going hard

i played in a men's only, invite only beach game in santa barbara a few weeks ago, and there was a play that stuck out that at least generated a little talk, but no real controversy.

my team is on defense and one of our guys poaches into space at a high stall count. the throw goes up in his neighborhood and he commits to going hard to the disc. the intended receiver, who was going with a full head of steam has to adjust a little to get a hand on the disc. both players arrive at the disc around the same time and the disc winds up on the sand. if i'm on the offensive team i probably ask the receiver why he didn't call strip (actually, i guess i asked him this anyways, but after the game was over), but being on the defensive team i clearly saw a block.

as i was thinking about it afterwards, the defender would have had zero shot at the disc if he hadn't committed as soon as he did. if he hesitated a little, either at the begining or possibly sensing contact at the end, it probably winds up looking really ugly with a collision and a 'late' bid.

it's a very fine line between playing hard (and committing to making a play on the disc) and being a hack who winds up barging into everyone on the field. i suppose if you are a little late once or twice in a day, maybe you have to reevaluate what plays are in your range, but there's really only one way to find out what you're captable of and that's to go after the disc.

side note: first CA tourney this weekend, maybe there will actually be stuff to write about next week.