Jenny is ready to make some noise at Championship Weekend.
Jenny, one our Brand Ambassadors, is competing in the PUL Championship Weekend that will start on Friday. We got a chance to ask her a few questions heading into what is sure to be an entertaining weekend!
Schedule:
Semifinals Friday, June 28th @ 6pm & 830pm
Finals Saturday, June 29th @ 1230pm
Q: How has the season with the Radiance been so far? Any highlights?
A: It has been so fun to play with Radiance this season. I'm so grateful to be part of the process of building this team of incredibly talented players over a short span of time. We've come a long way and finished our regular season 3-2. The highlight of our season is probably our big road trip weekend earlier in June; we took two 15-passenger vans and just had all this time to eat snacks, chat, play card games, sing show tunes, and not think about anything else but ultimate and this team. It was an amazing adventure.
Q: What has it been like to compete in the PUL?
A: Competing in the PUL has definitely been an unique experience; the single-game structure, the observers, the larger field, and the adapted rules are all so different from any other ultimate I've played. But, the most notable aspect of the PUL is how empowered the league has made me (and I hope all the other participants) feel. I'm pretty zoned into the game the whole time we're playing, but I've nearly been brought to tears at the end of the game when we finally turn to the stands and thank our fans for coming. There are so many people who support our team, support this league, and support the notion of what the league is building. I've seen many youth players at our games, and I've seen how inspiring the teams in the league are to them. Talk about some warm and fuzzies!
Q: What should people know about radiance when watching this weekend?
A: Our team is textbook. A large portion of our team has played under the same systems and been training together for many years, and we just have solid fundamentals throughout our entire roster. Don't be surprised if we score in one possession, if we break the mark, if we swing the disc, or if we play gritty defense. We've rehearsed it, we trust each other, and we're ready.
Q: How have you felt personally this season?
A: I've had a lot of fun this season, but I feel not fully satisfied. We lost the lead we had against Revolution and fell to Torch at our last home game, so I am hungry to get some W's back this weekend! On top of that, there have been a couple of things I've been working on personally like pulling form and returning to play after an offseason, and I feel like I've yet to reach my full capacity on those fronts. This weekend will be a challenge, but I'm really looking forward to stepping up and giving my all to be satisfied with what I've set out to do!
Q: What are you most excited about heading into championship weekend?
A: I'm most excited for the competition we're going to face! Radiance will take on NY in semis, and they say you never face the exact same team twice. I'm really excited to see what adjustments they'll make to push us and I'm sure those changes will make us a better team. As a result of that, I'm excited to see how our team will grow and adapt to face whatever challenges they throw at us. And, I'm excited for the opportunity to potentially face Atlanta or Revolution; there is going to be so much good frisbee this weekend!
Q: Anything people should know?
A: I want to shout out the Kitty Hawks, the NC U17 YCC team I coach. They are also traveling down to Atlanta this weekend to face off against the Atlanta U17 team on Sunday! Youth ultimate has grown so much in the past few years, and this will be the first time in our history where we get to play another U17 team before YCC. Ultimate continues to take leaps and bounds, and it's amazing to see such tangible growth. You can follow the kiddos all season on Twitter at TYUL_KITTYHAWKS.