First Blush Part 1

I have always considered myself to be somewhat athletic. Although as I mentioned in my previous entry that my favorite hobbies are eating and sleeping, I do like to have some physical activity every now and then. And so Nike Women's First Dates promo piqued my interest. You get to choose from 8 sports (and quasi sports) and have 1 trial session for FREE! For details, check out http://www.nikewomen.com.ph/thisislove/redbook.html.

Being the thrifty (or stingy as my family would say) person that I am, I was excited at the prospect of sponsored trial sessions. I browsed through the sports' schedules and signed up for my first date with Ultimate Frisbee.

Arriving at the Meralco compound, I marveled at the facilities - tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, a fitness center, and a baseball/soccer field. There could be more but I didn't tour the rest of the compound as I was already running late. Meralco employees are lucky, if only for the facilities ;-) Yet I haven't met or heard of anyone who works at Meralco. But I digress...

The frisbee session was held at the baseball/soccer field. Relieved to discover that we were not the only first-timers, my companion and I joined the others after jogging 2 rounds and stretching. Our designated coach taught us the basics of catching and throwing the frisbee (also called disc) while the rest did some drills. We found the game’s similarity with other sports somewhat amusing and easier to relate to. For instance, upon catching the disc, you can not just run away with it. You must throw it to a teammate, and you are only allowed to move or “pivot” on one foot in the process, much like basketball. Also when defending, you can not touch your opponent. But unlike basketball, you can not snatch the disc from his/her hand. The disc changes sides when it is intercepted or a turnover is committed. A point is earned when a team member catches the disc in the team’s endzone, like football.

This is a simplistic description of the game. The game may seem simple, just throwing and catching the disc, but my first encounter showed me it's not. There's technique involved, along with muscle aches and bruises. Throw the disc without power and it wobbles. Throw it too hard and it sails out of reach of your teammate. Throw it at a wrong angle and it goes in a direction you didn't intend. Hold the disc the wrong way and you just can't throw it properly. And here is where I got my sore muscles, doing forehand and backhand throws.

Catching the disc, whether pancake style, overhead and down below was fun, but in no way easy. And I have the bruises to show for it - one each on my left and right palms just below the middle and ring fingers and another forming a U shape between my right thumb and index finger, which made writing by hand a chore. Good thing though, in this digital age, I use my computer keyboard more than my pen ;-)

(Note: Except for the pancake catch, "overhead" and "down below" are not the official terms but words I cooked up since I don't know how to refer to those catching styles.)

It being our first time, we didn't expect to join the scrimmage. Luckily though, everybody got a chance to play. It turned out to be a complete experience of Ultimate Frisbee. At times I felt like we were running around like headless chickens, first in one direction, then another as the disc changed hands. Then I managed to catch the disc and completed a pass to a teammate. Suddenly, I no longer felt like a headless chicken.

All in all, frisbee is a fun way to work up a sweat. Something you can do with friends, as long as you have a disc and a field to play in. But there's also something in store for those with a competitive side, frisbee tourneys can attest to that. As for me, I will defer my verdict until I've tried the other sports ü