💫 The decade of GYRO

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter that makes you feel part of Team Innova - The Choice of Champions.Email Read Time: 5 Minutes & 44 Seconds

If you missed last week, then I got you: A Boring Off-Season

Let’s get into it.

Shelly Sharpe Memorial (A-Tier)

PREVIEW (1/20-22)

It’s time for the 1st Pro A-Tier of the year, and what better place than sunny Scottsdale, AZ. It’s the historic off-season event where locals and snow birders knock the rust off and test new plastic.

With 3 rounds at Vista Del Camino, pros get to warm up for 1/2 of The Memorial Championship (3/2-5) at this very public park. Pretend it isn’t freezing by you, and watch as pros blast water carries and raised baskets.

LAST YEAR RECAP

Leading all weekend, Anthony Barela won by 1 over Cale Leiviska who almost caught up with a -13 final round (1081 rated). AB made his home state proud and became a 2x Shelly Sharpe champ.

PLAYER TO WATCH

There will be a great showing of touring pros: Barela, Gibson, Leiviska, Hammes, Gossage, Marwede, Ulibarri, Samson, Jen Allen, & Maria Oliva.

But the person to watch is AB. On The Trevor Staub Show, he admitted that his DG career was stunted by his decision to attend Arizona State University.

But due to Covid, he hit the Tour more and took classes online. Slated to graduate in 2024, he’s not rushing his business degree and will tour full-time.

His competitive spirit is amped to the max with his new Discraft sponsorship. So defending his title should be no problem with his newest weapons: the Buzzz, Nuke, & retooled Venom.

Thanks to Terry Miller “The DG Guy”, we’ll be treated to post coverage on his YouTube channel. He makes the trip every year and brings joy to our winter-filled lives.

Contract Season is Over

SIMON LIZOTTE

Not happy with the “leaky leakers”, Lizotte’s worst-kept secret is finally out. The 30-year-old signed a life-changing contract of 10 years with MVP Disc Sports.

You’ve all heard the details ($10M/10yr, $100k bonus, $1M buyout), but have you heard its origin story? Per The Upshot, here’s what happened in 2022:

• April: Lizotte signed an unannounced 4-year deal (thru 2026) with Discmania

• Oct: Steve Dodge brought Lizotte to a lunch meeting with MVP’s Team Manager - Andrew Johnson. They discussed crazy ideas and planted the idea of a big switch

• Nov: Lizotte received counteroffers from Discmania, but couldn’t shake his desire for something new with the right brand. The deal was finalized after weeks of lawyers

Lizotte is riding the high of the honeymoon phase and plans to train harder than ever. As for his sponsor, MVP has gone from Lone Star Disc status to the big leagues since their start in 2010.

ALL MOVES MADE

• Paige Shue - From DD and new mother to Discraft (1yr) and road warrior

• Austin Hannum & Austin Turner join DGA (1yr)

• Valerie Mandujano (2yrs, 🆕At least missing All-Stars & LVC due to a Gr3 ankle sprain - hear her story here), Anthony Barela (2yrs), Holyn Handley (1yr) - Discraft’s Elite Team

• Mason Ford - From DD to Mint Discs (2yrs)

• Gavin Babcock - From Prodigy to Discmania (1yr)

• Maria Oliva, Eric Oakley, James Proctor, Erika Stinchcomb, Scott Withers, Grady Shue - To different variations of Clash Discs, TSA, & Infinite

• Lisa Fajkus, Robert Burridge, Deann & AJ Carey - From Innova to LSD

• Stacie Rawnsley - From Innova to Kastaplast (1yr, mixed bag)

• Thomas Gilbert - From Prodigy to TSA (2yrs, mixed bag)

• Emerson Keith - From Lat64 to LSD (1yr)

• Nikko Locastro - Signed with LSD (multi-year)

Extensions not included, cause nobody has time for that. If your favorite player is missing, then they’re still throwing the same discs.

Fresh Plastic

Sponsored by Powergrip USA… A PRETTY GOOD disc golf shop.

👉 Powergrip’s Highlight: “GYRO is great” Well wouldn’t ya know… Anything MVP is selling like hot cakes. We’ve all seen his 1st vlog and got a glimpse of his starting bag.

He had your classics like the Envy, Crave, and Volt, but there were a few lesser known molds getting a try out. Here are some to help you join Simon’s journey from Discmaniac to Gyronaut:

• Axiom Proxy (3|5|-1|0.5) - He uses this US brother to the Envy for straight putter shots. Grab it in Electron plastic to match his arm speed to yours

• Streamline Runway (5|4|0|3.5) - Workable OS midrange that replaces Discmania’s MD5

• Axiom Mayhem (13|5|-1.5|2) - Replaces Simon’s Eagle-faced DD3 for FHs and distance BH rollers. Perfect for slower arms that want Octane distance

Random Triples

1️⃣ With winter comes the constant posts for DG-specific training and practice. There’s no better time to find that secret program that’ll add another 100ft to your throw.

On Overthrow DG, Eric Oakley discussed one tip he got from Sexton: Throwing far requires one moment of explosion. It’s preceded by controlled, smooth movement and followed by control after.

This sent me down a Reddit rabbit hole that led me to Bill Miller who coaches baseball, golf, and javelin athletes on rotational power/speed. For one exercise, he has athletes smash 2-4lb handled medicine balls.

It’s no secret a baseball swing draws similar mechanics to a BH. But before destroying walls, Josh from Overthrow stresses that increasing arm speed comes only after getting your form serviceable.

2️⃣ With the Pro Tour 5 weeks away, new fantasy disc golf sites are popping up. There’s imitators and wannabes, but there’s only one SkipAce - fantasy DG by Jonny V.

Back in 2001, the SmashBoxxTV co-owner concepted his idea and eventually brought SkipAce to its current state. With 4 league formats, there’s something for everyone.

New features to its season-long draft format:

• IR spot: Locks a player for 3 weeks to free up space

• FPO/MPO designated positions: Like roster positions in other sports

• Tour selection: DGPT Elite, Silver, Euro PT, Prodigy, or combo

• Weekly waiver options: Free-for-all, Auction, Record, Rolling

For $10, you can set up a new league for all your buddies. Registration will open on Tuesday (1/24).

3️⃣ On the Basket Case podcast, Robert Burridge shared a mental tip for when you make a dumb mistake.

Meme of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and smash trees this weekend!

- Charlie

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