Tailwind Trials

adjusts aviators while frost forms on the broadcast booth glass Welcome to Week 6, where "Tailwind Trials" promised recovery training and delivered three Adams family members practicing adaptability against literally no one else.

The Fort's Loneliest Training Exercise 🎿

Friday, January 9, 2026. The Fort Buenaventura. 31.4°F with actual snow and 2.0 mph wind—conditions brutal enough to make aerospace alloy question its life choices. Week 6 of 9 in the "Tailwind Trials" episode, where the academy's special training sessions were supposed to force sky-annie throwers to practice frozen ropes and vice versa. Instead, we got a family reunion masquerading as a league event. The attendance freefall continues its terminal velocity: 15 players in Week 3, 7 in Week 4, 5 in Week 5, and now... three. All named Adams. One per division. The Fort's legendary bluffs have seen championships, world records, and James Conrad's Holy Shot. Today they witnessed a family outing with scorecards.

Wire-to-Wire When You're the Only Wire 🏆

Bryant Adams dominated RAH with a -6 performance that generated a 968 rating—39 points above his 929 PDGA baseline. This is legitimate disc golf: clean back nine execution, hot streaks on holes 3-5 and 11-14, the kind of technical precision that would've been compelling in any field size. Bryant threw frozen ropes through 31-degree snow while everyone else was presumably somewhere warmer, and the numbers don't lie about the quality. Wire-to-wire victory in RAH? Absolutely. Wire-to-wire when you're the only competitor in your division? Also technically accurate. The arena doesn't judge attendance—it judges performance. And Bryant's performance was championship-caliber, even if the championship was a population of one.

32 Points Below Rating Is Still Gold 🥇

Landon Adams took RPA with a -1 showing that clocked in at 924-rated—32 points below his 956 PDGA rating. The front nine showed promise, running 3 strokes better than the back nine, with hot streaks on holes 2-4 and 11-13 suggesting moments where the adaptability training clicked. But something unraveled after the turn. Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was the snow accumulation. Maybe it was the existential weight of being one-third of your league's entire attendance roster. The frozen rope philosophy demands mechanical perfection, and when you're 32 points underwater, the mechanics are clearly fighting the conditions. Still: gold medal finish. Still: sole competitor in division. The irony tastes like frostbite.

Sky-Annie Squadron: Population One ✈️

Kalen Adams closed out RAE with a +7 that rated 853, running wire-to-wire in the division because—and I'm contractually required to note this—there was no wire to compete against. The front nine ran 5 strokes better than the back, and a 3-hole cold streak finally thawed after hole 10, suggesting the "Tailwind Trials" adaptability training might've been hitting different when you're the only cadet in your squadron. The sky-annie philosophy is supposed to be about feel, about reading the wind, about letting the disc dance with the thermals. Hard to dance when you're the only one on the floor. But Kalen showed up, threw plastic at chains in freezing conditions, and that alone deserves respect in a week where 97% of the league roster chose warmth over warfare.

One Family's Monopoly on Participation 🏠

Let's synthesize the event-wide picture: Bryant's +39 rating differential was the statistical standout—the kind of performance that announces you've found your adaptability in the academy's training regimen. Landon's -32 struggle suggests the frozen rope philosophy was fighting the snow and losing. Kalen's wire-to-wire RAE campaign was technically flawless in execution if we ignore the complete absence of competition. The Adams family swept all three divisions because they were all three divisions. This isn't a criticism—it's a mathematical observation. When one family comprises 100% of your league attendance, you're not running a competition; you're hosting a very cold family reunion with PDGA-sanctioned scoring. The broader implications for league health are obvious: Week 7 is "Fort Dogfight," featuring direct elimination rounds and head-to-head matchups. You need, at minimum, two people for a dogfight.

The Vanguard Rests While Others Freeze 🛋️

Brett Buttars didn't play. The Mach Vanguard—that heavy, aerodynamic wedge of brushed titanium with scorched edges and a single, glowing blue navigation light—stayed home while three Adams family members braved 31°F snow at The Fort. Tag #1 sits idle, perpetually warm to the touch, vibrating with the low-frequency hum of a jet engine that isn't going anywhere. Brett's Week 5 ascension from Tag #18 to Tag #1 with a +33 rating differential was the kind of subsonic-to-Mach-speed performance that makes aerospace alloys scream in validation. But this week? The Vanguard rests. No defense. No challenge. No siege. Just a heat-pitted nose cone maintaining its idle temperature somewhere that isn't a frozen disc golf course. The tag's role is "a relentless frontline force that dictates the pace of engagement." Hard to dictate pace when you're not in formation. With only three players showing up and none of them gunning for the top spot, Tag #1 remains unchallenged, undefended, and—let's be honest—unbothered.

Fort Dogfight Approaches (Combatants Needed) 🥊

Three weeks remain in the season. Week 7 is "Fort Dogfight"—the episode where direct elimination rounds pit throwing schools against each other in head-to-head matchups, where every throw is compared and every decision scrutinized. The theme framework promises intensity. The attendance trends promise... uncertainty. Bryant Adams found his adaptability training breakthrough with that +39 differential. Landon struggled through the cold at -32. Kalen held the RAE wire alone. And Brett Buttars' Mach Vanguard stayed warm indoors while the academy ran drills in the snow. The season arc is building toward "Glide Eternal"—the championship round with legendary gusts where only those who blend feel with technique will survive. But first, we need more pilots. The Fort's bluffs are ready. The chains are waiting. The dogfight format is set. Now we just need combatants to show up and fight.

drops aviators on desk From the broadcast booth, that's Week 6. The training montage is over. Time to see who learned the lesson.