Author: Sarah Mofford
Ultimate Frisbee: It’s fast, it’s fun and it’s flying your way. The men’s and women’s ultimate frisbee teams have started practicing again and preparing for fall tournaments coming soon.
So how does one exactly describe the experience that is ultimate frisbee? You could describe it as “a mix between football and soccer with a disk and with no contact and no refs,” as did co-captain of the women’s ultimate frisbee team Lissa Farrington (junior).
Or perhaps you would describe it as captain of the men’s ultimate frisbee team Jonathan Rodgers (junior), did. “Ultimate is a sport of pure athleticism and dexterity. It requires speed, agility, endurance, quick reflexes and a sharp mind. It is also the fastest growing sport in the country with a reported 20 percent increase in participation in the U.S. from last year to this year (according to the Ultimate Players’ Association),” Rodgers said in an e-mail interview.
Ultimate player John Eaton (junior) describes the experience as an overall awesome one, especially because of the “dope” people on the team.
The logistics of the game are fairly simple in comparison to most sports. One passes the frisbee to teammates in an attempt to get it into the end zone. The defending team tries to dispossess the attackers of the disk, take control of it and go the other way. The team that reaches the end zone most often wins.
That said, ultimate has more going on this season than meets the eye. Due to an increase in size because of first-year interest, Co-Captain Nicole Copti (junior) and Farrington are hopeful that the women’s team will go far in tournaments. Copti says that the team has been getting better every year, but that there are things that can still be improved.
Farrington agreed, stating that this year many of the newcomers know the basics of the sport, such as backhands and forehand throws. “We can start from a slightly higher level at the beginning,” Farrington said. “This year we’ll also have the numbers we need to scrimmage at practice.”
Copti reiterates that an increase in size this year will prove to be beneficial for the team. “Last year we didn’t have a lot of players at tournaments. It’s hard to be good at tournaments, which is like seven games, with only one sub,” Copti said.
In addition to an improvement in the women’s performance, the men’s team has also been improving over the years, and finished 35 places above seed (or where they were expected to finish) in the “Trouble in Vegas” tournament in 2008.
“Last year we qualified at the regional tournament to go to sectionals in Colorado, winning our first game against Claremont, a high-seeded team sponsored by an ultimate gear company called 5 Ultimate,” Rodgers said in an e-mail interview.
The men’s team has high hopes for the upcoming season as well, due to a qualified returning squad and an experienced staff in Coach Bert Kang. “There are also more new recruits this year than we had expected, most of whom have played before at a competitive level,” Rodgers said. These common numbers of interest and experience will no doubt help both teams reach their end zone hopes.
The team captains aim to keep their goals closer to home, focusing on both local practices and regional tournaments. “Ultimately, Oxy is a small school and it’s hard to compete against UCLA,” Copti said.
However, all the captains would like to make it to the regional tournament. “My biggest hope is that we go to sectionals and place. That’s something we haven’t done since I’ve been here, and it would mean a lot to the players, the coaches and the program as a whole,” said Rodger.
Although no official tournaments have happened, Copti and Farrington hope to arrange a scrimmage this semester and Rodgers hopes to scrimmage with USC or other local schools soon. In November, both teams will travel to San Diego for an annual tournament.
Even if you can’t throw or catch a frisbee to save your life, you can aim to be as talented as these teams through the kind of dedication and commitment they demonstrate, and above all, by eating a daily breakfast of “ultimate” champions. Copti and Farrington say that the ultimate breakfast of champions is bagels and bananas. Rodgers thinks it should be a little healthier, such as “omelets, fruit, English muffins, maybe some lightning.” He adds, “Otherwise I’d say we eat determination for breakfast, effort for lunch, tenacity for dinner and glory for dessert.” What’s more Ultimate than that?
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
