Earlier this year we welcomed two new Swedish players to Team Discmania. We picked these young athletes as Discmania representatives not only because their great skill sets on the course, but also their positive natural energy and ambition to get better in the game they love. Normally when we sign new names, we don't necessarily expect big wins on the first season, as it often takes a natural transition period before one gets accustomed in playing with a whole new set of discs. For one of these two new Team Discmania representatives, that transition period proved no problem at all. We're talking about 22-year-old Henric Hagman, who recently won the Swedish National Tour with long-time Team Discmania representative Anders Swärd placing 2nd in the overall points race.
We've always known that the adjusting one's game to the Discmania plastic isn't all that hard, as our selection offers a well thought out set of discs that most Pro and recreational players can find very easy to get used to. Despite this, Henric's win on the main Pro tour of Sweden came as somewhat of a surprise even to us. We reached Henric for a quick Q&A to get the idea how he was able to reinvent and elevate his game to a level that secured him his career's biggest achievement to date. Read the interview below:
Q&A with Swedish National Tour Champion Henric Hagman
1) Congrats for winning the Swedish National Tour! Was this a goal for you or did everything just click the right way at the Tour events you played?
Henric: Thank you! I didn't really have any goals for the National Tour. But after I took 1st and 2nd place at the two first events my mindset changed. Then I was aiming for the number 1 spot. And I managed to pull it off, so I'm really happy!
2) You joined team Discmania mid-season and it was seemingly easy for you to #reinventyourgame with the new set of plastic. How was the transition period and which discs do you like the best at the moment?
Henric: I practised alot with the new discs so it didn't take too long for me to adjust. It was easier than I thought it would be. Right now my favourite disc is my C-PD or my fairly beat P-MD3.
3) In Europe Discmania has been a household name for a number of years, but in the US there are many players that are only starting to get to know our line up. Do you have any tips for someone looking to add some Discmania models to their bags? Which discs should they try first?
Henric: Yeah of course! They should definitely try out the P2. It's such a great putter off the tee and even inside the circle. Two other discs that you must try is both FD and PD. Two very versitile discs. FD is really easy to control and can hold any line. The PD flies a bit further and is a bit more overstable but yet very controllable.
4) If you could build the perfect bag for a) recreational player / b) touring pro with just 4 molds, what would those be?
Henric: For the recreational player:
P1 - Putter with a neutral flight pattern. Very easy to release.
MD - Straight flier out of the box! East to release and feels good in your hand.
FD - Holds the line perfectly and works for both recreational players as pros.
TD - Your distance driver. It's not the fastest disc on the market. But it will go further than the discs with higher speed, since beginners rarely have the proper technique to use those! If this disc fades too much for you, try the TD2!
For the touring pro:
P2 - More overstable than the P1. Great off the tee and inside the circle. Very versatile!
MD3 - This is my favourite disc in the midrange line-up, especially in the P-line plastic. Try it out, you'll know what I mean!
FD - Holds any line you put it on. This is probably the driver that gets thrown the most for me. A must have!
PD2 - When there's a stiff headwind, choose the PD2. It will hold the line like no other discs. Beat it in a bit and you'll have a disc that flies far!
5) Is it off-season for you already, or do you still have tournaments coming up?
Henric: Got some smaller tournaments coming up, nothing big really. The winter tour starts soon here in southern Sweden. I'll try to take part of some of those events aswell to keep it going throughout the winter, before I start my offseason training again.
6) What are your plans for the 2016 season?
Henric: To beat this years placement at the Swedish Championships. I finished 9th, next year I'll do better, hopefully! And of course I'll have to defend my National Tour title. Also, I'll keep on working to break the 1000+ rating barrier!
See you guys on the course!
Thanks for the interview and a huge "grattis" from the whole Discmania family!
Finnish Raimo Sokka joins Team Discmania
While we're in the subject of Team members, we are pleased to announce that the Discmania Promotion Team was recently joined by another up and coming Nordic player, Finnish Raimo Sokka. Raimo has versatile background in sports and after starting to play in 2010 he has been climbing towards the top of the highly competitive Finnish disc golf scene. Welcome to the Team, Raimo - we expect to see great things from you in the future!