Category: 2011

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Jonathan Levy 2011

Name:
Jonathan Levy
*Photo by Margo Hasselman: power pool versus Sockeye in Prague at [Worlds] WUCC 2010, with thunderclouds fast approaching.

Nicknames:
Levy

Jersey #:
4

Height:
6′ 1.75″

Date of birth:
9 June 1984

Place of birth:
Philadelphia, PA

Current city of residence:
San Francisco, CA

Occupation:
Doctoral student in Neuroscience at UC San Francisco

College team(s):
Stanford-B (2003)
Stanford (2004-2006)

Former teams:
The Oaks (2005)
Revolver (2006 – present)

Accolades:
I went to school with Robbie Cahill.

How I came to join Revolver:
I wanted to keep playing Ultimate with my Stanford teammates after college. A bunch of us tried out for Revolver at Cal States 2006. I was really excited about the team, and during Saturday morning warmups I eagerly laid out for an errant disc, landing awkwardly on my right (throwing) hand. I heard a pop, it hurt a lot, and was very swollen. I was way too annoyed at myself and embarrassed to tell anyone, so I taped it up (to cut down on the swelling) and played lefty for the day. I got it looked at that night — broken 3rd metacarpal, out 8 weeks. I made the team despite the fact I was clearly pretty dumb.

Funniest moment or joke on Revolver:
Nationals 2008 — after we lost in the quarterfinals we had dinner at a small, family-friendly Italian place in Sarasota. As a large group, we were inevitably a bit louder than the other patrons would have preferred. To diffuse the situation, Chuck brought out his fiddle. He proceeded to walk over to each of the other tables, ask for their favorite song, and bang it out on the fiddle. The entire team would sing along, and he would move on to the next table. People either loved this or pretended to love it. After Chuck was done, Daryl tried to make things right by buying dinner for the entire restaurant.

Favorite game or tournament moment on Revolver:
1. Colorado Cup 2006 — My first full-length club tournament, coming off a broken hand (See Cal States story above). We brought about 16 guys and somehow pushed our way into finals, where we got absolutely crushed by a more experienced and talented Bravo team. Martin Cochran (then of Bravo) got an in-cut D on Robbie during that game and yelled “NOT TODAY!” as he swatted the disc away. I generally had no idea what was going on and loved every minute of it.
2. Worlds 2010 — Brian Garcia was unstoppable, Prague was amazing, and I got to watch Andrew Fleming do one of the most ridiculous things ever. (At no point did I think he had any shot at catching that disc).

Favorite game or tournament moment outside of Revolver:
1. College NW Regionals 2005 finals — Stanford vs. UBC. I knew I would draw Morgan Hibbert as my defensive assignment. I had guarded him before and he generally had done whatever he wanted. I was determined this time to make his life miserable. It was wet and rainy, and we spent two hours battling, taking turns getting layout D’s, point-blocks, and deep goals. When the game ended, I was completely exhausted and could barely shake his hand. Stanford eked out a win and the regional title.
2. Kaimana Klassik 2005 — Stanford vs. Voltron. Voltron was loaded with top-tier club players, including Chase and Nord. I was happy just to have the opportunity to play against them. It was the first time I’d played against the best atheletes in ultimate. Plus, after we lost we got to watch Volton in the finals against a very talented Nada Mooger team.

Favorite Ultimate player(s) in formative years:
1. Brandon Hyde — One of the team leaders at Stanford. He was hurt my entire rookie season but still made it to essentially every team event. Seeing him rehab for the entire year and watching it pay off as he returned for Regionals and Nationals was inspiring.
2. Nick Handler/James Herbert — The captains my rookie year at Stanford. They taught me an incredible amount about Ultimate. Both of them are fantastic players and leaders.
3. Jack Kuecker/Ben Dean — The other guys in my sophomore rookie class. During games, we generally spent a lot of time huddled together on the sideline trying to stay warm.

Favorite tournament:
Nationals. The emotions I feel during the moment of pure silence on the morning of the first day before the national anthem starts coming in over the tinny speakers are absolutely indescribable. Everything — a mix of pride, determination, desire, nervousness, and pure joy — comes rushing out. The emotional attachment and incomparable level of play make it my favorite tournament.

What makes ___ so dangerous?
I’m much quicker than I look.

Theme song:
I love music.

Pre-game ritual:
I start by wishing I could skip to the part of the day when I’m already warm. I struggle through plyos and by the time I make my first deep cut during warmups, I feel like my legs are ok. I grab someone to do some marking drills with me before the game starts, and I’m ready to go.

What I like to eat on Saturday night of a tournament:
What’s good.

If I didn’t play Ultimate, my main pastime outside of work would be:
That’s a great question.

Favorite sports team outside of Ultimate:
Philles and Eagles.

In terms of Kanners, how tan are you?
Kanner is 0.5 Levys.

Something unknown about me:
I really hate distance running. I’ve never run more than 2 miles.

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Sam Kanner 2011

Name:
Sam Kanner
*Photo by Cory Barlow: Nationals 2010 power pool versus Chain Lightning.

Nicknames:
Kanner

Jersey #
32

Height:
6’0″

Date of birth:
7 January 1988

Place of birth:
Worcester, MA

Current city of residence:
Oakland, CA

Occupation:
Graduate student at UC Berkeley in Mechanical Engineering/Ocean Engineering

College team(s):
Carleton CUT (2007-2010)
Cal-Berkeley UgMo (2011)

Former teams:
Blue Collar (2005-2006)
Sub Zero (2007-2008)
Bodhi (2009)
Revolver (2010-present)

Accolades:
2006 world champion, Team USA (Juniors)
2009 Central All-Region
2010 Central All-Region
2010 3rd in Callahan voting
2011 Southwest All-Region

How I came to join Revolver:
I loved/hated playing against a lot of the guys on the team in college. Then I moved to the Bay.

Funniest moment or joke on Revolver:
Having the waitress pick for credit card roulette at Sushi Totoro in Santa Cruz.

Favorite game or tournament moment on Revolver:
Beating Doublewide in semis at Nationals 2010.

Favorite game or tournament moment outside of Revolver:
1. Beating Stanford in semis at Nationals 2010.
2. Losing to Stanford in pool play at Nationals 2007.

Favorite Ultimate player(s) in formative years:
Will Neff — He was my high school captain and I played against him a lot in college. He’s a great guy with a hot sister.

Favorite tournament:
College Nationals

What makes ___ so dangerous?
I have sharp blades instead of bones.

Theme song:
Lil’ Wayne – A Milli

Pre-game ritual:
McDonald’s. Every time.

What I like to eat on Saturday night of a tournament:
Lots

If I didn’t play Ultimate, my main pastime outside of work would be:
Triathlons

Favorite sports team outside of Ultimate:
Boston Celtics

In terms of Kanners, how tan are you?
Exactly 1.0 units.

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Alex Ghesquiere 2011

Name:
Alex Ghesquiere
*Photo by Tish Fagin: power pool play versus Johnny Bravo at 2008 Nationals.

Jersey #
24

Height:
6’1″

Date of birth:
6 September 1977

Place of birth:
New Haven, CT

Current city of residence:
San Francisco, CA

Occupation:
Electrical Engineering Manager at Abbott Diabetes Care

College team(s):
Dartmouth (1996-2000)

Former teams:
Blackjack (1999-2000)
DoG (2001-2004)
Jam (2005)
Revolver (2008-2010)

Coaching resumÈ:
Cal-Berkeley (2006-2011)
Zeitgeist (2007)
Revolver (present)

How I came to join Revolver:
Great guys and a great ethic — seemed like it was the team I always wanted to play for. A teamwork-based mentality and an underdog spirit are a compelling combination.

Funniest moment or joke on Revolver:
Outside of Beau’s lifetime achievement award for breaking up Martin and his girlfriend, probably Chuck’s impression of Jit’s bedroom demeanor. Or better yet, the five huge layout D’s Beau got when motivated by making Martin chug a beer for each layout catch block.

Favorite game or tournament moment on Revolver:
The Japan semifinal at Worlds 2010 — really great opponent, good game plan, and great execution by Revolver to win.

Favorite game or tournament moment outside of Revolver:
1. Club Worlds 2002 in Hawaii was a great experience, despite losing in the final.
2. Winning Lei-Out in 2009 and Kaimana 2010 were personal highlights because those tournaments are so much fun.

Favorite Ultimate player(s) in formative years:
1. Billy Rodriguez for tactics, steady leadership, and experience.
2. Fortunat Mueller for intensity and competitiveness.

Favorite tournament:
Kaimana Klassik

What makes ___ so dangerous?
I drive too fast.

Theme song:
My favorite warm-up songs are:
1. AC/DC – Thunderstruck
2. Rammstein – Ich Will

Pre-game ritual:
As a player: take as much Advil as possible.
As a coach: prepare match-ups for defense, plan the first five points of D schemes, and watch for who’s getting hot on my team.

What I like to eat on Saturday night of a tournament:
Beer.

If I didn’t play Ultimate, my main pastime outside of work would be:
Coaching Ultimate. Or Settlers of Catan

Favorite sports team outside of Ultimate:
New England Patriots

In terms of Kanners, how tan are you?
0.001

Something unknown about me:
I once layed out over the side of a cliff into a boulder field to catch a disc. That was back when I was indestructible. Yes, there was such a time.

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Adam Simon 2011

Name:
Adam Simon
*Photo by ? (from ffindr.com).

Nicknames:
Chicken, A-Si

Jersey #
2

Height:
6’0″

Date of birth:
18 November 1982

Place of birth:
Atlanta, GA

Current city of residence:
San Francisco, CA

Occupation:
Physician Assistant

College team(s):
University of Colorado Mamabird (2002-2006)

Former teams:
Chain Lightning (2000)
Johnny Bravo (2004-2008)
Ironside (2009-2010)

Accolades:
National champion (juniors: 2001)
National champion (college: 2004)
Inaugural CU Mamabird scholarship recipient
Callahan top 5 (2006)
World Games alternate (2009)
World champion beach, Team USA open (2011)

How I came to join Revolver:
Many of my old teammates (Beau, Martin, Mac, Bart) are on the team. Martin encouraged me to make it to a tryout if there was any chance that I might take a job in the Bay Area. I came to tryouts in mid-May between interviews and thankfully played somewhat well.

Funniest moment or joke on Revolver:
Playing Haddaway “What is Love?” on the boombox and having all six guys on the insta-bench immediately start doing the sideways head-bob.Favorite game or tournament moment on Revolver:
Sam Kanner’s “Whooooooooooooo!!!!”

Favorite game or tournament moment outside of Revolver:
Teaching Tyler Grant to shuffle in Italy.

Favorite Ultimate player(s) in formative years:

To watch:
1. Jason Simpson. He had the most explosive and graceful layouts I’ve ever seen. It was watching him before I had even started playing that got me interested.
2. Steve Dugan and Jeff Cruickshank. Absolute maestros with the disc. The first guys that made me wonder: How do you stop him?
To play alongside:
1. Rebecca Simon: My twin sister. Blazing speed, incredible defensive ability and always an example of the humility that should be brought to the game.
2. Josh Ackley: Competition in general would be a different animal if everyone brought it like Richter.
3. Will Deaver: As a young player, I was fortunate enough to play with someone that did everything well and believed in training and practicing the right way. I was often encouraged to emulate Will because he was such a playmaker and yet so calm with the disc under pressure.
4. Jolian Dahl, Dylan Tunnell and Mac Taylor: It’s interesting to help and encourage the progress of developing players knowing that they will be WAY better than you are one day.
To learn from:
1. Michael Baccarini: I had never done anything as fun as Ultimate until I started playing. Credit all to Michael. There is a joy ever-present in the game he teaches and the game that is played at Paideia. I am grateful to have been part of that.

2. Catt Wilson: He taught me to expect more of myself because I was willing to work for it. Catt’s teams are blue collar, scrappy teams that fight for every inch, every cut, every point on the field. That is culture that remains with Mamabird, and it’s so much fun to follow each year.

Favorite tournament:
Club Worlds 2010 in Prague

What makes ___ so dangerous?
Jumpsoles and foam.

Theme song:
John Williams – Superman theme (The Planet Krypton)

Pre-game ritual:
JT in my ears and approximately 2.5 hours of energy.

What I like to eat on Saturday night of a tournament:
Chocolate milk and Endurox at the fields.

If I didn’t play Ultimate, my main pastime outside of work would be:
Music and skiing.

Favorite sports team outside of Ultimate:
Atlanta Braves, Hawks, and Falcons

In terms of Kanners, how tan are you?
0.7 in season, 0.2 during the winter.

Something unknown about me:
I wear a wristband on my left wrist for each gold medal I’ve won. I like being able to touch them when I get nervous before big games — to remind myself that I belong.