IL State Coordinator Votes

[CEValkyrie]

I like to make my voting open to the public to view. Here are my votes.

2007 PDGA Awards Ballot

Male Player of the Year
NATE DOSS
Ken Climo
David Feldberg
Avery Jenkins
Markus Kallstrom
Cale Leiviska

Female Player of the Year
DES READING
Carrie Berlogar
Valarie Jenkins
Elaine King
Brigitta Lagerholm
Angela Tschiggfrie

Male Rookie of the Year
BRENT KOONTZ
Nikko Locastro
Derek Billings
Cory Sharp
Jalle Stoor
Paul Ulibarri

Female Rookie of the Year
SARAH STANHOPE
Ragna Bygde
Liz Carr
Nicole Frazier
Kristine King
De'Atra Hunter


Tournament Director of the Year
MOM & OLDMAN WALLIS
Mike Barnett
Cris & Teresa Bellinger
Dan Busick
Jussi Meresma
Todd White

Bob West Memorial Award for Sportsmanship
JAY READING
Joel Abrian
J. Gary Dropcho
Marty Hapner
Brad Schick
Mike Werth

[tree]

Mom and Oldman are wonderful hosts

[Bruce Brakel]

It was smart and diplomatic of them to include a non-US candidate for most of the categories.  I don't have a lot of opinions on most of those categories, other than a few people I would want to vote against!  But this is like the Academy Awards of disc golf.  Someone like Terry Calhoun should organize the Golden Globes.  The difference between the two is who gets to vote. 

Mom and Old Man deserve an award, like a PDGA Lifetime Acheivement Award, but they would not be my vote for TD of the year if the best TDs were on that list.  I would be looking for a TD who consistently produces good tournaments for all the players who play them, and covers all the details.  Mom and Old Man are fine people who have done a lot for Peoria disc golf, but they only ran one PDGA tournament a year and it got cash and logistical support from the PDGA. 

Most of the TDs on that list are associated with just one good tournament that gets cash or logistical support from the PDGA.  I think someone like Larry Labond, who consistantly runs good B-tiers for both the ams and the pros, who adds to the PDGA coffers rather than taking, is far more deserving.  Maybe Larry will do a good job with Worlds and get it next year.  It is strange for none of the Worlds TDs to make the list.  I don't know if that has ever happened before. 

But maybe I'm just wrong.  Maybe it would be a better tournament scene if all the Larry Labonds would quit running scads of good, small tournaments and would instead just focus on producing one blockbuster event per year. 

[stpitner]

do they have criteria posted on how they pick the TD of the year?  I guess it could be nomination based, but I don't know how much info the PDGA can see other than what you turn in with the TD report.

[Dan Michler]

I already had this argument with the SC, but I am posting to see if other people think I am crazy or what.  Doss is a very solid selection for Player of the Year and I'm only giving my opinion (which doesn't matter).

Doss  4 tournament wins including 1 major (Worlds) and 2 NT events.
1st at Worlds, 3rd at USDGC
$24,000 win winnings
only finished outside the top 3 in 3 of 17 events in 2007

Climo 8 tournament wins including 2 majors (Worlds and European Open).
7th at Worlds, 1st at USDGC
$40,000 in winnings
only finished outside the top 2 in 5 of 21 events in 2007

Clearly both are extremely consistent and performed well at the big events.  You can argue Doss was more consistent at the big events, edging Climo by a point in the NT standings and finishing top 3 in the Worlds, Players Cup, and USDGC.  You can also argue that Climo is still a far more dominant player than anybody else in the world, winning 8 of 21 events played (38% to Doss' 24%) and finishing 2nd an amazing 8 more times while maintaining the highest player rating in the world for another year.

To me they both have amazing stats and won huge events, but it comes down to domination.  Doss won Worlds in a playoff.  Climo won USDGC by 11 shots.  Climo also won the European Open Major (Doss finished 11th) by 8 shots.  I'd take Climo's 2007 over Doss' 2007 any day, but maybe thats just me.  Doss is definitely #2 for last year though IMO, ahead of Feldberg.  I think if anybody votes for Doss its kind of like when Karl Malone and Charles Barkley would get MVP votes over Michael Jordan.  Climo is just so steady and has been at the top for so long that its just no fun to name him Player of the Year.  If Cale Leiviska had the exact year Climo had, you wouldn't hesitate to call him Player of the Year over Doss.  The only time Climo has ever been topped since 1990 was by Barry for a few years in about '03-'06.  2008 should be interesting, I think it will be Feldberg's year.

[Bruce Brakel]

do they have criteria posted on how they pick the TD of the year?  I guess it could be nomination based, but I don't know how much info the PDGA can see other than what you turn in with the TD report.

The Board makes the list with help from the staff.  Usually they focus on Major and NT TDs.  I think everyone on the list this year was a Major or NT TD -- I have not checked to see if Jussi ran the European Championship or just some biggie in Finland.  They rarely include the one-a-month-TDs who do the nuts and bolts work of running the vast majority of the PDGA's income producing tournaments.  

The process here is really upside down.  People who don't play that many tournaments make a list of TDs of the year without consulting the players based on their list of "big" tournaments and who their friends are.  Hence the analogy to the Academy Awards versus the Golden Globes.  

There are guys like Jon Brakel, Terry Miller, Gary Lewis [formerly], Brian Cummings, and now you can name some from where I live, who run B and C-tiers every month and send $200 to $1000 per tournament to the PDGA in sanctioning fees and player fees.  Then there are guys who do a good job of running a major with $2000 [or more] cash from the PDGA, no sanctioning fees, no player fees, free insurance, and a PDGA-paid Marshall.  Sometimes the PDGA also helps them find useful volunteers, too.  Who does more for the PDGA, the TDs who provide the PDGA with check afterwards or the TDs who provide the PDGA with a list of expenses?  

Today, tomorrow, or maybe yesterday, Terry Miller will cut a check to the PDGA for $878 for players fees for the Milwaukee Open.  The Board has the same access to that information as I do.  Look at the TD report and do the fourth grade math.  [Note to Terry:  I just scanned it.  Don't go with my number.   ]  It would be nice to see some of those TDs make the list.  Since there are no objective criteria for getting on the list, how about looking at the one objective criterion you can?  

[danavi]

I like the Koontz ROY vote.

I think it will be Feldberg's year.

Eric McCabe is having an awesome year.  If he can get afew big W's, lookout Feldburg.

[tacimala]

I too like the idea of Koontz for ROY, but that is also because he's a good friend of mine. It's definitely going to be a tossup on that vote.

Little too early to tell for this year though Dana, it's only May!

[dana]

I know, I know. But both Feldburg and McCabe's play this year has been awesome.  Jenkins as gotten hot as of late....lot of golf left though!