As dedicated ultimate players, we all put up with the questions and criticisms that exemplify the view that Ultimate is somehow less of a valuable commitment than other parts of life. We've all heard them: Ultimate isn't a real sport. Why do you waste your time throwing around a flat thing? I can't attend parties with you anymore because all you and your friends do is talk about ultimate. And on and on and on. I have plenty of thoughts on whether or not Ultimate is a real sport and why. I also have plenty of great comparisons about Ultimate as compared to any other sport, past time, hobby, experience, etc. But that's not what I really get to thinking about when people ask me about why I think that Ultimate matters so much. Specifically, they ask me why I care so much and why I sweat the little things for ULTIMATE. Going to my first Femmes practice made me really think about the little things and exactly why I do agonize over the small details of practices, warm-ups, games, social events, and correspondence in the context of the team.
I see all of the little things as tiny building blocks - practical tools that I can control and that can be used to accomplish a goal. It is the sum of all of the little things that really defines a team's personality and characteristics. I always believed this, but it's even easier to see as I play on different teams and meet new "little things" and their corresponding team personalities. I can actually see the way that a captain's favorite mantra that is used over and over again transforms itself into a team value...or falls flat on its face. I believe that effective leadership analyzes how all of the little things are done and determines what the outcome of each little thing should be. I think that one should think about why you're saying something, why you say it in a certain manner, when you choose to say it, who you direct it towards, whether or not you back it up with examples or long speeches or personal stories, etc. For all of the skeptics out there who think it's no big deal to just say things off the cuff to a group of 20 women college ultimate players who come from different backgrounds and have different skill levels and different perspectives, try to think about the way that you would have received that comment. Is it different than your best friend? Than the girl who has been playing since she was 5? Than the rookie who has never played a team sport? It is amazing to me whenever I find out which tiny things were picked up by others as being of the utmost importance. I wish that people told me that my pre-game speeches were inspiring and a big part of the reason why they ran so hard that first point. But, I've never heard that. I have been told about some of my most effective actions: the facial expression I always have in a huddle, the tone of my voice when talking to an opposing player, the ridiculous dances that I do on the line to lighten the mood, the surprise warm-up games I throw into Monday practice when we've had a rough weekend, the way I pick myself up after a particularly grueling collision with the ground. Most of these things are something you might be unaware of, but others are watching. Collectively, these little things add up to how you set the tone for the team.
In the same vein, every part of practice sets the tone for how practice is run in general, how welcome people feel, how hard they're willing to run that day. The personality of the team is palpable in the way a drill is run. I often think about how the way rookies are greeted when they walk into a room of returners translates into how much initiative they take on the field, or how confident they act when they are faced with an unfamiliar situation on the field. The seriousness of plyos and how much emphasis is put on doing them correctly rather than quickly can translate into how seriously one concentrates on her mark and the fundamentals of the game.
So, sometimes, it's ok to sweat the small stuff.
