What did I get myself into? on Quidditch Pitch

Captain Jake Santoro

April 17, 2006 1:53 PM

Teppenpaw Quidditch Practice by Captain Jake Santoro

Jake stood at the center of the Quidditch pitch waiting for his team to arrive. Last years Quidditch practice hadn't gone so well because they had been interupted by half of the school, plus, Jake had lost his temper, which was rare as Jake never lost his temper. But today, he had booked the pitch and was determined to get in a good practice so that they could be completely prepared for the games once they started.

\r\n\r\nJake smiled when the last of his team arrived. "Good Afternoon everyone. Thanks for taking the time out of your Saturday for this practice, but it's a needed one. I'm Jake Santoro, Captain of the Teppenpaw Quidditch team. I'm glad to see familiar faces, for those of you I don't know, I look forward to getting to know you better." Jake greeted them with his usual lopsided grin.

\r\n\r\n"Now, we don't have much time before the first of the games kick off, so we need to do as much as we can within this first practice. I've decided to divide us up into sections, each section has a member who has already been on the team for at least two years. The senior members of the team will take it upon themselves to teach the newbies what they need to know and help them prepare for Quidditch." Jake paused and turned to face his keepers.

\r\n\r\n"Dillon Welsh and Pepper Jones are our Keepers. I've already had a discussion with Dillon about having two keepers, but just to make everyone else aware, Dillon, though rather good at what he does, wishes to be flexible in his Quidditch schedule to devote more time to other studies. But he has offered his help with training Pepper so that she can be the best she can be." Jake said with a nod of approval to his keepers. "Dillon, if you would, take Pepper, grab a couple of brooms and be off with the two of you. You can use on of the goals and an extra quaffle that I've laid out for everyone." Jake waited for the two of them to leave before turning his attention to everyone else.

\r\n\r\n"Kaylie Brocket, our seeker." Jake began, holding out an arm in her direction. "Kaylie, I'm going to release the snitch for you to seek out. Practice dodging and certain flying techniques while you seek out the snitch. Go ahead and start flying, I'll let you know when I release the snitch" Jake told her and waited for her to prepare herself. He turned back to everyone. "Tally Adams, Dalila Bastet, and Rob Stone are the chasers. Rob, Tally is the senior of the group, but Dalila has proven that she's a well flier and eager at Quidditch. If you need anything, the two of them are more than qualified to help you out." Jake informed the first year.

\r\n\r\n"Now, Tally, if you will, take the two of them with brooms and a quaffle and test how well they at flying and manuevering. Once we know for sure that they can fly well while holding a quaffle, we'll practice on their shooting. But, it's up to the three of you to know when you want to move on. Take the other goal from the one that Dillon and Pepper are using." Jake told them before dismissing them. He finally turned his attention to Lexi, the other beater. "Welcome Lexi, glad to have you aboard. I'm going to release one bludger. You take a bat and go ahead and fly. We'll practice eye and hand coordination. Make sure to look out for your teammates as we don't want to knock any out before the start of the season. Alright, off you go." Jake said before opening the box where the bludgers eagerly awaited release. He let one bludger out before sending off the snitch. "KAYLIE, THE SNITCH IS RELEASED!" He called out before hopping on his broom and setting off to work with Lexi.\r\n\r\n\r\n

Subthreads:

What did I get myself into? by Pepper Jones with Dillon Welsh, Pepper

Finally getting up in the air by Tally Adams with Dalila Bastet, Rob Stone, Tally

Hitting things is good by Lexi with Jake

Seeking pretty shiny things... by Kaylie Brockert

6 Captain Jake Santoro Teppenpaw Quidditch Practice 42 Captain Jake Santoro 1 5

Pepper Jones

April 18, 2006 10:56 AM

What did I get myself into? by Pepper Jones

Pepper's stomach was twisting in knots as she made her way down to the Quidditch Pitch, and this was only for training! She dreaded to think what it would be like to play a match. If she was playing. There appeared to be two keepers listed, so perhaps she was just back up as, limited as her knowledge of Quidditch was, she was sure there was only one.

She was rather relieved when the team captain announced that he'd be splitting them up for the training, it meaning there were less people to humiliate herself in front of (for now), but a little anxious about the fact that she was to be supervised by an expert. She turned and trotted after the older boy that Jake had addressed as Dillon, taking several steps to each of his.

"Do you know which of us will be playing which matches?" she asked shyly. Her experience of people older than her was mainly from her brother, Demetrius, and so she associated them with being grumpy and relluctant to help (though entertaining toddlers and teaching someone Quidditch were rather different things). "I-I don't think I'm going to be very good," she warned him. "So you might have to play all the time. Sorry about that." \n\n

13 Pepper Jones What did I get myself into? 74 Pepper Jones 0 5

Dillon Welsh

April 18, 2006 3:17 PM

A funtastic game? by Dillon Welsh

Dillon followed the team down to the pitch with his usual awkward movements. He was so used to coming down to the pitch now that it wasn't so much of a big deal. He had been on the team for awhile and with Jake as his roommate, it was a neverending topic for him. Thankfully, Jake was understanding when it came to Dillon having to choose between studies and Quidditch. Hopefully his co-keeper who would one day replace him would be suitable. Not that Dillon was the expert with that sort of decisions.

He stood behind the group mainly because it was the easiest way to not get in the way, having been much taller than most people since he started in magical school. He listened lazily as Jake introduced himself and greeted the team and only perked up when Jake addressed him and Pepper. Dillon's hazel eyes glanced at the girl who would be playing keeper along side him and then nodded to Jake after he dismissed them. He walked over to the brooms and picked up two and a quaffle before making his way to one of the goals.

When Pepper addressed him, he stopped walking and held out a broom for her to take, giving her a smile as he did so. "Let's not worry about the matches for now until we know for sure how well you are at blocking." Dillon told her in a friendly tone. "I wasn't very good back when I started either, but the practices helped me greatly and I'm sure you'll do just fine. I'm Dillon, by the way." Dillon told her before mounting his broom. "I'm sure you've already had flying lessons, so just fly on up to the goals and we'll practice your blocking...unless you'd rather practice flying first. Whatever you're more comfortable with, Pepper."\n\n

6 Dillon Welsh A funtastic game? 44 Dillon Welsh 0 5

Tally Adams

April 18, 2006 3:29 PM

Finally getting up in the air by Tally Adams

Tally was eager to start Quidditch practice. She hadn't had any time to fly during the summer because she had spent so much time outdoors with the neighborhood kids or at the counselor's office listening to him talk on and on about her situation and how to resolve it. Quidditch had been the last thing on her mind and now she regretted that. It had been far too long since she was on a broom.

Her green eyes flickered around taking in the newest recruits and smiling over at her roommate, Kaylie. She was glad the other girl had decided to join last year. When Jake started, Tally focused all of her attention on him, though from time to time her mind wandered over to the brooms and the goals. She desperately missed Quidditch. At the mention of the Keepers, Tally turned and gave a look see at the first year who was training with Dillon. She looked tiny...where all first years tiny? Had she been that tiny? Probably, she hadn't even grown much these last couple of years either...

When it was the chasers turn, Tally smiled at Rob to let him know she wasn't at all that bad of a person before being dismissed by Jake. "Great to have you on the team, Rob. Now, like Captain Jake said, we're going to fly around for a few minutes, the two of you taking turns holding the quaffle until you get the feel of it. After that, we'll do some passing." Tally informed them, picking up the quaffle as she did. "Now with passing, we'll be sitting on our brooms, in the air and throwing the quaffle randomly from person to person. Once we have that mastered, we'll move on to scoring."

Tally moved and grabbed her broom off the ground then mounted it. "Dalila, you start with the quaffle first since you already have some experience. It shouldn't take you long to get reaquinted. Once you are ready, give the quaffle to Rob. Rob when you're sure your ready, let me know and we'll start passing around the quaffle in a circle. Grab a broom and I'll meet you in the air."\n\n

6 Tally Adams Finally getting up in the air 41 Tally Adams 0 5

Pepper

April 18, 2006 6:13 PM

Balls that fly at your face without being thrown = fun? by Pepper

"Ok, thanks," she smiled, as she took the broom. He seemed nice, and reasurring. It was very strange to be on the receiving end of such treatment, as she was usually the one dishing it out. She still hadn't quite got used to being the littlest, most helpless one - being Muggleborn putting her at a disadvantage, even amongst her immediate peers - and being the needer, rather than the needed. The Christmas break, and falling back into her old, familiar role, hadn't helped either.

"Can we practice flying for just a little bit?" she asked, as she copied him and mounted up. "I'm Muggleborn, so I haven't really done it before. I mean I went to the lessons, but it was a big class and the teacher seemed... well... a bit... well, like she'd bite me if I asked her something. I just want to check I've got it right," she said, more decisively.

She kicked off rather awkwardly, feeling self conscious under inspection, and flew over to the goal posts. She felt herself wobble slightly, so tried to tuck in closer to the broom. It made her go faster, but then it was easier to balance. She looped around one of the goal posts, trying not to scrape her elbows before stopping by Dillon.

"It's sort of like riding a bike, isn't it?" she said, hoping he knew what one was, "When you go faster, you wobble less. You just have get over the fear you'll fall off," she said, glancing down and thinking that it was like riding a bike, but on a somewhat more splatty scale. "Do I look awkward when I fly?" she asked, "I sort of feel it. Is it cos my posture's wrong, or cos I'm just not used to it?"\n\n

0 Pepper Balls that fly at your face without being thrown = fun? 0 Pepper 0 5

Dalila Bastet

April 18, 2006 9:55 PM

Finally is right! by Dalila Bastet

It felt good to be back on the Quidditch pitch. Dalila's grandmother disapproves of Dalila playing Quidditch, so she spent the summer broomless. Now, she was slightly out of practice.

Dalila saluted to Captain Jake when he told them what to do, and then turned to Tally, who told her to get acquainted with the quaffle. Dalila picked up the red ball from the ground a few feet away and tossed it up in the air a few times before handing it to the new guy - she couldn't remember his name.

"Here. I'm Dalila, if you haven't guessed that. Second year in Sonora; second year on the team. You ever play Quidditch before?"

She grabbed abroom from the pile and positioned hereself on it, to get the feel again, keeping an ear (which had been finally pierced) towards the boy, waiting for him to finish with the quaffle before taking to the air along with Tally.\n\n

0 Dalila Bastet Finally is right! 60 Dalila Bastet 0 5

Dillon

April 19, 2006 4:10 PM

Erm....yes? Think of it as an adventure. by Dillon

Dillon couldn't tell if the girl was just being shy with him, if he was being intimidating, or if she just normally looked for fragile and quiet. In any case, he hoped he wasn't making her any more nervous than she might already be. "Flying fine. I'd rather you take the time to get used to it than feel completely at a loss everytime." Dillon joked. "I'm a muggleborn too and I remember how terrified I was about flying." Dillon admitted to the younger girl before raising off the ground and flying up to where the goals were located.

He kept the quaffle in his hands, throwing it casually up while waiting for Pepper to return to him. She didn't seem all that bad on a broom, though Dillon wonder that if they had some terrible flying conditions if she would just fall off with the slightest gust of wind. "I suppose it can be like riding a bike. Learn it once, never forget sort of thing." Dillon commented, but that was about the only thing he would say reminded him of a bike. "I think it will feel awkward for awhile until you get used to being on a broom. You looked decent flying, but if it doesn't feel comfortable try different positions until you find the right one." Dillon suggested with a small frown of thought on his face.

"Do you want to keep flying? You can fly for a bit until you're comfortable enough." Dillon said to the first year. He didn't want her to start anything new until she was ready for it. "If not, we can move to a couple of feet off the ground for blocking. I don't want you to fall or anything. This way, you can be free to move without the worry of death if you slip or something." Dillon said, holding out the quaffle so that she understood he wanted to try having her block some.\n\n

6 Dillon Erm....yes? Think of it as an adventure. 44 Dillon 0 5

Pepper

April 19, 2006 5:35 PM

Are Teppenpaws known for coping well with those? by Pepper

"Thanks," Pepper smiled, glad he actually understood, as well as being understanding. There was a difference; he empathised, rather than just sympathised. She was pleased by what he said about her flying skills, and knowing she was getting it mainly right instantly helped her feel more at home on the broom.

"I think I'd feel ok with moving onto blocking," she said, after a moment's quiet consideration. "If I'm moving around, I'm more likely to just naturally shift into a comfortable position. If I overthink it and try to make myself sit right, everything will feel wrong," she offered as an explanation. There was also the fact that she was comfortable with blocking, because it was the aspect she was used to, having had to play defence for Theo to practice her striking, and it would be good to be on semi-familiar ground to make her more comfortable over all, and the fact that she needed to learn to apply her existing skills to being in the air. However, Dillon didn't need a threefold reason, just enough to show she wasn't just following his lead to be obedient. Time was too precious for idle, rambling chatter. Toddlers slipped poster paints out of the cupboard whilst the six year old distracted you that way.

She waited for Dillon to descend first, as her descents in class had been rather jerky and experimental, and she wanted to watch how to do it properly. \n\n

0 Pepper Are Teppenpaws known for coping well with those? 0 Pepper 0 5

Dillon

April 22, 2006 1:43 AM

uh...probably not by Dillon

"Alright, blocking it is." Dillon replied, immediately leaning forward and dropping the end of his broom down slightly so that he decended without incident. Once his feet hung above the ground a couple of feet high, Dillon stopped his decent and straightened his broom out, circling slightly until he was comfortable and then waited for Pepper to join him.

"Alright, I'm going to toss the quaffle around you and you have to be prepared to block it." Dillon said to Pepper once she joined him. "It seems simple enough, but it's actually really hard, so if you don't get it in the first few dozen tries, don't feel so terrible. It's really hard to balance yourself on a broom while trying to block a flying ball." Dillon told her in a friendly, yet understanding tone of voice.

"If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask away or address them while we do this. If you feel like stopping, let me know or if you need a break of any kind." Dillon wanted her to know that he was there to help, not kill her or upset her or hurt her in any way. "Are you ready?"\n\n

6 Dillon uh...probably not 44 Dillon 0 5

Rob Stone

April 23, 2006 3:57 PM

Yeah, let's go by Rob Stone

Rob snapped out of the trance he had been in while listening to the captain talk. He had followed the other two chasers and just let the air run through his hair, making him feel relaxed. He caught the ball they threw at him and then heard her talk. He almost missed it but hung onto it.

"Here. I'm Dalila, if you haven't guessed that. Second year in Sonora; second year on the team. You ever play Quidditch before?"

He looked at her. and answered. "Muggleborn," he said while pointing at himself, as if that made everything understandable. Which, it did. He swung a foot over his broom and took off into the air after them, ready for practice.

(OoC. Just got back from out of town, sorry I"m late.)\n\n

0 Rob Stone Yeah, let's go 0 Rob Stone 0 5

Lexi

April 24, 2006 4:32 PM

Hitting things is good by Lexi

Lexi had been exceptionally excited when she made the quidditch team. Sure, she had been the only one who had signed up to be a beater, but for all she knew, the other beater last year had been so confident that he or she would have gotten the position again that signing up had seemed superfluous. Either way, she actually had something to focus on now besides schoolwork, and nothing could bring her down from the adrenaline high that she was on.

She waited patiently as Jake told them all what they were supposed to do. After he finally got to her and gave her some instructions, she nodded quickly, grabbed one of the two bats, and kicked off. She was rather relieved it was only one bludger for the time being. She could handle two of them without a problem, but not right off the bat.

As soon as the bludger was released, it shot out of the box and immediately began ricocheting around. No one had ever managed to give Lexi a satisfactory explanation on how they managed to find the players in order to hit them. The general reply had been a shrug, a muttered 'magic,' and a change in the topic. That didn't matter right now, though. All that did matter was that she not let it get any of the other players, because she didn't know many of the other players, and she didn't want her first introduction to be when they were getting sent to the hospital wing because of her.

Tailing the bludger as it began to head towards Kaylie, she almost had it within range of her bat when it veered sharply and headed towards the group of chasers. Muttering darkly under her breath (she didn't like to get out maneuvered by anything, even a charmed ball) she made another quick turn, leaning forward slightly to speed up and catch the bludger before it hit someone.

She did manage to get it this time before it changed its course again, watching for a few seconds as it sped pretty much in the direction she had wanted it to go. From what she had seen while playing with her brothers' friends, aim was not one of her problems. She then looked over at Jake, who had flown up and joined her, and asked, “So, what is it you want me to do, captain? I think I have hand-eye coordination down pretty well, for the most part.”
\n\n

0 Lexi Hitting things is good 0 Lexi 0 5

Dalila

April 24, 2006 7:32 PM

Go-go gadget quaffle! by Dalila

Dalila stared at thge first year boy. No name, no year, not even a hello from his lips. Just "Muggleborn", as if that exempted him from being nice. Dalila sighed and joined the other two.

"Hey!" she called to the boy. "You should be able to say more than that. How 'bout a 'hello'?" Dalila frowned afterwards, but then turned her attention to Tally.

"Ok, Tals. We are under your comand." Dalila gave an overly dramatic bow from her broom and giggled at herself. Let the first year worry about himself. She wasn't his mother.

(OOC: It's okay. Glad you're back, but couold you write a bit more next time to give us something to work off of?)
\n\n

0 Dalila Go-go gadget quaffle! 0 Dalila 0 5

Rob

April 24, 2006 10:07 PM

So we put the ball in the hoop? by Rob

Rob listened as Dalila well, the best word for it would probably be scolded him on being rude, which come to think of it, he had been.

"You should be able to say more than that. How 'bout a 'hello'?"

Oops. Not a good idea to get your teammates mad at you at the first practice...

"Err, right. Hello, I'm Rob. Sorry, just kinda nervous I guess. So, we put the ball in the hoop then I guess right?"

He tossed the ball into his other hand and caught it deftly, then tossed it at the senior chaser, he couldn't quite remember her name.

(OoC yeah my bad, just was in a hurry to get that typed. This work better?)\n\n

0 Rob So we put the ball in the hoop? 0 Rob 0 5

Tally

April 25, 2006 4:03 PM

Oh dear... by Tally

Tally watched the two of them from above while they tossed the ball and then followed with her eyes as they joined her in the air. She frowned at the two of them when she heard their conversation and had to resist sighing when Rob seemed to imply that he had never played Quidditch.

She easily caught the quaffle in her hands and placed it against a hip, making her look rather strange while sitting on her broom. "Rob, right?" She asked, though didn't wait for an answer. "This here is called a quaffle. We, the chaser, have to score by tossing this quaffle through one of those three hoops." Tally told him, pointing out to the goal hoops.

"It's fairly difficult to do depending on the other team, but scoring should be the easiest thing for us. Right now, we're going to work on passing. I want us to fly around and pass the quaffle around. Don't call out names, just pay attention. Try making it difficult for the other players by dodging the beaters, flying high, low or fast. It's up to you. Let's go." Tally called out and then shot up straight before tossing the ball down for either one of them to catch.\n\n

0 Tally Oh dear... 0 Tally 0 5

Jake

April 25, 2006 4:19 PM

And fun by Jake

Jake watched as his team took off in seperate directions. He was pleased to see that the senior members took control quickly and the team seemed to be whipping into shape quick nicely. He watched Lexi for a few minutes, seeing her try to the bludgers and was impressed by her abilities. Once he got enough out of observing, he released the second bludger, grabbed the remaining bat and shot off towards Lexi.

Stopping so that he was beside her, he gave her a lopsided grin. "Nice job so far, Lexi." Jake praised her, his eyes focusing on the chasers for a moment. "I released the second bludger, so things might start to get a bit chaotic especially now that the chasers are on the move. We need to work on a strategy." Jake said, smacking a bludger away from him as it came to near. "I figure, the best way to do that is for one of us to always protect our teammates from the bludgers while the other purposes tries to knock down the opposing team. How does that sound?" Jake asked, finally turning his dark eyes on her once more.\n\n

6 Jake And fun 42 Jake 0 5

Kaylie Brockert

April 25, 2006 7:16 PM

Seeking pretty shiny things... by Kaylie Brockert

Kaylie had left her younger brother after they'd eaten. She hadn't necessarily wanted to, but she did need to be at practice. Adam could have come with her, she supposed, but Jake might not have liked that given that Adam wasn't in Teppenpaw. Still, the young boy had seemed rather upset when she'd gone.

She pushed the thoughts of her younger brother out of her mind and tried to concentrate on what Jake was saying. Kaylie gave a wide smile at her roommate and the new people who'd joined the team. She hoped they'd stay and enjoy themselves.

"Kaylie, I'm going to release the snitch for you to seek out. Practice dodging and certain flying techniques while you seek out the snitch. Go ahead and start flying, I'll let you know when I release the snitch

She nodded and mounted her broom. She took off and was in the air. Kaylie soared around for a few minutes before Jake announced he'd released the snitch.

Unfortunately, the snitch had seemed to have gone off in the opposite direction from where she'd been flying. Kaylie zoomed towards where she thought it had gone, avoiding the bludger that had veered towards her.

She didn't see it anywhere. Kaylie saw a beautiful butterfly floating by but no small gold ball. It was such a nice day. Too bad she knew Adam wouldn't enjoy it....

Wait, what was Kaylie supposed to be doing again? Oh, yes, chasing the snitch. Oh, there it was, over by the Keepers practicing. She swooped towards it, narrowly missing them. "Sorry!" She called to Dillon and the red-haired first year as she sped after it.\n\n

11 Kaylie Brockert Seeking pretty shiny things... 43 Kaylie Brockert 0 5