Review of Try outs Day 1

DC, Maryland, and Virginia Ultimate players showed up last Saturday morning at Woodland Tiger Field for the first day of tryouts with the DC Breeze. Over 60 players reported representing some of the best college, high school, and club Ultimate teams from the DC area: Maryland, George Mason, George Washington, U.M.B.C, Radford, American, Salisbury, Bethesda Chevy Chase High, Woodside High,  Pacme, and Medicine Men to name some. To no one's surprise no players reported from Truck Stop. Most were likely trying out for the MLU’s DC Current; coached by former Truck captain Keven Moldenhauer.

The weather did not do anyone a favor as when players arrived there was still an inch or two of snow on the turf and temperatures were in the 20s with the wind. Coach Coffin and owners Aaron Foreman and Marvin Graves were quick to introduce themselves and their mission to win a championship before starting the events. Players ran throwing lines, scrimmaged, and timed 70 and 40 meter dashes.

While player’s spirits were high at the start, the cold and wind quickly drained anyone not involved immediately in a drill. The scrimmages to three were long and left most of the players on the sidelines waiting their turn, never really able to stay warm. Most found themselves warming up over and over again in order to perform. With an AUDL size field many college players commented on the struggles of defense, not familiar with having to guard receivers with so much more cutting room. This was not the only surprise for players, some unfamiliarity with AUDL rules and lack of referees did create some confusion and debate on plays.

Observing the scrimmages it was clear that this biggest impact on the day was the weather. The points got sloppy as the day went on, turnover rates increased as hands grew colder, throws were getting taken more and more by the wind, and moods were not the best after being exposed to the elements for four hours.

After all was said and done though, the players had shown a lot of promise and talent. All were invited to return for round two of the open tryouts this Saturday.

Afterwards some players revealed how they were a little let down leaving comments on: the low number of touches on disc, the general athletic focus instead of a tighter Ultimate focus, mishaps with timing some of the heats, and the overall quality of some of the scrimmages.

As the Breeze staff become more familiar with these players it will be interesting to see what kind of performance will come out of them this weekend and this season.

ILC/Reebok Sponsorship

Two weeks ago the DC Breeze announced a sponsorship by ILC/Reebok. ILC (Interscholastic Licensing Corporation) is the only wholesaler in North America that works with Reebok and will be providing fan gear online for Breeze fans from head to toe. Several other teams from the AUDL including Philadelphia signed with ILC. Their CEO, John Saintignon, is excited to be involved with Ultimate and sees it as a growing market. As a former professional athlete, Saintignon has a business relation with Breeze owner Aaron Foreman.

“Our initial reaction to getting interest from ILC/Reebok was overwhelming. The fact we can bear their logo speaks volumes. Hopefully in the near future as the AUDL grows we will get a true sponsorship deal that involves all teams similar to what the NFL and other established leagues have currently,” Foreman said.

The name recognition of Reebok and the distribution power they have is enormous and global, to say the least. A 24 hour online store providing everything from socks and shoes to bags and hats anywhere in the world, all with the DC Breeze logo of course, is sure to make an impact in the expansion of Ultimate.
“We have over 7000 items for boys, girls, men, and women and not just sports specific either,” Saintignon said.

This deal benefits the Breeze in two key ways. The first being shared revenue, the profits are being split 50-50 Saintignon confirmed. The second being that Reebok may take future interest in the sport of Ultimate.

Saintignon is excited to be working with all the AUDL teams that signed with ILC/Reebok. While he does not have an Ultimate background, he is very eager to see professional Ultimate first hand.

“Most people have just been introduced to recreational playing, not in a competitive or professional format, it’s exciting.” Saintignon remarked.

The AUDL is still in negotiations with several Ultimate clothing providers regarding uniforms, and will make an official announcement soon. This further reflects the Ultimate community’s devotion to their Ultimate apparell providers. It was also recently announced that Nike would be starting Ultimate camps this summer. They were allowed to provide some gear for attendees but the responsibility of jersey production still goes to Ultimate apparel companies like Savage, Breakmark, and 5 Ultimate.

The contract with ILC is open ended so the Breeze will be meeting with them yearly to decide if they want to continue their partnership. With Nike and now Reebok showing interest in Ultimate, the future of the sport is definitely looking up.

Welcome, Let Us Introduce Ourselves

Cloud Coverage is the official sports blog for all things related to the DC Breeze. The Breeze is a first year team in the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). If you are not familiar with the sport of Ultimate or the AUDL, these links are a good place to get started.

Cloud Coverage's goal is to report stories, game recaps, updates, player interviews, and all kinds of news pertaining to the DC Breeze and the DC Ultimate community. In short, the people of DC will play Ultimate and we will tell you about it.

Before the season gets fully underway Cloud Coverage will be bring updates and information as it is announced. Once the season gets underway in April. We will be releasing content much more regularly.

If you ever need to contact us please send us an email at The_Cloud_Coverage@yahoo.com
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Cheers!