YO Prophets! To those of you I know and to those I have not yet met... Here are 10 ideas for you to consider before your journey to EUC.
1. You are very very lucky. You get to play Ultimate in an international tournament with an amazing group of young talented players, the Prophets. Do not forget how fortunate you are.
2. Live every second there like it is your last tournament ever. You do not know if you will ever get to do such a thing again. I mean, I hope you will have many opportunties, but you might not. So when you are off the field, reach out to others from all countries, introduce yourselves, make new friends, and invite your favorite people to come visit Israel.
3. The same principle (#2) goes for when you are on the field. You are not just playing for yourself, you are playing for the guys who could not make it this time, for the guys who practiced with you, for the guys who will go in
the future, for your families, for your friends, and for Israel. So every time you step on the field, give it everything you have, every time. Anything less is not ok. F*#k the score, just make sure you come off the field with nothing left.
4. Win the Spirit award. Celebrate great plays on both sides, watch your mouths, make only good calls. Take a call back if you question your own call. Give other players the benefit of the doubt. Dance and sing and bring some wild Israeli Ruach to stuffy old England!
5. The best Ultimate teams in the world have tons of brains, balls, and heart. So play your hardest, your smartest, your toughest, and your most emotional. Do not ever give up!!!!! EVER!!!
6. The Prophets are still an underdog team. You are mostly younger and and this level of competition can be intimidating. As an underdog, the good news is that no one expects much. So surprise them! In a few years, you will not have this luxury...
7. There is only one way to measure your success: IMPROVEMENT. I hope you win some games, score lots of points. But mostly I hope you just get much better as a team. Improvement happens at tournements like it's on steroids.
8. Listen to your coaches and do everything they say, even when you are sick of listening to their hairy, fat, slow asses javascript:emoticon(':lol:'). They are great guys who are watching the big picture. Great teams know when to shut up and listen.
9. Make everything you do fun. Do lots of stuff together as a team. Include everyone. Be ONE.
10. Take it all in. Pictures, video, memories. You live only once.
Your friend and Prophet fan,
David Barkan
10.