Competing in the off season grants sports teams the opportunity to experiment with game plans, examine how players fit into different positions and give prospects a chance to show what they have to offer. Oklahoma Christian University Eagles Ultimate used one of these unsanctioned tournaments in Norman, Oklahoma, to see what five high school prospects could do when playing on the same team.
In addition to playing with high school prospects, the Eagles were split into an A and B team to test legs and chemistry. Head coach Garrett Taylor explained the thought process behind this decision.
“We brought two teams to the tournament, so some guys had to step up and fill roles they are not used to being in,” Coach Taylor said. “It was a great bonus for us, and the high school players filled in nicely. They were a pretty impressive group.”
The high school prospects consisted of four Texans and one Kansan. Coach Taylor shared how they found these athletes.
“Four of them played on the same youth club from Dallas; I actually got the chance to play them a couple times,” Coach Taylor said. “The fifth ran into Thomas Preston, one of our players, at a tournament. That connection led to him joining us at a couple of practices. It made sense for all of them to join us at this more local tournament.”
The Eagles A team lost the first round of pool play to a team of Oklahoma City club players. Junior captain Sammy Roberts spoke on how minimal energy played a role in the loss.
“I think we were still getting used to going split squad during the first game,” Roberts said. “It was cold in the morning, and we just did not have the right energy. We also lacked focus and dropped down a lot of passes.”
Roberts went on to discuss how that impacted the team in such a negative way.
“I hate to say it but this game comes down to throws and catches,” Roberts said. “And the other team completed more passes. I’m not pleased with the performance, but I think it definitely helped us get our focus back together.”
The loss may have set the A team back, but the Eagles did not let that hold them back, outsourcing their other three opponents 39-2.
“Everyone played well,” Coach Taylor said. “Everyone wanted to rise to the challenge, and I think they did just that.”
While Coach Taylor led the A team, The B team, nicknamed the Beagles, was left under the command of Couper Kerns, a sophomore at Oklahoma Christian. Kern’s squad played tough opponents that kept it close in some games, but also went 4-0 on Saturday.
“I didn’t really put out any real expectations for the weekend,” Kerns said. “I was excited and nervous at the same time, so it just came down to focusing on what needed to be done.”
At first, only the high schoolers changed between the A and B teams so they could play with everyone. But after a couple of injuries and fatigue set in, some older faces had to cross-over to help with depth and stamina.
“Legs and energy went hand in hand,” Kerns said. “We burned through our legs pretty quick, and then everyone got super tired. That’s when we really started struggling.”
Despite fighting against another team starring club players from Oklahoma City, the Beagles went on to prevail after some support from the A team.
“TJ and Krehbiel helped us out a lot,” Kerns said. “Seeing them go out and bring back energy so we could grind out a win had to be a highlight of the weekend.”
While the Eagles showed potential across the two teams, they were unstoppable once combined. Putting the teams together and playing at full strength in the semifinals and finals allowed both to win and get revenge on their earlier loss. Captain Emmanual Kameri spoke about the team’s performance as a whole.
“The whole team played great,” Kameri said. “The high schoolers especially showed they were young and athletic with great throws. They lack certain pieces we look for, but with our coaching system, I feel they’re going to get everything they need to be great.”
Captain Ryan Loui-Ying also spoke on the high school prospect’s performance, highlighting their ability to adjust to the Eagles’ systems.
“They all knew what they were doing,” Loui-Ying said. “We put them in our different offensive and defensive sets and they figured out what to do pretty quickly.”
The next Eagles’ Ultimate tournament is on Oct. 28-29 in Columbia, Missouri. The tournament, named MLC, is one of the largest collegiate tournaments in the nation during the fall and is expected to include top teams from both Division-III ultimate where the Eagle’s play and the larger Division-I.
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