By Jam Time (4:37er) on Friday the rainy weather was gone. The warm feelings from the Jams and after-party at Chez Meier lingered all day. I got to Sheep’s Meadow at the same moment as TedShred, so we walked in together. We talked about how lucky we are to be able to draw so many folks to Jam with the Tribe, and chuckled at our good fortune.

Sir Tedley could not even put his bag down before receiving a command from The Oracle. Joey, Bill W.  and Laerbs had warmed up with a 100 mold, and were beginning to Jam in earnest, requiring his immediate attention. The level of play was insane, well beyond the standard Eleven that gets tossed around for the great Jams. Bill and Larry play off of each other brilliantly, and Joey always knows where the disc should be in the Flow. Add in Ted’s boundless joyful noise energy and unique talents, and you have not simply Jam of the Day honors, but one for the ages.

Another serious combination was Sleepy Jammer, Fresh, Rob. I am not sure how Phillip became known as Sleepy, but he was very much awake while here. He is smooth, has plenty of moves, and positions himself to maintain the Flow. Dougie is certainly Fresh, and Rob was ripping it up. These spontaneous combinations of Jammers in a given moment in time really make our sport special.

I was very luck myself twice. First, I got Bill and Anton, which was a revelation. Watching Anton play is great, but playing with him was just amazing. Great disc knowledge, tremendous strength, and a deft touch…WOW! As we got hot, things got pretty zany. We were having so much fun that Joey said “Ahm Comin’ Down!” followed shortly thereafter by J-Will. After breaking for a bit, I was pleasantly surprised when Bill W. joined Ben Heaver, and I for some of that long tossing that I love so well. Suffice to say that his throws at distance are as sharp as the rest of his game. Ivan TJH jumped in with us, and it became a 70 yard jam session.

The rest of the Jams for the day included:

Fresh, Sleepy, Stefan, + Alan C.; Heather, Sue; Richie, Ted, Stefan; Ivan, Trevor, Kevin; and Daniel Fresh were the Last Jam.

Jam Camp

I took the train out to Morristown, NJ and was walking to the Neighborhood House when a car pulls up next to me honking it’s horn. I was prepared to say “Man, where’s the A-Train?” when I saw it was The Reliable One, with Bo, Christina, Anton, and Lizzy in tow. Nice timing!

Jersey Jam Camp, the first East coast edition of the Spread the Jam initiative created by Tita Ugalde (RESPECT!), was ably hosted by the Velasquez Brothers. The attendees were a cross-section of young folks and Old Timers. The day was filled with teaching and learning of new techniques, catching up with friends, and meeting folks who help lay the foundation for the sport. It was held indoors due to post-Hurricane Irene damage, but that meant folks had the chance to sink baskets with the disc full court, play Speed-Flow, and a variety of great activities

Late in the day, Jens arranged for a Freestyle a demonstration at the 4th Annual Morristown Green off the Green Festival. Bill and Laerbs were up first, followed by Bethany Sanchez and me, Young Daniel and Young James, Roger and Bradford T., and closed by Anton and Bo. We then retired to for an evening of BYOB wine and excellent food at a local establishment, which featured an auction of disc paraphernalia to benefit Neighborhood House. S’Nice!

A*Sunday

Sunday was an Early-Earl day for me. Emma came out and we Jammed hard. She is a ferocious player, bearing scars from Ultimate and getting after it like nobody’s business. Roger, Barak, Chuck, JB, Doug, Jill, BenJAMin, and Clare, were out. Bill W. Sue, and Anton made late post-Jam Camp appearances, and TedShred showed up as evening approached.

Jams: Barak/Fresh/Dan; Bill/Roger/Sue; Barak/Bill/Fresh/Sue; Paul/Bill/Roger/Sue.

The Jam of the Day came after I left. I know something special was brewing, but Daddy Duty called. Young Daniel shared the following on FB:

“I had a killer 6 person jam today – Joey, Bill Wright, Doug E. Fresh, Anton, Ted and me… a lot of good stuff happened.”

Bill followed up by saying: “Theme Time Jam! There were themes that developed during each possession. Like a pinball co-op, or everything stayed UD. We were laughing about it [later].”

There were many wonderful Jams right up through Wednesday when the last of our German brethren left. It was an incredible experience for all of us. Thanks for all that made the trip to NYC from far and wide. The Board is already talking about the 2012 A*T season. We look forward to having YOU come down!

All the Best,

TP-TJH