Hello everyone,
Jason Freedman, Oberlin '16 graduate and current (tournament only) coach of the team. Figured I’d my 2 cents to the discussion.
Oberlin guys:
1st team: Toby Harvey - been written about plenty on this thread already, but one of the highest ceiling players in the region; capable of massive skies, huge layouts, and a crazy arsenal of throws. Plus, I think Toby brings a great energy to the game where he is both highly competitive but highly spirited and just a wee-bit goofy. I think it makes him a fun matchup and a great teammate.
1st team: Jacob Arons - I think Jacob is perhaps the most valuable defender in the region. I refrain from “best”, because there are many ways to be a great defender and Jacob isn’t necessarily the “best” at all of them. But, I think he IS the best at shutting down the other team’s best handler. His ability to cover cuts and generate blocks in tight spaces and throughout multiple handler cuts and give-go’s is absurd. Furthermore, his mark is stifling and got at least 1 hand block in LITERALLY every game I coached him in this season. Not having him available to cover Calvin in the Haveford game was a devastating loss. Just for good measure, he is a skilled and athletic handler who anchored our D-line on our turn all season.
2nd team: Pete LaFreniere - a guy who is always undersold for our team. A phenomenal defender, consistently shutting down one of the other teams top matchups, and an incredibly speedy and consistent handler/flex. A critical component of our team in every phase of the game.
ALL-FRESHMEN TEAM: Julian Bregstone - if you don’t vote for this dude on the all-freshmen team you’re making a HUGE mistake. He was immediately one of the top 7 players on our team, skilled as a handler and thrower, capable of shutdown defense, generates massive layout blocks, and was one of our go-to deep threats with massive skies and great timing. At regionals, he was perhaps our best player for at least a couple games. If that weren’t enough, he was also our go-to puller all season - one of the only players I saw in the division capable of pulling effectively upwind AND pinning opposing teams in their own end zone consistently.
Other teams (biased towards the teams we faced - didn’t see any Penn. teams not at regionals; didn’t see Swarthmore, Shipp, or Susquehanna either):
Calvin Trisolini - Haveford. Wow, what a player. I’d vote him in for POTY. Dom and Jay from Franciscan certainly have a claim, and perhaps a Shipp player too, but no team’s success seemed to hinge upon a single player to the same extent as with Calvin. That’s not to say that there aren’t several key players on Haverford, but that IS to say that, if you take out Calvin, there’s NO chance the team performs to that level. He was incredibly effective in every phase of the game, and was throwing at a level unlike anyone else at the tournament.
Dom Schuster - Franciscan. We all know the story on Dom - when is this guy gonna graduate, am I right? One thing I really appreciate about Dom’s game is his timing - he has an incredible knack for patiently waiting out a couple critical moments each point to pounce. He conserves a remarkable amount of energy while still managing to shape each and every point he’s on the field… which is pretty much every point.
Jay R - Franciscan. What a freak of nature this guy is… he consistently makes catches that are simply baffling. Every game, Jay does something that makes his opponents just throw their hands in the air and say “how do I even defend that?” And you can’t force him under because he’s a monster with the disc in his hands, too.
Other’s deserving of nods (but I’m running out of steam for write ups):
Dan Lynch - Wooster.
James Pollard - Philla. Woah… this guy was lit. He had some of the craziest throws I’ve ever seen.
Peter Burt - Messiah. Phenomenal athlete with great throws and IQ.
Jake Lamier - Xavier.
Lucas Richie - Haveford.
JP Bort - Franciscan
Stephen Babcock - Franciscan
IDK who is good from Shipp but I have to imagine someone is deserving of an all-region nod.
For Coach of the year… Franciscan’s coach?? I know he’s been coaching there team for at least the past 2 seasons, and it’s hard to argue with the results. I don’t know his name or exactly his role with the team, but I’d love to hear a Franciscan player discuss him a bit more, if he’s deserving.
Other than that, Charles Hoppes always does a phenomenal job with Messiah. That program has incredible buy-in.