Sorry, you're an absolute coward.
My name's Dale Walker - I was the on-pitch captain at the time of the game in
question, and I am already pretty gutted that I couldn't help keep my team
under control. The last thing I need after such an emotional rollercoaster is
for some anonymous perspective to slate me, my coach and my teammates for a
performance that has already been discussed at great length and resolved. We
had already had a bad tempered match against the Austrians on the Sunday, and
this spilled over into this game regrettably. While both teams might point the
finger at the other a little, both teams have accepted that more could have
been done by both teams to make light of the situation. This was determined in
the 4 hour EFDF meeting that Alia has mentioned, where we presented our case
against the decision.
As a member of the squad (excuse me for suggesting that you are not a member of
the squad, and therefore were not part of the match), I was along with the rest
of the squad subjected to a level of abuse I have never witnessed or
experienced in a game of Ultimate before. This was simply due to a clash of
cultures in terms of how we believe Ultimate should be played, something
neither team could deal with. I spoke to the captain of Austria after the
tournament and we were both pretty devastated that the game could not have been
sorted out more amicably. At the end of the day, you can accuse our squad of
being un-spirited, but we have made our peace with the Austrians who, despite
obviously being bitter about the result, will accept I feel that they had their
part to play also. You can judge a game from a third person perspective as much
as you like, but as Zidane couldn't keep his cool when Materazzi insulted his
family, so Josh couldn't keep his when 'threatened' by an Austrian player. I'll
never know what was said, but I know that Josh is only 17 years old and was
simply the unfortunate player who couldn't keep their cool for just a bit
longer.
With regards to Nick Sampson, I must apologise and hold my hands up. For a
qualified teacher to be unqualified to run a junior sports team is a sin. Nick
Sampson is the most enthusiastic, dedicated coach that GB Junior Open has
probably ever had, and having played at some of the highest levels of British
and European Ultimate, has indoctrinated the team with the culture of playing
hard and playing fair. We believed that in the game we were playing hard but
fair, and so did he. His conduct was exemplary throughout the tournament and
often sidelined players who he felt were not playing within the spirit of the
game.
I'm sorry to spam, and I won't reply again, I'm just irate that when this had
already been blown out of proportion that our name would be slated to the UK
Ultimate community.
Dale Walker
GB Junior Open #4
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