Statistics Scramble

Statistics are really a beautiful thing. The Wftda stats book has several sets of optional paperwork called action and error tracking that *never* get filled out for a variety of reasons. Also paperwork that is allegedly filled out by the jam timer who SO has other stuff to do. So we will set those aside.
The stats book also populates something called the "bout summary" tab that crunches the line-up tracking, penalty tracking, and score paperwork to magically generate all kinds of interesting numbers. The number that is most useful for team development is something called the "vtar" - it tracks each player's performance relative to that of her teammates in each position she plays at least once in the bout, so it is a relative measure that is independent of whether the game was a close one or a landslide.
Yes, as always, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. A couple of limitations of this score:
1) A strong jammer may have a low blocker vtar partially because she does not have the benefit of blocking for, well, herself, but relatively weaker jammers.
2) Penalty heavy players will lower their vtar (as the loss of a player on the track always has a dampening effect), but they will also lower the vtar of their jam-mates.
3) A single bout tells us very little, and if the player only plays the position a few times, it tells us absolutely nothing.
4) Separating out pivots from blockers in this score is splitting hairs, in my opinion, especially in lower-level teams.
5) Starting a jam in a sh*tty situation? The bench coach will probably put in a line-up tailored to that - probably lowering the vtar of players that are having a good night up until then.
For instance, in our last game for which I have statistics, I have the second-highest vtar. Was I MVP? Nope. Let's look at the numbers.
1) I was penalty-free, am overall an intelligent player in terms of strategy, and recycle like a motherfucker. Yay me! However,

Thrilling Fucking News

Incredibly exciting new thing in the works! I am keeping it under wraps for now, but until then one clue: Pinchy.

Physics of an Apex Jump - Part One

Okay, so apex jumps.  I have never even considered trying one until last night.  I have noticed that successful ones are often a cute little hippity hop, not a mighty leap.  Why is this?  As it was explained to me, the hang time of the jump (generated by vertical explosiveness) and the speed of the skater as she leaves the ground allow the jump to be completed.  The full physics (ignoring friction for simplicity's sake) are slightly more complicated.  This is step 1 of "physics of an apex jump".

So the simple explanation is this: the speed of a skater can be expressed as a vector traveling parallel to the floor surface. By jumping she accelerates vertically and meets our old friend gravity, or "acceleration due to gravity", when the acceleration due to her beasty jump and the acceleration due to gravity create a vertical velocity of zero she comes back down to earth. During the jump, however, her skating speed vector continues to travel parallel to the floor, so she continue to travel in forward even if her jump was directed straight up. Imagine someone dropping a rubber ball out of a train window and how the path looks to the dropper versus an onlooker. Cool.