02/05/06 ERP

We had 12 show up for the second Sunday practice on a windy, cold, but sunny day. Zac and I broke up the handlers and cutters, after we evaluated who should specialize in what the day before. As of right now we only have one solid handler--Mia--and we want at least four by the end of the year.

Zac did a butterfly drill with the cutters, making sure they timed their cut correctly, as we had problems during a previous indoor practice with the third leg of the buttefly being too early. I did a dump-swing drill with the handlers, emphasizing the quick release on the swing throw. Lisa and Frantzen continue to progress, with Frantzen even doing the fake backhand swing into an inside-out flick. I'm especially proud of that, since she's only been throwing since the fall.

Next, we showed them the handler continuation cuts, named "dishy" by Rugters. We did some offensive walkthroughs and noted that again, our fundamentals--catching and throwing--was especially poor. The captains would be ok with running offensive reps or throwing/cutting drills all day, but we need to keep the borderline girls interested in practices. If that means sloppy scrimmages, I guess Zac and I will have to live with that.

We scrimmaged and it wasn't great, but we did see some positives. There was plenty of dump/swings, and a few good follow up cuts. Bethany and Kristin were especially good at doing the butterfly cut, a benefit of not having any bad habits. People are starting to understand the offense, and once it fully clicks--only a matter of time, really--we will be in very good shape. All this of course hinges on our practicing fundamentals, and I think I will propose adding an extra throwing-only optional practice next week.