Seeking first string! [Seeker drills] on Quidditch Pitch

The Coach

June 26, 2023 4:21 AM

Quidditch Try Outs by The Coach

“Alrighty, welcome or welcome back.” The coach gave a warm smile to the assembled students, hoping to quell any nerves. Sonora’s team was well-respected enough in their own division, but they were very much a big fish in a small pond. As such, the coach expected the players to take it seriously and do their best to improve, but more important was a genuine love of the game, and the idea that stretching their own personal best was always good enough. “First up, can we have a round of applause for your new Quidditch Captain, Oz Spellman?

“We’re going to run tryouts a little differently today. We have a lot of skill and enthusiasm on the pitch, and I love that. We’ve been getting stronger and stronger in terms of numbers too. But we could always do with more.” It was a concern, for example, to see their first string Beaters graduating out with only one tentative replacement. Even if there was a keen first year, that was a very small amount of overlap, and it meant the balance of the team swung dramatically from hugely experienced players to very green ones. It would be better if replacements could be mentored for a couple of years and be solid by the time they had to take over. Not that the coach would use this example out loud, not wanting to deter any potential Beaters or make them feel undervalued.

“You will each come one by one to me to do a drill of your skills, trying out for whichever position or positions you are interested in. Aside from that, you will spend time in a group with the other players from your desired position. If you’re trying for more than one thing, go to the one you want most, or if you’re really not sure, the one that’s got the fewest people. First up, older players are responsible for running a drill for the younger players.” That was fairly standard, and was a way a lot of the practices operated. “You’ll also be working as a group to work out a drill for someone who is brand new to the sport. Let’s say you were meeting up with a friend in the sports room… How could you show them that Quidditch is fun and accessible? This isn’t entirely hypothetical… I’m not saying to pester people to death, but having casual pick-up type games with a friend can be a really good way to get them into things.

“Alright, anyone dying to go first and get it over with? Otherwise you can just come up in alphabetical order.”

OOC: I figured this would be a fun way to cover tryouts but also have some team interaction. Feel free to post to any part.

Subthreads:

Whoo!! [Beater Drills] by Billy Cobb with Cole Pierce, Violet Calhoun

Seeking first string! [Seeker drills] by Alexander Pierce

No one tell my moms. [Chaser tryouts] by Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith with Xarryn Bavol, Fortune Ardovini

Doing my One-On-One with the Coach to get a reserve spot on the team by Hansel Hexenmeister

13 The Coach Quidditch Try Outs 0 The Coach 1 5

Billy Cobb

June 27, 2023 9:19 PM

Whoo!! [Beater Drills] by Billy Cobb

After making sure Rey was alright and would be for a bit, Billy made his way on to the pitch as early as he could for Quidditch try-outs. He had one more year of this and he was going to make the most of it. As the other students gathered, he cheered and welcomed them until the Coach started.

"WHOOO!!!" Billy shouted at the top of his lungs while clapping and grinning like mad for Oz's promotion to team captain. Billy hadn't really wanted the job, to much organization and stuff for him. Plus he had Rey to look after, he didn't really need the entire rest of the team as well.

One thing he could handle though was running some beater drills for those interested. It was either him or Oz that should be doing it from the Coach's instructions and he figured Oz had captain-y things to maybe do. If he joined in though, great! Plus he should have Oz over here once it was his turn to try out with the Coach.

"Beaters this way!" He called out once they were unleashed. He led anyone interested off a little distance from the main group before turning again to face them. "Alright everyone, grab a beater bat and then climb on your broom!" While they did that, Billy grabbed a training bludger. It was charmed to act like a real one, but wasn't quite as solid when it hit someone. "Okay, this thing will fly around and try to hit you, you'd better make sure you hit it first! If it hits you, you're out for the round. Last person still flying wins!" With that he threw the ball into the midst of those trying out and grinned.

2 Billy Cobb Whoo!! [Beater Drills] 1519 0 5

Alexander Pierce

June 27, 2023 9:54 PM

Seeking first string! [Seeker drills] by Alexander Pierce

Alexander had been awaiting the day of the try-outs eagerly since the sign-up sheet went up. His name had been one of the first on the list as he'd been checking the board frequently for its appearance and he hadn't hesitated a moment before putting Alexander Pierce, Second Year, Crotalus, Seeker onto the sheet.

He'd continued to watch it in the intervening time, to see what their numbers were looking like and if he'd have any competition for the Seeker position. He'd been Valentine Duell's understudy the previous year, the seeker of the Other Team whenever they played intraschool games, so he felt he had the edge of experience over anybody else, but there was always the chance somebody else might try to snatch it from him.

He'd spent so much of the summer training with his own practice snitch, Mother had needed to frown at him because he'd been close to neglecting his summer studies. Fortunately, she had accepted his apologies and approved of his genuine efforts to catch back up to where his tutors expected him to be. Father's assurance that earning the coveted position of first string Seeker was a goal well worth his efforts hadn't hurt any either. Father had been Seeker once upon a time as well, and credited it to some of his advantages in earning both Head Boy and Quidditch Captain. Alexander was hopeful that maybe it would help with Prefect as well, but that had been a badge that evaded both of his parents. Still, he'd heard the badge trifecta was not impossible, and he intended to aim for it.

Becoming the player most directly responsible for winning Quidditch games would surely help both his popularity with the students and the staff's opinion of his ability to handle high pressure situations.

First though, he needed to earn the spot. So he was quick to raise his hand when the Coach asked for a volunteer to go first, wanting to make a strong first impression of strength and being a go-getter. "I am Alexander Pierce," he introduced himself, though he felt pretty sure the coach would remember him from last year, as he had been the team's understudy Seeker to a graduating seventh year. "I'm trying out for Seeker," he stated confidently. He ran through some of his skill drills, showing off his speed, his agility, and his ability to dive and catch small objects that were thrown in his general vicinity.

Feeling he had made a good showing for himself, he moved to the part of the pitch where the potential seekers had been told to gather. Seeing he wasn't alone, he abruptly realized that as Valentine had graduated, that made him - a second year - the Oldest Returning Seeker. He smiled at the other potential, a sense of rightness filling him. "Hello! My name is Alexander, and I'll be running the drills for Seeker today."

The obvious one was the one he'd done all summer, so he figured he should start with that while he tried to think of something more creative to do. "We'll start with just a practice snitch. We'll time how fast it takes each of us to catch it, and try to improve on that score. We each get three tries. You can go first." He went to the box where the practice snitch was kept, and let it out. "Ready?" When he got an affirmative, he flicked his wand to start the timer on the practice snitch box. "Go!"

1 Alexander Pierce Seeking first string! [Seeker drills] 1566 0 5

Cole Pierce

June 28, 2023 9:01 PM

I'm here! by Cole Pierce

Cole checked to see Billy's reaction to Oz's promotion before cheering loudly. He still would have cheered even if Billy had seemed upset, because Oz would be a fine captain, he was sure, but it was easier to cheer when the other senior beater was also on board with it. Fortunately, Billy seemed perfectly happy about Oz getting it, so Cole didn't feel like he was picking sides by cheering and he was able to be happy for his teammate, too.

Both of them would be gone next year, and Cole was kind of hoping maybe that would be him next year. He hoped very much that he could be as equanimous as Billy was, though, if Fortune got it instead. What he was more sure of was that he'd be one of the first string beaters next year. He'd been on the bench three years already and expected he'd probably be there this year as well, given that he was up against two seventh years, but he thought his beating skills had improved dramatically with all the practice he'd gotten both with Billy and Oz, and on his own time with Yari- Yaniel last year. He hoped his Crotalus yearmate would be able to come back to the team this year, to finish a year of training together with Billy and Oz before Yaniel and Cole became the senior beaters on the pitch next year, but he understood that would need to happen only when Yaniel was ready for it happen and not just because Cole wanted it to.

Alexander volunteered to do the one on one try-outs with the coach first, so Cole followed Billy to join in with the beater drills. Cole obediently grabbed a beater bat and got on his broom as Billy instructed. Billy gave the instructions for beater dodgeball and smacked the fake bludger right at Cole. He wasn't quite expecting it, but he got his bat up on instinct, and whacked it away without getting hit. It wasn't exactly a smooth flawless hit but at least he wasn't out of the game in the first few seconds. He followed after it, suspecting it might come back after him if he didn't give it a new target, and hit it solidly toward one of the other beater hopefuls who had wisely scattered away from where it had ricocheted off Cole's bat earlier.

1 Cole Pierce I'm here! 1546 0 5

Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith

July 01, 2023 11:47 PM

No one tell my moms. [Chaser tryouts] by Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith

On the whole, the Chaser position was medium-dangerous. There were three per team, which meant there was less likellihood to be targeted than a position like Seeker or Keeper, and there was less direct contact with bludgers like for Beaters, but then the Beaters were hitting bludgers toward Chasers for the most part, so there was that. It was also probably the position that did the most active flying and the most complicated flying, as it was their maneuvering in the air that would make or break the game for them.

Zeus hadn't told his moms that he was trying out and hadn't put his name on the tryout sheet just in case the present one walked by and saw it. He would wait to tell her once he was on the team, if he got on. He wasn't as fragile as his moms thought and he was determined to exist without a protego shield around him all the time.

He was not, however, an older kid or one who could do anything to run a drill. He didn't even know that much about flying, although he'd practiced throwing and catching, aiming, and flying as much as he could throughout the years. He'd gone to a lot of games with his mom when she worked here before and he had vague memories of bothering the new team captain when he was a child. That was awkward.

"Hi," he said with a glowing smile when he had the first opportunity to meet another Chaser tryout. It wasn't totally unethical to use a little extra oomph to encourage them to like him, right? Liking him wouldn't get him on the team, but it would help put his nerves at ease a bit. "I'm Zeus."

22 Zeus Brooding-Hawthorne-Smith No one tell my moms. [Chaser tryouts] 1576 0 5

Xarryn Bavol

July 02, 2023 4:54 PM

Mum's the word by Xarryn Bavol

Xarryn was excited to be returning to another year of Quidditch. His name hadn't been first on the sign-up sheet because he had a hard time remembering to check the announcements board, but one of his teammates had pointed him to it before the try-outs and he'd gotten his name on the list officially. Xarryn Bavol. Third year. Pecari. Chaser. (None of which had been spelled right except his own name.)

They'd had a good group last year, all pretty young, with Fortune (a year older than Xarryn) being their eldest and Xarryn being his unofficial deputy, and the rest of the group filled in with first years who were now second years. That had been great. Lots of energy, lots of enthusiasm.

They weren't quite enough to fill out two full teams, but Xarryn was hopeful the new incoming class of first years might fix that.

Sure enough, as they divided out into groups based on their position, the Chasers did have at least one new first year in their midst. He was one of the new Pecaris, too, so that was great! They were teammates and housemates!

"Hi, Zeus!" Xarryn returned the boy's glowing smile with one of his own. "I'm Xarryn! Welcome to Sonora Quidditch! Fortune's our senior Chaser," he introduced Fortune cheerfully, though the two boys weren't far different from each other in height; 'senior' was obviously a relative term and not any indication that Fortune was in any danger of graduating out of their group any time soon.

"I'm in third, and these guys you probably remember from your beginner classes because they're all in second year." Just in case though, Xarryn went around introducing each of the formerly youngest chasers on the team whose positions were now promoted due to Zeus' presence. "So who wants to lead the drills?" he asked the returning group at large. "Coach just said an older student not the oldest student." He glanced over at Fortune, though, to make sure their Oldest didn't object to sharing the workload.

1 Xarryn Bavol Mum's the word 1560 0 5

Fortune Ardovini

July 04, 2023 5:12 PM

Ooo.. secrets. Nice. by Fortune Ardovini

Fortune was ready to get back to playing on the school team again. He'd been able to play with his friends at home over the summer, but if they had any training from their schools (which some did and some didn't), it wasn't the same as he had gotten at Sonora. As such, they just didn't quite mesh together quite as well when they played. It was fine for some fun summer games, but it just would work for anything serious. So, he'd signed up on the sheet as soon as he'd noticed it got posted and now he was here at try-outs again... as one of the oldest Chasers.

That was fine though, he was a fourth year and almost halfway through his time here at the school. He could lead some chaser drills if the coach wanted him to. There was a group of chasers already gathering and Xarryn was already talking to them and started doing introductions and such as he arrived. He smiled and waved at the others.

Xarryn asked a question, which at first seemed a bit odd to Fortune. The coach had seemed to indicate that he should lead the drills. Then Xarrryn clarified what he was actually asking, and Fortune grinned at him. If Xarryn wanted to run the drills, why not? He could oversee things to make sure they were done right. It'd probably be good for the younger boy. After all, that's why the coach was having them do it to start with, right?

"Lead the way if you want to." He responded, "I can keep an eye on how folks are doing as you take them through their paces." Fortune hopped on his broom and hovered while making a gesture for Xarryn to take the lead. "Let's see what you all can do!"

2 Fortune Ardovini Ooo.. secrets. Nice. 1549 0 5

Hansel Hexenmeister

July 09, 2023 9:14 PM

Doing my One-On-One with the Coach to get a reserve spot on the team by Hansel Hexenmeister

Hansel was an unreliable Quidditch player. His name had been on the sign-up sheet only for his first two years, and that was only because Hilda had put it there herself or would have been very sad if he hadn't. His third year, he had dropped it entirely because he could and Hilda couldn't make him play if she wasn't physically present.

Since then, having sufficiently established to himself that he didn't need to play if he didn't want to, he'd been a go-to for filling in an empty spot when they needed a few extra players because the actual team wasn't quite big enough to field two full teams for intra-school practice games, but he hadn't been an official member of the school's Quidditch team since becoming the only Hexenmeister at the school.

This year . . . he wasn't quite willing to change that, but he thought maybe he'd be a more steady presence. He still hadn't signed up for the team on the sheet in the Cascade Hall, but he did turn up on the pitch for the official Try-Out, which was nearly the same thing.

While the other people split out into their position groups, Hansel waited for the seeker kid to go through his one-on-one with the Coach, then approach the team's coach, not quite sure the individual in question would like him much for continuing to not really join in on the team after his older siblings had both done so well on it. "Hi," he said a little awkwardly. "Hansel Hexenmeister, sixth year. I'm just here to be a reserve and play in practices. I don't really want to compete with the other schools. I'm open to playing any position you need me in, but I like Chaser best." Which was a little awkward, because he was older than all of the other Chaser players, but that would be the case in any position other than Beater now. Though, he guessed that wouldn't be a bad place to put him either, so he said as much, "Beater's okay, too. Hilda makes sure I remember how to handle a bat and a bludger every summer." Plus one of the reserve beaters had dropped off the team last year, and he was a lot better suited for filling in the empty slot if she didn't come back than some random tiny kid.

With that, he set to demonstrating those skills that Hilda honed every summer because Hansel and his sister didn't really have a lot of overlapping interests, and this was something they could do together and it made Hilda happy. He was a decent flier but not outstanding because he'd never put in the time to practice it as an athlete. Most of his flying, when he wasn't with Hilda, was much more leisurely or practical (the snake ranch was a big place; brooms were a lot faster than walking since he still wasn't quite old enough to apparate on his own). He was better at flying fast than flying with a lot of maneuvering. His Quaffle catching skills were average (which was something he practiced with Heinrich, for about the same reason he did beating drills with Hilda), and his beater skills were somewhat better than one would expect from a guy who wasn't a dedicated Quidditch player (Hilda was the better teacher, and it hurt more if he failed).

All in all, he wasn't a bad player, and his age, size, and years of playing with his siblings (and two years of actually being on the team) probably gave him an edge he didn't want or need over the youngest kids trying out, possibly enough of one that he really hoped the coach wasn't going to try to coax him into playing competitively and take a spot from someone who actually wanted it.

1 Hansel Hexenmeister Doing my One-On-One with the Coach to get a reserve spot on the team 1524 0 5

Violet Calhoun

July 18, 2023 7:52 PM

Let's hit stuff! by Violet Calhoun

At first, Dad had not been so keen on Violet’s intention to try out for the Quidditch team, specifically when she wanted to be a Beater. However, she had worn him down with persistence and with logic: after all, as the person swinging the bat, she was actually the safest from the Bludgers. Her whole job would be knowing how to handle them, and they were not going to sneak up on her while focusing on something else. Dad relented eventually and even got her a Beater’s bat, and while it was pink (poor Dad, suckered into the “for girls” marketing), Violet was pleasantly surprised by the quality. It was actually a bit heavy for her, but she would adjust to it. And her dad’s brother, Uncle Jake, bought her a new broom. Dad was weird about buying brooms, for some reason.

And so the first year strolled with her usual forced confidence up to the tryouts with her bat over one shoulder. Violet tried to ignore the jovialness and comradery of it all as a new Captain was announced - what did she care? - and was slightly annoyed to find that the redhaired boy who had screamed was the one she needed to follow for Beater tryouts. She kept her comments to herself and hopped on her broom as instructed.

The fake Bludger (why were they not playing with real ones, anyway?) first went at one of the boys, and he deflected it with some effort. It wasn’t really coming for her yet anyway, but Violet zigzagged over to meet it on its course. She stopped just ahead of it and prepared her swing, and thanks to her thoroughness in tracking its trajectory, Violet found herself in the perfect place to make contact. Crack! sang her bat, and the ball flew away, right at somebody else. Violet grinned, pleased with herself.

12 Violet Calhoun Let's hit stuff! 1575 0 5