Skippy Sez,

Another season is in the books and it's time to recapitulate on what went down, what it means and for matter what it really means. If you haven't read my annual spew session, allow me to digress. This is my personal veiw, not the opinion of the FPA, it's members, my mom's or anyone else that is important. I can utilize my full spewing capacity because 1) I am very crusty 2) even if I don't know what happened I like to pretend I did.

So without further ado, the annual Skippy Sez awards.

Each and every yearn this catagory. The criteria is as follows;

1. The winner must have won at least one major title as well as shown consistancy throughout the year.

2. They must also be a shred master, not some poster boy or girl, wanna be, check-out-my-against-the-geek-pull kind of dweeb. That's embarassing and would not warrent inclusion in this, the most highly exalted level of all, rage fest, shred or die, I bleed krazy-glue and sweat krylon level of jammer.

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With that aside the candidates are:

David Schiller. This dude is rock hard, never bails, pulls wicked combos For years upon years he has pushed his personal limits and with that the limits of the sport. Each and every day he pushes the outside of the envelope and I respect him for that. This season he and partner Amy Bekken toured Brazil, spreading the jam to unforeseen lands. At the FPA's he placed first (mixed, with Amy), Second (with Bob Coleman) and Second (with Joel Rogers and Rodney Sanchez). His 5th place finish in Ventura did little to tarnish his solid season. I honestly feel he is the best jammer on the planet right now. I hereby honor him as the Player of the Year and promise to buy him a pitcher of beer and give him the nickname "Rock", as in rock hard, as in his moves are hard as rocks.

Bob Coleman had his best season ever and I look forward to "Friz" gaining more confidence and getting more and more accustomed to the winner's circle. He no longer is a player that you can veiw in terms of "potential".

Lisa Hunrichs. I am absolutely agape when I watch her play. Talk about potential. She has every thing going for her. Techno weanieness, proto-type bio-rad type of body with lots of ape factor. Competitive fire. Motivation. From now on I'm going to call her "The Package" because she has it all. This catagory is the closest of all due to the quantum leap so many players have taken.

Arthur Coddington and David Lewis continue to improve and are now at the next level. They have both lost the mechanical style of play and have gained more "soul" to their games. Rick Sader is another player that is vastly improved from prior years. I look forward to watching him continue to shred and become a force in future years. Visa Ruennen is a freestyle addict. That's all you need to be good. In a couple of years he could very well be great.

Carrying on the great tradition of turbo-jammers, Pat Carosco is the carrier of the torch. After all he learned the craft from one of the greatest "death jammers" that ever lived, Deaton Mitchell. Even though he didn't compete this last year, that hs no relevance in this catagory. This is all about sweating and grunting and power. You can now add Pat's name to the long list of turbo jammers like, John Jewell, Deaton Mitchell, Tom Leitner, Brenda Savage and Steve Hays.

Gary Auerbach and Brian McElwain, FPA Pairs Finals

Are these guys rookies? I don't think so, I know I've heard of Brian for a long time. I don't think they've ever been in a World Title caliber tournament final. What I do know is that they are the current FPA Pairs Champions. This title is perhaps the most honorable simply because with only two players, you cannot hide. If one player has an off day, sayonara. This is what's great about this sport, two relative unknowns live on the edge for 4 minutes in time and feel what it feels like to be on top of the world. Some people have said they didn't feel as though they deserved the title but they miss the point. Each and every round, there is a clean slate. May the best jam win. Plus the final they won was probably the hottest final since the 1990 U.S. Open in La Mirada. Each and every team pushed their own limits. Everyone should be proud to be in a final like that.

Peace,

Skippy