tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12390900.post18458557936724374..comments2023-09-15T06:05:55.920-04:00Comments on gcooke's blog: NE Women's Regionals Write-Upgcookehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17029435701308074373noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12390900.post-86630543077082099372007-05-08T18:07:00.000-04:002007-05-08T18:07:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.gcookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17029435701308074373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12390900.post-42432116188937184262007-05-08T12:41:00.000-04:002007-05-08T12:41:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ma$ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09028351900099106106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12390900.post-66002085644007415912007-05-07T20:38:00.000-04:002007-05-07T20:38:00.000-04:00Hi Brett,Thanks for writing. Great comments. I t...Hi Brett,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for writing. Great comments. I think I keep some things pretty close to the vest during the year as I don't want to give to many tips about our team. I am probably remiss in generally not giving enough credit to individuals on the team. Perhaps I project too much "its all about the team" upon ourselves. <BR/><BR/>Having said that, it is very emotional for me to start to wind down on Sunday of Regionals and realize that I am approaching the end of my time with my seniors. To me, Tyke represents the beginning of a new era for the Whiptails, in that she was a first year in 03, when we had so much turnover. From the get go, Tyke loved to work hard. We were talking the other day about our first Sectionals, and somewhere during the middle of the first day, she does a huge layout right in front of us. Unfortunately, as the fields were crap, she landed in basically a pile of rocks and gravel. Never complained, though. The other thing is that Tyke, in kind of sick way, really enjoys "Three Points of Ultimate".<BR/><BR/>On a very personal note, I associate Tyke (and similarly Nell) with a certain validation of my coaching style. I have certain little phrases which I repeat inanely that probably drive most folks crazy. Things like "work hard, Whips!". I will say it over and over again. By the beginning of Tyke's second year, she would basically run with those phrases. It might seem quaint, but for me at the beginning of my coaching work, Tyke's embracing of our general apporach helped with my confidence. Another example is our zone, which I largely attribute to Tyke's interest and hard work.<BR/><BR/>Tyke did an amazing thing this year in her recovery, so I am glad you pointed this out. She spent a few days in tears after the injury, and she said on a number of occasions that she wasn't sure that she could be around the sport as it would hurt too much not to play. So, not only did she do the work to recover, but she was also there day after day, teaching, coaching, and making us better. She was able to remain both self-involved (needed for the discipline of recovery) and selfless(for the team).<BR/><BR/>She has had a great career as a Whiptail, and I am glad she was able to achieve her goals.<BR/><BR/>Finally, I just want to say congratulations on a great season to you. I am sure the loss to Williams is bitter, but in talking to you over the year, it seems that you guys played well when you needed to and you gave yourselves good opportunites to get to a good place.<BR/><BR/>-Ggcookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17029435701308074373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12390900.post-10376395446196420062007-05-07T19:58:00.000-04:002007-05-07T19:58:00.000-04:00Hey George,I just wanted to take this opportunity ...Hey George,<BR/><BR/>I just wanted to take this opportunity to let the readers of this blog know a little more about Emily 'Tyke' Jenkins, Wellesley's senior co-captain and Callahan nominee this spring. You can cue the sappy music now...<BR/><BR/>Before the year started she told me she wanted to lead this year's Whiptails to their best finish ever at regionals- a lofty goal since that meant finishing 3rd or better in a deep region. Then disaster struck: she tore her ACL at a scrimmage in the fall.<BR/><BR/>She never gave up though, and I have never seem anyone work so hard to recover. Her goal was to be back for Yale Cup, and she did it, taking the field against Williams on April 7th less than 5 months post op.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately I didn't get to see her play much at regionals, but it seems like she was back to her old self- playing most of the points, catching deep scores, throwing low releases, and otherwise doing whatever she could to help her team succeed.<BR/><BR/>And succeed they did, as George describes above, finishing 3rd in the region, losing to Tufts in the game to go. <BR/><BR/>Yeah, I just thought people should know about that. And hey, while I'm at it, Tyke for Callahan.<BR/><BR/>A very biased,<BR/><BR/> Brett 'the' Carr<BR/> DartmouthThe Carrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14574980745628968676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12390900.post-80081917554592394602007-05-07T13:39:00.000-04:002007-05-07T13:39:00.000-04:00George-Thanks for the props for Wesleyan. We had a...George-<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the props for Wesleyan. We had a great year, and made great progress. I wish I could have been there this weekend (stupid work) and gotten to talk to you in person again...<BR/><BR/>Congratulations to your girls on a great year, and hopefully we'll battle again next year.<BR/><BR/>Jayadevjsahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06748170215847335061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12390900.post-36674358016952968572007-05-07T12:07:00.000-04:002007-05-07T12:07:00.000-04:00Hi Gwen,Thanks for writing. Sorry, I didn't mean ...Hi Gwen,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for writing. Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you had started the rumor. I actually had independent conversations with several folks who seemed to recall that we had done pools in the past. So, my comment was piecing together several unrelated conversations/comments.<BR/><BR/>I do think that geographic size and travel concerns can very much come into play in making this decision. I also think that while not a primary factor in and of itself, historical precedent can be considered.<BR/><BR/>I think another interesting discussion is the issue that brackets are different than the nationals format, so does having pool play at Regionals better select the teams for that format?<BR/><BR/>I am very curious about your original interest in players opinions about the experience of the two formats differ, so it would be great if folks could offer their insights.<BR/><BR/>-Ggcookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17029435701308074373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12390900.post-91833620726455112152007-05-07T11:55:00.000-04:002007-05-07T11:55:00.000-04:00I guess I didn't know that the NE always uses the ...I guess I didn't know that the NE always uses the bracket format. I certainly didn't mean to start any false rumors on rsd! <BR/><BR/>In the NW, the women's division has had trouble fielding a full 16 team division, so pool play options are usually the only ones available. In the one year that we did have 16 teams while I was RC, I chose not to go with the bracket play option because of how few games it seemed to afford the lower half of the teams. Travel on the west coast probably makes this more of an issue, but when teams have to travel long distances it seems brutal to only guarantee 3 games--all on Saturday. I would think that might actually be a disincentive for many teams to come. On the other hand, lower teams get to play opponents on similar levels earlier in the tournament. I guess I was just trying to find out more information about how teams compare the bracket format to the pool play format that all non-Series tournaments use. <BR/><BR/>Congratulations on a successful tournament and season, George.Gamblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18277792064283758274noreply@blogger.com