Year 8: Return to Nationals

In 2011, Chris Loat stepped down from captaincy but remained on the team and Blue stepped into a coaching role. With the excitement of 2010 pushing recruiting efforts, Zen brought in several players with touring/nationals level experience. With a strong core returning as well as the new veteran experience, Zen only had one goal on its mind, Nationals! The team added a league night to further increase skills development. This was an instrumental move as it taught Zen how to close out games and not play down to weaker opponents. At regionals, Zen had a legitimate shot at nationals. After Universe point wins against Glide and Wreck, Zen secured the last bid to go to nationals.

Nationals 2011 was only the second time Zen had made it to Nationals. After beating Bytown Flatball Club in pool play, they headed into Power Pools, where they needed to finish 2-1 to advance to quarters. After a heartbreaking universe point loss to Spawn, quarters were out of reach and Zen dropped down to the 9-16 bracket. After beating BFC in pool play, Zen lost to them in the consolation quarters, but followed up with 2 wins on Saturday to hold seed at 13^th. Zen finished a strong 2011 season by holding or beating seed at every tournament they played at.