I had a bad first jam. It was only a scrimmage, but the participants hailed from a mix of nearby leagues and I knew none of them well. We had come together on a holiday weekend to glean some knowledge from a coach who had traveled halfway across the country to lead a two-and-a-half hour workshop, with the scrimmage as a kind of dessert to follow the main course. My team captain was a star jammer from a top team in the region. I was especially keen not to fail. But you know how sometimes you get into a pack and realize you weren’t quite prepared for what it was going to be like? You expected rough waters, but it turns out to be…
