Coach’s Reflections on Tryout #3

The fun continued this past weekend with our third open tryouts. This time, being indoors, things were a bit different, but the energy and excitement were still there. One of the highlights of the evening was being able to introduce two longtime NYC players, Annie Chanler and Bronwyn Ryan.

One of our goals for NYGL is to connect with the history of NYC women’s team and build on it in a new and positive way, and both Annie and Bronwyn were members of the first women’s team in NYC, Survival. In an email after the tryout, Annie said, "So exhilarating to be in that dome last night! You guys ran an amazing tryout. We overheard several players talk about how much fun they were having. Thanks for including Bronwyn and I. Honored to be part of the ground Gridlock is standing on.” Bronwyn added, “Ultimate is the single most defining part of who I am. Though I no longer play- I spent 1984 to about 2001 playing somewhat competitively and the most important folks in my life are from playing ultimate. Watching those players on Saturday night made me so excited for their collective futures and the community they are already a part of. I heard such passion for others as they scrimmaged. They are all competing for a few coveted spots and yet they endlessly cheered friends and teammates to play hard and excel.”

I couldn’t agree more with those sentiments. I loved seeing how much SOTG was a part of all the tryouts and how everyone stayed positive, energetic and supportive.

We now move on to phase two of the rostering process. We are cutting the field down by half, which in and of itself is a painful process! We will now take the 65+ people remaining and fill a 25 person squad. It will be tough! I’m not sure how we are going to do it. But one thing is for sure - NYGL is going to be taking this league by storm. Let’s go!

~Eileen Murray (she/her/hers)