Hard.
A game of ultimate is a series of two-second intervals. Two seconds at a time, every individual on the team (whether playing or not) can contribute to winning the game. It's impossible to truly optimize your contribution in every two second window, and giving it your best shot time after time is hard, but it's what we do.
Tough.
Lord have mercy. What is tough? What's toughness? It’s armor. Or a parachute. Or a spring-loaded ace of spades tucked into your cuff. Tough is something to fall back on, something to shove forward, to be constantly. Toughness is always with you, yet you have grown accustomed to it because without it you are nothing. Toughness is bending but never breaking.
Smart.
Smart is committing to a courageous boringness under what the average Joe would call extreme pressure. Smart is gutsy and not easy to do, and it is the result of a lot disciplined and thoughtful training and a latent, ever-present will to win. Smart is an agreement between teammates, not a thought that pops into your head. It’s the trust that your teammates are there for you, just as you are for them.
Hard. Smart. Tough. Champions.
