Fall 2021 draft recap

As usual, we had lots of players continue from summer season into fall, and we added some new players too. Now that we are a DiscNY affiliate and we also have to pay for the field on a per-night basis with the town rec, we require separate registration for the fall season. Player DiscNY and USAU affiliate memberships carry over, and doing some math the league was able to discount the fall fee pretty heavily for continuing summer players. DiscNY went so far as to say our league is insanely cheap compared to others in the region. We may need to raise prices in the future, but I’m committed to keeping play as affordable as possible.

Co-captains for four teams met with me on Thursday, August 26th, to draft teams for the fall season. Before the draft began, we discussed gender equity, fair play, and our collective intent to make this season as equitable, safe and fun as possible. Here’s a quick team overview:

Kraken (Purple team)

Led by Vicky and Mufasa, this squad includes a number of past and present GUNX players, including Vicky herself, Dillon, Gabe, Liam and Wisconsin. Luisa and Abby from Gridlock are fantastic players with high-level club and pro experience, but uncertain attendance. Tyler and Peri are league veterans who played at Oswego. The roster is rounded out with college and rec-level players and should be fun to watch. Release the Kraken!

Black Pearl (Black team)

Caro and Jimi managed to draft many of the same Black Pearl players that won the league’s 2019 fall championship. Dr. B., Dino, Zay, Tom Santiago, and “Salty Keith” Mancini all return, along with some strong additions. This is the smallest roster, but is predicted to have reliable attendance. Yar, they could keelhaul the league for a repeat.

Mystery Inc. (Green team)

Led by Jane L and Bri G, this squad includes quite a few league all-stars, including Kate, Bobby, Gary, Cody, and this summer’s men’s Callahan winner, Walter. They also include several former Cortland players and several WUDI players who are making the trek north to the Kiln for fall season. I’m excited to see this team come together. Zoinks! Maybe we’ll also see Candido in a Scooby suit.

White team

Led by Marisa and Nola, this squad made the most of Nola’s connections at Vassar, with both Boxing Nuns and Swinging Monks players on the roster. They also obtained the services of perennial all-star and Funk co-captain Keegs, and Funkers Noam and Elias, who played together at PDS before they went on to Oberlin and Carleton. I am very interested to see what team name they ultimately come up with. I can’t imagine Marisa co-captaining a team without a name.

All four teams include at least one player from each of this summer’s four teams, which was cool to see. The Hudson Valley Funk, fresh off their fantastic performance at The Incident this past weekend, is also well-represented, with captains from three of the four teams and multiple other players suiting up in our league. (Former Funkers Caro and Jimi remain big fans of the team too.)

See you at the Kiln!
-Jim Ground,
Fish commish and resident caller of ups