Winter Goaltimate Predictions 2012

[The Junior Analyst]

It’s winter in the ATL and in the AFDC that means only one thing these days, it’s time for Goaltimate to reign supreme. Looking over the makeup of league participants this year, it’s fair to say some things have changed. Sure, there are plenty of familiar faces and 10 teams is nothing to sneeze at (more newer players is kind of a cool thing). But the talent at the top seems to be shrinking (at least on the male side of the equation) with fewer goalty stalwarts and dwindling infusions of elite club players. At the same time, there were fewer captains who stepped forward this year and about half of the teams were constructed after the closing of registration. It all could make for a lopsided season. What’s a goalty die-hard to do? I think it’s time for a glorious goalty renaissance, but we need everyone’s help. In the meantime I wrote up these prognostications for you to read and bemoan. Please don’t take them too seriously, or if you like, as a challenge to prove me wrong--I’m no Nostradamus. Besides, the world is going to end this year anyway. So without further ado, here’s a rundown of the teams and their season outlook. Rosters will be listed following.

Drew’s Team: After their core got put on a diet and lost Fred, this team still remains strong but not nearly as threatening. Drew is still one of the top goalty players in Atlanta and with his familiar crew of Ali, Trapp, DWalk, Purdy, and Martha (fresh from having a baby!); they’ll have the routine down and will hold their own against most teams. Toss in some goalty perennials like Kelly and Barcko and there aren’t many weak links. Look for Martha to tear it up and make you wonder how she got away with a 3 rank, baby or no baby. EOS does not bode well for these friends, however, but half of them won’t care since they’ll be blissfully shredding the slopes.

Hogan’s Team: Byron, Celine, Hogan, Ledge, Church, LPS, Lee Berg, Eric Freedman; this sounds like a dynamite start to a Summer League core, maybe the new 420? This team has plenty of talent when it comes to Ultimate; but if we’re talking goalty, they’re going to encounter some growing pains before it all comes together. Church and LPS know exactly where to be and what throws to make, and Lee and Eric have the hang of the sport. But adding four athletic yet non-goalty folks into the mix will be interesting. It’s likely they’ll win the games they should but come up short in games in which they should be more competitive. Look for Church to make some spectacular goal catches on his tiptoes and the team to improve over the season. I think there’s a chance this team ends up with decent, fun season, but they’ll fall short of a bid for semis with the absence of Church and LPS at EOS.

Dan’s Team: Anchored by the velcro pair of Dan and Jeremy, this team has Thundercats plastered across it with something on the order of 7 alums (hoooo). Who knows if the Ultimate chemistry will translate or not, but with veterans such as Jeremy, Dan, and Grimes; top ladies in Christina and Kate; and athletic runners including Reeves, Freeman, and Andy Chung, it won’t matter--they’ll be tough to beat and will have few players to exploit. Look for Reeves, without much goalty experience, to find out he’s a beast in the goal and Christina to come up tired when the other ladies don’t show. If this team doesn’t make it to the finals of EOS, there’ll be some tears.

Lindsey’s Team: Having wrapped up some ringers on his core, Lindsey looks to turn things around from his disappointing season last year. Everyone knows Poole’s a dynamo, Liz will crush it, and Blackburn and Lindsey have solid goalty skills (honed on homemade pipes). But will their athletic guys such as David Anderson, Osher, and Steele feel at home on the goalty field and will the throws between this team connect? Poole’s attendance may play a big role on the win/loss column; but if he’s in attendance and they can get some chemistry going, they have a chance to win quite a few games. Look for Liz to dominate women and men alike and for Lynch to chuck ill-advised but occasionally successful two-pointer blades to an acrobatic Poole. This team should make semis at EOS if Poole and Liz are in attendance, but the magic 8 ball isn’t sure about finals.

Tara’s Team: Capitalizing on the core-busting, Tara picked up Fred and rolled the dice with a couple of unknown factors who could have big potential, a young and athletic Bambam and William Arnold who is supposedly a cohort of Zip’s from when Brown won College Nationals. Chris Stewart brings speed to the team, Tara’s not afraid to put up throws, and Leedle, Bryce, and Paul certainly know some goalty; but this team is going to find themselves outgunned against stiffer competition and missed connections are a strong likelihood without a clear goal thrower. Look to see this team’s unorthodox style come up with a few wins and for Bambam to jump a rank by the end of the season. Pool play will be the end of the road for this team at EOS.

Seto’s Team: Another Summer League reunion team of sorts, this crew might not be the flashiest but it’s surprisingly deep and should pull out quite a few victories over the season. When not dishing out witty barbs on the sidelines, Gill and Seto will be dishing the disc to one another on the field and finding surprising ways to score goals. They’ll have plenty of targets with guys like Gyasi, Brian, and Boezi and pretty much any of their women (Kathryn, Kerri, Maryann, and Dorsey), which are solid. The question mark is can their guys minimize threats like Drew, Goecks, Poole, and Fred when the game’s on the line. And without Seto, they’ll find it hard to score. Look for Brian Williams to steal discs as he perfects his poaching and Boezi to go berserk on someone during the course of the season. This team will make semis and could find themselves in finals at EOS.

Pete’s Team: This team’s got some goalty vets with Weinrobe, Kbrown, Scott Line, Jfish, and Pao, while Pete, Cooke, and Drew are more than capable players who can keep the disc moving on the field. Plus Rachel Scales is way better than she thinks. Oh, and they’ve got Frito who is certainly a great goalty player. The problem is, I doubt he shows up much. And even with him, this team is going to find themselves having a difficult time keeping pace with the more competitive and/or athletic teams despite their goalty know-how. Look to be surprised by some of the plays Kbrown makes and for Drew to show up to games just a little tipsy a couple of times. This team will struggle in pool play at EOS.

Cobb’s Team?: Question marks abound here with several unknown players topping this team. Word is Cobb could have some skills but is he even actually around and if he is, how rusty are his goalty talents? Yood’s a solid goalty player and has throws, Kwoo and Rachel will be strong on the field, and even though Abe hasn’t played yet, he’ll be a fast addition to the team. Byers will be more wily than you expect, but at the end of the day there aren’t going to be many wins for this team. Even if these top unknowns are speedy and possess disc skills, their lack of a goalty background will make it hard to capitalize. Look for...I don’t know what, maybe Kwoo and Byers to beat any takers in a shotgun contest? This team will be drinking at EOS.

Streets’ Team: Of the teams that were formed after registration, this is the most promising one. Kirby, Brad, and Taylor will be able to match up with the big threats from the more competitive teams and have solid disc skills. Jay and Tom will move the disc around well and body people successfully. Marcus will run you to death and come up with D’s. Then they’ve got great ladies in Holly and Natalie who will find the right spots to score and put up goal throws too. And Annalee’s a solid addition. Attendance could play a role in the fate of this team as well as finding a go-to goal thrower, but I think they’ve got a shot for some good cohesion. Look for Holly to set picks in the goal and Taylor to make some athletic plays. This teams got a shot at semis but will fall short of finals at EOS.

Eric’s Team: This team is pretty solid and athletic, even with Carpenter. They’ve got some good experience with Nix, Dawson, Lena, and Carpenter. Edge and Maddy also know their way pretty well around the goalty field. Players like Andy Collins, Tom Fritzsche, and Jon O’neill will fill in well and keep their men running. On the other hand, Nix and Dawson’s attendance could make or break this team on certain weekends, and everyone know’s Carpenter doesn’t play D (someone cue the shortest goalty game ever). Look for Nix’s fade away jumpshot to earn a few points and Maddy and Lena to be integral in moving the disc around. Semis-bound, this team could make finals at EOS if they don’t suffer additional losses beyond Maddy.



Teams

Drew Drew Levine
Drew Christopher Weems
Drew Ali Yasseri
Drew Matt Trapp
Drew Kelly Guthrie
Drew Jordan Silton
Drew David Walker
Drew Barckley Toole
Drew Jordan Dayan
Drew Chris Lee
Drew Kristen Purdy Benel
Drew Martha McLain
Drew Kallie Monroe


Hogan Byron Liu
Hogan Christopher Church
Hogan Hogan McHugh
Hogan Joey Guikema
Hogan Lee Berg
Hogan Ethan Edgerton
Hogan eric freedman
Hogan Kevin Neas
Hogan Charles King
Hogan Carter Holcombe
Hogan Lauren Stewart
Hogan Celine Sledge
Hogan Mariasha Shapiro
Hogan Kelsey Lawrence


Dan Jeremy Goecks
Dan Dan Konisky
Dan Richard Whitcomb
Dan Andy Grimes
Dan Matt Freeman
Dan Alan Reeves
Dan David Koch
Dan Andy Chung
Dan Doug Chamblin
Dan Justin Earnest
Dan Kate Wilson
Dan Christina Schmidt
Dan jessica wackerman


Lindsey Mark Poole
Lindsey David Anderson
Lindsey Hobart Yeager
Lindsey David Lindsey
Lindsey Chris Blackburn
Lindsey Adam Steele
Lindsey Brian Lynch
Lindsey Kris Osher
Lindsey Eric Kridle
Lindsey Chris Arbaugh
Lindsey Elisabeth Duffy
Lindsey Andrea Lansford
Lindsey Katherine Kearns


Tara Fred Sieling
Tara William Arnold
Tara Paul Brett
Tara Matthew Bergin
Tara David Leedle
Tara Bryce Farbstein
Tara Douglas Caruthers
Tara Dan Matisoff
Tara Chris Stewart
Tara maureen mccamley
Tara Tara Mostowy
Tara Dawn Hersey
Tara Jackie Podoll


Seto Marc Seto
Seto Brian Williams
Seto Gyasi Massey
Seto Gill Austin
Seto John Boezi
Seto Matt Sayad
Seto Jonathan Creighton
Seto Jesse Wheelus
Seto Barry Clark
Seto Dorsey Norwood
Seto Kerri Napoleon
Seto Maryann Rose
Seto Kathryn Dronzek


Pete Jonathan Monforti
Pete Sam Cooke
Pete Josh Weinrobe
Pete Kevin Brown
Pete David King
Pete Pete Holiday
Pete Andrew Carlsen
Pete Scott Line
Pete Benjamin Turner
Pete Pao Messina
Pete Rachel Scales
Pete Julia Fisher
Pete Christine Bowman


Cobb SooHyun Lee
Cobb Kevin Luptowski
Cobb Liang Chen
Cobb Abraham Ali
Cobb Josh Turner
Cobb Jon Cobb
Cobb Charlie Yood
Cobb Jeffrey Byron
Cobb Aaron Baker
Cobb Chris Bland
Cobb Katherine Wooten
Cobb Alison Goodrich
Cobb Rachael Aubert


Streets Taylor Nilan
Streets Brad Wagenaar
Streets Grant Kirby
Streets Brandon Long
Streets Jay Peake
Streets Marcus Wilson
Streets Tom Koh
Streets Tom Street
Streets tony koh
Streets Ben Huebner
Streets Holly Symolon
Streets Natalie Street
Streets Annalee Oppert


Eric Brian Edgerton
Eric Andrew Nix
Eric Christopher Dawson
Eric kevin seitz
Eric Eric Carpenter
Eric Andy Collins
Eric Scott Neas
Eric Tom Fritzsche
Eric Chris Sayad
Eric Jon ONeill
Eric Lena Ting
Eric Maddy Frey
Eric Margaret Bale
Eric Kristin Donovan