SSL – Captain’s Chat

Before the conclusion of the Scottish Super League this Sunday, we caught up with the female captains to get their overall impressions of the SSL and their experiences playing and managing teams.

Andreea Gradinaru: Clyde

I think the league has been a big success for the players. Each game we’ve played has been very competitive and the teams are pretty evenly matched, making for good, close games. Team selection was REALLY tough because we got so much interest from players across many clubs which bodes well for the future!

Despite my team never having played together we manage to find chemistry on the pitch and make it work for us. I love that this league has provided us with an opportunity for high level frisbee during the off season and I would really like to see this continue through the years.

Audrey Melançon-Fournier: Lomond

SSL has been very interesting. It has been a fantastic opportunity to play with and against great players from all over Scotland. We’ve also managed to showcase newer talent that isn’t as well-known and established on the Scottish ultimate scene, but who prove the new generation is really promising.

I don’t think it’s a secret just how much I love big pitch indoors, and I hope the games have been a lot of fun for all the players. Obviously I’m not going to pretend there hasn’t been any frustration, given that Lomond lost both games by a single point. We’ve been at our best when doing the basic stuff right, we’ve looked silly when trying to be too clever and play faster than what we were ready for as a team.

What SSL has really highlighted is how important playing as a team is. You can take a group of superstars, but if you don’t play as a team, it’s not going to be enough to win you a game against other superstars. I’m feeling hopeful for this Sunday, we have been getting better working together and have what it takes to give the top team in the league a good game.

Elise Camilleri-Brennan: Nevis

I’ve had a great time captaining Nevis for the first-ever SSL. Prior to the draft, Joel and I meticuously scoured over the available players and came away from it feeling confident in our team. Despite our current standing, we’re proud of how the team has performed. We’ve suffered due to injury, specifically Joel’s unfortunate shoulder injury, but also with player availability not being entirely accurate… However, our reserve players are solid, so we’ve managed to get by and still do well.

Iain Lindsay and David Steedman helped carry the team, along with Karina Aitken, on our first outing. With all 3 players absent for the second game, the team struggled a bit, however we did have Sam Finlay make his debut, plus pick-up Ali McNeil, which was of great benefit. James Taylor has been a trusty defender, using his insane speed to our benefit. Izzy Retout has proven her end-zone skying abilities, and Katie Trim’s recent GBu24 experience is defnitiely a bonus.

Whilst I’m not surprised, it’s been tough to build team-chemistry, especially with each session being so spaced apart. It would be interesting to see whether a 5-a side format would assist with this issue, or even having 4 games instead of 3. All in all, SSL has been a great experience, not only for some high level indoors during the off-season, but also to meet other ultimate players across Scotland and scope out local talent! Bring on the next!

Harriet Hopper: Skye

I didn’t really know what to expect going into the Super League. I’d almost not signed up at all as Ravenscraig is a bit of a drive from my house now, so to be asked to Captain a team was a pleasant surprise, and I made sure to agree before the mistake was realised and the offer retracted 😊.

Team selections were equal parts pleasing and frustrating. On the one hand, we had a large number of talented sign-ups, which was a great reflection of the depth of the Scottish talent pool, but on the other hand, how do you only select 12 people from that? Greg and I had no prior experience of working with each other either but in the end, we got there and I’m very proud of Team Skye and the results we have achieved.

I have enjoyed playing in the Super League as I feel it has provided games of high-level ultimate and a chance to play with different people. Bringing the outdoors game indoors is also fantastic because suddenly so many different throws are back on the table, and I just love running on astro.

If I did anything differently for Super League 2 I think it might be to try shorter games, and more of them. I’d also love to see Super Leagues being hosted in other locations in Scotland.