SOPHOMORE QUIDDITCH PRACTICE

[evercreep]

SOPHOMORE QUIDDITCH PRACTICE

It's a windy, partly cloudy day, but it's definitely warm enough for the Sophomores to head out onto the pitch to work on the Quidditch skills. Calvin Evercreech is running it, but when it comes to actually getting on brooms and playing, he lets Jefferson Key, Micah St. Clair, Susana Velasquez and Solomon Webb take point.

There'll be time to run through the rules with everyone, and then it's on to drills where players can practice catching and throwing, hitting with a Beater's bat, blocking goals and snatching the Snitch.

HOW THIS WORKS

• Earlier, Calvin posted the rosters for the Sophomore league that he and Micah came up with here.


• However, considering how new most of these wide-eyed kids are to Quidditch, today is focused on making sure everyone can at least semi-competently play their position.


• There's loaner gear available if your character doesn't have any of their own.


• This is a Sophomore-only event. No older students were invited to help, and an audience is going to make these kids uncomfortable. :(

» RULES: Now this is something Calvin can do! Calvin and other more experienced players explain the rules and regulations to anyone who's new to the sport.

» DRILLS: Thanks to the generosity of the acting house captains, there are drills set up to help everyone get accustomed to their new position.

» HELP: If your character needs one-on-one aid from a more experienced player, here's where to get it.

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

Comments

RULES

[evercreep]

RULES

[cant_even]

Isabelle knows about Quidditch, but probably not everything she needs to know about in terms of actually playing real games where rules matter. She eagerly raises her hand like they're in class and actually has a notebook and pen to take down notes on everything she needed to know.

"What are the most important rules of Quidditch I should know? Are we doing anything differently because we're an unofficial league? Are we making up some of our own rules?"

DRILLS

[evercreep]

Essie - Quidditch, Day One! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑

[magitechnically]

Essie lets out a short squeal of delight when her broom impacts with her hand after her second demand of "UP!" The force of the impact surprises her, but she keeps her footing steady. This is so exciting! She can feel her heart thumping a little faster in her chest! And she hasn't even made it off the ground!

***

Atop a broom and able to put everyone's lessons to use in short order, Essie has a much easier time focusing on what they've come here to learn. Quaffle, hoop, don't fall off, don't get hit by a bludger, got it!

Tossing a Quaffle around isn't so bad. Staying atop a broom isn't so bad. Putting them together? That's going to take some time. As long as the drills only focus on one or the other, Essie does an admirable job for her first go at this. Flying is nothing like skate boarding, but she manages to keep her balance pretty well, even if her flying is kind of wobbly. (Maybe she'll ask Roxie to teach her how to stand on her broom? That would be SUPER COOL!)

At one point during their drills, Essie overextends herself to catch a Quaffle sailing over her head and it looks like it might be disaster time but [Volunteer] acts quickly and catches her before anything goes amiss. Yay team!

***

By the end of practice, Essie is positively buzzing with excitement. This is so much fun! Once the practice has officially been called to an end, Essie attempts one of the loop-de-loops that Levi is so fond of performing during games. It's sloppy, but who cares! Essie is grinning from ear to ear when she finally lands on the ground again.

HELP

[evercreep]

Calvin and a question for everyone.

[evercreep]

Calvin taps his borrowed bat against his thigh as he thinks. "Do you think that next time we ought to ask a few of the older students if they'd come help us train?" As soon as he says the words he grimaces, imagining a dozen eager seniors descending upon the pitch 'adopt' them all. Needless to say, he doesn't sound sold on it.

Re: Calvin and a question for everyone.

[theniceboy]

Solomon, who rises to meet every opportunity happily, actually shakes his head no. "They view us as children," he says. "We don't need to be adopted," he continues, voicing Calvin's own concerns. "We need to forge our own paths, and find what benefits us most while training without their interference. This is ours and we get to decide how we want to do it. Leo likes to take very extensive notes and work those into our practices. I can help do that for us? I know this is a fun game for most of us, but it might be helpful for whoever wants to go out for the team next year?"

Re: Calvin and a question for everyone.

[magitechnically]

Essie grimaces. She's never had to endure one of the older students trying to 'adopt' her, but that's simply because she's already carrying the 'baby sister' label for not one, but two, members of the senior class. "You're right. This is ours and we should try to do it on our own as much as possible." Essie pauses then, taking a moment to work up the nerve to continue, "But some of us have a lot further to go than others and even though some of the older students can be really smothering, I don't think we should just ignore the help that their experience can provide?" Come on, Essie, sound more sure of yourself. "We can always tell them to leave if they do start treating us like babies? And only ask ones we think will actually treat us with respect?" She can already imagine the cooing. It's awful.

Calvin and a question for everyone.

[stclair]

"I'm for it," Micah chimes in. He has his broom and gear all ready, including his Quidditch robes in bright Azurcrest blue, which make him stand out amongst his classmates. It's weird, after having spent the whole year as a brand new sophomore reserve, to feel like he's one of the experienced athletes in a group.

But not experienced enough to teach people how to fly. He's not the only one here who really wants to get on the team next year, and they deserve to have one of two good coaches. "If someone offers to help and they don't treat us like children, then they're welcome. But if there's too many of them or they end being too smothering, then they go. They can't boss us around if all of us tell them to leave."

Calvin and a question for everyone.

[evercreep]

Calvin nods in agreement at the general direction the discussion is going in. "I know that those of you who actually are on the teams are as good as any of the older players," he pauses and sighs, "but there are a lot of us who'll be starting from scratch. Not to mention that we don't have an experienced Seeker or Beater to amongst us."

Then, quickly and apologetically, his voice takes a gentler tone as he realises his misstep. "Not that you aren't a skilled Seeker, Micah. But none of us can help you much if you want to move to first string."

They're not here for flattery, though, as much as Calvin has rapidly become invested in the success of certain people. "We should ask who would be interested and go from there."

Re: Calvin and a question for everyone.

[theniceboy]

Solomon isn't gonna fight it if this is the consensus. They still need to be in agreement, and if everybody else wanted to ask older kids for help, Solomon won't fault them for that. "Are there any players anybody absolutely can't stand and wouldn't want to learn from or in front of? As a place to start."

Re: Calvin and a question for everyone.

[insightfulness]

Bianca takes a deep breath before speaking up for the first time. "I'm pretty sure Avery would help us. She's a friend and doesn't think of us all as infants." she pauses a moment, thinking of the other alternative she'd been keeping to herself from the moment sophomore quidditch was brought up. "Or if we want to bypass all school quidditch players, I could ask my dad. He was a beater for the Caerphilly Catapults and trains people all the time."

Calvin and a question for everyone.

[longcons]

"Training tiers," Cash puts in from the sidelines, where he's been listening quietly. "Beginners with the each other and a few stronger players who are willing to coach. Advanced, with a mentor. It's the most efficient." He counts himself firmly amongst the beginners; in fact, he's really only here because, well, school sports look good on applications and he can only list "speed chess" so many times.

Isabelle + Chaser Help

[cant_even]

Isabelle has played with her siblings and some friends before, but nothing so organized or anything. She is not sure she has What It Takes to be a chaser in a real game and looks to those who are on the school teams for help. "Chaser basics? Tips? Strategies? Et cetera?"

Isabelle + Cassius + Chaser Help

[longcons]

"Know how to catch." Okay, so Cash is sitting over here because he doesn't know jack about shit either, but that has never stopped him from being a little bit of a dick. Sorry, Issie. He thinks he's funny. He also thinks he's going to be bad at this, which is why he has a tiny reporter's notebook out and ready. Go on, guys. Lay these hot tips on him. He's taking notes.

Isabelle + Cassius + Chaser Help

[magitechnically]

Essie laughs. She thinks you're funny, Cash. Should she be taking notes? Probably, but Essie would toss all her textbooks out the window if she could. She's eager to actually try getting up in the air, but she'll try very, VERY hard to contain her excitement and listen to all the TALKING first.

OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

[evercreep]

Re: OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

[longcons]

to be fair to the sophs...... the upperclassmen do like to coo at them

Re: OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

[un_kept]

like there's not only two years difference? only one year for some xD