The Chain O line has some new faces on it this year but will be sticking with the same formula of thoughful deep strikes and devastating cutting that has been effective in years past. The handling corps is made up of an all-Paideia backfield with Paul Vandenberg and Greg Swanson moving the disc around. Chain's personnel complements its style of play, with essentially the rest of the O line made up of dangerous, athletic downfield cutters. Chain O line veterans AJ Tiarsmith and Dylan Tunnell are legitimate deep and under threats and still have other teams scratching their heads matchup-wise even after all these years. Josh Ziperstein and Asa Wilson are known as deep receivers, but are smart cutters who are more than happy to kill teams with the unders and keep the ball moving. The O-line is rounded out by 2 new faces (see "rookies to watch" blurb), Kiran Thomas and Sam CK, who have been the dominant O cutters on their respective club teams for most of the last decade.

The Chain D line, affectionately known as the Junkyard Dogs (JYDs) is back to deliver more punishment. Undoubtably the driving force behind ATLs championship run in 2009, the D line isn't flying under the radar quite as much as it used to. Mark Poole and Robert White are no longer just "those 2 guys on chain that no one can get open on", but are now recognized as some of the top defenders in ultimate. The Chain 2009 rookie class that helped power the D line's run is back even stronger for the sophomore campaign, with a impressive list of names including Nick Lance, David Berendes, Robert Runner, Will Lokke, Peter Dempsey, and Brandon Perales. The D line doesn't lack veteran character either, with John Hammond and Jason Simpson, 2 of Chain's longest standing members still getting it done and firing the squad up. Finally, in spite of the loss of bigman Joel Wooten in the offseason, Chain has reloaded with 2 premiere rookie big-man defenders in Taylor Goforth and Jolian Dahl.

"rookies to watch"

This year Chain has 6 rookies: 3 are veteran club ultimate players from across the country, and 3 are rising stars and recent college graduates. Sam Chatterton-Kirchmeier is a long-time Seattle Sockeye star who has moved to Atlanta to attend medical school. Look for him to dominate on offense as a relentless cutter. Kiran Thomas, another O-line addition, is a convert from South regional rival Doublewide; Kiran's speed and jumping ability make him a devastating goal scorer. Jolian Dahl, formerly of Johnny Bravo, and World Games teammate of Dylan Tunnell and Sam C-K, has returned to his hometown of Atlanta. Watch for him to make plays on both sides of the disc, particularly as a shut-down defender. Taylor "Tree" Goforth makes his debut on Chain this year after playing with Rival and graduating from Kennesaw State last year; watch for him to dominate the air on both O and D. Andrew Hollingworth, a Tufts graduate and former Bodhi captain has come south to join the team's D line. Also watch for Michael Spear, a Georgia Tech. alum and former player on El Diablo to get diving blocks downfield for Chain's D line. 

Expectations for Chain Lightning this season are very high, unfortunately there is no way to avoid this reality. As the defending national champions, even if there is a lightning bolt on our jersey, there is a big bullseye over the top of that. As a team though, our expectations are simple -- play ultimate at the highest level that we can for as much of the season as possible. Seeing the talent and character that comprises our roster, if we do this, accolades such as a national championship are bound to come. The major way we aim to accomplish this goal is through dedicated focus at practice on fitness, and on working at things we are good at (to stay good at them) and things we are not good at (to improve at them). A perfect example of this is when last year we worked a lot on our deep throwing/cutting (knowing it was a strength) but also worked a lot on our end zone offense (which was a weakness), realizing that many teams that were aware of our big-ball strategy would be willing to concede a red zone possession. This strategy paid off in 2009 and we will target similar areas this fall to help achieve our goals.

-provided by Josh Ziperstein (Zip)