Crotalus try-outs on Quidditch Pitch

Charlotte Abbott

January 31, 2011 1:30 PM

Crotalus try-outs by Charlotte Abbott

Just before try-outs were due to start, Charlie had met Marissa on the pitch and grumbled about the lack of interest in the Crotalus team this year. She could sort of see the problem, as the House was mostly made up of socialites not at all concerned with playing sports, but they'd been able to fill the team somehow every year since she'd been playing. Admittedly it had occasionally involved coercing the first person who came into sight on to the team, but the last time Charie had done that it was a proven success: Nic had signed up again this year for the same position. He was going to be trained for it this time, too. That still didn't make a full team, though, and the only person without a position was a first year; the only position she needed to fill was Beater. Still, first year Beaters was probably better than no Beaters at all. Unless they hit their own team.

"Gather round, gather round," Charlotte called out as people arrived, some with brooms, others empty handed. "If you're not in Crotalus then beat it, otherwise make sure you're armed with a broom. If you need to borrow a school one, help yourself," she indicated the pile of school brooms she laid out in front of the stands - the best pick of a bad bunch but they would hopefully do their job and keep a rider in the air. Charlie's own broom was getting on a bit, the Bluebottle had definitely seen better days, but her limited holiday allowance wasn't going to scrape together enough to buy a new one, and asking her parents for anything magical was out of the question.

"Listen up," she said once everyone had a broom, and after a quick head count she realized there were actually more players here than had signed up. Maybe they would have a full team after all? Excellent! "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Charlie, and this," she indicated Marissa with a nod of her head, "is Marissa. places this year are semi-assigned, but we can be flexible." What she meant by this was that most people who'd signed up had played on the team last year and so their position was fairly safe, and she'd rather have inexperienced Beaters than inexperienced anything else. It also meant, however, that if Nic suddenly changed his mind and wanted to Beat, or Renée felt like giving Keeper a go instead, she would hear them out and see what they could do. "Marissa is Seeker, so that position is out, anything else is up for grabs." Is anyone needed Quidditch explaining she would do that, but she wasn't going to waste her breath unnecessarily.

"I can see we've got some folks here who didn't sign up. That's great, welcome to the try-out," she sounded cheerful as she said this, and anyone who'd bothered to count the number of names on the sign-up sheet would know why. "So we'll start by just going round, and you can tell me your name, what position you'd like and how much Quidditch experience you've had. Then we'll get up in the air and see what everyone's good at." This gave the opportunity for people to change their mind about positions if they wanted to. "So, I'll go first. I'm Charlie Abbott, this is my sixth year playing Chaser on the Crotalus team, my second year as Captain. I'm going to go ahead and play Chaser again," she added a smile with the last statement. "Might as well stick to what I'm good at. Okay, you go."

When everyone had introduced themselves, Charlie nodded in satisfaction. "that's great. So, newbies," she pointed at those who hadn't been on the team last year, "and Nic." She included the likely Keeper as an afterthought. "Go fly a couple of laps of the pitch so I can see how well you fly. Go round twice clockwise then come back here and we'll start on the real try-out." If one of them couldn't keep in a sgtraight line or didn't even make it back, at least she wouldn't have to waste her time with the second part of try-outs, but she really hoped that wasn't the case; they needed all the players they could get.

OOC: Your position on the team may depend on how well you post in try-outs. Stick to site rules, be creative, and have fun. There may be a second part of try-outs posted, depending on response to this first part.

0 Charlotte Abbott Crotalus try-outs 135 Charlotte Abbott 1 5

Nic Sawyer

January 31, 2011 2:28 PM

Keeping Keeper? by Nic Sawyer

Nic showed up to Try-Outs, not entirely sure what to make of it. He still was somewhat baffled by the fact that he'd signed up at all. More than once, he'd been tempted to scribble his name off the list after he'd put it up, but there hadn't even been a full seven names as of this morning, and he'd probably just be drafted again anyway. At least this way it looked like it had been his choice and he hadn't been strong-armed into it.

"Nic Sawyer," he introduced himself when his turn came around, raising one finger into the air as though responding to a formal role call and calling a teacher's attention to himself. He dropped it back down immediately and crossed his arms casually as he added, "I was the Keeper in the Final last term." He offered no further explanation of experience because that was the extent of it. "I'd like to be Keeper again."

Once introductions were over, he picked up one of the school brooms for the practice laps (he wasn't quite sure why he'd been singled out; he definitely counted as a newbie regardless of his showing at the last final), and launched into the air on the second try. Fortunately, he thought he disguised his first failed take off well enough that anybody watching might possibly mistake it for a preparatory bounce instead of a lift off that came back down.

He flew around the pitch in a clockwise fashion. He managed - with only a little difficulty - to run into neither other players or the walls. He even (he was pretty impressed by this, too) managed to maintain a fairly level altitude for the whole two laps. He wasn't fast by any stretch of the imagination, but he stayed on the broom and did not crash and he counted these things as successes. He'd pulled an E in Flying Lessons his first year and aside from that one game and two occasions that were best left unmentioned before starting at Sonora, that was where his flying experience started and ended.

He was pleased he remembered the mechanics from two years ago as well as he did. He landed with only a few stumbling steps when his toes hit ground a little sooner than he'd thought they should, but again managed to keep from looking completely incompetent.

Overall, he felt he did a good job flying today.

1 Nic Sawyer Keeping Keeper? 165 Nic Sawyer 0 5

Phoenix Lucore

February 03, 2011 8:59 PM

Just keeping up. by Phoenix Lucore

Despite of having a bit of a nontraditional background, Phoenix had grown up just like any other wizarding kid. His father had taken him to Quidditch games and he had gotten to play the occasional pick up game. At home, he had posters of his favorite players, one was even signed, and various other mementos. As eager to play as he was, he had no idea how he had missed the signup sheet. No, that wasn’t true. He knew exactly how he had missed it. There had been far too much excitement with classes and getting to know people and everything else that he had just not paid any attention to the bulletin board. He was regretting it now, because he was worried that he might not have any chance to make the team. Of course, he figured his best hope was an alternate seeing as he was only a first year and there were bound to be older, more experienced players.

Thankfully, walk-ons were allowed since that was what he was. He had dressed appropriately in a pair of old jeans and a red t-shirt. He figured showing a bit of house pride couldn’t hurt his chances. He wished he had a proper pair of gloves instead of the old worn ones he had and maybe a real broom too instead of having to make do with his father’s old one. Maybe if he made the team, he would get a new one. He hoped so, because the one he had didn’t go very fast compared to a lot of the newer models and he wanted to fly. Really, even if he wasn’t playing Quidditch, he wanted to be able to do that. He wanted to be able to come down to the pitch when there weren’t any practices or games and just let go. He wanted to soar just like his namesake.

When the obvious Captain called them to gather, Phoenix didn’t hesitate in the slightest to join in. He made a note of who she was and who the Assistant Captain was. Then, it was time to introduce themselves. The first person that spoke was a kid that looked, well, to be truthful, rather intimidating. Though, maybe that was just his perception since he was just a first year. Still, he was surprised to hear the guy, Nic Sawyer, say he had been the Keeper and wanted to keep that position. Phoenix thought he would certainly do wonderfully in a beater position, but then, maybe the guy didn’t have any aim in which case that would be an utter fail. Then, it seemed it was his turn. “Phoenix Lucore,” he stated in his easy manner. “I don’t really expect to make the team seeing as I’m a first year, but I’m willing to be an alternate to anything needed. I really just want to be a part of the team.”

His turn over, he made a point of trying to remember everyone that introduced themselves. He figured that if he was going to actually be apart of the team, in any capacity, it was important to keep someone’s name straight. Most people didn’t like when you called them by the wrong name. Not to mention, how hazardous it could be in an actual game. What if he called out Marissa’s name, but had meant Charlie? It could cost them an entire game, especially since Marissa was the Seeker. He knew from watching games that the Seeker carried the team more than anyone else. Not that the others couldn’t make the outcome different like when a game lasted for days, but quite a bit of weight was carried on their shoulders. Hopefully, he would never know that sort of responsibility. He felt like he would just be bogged down by it and unable to let go, which is what he needed to do.

Straddling the old broom, he didn’t even know what model it was since the name had been completely torn off, Phoenix kicked off into the air. The start was a little shaky, but then he was a little nervous. The Crotalus had never had to compete for anything before. Quidditch had always been about having fun, not showing what one had. It was all right, though. Once in the air, he found his rhythm easily enough. He had been born to fly. He just wished he had a broom that he could really do it on. He inhaled the fresh air into his lungs. This was what it was all about. Being free. Up here, nothing could touch him, nothing owned him. He was a Phoenix. Ignoring the others, he made his way around the pitch in the required two laps. Like a bird, the migration was instinctive, so much so that he was disappointed coming back down to the ground where undoubtedly more trials would await. At least, he had shown he wasn’t completely without.

0 Phoenix Lucore Just keeping up. 0 Phoenix Lucore 0 5