Trick or Beat Review

Author: Nicholas Love

Introduction
The college and club scene saw a lot of competitive action with the first mixed tournament of the year: Trick or Beat. For those who aren’t able to watch the film from the weekend, here’s my personal breakdown of the weekend and things to keep in mind for each team as they continue their seasons.

College

Blue Jay (4-0)

4-0*. I put an asterisk there because I think we all know that if Derek Dearking, who I believe is currently the best beater in college, wasn’t playing on Blue Jay, Illini surely would’ve won that game. That being said, Blue Jay still took care of business, and you have to give them credit for that. Currently, Blue Jay is ranked No. 8 in the country. I think that might be a little high because you don’t know what this team truly looks like if you take away their A-Team players. I’m not saying Blue Jay isn’t a great team, because they are, but I would like to see what they look like as Blue Jay rather than a combined Creighton Team. 

Illini (3-1)

3-1*. The talk of the town was the only official match of the weekend between preseason ranked No. 5 Illini and Blue Jay. Illini ended up dropping the game 110-130. Let me be clear in this, I believe Illini is a better complete team than Blue Jay, and I think that if a rematch happens at the Champaign National Qualifiers, they will beat Blue Jay handily. That being said, a loss is a loss, but I think that a loss to a mixed Creighton team within two goals tells you a lot more about Illini than it does Blue Jay. Following the loss, they dropped one spot in the FBN rankings to No. 6. Many voters probably took the loss and dropped them just as they did Texas State after their loss against SHSU (who they just put BTA to at Diamond Cup). But rankings are flexible, and a lot more change will come after Qualifiers, the results of which will carry more weight than an early loss against a mixed Creighton program.

Marquette (1-3)

MARQUETTTTTTTEEEEE. Looking at the Marquette program, I was super nervous about whether they were going to make it through the weekend. They were short rostered on a cold Saturday morning when their schedule involved going up against opponents like Mizzou, Illini and Blue Jay. That just sounded like injuries or at least a rough few hours. I remember finishing up a game myself and turning to the Marquette v. Mizzou field to see a Marquette player hold up the flag after catching and celebrating that they had won the game. If you had told me that Marquette was going to beat Mizzou at check-in, I would have called you crazy. Marquette got some grit in their program and a spirit that I believe is going to win them a lot of Quadball games in the future. Marquette played Purdue within five points and tied the combined Minnesota/CCC in quadball points. For the first action Marquette has had this season, I think a lot of teams need to take them seriously. Because if they can put the pieces together in the beating game and score more efficiently, they could sneak past a few teams. 

Minnesota/CCC (2-2)

Combined teams have started to pop up more and more over the past few years during the USQ season with college teams. Merged teams have the advantage of more players, reducing physical strain for those who would have to play full games otherwise. Minnesota and CCC came together for Trick or Beat and came out with two wins, their only losses to Blue Jay and Illini. The combined Minn/CCC team was able to grab two flags on the weekend, which shows promise as a flag-pulling team. If they can stay within range during Flag Runner On Pitch, they might be able to find some upsets. Whether or not the Minn/CCC team merges for more tournaments or the year as a whole, early performances at Trick or Beat lend to them being a tough opponent in the D2 bracket amongst other teams, especially those out of the Midwest.

Mizzou (1-3)

I had Mizzou as the fourth-best team in the country. Having spent the past two years playing Mizzou, the team has been dominant and extremely physical in their playstyle and are known for their ability to make players uncomfortable. Mizzou lost good players in the quadball and beating game from last year's roster and that took a lot off of the team. I think for the first time in a long time, Mizzou looked outclassed in many regards. I think you can look at Mizzou and say that losses to Blue Jay by 40 and then Illini by 70 might have just been rust and that those should've been closer games. After all, new players to a roster and their first taste of Quadball action can lead to a lack of cohesion to finish goals. What makes me question Mizzou is the loss to a Marquette team by 55. If you take out the catch, they still beat Mizzou by 20 quadball points, against a Marquette roster that had all of nine players, right after they had just played a quality game against Blue Jay. The team looked disheveled and had lots of communication issues and poor execution at the hoops. I think Mizzou has to get back in the lab because I know that they can be a good team, but it was a poor outing in Chicago.

Purdue (1-3)
Outside of this tournament, I think we need to tip our hats off to Purdue. Almost every weekend, I load up Quadball One and Purdue is playing someone. I absolutely love that they are getting players quality reps and time in the game to develop. The Purdue/Ball State merger has been very helpful for the program, allowing for more availability to play teams week in and week out. Scores from the weekend didn’t necessarily look pretty, with losses to Blue Jay, Minn/CCC and Illini and barely scraping by against Marquette, winning by five points. What I do like is that Purdue is consistent, almost averaging 100 quadball points a game. But 100 points and no catch isn’t going to win games. Finishing goals across the weekend was a struggle for Purdue, but I think as the season progresses, if they can execute on just two or three more of those opportunities before FROP without droughts of four minutes, catch a flag at a 33% clip, we’re looking at a Purdue team that could've made their record 2-2 or 3-2 on the weekend. 

Club

Boom Train / Trainwreck: (7-1)

The Boom Train Program is 7-0, their only loss coming to themselves in a scrimmage where Trainwreck won 175-160 in a golden goal scenario. Boom Train has adopted a two-team model to create both a competitive roster and allow for greater participation for players across both teams. For Trick or Beat, they modeled an X-Y format rather than an A-B team, so players were split evenly across both teams. What’s interesting is that both Boom Train and Trainwreck swept the weekend, most notably against Chaos Quadball, beating the team by 65 and 85 points. Boom Train’s program is scary heading into Qualifiers, with the program bent on winning another National Championship, with Trainwreck not too far behind. Qualifiers and out-of-region tournaments will tell where Boom Train/Trainwreck are on the national level, but anything outside of a Semi-Finalist finish this year would be a disappointing season.

Brew Cities: (1-3)

Brew Cities, aka Cow Team, aka Udder United, aka Pasture Patrol, aka Cattle Crew, aka Dairy Dynasty, aka Moo Moo Militia, had a pretty successful weekend in the grazing area. Brew Cities picked up a few players for unofficial play, most notably Max Mier, Riley Usami, Terry Carlson and Christian Barnes. The additions were sprinkled in the rotation with the regular Brew Cities squad, as play time was still distributed evenly. Brew Cities was able to pick up a win over Chicago United in an almost perfect post-20-minute period, securing three goals and a catch and conceding zero in under two minutes. They were also able to play Chaos within 40 points, providing some quality moments throughout the weekend. Safe to say that some players on Brew Cities will be moving back to their home club teams for official play, but cool to see that the Barnyard Bandits are willing to have you on the team if you’re willing to put on the Cow Print.

Chaos (2-2)

Chaos ended 2-2 on the weekend, with wins against Chicago United and Brew Cities and losses to the Boom Train Program. This was the first taste of action for the team that added some new pieces to the squad, most notably Byron Ng, Lauren Smith, Emma Vasquez, Gwen Pratt and Alex Tidler. Chaos is looking to make immediate impacts in both the beating and the chaser game. On paper, this team looks scary with their incredible depth. But the results for Trick or Beat didn’t show it. Two losses to Boom Train and Trainwreck, who split talent across both teams, as well as playing Brew Cities within four goals, is not the result you want. I doubt that when looking into the week Chaos was expecting these outcomes, but I think there were plenty of learning opportunities that players and coaches can look to for the future. The season is super young, and players are still learning to play with each other. I believe the nuances in communication are gonna be patched up before we see a stronger and more lethal Chaos at Qualifiers.

Chicago United (0-4)

Tough weekend for Chicago United, dropping all four of their games. Their closest game came against Brew Cities, with a 65 point loss. But most of Chicago’s games weren’t close, due to a lot of basic communication and catching problems preventing them from finishing at the hoops. They were also the most penalized team, especially when it came to physical contact cards, which cost them a lot of goals. I think Chicago can and will be a sound team; they just have to clean up their play to get these games a lot closer.