Coaching Tip:
Planning and Focus of Drills
Pay attention to this idea to get the most out of your practices:
Every time you set up a drill for your team, define the focus and scope of the drill. Tell your team what skill a drill is designed to practice and improve. Highlight its focus, such as paying attention to stepping out, or thinking about fakes. Also point out things to avoid doing in the drill, like over-committing to the open side force even if you know that's where the throw is headed.
If you spend the time thinking through the drill before you utilize it in practice, you'll find it takes less time to get your team running it smoothly, and your team will be getting maximum work from the time spent.

Event Report:
2004 UPA College Championships
A delightfully cool Seattle was the setting for the 2004 UPA College Championships this past weekend. There were even a few breaks when the sun came out. Ryan Seguine said, "No one's going to the hospital unless they get a concussion and drown. And since Ben Wiggins and I aren't playing, the chance of concussion is greatly reduced."

Open Division:
In quarterfinal action Colorado knocked off defending champs Wisconsin 15-10, Stanford hammered UC-San Diego 15-5, Brown eliminated Iowa 15-13 after Iowa upset the number-one seed in their region, CUT, for the first time this season, and UC-Berkeley downed NC State 15-10.
Berkeley narrowly edged Brown 15-13 in one semifinal match while Colorado overcame Stanford 15-10 in the other.
For the first time in years the top seeded squads_ met in the final. Tied at 5's, Colorado Mamabird cleaned up a pair of endzone overthrows to take half 8-5 and gain momentum. Berkeley's offense struggled to get flowing, and the charging Mamabird took the final convincingly 15-7 to stop knocking on the door and claim their first College Championship win.

Womens Division:
Quarterfinal action saw MIT upset by UC-San Diego 15-12, UC-Davis down Brown 15-7, Stanford dispatch Texas 15-6, and Carleton hold off UC-Berkeley 15-10.
UC-Davis downed UC-San Diego 15-13 in one semi, while Carleton knocked out Stanford 15-13 in the other semifinal.
A questionably 8th-seeded Carleton met Davis in a stellar final battle. The pumped-up and raging women started out getting soaked in a downpour, and dueling zone defenses in the evaporating mist made this game a fight for every point. Half a dozen lead changes with never more than a two-point advantage brought the squads to a 12-12 tie. Davis had more precision at the end, and took the final game 15-12 for their first College Championship in 15 years.

Skills & Drills:
Step Out Strengthening
Two components of successful throws are a quick step out and a stable stance to throw from. Here's a simple conditioning drill which will improve these two ingredients of your throwing:
Make sure you are warmed up first. Have someone keep time for the drill. Start as if you were facing upfield with the disc in hand, although you don't need to have an actual disc. Quickly step out as far out as you can while remaining stable, like you are going to throw a forehand, and get as low as you can. Concentrate on being balanced, and having your shoulders squared upfield to where you will be throwing. Then quickly step out to your backhand side, again far and low, while maintaining balance and keeping your upper body in position to release a clean throw. Repeat these actions as quickly as possible for a minute, and then rest for a minute. Repeat for a 30-second period, followed by 30 seconds of rest. Do a final set for 15 seconds. By the end of he third set you will feel nicely tired muscles in your legs.
Alternatively, you can mix this drill into a station workout. You can also adjust the duration of the drill depending on the team's fitness level. For variation, do this with a disc in hand, concentrating on adjusting your grip quickly from forehand to backhand, and making a realistic fake on each step out.
As this is a sport-specific drill targeting an ultimate action, it will not develop balanced muscles equally in each leg. If this is a concern, the drill can be repeated on the opposite side.

News:
WFDF Anti-Doping Rules
Following last summer's World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) decision to accept the World Anti-Doping Code, WFDF has completed their new anti-doping rules. The 2004 World Ultimate and Guts Championships to be held in Finland in August is the first event where the rules will be enforced, and athletes may be tested. This marks another dramatic step towards international acceptance and respectability for WFDF and flying disc sports.
In addition to World Championship events, the new rules apply to "all member national flying disc associations of WFDF and all players participating in the events organized by WFDF or its members."
The benefits of adopting the Code are obvious, but the added responsibility will be a challenge to the resources of associations such as CUPA, UPA, and other national associations.
The new rules can be found at the following web address:
http://www.wfdf.org/wfdfantidoping.htm