UPDATE
(extra videos courtesy of Kolja Hanneman)
Larry Imperiale/Randy Silvey/Bill Wright (2nd place)
Chip Bell/Joel Rogers/Dave Schiller (4th place)
Rick Castiglia/Mike Reid/Jonathan Willett (6th place)
For old time’s sake (and by request), here’s a video of the winning routine from the 1997 FPA Worlds in Honolulu. This was the first of three wins in a row for Dave Murphy/Dave Lewis/Arthur Coddington and the first of five wins a row for Dave and Arthur’s co-op teams. It was the second dropless FPA Worlds in a row for Arthur and Dave.
The story behind this routine is that Bill Wright, Larry Imperiale and Randy Silvey kicked our asses twice in 1996 – once at the US Open, then a month later at FPA Worlds in New York. We went back to the drawing board and decided to not only try to up the ante with our technical skills but to also play around with the presentation element of keeping possession of both discs for the entire five minutes.
We worked our butts off to put the routine together and perfect it. When we got to Honolulu and tried to run through the routine the day before the tournament, we couldn’t complete anything. We felt like beginners. Glancing across the field, it was also clear that Bill, Larry and Randy had also been playing with multiple discs. Our rivalry would definitely continue, and we would face off against a lot of other formidable teams. We would be in trouble if we didn’t figure out a way to pull off our moves.
Our ineptness was only temporary. We remembered how to freestyle and whipped our routine back into shape. A strange thing happened in the semis, though. For whatever reason, Bill, Larry and Randy placed third in their pool, giving them the big strategic disadvantage of playing early in the finals. We won our semi and would play last.
The finals, as you can see from the flags and trees behind the action in the video, were blustery. It wasn’t about just performing the routine but also overcoming unpredictable elements. When we performed, we didn’t know how Bill, Larry and Randy played. We just focused on being a team and putting on a show. The routine is dropless but of course not without mistakes and many saves. A lot of things went our way that day – lucky breaks, mistakes that turned into exciting moments, etc.
Looking back at the video, I’m proud of three things. First, our team moved and communicated well. When things didn’t go right, we found solutions. When the wind moved one player around, the others adjusted. Second, this title was Dave Murphy’s first FPA title, and I’m proud to have been on his team and helped him in some way get the much-deserved hardware to go with his amazing game. Third, it’s a little known fact that Dave Lewis almost didn’t play the worlds that year because of a neck injury. The happy ending of a win at worlds is extra special after sticking together through injuries like that.
Arthur,
Thank you so much for fulfilling my request and putting this video online.
This certainly was an awesome routine. It is very easily seen you spent a lot of time working on it, the routine as a whole is very coordinated and the coops were amazingly planned and executed. Also, it’s very clear that the audience really liked it.
Specifically, I really liked your combo at 2:54 – btb-to-3 skids in a row-to-connecting the neurons-to-scarecrow. Really nice!
Generaly, awesome routine! Thanks again for uploading it!
—
“If the ball could choose, it would be a frisbee”
Awesome video, an amazing routine guys, it’s a mystery to me how you managed to co-ordinate it so well with the multiple discs!
I’d definitely encourage more posts of videos like these, they’re fascinating to watch.
Arthur, thanx for the post and long story to it, most illuminating ) Also biiig thanx to Kolja for the additional vids, real nice stuff from some of the not-so-often seen players, I know we all like to see em dish out their cool tricks
—
No jump, no catch!
Really nice vids, guys. Thanks!
Larry launching the disc, rolling it, and then sealing it with a gitis on the orchestral hits at the beginning of his team’s routine was pretty sick. Also notice how his forehand throw totally owns the streamers on his disc, haha. Even with all the marvels of modern science, we still haven’t created a Larry-proof streamer.
In the same video at index 1:27 while Bill Wright’s doing variations on a legover, someone in the background (it looks like Arthur) starts spinning up a storm for a quad-spinning something-or-other. To me, it smells like a plot to get totally hein while Larry, Randy, and Bill were performing to distract the judges. 😉
@Arthur and Dave: It seems like you always have really intricate and carefully choreographed co-op routines. How long does it generally take you guys to actually memorize the whole deal, and do you have it written down beforehand or do you gradually keep adding bits onto it? (A little off topic with this one, sorry!)
—
Andrew
I can’t take credit for that quad catch in the background. It was actually Reto
Zimmerman.
It can take a while to memorize the routine. I usually carry a list of the co-ops
on a piece of paper in my pocket while we’re learning things. If I forget while
the other guys have the disc, I’ll take a quick look. If we all forget, we pause
and use the paper to figure out what’s next. Eventually, the order of moves
sinks in and becomes second nature…until the stress of competition when
anyone’s mind can go blank.
Arg, now that you say it, the way he set the disc under his leg like that is totally Reto. And if that wasn’t enough, the cartwheel catch the next time the camera moves over is the nail in the coffin. Sweet moves, Reto!
Thanks for clearing that and the business of memorizing routines up. When I see you guys doing a single co-op that has all three guys putting legs over one disc and then another while delaying something else I think, "How on earth do they remember all that?"
—
Andrew
When I see you guys doing a single co-op that has all three guys putting
legs over one disc and then another while delaying something else I think, “How
on earth do they remember all that?”
Well, if I’m thinking of the same co-op you are, there’s a reason the co-op is
called Nosebleed. Sometimes we don’t remember it and our legs go in the
wrong direction…
Hah! Maybe you guys should perform to the Matrix soundtrack. Start off with a sample of "I know Kung Fu" and throw in a "Whoa" every time someone lands a phatty combo and you’re set. You can go back later and put some bullet time effects in the video when those stray legs really connect.
Coincidentally, I also have a move called the Nosebleed. It involves doing a flamingo pull on wet grass… 🙁 Fortunately, there’s only been one such incident, and I walked away with only a sore nose and a black eye (lol) thanks to the soft ground. I must admit, though, I still feel a bit apprehensive about doing anything involving the flamingo posture.
—
Andrew