2014 Reflections

I really should have thought more about my goals before I spent so much time typing them out at the beginning of last year.

2014 was a great year categorized by a few bright spots and lots of not meeting expectations. I am beginning to learn why expectations are very dangerous, even if it is in the world of sports where ultimately that expectation you have may not be met and in the long run it means very little. The question I learned to have in the midst of this year was, are you still having fun? Of course the answer to that was yes, probably more fun than I should be allowed to have. I had a great time traveling and playing in new places. I watched some friends do very well. I made new friends. I still love the game of disc golf.

Let's take a quick peak back at the goals that I had for myself.

1. To Be Myself - I played my game a lot this year. I know I don't have all the tools of the others I am playing with, but I know what I can do.

2. To Be A Learner At All Times - Ooo, I nailed this one. It really doesn't matter who you are, I still have something to learn from you. I found that there are some people in my circles that are really doing some amazing things, and I am not beyond asking for their help.

3. To Qualify For Pro Worlds in 2015 - Even with the mid season change in qualifications for next year pro worlds, and even without a couple of tournaments reporting points, I have more than qualified for a trip to Pittsburg. You better believe I am going to register just as soon as I get the chance to.

4. To Finish In The Top 25% at Am Nats and Am Worlds - Yeah, lets refer back to not meeting expectations and move on.

5. To Not Finish Last - Epic fail on this one. Oh well. Moved on still had fun.

6. To See My Rating Improve To At Least 960 - Even bigger epic fail. I actually lowered my rating this year. Lots of possible factors. 2015 is looking bright.

7. To Design A Course That Gets Played - Nope. Didn't get any help from my local parks department on that one.

8. To Make At Least One Disc Golf Video - Nope, not enough time to make this one happen. At least not to the quality that I would hold myself to.

In order to keep myself from typing too much, here is my top 10 list of things that happened in 2014. I promise I will not type too much, even if that leaves you wanting more.

10. Played in my first National Tour event.

9. Changed my entire bag up, got me some Swedish plastic.

8. Had my extended family come watch and cheer me on in Michigan. Gave my cousins kids their first discs.

7. Cashed for the first time and took it. I'm a pro now.

6. 100 courses played according to DGCR.

5. Was complemented on Facebook even though I don't have Facebook. Tears in my eyes.

4. Played a round in a tournament with Cale Leiviska and Garret Gurthie, made my mom famous. Woop Woop!

3. Got two aces in one year, what???

2. Taught kids to play disc golf, made parents cry.

1. Met and made a new friend in JohnE McCray. See you again this year friend!

Alright, that is it for now. I am already pondering the goals for next year. Maybe make a chipmunk smile will be on there.

Winter Warriors X

So, last Saturday was the start of Winter Warriors X. The yearly event runs for 13 weeks in an effort to raise as much money for the Food Bank of the Rockies as possible. Last year we were just short of $10,000 raised and the bar has been set even higher this year.

For me personally, this has become a great opportunity to have fun and keep the game moving forward through the cold winter when I am less motivated to get out and play. Sure this off season I am planning (yes, still in the planning stages) of staying in shape and working to improve my game, but this will help me get out and play. I may have rather high expectations as well. See, last year I finished second overall in the standings with only Rob Nichols, the multiple time champion of the event, ahead of me.

With one week down, I am not where I want to be in the overall standings, but I played poorly in the first week and made some bad decisions in the mental game. Get back to having fun and working on the game. That is what I have to tell myself moving forward. Additionally, it isn't like doing well helped so much last year with a rather down year as far as tournaments are concerned. But then again, that is just a poor excuse and rationalization as to why the the score at the end really doesn't matter.

I am certainly looking forward to week two and beyond. There are some good courses on the schedule and I know I will have the chance to improve my game. The big picture is becoming a better player and using the opportunity to raise money for a great cause to do just that. It is not just about me.

Oh The Places You Will Go

When you are young and you learn about traveling one's eyes tend to light up with the big names. Paris, France, Las Vegas, Nevada and New York, New York, just to name a few. Most people tend to stick to those as they grow older, but there are a unique few people in this world that will choose new destinations to go to.

I was reminded of just how odd I am as a disc golfer in comparison to the travel plans of the rest of the world as about a week ago I traveled down to a resort near Rociada, NM to play in the Pendaries Fall Classic. It really was a good thing that most of the driving down there happened when it was dark out. I probably would have questioned myself many times if I was headed in the right direction. Even with the lack of light I was still not confident in Google maps to get me there. I dare not say rest assured as I got in a little after 11 pm and quickly settled in for a rather short nap before waking up to play disc golf.

Some days in disc golf are rather wild. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It is like the day needs to see a psychiatrist. In the morning as I was seeing the disc golf course at Pendaries Village for the first time. What a humbling experience. It really is an amazing course, but it was kicking my butt and I nearly soured my opinion of the course based on how poorly I was playing. Then the second round came. Being in last place, I played with the old guys and had a realy fun round that ended up being really good. I improved my score from the morning by 13 throws! Sunday followed suit and was rated even better than my second round on Saturday. If I had one more round near my second two rounds, I would have easily been in the cash. Oh well.

Elite Brothers Disc Golf did a great job running this tournament and I look forward to being at more of their events in the future. They are another one of those companies that seem to be doing things right and they have strong local support for all that they are doing. They are certainly going to be big in New Mexico if not beyond.

100 Courses Played According to DGCR

Well, according to DGCR I have played 100 courses in my disc golf career. I am not sure this is too accurate. There are several variations of the same course that appear to count for each variation I have played. That knocks me down about four courses by my calculations. It does not include three very private courses that I have played. So maybe the reality is that I am only at 99 courses played by my calculations. That being said, I will be at 100 by the end of the year barring major sickness keeping me from my last tournament in New Mexico at Pendaries. I guess 101 becomes 100?

The Tournament Catch Up Post

Wow, time sure flies when you are having fun. I realize that I have missed blogging about several events over the past couple of months, so here comes the run down in a very concise format.

WYOpen - Expected to play well but did not. Had fun. Lost a disc that I did not want to loose because of the stinking wind.

Denver Classic - Played well. Not happy with the first round. Still I cashed and I took the stinking money for the first time in my life. That's right, I am officially a professional disc golfer!

Peak One Might High Classic - Stunk it up on a course that I played really well last year. Started out really hot in the first round and everything fizzled from there.

Colorado State Championships - What a fun time. Sunlight Mountain Resort DGC was much better than I expected. Got an ace in the second round with a thumber. Did not play as well as I had hoped.

Frontier Open - Road trip with Bjerkaas' and Colten. Had a lot of fun. Wish I would have played the courses in advance. Played well considering I didn't know what I was doing half the time.

PODS Finals @ CHU - Rocked it. Played ont he lead card in the second round after playing one of my best rounds ever at CHU. Lost it in the second round but battled back to a descent score. Cashed!

Lunacy - Interesting tournament. Played best on the course I had never played. Could not get things going at the other course. Failed epically on one tough hole in the thrid round. Blah.

I think that just about covers everything. One more tournament for this year I believe. I am looking forward to a trip down to New Mexico to play Pendaries.

Back To Snow Mountain

Sometimes in the world of disc golf there are those tournaments that everyone just kind of gets the sense taht something special is going on here. There is a sense of community amongst most if not all of the people playing that says something more than this is a competition. There is a sense of uniqueness that says I am different but I am okay with that. It really isn't a sense of arrogance but a sense of being confident in who you are. Snow Mountain Challenge has been one of those tournaments for me in the past and thus remains one of my favorite tournaments to play. It is why I had something to look forward to after not meeting expectations at Am Worlds this year.

That being said, I played really well in two out of three rounds last year and was really hoping to make it three out of three rounds this year. Even further in the past, when the course at snow mountain was a little bit different I was able to play really well there while not playing so well at Winter Park. There was no reason that I could not come into this tournament and play really well.

Okay, so the reality was that after Am Worlds I went back to work. I work with kids. I work with young kids. I work with germ infested kids that have made me sick more in 2014 than I think I have ever been sick before. Of course, three days into working again I get sick with similar symptoms to what I had right around the time of while I like to call at this point my epic disc golf demise. I can pin point one tournament where things went so bad I knew it was time to make changes. Getting sick like this was the last thing anyone should have to deal with right before a tournament.

Like last year I shot a less than stellar round at Snow Mountain. I did have moments of greatness. I was able to birdie a hole that no one else on my card birdied. And of course I need to mention that I was on a card with Joe, the top rated player in the state. For one hole I was awesome. For one hole I was the best player. For many others I failed empically. I threw a few shots that made me feel like it was time to move down and play advanced again. Or even intermediate now that my rating has dropped back under the 935 mark. Most of my shots had the right idea, but they ended up short or long or just not where you wanted them to be. And even if they did end up in a good place, I was not on my putting game. And occasionally, well, at least for the first two holes. I played a good upshot after a mediocre drive, only to watch the disc roll away from the basket just far enough to force a barely good enough effort that ultimately resulted in two bogies.

I took some time at lunch to tell myself that was okay because I was going to play Winter Park better. Sure I was in last place and sure there was a lot of ground to make up, but I was capable and I was going to do it. Not so much. The first round at Winter Park, second round of the tournament, the same round where only a year ago I shot one of my best rounds, I failed epically. I tried to play smart and play my game and the pieces were just not fitting together. It was like trying to get to five with two balls in each hand. There were no real aha moments outside of one putt that somehow went in from at least 50 feet out. There were only two birdies and the rest of the round was just junk. The good news is that it was not as bad in the morning, but there were still at least five stupid errors that would have made the round what I was hoping for.

Alright, one more chance to make things better on Sunday morning. One more round at Winter Park where I know I am capable of shooting really well. It was tough to watch a good friend nearly ace a hole that is over 700 feet long while I managed to take a 5. It was tough to have more putts at two than I have had in the previous two rounds, only to fail to convert. On the bright side, I made another good long putt, one that I even thought was going to miss. Ultimately it landed me in dead last place in open with a score that should have been in intermediate where my dad was forced to paly.

After the tournmanet I really felt, even though I loved the community around me and recognized that special thing in the air, I felt like I was just not that good at disc golf. I learned that I can really beat myself up and that I can make mistakes even on the simplest of things. I learned that I have a lot of work left to do. As I talked about it tonight, Monday night, with my roommate, I think I learned what the mental block might be. We were talking about something going on in his life and he mentioned the concept of confidence and how it impacts performance. Even my friend Paige had to tell me recently that I was a better disc golfer than I was telling people I was. I think she is right, even if I only ended up beating her by two throws for the whole tournament. Confidence is huge and right now I have lost it. There is a confidence switch that is not yet turned on. It is like I did so well at Winter Warriors and relaxed too much and turned off the switch heading into this year. It is like I allowed myself to be intimidated by playing Open unlike when I did last year with the confidence of a win in advanced. I need to talk myself up and gain that confidence back. So, here is my attempt to get that process started.

"Hey Scott, you are a disc golfer. You love this game and by golly you are good at it. You can throw a disc really well. You can hit lines and make throws that only you, yes only you can do. You have a good game and when you play your game, there isn't anyone that you couldn't beat. That putt is going in the basket. That upshot will land in your confidence range. That tee shot will do exactly what you expect. You know how to play this game. You can focus really well when you take the time. You are good. You have more fun than anyone else. You are unique and that is okay. You are good at this game. You had better believe it!"

I don't have to wait long for the next chance. I get to go play where I won last year in advanced. There is nothing besides myself, not even Joe that could stop me from winning again, even in Open.

Coming Up Short

Here is the simple truth. I needed a solid round today, merely a -3, on one of the toughest courses I had to play at this years Am Worlds and I came up short. But I didn't just come up short by a little. I failed epically. I went down in flames. I went so far backwards I may as well have started over. And I actually had to mid round.

The funny thing was is that I was throwing some really good shots. Most of them were my thumbers that just seemed to fly through the air with ease. These were also the shots that I haven't had to slow down on recently. See, it seems that I was able to hit more lines when I slowed things down and really focused on jsut that. Oddly enough the slowing down process got going too slow and rather than throwing the disc, I simply just started trying to place my discs out there. Then when I started throwing things again, it was amazing. But then I started throwing too hard and too fast again and took things so far off line at the end that I bogied the last three holes of my round.

I need to learn how to simply find the middle ground. I think I was there earlier at worlds, specifically at the first round and the fourth round. So now it is all about figuring out what my mindset was when I was playing those specific rounds and keep that going.

After my bad round today I went to watch my Colorado Disc Golf family. I talked with my friend Paige about it and I told her that I was honestly glad that I did not do better. If I had been closer and failed to win or make the finals or the semi finals or whatever I would be more inclined to keep my amateur status and play Am Worlds one more time. But now I feel like it is time for me to move on. I have had a blast playing in the amateur divisions, but if my game keeps going the way that it is, I know I am ready for the pros as are much of the people that I have played against this week at Am Worlds.

Now I get to be a spectator, and I am once again looking forward to this experience.

Apparently I Play Better In The Morning - Day Three At Am Worlds

Well, as frustrating as yesterday was, there were aspects fo today that were even more frustrating. This evening I feel more apt to actually talk about it which lends itself to mean that today was not as bad as yesterday, but I am not so sure that is the case.

The first round of the day was back at CP Adams for the second consecutive day. I played with a great group of guys. They were fun and enjoyable, even if I was laughing to myself about how oblivious the guy with headphones was to what was going on around him. I shot well. I shot really well. It was right up there with the first round of the tournament ratings wise but felt so much better than even that round. I had just a couple of misses and lots of good gets. I couldn't make a jump putt to save my life, but fortunately it only cost me about three strokes in the end, and realistically, I would have gotten maybe one of those if things were going well in that department. I also took my only 5 at CP Adams on my second to last hole, a hole that should be a relatively easy three. None the less, I shot -7 and was happy to be moving myself back into the position I wanted to be in.

The afternoon was met with every bad bounce imaginable in addition to being that much off my game. When I threw a bad shot, it really wasn't that bad. When I threw a good shot it felt like I got a bad kick. I struggled. I fought. I really felt like I played well. But in the end I was the low man on my card by more than it should have been and will probably have this round be the lowest rated round of the tournament for me. I am only speculating on the rating.

This brings me to a very interesting observation. The two rounds that I have been the most frustrated with at this years worlds have been my afternoon rounds. I will only have two of them in the preliminary rounds thankfully, but they were both just off. I am sure part of that is the fatigue of a morning round on top of other issues like weather, but it still seems weird to just not be playing that well in the afternoon.

One more round garunteed tomorrow and I need to make it a good one at what might be one of the toughest courses for me.

Day 2 Let Down And Shuffle Disappointment

Well, despite the fact that things never really seemed to be off that much, things really took a turn for the worse today. There is good news and bad news to that. I shot two solid rounds, one more so than the other. Neither round was that great and both were a big disappointment in my eyes. Much of this post may not make too much sense as I feel extremely tired and could honestly care less about today other than to know where I am supposed to be tomorrow.

Round 2 at CP Adams was par after par after par. Not a whole lot to speak of. One true bogey and that was it. Only five birdies and a lot of blah.

Round 3 at Kaposia kicked my butt. Honestly it was really only the last four holes or so that even felt like I was playing my normal disc golf game.

Overall score sits at -6 with the cut between A and B pools falling in the middle of the crowd at -8.

I am currently tied for 87th place and would be in the secondary Semi final if my position does not change. But I will start on hole 7 or 8 most likely for the next round so there is a lot of room to improve in the next two days.

I am sure there are people enjoying themselves tonight at the Beet and Brats thing going on. I am too tired and need to take a shower and go to bed. I wish they had scores and new pools posted sooner so I could have gone to bed earlier.

Wow, reading over this makes me sound frustrated and tired. Lets hope that curing the tired aspect of that changes things around on the other side of that too.

The First Day of Competition

Finally, I got to throw some plastic and have it count for something real at Am Worlds this year. Being in the A Pool and playing one round with some of the best players out there at Kenwood was a good experience for me. I got up early, ate breakfast and then hopped in the car with another guy staying at our hotel who needed a ride to the course. I had plenty of time to warm up without over exerting myself and even though my putting had been off in practice, I was ready for the round to start.

Oddly enough I got to start on hole 1. I took a picture of that just so I could claim that I was on the lead card once in this tournament. I know it really isn't the lead card, but I am going to pretend that it was. My card for the first round was awesome. I played with John, who was a local Minnesota guy and Waren who now lives in Oregon. The fourth guy in our group never showed up. I think that is the first time I have had that happen in a World Championship. There were so many great things about this group. We were just talkative enough to make it interesting. We were all very respectful. And we all played a solid game. Good form and strong mentally. Sure we all made mistakes, but we all kept it together.

The hot round in my pool was 10 under par and I shot 4 under par. I am tied for 12th in my pool and quite pleased that this will help me reach the goals that I have set out for myself. The tough part about the game at this point is that I have to keep doing what I was doing today and not think about where I am at. I have done that in past years and it really gets you no where. Play smart, play consistent, do not make mistakes.

This evening was also the fly mart. Lots of stuff to buy. Not much that I actually want. I was able to find a full run down on the field events. I found out that I not only cashed in both the skill shot and putting competition, but I also finished in the top 10 in both. I finished 6th in the Skill Shot and 8th in the putting competition. So there, I made $76 dollars back from my entry fee. I technically have to spend it at a local shop, but that is a little more than half of what I paid for my entire entry to be here in Minnesota for this event. Add that to the players pack that I got and I am sure that I am ahead.

Tomorrow is another day. Keep it simple. Play smart. Play my game.

Practice and Field Events

Well, I haven't posted much about worlds over the past few days since the most interesting things about practice is figuring out what exactly you are going to throw on any given hole. The funny thing is that for the most part, when I have met people in my own division, they have also been in the A pool. We know the top 25 rated players are in there, but if that is the case then I must be doing something right if I am continuously seeing them around. I think practice has been going well, and while I am not yet shooting the scores that I would like to be on any given course, I have a good feel for the courses and am ready to start playing now.

I did have fun on Saturday after getting an early morning practice round in at The Valley. I managed to finish my round right in the middle of the players meeting for the mixed doubles world championship. I knew that there would be some friends there from Colorado because the wife/mother was playing in that event. My parents and I ended up following her and her partner around with her husband and daughter and simply had fun hanging out and getting a good look at The Valley. I have walked the Valley more than any other course at this point, even if I have played more rounds on other courses.

Field events took place today at a local high school. There was very little protection from the wind and as such the two events that I was competing in became very interesting. I did the Skill Shot competition earlier and struggled more than I remember doing the previous time I competed in this competition. I still had a blast and made some really good shots. I then watched another friend from Colorado compete in the distance competition. Sadly he only got one good shot in bounds and fell just a few feet short of winning in his division. In the putting competition, things started out really slow for me as I adjusted to the wind. When I finally got around to more tail wind types of putts, I was making everything. I had one putt that still haunts me as I think about it. I still can't believe it fell out of the basket after hitting nearly perfect on the strong side and falling down just as one might expect before it landed on the rim looking like a teeter-totter before it tottered right out of the basket. I still think my performance in both the skill shot and putting should cash, but we shall see as they have only posted the top scores at this point.

Check in started today. I took care of that before heading over to the field events. The most unique part of the players pack was a really nice looking collard dri-fit shirt that was customized with name and PDGA number. Apart from that, this was the smallest players pack I have gotten at Worlds. This is my third worlds and honestly I was a bit disappointed. I guess since they are not running it like Dynamic did last year (as a "true amateur event") things were bound to not look quite as good. In the end, I still ended up with more stuff than I came to Minnesota with and the value of the stuff I did get was more than what I paid for the event. Another fun little note about the discs in the players pack specifically was the Prototype Buzzz OS that Discraft donated to the players packs. I know they are not approved yet, but this is an interesting move for Discraft.

One more fun thing that happened at the field events, but completely separate from the field events was the test drive, dribing range that Discraft set up. This was the second year they had done this, but the first time I actually had some fun with it. For the most part, they brought their new Zlite plastic discs to test out. This is the first time that I have seen bubble plastic from Discraft and it looks like they finally gave in and started producing these light weight discs that are easier to throw. The stability of these discs were surprisingly good as well. I won't throw them because I no longer throw Discraft, but it is a very interesting move. They also had this years Ace Race disc there as well as some of the Buzzz OS's.

That is the update for now. The players meeting is tomorrow night and I am looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow before things get started on Tuesday. I really can't wait for Tuesday.

Settled In Minnesota

Well, it is official. I am in the state of Minnesota. Woke up this morning packed and ready to go. Had my parents pick me up and then off the the airport we went. No major problems getting our bags checked at the curb or getting through security. Thank goodness we could check bags at the curb as the line inside was probably going to be close to an hour or more. Southwest really needs to plan their flights better or find more space to have a line for check-in. I think this might be the first time ever that my bag full of discs did not have something pop up on the screen that security wanted to check out. In the past they have stopped my bag for reusable handwarmers and the inhailer I was using when I had bronchitis. Finding food on the concourse and getting to the gate was easy.

The flight itself was a little interesting. First of all, on Southwest, without assigned seats it becomes rather interesting, especially when there are lots of families that get on early no matter what their boarding position is. By the time I got on the plan and looked throughout the cabin, I had to walk back towards the front of the plane just to find a center seat despite being at the end of their middle section to board the plane. My parents and I ended up separated and all with middle seats. I am pretty sure I am the only person, besides one of the kids that would have had to sit away from their parents, who could have fit in the seat I was in. It wasn't perfect, but it did make for some good prayer and meditation time.

There was some fun turbulance on the flight but for the most part everything in flight was fine. At the airport I am pretty sure that my two checked bags were the last ones to come out. But at least they came out at the same time. Got a rental car that my dad kinda fits in, but this is a normal problem for him to have. Made it to the hotel we are staying at and got a wonderful room. Originally we had reserved a room at the Clarion because it was the host hotel for worlds. After staying there for the Majestic earlier this year, we decided as a family to find another place to say. I am so thankful that we did as I feel completely relaxed, not a feeling I had staying at the Clarion.

I even got out for a practice round today at Oakwood. It was nice not to have to play Oakwood in the rain like I did at the Majestic. But being my first round here in Minnesota for this trip, there was still some adjustment. I actually shot fairly well, but left a lot of strokes out there. I made a few mistakes and missed a few putts that I shouldn't have. It really did feel good to get out and throw a disc on a course that will be part of this worlds experience. Tomorrow is more practice.

Reaction To Am Worlds Player Pools Being Posted

I was really hoping to make another post before this one, but alas my anxiousness cannot contain this post inside of me. All day today I took spare moments of time to check on what pool I might be in for Am Worlds. It was not until dinner time that they were finally posted, but I would imagine that I have the Am Worlds registration list page close to 20 hits today. Even now I continue to check just to make sure and to see who else, as if I even know them, I might be playing with.

As I mentioned in my last post I was secretly hoping to be put in the C pool as I liked how their schedule for the first two days broke down. I also took the A pool as a backup. Well, my first choice was not granted to me, but for the second straight year I was placed in the A pool with all the best rated players. Last year it gave me momentum at the start that faded by the third round. This year I am hoping the momentum will be sustained through the entire tournament.

I was also excited to see that one other guy from Colorado, probably the other person who could shoot well from Colorado and make some noise, was also placed in the same A pool as myself. I have also seen several of the guys in the A pool at Am Nats. It will have a bit of a familiar feel to it and I am quite pleased with that reality.

The A pool also means that I get to start with one round on the first day of competition on what is probably the easiest course I will play in the tournament. I think this actually adds a bit of pressure to the equation. In the past I have always had that must score low round for my very last round. This year I get it for my very first round. I know I will score well at this course. I only hope that the butterflies are not there as they were in Charlotte. I hope it feels more like Emporia where I came out and shot a round that put me in the top half of the A pool after the first round.

I was also waiting for this to help determine my practice schedule. So, this is my tentative practice schedule:

Wednesday July 16th
Arrive in Minnesota
Pm Round At Oakwood

Thursday July 17th
Am Round At Kaposia
Pm Round At Kaposia

Friday July 18th
Am Round At C.P Adams
Pm Round At Kenwood

Saturday July 19th
Am Round At The Valley
Pm Round TBD

Sunday July 20th
Am Field Events
Pm Round TBD

Monday July 21st
Day of Rest
Players Meeting

Tuesday July 22nd
Competition Begins
Am Round At Kenwood

Wednesday July 23rd
Am Round At C.P. Adams
Pm Round At Kaposia
THE GREAT SHUFFLE

And after that will depend on how things went up till now.

Thursday July 24th
Am Round TBD
Pm Round TBD

Friday July 25th
Am Round TBD
Pm Round TBD

Saturday July 26th
Semi Final Round TBD
Finals At Como Park (I'll be there one way or the other, though I much prefer to be playing rather than watching)

Sunday July 27th
Return Home To Colorado

Leaving For Am Worlds In 5 Days

You know, the World Championships are a one of a kind tournament in disc golf as well they should be. This will be my third year competing in them and probably my last year in the Am version. I have turned the game around and have been playing well as of late. I have had my preview of the courses I will play and for some odd reason, despite my declining player rating, I feel like this is the time and this is the year that I have a chance to make my best run in this tournament. I hope this isn't a false sense of confidence. I think I am going to take a different approach to blogging about this tournament too. Rather than just doing my typical one post review of the tournament, I think I am going to attempt to blog along the way. I am not sure there will be a lot of anything else to do in the evening besides eat dinner and hang out with my friends that are also making their way out from Colorado.

There is part of me that is a bit bummed about Am worlds right now, but not as you might think. See there was supposed to be a good crowd from Colorado coming out to Minnesota to play. It seems that the more people I talk to who were scheduled to go are now no longer going for one reason or another. Either way I think Colorado will have a good showing this year. What with Colten winning Am Nats, wouldn't it be great to have someone from Colorado win Am Worlds?

My goals for this tournament are simple. I want to finish in the top 72. I want to be in the Semi Finals. I want to play smart and shoot well. I want to last the entire six garunteed rounds without feeling like I have one or two rounds where I faded and did not play my best. I want to play well in the Semis if I make it, the same goes for the finals, but I am not counting on that one. I would love to play nine temp holes at Como Park. It really is one amazing park and I expect there to be a really good crowd watching.

So, I am flying out with my parents in 5 days. From there the plan is to practice all the courses at least once. Field events are the Saturday after we fly out and I am signed up for Skill Shot and Putting. Last year I was able to cash in both of those events so hoeps are high there, especially since I have been putting and scrambling really well as of late.Monday before things start is my day of rest. I may go out and practice putting while walking a course, but that is it. No throwing of discs. Then the real competition begins. Oh what fun.

Pool assignments are not up yet. Last year I was in the A pool to start and nearly stayed there after the shuffle. That was a great experience. I should find out my pool assignment in a couple of days. I am hoping to be in the C pool to start oddly enough. I like the schedule of courses they play the first two days, especially in consideration of the potential weather conditions I found on my weather app. I would also enjoy being in the A pool again. I will probably post about that before taking off on Wednesday. Good luck to all the other competitors, it will be one fun event.

PODS in July, The Tune Up

Today brought yet another wonderful day of disc golf at the Badlands DGC in Federal Heights, CO. This day was going to be unique for a few reasons. This was the first tournament that I played with a bag made up entirely of Trilogy. It is also the only tournamnet I will play after my disc golf tour and before going to Minnesota for Am Worlds. These were the last competative rounds I will have before the biggest tournament for me. Then again, isn't the biggest tournament always the next one?

There was not much effort put int the layout at badlands and it ended up being set up in a particularly long layout. Long is not typically my strength, and ultimately this caused me to set expectations rather low at the start of the day. At the same time, I was confident in my new discs and my hope was to simply play my best and have fun doing it.

In the first round, with very nice weather, I simply decided to play. I was in a group with Jack, Andrew and Eagle. All of them have been beating me consistently this year so far. Jack did not play well. Eagle did not start off well. Andrew started well but faultered in the middle. The long and the short of the story is simply that I held my own on this card. I did not win the card, Eagle did that, but I played extremely well and paid little attention to where other people were. I played my game and I played it rather well. My Swans, my new putter, were working rather well and things just seemed to be easy. I shot what is my best rated round so far this year and ended up on the lead card going into the second round. I was tied with two other guys on the second card so, a nice tight group at the top.

In the second round the winds picked up and my lack of experience with these particular discs showed its ugly head on several occasions. It caused two bogies fairly early on in the round. But, I began to fight. I know, fighting is not typically what you want to have to do in a round of disc golf, but when you do it, you had better be able to do it well. After making two more mistakes about two thirds of the way through the round, I canned a huge approach shot from about 100 feet out for a birdie, into a headwind none the less. Then I made a wise choice to take a little bit more disc on the next shot and ended up with back to back birdies. From there on, I played good golf and ended up shooting plus 1. Not bad after being three up at one point.

These two rounds were my best back to back rounds so far this year and for the first time this year I had to turn down cash. This is a confidence booster. This is going to set the tone for the rest of the season. Things are only going to get better from here. Now it is time to buckle down and get some good practice in before going back to Minnesota.

I learned that I can play with the best. I learned that I really like my new discs. I learned that I need more time with them to understand them better in more difficult circumstances. I learned that playing my game is more important than worrying about what is going on around me. I feel like I have had to learn that lesson a lot. I learned that I will still make mistakes. I learned that I need to keep my emotions under control.

Making The Switch

I am sure that I mentioned in posts earlier this year that I was getting tired of throwing the discs in my bag in what felt like a very good way and yet not scoring well. I tried out a few discs that I had picked up from tournaments along the way that were manufactured by Latitude 64. This included a few Dynamic Disc discs. After much thought and returning home from my big tour and not shooting nearly as well as I would have liked I made the decision. I made a big purchase of discs and now have a bag that is completely made up of discs from the Trilogy companies. Oddly well balanced between the companies as well. I want to take some more time here and now to explain my thought process as I made the switch. I am to really lay out why I chose to throw all Trilogy. Lastly I want to take some time to explain why I chose not to join the Team Trilogy thing that has been going around.

It is frustrating to play disc golf. To feel like you are improving but to not see that reflected in the scores. It is even more frustrating to see the same things happening when you know you can play well with those very discs that you have played with for a long time and know rather well. I have played with a mixed bag for a very long time and before making the switch I had Vibram and Discraft well represented in my bag along with one disc from Innova. You gotta love the Gator. And lets be honest, I still love all these discs. It was tough to look at my discs and say, you just aren't working as well as I would like you to work. Perhaps there are other reasons with my game why the discs weren't working. I am sure it is more that than anything else to be perfectly honest. Still, something had to change. So, I started as I said by taking the few discs I had to a field and throwing them against what I already had in my bag. It really wasn't a huge difference until I crushed my Dynamic Discs 167g Purple Renegade that I got as part of my players pack at the 2013 Glass Blown Open. I also found that my Latitude 64 XXX was flying on the same lines at my Predators, but were easier to get a tad bit more distance out of. So, I started playing with those discs and working them into the bag. From there is was more a matter of timing the switch to take place far enough in advance of big tournaments so as not to throw me off completely. This I believe turned out to be a very poor decision. I took an even more mixed bag with me on my tour and still struggled to play well. I had some great shots and a lot of moments where I was struggling, with any disc that was in my hand. But there were times when consistency just was not there as I switched between drastically different styles of plastic or rubber as the case might be. Upon returning home, I knew it was time. It was really a now or never thing, and never didn't bode well for my disc golf game at the present time.

So why Trilogy? Well, I did not have much experience with Trilogy discs in the past. At one point I began buying them to test out, but fell into enfatuation with Vibram and kinds just put the Trilogy discs in the bin. I had at least one dear friend I met playing disc golf who was and still is all about Latitude 64, even though his playing days are severely limited by other interests he has taken up. Trilogy, and Latitude in particular has been around me for a long time. There are a handful of people that I look up to in my local disc golf community here in Colorado. Honestly, Mitch Sonderfan was the reason I found Vibram to begin with. Well, I have some other close friends who happen to be with Dynamic Discs. When Dynamic made the move to begin producing discs with Latitude 64, I knew it was only a matter of time before I tried this discs out. I knew when my close friends chose to stick with Dynamic over their other disc sponsors that there was something special about Dynamic Discs as a company that I greatly appreciated. I honestly think they are doing things the way they should be done to grow the sport. I can only dream of a day, not when I am sponsored by Dynamic Discs, but of a day when they hire me to work for them in a job role I will not mention on here. With the discs specifically, I have found that I can throw them more consistently and longer with less effort. That is huge in the long run. I need to be confident that I know what my disc is going to do when it comes out of my hand. Not just what it is going to do, but that it will be on the line I intend it to be more often than not. In the short time I spent throwing Trilogy alongside other brands, I found myself reaching for Trilogy more and more for the simple fact that I was more confident that I would know what the disc was going to do. It will not always be true, but as long as it is more often than other brands, that is all that matters.

As many of you know, there is a group of people known as Team Trilogy out there doing something I think is absolutely amazing. I am not going to join them, even though I will more than likely be bigger fans of Trilogy plastic than many of the people who are. It came down to one simple fact for me. Until someone is paying for and providing me with gear, I am not going to act like I am sponsered by someone. I am still going to use my Innova Shami towels at tournaments because they are the best thing I have found on the market. I am going to wear all the wonderful shirts from the tournaments I have played in throughout my disc golf career, because it reminds me of past good times that I have had. That being said, I look forward to the day when I have a company willing to provide wonderful things to me for playing with thier equipment.

I am really looking forward to the rest of the season, and have been impressed with how my game seems to be turning for the best. If there are any questions that I did not answer about this process for me, feel free to ask. I know Trilogy is not for everyone in much the same way any company is not for everyone, but it is what works for me.

My First Disc Golf Tour Experience

Lets be honest, I was so focused at my last three tournaments that I only got on my computer once during my trip. That made doing blog posts about each of them individually rather difficult to do, but at least I was able to pay my bills while I went on my first little mini disc golf tour. Yes, I have traveled for tournaments before and yes I have aought to play in specific events before to prepare myself for other, bigger tournaments before. But this is the first time I have taken a trip and played in three different tournaments before returning home. It was a great experience and has really made me want to get out and play more tournaments. Now I jsut ahve to find someone to pay me to do what I want to do or something that will allow me to do what I want to do. So, if anyone knows of a good job for someone like me who simply wants to play as much disc golf as I can, please let me know.

So I got off work Thursday and got picked up by my parents and a firend. The friend drove my parents and I directly to the airport and we hopped on a flight to Detroit that got in at midnight or there after. We picked up our rental car and drove to the hotel, checked in and then had to switch rooms as the first room had a general AC unit on top of it that sounded like it was ready to explode. Finally got to bed sometime after 1 am. Woke up, and had to be ready for my tee time shortly after 11 am. It would have been much early if they did tee times by rating, but thankfully the great people running this years Discraft Great Lakes Open had the good sense to not make that happen to me. I'll be honest, I do not reccomend being short on sleep going into a big tournament and then playing your first round with a former Am National Champion and a former Am National Runner Up on the same course they made those things happen on. Still I managed to hold my own. The rest of the tournament only got worse but I had a blast playing and learning the Kensington Tobaggan course in an attempt to be ready for the following weekend and the Am National Championships. I was able to enjoy playing with great players and even had the chance to watch my friend JohnE McCray make a run inthe final round. His round in the final round was far and away the best round I have ever watched in person.

Inbetween The Great Lakes Open and Am Nats, I spent a good week hanging out with a cousin and her family. It has been about 10 years since I had good time hanging out with her kids and since the oldest two are 11 and 10, it was a much different experience. I also got to see and Aunt and Uncle who I have not seen in person for 20 years. It really is amazing to be able to spend time with family and be able to laugh and share life. My other Aunt and Uncle drove up to watch and spend time with us during Am Nats and two of my three other cousins drove down from further north in Michigan to watch as well. It was literally a family reunion and one that you actually want to be at.

In the middle of the week three other guys from Colorado made there way out to play in Am Nats as well and I was able to get a practice round in with them. It was there first round on the course after just getting in and with weather conditions that were less than ideal. Still I was able to beat them. This is important to remember for later. I had high hopes for Am Nats, but when the tournament started I somehow got behind early. For most of all three rounds I was fighting for my life just in order to be near even par. +1 the first round, +2 the second round and +3 the third round. Ouch. It is really tough to play from behind like that. Making early mistakes really puts one in a tough place as you are forced to push and walking that fine line of pushing and pushing too much ends up being the difference between an average round and a really bad round. Even in the midst of the fight, I felt like I fought well. As such, it was more fun to follow my friends who were shooting much better than myself. Ultimately, one of those guys I beat in a practice round earlier in the week won Am Nats. I have to give props to Colten for playing well and playing consistently all weekend long. He played smart and he put himself in positions to make good shots. When toruble came, he didn't push but did what needed to get done.

After a few more days with family it was off to Minnesota to play in the Minnesota Majestic. We stayed at what will be the host hotel for Am Worlds this year, and lets be honest, that was a very bad experience. So much so that we spent some time finding another hotel to stay at for Am Worlds. I got a day of practice in on the curses I will play at Am Worlds but was not going to paly in the Majestic. It became very apparent at both of these courses why they were not being used for the Majestic and I question why they are being used for Worlds. I also got a chance to visit Gotta Go Gott Throw, one of the better disc golf shops in the country. Even was given a tour by Char who is basically the co-owner of the shop I believe. They have a very impressive set up. They were also one of the main sponsors of the Majestic.

As for the Majestic itself, it really isn't about how poorly I played but about the stories I can take from the tournament. For instance, at Blue Ribbon Pines the first round I played with Cale Leiviska, Gerret Gurthie and Mitch. It is not everyday you get to play with two top players and one of the best local pros. My mom also became famous that round. When she was spotting she would always make whoop sounds depending on how good the shot was. At one point Cale joked that he was going to have my mom train his mom on how to do that so he could bring her to tournaments and have that same kind of treatment. Mom even gave everyone mom hugs at the end of the round and they were all okay with that. Also, lets just say, for the first three holes or so I felt like I could hang with the best in the world. Through three hoels I was leading the card with two birdies and one bogey on some very tough holes. Oakwood and The Valley were fun courses to play, even with wind and rain. At The Valley in the afternoon I was having a horrible round. It was really bad. But on one of the holes I sank a pretty good par putt and got a cheer from JohnE McCray who was on another hole close by at the time. The fact that he would look over and watch me for a bit was really special to me. I just hope I can find time to play a practice round or two with JohnE at some point and have him help me with my game. In the last round at Kaposia I was spent. But I pulled off some amazing shots including a birdie two on hole 15, which I honestly have no idea how it happened. Everyone else on my card took a 4 our worse. Perhaps I finished last of the people who actually finished the tournament, but I had a blast with all my great experiences.

So, the what I learned section could be very long for this one. First of all, be well rested for tournaments. Sleep seems to be more important to my body than I could ever have imagined. Second, don't beat yourself up if you get behind early in a round, it just isn't worth it. Play smart and when you get ahead, be even smarter. Third, enjoying the experience is more important than how well you shoot. Fourth, having a fan makes you smile. I know my parents are awesome and may be even more famous than I am at this point, but may did it feel good to have some of the best players cheering for me.

I am making some changes to my game, which I will write about in a future post. And I am trying to practice as much as I can. I feel like I am ready for Am Worlds, and I want to make that experience something special to remember. Next up is PODS in July.

Rodnoc 7 or Getting Back On Track

Well you see, one of my favorite people here in the local disc golf scene is The Chad. Why is he so awesome, beyond the obvious hours of work that he puts in for the club? Well, he finds a way to make playing in tournaments more about enjoying time with people than actually trying to play well. He is always having a good time and desires to help other people figure out how in the world they can have a good time playing disc golf.

So as I was in the middle of my slump at the 303 Open, I figured what better way to get out of this funk than playing in The Chad's non sanctioned event know for its craziness and ability to make anyone have a good time. At the end of the day it isn't about how you played but about all the silly stories you can tell because not everyone besides Vinnie can get an ace with a rubber chicken. How many people do you know that have shot their disc out of a giant sling shot? Rodnoc is absolutely about the silliness and the people than it is about playing disc golf.

I will be honest, I have always been hesitant in the past to play silly events like this as they are obviously non sanctioned. I have always been a miser and figured if I were spending my money I would rather do it on a real tournament. But I learned something amazing about the silliness, it tends to make you calm down and just have fun. And when I was able to get into that mindset the second round, miracles happened.

In the first round there was a lot of just getting used to the silliness. I was playing with a great group of people which included Big Mack, Jay and his wife, Courtney and The Hungerford. These are all standard people in the local scene around here, and even though I was youngest in the group, I still felt like part of the family and had a grand time. I purposely tried to play with Big Mack since getting to know him over the Winter Warriors season. I am so glad that it worked out that way. I had a solid round minus one hole where you get two chances to knock down as many bowling pins as possible from about 25 feet out. I threw two shots that fell short and ended up taking a 10 on the hole. Ug. Near the back of the Apples (or top division including pros and advanced ams) I figured it was really time to embrace the silliness.

In the second round I was way more relaxed than I have ever been playing disc golf and outside of one or two putts and a couple of drives I played really well. So well in fact that my score for this round would be the hot round for the entire day at the tournament. Then I went on to win one of the Ring of Fire rounds and life was good. No I did not get one of the awesome trophies but my confidence is back and I know that having fun is way more important than how I shoot. I literally proved that to myself and yet I need to figure out how to make sure I am in that mindset when I am playing in my next tournament.

Coming up is my big trip to Michigan and Minnesota for two A-tier events sandwhiched around Am Nats. If I can keep my focus and enjoy the moment, there is no telling what I might be able to do.

Teaching The Teachers At Valor With Paige

I have spent some time over the past school year volunteering at Valor Christian High School and had the opportunity to play a round of disc golf with some of the members of their disc golf club. Well, the sponsor of the club asked me to come this past Wednesday and do a clinic at their school for whatever teachers and students showed up. I enlisted the help of my friend Paige Bjerkaas and despite some rain, we had a lot of fun.

It turned out that in the middle of finals week students will back out on their commitments to attend events that are not necessary for their grade, but teachers on the other hand will make the time to do something that isn't related to school. We had two teachers, plus the sponsor, plus one adult friend of the teacher at the clinic and everyone left with things they can do to improve their disc golf game. Paige was a huge help as simply another set of eyes and another voice of reason.

I'll be honest, it was a great time for me to simply relax and enjoy the game. It was a reminder that I really do know what I am doing and that I can play this game well. I am excited to get out and play some rounds with some of the people that came to the clinic as I expect to see a marked improvement in their games in the very near future. I am also looking forward to doing more of this kind of thing. I think this is really where my heart and passion lie in this sport and as much as I would love to become a World Champion some day, I think I might be just as happy saying that I hosted a clinic that helped produce a World Champion someday.

The best news of all is that Paige and I got invited to come back in the fall when school clubs are starting up to do another clinic with hopefully lots of students ready to learn to play disc golf. If you are reading this and you would be interested in a clinic, please feel free to let me know somehow and we will see what we can make happen. If not me I know people and the growth of the game is more important than the growth of my name.

303 Predictions Became A Mental Block

So maybe I really was sick and maybe is made sense to predict that things would not go so well. Perhaps I was so sick that it really didn't matter how I played. Or perhaps it was a mental thing that became a self fulfilling prophecy. Needless to say, as much fun as I did have this past weekend playing in this years version of the 303 Open, I played horrible. It literally was like I was learning the game all over again and had no clue what my body was about to do.

The tournament itself was a very well run tournament. Kyle has been refining the way he does things over the past couple of years and is really getting things dialed in. This tournament is his baby and one I am sure that he would like to see become a national tour event or perhaps just something as well respected as Glass Blown Open. Playing four rounds and three different courses on a single piece of property took some doing. Then combine that with the fact that there were 144 people out there to play and you might imagine logistics could easily become an issue. But things ran smoothly and even the short courses were fun to play. Hats off to Kyle and all the helpers he had at this event. It really made a difference.

Friday I was literally wondering if I would even be able to stand for an entire round of disc golf, let alone a round on the monster or championship layout. There are so many holes that can simply hand you untold numbers of strokes. With my parents there to hold me up if needed I was actually able to put together a descent round for a bad round. Things actually were going fairly well until the last two holes where I took a 6 and an 8. Sure both holes were listed as par 4's but lets be honest that means that I should have had a 4 on both of them and that was not the case.

Saturday should have been two under par rounds but while still being sick I was not able to accomplish that task on the origional layout course on this property. That was sure disheartening. I did however accomplish an under par round the second round while playing with The Chad and Chris on the bottom card while were were all striving to just have some fun. I don't think I was having as much fun as I should have been having, but I got really serious for some reason. And of course it was frustrating to be making mistakes that I do not normally make. Still my best round of the tourney.

Sunday brought the lack of my parents and the return to the monster layout. With nothing to loose but being in last place I went for more and pushed for more than I should have early and it cost me. It ultimately cost me finishing above last place. When everyone else was shooting better. Me and one other guy shot worse and battled for last place which I handed him in the middle of the round with bad up shots and failed putt attempts late. Oh well.

I learned here and at Grateful that playing with a bug in the system just does not work. I was finally smart enough to go to my doctor, cough in his face, and get some meds to hopefully fix that problem before getting on an airplane to go play disc golf. I also learned that I can still mentally mess myself up and being sick does not allow me to think clearly. In fact I think I revert to all the old problems that held me back for so long. In the midst of this I realized that I needed to play in The Chad's fundraiser tournament this coming weekend in order to simply get my mind right and back to having fun. I still haven't played much this week as being sick got worse after getting better. Lets just hope the meds really do work.

Rodnoc is next. I am looking forward to some fun.

It Is Always Like That At Grateful

Well, this post has been delayed throughout the week because I am sick. Of course after playing in the 37th annual Grateful Disc tournament last weekend, there was a chance that I would be giving up on this game all together. But you know there is always hope for the next tournament. So before I write it off all together, let me write about Grateful Disc.

Bill Wright, owner of The Wright Life in Fort Collins, CO has been a major part of the disc community for a long time. The fact that this tournament has been running for 37 years has to say something about that. At the same time this tournament is notorious for bad weather. I do not use the word notorious lightly in this case. It seems that there is almost always snow in some way shape or form. Bill even moved the tournament from April to May to avoid this problem a couple years back and ever since then, he has yet to avoid the snow. This year was no different.

Saturday meant two rounds of disc golf at the glorious Sundance Trail DGC. The dude ranch near Red Feather Lakes is one of the best hosts of disc golf tournaments I have seen. Perhaps they are forced to feed us since they are in the middle of no where, but the reality is they feed us well and they take care of the course. They will often times even use a real shotgun for the shotgun start. Trust me, that makes everything better. Well, most of the time. Something happened to me after I heard the start call after the shotgun blast. It was like I reverted back to my first tournament ever. I couldn't figure out how to get the disc to go where I wanted it to go. One round of this is a maybe, but when the second round isn't any better, you begin to wonder why in the world you are playing this event. At the time I was quick to blame it on only getting one prectice round in during the week, but as I sit and write this, I am about to play another tournament with no practice what-so-ever, not even putting, and I don't want to mentally think that this was the problem. It was really the compiled problems of lots of little itty bitty mistakes and the attempts to cover them up. You'd throw a great shot and catch that one little branch that wouldn't just cause a minor change of direction, but knock your disc down all together. I literally could not stop hitting those little branches all day. At the end of the day I was in last place. I was frustrated. And know what the weather was going to be like on Sunday there was a moment I questioned even playing. But that is not like me. I am strong. I will push through adversity and make the best out of it. I will use it as a learning experience and come out better on the other side.

Sunday brought the snow. Go figure right? And one round at Aggie Greens. Aggie Greens ia a course that will be something in the years down the road, but for right now is simply a bunch of baskets places in a drainage area with tee pads to have you throw your disc from. There are some planted tress that might grow up but are measly at this point. They have added some polls and mandatories, and that helps a lot. At the end of the day it is still a drainage area and it was snowing. At the players meeting we were told not to play hole 14 because it was literally a lake already. The round can only be described as a battle. There were times when just finishing the hole felt good. There were other times when simply being able to feel the disc in your hand felt good. It was cold wet and miserable. People were dropping out of the tournament left and right. One of thsoe people, a nice young lady, decided to make her way to 17's tee pad and tell a few people that the basket was surrounded by a lake and that we were not supposed to play it. Well, my card did not and we all got penalized for it because she lied to us. Other than that one hole of penalty, I was able to card nothing worse than a 4 on any hole and actually played well enough to pass one person on my card whose hand was so cold he could barely hold on to his disc. It was a solid round considering the conditions. +10 on 18 holes of a course that one should go under par on does not sound all that good, but with the snow, it was good. Add to that the fact that four people dropped out of the Open division where I was playing and I end up getting a descent amount of points for a horrible weekend of disc golf.

Lessons learned this time really focus on not listening to attractive young women who tell you not to play certain holes. I may never know who she is, but literally I would relate the feeling back to the Bible and what Adam must have felt in the garden after he fell victim to the schemes of the enemy. Proverbs refers to the temptress and how her words sound so sweet and boy did they on a day of bad weather, but in the end makes one sick. I am sure this nice young lady was not intending to cause the situation that she did, and honestly the penalty I incured is not her fault, only mine. But I still wish she had just stayed in her car after stopping her round so that none of this would have happened. Additionally I learned that you are going to have bad days. That little things are going to get in your way and that is just the way it is going to be. You can't let it get to you like I seemed to do. I am sure there was a lot of mental mistakes and certainly there were times when I tried to hit the smaller gap when a bigger one was right there. Smart is good and stupid only gets lucky from time to time.

That being said, today is the first round of the 303 Open and I am recovering from being sick. I think I am feeling well enough to give it a go, but I fear it might be the end of me. Good thing my parents decided to come and caddy for me, it might help me survive. I am pretty sure they are the reason I played as well as I did in the snow at Grateful. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

PODS in May, A Battle of Endurance

Falling one day after the first Cinco De Mayo Meltdown, the PODS event in May became a real test of endurance. I believe everyone who played in this event in the Open field except for one person played the day before as well. Based on the results I bet that guy wishes he would have played the day before as well. The field itself was also stacked for this event and most people were smart enough not to try and play two days in a row. Honestly, when I consider the two one day tournaments on back to back days I realize that this would be simple in comparison to what one has to go through to play in the World Championships. There you play at least 6 rounds, 7 if you make the Semi Finals and then the Final 9 if you are on or near the top. Perhaps I have only taken my 6 rounds the last two years at the world Championships, but the more practice I can get like this with lots of rounds crammed in to a short period of time, the better off I will be come July when I am on my way out to Minnesota for the Amateur World Championships.

The two rounds for this tournament were supposed to be played on a new layout that will be used for an up coming A-tier tournament, but the process of putting in new pin locations prevented this from happening. Thankfully they did revert back to a layout that will be used for at least one round in the middle of the tournament on the current layout at the Badlands course near Water World. The course was set up with some good long holes and some fun short holes. So, in spite of loosing out on some practice that I would love to have on a new course, getting practice in on this particular layout was a very good thing and still very usedful for teh tournament.

So there were only 9 players in the Open field and only 20 some over all. I was extremely thankful that in my first round I had the joy of playing with two of the best players in the state of Colorado. Joe and Mitch are some really great guys and are really good at playing Disc Golf. Both of these guys I have gotten to know over my disc golf career and now that I am playing in the top division with them they have really come to recognize that there is some talent in my game. I can't wait for the day when I can consistently push these guys to be even better. The first third of this first round gave me hope that this is a possibility. In the first six holes I was four strokes under par and had hit the basket on one of the other holes with my birdie attempts. I was even or ahead of both Joe and Mitch at this point. After that I simply did not get the birdies because my putting was slightly off or that my drives simply weren't getting me close enough. Finishing 6 throws back of a player that should beat me by 10 is still an accomplishment.

Going into the second round I was near the bottom of the open field (but remember this field was stacked) and knew that I would be fighting more wind. I think I really let the wind get to me, particularly with approaches and putting. After a bogey free morning round I had 5 bogies in my second round with most of them being stupid. Okay, that was the bad news about that round. I started off the second round really hot being four down in only five holes, rather than the six it took me the first round. I also took more birdies along the way and figured out how to play a simple birdie hole that has stumped me for three PODS rounds in a row. Too many mistakes certainly cost me a little in the end, but not enough to get me down. I did not finsih last as I did in the first PODS event and I still felt strong after the end of what was my fourth round in a spn of two days. And I still shot under par.

Now, looking back at the tournament, there were lots of strokes that I could have had. But most importantly, both rounds were rated over 950 for the time being. That means that with four sanctioned rounds after starting the great disc switch, I still have yet to shoot a round that will be rated lower than 950. It really makes me think that the switch, even if for just mental reasons, is and will be a vew good thing.

As I mentioned before, the biggest thing that I learned is that I do have the ability to play with the best, even if just for short spurts. It is time I figured out how to stack short spurt upon short spurt in order to shoot that higher rated rounds. I also learned that there is never enough wind practice. Practicing without the wind is fine, but the amount of mental work that it takes to play in the wind is unlike any other condition in the game of disc golf. Wind has such a major affect on the game of disc golf that if you have the ability to play in the wind you will be a much better player and fair very well when it comes to finishing place. It is much easier to adjust to no wind than it is to adjust up to the wind. I am looking forward to my next tournament this coming weekend. Particularly because not only will some of the best talent in this state be there but also because two of the best guys from out of state will also be participating, or so the web page says.

Discs, Lightrail and Cinco De Mayo (Well, Almost)

Eventually, after deciding to look at switching the discs in my bag there had to come a point in time when I would play my first sanctioned tournament. There had to be a point where I would find out if the rating would survive, implode or thrive with new discs and the process of learning them. It just so happened that the inaugural Cinco De Mayo Meltdown would be that tournament. In its first year this tournament was held at Paco Sanchez DGC, aka Lakewood Dry Gulch Park DGC. This is a course that I have only played a few times as it is not in the best part of town and was laid out right over the top of many well used walkways. While this feature of the design is really poor the challenge of the course is quite high. Additionally the TD, in his first time being a TD, allowed for a course layout that would provide even more challenge. Combining some holes, using some temp tee pads and generally making the course difficult.

For some reason, this was one of the most physically demanding tournaments that I have ever played. Or at least it felt that was at the time. One person used their GPS and estimated that we walked about 14 miles to play just two rounds at this course. The course plays through a gulch with some steep hills as well making the walk entail more elevation change than some other courses. There was lots of waiting going on as well as there are some holes that could just not avoid a backup and there were some holes where you really had to take advantage of every second there wasn't a pedestrian in the way. Certain aspects of this can simply not be avoided and with all that trouble I have to give big props to Justin, the TD, for running what turned out to be a very fun tournament.

In the first round, I started out more nervous that I have ever been for a tournament in a long time. It led to a couple of bad shots early that ended up costing me strokes. Once the frustration of that set in I was able to calm myself down and make some good shots. I found myself a little off on distances at times, partially because I was learning my new discs still and partially because I was learning the course and how the elevation actually affected the supposed distances. With temp tees there was also that aspect of not really being sure of what the distances were. The round felt solid and ultimately I was rewarded with being right in the middle of the pack after the first round.

The second round provided fewer birdie opportunities and an additional par 4 with another combined hole. There was also the addition of another old hole from a previous layout that honestly was not a very interesting hole. The group I played with for this round was filled with people that I have played with before but also say some interesting personality conflicts as well. There were moments of tension and moments of laughter. It was really weird. I had my bad hole on the same par 4 that provided a bad hole for me the first round, only it got worse in the second round. When at the end of the second round I was only two throws worse than the first round I felt pretty good but still think I should have been at least one throw better.

One throw better. That is an interesting phrase as the end result of the tournament. However, it would have provided a very interesting milestone for this disc golf season as much like the previous weekend, one throw made the difference for me. Last weekend, one throw meant the cut a Deer Mountain. One throw here meant missing out on cash (which I would have turned down anyways to maintain my amateur status). Still, this is an accomplishment and continues to show me that a disc change at this point might be a very good thing.

I learned that I have the ability to play well. I learned that I have a lot of room to grow as far as making good decisions consistently on the course is concerned. I learned that I do have the mental capacity to over come even the really bad holes and the stupid bounces that have the tendency to destroy other players. Watching one guy literally blow up during the second round was interesting. Knowing that I could have been there with how I played on a couple of holes makes me feel even better about how I did play. Moving forward I am looking to switch out more discs from my bag and continue to work to maintain my upward movement. Initial round ratings for this tournament are both over 950 and I couldn't be happier to be back at least at that level. It is only a matter of time before I am throwing more 1000 rated rounds like last year.

A Relaxing Day At Deer Mountain

Sometimes you put a lot of pressure on yourself to perform well at whatever it is that you are doing. Often times if you enter a sporting event, anything less than first place is failure. The Silver Medal at the Olympics is the reminder that you were so close to winning but you didn't. When that passion and that desire hits you in your chosen area it is really a sign of two things. One, that you are doing what you should be doing. Two, that it is time for you to make a choice. The choice you have to make is wether or not you are going to be serious about what you are doing or wether you are going to step back and just let it be. Even on a beautiful Saturday this past weekend I think I faced the reality of this decision. Not that is hasn't been made several times before. This past weekend was the Deer Mountain Invitational. This was really my first chance to play a competitive round with some of the new discs that I had been using and a chance to play a very private course that is only open by special permission. I thought very little of how I should fare in the tournament. I mean I wanted to make the cut but the reality was that I was simply there to enjoy the game and enjoy the moment.

If you know nothing of Deer Mountain, there really isn't words to describe the challenge that it is. I know of no other disc golf course like it. Any description of words that I could type here would fail to capture the magnitude of what it is. I know there are some courses out there that have the lore about them as great courses or courses that are a true test of champions. I have had my opportunity to play some great courses. There is nothing like Deer Mountain. There are times when I am so captured by the beauty of the course that I feel completely at peace. There are times I am beyond fearful of the course itself, both from a disc golf standpoint as well as a physical standpoint. The best goal to have at Deer Mountain is to simply not loose a disc.

The invitational tournament itself is hosted by the owner of the property, Jim Canon. He charges nothing of the people who play. He provides a payout of over $1000. He finds people to feed us lunch. He finds people to run shuttles between certain holes (yes, it is very much needed). What does this man not do for this tournament is the real question. Everyone who ever gets the chance to play this course owes their experience to this man. He deserves more than he will ever get in return for what he does for this course and disc golf in general.

The format is simple. One round with the best 20 scores moving on to a finals on a super 9 layout. If the regular 22 hole layout wasn't enough to make ones arm fall off, the super 9 layout certainly will. Being it was my first time playing in this tournament, I was put on a card of people who mostly played in lower level, age protected divisions at your typical sanctioned tournaments. It simply meant that I knew I was likely to win my card if I played my game but would have no good sense what I might need to shoot in order tomake the cut. The round started off great with a birdie on my first hole. But the reality of the course soon sank in as just a few holes later I went bogey, bogey, double bogey. It was tiem to refocus and simply play my game and do what I could to simply be at par. There were moments of glory the rest of the round including carding one of only two known birdies on a hole called Razor's Edge and throwing a drive close to 500' on City Side for an easy par. At the end of the rounds I was 7 over par after a bogey on the last hole and a bogey two holes before while attempting to go for a long birdie putt. There were a couple of times when I had putts hit the band on top and one single chain basket decided that it didn't really like my disc all that much as it let it slide right through on a dead center putt. Some bad luck and some poor decisions.

After turning in my score card and watching as my parents, who had already been spotting, help get the scores figured out the dread of reality sat in as I quickly realized the cut would be made to include scores 6 over and better. While I was no where near winning, it felt just as bad as that Olympic Silver Medal. It was the you did great today but not good enough. I have kept asking myself why I decided to go for that putt or why I couldn't have had one of at least three unlucky bounces go the other way. But in the end, I can look back and say, you know I had an incredible time. I got to play with three guys who I have never played with and enjoy all of their company. I got to see and talk to some of my other best disc golf friends. I got to eat good food. I got to play a course that not many other people get to play. I didn't loose a single disc. There was no real stress in this event for me. I was relaxed and enjoyed the experience, more than I can remember recently. At the same time I now have the bug to do better the next time I see this course. And I will see this course again.

I am still in the middle of trying to figure out if I will be changing up my entire bag of discs. I have enjoyed throwing some new discs as of late and have scored quite well with them. I learned that sometimes a small change can make a big difference. I have learned that knowing the course and being smart is more important than one might think. I learned that knowing your discs is vitally important. I learned that my mental game is stronger than I realize if I allow myself the time to think. I learned that there is always risk but that if you never give yourself a chance, you are never going to make the right decision. Back to the world of PDGA sanctioned events in the coming weeks. Back to the next chance to make my breakthrough.

Outback Oh Joy

I think I am just a little over 24 hours out from the tournament and writting a blog post. I think this is by far the best I have done so far this season. I have a little bit more excitement than the past couple of tournamnets, but no where near as much as the Memorial post. There really is just nothing like competing at the top level in the best tournaments. Additionally, the speed of this post has just a little bit to do with my actual performance. Perhaps I am just killing time while I am waiting for my laundry in the dryer.

This past Saturday was the first Outback Open. The Outback DGC in Greeley, CO is really a spectacular course that has a great combination of tight and open holes. There are some really challenging holes and there are frankly some holes that are just too easy. But even those easy holes become a little bit less easy in a tournament. There is also a good variety in length with some very short hoels and some long holes and some in between. They local club worked hard to add a few new pin locations, all of which proved to be exceptionally difficult. But with good weather it was hard to complain about a fun day of disc golf.

In the first round, despite being in the open division I was asked to play on an Advanced card. Generally this is not something that most disc golfers would like simply because you generally want to know what at least some of the competition is doing so as to have a better idea of when to push and when to hold back. I did not have a big issue with this since I tend to play against myself and the course rather than the players around me. I cannot control them, only what I am doing. I had a very solid first round going with no bogies until the third to last hole where I ended up taking a double bogey. I had to get one more birdie after that to pull back to even for the round. Just a whole lot of not much to speak of in that round other than consistently getting my threes. Sure there were a few low putts and one or two high putts, but in general there was nothing to complain about. The one 5 that I did take was a tough hole that saw poor execution from me from start to finish. Oh well.

In the second round I was back playing with other open players and rather enjoying myself with this group as well. The round started off horribly with a 5 and included three fours before I was finally able to get my first birdie of the round. Then I went back to plus 5 before I took the last six holes to get three birdies to drop me back to just plus 2. Considering some recent meltdowns in the final holes of a tournament, this finish felt really good. Was it the best, by no means, but it did provide for a lot of fun and the chance to meet a few new faces. The new faces are becoming more rare as time goes on. Still it is a good reminder of just how big the local crowd of players is and how we really do work as a family to make things happen.

The one complaint from the tournament seemed to be a lack of speed in getting cards done between rounds and after the tournament was over. Checking numbers was sloww and ultimately there were not enough of or the right people there to make something happen. Kyle and the guys at Phenix did a great job of picking up what felt like slack. It is certainly not easy to be a TD, but if you do decide to take this task on, be sure taht you are ready with the information you need to complete this.

I learned taht I can battle back. I learned that taking some risk is more important then not making an effort at all. And I learned that disc selection is super important, especially when it is looking like the out of bounds will play a factor. Gettign back to the mental game and working towards success in that will be huge moving forward. Ultimately I expect that this tournaments ratings will be the bet by far. I think I need to focus more on playing the right shot with the right disc.

Next week is the Deer Mountain Invitational. Not a sanctioned event but one that I have been looking forward to.

Is This Really Sping Fling?

After being so disappointed at PODS, you can say that I was a little anxious to get back out there and throw my discs in a competative setting again. Still over the past few weeks it has become clear that something is not the same in my disc golf game. Sure, my bag has changed a little bit from last season, but there is no reason I should be playing this poorly. There is no reason why the discs I am throwing should honestly make any difference at all. But, I have been thinking about drastic measures and have quite literally thought that it might be about time for a wholesale change of discs in my bag. But first, it was time to go out and help with the Am side of the local Spring Fling tournament.

This year Spring Fling was held at Jellystone DGC. I believe this is the first sanctioned tournament held at Jellystone, but certainly not the first time for Spring Fling. Spring Fling was the first tournament that I played in the state of Colorado. Spring is a glorious time of year for Colorado. It is almost like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Helping on the Am day was so much fun. I enjoyed watching people play and play quite well. I enjoyed not having the pressure to make the shot. I enjoyed being able to spend my time helping people in hopes that their day might be a little less stressful. The weather was perfect, I was in shorts and disc golf was happening. Hats off to my buddy Kyle who finished second in Advanced with two nice rounds.

Then came the Pro day. And being that I am now playing int he Open division for all events outside of Am Nats and Am Worlds, it was my turn. Could the weather be nice? Lets just say I was glad to have my snow tires on to get to and from the course. The morning was wet, but the snow didn't stick. The afternoon was super windy and saw the snow start to pile up. It was a joy to play with Joel in the first round. Joel is a guy I met playing out at La Mirada before I ever moved back to Colorado. He was out there for a funeral and we met eachother on the course and had a rather enjoyable round. Joel has always been a good friend and someone to say hello to me and offer me advice. I needed it in the middle of the first round as I was not playing as well as I had hoped. I was the only player on my card to shoot over par.

In the second round I wnjoyed playing with Jack. Jack is a kid you are going to want to remember. He is a very good player and if he keeps up with the game, he will be big. Then again I could say that about Eagle too, but Eagle hasn't begun to play in many big tournaments yet. Jack went to the Memorial this year as part of the large Colorado contingent and did quite well in advanced. I was one stroke worse in the second round but considering how the wind picked up, this was no real surprise.

This tournament did absolutely nothing to convince me that I am doing anything close to right just yet with my disc golf game this year. I feel like I have lost confidence and even my putting, which is normally strong, has let me down as of late. Thankfully I really didn't have a meltdown at the end of the last round as I have the last two tournaments. Mentally I stuck with it at the end of both rounds. I am very proud of myself for that. What I lack right now is simply confidence. I am not sure where it is going to come from but I am willing to try just about anything. The lesson learned is simply that confidence is important. I had a blast and cannot wait long to get back out there. The good news is that based on my schedule it will be not time at all and the tournaments just keep coming one after the next.

Lost In A Quandry: The Tale Of PODS in April

I am not really sure what to say today. It is the day after the Phenix One Day Series 2014 Opener. This is not something I participated in last year because they were not sanctioned. But this year the guys at Phenix made the wise decision to sanction these events and now I have even more events to play. I am quite thankful for this. I am big fans of the guys at Phenix simply because they are working hard to make disc golf in Colorado better than it already is. They are working to put more events out there for the local players and to support the players who play in their events. I honestly had a blast playing in my first PODS event, but it has left me in a weird place where I am literally not sure what to think at the point.

The biggest news from this event is that I can no longer say that I will be able to accomplish all my goals this year. That is a sad reality with only three events under the belt for the year. I finished last in Open, 16th out of 16. The sad part is that the round did not feel that bad and at the same time, it was blah at best. The current projected round ratings make me feel like the days when I was playing in Intermediate hoping to move up to Advanced. I long suspected that the best scores would be rather low, but I had no idea that so many people would be able to shoot as low as they did.

We played two rounds at Badlands on the traditional 18 hole layout with fairly easy pin positions. In talking with the guys from Phenix running the tournament, layouts will get more difficult throughout the season at other PODS events. But for the first one they were trying to keep things simple for themselves and for everyone playing. It was almost too easy to the point where I had no idea what to do. My putting was off for the most part and I am not entirely sure my head was in the game. Still I shot my first tournament round under par for the year in the first round and proceeded to give my second away on the last hole in the second round (worst decision of the day and a serious lack of focus at the end). I only had three holes of 36 total that I took anything worse then a par. It also means that I had very few birdies, something that was needed on this layout.

What I learned is that my mental game is simply not working correctly at the end of tournaments. We are all well aware of the meltdown I had at the Meltdown a short while ago. While this was not nearly as bad, for the second straight time I finished with a three putt where I should have had a one putt. I also learned that I am not yet making the right decisions on disc selection. I am also not controlling all of my competative energy. As in the start of the Memorial, the last couple of holes in the first round proved to provide the same kind of nervous energy that made it tought to control distance. With so many tournaments in the upcoming weeks I need to buckle down and figure the mental thing out as well as figuring out how to make better decisions in general. More deep breaths and one more second before every throw.

Not So Lucky St. Patty

Once again I have put off writing about my last tournament. This time it is not because I am processing but simply because it was so blah it hurt. The 2014 St. Patty's Day Meltdown took place as per usual at Edora Park in Fort Collins, CO. This this the tournament that I won as a Rec player way back in the day and usually marks the start of the Colorado Disc Golf season. There have been many different TD's throughout the years, but it has always been a good time.

This year it was simple and straight forward. There was one added hole the first two rounds and an additional two added holes the final round. This was the first tournament of the year for me in Colorado and the first time I have played this tournament in the MPO division. One thing that you can count on for this event is some of the strangest conditions you have seen and this year was no different. Perhaps you have seen videos online of the Glass Blown Open in Emporia, KS? Great tournament but it almost always has wind. Well, the first two rounds were played on Saturday and the wind compared to, if not surpassed, the wind that has been seen at GBO. At one point I heard a rumor that the top MPO player and eventual winner was hoping the TD would move the second round to Sunday and have two rounds on Sunday just so that we could play in more reasonable conditions.

Honestly it wasn't that bad. And in the first round I actually played fairly well and ended up in the middle of the field tied with some of the better players and not that far behind the best scores from the first round in the wind. The second round felt a bit better but was not as good on the score card. This seems to be my game right now, play what feels like a good round only to see the score on the card be bad or not what was hoped for. Sunday brought nicer conditions and lower scores. I already had the knowledge that I would not finish last because someone had dropped out of the tournament the day before in the wind. I still found myself on the bottom card and honestly a little frustrated about that. Then most of the guys on my card started playing really well. I kept pace with them until the last 5 holes where I took four fours and a five. I even had some great shots in those holes only to squander opportunity after opportunity. It was the biggest collapse I have seen myself take in over a year. And of course, if not for our friend who dropped out, I would have been last.

There was so much to learn from this tournament, most of which included making mental adjustments based on conditions. Choosing the right disc and playing safe was way more valuable than you might think. Additionally, I learned that you really cannot beat yourself up mentally when you make a bad shot because ultimately you will mess up the next one as well. You need to pay more attention to the details in the conditions and make good choices based on that. So much of this game is mental and I think with two poor performances under my belt, now becomes the time to refocus on the mental preparation for tournaments. I have begun reading a book called Mind Games and look forward to what it might be able to offer in this realm.

Up next, Phenix Disc Golf is hosting a one day event at Badlands DGC. The schedule gets busier and busier from here on out and I only hope that I can turn things around. There has been promise in the practice rounds, and I have found a good way to practice putting at home but I still need to make sure I am taking the time to do that. It is not as easy now that I have a roommate.

The Memorial Memory and Life in General

So this might be very late in coming, but I figured I needed to get something posted about the previous tournament before the next one gets here. This was the first tournament that I got to play in the Open division at a very high level. I did not get to play with any big names, even though they were all there. And to be honest, this tournament wasn't really about winning and loosing, it really was about the experience. If you take that into consideration, I am pretty sure I won. Well, maybe John E McCray would have beat me there but he finished second and seemed to have a grand time.

Speaking of Mr. McCray, I was fortunate enough to have emailed him well before the tournament after seeing his acceptance speach at a Florida tournament earlier this year. He clearly loved Jesus and as a fellow lover of Jesus I figured I would enjoy meeting him. In emails we talked about getting together before his first round to pray together. Even though he and his wife already did, he still let me pray for him before his first round. I am not saying it helped him beat many guys who were much younger than he, but it was really cool to have that connection with another player, who also took some time to watch part of one of my rounds later in the tournament.

The two courses, Vista and Fountain, in their layout for the Memorial were just incredible. Very punishing of bad shots, at least at times, and very fair to good shots. I found out more about the bad shots than the good shots to be perfectly honest. I wish I had more time to go down and explore the courses before the tournament. There were times that I thought I had an alright shot only to find out that despite the fact that I had kept the disc in bounds, I managed to put myself in a very awkward place that either resulted in a pitch out or a crazy shot that often resulted on going OB on the second shot. I feel with mroe time to study the courses things would have been drastically different. Then again simply having been able to play mroe rounds before this tournament would have been nice. Too bad the weather in Colorado did not cooperate with that idea.

So clearly I did not play well. I never shot a round above my current rating and I finished tied for third to last. I guess I kept from failing to accomplish my one goal for the year of never finishing last in a tournament. As I have said already, I could try to convince myself that it was all about the experience, but everyone wants to do well in a tournament and as such I was very disappoitned with my performance. There were many lessons to learn and many things that I can improve on, but it takes time and cooperation from the weather. The plan moving forward is to play as much as I can. It will likely mean cutting other things out of my life, but I have been meaning to do that since the first of the year. Sometimes you try to put too much in your life and end up leaving little room for certain things that you want to spend mroe time doing. Work is a necessity, My spiritual life and relationship with God comes first before anything else, but I do not have to be at church everyday. I honestly love disc golf and love the community that surrounds disc golf. I want to invest more time there.

That brings me to more of the amazing experience at the Memorial and all the incredible things that happened. Yes, I spent a lot of time following and watching the other players from Colrado that I knew, and yes I did spend time following Mr. McCray around. But I also got to meet other top pros as well and follow another local player who ended up tied for 4th even though he had the outright lead at one point. I was practicing my putting before rounds along with all the top female disc golfers in the world. I got to play with guys from Germany and Sweden. I got to caddy for Paige during her final round as she worked to get into the cash in FPO. Sorry you fell a couple throws shy of that Paige, I am sure it was my fault. There was something so different about the atmosphere around this tournament that just made it so much fun. I think the fact that even on the bottom cards in the Open division, playing with people who still took the rounds seriously was huge. And of course I also got to experience monsoon rain is the desert. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it is crazy.

So far the conditions here in Colorado have not been favorable for playing more rounds, but there is hope that it improves. And of course I found a way to hurt my back, which doesn't help either. But I am looking forward to making more time to practice. I am looking forward to making sure I know where I want to place my shots. I am looking forward to really working on my accuracy on drives. I am looking forward to playing with the best and learning as much as I can. This year is a long ways from over and there is so much improvement to make.