Lefty High Release took a hiatus due to my inability to blog while playing frisbee. It seems that I enjoyed playing more than recounting, but not anymore! Jenny's back from the block and ready to show what she came here to do!
Updates since my last post:
1. Carleton wins Open College Championships over Wisconsin, and UCSB wins the title over Michigan on the Women's side.
2. I tore my other left ACL in late May and had surgery on June 23, 2011. Don't worry, I plan to be back for the spring season!
3. I get (sketchily) cut from Atlanta's Ozone team, and make 1st-team All Region in the Southeast, alongside my good friends Megan Reeves and Abby Schuster.
4. Georgia Tech women look solid! Only 2 graduating seniors, and plenty of talented rookies. CCC will be our first tourney of the season.
5. Keith Raynor continues to involve himself with Wreck even though he now lives in Columbus, OH by creating this awesome highlight vid.
6. I still love ultimate!
I plan to venture fairly deeply south and east into Florida for this year's USAU Club Championships. Loud, occasionally obnoxious, cheering (particularly for Chain, Sabre Corp, Bucket, Reckon and Ozone) and adult beverage drinking by the beach is on my agenda. Players and fans alike, be ready to go hard in the paint down in Sarasota, Fl. This showdown is only a yearly event, so no holding back!
Feels good to be back on the interwebs. Check back again soon for more ultimate related stylings by LHR.
Leah T.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Preventing a Season-Ending Injury: Namely the ACL Tear
It's double game point of semi-finals. You've been playing hard all weekend and your team can either lose now and be done, or play one last game for all the glory. However, after this play, you're done for the next 6+ months whether you want to be or not, because you tried to catch a pass over your head and came down wrong. You heard a loud POP! in your knee as you collapse to the grass.
This is an example of the unfortunate, yet frequent incident: tearing the anterior cruciate ligament. Of the four ligaments in the knee joint, the ACL is the most commonly injured, with the majority of cases being young (under 25) athletes, mostly female athletes. I myself tore my right ACL in March 2010, and had surgery 2 weeks later. Going through that experience has made me a stronger, more aware person and led me to my new-found passion for Physical Therapy. However, it could have been avoided with knowledge and prevention measures. It is important for ultimate players, especially women, to educate themselves about ACL injury prevention. The following information is my efforts to spread the ACL word.
Words from the Wise, i.e. Dr. John Xerogeanes.
Dr. X, as he is more commonly known, is an Emory orthopedic surgeon at the Emory Orthopaedic & Spine Center. Here is a video of his advice to preventing this injury. To summarize his video, these are the ways you can decrease the likelihood of tearing your ACL:
1. Make your body stronger. This includes incorporating exercises into your routine that make your body strong, pliable, and have more endurance.
2. Landing correctly after jumping. Make sure your knees are straight forward, not towards each other, when you land by looking in a mirror.
3. There are special ACL tear prevention programs you can participate in for further knowledge about this subject.
I hope this has helped you learn more about ACL tear prevention. Spread the word to your teammates!
This is an example of the unfortunate, yet frequent incident: tearing the anterior cruciate ligament. Of the four ligaments in the knee joint, the ACL is the most commonly injured, with the majority of cases being young (under 25) athletes, mostly female athletes. I myself tore my right ACL in March 2010, and had surgery 2 weeks later. Going through that experience has made me a stronger, more aware person and led me to my new-found passion for Physical Therapy. However, it could have been avoided with knowledge and prevention measures. It is important for ultimate players, especially women, to educate themselves about ACL injury prevention. The following information is my efforts to spread the ACL word.
Words from the Wise, i.e. Dr. John Xerogeanes.
Dr. X, as he is more commonly known, is an Emory orthopedic surgeon at the Emory Orthopaedic & Spine Center. Here is a video of his advice to preventing this injury. To summarize his video, these are the ways you can decrease the likelihood of tearing your ACL:
1. Make your body stronger. This includes incorporating exercises into your routine that make your body strong, pliable, and have more endurance.
2. Landing correctly after jumping. Make sure your knees are straight forward, not towards each other, when you land by looking in a mirror.
3. There are special ACL tear prevention programs you can participate in for further knowledge about this subject.
I hope this has helped you learn more about ACL tear prevention. Spread the word to your teammates!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Lei-out and the upcoming college season reminds me Why I Play.
With 120 teams at Lei-out this past weekend on the gorgeous, widespread beach of Santa Monica, CA, it's hard not to love ultimate frisbee, beach or grass. Thousands of smiling people gathered Saturday morning, greeting old friends and meeting new ones, and prepared themselves to play in one of the biggest beach tourneys in the US. Minimal wind speeds and temps in the low 70s were the sprinkles on top of an already delicious beach cupcake.
Lei-out was my first 2-day beach tourney (I played in 2009 at Surf-n-Turf in Destin), and I was set to play on one of the two USAU 2011 Beach Worlds tryout teams. Everyone on the team met for the first time, and it showed by our lack of chemistry that the other A-bracket teams possessed. Fortunately, we began to learn each other's strengths and played significantly better on Sunday. Our record may not be impressive, but my new teammates certainly made an positive, lasting impression on me. I'm so ecstatic that I got to play with amazing people, (and 2 days later) amazing, lifelong friends. Much thanks to Dave Hammond, Ev Kramer, and Alison Regan for organizing the teams and making it a great experience. Also, a shoutout to my new best beach homies: Hale, Jerry, Dutch, Kyle, Lopez, Lisa, Remy, and all my other teammates :) You guys rock!
If you're interested in applying for the USA Beach Worlds team, you can still apply until Jan. 31 for a fee of $25 at the USAU website.
Before I move on, check out GT Women's College Spotlight on Youth Ultimate's website.
-----
I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to help Wreck accomplish our goals for this season, and my mind meandered (as it often does) its way to thinking about all the reasons I love ultimate frisbee, which I'm sure has happened to everyone at least once. These are some of the reasons why I play:
* Efficiency - Ultimate combines the endurance of soccer, the speed and transition between offense/defense of basketball, and the strategy and play-making of football. Why play 3 different sports when you can reduce it to 1?
* Spirit of the Game - Society is time and again governed by the phrase, "Everything is yours for the taking," even if it means taking away from another person. In other sports, more often than not, it's OK to foul if it's to your advantage, start fights, and belittle your opponent. However, because Ultimate is centered around SOTG, we can simply play a sport in its purest form, no b.s. or drama necessary (note the word necessary, meaning unspirited arguments can and do happen). Spirit of the Game also extends off of the field. Just by being at an ultimate tournament, you are connected with every other player present, and that is proven by the numerous friends made over the course of a single weekend.
* Camaraderie - I've played several team sports with this aspect present. Ultimate is one of these sports. The difference is that ultimate has a higher volume and more intimate friendships than any other sport I've participated in. If someone asked me who are my closest friends, chances are I'm going to name my teammates and other players.
* "Fashion is the only cure" - Two things I love: colors and clothes. Frequently, you'll see me combining them (I'm super cool like that). This is the only sport where you'll find people playing in outrageous outfits, ranging from plaid skirts and footy-pajamas, to pink jerseys and matching argyle socks and beyond. The myriad of whimsical attires clearly represents the spirited, silly aspect of Ultimate.
This list is only a fragment of reasons to love and play Ultimate frisbee, but I will end it here for now.
Stay tuned for posts regarding Southeast Team Previews and avoiding the dreaded ACL injury.
Lei-out was my first 2-day beach tourney (I played in 2009 at Surf-n-Turf in Destin), and I was set to play on one of the two USAU 2011 Beach Worlds tryout teams. Everyone on the team met for the first time, and it showed by our lack of chemistry that the other A-bracket teams possessed. Fortunately, we began to learn each other's strengths and played significantly better on Sunday. Our record may not be impressive, but my new teammates certainly made an positive, lasting impression on me. I'm so ecstatic that I got to play with amazing people, (and 2 days later) amazing, lifelong friends. Much thanks to Dave Hammond, Ev Kramer, and Alison Regan for organizing the teams and making it a great experience. Also, a shoutout to my new best beach homies: Hale, Jerry, Dutch, Kyle, Lopez, Lisa, Remy, and all my other teammates :) You guys rock!
If you're interested in applying for the USA Beach Worlds team, you can still apply until Jan. 31 for a fee of $25 at the USAU website.
Before I move on, check out GT Women's College Spotlight on Youth Ultimate's website.
-----
I've been thinking a lot about what I can do to help Wreck accomplish our goals for this season, and my mind meandered (as it often does) its way to thinking about all the reasons I love ultimate frisbee, which I'm sure has happened to everyone at least once. These are some of the reasons why I play:
* Efficiency - Ultimate combines the endurance of soccer, the speed and transition between offense/defense of basketball, and the strategy and play-making of football. Why play 3 different sports when you can reduce it to 1?
* Spirit of the Game - Society is time and again governed by the phrase, "Everything is yours for the taking," even if it means taking away from another person. In other sports, more often than not, it's OK to foul if it's to your advantage, start fights, and belittle your opponent. However, because Ultimate is centered around SOTG, we can simply play a sport in its purest form, no b.s. or drama necessary (note the word necessary, meaning unspirited arguments can and do happen). Spirit of the Game also extends off of the field. Just by being at an ultimate tournament, you are connected with every other player present, and that is proven by the numerous friends made over the course of a single weekend.
* Camaraderie - I've played several team sports with this aspect present. Ultimate is one of these sports. The difference is that ultimate has a higher volume and more intimate friendships than any other sport I've participated in. If someone asked me who are my closest friends, chances are I'm going to name my teammates and other players.
* "Fashion is the only cure" - Two things I love: colors and clothes. Frequently, you'll see me combining them (I'm super cool like that). This is the only sport where you'll find people playing in outrageous outfits, ranging from plaid skirts and footy-pajamas, to pink jerseys and matching argyle socks and beyond. The myriad of whimsical attires clearly represents the spirited, silly aspect of Ultimate.
This list is only a fragment of reasons to love and play Ultimate frisbee, but I will end it here for now.
Stay tuned for posts regarding Southeast Team Previews and avoiding the dreaded ACL injury.
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