[TFDA] WL Spirit Award Winner Write-ups from their captains

Christian Schwoerke schwoerkec at yahoo.com
Thu Mar 1 08:15:58 EST 2007


Hey, Winter Leaguers (and other interested parties),

All the captains have celebrated in word and with a disc these players' contributions to their
teams.  Take a look!

--xian 

>From Scooby Blue (Dusty Hoefer)
Our Spirit Award goes to Dave Kaminski. His enthusiasm and humor rallied the team even when the
weather was bitter and the score was lopsided in the wrong direction. He coached and drilled newer
players (and some not so new ones, like me) and lent his wisdom in the form of new plays and
strategies with which we occasionally confounded our opponents. He volunteered his time to write
game reports on the website that kept out of town players informed of our doings on the field. And
finally, he showed up, in spite of the irregular and busy schedule he must keep as a emergency
medicine doctor and father. He is an exemplar of the Scooby spirit, and we all will look forward
to playing with him again soon.

>From Spin City (Arnett Brown)
Spirit awards for Spin City went to Nick Crawford and Andy Ivory.  Nick was a positive force both
on the field and off - a very capable handler and defender whose relentless encouragement of his
teammates was conspicuous regardless of the score (which was often not in our favor).  All of
Andy's acrobatic insanity on both offense and defense made it easy to overlook the equally
important contributions he made off the field as a vocal supporter and sideline coach.

>From The Others (Jonathan Miller)
Our spirit disc went to Rob Grau who throughout the season had a not only great attendance and a
great attitude, he also was a constant defensive presence and made many clutch defensive plays
which helped extend our exciting (albeit unsuccessful) season.  I also want to congratulate our
entire team for persevering through a rough season with an awesome attitude and great spirit.

>From Nathan Jr. (Joe Wolhar, Jason Bivins, and Anne Burroughs)
Nathan Jr. awarded their Spirit Disc to Alan Ellis.  Alan made most games, played his heart out,
ran like a deer, and was just a great teammate. Honorable mentions to Denice Cunningham who
traveled to games from the Triad,  Ken Fischer for playing great after being away from Ultimate
for many years, and MaryMolly Taylor for bringing the cookies every week.

>From [adult swim] (Sam Boyarsky and Sarah Emenhizer)
The Spirit disc went to David Goldsmith.  He showed up to all but two games, played awesome for us
and always seemed to be smiling, playing hard, and having fun.

>From Sacre Bleu (Francois Caron and Tim Woods)
Kurt Chapman received an MVP disc, and Lauren Gardner received a Spirit disc.
Kurt has been the D man for all possible occasions. Fast, cool and always ready to jump in the
game (even when 35F)...  (the less said about his dog, however, the better).  Lauren is really the
best spirited woman any team shall have. Always smiling, helping the captain, a great team player
with a perfect sense of giving the disc to anyone having the best cut, thus compensating for the
great amount of hucking!

>From Rediculous (Mel Proctor and Josh Berkowitz)
Segev was a tireless marker in the cup and could be seen either throwing hammers over his marker
or scoring countless goals.  He always brought levity and humor to the team when the going got
tough.  Thanks for a great season, Segev!

>From Hack’s Bobcats (Robbie Minshall and Lindsey Hack)
Hannah Giles received our spirit award.  Hannah played hard and contributed to every game - what's
more she did it and managed to be nice to everyone at the same time.  Playing the tourney with a
broken hand because we could not get a last minute replacement put the final touches on her resume
 -  Hannah Giles was the Bobcat’s most spirited player of the year.  We also recognized Ben Parees
for most improved player, and Rick Oelfke for most defensive effort.

>From Grimace (Garrett Dyer)
Not only did Phil Prudich win our team's MVP award, he has also been posthumously honored as the
2006-07 Winter League Most Valuable Player.  Despite spending the season playing with the burden
of having to defend the other team's best and tallest player, an extremely demanding captain, and
an increasingly pregnant wife who kept eating all of his precious Whales, Phil was a model of
stability, consistency and overall exceptional play.  He kept all 6 of his on-field teammates
involved in the flow of the game, and kept the off-field ones in stitches with his humor.  Without
a doubt, no single player was a bigger factor in his/her team's success than was Phil. 
Congratulations to Phil on being named the 2006-07 Winter League Most Valuable Player. 

>From PITS (Ben Dieter and Mike Jolley)
PITS spirit award winner 2007 = Tatjana Benedict
When T signed up for the league she had neither played nor seen ultimate before.  Throughout the
season she attended more games than any of the other People In The South.  She also constantly
asked questions and strove for constant self-improvement.  In addition she not only withstood Mike
Jolley sarcasm, she on more than one occasion left him speechless with her witty foreign-accented
comebacks.  Congrats T, it was a pleasure.

>From The Cretin Potato (Mike Riley, Tom Reid, Liz Mahanna)
The Cretin Potato had many worthy Spirit Award candidates, as every player on the team upheld the
Potato ideals of positive attitude and hustle.  Two players who especially embodied the spirit of
The Potato were Libby Manly and Erik Jolles, and they were each awarded Spirit Discs.

>From Zuul (Baker Pratt, Grant Gill, Eric Kirkham)
Spirit disc awarded to Severine Patat-
Severine is the consummate teammate.  On the field she exhibited poise under pressure, and she
often made the cut (be it short or long) that was needed at that moment to help our offense
continue its march down the field to the endzone.  Off the field she was supportive and
encouraging toward the rest of her team.
One of the lasting memories from this season will be of Severine as she took a sub during our
final game.  She had just caught a deep pass to begin our rally, and her expression was one of
exhaustion and determination.  That look sums up her play - tireless effort on the field, but
always with a spirited intensity.  One can never ask for more than that in a teammate.

>From Lupo (Tim Lupo, Bobby Veit)
We gave our disc to Scooter.  Here's why:

It's not often you can call a grown man "Scooter".  And that's too bad, because doing so just
makes you feel good.  It's like having a boss named Dick.  It always feels good to greet him in
the morning.  So next time you see Mr. VandeLinde, walk right up, shake his hand, and say, "Howdy,
Scooter!"  I guarantee it'll brighten your day.

>From Screwdriver (Taylor Pope, Matthias Mueller)
It was a no brainer for the Spirit Award. Christian Schwoerke exemplifies the beating heart of
Ultimate in the Triangle, with his dedication to league organization, youth development, and most
importantly, a sincere love for the sport and community he has so selflessly maintained longer
than anyone can remember. TFDA is a family and he is our patriarch.

>From Poore (Becki Cleveland, Nick Poore)
Team Cleveland/Poore (White) gives our spirit disc to Adam Hook.  Adam was one of the few players
who consistently showed up at games for our team, playing nearly every point of every game without
complaint.  He worked really hard on the field and improved his game greatly over the course of
WL, and as a result he became one of our most important defenders.  He has a great positive and
supportive attitude and is exactly the type of player you want on your winter league team.  Plus,
he always brought orange slices.

>From Blew Stihl (Troy Revell, Katy Harris)
Debbie Brewer played her first ever game of organized ultimate in this year's winter league.  She
learned very quickly and came out to as many games as anyone on the team, even attending when her
boyfriend could not make it.  Her quiet nature hides how much she soaks in, and by the end of the
season she was playing so well that she received an invitation to play at club Terminus!  It was
our privilege to help her learn the game.

>From Goodrich (Frannie Goodrich, Ray Parrish)
Gravy's spirit award winner was Thomas Sayre-Mccord.  He quietly became one of our go to guys...
taking tough defensive matchups, getting big Ds, huge skies, and layout garbage grabs right when
we needed them.  A true joy to play with.

>From Manbearpig (Amanda Hobbs, Jason Cade)
Manbearpig’s Spirit Award Winner: Kelly Fowler.  Kelly was dependable and gave her all in every
game she played.  Kelly is the essence of Manbearpig.

>From Turf Burn (Ben Greene)
The spirit award goes to Troy Plavec.  Troy constantly supported all of his teammates with his
positive attitude, praise, encouragement, and generosity.  Despite the fact that he played few
points, Troy was always excited to be with the team in any capacity, and when he did play, he
played hard and with passion.  It was a great pleasure to meet you Troy--you're a terrific guy.

>From Purple Reign (Kaci Torres)
Jon McLeod:  Jon showed up to a lot of games and always played hard.  He made good decidions on
the field and was active on the side lines.  I like Jon.

Craig Murray:  Craig had great spirit and was very open to learning new stuff.  He was always
willing to stay on another point if one of the "old guys" were a little tired.

Becky L:  Becky managed not to "hate every one of us."  Seriously, she was a good leader
(think: Iron Fist) and was always willing to help and give advice...when she wasn't man-handling
Pat.




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