match-up.

Do whatever the leaders of the team tell you and don't be afraid to ask for advice, help, clarifications. Find someone to give a little one-on-one feedback about specific circumstances, particularly if you do not understand them. Be greedy with your cuts. Don't gain 5-10 yards. Gain 15 at the least.

Assess your strengths and weaknesses (or have your former captain/teammate do it with you). Get out on the field and determine how to put yourself in position to play to your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. If you're great in the air, make strong deep cuts and focus on that. If you're a strong defender, put all of your energy toward getting a D on the best cutter you can find. That is, make a strong impression with YOUR game and what you can do. Tryouts are not the time to try new things.

Assess the players you are trying out with (returners as well) and cut for the big throwers. Cut for the guys who love to break the mark. Give it back to the great throwers. Do what their game requires to help make them better.

Practice Attendance Policy

This is a rough outline we have for a Practice Attendance Policy for RC for upcoming season. This is not set in stone yet but is demonstrative of the kind of commitment that we are looking for. We would like see a similar commitment from the BC players.

a. You are expected to attend 5 out of every 6 practices. That is if you miss a practice you have to be at the next 5 practices before you can miss another one. This works out to an attendance of 5 practices over a 3 week period for RC and 5 practices over a 6 week period for BC.

b. You have 4 floaters that are practices that you can miss whenever you want. You can use these for emergencies or to take two weeks off (trips, etc.) for instance.

c. Failure to meet the attendance policy will result in a chat with the captains, followed by a potential move to Blue Carnival. We would be bringing a guy up from Blue Carnival to replace the relegated player. If the player’s commitment improves we would consider bringing them back.

d. Guys who have extraneous circumstances will be dealt on a case by case basis by the captains. Having continued valid excuses (travel for work is causing me to miss 40% of practices) does not necessarily mean that action won't be taken. Practice attendance allows the team to improve and when people miss practice, not only do they fail to improve but reduced numbers also restrict what the remaining players in attendance are able to do.

e. More emphasis will be placed on some parts of the season (tryouts to Ottawa, leading up to sectionals and regionals) than others (the 3 weeks after Ottawa). The 5/6 practices may change to reflect this (ie, 5 of the 6 before a tournament, but maybe 4/5 between mid-july and mid-august)

f. As a team it will be our goal this season to maintain an attendance of 85%.

g. If you are injured you are still expected to meet this attendance.

The thinking behind this policy is that attendance is one of the things that we have control over and an increase in attendance is one of the easiest things we can do to improve as a team. So we are going to be upfront about what we expect so you can know right from the start the kind of commitment we want. We also see this as a commitment to building a successful program over the long term. We want to build the proper foundation now so that attendance is not an issue in the future.

Tournament Schedule and Tournament Attendance Policy

Tournament schedule for RC

1. Our Tournament in Acadia in May (May 23/24).

2. Boston (June 27/28)

3. Ottawa (July 25/26)

4. Sectionals (Mid to end September)

5. Regionals (Mid October)

These are going to be the main RC tournaments. We would like everyone on RC to commit to 4 out 5 of these. If for some reason you need to miss 2 of these tournaments then we would like you to go to one of the following tournaments instead.

1. Jazz Fest in Montreal with Blue Carnival (Early July)

2. Maybe - Vermont Log Jam with BC (Late July/Early August)

3. Nationals with Luttmer Circus (August 13 - 15)

Tournament schedule for BC

1. Our Tournament in Acadia in May (May 23/24).

2. Jazz Fest in Montreal (Early July)

3. Maybe - Vermont Log Jam (Late July/Early August)

4. Sectionals (Mid to end September)