Fall 2015 USA Ultimate Magazine by USA Ultimate

ULTIMATE PLAYERS ASSOCIATION ULTIMATE PLAYERS USA ASSOCIATION ULTIMATE 4730 MesaDrive, Dr., Suite I-200C 5825 Table Delmonico 4730 Suite Table 350 Mesa Dr., Suite I-200C Boulder, 80305CO ColoradoCO Springs, Boulder, 80919CO 80305

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#HEFORSHE YCC PLAYER PROFILES U-23 WORLDS U.S. OPEN COVERAGE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS COVERAGE O F F I C I A L M A G A Z I N E O F U S A U L T I M AT E FA L L 2 0 1 5

CONTENTS FIRST THROW:

FEATURES:

#HEFORSHE: NOTICED, CELEBRATED, APPRECIATED

3 A Letter to Our Members 5 By the Numbers: Masters 6

U-23 Worlds Team Building and Building Teams .S. Open – Men’s U Competing With the Best Means Learning From the Best

NATIONALS – MEN’S An Earned Respect

11 60

15 F arricker Spotlight: Ashlin Joye

30 U.S. Open – Mixed Setting the Stage

34 U.S. Open – Women’s

An Ohio Homecoming

COLUMNS:

NATIONALS – MIXED Drag’n Tales: A Tale of Two Halves

64 Nutrition Matters 67 Coaches’ Playbook 70 Spirit Circle 72 What’s the Call? 74 Local League Spotlight 75 News & Notes

NATIONALS – WOMEN’S Honor in Loss

WOMEN’S MASTERS

24 Pufahl Spotlight: Alex Snyder

YOUTH CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS U-16

ON THE COVER: Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust’s Martha Harris throws downfield during the National Championship semifinals against Liz Mackey and Boston Slow White. Photo: Daniel Thai/Ultiphotos

GRAND MASTERS

GRIF

NDE

Y VA

JANE

MEN’S MASTERS

GIRLS

SEAN MURRAY U-19 BOYS

LAUREN CAROTHER S-LISKE U-19 MIX ED

U S A U LT I M AT E

SEEN & HEARD WORLD UNDER-23 ULTIMATE CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS

MIXED 1. United States 2. Australia 3. Canada 4. Germany 5. Great Britain 6. South Africa 7. Japan 8. Chinese Taipei 9. India 10. Philippines 11. Ireland 12. Colombia

WOMEN’S 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Japan United States Canada Australia Germany Colombia Sweden Great Britain New Zealand

OPEN 1. United States 2. Canada 3. Japan 4. Great Britain 5. Austria 6. New Zealand 7. Germany 8. Ireland 9. Australia 10. Switzerland 11. Colombia 12. Italy 13. Belgium 14. Denmark 15. Sweden 16. Mexico 17. Poland 18. Spain 19. Philippines 20. Netherlands

USA ULTIMATE 5825 Delmonico Drive, Suite 350 Colorado Springs, CO 80919 719-219-8322 www.usaultimate.org info@usaultimate.org USA ULTIMATE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mike Payne – President DeAnna Ball – Vice President Brian Garcia – Treasurer Josh Seamon – Secretary Val Belmonte Kathy Hendrickson Mary-Clare Brennan Stephen Hubbard Michael Eck Kevin Minderhout Ness Fajardo Henry Thorne USA ULTIMATE STAFF Dr. Tom Crawford – Chief Executive Officer Administration & Finance Julia Lee – Director Ethan Taylor-Pierce Competition & Athlete Programs Will Deaver – Managing Director Ty Krajec Byron Hicks Connor Maloney Sarah Powers Dan Raabe David Raflo Ernest Toney Marketing & Communications Andy Lee – Director Matthew Bourland Stacey Waldrup Membership & Sport Development Josh Murphy — Director Leah Dolan-Kelley Kristen Gallagher Becca Simeone USA Ultimate is a non-profit organization and serves as the national governing body for the sport of ultimate in the United States. Founded in 1979 as the Ultimate Players Association (UPA), USA Ultimate is one of the first flying disc sport organizations in the world and the largest, with 50,000 members and a national volunteer network. USA ULTIMATE USA Ultimate is the official publication of USA Ultimate, published quarterly. All ideas expressed in USA Ultimate are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of USA Ultimate, the national governing body. USA Ultimate assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Editor-in-Chief Stacey Waldrup Advertising Complete rates and specifications are available online at www.usaultimate.org/sponsors. Change of Address USA Ultimate is not forwarded by the post office. To update your address, please contact USA Ultimate. For a complete list of contacts, visit www.usaultimate.org. Mission Statement To advance the sport of ultimate in the United States by enhancing and promoting Character, Community and Competition.

FALL 2015

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LETTER TO OUR MEMBERS

National Development Dr. Tom Crawford

USA Ultimate Chief Executive Officer

here is a tremendous amount of activity in the sport of ultimate these days. I recently attended the U.S. Olympic Assembly, and I had a colleague stop me in the hallway and say, “Man, you guys are everywhere these days.” She was talking about seeing and hearing about us in the media and on television, as well as around the Olympic Family. I just smiled and said, “Yes – we have a lot going on!” While I loved hearing a comment like that, as it reinforces our success at our number one strategic goal, it’s also a reminder of how important some of the other initiatives we have underway are for us as a sport. For one, we are excited about our annual meeting of the Athlete Performance Group in early December. This gathering brings together a large swath of the national volunteer leadership as well as our athlete council to discuss essentially everything related to competition and athlete development, from grassroots programs through grand masters athletes. USA Ultimate is committed to continuing to give athletes this opportunity to share their input and assist us as we execute our strategic and annual operating plans. This large and inclusive group also reminds everyone involved of the power of our community and the importance of keeping that element of our mission front and center. The single biggest, and perhaps most important, initiative we have going on right now is

important next step for our sport. It will help us truly maximize our potential and realize our vision.

our significant investment in building out a national infrastructure for our sport. Although we’ve talked about it before, this initiative doesn’t get a ton of attention because it’s not as exciting as some of our other activities, but it is likely the single most

hosting events, and most importantly, the execution of our athlete development pipeline through wellplanned programs – getting thousands of kids playing and competing with a chance to maximize their potential!

MISSION: To advance the sport of ultimate in the United States by enhancing and promoting Character, Community and Competition.

VISION: Ultimate is widely known, played and respected in the United States as a sport that inspires athletic excellence and integrity among participants and fans. Starting in 2016, we will be investing millions of dollars at the local level to build out state and regional organizations. These 501(c)3 organizations will be extensions of USA Ultimate and will be totally focused on their state or region. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard about children getting exposed to our sport, wanting to play and not having that option. We have to fix that! The way we are going to do that is by building out a national infrastructure for the sport that empowers local, state-by-state activity, with a major goal of having high-quality learning and playing opportunities available for children everywhere in the U.S. These new local organizations will be the delivery vehicle for all of our programs at the local level: coaching education, observer training, GUM, Learn to Play, Ultimate Foundation fundraising activity, support for affiliates, support for teams,

U S A U LT I M AT E

LETTER TO OUR MEMBERS

Champ Events

Local Teams - Club Teams - College Teams - Youth Teams - School - Club

FALL 2015

Programs

• Camps • Learn to Play • Leagues • Coaching Development • Observer Training • Parent Education

• Youth • College • Beach • Triple Crown Tour • Masters

Imagine in 10 years having all states/regions running active, well-coordinated programs for youth, coaches and local volunteers. We’ll see youth and high school participation rates soar, college teams will increase, and the entire pyramid of sport-building activities will help the club and masters divisions continue to grow and flourish. In a nutshell, lots of playing opportunities for everyone, including the next generation of players. We’ll need lots of help with this development, so please contact Josh Murphy at josh@hq.usaultimate.org if you have the interest and motivation to join this critical initiative. We have funding, support mechanisms and national staff support. Now we need some entrepreneurial partners to activate and drive the implementation and growth all over the nation. This national build-out will not be easy. We have spent a great deal of time with other national governing bodies during the planning process to learn from their experiences and have come to understand that this will be a task with growth pains. We’ll see lots of bumps and bruises along the way. But our goal is to create an infrastructure full of local entrepreneurial spirit and to help each unique state and region thrive and grow based on their unique opportunities and challenges. We’ll be here to support and guide them and provide resources and best practices education. The overall goal is to build a community of communities that can learn from each other and thrive at the local level. We see these organizations supporting and partnering with local club and college teams and those teams supporting the growth of the ultimate communities near them by teaching and coaching local programs. The growing communities will become fan bases and volunteer bases for events, programs and youth development, and the local college and club teams will become the aspiration for all the children. Exciting times and big challenges are ahead! Let’s all work together to build out a national infrastructure that will create thousands of new playing opportunities for athletes of all ages and build a unique and inspiring community of communities for our wonderful sport.

BY THE NUMBERS

U S A U LT I M AT E

Team Building and Building Teams Words By Stacey Waldrup

FALL 2015

7 Teams don’t just come to be. At least not good teams. Good teams are built. The most successful teams are engineered. And for many teams, like U.S. national teams, it all starts with coaches. Being responsible for a team representing the United States in any sport is a high-pressure game. Americans are accustomed to success. While citizens of other countries can often be seen cheering wildly when one of their countrymen or women earns a silver or bronze medal at the Olympics, American sports fans are

studded and cohesive and turn a group of people who often don’t know each other into a well-oiled machine in an impossibly tight time frame – just in time to put them to the test and see if they can win gold. Techniques vary for building these teams and implementing new systems in the short four days teams have together at training camp. For this year’s women’s team, it was all about balance. “My approach is to determine the minimum amount that players need to understand about the systems to stay

into tournaments. It helps protect you from pressure, it helps everyone focus and feel grounded. So the routine on day one of tryouts was the same as it was before the gold-medal game.” Despite the gold-medal expectations, national team coaches also realize they need to encourage their players to immerse themselves in the all-around experience that is a world championship event. Winning a gold medal is always an extraordinary achievement and ultimately the end goal, but a trip to Worlds has a lot more to offer

merely content with medals in those shades. Americans expect gold. We expect to be the best in the world. Especially in sports where success has been relatively commonplace over the years. Ultimate may not be an Olympic sport – yet – but the sport’s fans in the United States have expectations for their national teams that are similar to those they have for the members of Team USA who compete in the Olympic Games. Luckily for those of us with high expectations, for the time being, the U.S. still claims many of the best ultimate players in the world, along with some of the best coaches the sport has yet seen. While they work to build their own team and develop their own chemistry as a coaching staff, these coaches can see the bigger picture, build a roster that is both star-

coordinated with each other on the field while not giving them so much information that they become paralyzed by too much thinking,” said Mike Whitaker, the women’s team’s head coach. “The players who make the squad are elite, with great ultimate sense. As a coach, you try to find the balance between keeping the team coordinated and not stifling individual instincts and creativity.” For the coaches of the open team, routine was key. “One thing we did put in place from the beginning was a warm-up and other structures about how we started and ended practice, took time-outs, spoke in huddles, etc.,” said Jody Avirgan, one of the open team’s assistant coaches. “Tiina Booth talks about the ‘bubble of routine’ that you can carry with you from practice

athletes, particularly young-adult athletes, than a piece of gold, silver or bronze. “We communicated early on that if the players measured the value of the experience by the color of the medal around their necks at the end, then we failed as a team to fully embrace the Worlds experience,” said Whitaker. “We asked the players to really be present in the experience – leaving outside concerns at the door and focusing on really engaging with each other and other countries in meaningful ways.” Following the lead of their coaches, and with the help of said coaches, the 2015 U-23 women’s team took the advice to heart. Stevie Miller and Megan Cousins organized a multi-event challenge for the assistant coaches, Lauren Boyle and Carolyn Matthews. Throughout the week,

GOOD TEAMS ARE BUILT.

LEFT: Elliott Erickson skies a crowd during the mixed division championship game in London. Photo: Kevin Leclaire/Ultiphotos ABOVE: The 2015 U-23 Mixed National Team had a great blend of skill, chemistry, fun and t-r-u-s-t. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

U S A U LT I M AT E

8 Boyle and Matthews competed against each other in obstacle courses, comedy skits and challenges. One such challenge had the assistant coaches working to get people not associated with the U.S. delegation in London to give motivational speeches to the women’s team. Team India came through in a big way, choreographing a dance and performing it for the U.S. women’s team before a game. The U.S. returned the favor on Friday morning with their own newly choreographed routine. In addition to being one of Coach Whitaker's most distinctive memories, that moment stuck out for women’s team captain Lisi Lohre, too. “It was super inspiring. Seeing a team like that from India out there cheering for us and thanking us for being inspiring to them and then dancing really well for us was really awesome. That was definitely a moment that really felt like – this is Worlds. These are people who also traveled from halfway across the world to be here, and we’re all connected by the sport we love.” For members of the mixed team, they’ll probably never be able to hear the word “trust” again without wanting to throw their right arms in the air and having memories of their time in London come flooding back. A team meeting at the end of day one of competition put their focus solidly on trust, in themselves and their teammates, and increasing energy on the sidelines. What resulted was a cheer that could be heard ringing out across the fields at regular intervals for the rest of the week.

“ T-R-U-S-T! I trust you, and you trust me!”

FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: This D by team captain Trent Dillon turned into the championship-game-winning point for the open team in London. Photo: Nathan Kolakovic/Ultiphotos Erynn Schroeder produced a highlight reel of her own during the U-23 Championships, including this bid against Canada. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos Shira Stern outreaches Japan’s Eri Hinata during the women’s division finals. Photo: Kevin Leclaire/Ultiphotos Stanley Peterson got this poach D in the end zone when the open team played Australia in power pools. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos FALL 2015

Between points, after a mistake, whenever the team might need a boost, that’s what everyone heard. And if they looked around for the source of the cheer, they would also see lots of right arms in the air. “We kept our energy high,” said Martin Aguilera, the mixed team’s head coach. “We kept throwing our hands up for trust. We kept doing all those things that kept us in the right mind state.” And it clearly worked. Aside from one scare that saw them down 9-8 at halftime against the home team from Great Britain, the U.S. mixed team put together a dominant performance in London that carried them all the way through the finals. A glimpse of a tennis ball might also bring back memories of their Worlds experience for members of the mixed team. It might give them an urge to stand in a circle with whoever is around and bounce the ball off of their heads for hours on end. The team mastered that game before they left London. By all accounts a little more staid than their mixed and women’s counterparts, the open team remained focused on their mantra from day one of training camp through the last point of the gold-medal game: “This Moment.” “We tried to keep in mind what a privilege it was to be there,” said Avirgan. “There were dozens of players who tried out and didn’t make the team, friends and family who helped us get there, the U.S. ultimate community cheering us on. So any moment where we weren’t giving full effort or attention was a wasted moment

9 we weren’t ever going to get back…This is not to say we didn’t have fun, but I was really impressed at the level of seriousness and focus this team maintained.” Avirgan added that he really enjoyed watching members of the open squad come together as teammates throughout the experience. “I loved the way that players who only knew each other as opponents really bonded on and off the field. I think these international teams are great for spirit of the game, as these guys will bring that camaraderie back to the U.S. and onto the field the next time they meet. Which is to say: it was nice to see the UCF and the Pitt guys become best of friends.” Memories like the ones forged by the three U.S. teams in London are what make a Worlds experience truly special. Without them, whatever medal you end up with around your

In one of the game’s most exciting plays, Canada’s Gagan Chatha made this catch over the outstretched arms of Hunter Taylor and Stanley Peterson in the open championship game. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

neck looks a little less shiny.

MEDAL COUNT 2 Gold MIXED, OPEN

1 Silver WOMEN’S

1 Team Spirit WOMEN’S

Lane Siedor bids to save possession for the U.S. mixed team during the championship final. Photo: Kevin Leclaire/Ultiphotos Megan Cousins of the U.S. women’s team goes for the footblock against Japan in the gold-medal game. Photo: Kevin Leclaire/Ultiphotos

U S A U LT I M AT E

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team@fiveultimate.com 206.456.3017

2610 Western Ave. Seattle WA 98121 ... you know, if you want to send us a post card or something.

MEN’S

AN EARNED RESPECT WORDS BY

ISAAC SAUL

Revolver’s Beau Kittredge skies two Chicago Machine defenders during the semifinals. Photo: Daniel Thai/Ultiphotos

wanted anyone but them to win. I wanted to hate them so bad. I wanted Truck Stop to punch it in on them during that double-game point quarterfinal. But they won. And I couldn’t hate them. And Truck Stop couldn’t beat them. Before Frisco, Texas, I had only seen San Francisco Revolver play in person at the National Championships one time. That year, I was a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh playing with the Pittsburgh Haiders, and the most competitive ultimate I had ever seen was my first year at the College Championships a few months before, where we lost to Carleton College and current Revolver standout Sam Kanner in the semifinals. That year, we had a Doublewide team with Kurt Gibson and a healthy Brodie Smith in our pool, and all the Club Nationals-level teams looked the same to me: big, fast, smart with the disc and extremely organized downfield.

Ashlin Joye was one of two Revolver players to have 17 assists at Nationals, including two in the finals. Photo: Daniel Thai/Ultiphotos Now, though, with another five years of competitive ultimate under my belt, it’s easier to notice the things that distinguish the great club teams from the good club teams, and similarly, the things that distinguish Revolver from everyone else. The first and most obvious is their depth. No team I saw at Nationals opened up their lines like Revolver, and certainly no team at Nationals got the productivity from their second or third defensive lines that Revolver got. Between the semis and finals, only seven of Revolver’s 27 rostered players didn’t record a goal, assist, defensive block or turnover, according to USA Ultimate’s statistics. One of those seven was Christian Johnson, a former Ring of Fire standout, an offensive line starter and one of Revolver’s most active cutters. Another was Jamie Quella who made several important defensive plays over the weekend and covered Jonathan “Goose” Helton – arguably Chicago Machine’s overall best player – for most of the semifinals. Another was Alex Evangelides who also started on the defensive line for Revolver in the semifinals and saw significant playing time all weekend. That leaves four players who you could argue didn’t have an active and direct role in Revolver’s win, and I still haven’t taken injuries into account. “The most important players on Revolver are the ones that don’t show up in the stats,” Beau Kittredge told me. “We try

FALL 2015

to really focus on understanding your role… When it’s crunch time, I know my role is not to score but to keep the disc moving when things are tight and not turn it over.” And when your best player has an attitude like that, it goes a long way. Revolver’s open lines don’t just show trust in their system, it shows trust in each individual player. After all, why put someone on the team if you don’t believe they can play in the semifinals or finals at Nationals? “We have a next-man-up mentality,” Revolver captain Lucas Dallman said after the semifinals. “We’re focusing on one point at a time, and that’s not just the players on

the field, that’s the sideline. We figure we should be getting Ds from the sideline.” Which brings me to my next point: the players who aren’t on the field. Hearing Dallman explain it makes it sound so simple, but it’s a message so many teams willingly overlook. “We should be getting Ds from the sideline.” How many teams do you hear saying that? It doesn’t just represent a strategic outlook either, that your sideline is a valuable part of the equation who – even if they help cause one turnover – could change the outcome of a game. It also represents a mentality of accountability that is omnipresent amongst Revolver’s roster.

“THE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS ON REVOLVER ARE THE ONES THAT DON’T SHOW UP IN THE STATS” —BEAU KIT TREDGE Cassidy Rasmussen made this impressive trailing-edge catch for a goal during the finals. Photo: Daniel Thai/Ultiphotos

M E N ’ S R E S U LT S The expectation that you are nearly or even as responsible for what’s happening on the field when you’re on the sideline should be revelatory for less experienced ultimate players everywhere. And on this team, mentality is big. I don’t think I ever saw a single Revolver player by himself on the sideline. Each time a line left the field, they’d join each other to talk over what just happened, grab some water and then either tend to an injury or equipment situation under the tent and immediately jump back on the sideline to cheer on their teammates. And their talks weren’t the regular tropes like “we can’t get broken” or “look dump early.” They’d be discussing intricacies – when to have high hands on certain players (Brett Matzuka), where they want to get opponents trapped in the zone, how to adjust to a go-play they’ve seen more than once. The one exception was Kittredge, who at times secluded himself from his teammates in what I could only imagine was an effort to recalibrate mentally. But even the best player in the world was giving out high fives and following the action closely for most of the game. Just as consistently as they met with each other after points, Revolver was also consistently positive. Not once did I hear a Revolver player put down another teammate. And trust me, I was listening. They made mistakes, too. They were down late against Truck Stop. They gave up the first break of the semifinals to Sockeye. They had moments where it would have been perfectly acceptable to start riding a teammate to play better, but that moment never came. The best team in the world and the winner of four of the last six USA Ultimate National Championships always remained relentlessly positive with their teammates.

SAN FRANCISCO REVOLVER

MADISON CLUB

SEATTLE SOCKEYE

MINNEAPOLIS SUB ZERO

BOSTON IRONSIDE

PHILADELPHIA PATROL

CHICAGO MACHINE

TORONTO GOAT

AUSTIN DOUBLEWIDE

ANN ARBOR HIGH FIVE

RALEIGH RING OF FIRE

DENVER JOHNNY BRAVO

KANSAS CITY PRAIRIE FIRE

15T

PORTLAND RHINO

WASHINGTON, D.C. TRUCK STOP

15T

FLORIDA UNITED

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS Caleb Denecour D OU B L E W I D E

Danny Bumgarner FLO R I DA U N I T E D

Derek Alexander G OAT

Ben Ayres HIGH F I V E

Will Neff IRON S I DE

Owen Westbrook JOH N N Y B R AVO

Andrew Sheehan MAC H I N E

Chase Marty MAD I S O N C LU B

Jordan Winey PAT R O L

Jesse White P RA I R I E F I R E

Ashlin Joye RE VO LV E R

Dylan Freechild RHIN O

Josh Mullen RIN G O F F I R E

Donnie Clark SOC KE YE

Kyle Gill SUB Z E R O

Matthew McDonnell TRU C K STO P

SPIRIT RANKINGS 15.6

SUB ZERO

14.5

GOAT

14.5

RHINO

13.3

MADISON CLUB

13.3

TRUCK STOP

13.2

SOCKEYE

12.7

IRONSIDE

12.3

JOHNNY BRAVO

12.3

MACHINE

12.0

PRAIRIE FIRE

11.9

DOUBLEWIDE

11.6

REVOLVER

11.3

PATROL

10.1

RING OF FIRE

9.8

HIGH FIVE

7.8

FLORIDA UNITED

14 And you might be surprised to know, they kept it positive with their opponents, too. Not once did I hear them tell another player that his call was “garbage” or heckle an opponent on the field. I didn’t see a single questionable interaction between a Revolver player and an opponent. That might be because it was Nationals, and it might be because I didn’t see every single point Revolver played all weekend, but you can take my observations for what they are. Some might point to their relatively low spirit score, finishing 11th out of 16, as a counterpoint. I’d proceed with caution. Not only did Ashlin Joye win the Peter Farricker Award, the overall spirit award in the men’s division, but one thing I learned from winning in college was that no matter how hard you try, it’s difficult to get teams to like you when you’re beating them. Look no further

Simon Higgins is Revolver’s youngest member and already plays a big role on the field. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

“ONE THING I LEARNED FROM WINNING IN COLLEGE WAS THAT NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY, IT’S DIFFICULT TO GET TEAMS TO LIKE YOU WHEN YOU’RE BEATING THEM” than the top five teams in spirit scores, a list that consists of not a single squad who finished higher than seventh and two teams who finished in the bottom five at Nationals. Perhaps the best teams in club ultimate need to display better spirit; more likely to me, though, is that teams are naturally inclined to like you less when you win. And Revolver did a lot of that. Another thing that set Revolver apart – they did a lot of running. More than any team I saw over the weekend, Revolver seems to have mastered two things: getting down on pulls quickly and having consistent energy throughout the game. In the semifinals, the game’s first, 12th and final points all had the same energy to them. Both their speediness getting down on the pulls and that steady level of excitement certainly has a lot to do with their depth, but it’s also about decisions. Sprinting down

FALL 2015

hard on the pull is a decision. Being loud on point one and point 26 is a decision. It seemed Revolver always chose right. By the time the finals rolled around, I and most of the fans at Nationals had – once again – given up on hating Revolver. I wanted to boo my older brother and Ring of Fire into the finals. I wanted to see another epic quarterfinals upset. And when the championship game was set, I wanted to see guys that I grew up playing with or against like Julian Hausman and Matt Rehder pull off the upset. But when they didn’t, I found myself exhausted of hatred for Revolver. Even the fans at the game got tired of booing. The truth is, I didn’t hear a single bad word about Revolver all week. And by the time they got done completing yet another dominant run, I didn’t have a single bad thing to say about them.

Lucas Dallmann and Russell Wynne elevate for the disc during the finals against Seattle Sockeye. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

15 2015 PETER FARRICKER SPIRIT OF THE GAME AWARD:

ASHLIN JOYE WORDS BY NICK SCHLAG Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

y first year on Revolver was 2009. I remember getting an invitation to tryouts, an e-mail from the captains describing how much of the roster had been set but that they were looking to round out the depth chart in a few positions. I scanned the roster, for the most part a “who’s who” of players I had looked up to throughout college. The only name I didn’t recognize immediately was Ashlin Joye, who I learned after some Google sleuthing was a sophomore at California-Davis at the time. He showed up to practices and tournaments that year, a quiet, lanky kid with a mop on his head. But his career did not start auspiciously, as nagging back problems kept him contorted in strange stretches on the sideline for most of the season. A few displays of his talents on the field earned him the nickname “The Future,” but on a roster full of established superstars, the hopeful aspiration behind that nickname masked a lingering question of what role Ashlin might eventually find. Six years later, the future is the present, and I’m not sure any of us could have imagined his meteoric rise from these humble beginnings. His on-field achievements during this period are nearly unparalleled, and as his star has risen, he has become widely recognized as one of the top players in the game. But enough has been said about what Ashlin can do (and has done) on the field. What I’d like to share is a brief glimpse of the side of Ashlin most people don’t get to see: Ashlin as a teammate. This year at Nationals, we found ourselves, Revolver, flirting with failure once again in the quarterfinals, fighting for our lives against a hungry Truck Stop team. The game had a distinct upwind-downwind flavor

to it, and we had ceded an early upwind break to our opponents. Late in the first half, we were clawing to hold on offense upwind, to give our defense a chance to regain serve. After multiple turnovers from both teams, we had worked the disc to a point about 20 yards out from the end zone. I pivoted to throw a short backhand break to Ashlin, only to watch the disc slide into the ground a few yards short of its intended target. It was a miserable turnover, and I started dwelling on its implications immediately.

“WHAT I FOUND WAS REASSURANCE, LOVE AND SUPPORT; SOMEBODY SO INVESTED IN HIS TEAM THAT HE WAS UNWILLING TO ALLOW ONE TEAMMATE’S MISTAKE LET HIM DOWN.” Leading up to Nationals, one of Revolver’s traditions has been to sit down and discuss our fears going into the tournament, the idea being that we will likely have to face these fears eventually, and it is better to lay them out of the table than to be forced to confront them for the first time in the heat of battle. A common theme in this year’s discussion – particularly in the aftermath of last year’s disappointing conclusion – was an individual fear of letting our teammates down. With my mistake, I found myself face to face with this fear, confronting the very real possibility that I would be the one to disappoint my teammates. Truck Stop worked the disc down the field to score another break. As I walked off the field, crippled with self-doubt, already thinking ahead to the weight I would carry if

we lost, my path crossed with Ashlin’s. Our eyes met – my face plastered with anguish, I’m sure – and I was surprised to see none of the frustration I expected to find, no blame, hardly a shred of concern. Instead, what I found was reassurance, love and support; somebody so invested in his team that he was unwilling to allow one teammate’s mistake let him down. How the rest of the game played out has been well-documented, and credit for the comeback belongs to the entire team. Ashlin, among others, contributed to several key plays, not the least of which was the gamewinning huck, executed in cold blood from the brick mark against a stiff wind. But despite the thrill of the win, what I will always remember from this game, more than any individual play, was the moment after that crucial mistake, that brief showing of support. All of us in this sport win and lose with our teammates; some of us in spite of ourselves, and some of us because of ourselves. For Ashlin, I believe it is the latter, and that our failures, our victories and everything between we have shared completely. I won’t claim Ashlin is unique in the game in these qualities, but he certainly exemplifies them as well as anybody I have played with. This is just one reason that I’m proud to call him my teammate.

MIXED

DRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;N TALES: A TALE OF TWO HALVES WORDS BY

R YA N G O R M A N The 2015 National Championships final in the mixed division was a rematch of last year's final between Minneapolis Drag'n Thrust and Seattle Mixtape. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

FALL 2015

oming into the 2015 National Championships, Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust looked poised to defend their title as the two-time reigning national champions in the mixed division. There were certainly other teams vying to knock this powerhouse from the top, but after a dominant run through their regional tournament, earning them a definitive position as the top seed, Drag’n was looking great. In the end, Drag’n’s finals win may have seemed to many like the expected result, but how they got there was significantly less expected.

POO L PLAY: ANYTHING BUT ROUTINE Having the bull's-eye on your back as the number one seed at any tournament is a challenge. When you face that situation at the National Championships as the undisputed favorite, it can be a challenge even for a seasoned team like Drag’n Thrust. Their pool draw included a regional foe (Madison NOISE), a New York team that has been around longer than any other team at the event (7Express), and the team Drag’n defeated in the 2014 championship finals (Seattle Mixtape). Combine that pool of teams with the late schedule, staggered round times, a showcase game to end the day and a format that still advances everyone to the championship bracket, and it’s understandable that the day would be a test of mental toughness. Drag’n started off by surviving a firstround scare against NOISE. Drag’n had just soundly beaten NOISE in the North Central regional semifinals, but the defending champions struggled to put them away in this game, trailing as late as 10-11 before winning 13-11. Drag’n still couldn’t quite find their true championship form in the second round

Henry Phan gets horizontal for Seattle Mixtape during the championship finals. Photo: William Brotman/Ultiphotos against 7Express. After trailing early, they eventually took the lead but essentially just managed their way to another 13-11 victory, never really reaching their full potential. These troubles finally caught up to the team when they faced Seattle Mixtape in the showcase game to end day one. Everyone knew Seattle was an extremely dangerous eight seed, and they had something to prove after last year’s championship-game performance. They won their first two games against the same two opponents Drag’n had faced and looked much better doing it. Drag’n jumped on Seattle early, but then Mixtape was able to take full control of the momentum, including an unbelievable eight-point run in the middle of the game. Seattle won 15-9 and really got people questioning whether Drag’n was truly equipped to make a deep run into the bracket which started the next day.

ROAD TO THE FINALS: STACKED BRACKET While the ultimate community may have been questioning Drag’n overnight, the team was doing the exact opposite. Teams don’t become a perennial power in their division without having overcome some sort of adversity and learning along the way. Drag’n was battle tested and, instead of questioning themselves, used the night to rest and reload mentally, reassuring themselves that their Thursday results did not change their position going into Friday. They were four wins away from a championship, just like every other team, and would have to take it one game at a time to get there.

After Drag’n’s drop in pool play and a couple other significant upsets across the division, all five of the top seeds ended up on one side of the bracket. The other teams in their half of the bracket could not have been excited to see how the draw played out. It would certainly be a battle to earn a spot in the finals, which may have played to the strengths of an experienced team like Drag’n Thrust. Drag’n’s pre-quarterfinal game came against San Francisco Blackbird. The trend of Drag’n not playing at their highest level continued in the first half, and Blackbird took full advantage. Drag’n’s fellow two-time national champion led 8-5 at half, and it looked like an almost insurmountable lead for Drag’n to overcome. But they were up to the challenge. Drag’n clawed their way back to force a double-game-point situation. They were able to get a dramatic break point to win the game and stay alive in the championship bracket. The win led to a quarterfinal match up against a familiar foe, The Chad Larson Experience from Ames, who hadn’t lost a game yet on the weekend and had won their pre-quarterfinal convincingly.

18 The quarterfinal was back and forth early, but for the first time all weekend, Drag’n started to find momentum. Their play became much stronger, and they pulled away from a CLX team that many believed was the team with the best chance to knock off Drag’n. Drag’n Thrust won 15-8 and, after weathering the early storms of the tournament, suddenly looked threatening heading into the semifinals. Drag’n’s semifinal opponent was a very experienced Boston Slow White team with size and skills that would be tough to compete against. Early on, Drag’n made mistakes, but Slow White wasn’t able to fully capitalize. Despite taking the lead into halftime, Slow White likely missed the chance to put the game out of reach. Drag’n stayed within striking distance, like they had all weekend. Sure enough, a gutsy four-point run early in the second half put Drag’n in the driver’s seat. They finished the game with authority and won 13-11, securing their return to Sunday’s finals. It was an impressive run by Drag’n Thrust, holding off the fifth, second and fourth overall seeds in the tournament to get through the bracket.

M I X E D R E S U LT S 1

MINNEAPOLIS DRAG’N THRUST

9T BOSTON WILD CARD

SEATTLE MIXTAPE

9T CHICAGO UPA

3T SAN FRANCISCO POLAR BEARS

PHILADELPHIA AMP

3T BOSTON SLOW WHITE

NEW YORK 7EXPRESS

AMES CHAD LARSON EXPERIENCE

BOULDER LOVE TRACTOR

WASHINGTON, D.C. AMBIGUOUS GREY

ATLANTA BUCKET

SAN FRANCISCO BLACKBIRD

MADISON NOISE

NEW YORK METRO NORTH

SEATTLE BIRDFRUIT

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS Ben Ivers 7E X P R E S S

Anthony McLean AMB I G U O U S G R E Y

Allysha Dixon AMP

Luke Jesperson B IRD F R U I T

Tommy Hendrickson B LAC KB I R D

Caroline Marsh B UC KE T

Jon Staron CLX

Emily Regan D RAG ’N T H R U ST Martha Harris lays out to save possession for Drag’n Thrust in the finals. Photo: Daniel Thai/Ultiphotos

David Protter LOV E T R AC TO R

Teddy Mason ME T R O N O RT H

THE FINALS: 2014 REMATCH

Lauren Pattie

Despite all of the craziness to get to this point, the finals ended up a rematch of the previous year’s championships: Drag’n Thrust v. Seattle Mixtape. Drag’n had been up and down all weekend, had lost a captain to an injury in the semifinals and had even lost by a wide margin to Mixtape in pool play three days earlier. All signs pointed towards an opportunity for Mixtape

N OI S E

MIX TA P E

Fran Kelley Robert Gormley P OL A R B E A R S

Steve Sullivan SLOW W H I T E

Mike Egan U PA

William Dean W IL D CA R D

FALL 2015

SPIRIT RANKINGS 15.6

LOVE TRACTOR

14.7

BIRDFRUIT

14.4

CHAD LARSON EXPERIENCE

14.4

NOISE

13.2

SLOW WHITE

13.1

WILD CARD

12.8

AMBIGUOUS GREY

12.4

METRO NORTH

12.1

7EXPRESS

12.1

BUCKET

12.1

UPA

11.7

BLACKBIRD

11.2

AMP

10.7

DRAG’N THRUST

10.6

POLAR BEARS

10.2

MIXTAPE

Khalif El-Salaam bids for the D against Drag’n Thrust in the finals. Photo: Paul Andris/Ultiphotos

to get the revenge they wanted from the year before. When Seattle got up 3-0, it looked even worse. But Drag’n showed great confidence in their system, confidence in their teammates and a belief that they could still win. Through the rest of the final, the teams’ styles clashed – Seattle’s aggressive athleticism v. Drag’n’s patient system – which led to runs by both squads. The final run of the game belonged to Drag’n. Trailing 11-12 and running out of time, Drag’n buckled down on defense and got the breaks they needed. They scored the last three points of the game to win 14-12 and capture their third consecutive national championship.

HISTORY: MIXED THREE-PEAT The 2015 championship for Drag’n Thrust solidified their place in history, not only in the mixed division, but across all divisions. Drag’n has achieved an unbelievable level of success over the last few years, including the three-peat national championships and a World Ultimate Club Championship title. No team has ever won that many national championships in

the mixed division, and the scary part is that they don’t show any signs of slowing down. Drag’n Thrust has tremendous balance across their roster – youth and experience, speed and size – and they just continue to reload each year. They have done a tremendous job of establishing a program, and it’s their system (and trust from players) that has led to their success. Other teams may continue to challenge them from year-to-year, but until proven otherwise, Drag’n Thrust will continue to set the bar for excellence.

Claire Oakley pulled in two goals for Drag'n Thrust in the finals, including this one. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

WOMEN’S

HONOR IN LOSS WORDS BY

A LY S S A K E L LY Brute Squad’s Magon Liu goes up for the disc in a crowd during the championship finals. Photo: Daniel Thai/Ultiphotos

fter the USA Ultimate National Championships semifinal match up between San Francisco Fury and Seattle Riot, Fury’s Manisha “Slap” Daryani left me with a phrase that was impossible to forget: “There is honor in loss.” At the time, to honor that particular loss was to honor the Fury 2015 season. The community, the experiences, the practices, the tournaments, the bonding, the process. The conversation with Daryani sparked an exploration of loss at the National Championships and how teams find honor within the experience. FALL 2015

The first day of pool play in the women’s division featured exactly one upset: Chicago Nemesis over Montreal Iris to take third place in Pool D. Iris went winless on the first day of their first USA Ultimate Nationals appearance. Jitters, lack of experience, small roster – all of these things could honestly be used to justify a performance that landed them a match up against the top seed of the tournament the next morning in the pre-quarterfinals. After a tight championship loss to Vancouver Traffic at the Canadian Ultimate Championships, Iris faced a major roster shift for the tail end of the Triple Crown Tour. Finances and the length of the season were cited as some reasons why players were unable to stay on through the U.S. National Championships. But the team pulled together a mix of veterans with prior U.S.A. Nationals experience under their belts and many talented young players. With their roster challenges and their record from pool play, it was not surprising to see Iris down three points early in their pre-quarters match up against top-seeded Boston Brute Squad. Remarkably, Iris earned back a break and stayed within two points of Brute Squad for most of the game. Word got around near the end of the round, and spectators hustled their way to field one to check out what looked like a brand-new team. After the game, their coach responded to the loss by expressing his hope that their game would help to prepare Brute Squad for the remainder of the tournament; it certainly did. Brute Squad captain Becky Malinowski attributes her team’s success to their opponents throughout the season. “Angela Lin [of Atlanta Ozone] said something in our spirit circle that really resonated with me. Basically it was the idea that every game you win, you end up carrying a piece of your opponent and what they taught you to the next game…it’s your duty to play your best in respect of the teams you defeated to get there. It’s really hard to see that in the games that end your season. Everything came together at the right time for us, and we didn’t have one of those games, but it couldn’t have happened without the battles, won or lost, throughout the season.”

Malinowski considers part of the honor in loss being the ability to grow from it. After three losses on Thursday, it appears Iris did just that. They reached a level that no one anticipated. After the loss to Brute Squad, the women from Quebec again stood across from Nemesis, but this time, they secured their first win of the tournament. It seems safe to say that Iris carried a piece of Brute Squad with them as well. Part of growth is a focus on the future. When a team loses, it can be difficult not to internalize it – especially if it becomes a part of the media’s storyline. In 2014, Brute Squad lost to Washington, D.C. Scandal in the semifinals at Nationals. Boston team captain Paula Seville said the loss was never a discussion with Brute 2015. Throughout the 2015 National Championships, the team kept their focus on playing for each other. When interviewed during bracket play, the Brute Squad leadership’s refrain was that they were happy to play another game together. The team was able to grow from the prior year’s loss and focus entirely on the future. Even though Brute Squad remained undefeated throughout Nationals, just like everyone else, the champions were still unable to vanquish the end of the season. Although the team is celebrating their title, the end of Brute Squad 2015 is sad. Seville maintains a positive mindset for next season. “The end of the season is tough because you know you’re not going to have that same group together again. You’ll have lots of the same pieces, but every year is a new team with a new energy.”

(Top Photo) Courtney Verhaalen gets the D against Hana Kawai and Riot during the finals. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos (Above) Brute Squad captain Paula Seville scored two goals for her team in the finals. Photo: Paul Andris/Ultiphotos

W O M E N ’ S R E S U LT S

BOSTON BRUTE SQUAD

9T MADISON HEIST

SEATTLE RIOT

9T ATLANTA OZONE

3T SAN FRANCISCO FURY

PORTLAND SCHWA

3T DENVER MOLLY BROWN

MONTREAL IRIS

VANCOUVER TRAFFIC

TORONTO CAPITALS

WASHINGTON, D.C. SCANDAL

NEW YORK BENT

7T SAN FRANCISCO NIGHTLOCK

AUSTIN SHOWDOWN

7T RALEIGH PHOENIX

CHICAGO NEMESIS

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS Akina Younge BENT

Chelsea Murphy BR UT E SQUA D

Jessica Chen CAPITALS

Alex Snyder F URY

Arthi Padmanabhan HEIST

Isabelle Lemay I RIS

Maggie Chen MO L LY B ROW N

Servia Rindfleish NEM ES IS

Abby VanMuijen NIG HT LOC K

Jin-Mi Matsunaga OZO NE

Rachel Johnson PHO ENIX

Shannon O’Malley R IOT

Kimberly Beach S CANDAL

Alex Ode S CHWA

Angela Lee S H OWDOW N

Danie Proby T R AF F IC

FALL 2015

SPIRIT RANKINGS 14.0

RIOT

13.6

FURY

12.0

PHOENIX

12.0

TRAFFIC

11.7

SCHWA

11.6

SCANDAL

11.3

MOLLY BROWN

11.3

IRIS

11.0

BRUTE SQUAD

11.0

HEIST

11.0

NEMESIS

10.7

OZONE

10.4

CAPITALS

10.4

NIGHTLOCK

8.1

SHOWDOWN

7.4

BENT

“WE, AS A TEAM, TOOK SOME HUGE STRIDES THIS YEAR. WE FOUND SUCCESS IN NEW WAYS, AND WE CONTINUED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN OLD WAYS.” —ALYSSA WEATHERFORD Immediately following her team’s loss to Brute Squad in the finals, Riot captain Alyssa Weatherford described her presiding emotion of the time as failure. Scanning the Riot sideline, grief was evident in a variety of emotional states being experienced by the athletes. For Weatherford, the process of looking to the future was arduous and stepwise. Days after the finals, she was able to reflect on the game, tournament, season and Riot program. Weeks later, she was able to watch the game. “We, as a team, took some huge strides this year. We found success in new ways, and we continued to be successful in old ways,” she said. “Every game has to have a winner and loser. We are competing, but the way I look at it is that a team only really suffers from a loss when they don’t learn, adapt and prepare to come back even stronger and smarter the next year.” Losing can be insulating. People may focus on their own mistakes, how the team could improve, what to strive for next time. But for players everywhere, there is a wider impact than they may initially realize. Wherever a woman plays, she is publicly representing women’s ultimate, whether it is league, pick-up or a tournament. Even when a team loses, they are setting an example or creating learning opportunities for other players. This is especially true for players at Nationals who are being

Brute Squad took something with them from each opponent on their way to their first championship. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

broadcast for the world to see. Anna Nazarov’s footblock in the Fury v. Riot semifinal will be a highlight moment for a long time. Jaclyn Verzuh, at the age of 18, is an inspiration for young girls everywhere who are dreaming of playing club. Weatherford summed up the bigger picture: “I think about the community that I am a part of [and] the players and teams before me. Those people really paved the way for us, and we are all contributing to the future of our sport whether [we] think so or not.” Whether it be the first women’s league in a city or playing shut-down handler defense in the championships finals at Nationals, if we can value the larger impact, the challenge becomes more enjoyable and the loss not quite so sharp.

Anna Nazarov’s footblock during the semifinals will be a highlight moment for a long time. Photo: Paul Andris/Ultiphotos

24 2015 KATHY PUFAHL SPIRIT OF THE GAME AWARD:

ALEX SNYDER Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

t’s impossible to read about women’s ultimate over the last decade without coming across Alex Snyder’s name. Her on-field successes speak for themselves: 2006 Callahan Award

recipient; multiple selections for Team Canada and Team USA, including three gold medals; and seven national championships with Fury. Her leadership, competitive drive and love for the battle have been paramount to Fury’s success over the last decade. She has been able to do all of this while holding herself to the highest standards of spirit and integrity. Less publicly visible are Alex’s contributions to the game beyond being a player. She has captained Fury for five of her 10 seasons with the team. She coached Wisconsin Bella Donna in 2011 and 2012. Two years ago, she switched her physical therapist day job from full time to a per-diem position to allow her to focus more of her time on coaching. In addition to helping run clinics for the Bay Area Disc Association, she has traveled for weeks at a time to Colombia, Australia and New Zealand as a coach with Rise Up. She has plans later this year to run Rise Up clinics in the Philippines. She was also selected as an assistant coach for the 2015 U.S. U-23 mixed team and helped guide the team to a gold medal. Those who know her have likely also benefited from her massage experience and medical advice as a PT. Alex’s intangibles speak more broadly to what has led to her contributions to the game as a player and coach. Her loyalty and confidence in her teammates and in the players she has coached inspire those around her to achieve more. Her personality draws people to her, and she can always be counted on to tell a story that makes you laugh. She is one of the most mentally strong people you will ever meet, thanks to her ability to stay in the moment, whether that’s during competition or enjoying the present with a group of friends.

FALL 2015

In retrospect, it is surprising that Alex hadn’t been Fury’s Pufahl Award nominee earlier. We can only speculate that her on-field successes have overshadowed her contributions to her team and community. As her playing career now has less in front of it than it does behind, we are excited to draw attention to Alex’s contributions to the game that go far beyond her being an exceptional athlete.

–FURY Alex is an incredible leader and competitor. As a leader, Alex has been tirelessly dedicated to Fury. Off the field, no matter how trivial a task seems, Alex will take the time to do it if she believes it will help her team. On the field, Alex’s presence and energy is inspiring. She is someone people instinctively follow, someone who makes you believe, no matter how many points you are down. For me, one of the moments that defines Alex as a leader occurred during what was probably one of the lowest moments of her playing career, when one of her knees gave out during the finals of Worlds in 2014. After being carried off the field and spending two points on the bench being checked out by a trainer, Alex was back on her feet. She was calling lines, smiling, encouraging, back in the battle, 100 percent engaged and supporting her team. That moment showed who Alex really is: someone who will be there for her team, giving her all no matter how great the challenge.

–LAKSHMI NARAYAN

I’ve been playing with Alex since 2008, but we were familiar opponents in college. (Fun fact: She actually ended my college career – California-San Diego lost to Colorado Kali in 2005 when there was one bid to Nationals.)

Her skill set and her voice make her an obvious leader, but she also knows when to take a backseat or let others lead. For a while, Alex lived in Wisconsin, and the year she moved, she told the team she would not run for captain. She said it was best to have a local leader, but more importantly, she didn’t step on the toes of the leaders we did elect. I think the team respected her more for it. As a captain, she’s the “loud one.” She’s the one whose voice is recognizable during warm ups, drills and the game. It doesn’t matter how she’s playing. She keeps up the energy. As a teammate, she’s a lead-by-example type, the talk-the-talk, walk-the-walk type. She solicits feedback and offers feedback but with a conscious awareness of the time and tone. To me, the Fury identity is about team above self. Alex embodies that. She understands that the game is not won by an individual but through the coming together of a group of women with a common goal. It’s an identity of sacrifice and playing your role. Certainly Alex’s accolades are extensive, but you wouldn’t know it during practice or during games. She does her job and expects everyone else to do theirs. Favorite memory: At Worlds in 2014, Alex dislocated her kneecap in the third point of the game. An injury like that, to your leader, should kill momentum and focus. Alex was taken off the field, but no less than two points later, she came to the line to call the offense. I asked her, “Shouldn’t you be sitting?” Her response: “There’s still a game to play.”

–MANISHA DARYANI

U.S. OPEN

MEN’S

COMPETING WITH THE BEST MEANS LEARNING FROM THE BEST WORDS BY STEFAN REKITT

German men’s national team has never won against a U.S. team at a world championship event. At the 2012 World Ultimate and Guts Championships (WUGC), the German men’s team played against Team U.S.A. and Team Canada; the point differential in those games was 12:34 against Team Germany. It became evident that Germany must play tournaments in the U.S. if we ever wanted to close the gap with elite North American teams. It took some time, but this year, finally, we made the trip. And it was just awesome. Other international teams have done it before and benefited from their experiences, using elite U.S. tournaments to gauge their progress and learn from the very best in the world. The Australian men’s team took Team U.S.A. (Revolver) to double-game point in the quarterfinal at WUGC 2012. Japan’s Buzz Bullets made repeated visits to Emerald City Classic before breaking into the top three at WUGC in 2008 and the World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC) in 2010. (When the Buzz Bullets won the title at WUCC

FALL 2015

2006, not all the world’s top teams were in attendance). London’s Clapham Ultimate played several tournaments in the U.S., and last year at WUCC – after they attended the U.S. Open in the same year – challenged world champions Revolver in an epic doublegame point quarterfinal. Many small steps led to our trip to the U.S. Open. In 2012, we flew the Wiggins brothers, Ben and Seth, to Munich for a training camp. When one of our captains, Philipp Haas, was invited to play in the 2012 NexGen Tour, the rest of the team supported him financially and looked forward to the experience he would share with us upon return. The NexGen Tour led to an opportunity for him to play the 2013 season with Washington, D.C. Truck Stop where he gained more experience that helped our program develop. In 2013, we brought strength and conditioning coach Tim Morrill in for a weekend dedicated to laying the foundation for future international competitiveness. And, as coach of the German national team program, I flew to the United States for the National

Championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014, to watch the teams play and develop insights in what I like to call an “internship” with Boston Ironside coach Josh McCarthy. Flying in U.S. coaches and sending team members across the Atlantic were important investments. But we still needed to bring the whole team to the U.S. We have been in communication with USA Ultimate about the U.S. Open since 2013, but in the past, there was a conflict between the German championship series and the date of the U.S. Open. But last year, the German Frisbee Association agreed to take the U.S. Open into account when shaping the 2015 season. The timing of this year’s U.S. Open still wasn’t ideal – a third of our team was set to play at U-23 Worlds starting the weekend immediately after the tournament – but we still wanted to take part. USA Ultimate was very welcoming and extended us an early invitation, so we could start planning the trip to the U.S. well in advance. Although it wasn’t everyone, we could finally send 20 of our extended squad of 35 players to a U.S. tournament.

27 Although it wasn’t their full squad, Inside Rakete was finally able to send 20 players to the U.S. Open this year. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

Mo Brucklacher tied for second in goals for Inside Rakete with nine at the U.S. Open. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

The U.S. Open was the perfect tournament for us. The round-robin format gave us the opportunity to play several North American teams. We had no specific outcome expectations going in and only quickly addressed the team’s mindset leading up to the U.S. Open. We were already preparing for the European Championships and expected that would serve us well heading into the U.S. Open against a number of American teams that were just starting their seasons and had yet to play a competitive tournament together. However, we were curious to see how Team Germany would adapt to playing against American teams who are known for their more aggressive and physical style. We would also have to adjust to USA

Ultimate (rather than WFDF) rules: things like playing with observers and having strictly enforced time limits between points and after turnovers. In the past, the “cultural” difference was significant. Vancouver Furious George’s Alex Davis explained, “The cultural differences always take me by surprise, even though I know they’re going to present. I often use as an example to younger players my experience playing against the national German team in 2012. In that game, there was a persistent argument between our throwers and their defenders. Our throwers would fight to get the ‘around’ throw out – a shallow break throw for a few yards in gain, but the conventional positioning of their markers often led to contact and a foul call. The throwers called the fouls

because they felt entitled to the throw; the defenders contested because they felt the throw should not even be attempted owing to their positions. It was an argument I had never seen before and I have not seen again since, but it was fascinating to see two teams disagree so fundamentally on a specific detail that they had practiced differently.” This year, these kinds of problems didn’t occur, possibly in part because increased video coverage of U.S. tournaments over the last couple of years has made us more familiar with the North American style. In our first game, we faced New York PoNY. Their coach, Bryan Jones, told me afterwards: “I expected the German team to be young and athletic. We knew about some of the better players, including Haas. What we didn’t expect was you guys to be so on point with your strategy of deep throws… Overall it wasn’t too different playing against a German team.” His comments indicated that, since 2012, we have developed as a team and adapted to the North American style. Playing against top American teams for several consecutive days was still unique for us. We won all our first games of the day, but we lost all second- and third-round match ups, including a 13-15 loss to Raleigh Ring of Fire and an 11-15 loss to Furious George. Our only blow out came against Truck Stop in our second game of the tournament. We could hang with the North American teams, but it was mentally challenging for us to have several games of this caliber in a short time. To put it bluntly, compared to European standards, it was like playing several finals of the European Championships in a row. And with only 20 players on our U.S. Open roster, our numbers for such a tournament were a little light. But all our players got a lot of playing time; we kept a loose rotation to give every player the opportunity to make most of the trip. An Ultiworld analysis of the tournament summed up how we felt about our weekend pretty well. “Germany’s national team, Inside Rakete, probably fared the best of the three international teams competing in the men’s division. They got the win of the weekend over Johnny Bravo and added a first-round victory over PoNY.”

U S A U LT I M AT E

28 In the end, we were satisfied with our results. We had three wins and three losses after an exciting U.S. Open. Our overall experience was great, too. USA Ultimate made sure we were followed in ESPN’s coverage of the first day, an important reference when I talk to sports journalists in Germany today. Every time I mention ESPN coverage, our sport is taken more seriously. USA Ultimate events are flagship tournaments for ultimate, and Europeans clearly benefit from the media coverage in the U.S. We also enjoyed playing with observers. Before the tournament, we asked to have as many games as possible with observers and were happy to get three games with them. Foul calls were quickly resolved, and discussions were kept to a minimum. The observers supported the high pace of the games, and we appreciated the impartial insights they provided on several occasions. They were not acting like referees we know from other sports. It felt more like they wanted to help the players play the game they chose to play.

We need to continue on our path and compete at the world-class stage. Winning medals at Euros and Worlds is one possible goal, but reaching the highest possible level as a team and developing more depth will certainly stay on our agenda. And we will continue sending players to the U.S. – Christoph Köble and Marvin Waldvogel played and trained with Boston Ironside and Portland Rhino, respectively, this season. Going forward, our U.S. Open experience will definitely have a positive impact on our program, though one trip is surely not enough. At least we learned we could win against elite U.S. teams. Admittedly, the U.S. Open was quite early in the season for North American teams, but WUGC next year will be even earlier, and accordingly, the situation might not be so different. No matter what, Germany is looking forward to competing against what will be an all-star Team U.S.A. next year, one that is expected to set a new level for international competition and quality of play. And we are already in contact with USA Ultimate about next year’s U.S. Open.

FALL 2015

ABOUT INSIDE RAKETE Inside Rakete is the men’s German national team. In 2000, Team Germany was in the semifinals at Worlds. Before that, the German Open team won bronze at the European Championships in 1991, 1995, and 1997, behind Sweden and Finland. After a rather disappointing ninth-place finish at Worlds 2004, many of Germany’s players retired from international competition. Inside Rakete was then created to cultivate talent for the country’s national program and raise the

overall competitiveness of club teams in Germany. The leadership decided to maintain an extended national squad, including in years with no national team competition. In 2011, the German national team won bronze, and in 2015, after the U.S. Open, we won the silver medal at Euros. At both tournaments, Germany only lost to one team: Great Britain – a team based in large part on the London club team Clapham Ultimate that has played in multiple U.S. tournaments.

Inside Rakete celebrates the upset of the tournament — their win over Denver Johnny Bravo. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

Lars Schmidt battles with Raleigh Ring of Fire’s Noah Saul during pool play. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

U.S. OPEN

FINAL STANDINGS 1

San Francisco Revolver

Toronto GOAT

3T Denver Johnny Bravo 3T Washington, D.C. Truck Stop 5

Boston Ironside

New York PoNY

Raleigh Ring of Fire

Great Britain

Pittsburgh Temper

Vancouver Furious George

Inside Rakete (Germany)

Team Colombia

MEN’S

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS Furious George – Kevin Lore GOAT – Andrew Ouchterlony Great Britain – Ollie Gordon Inside Rakete – Tobias Hampel Ironside – Teddy Browar-Jarus Johnny Bravo – Craig Forshee PoNY – Milo Snyder Revolver – Joel Schlachet Ring of Fire – Jake McGoogan Team Colombia – Camilo Hernandez Mejia Temper – Mike Reeves Truck Stop – Joe Freund

SPIRIT RANKINGS 13.5 – Great Britain 13.2 – GOAT 12.7 – Furious George 12.7 – Team Colombia 12.6 – Truck Stop 12.6 – Ironside 12.3 – Inside Rakete 12.0 – PoNY 11.6 – Ring of Fire 11.2 – Johnny Bravo 11.0 – Temper 10.8 – Revolver

Ring of Fire’s Hunter Taylor goes for the D against Inside Rakete’s Jonas Gartner. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos U S A U LT I M AT E

U.S. OPEN

MIXED

SETTING THE STAGE WORDS BY RYAN GORMAN

n years past, early July might represent the stage of the club season where teams are still getting organized, and thoughts of competing at the highest level remain in the distant future. That is no longer the case with the continued development of the Triple Crown Tour (TCT). With several changes to the TCT competition structure in 2015, including the fact that the postseason was moved up two weeks on the calendar, suddenly early July has new meaning. This set the perfect stage for the 2015 U.S. Open Championships to take place in West Chester, Ohio, with 12 of the best mixed teams from across the United States and around the globe challenging each other for an early edge at the top of the division. In the fourth year of this flagship event, the expanded field of teams brought new life to the weekend and provided an excellent start to the season. Particularly at the top of the division, four teams were able to separate themselves from the pack over the course of four days of grueling games. In a tournament that was simply loaded with highly talented

FALL 2015

and experienced teams, it’s even more impressive to think about what these teams were able to accomplish. In the end, an international newcomer was able to steal the show and take home the title, but it’s worth taking a deeper look at what this year’s semifinalists brought to the table.

CLX: AN EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANY OTHER CLX defines themselves very differently than any other team competing at the highest level of the sport. Based out of a small Iowa market and developing pretty much all of their on-field chemistry through tournament play, this group may appear laid back, but they are every bit as hungry to compete as the rest of these teams. The program had experienced limited success at the U.S. Open in the past but came into this event with a different level of expectation following an impressive run at last year’s National Championships. They played very consistently through pool play with their only stumble, if you can

Brad Houser (left) and Eric VanderMolen fight for the disc during the U.S. Open semifinals. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

Andrew Moore made this athletic play for The Chad Larson Experience during the semifinals at the U.S. Open. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

even call it one, coming in an extremely close game against the talented Seattle Mixtape. Throughout the first couple days, CLX’s experience and team chemistry were unparalleled, but for a team chasing championships, the true test would come on Saturday. CLX wanted nothing more than to finish the season with wins at the end of the National Championships, so the U.S. Open provided an opportunity to practice that step early in the summer. They got the test they needed, losing a tough game against Australia’s Ellipsis. The question coming out of this result was whether it would be a lesson the team could use to get over the hump later on or if it was a sign of a weakness that could cost them when it counts. You can be sure that captain Kevin Seiler and other leaders of the team want to use this experience as the former rather than the latter.

DRAG’N THRUST: THE DEVELOPING DYNASTY Drag’n Thrust is getting to the point in their team development where they are looking to cement themselves as the

preeminent leaders of an otherwise volatile division. The team worked hard to climb to the top of the mountain in 2013, but they did not let their success diminish their drive in any way. They followed up their first championship by filling their 2014 season with a world club championship and a repeat national championship. With that, it was understandable that they came into the U.S. Open as the favorite and the team others measured themselves against. Drag’n showed no signs of willingness to relinquish their seat at the top. Drag’n was able to rise to the occasion throughout pool play, only falling short once in a hard-fought game against Ellipsis. Their combination of cohesion and efficiency on offense complements their athleticism and aggressiveness on defense and drives their success game-in and game-out against the best the sport has to offer. Going into the semifinals still searching for their first U.S. Open crown in four attempts, they came across the young, talented Seattle Mixtape. Despite eventually losing, the way Drag’n battled was extremely impressive. Captain Brian Schoenrock made numerous flashy plays at key times, and that leadership is

infectious. It may be better for this team to experience setbacks like these early on to give them something to work on and use in building towards the end of the season, where their true goals lie.

SEATTLE MIXTAPE: RE-MIXING THE DIVISION Seattle Mixtape stormed onto the scene last year with their improbable run to the finals at the National Championships. This young team with a ton of athleticism surprised a lot of people and played with a confidence that comes with having nothing to lose while they were in Frisco. That success put a different set of expectations on the team coming into the U.S. Open this summer. How the team would perform as the favorite was a storyline of interest heading into the weekend. It didn’t start out too well. They lost their opening game to Slow White, 15-9. But it proved to be a case of just needing to get their feet under them before they were able to revive the success they found a year ago. Mixtape proceeded to win the rest of their pool play games, including a gutsy

U S A U LT I M AT E

win against CLX, which set them up for the opportunity to play Drag’n in the semifinals (a rematch of last year’s National Championship final) and make an early statement in 2015. It was clear throughout the back-and-forth game that Mixtape wanted this outcome to be different, and they never let Drag’n get a real edge on them, even when Drag’n roared back to take a late lead. Mixtape came from behind late, sparked by the energy of Khalif El-Salaam, to win and earn a spot in the finals. Despite going on to lose to Ellipsis in that game, Seattle proved that their 2014 performance was not an anomaly.

ELLIPSIS: WONDER FROM DOWN UNDER

Dani Alexander made a name for herself during the U.S. Open, scoring 20 goals for Ellipsis to lead the mixed division. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

As the U.S. Open continues to develop as one of the premier international events of the year, it’s essential that high-quality international teams are drawn to the United States in July. Hopefully the performance by Ellipsis this summer will show teams that the trip is worth it. The Melbournebased team came into this year’s U.S. Open virtually unknown, and it showed in their initial seeding at the bottom of the pack. It’s safe to say that this team is known now, after their impressive performance in West Chester. Their tournament run included

deserved victories over all three of the top U.S. teams, highlighted by two performances in the stadium where players like Dani Alexander showcased the supreme talent Australia can bring to the table. On top of their on-field performance, Ellipsis showed that they represent the character expected in this sport, winning the Team Spirit Award as well. It was an honor to have Ellipsis compete at this event, and they deserve to be commended for their performance.

After all was said and done, another international team walked away from the U.S. Open on top of the mixed division, which still remains the only division to have an international winner through the first four years. Twelve teams played excellent ultimate all weekend and truly kicked off the 2015 Triple Crown Tour in style, setting the stage for many more great storylines throughout the season.

Australia’s Ellipsis celebrates becoming the second international team to win the U.S. Open. Photo: Kyle McBard/Ultiphotos

FALL 2015

U.S. OPEN

FINAL STANDINGS 1

Melbourne Ellipsis

Seattle Mixtape

3T Ames Chad Larson Experience 3T Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust 5

Toronto Union

San Francisco Polar Bears

Boston Wild Card

Boston Slow White

Minneapolis Bird

Asheville Cahoots

Team Colombia

San Francisco American BBQ

MIXED

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS American BBQ – Andrew Hooker Bird – Katie Claiborne Cahoots – Ann Araps Chad Larson Experience – Amy Sheldahl Drag’n Thrust – Mike Clark Ellipsis – Andrew Jackson Polar Bears – Megan Pera Seattle Mixtape – Rachel Bailey Slow White – Adrienne Altobelli Team Colombia – Sergio Mariño Union – Alex Boross-Harmer Wild Card – Emily Eisner

SPIRIT RANKINGS

Seattle Mixtape’s Claire Revere makes the grab under pressure during the semifinals against Drag’n Thrust. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

16.2 – Ellipsis 16.0 – Cahoots 15.8 – Team Colombia 14.2 – American BBQ 13.8 – Drag’n Thrust 13.2 – Chad Larson Experience 13.2 – Mixtape 12.8 – Polar Bears 12.3 – Bird 12.3 – Slow White 11.8 – Wild Card 11.7 – Union

U S A U LT I M AT E

U.S. OPEN

WOMEN’S

AN OHIO HOMECOMING WORDS BY JEFF HANEY

he women’s division at the U.S. Open followed a fairly familiar script. A team from San Francisco met a team from Seattle in the finals, with Fury besting Riot in a classic and thrilling match up decided on double-game point. Sure, there were some surprises and a little foreshadowing: Brute Squad went undefeated in pool play, to the surprise of few given the firepower on their roster, and Scandal narrowly missed bracket play as they adjusted to roster changes of their own. But Fury and Riot again found themselves facing off for a major tournament victory. What makes cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Boston and others so successful at the highest level? Many look to the programs in these cities that have long encouraged and grown youth involvement and participation in the sport. At the 2015 U.S. Open Convention, many sessions and presentations focused on youth ultimate programming in particular. Additionally, the Girls’ Ultimate Movement (GUM) program

FALL 2015

update and the year’s first Gender Equity Open Forum were held for packed houses as issues of gender equity in the sport of ultimate took center stage. Many places around the country have local disc organizations that look to successful youth programs in more established ultimate cities in an attempt to build their own youth participation. The site of this year’s U.S. Open Championships and Convention and its host organization, the Cincinnati Ultimate Players Association (CUPA) is a perfect example of such a locality. Cincinnati’s grassroots efforts to grow the sport mirror those of many cities across the country. And after years of effort put into growing and developing a youth program, it is always exciting to see products of the scene compete at the highest levels, whether it is the Youth Club Championships, College Championships or a club-level event. At the U.S. Open this year, one of those products was able to compete in front of a hometown crowd that saw her develop as a

young player for many years. Bethany Kaylor had a sort of ultimate homecoming, and a bit of redemption, as she competed with Portland Schwa in Cincinnati. For being so young – she is only 23 – Kaylor has already put together an impressive ultimate résumé. She has played all over the world: She won a bronze medal with the U-19 national team in 2010, won gold with the U-23 mixed national team in 2013 and played on the U-23 women’s national team that took home a silver medal in 2015. Kaylor also has two college championship titles to her name. Her career at the University of Oregon has been welldocumented; she has been recognized as one of the division’s best all-around players throughout her college career which culminated in her being voted a Callahan Award finalist by her peers in 2015. It comes as no surprise that Kaylor refers to her Oregon coach Lou Burruss as a “genius” and cites him as one of her biggest influences, along with her Oregon Fugue teammates.

Top: Bethany Kaylor was able to compete before a hometown crowd with Portland Schwa at this year’s U.S. Open. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos Right: Bethany Kaylor showed how she has already accumulated such an impressive ultimate résumé while at the U.S. Open. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

Kaylor’s first opportunity to play in front of friends and family at such a prestigious event actually presented itself in the spring of 2014 when she was a junior at Oregon. CUPA was hosting the Division I College Championships, and it was a chance for both Cincinnati and Kaylor to shine on a national stage. Unfortunately, that homecoming didn’t go quite as planned for the college standout. Kaylor, a star for an Oregon team that had high hopes of bringing home a second consecutive college title, sustained a season-ending injury at practice that prevented her from playing at the College Championships. Instead, she could be seen supporting her team throughout the tournament while riding around on a scooter that supported her broken foot. A now-healthy Kaylor and Oregon Fugue were able to get that next college championship title earlier this year, and when the U.S. Open rolled around this summer, Kaylor was ready for a second chance at competing in front of her hometown crowd.

She returned to Cincinnati with a few of her Oregon teammates as a rookie on Portland Schwa. Her stats for the weekend portray her extremely successful showing at the U.S. Open; Kaylor led her team in assists (nine) and defensive blocks (seven), was second in goals (six) and had very few turnovers (seven). “It was amazing to be able to play in Cincinnati on such a big stage,” Kaylor said. “I was so proud to know the people who put on the tournament.” While her team didn’t finish as high as they had hoped, Kaylor’s weekend was a good one. She has gone from youth prodigy in Cincinnati to a force to be reckoned with in the women’s game. Her “second homecoming” at the U.S. Open was certainly a success, and her story is just one of many where an athlete’s start can be traced back to taking advantage of any available youth ultimate opportunities in their local community.

U S A U LT I M AT E

Schwa finished in 10th place in their first trip to the U.S. Open. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

Women’s ultimate was often in the spotlight at this year’s U.S. Open. Outside of the impressive competition, women’s ultimate headlined the convention with the GUM session and Gender Equity Open Forum. There is no doubt that the women’s game is gaining momentum and beginning to receive the recognition it deserves. GUM, the All-Star Ultimate Tour and countless individuals have come together to help push youth involvement and support for women in ultimate in general. For her part, Kaylor is grateful to be a part of this momentum. “Playing wise, it was great to see such great women’s ultimate being played, regardless of the location,” Kaylor noted. “I just felt lucky that I got to return home for it.”

The U.S. Open finals saw a familiar match up: San Francisco Fury v. Seattle Riot. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

FALL 2015

U.S. OPEN

FINAL STANDINGS 1

San Francisco Fury

Seattle Riot

3T Boston Brute Squad 3T Vancouver Traffic 5

San Francisco Nightlock

Washington, D.C. Scandal

Madison Heist

Atlanta Ozone

Austin Showdown

Portland Schwa

Winnipeg Fusion

Raleigh Phoenix

WOMEN’S

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS Brute Squad – Sarah Cook Fury – Michela Meister Fusion – Emily Forrest Heist – Kayla Emrick Nightlock – Briana Cahn Ozone – Paige Carver Phoenix – Diana Lam Riot – Charlie Eide Scandal – Sarah Itoh Schwa – Kelly Hansen Showdown – Angela Lee Traffic – Candice Chan

SPIRIT RANKINGS

Rising star Jaclyn Verzuh came up big for Riot in their semifinal against Vancouver Traffic. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos

13.7 – Scandal 12.2 – Riot 11.8 – Nightlock 11.8 – Showdown 11.7 – Ozone 11.5 – Heist 11.0 – Brute Squad 11.0 – Fury 11.0 – Phoenix 10.4 – Traffic 9.5 – Schwa 9.0 – Fusion

U S A U LT I M AT E

Olympic-level coaching. For every level team. Get the latest practice drills, videos, skills, and more. From the experts at the U.S. Olympic Committee to wherever you are.

MEN’S WORDS BY

J I M M Y H O LT Z M A N

T:10.5"

B:11.25"

S:9.75"

AN UPWARD BOUND TRAJECTORY

ur path to the 2015 national championship started in 2010 with a decisive loss in the national title game to Minneapolis Surly, a team that would best us twice more in championship finals (by a total of three points) on the way to our own title. But the foundation was laid. As a team, we had seen what it would take to get what so many ultimate players have dreamed of. After that loss in 2010, Mark Britt, one of the captains of this club team full of masters-eligible players, wrote down and shared a four-year plan for Boneyard. It starts with: “Number One Goal: Win the Masters Division of the World Ultimate Club Championships in 2014.” A lofty goal for a rag-tag group of scrappers from across the North Carolina ultimate scene. The plan continues, dictating that, as a team, we would set specific goals for each season, re-evaluating at each season’s end to determine the next season’s goals. The focus was on improvement and never being satisfied with meeting “any specific goal so that we keep the trajectory upward bound, aiming towards our Number One Goal.” Writing down a plan is a valuable start, but the real magic of the Boneyard journey was the ability, or good fortune, to find the players who would buy in completely. For five seasons, we have done just that. Never has our focus been on any one talent, though there has been no shortage of talented players. But each time a player was lost – to injury, to geography, to any of the various circumstances that steal masters-eligible players away from their teammates – new players aged up, rose up and bought into the system and the values that held Boneyard on the path towards its Number One Goal. As a result, we accomplished that goal in Italy last summer. When I look at the gold medal I won in Denver, the final game is furthest from my thoughts.

Dave Snoke just gets his hand on the disc for Boneyard in the finals against Johnny Encore. Photo: Christina Schmidt/Ultiphotos U S A U LT I M AT E

Robbye Brooks lets loose a high-release backhand to Casey Degnan in the finals. Photo: Christina Schmidt/Ultiphotos Instead, it is muggy summer evenings on rock hard, parched fields that come to mind. There are memories of practices on a turf field so hot it would burn your feet if you stood still too long, scrimmages where we fought one another like sworn enemies, sprints that were less training than races, followed by the icecold drinks we shared afterward, exhausted, sweat drenched and bleeding. Looking back through the years of emails bounced around the group, I see endless boasts of training bouts, Insanity workouts, 5:00 a.m. Snertzing, late-night sprints, trips to the weight room and yoga sessions. Yes, yoga. Stephen Rouisse and Johnny Encore outlasted Zach Eastlund and Minneapolis Surly 15-13 in the semifinals. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos

FALL 2015

I know, we know, that it would seem strange to people from the outside were they to look in on a group of grown men – fathers, doctors, researchers, businessmen – dedicating so much time and effort and energy to a game, but we are all, every one of us, bought in heart and soul to this team. It was not inevitable that we would finally win the national title that had been just out of reach so many times before. There were challenges along the way, opportunities to stop moving forward and accept things as they were. We did, after all, have a world championship to fall back on. No one could take that away. But behind that, we had the mission to never be satisfied with meeting “any specific goal,” and to “keep the trajectory upward bound.” Once a train like that starts moving, it’s tough to apply the brakes. Even if we wanted to, we might not know how. In every tournament, at every game, during every practice and on every day, each player saw a chance to make this team better. We haven’t lost a game in over a year, but there have been chances for us to bow down respectably. Playing younger opponents, often with deeper numbers, at club tournaments, we were pushed and tested and challenged, and every time, players stepped up to make plays that kept moving us forward. We have players with names

everyone knows, and they made spectacular plays. And we have players with names no one knows who also made spectacular, pivotal plays. Ours is not a team of players, but a Team. One team with one goal and every piece relentlessly working together to push that one team forward and upward. Finding motivation not in beating an opponent but in chasing an ever-moving target. We met challenges in Denver too. We outlasted the hot offense of Crawl, as well as our old friends the Beyonders and the gritty fighters from New York. It was not our best first day, but we were building and clawing to keep our trajectory upward. The quarterfinal against San Francisco BAM! was better. It was a new day, and we were one step closer to where we wanted to go. Semifinals pitted us against Voltron 2020, a veritable who’s who of Seattle allstars with enough national titles and world championship finals experience between them to fill a pirate’s chest with hardware. We knew it would take a great game to beat them and hoped they would be at their best as well. What followed was an instant classic of great plays, contested catches, gusts of wind and moments of opportunity. Two heavyweights looking for that one opening to land a decisive blow. A long battle to take

Boneyard celebrates their first Masters Championships title. Photo: Christina Schmidt/Ultiphotos

the half and a tipped layout catch in the end zone and we were carried through to the final, a match up against the locals and our long-time rivals Johnny Encore, another team with more than their share of close encounters with trophies.

MEN'S RESULTS 01 RALEIGH BONEYARD

09 NEW YORK HORSE

02 DENVER JOHNNY ENCORE

10 WINNIPEG FLOOD

03 SEATTLE VOLTRON 2020

11T SANTA BARBARA BEYONDORS

04 MINNEAPOLIS SURLY

11T PHOENIX CRAWL

ASHINGTON, D.C. 05 W BLACK CANS & HIGHLANDS

13T CHICAGO PACEMAKER

06 AUSTIN TEJAS 07 COLUMBUS OHIOLD 08 BAY AREA BAM!

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS Pradeep Nair BAM!

Chris McManus B E YO N D O R S It was a banner year for Boneyard. They followed up their 2014 world title with a national title this summer. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos

Kevin Lenaburg B LAC K CA N S & H I G H L A N D S

Tim Lupo B O N E YA R D

Kyle Christoph The fields were lined with spectators, and the day was sunny and mostly calm, except for the storms raging inside. We started with an offensive goal, followed with a defensive break and never looked back. Our best game emerged at the absolute right moment, and finally, finally, that trophy was ours. As we look at it and all the plaques and great names on it, we know that North Carolina Boneyard will finally be added. A fleeting recognition, but one we know was well-earned. Outside of that afternoon and a few emails, there has been little patting of the backs or boasting of the past. We are national champions now and will be honored to represent our state and our country at the World Ultimate and Guts Championships in London next year. And when the time comes, you can be assured that we will practice, we will train, and we will battle, battle, battle. A dream, a goal, set out and chased on the practice fields of North Carolina and pushed on by Surly, Johnny Encore, Reckon, Woolly and all the other teams that keep working to get better. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

B U R N S I DE

Pete Buckley CR AW L

David Campbell FLO O D

Dominique Roy G E T O F F M Y L AW N

Scott Arnold HO R S E

James Beeby JO H N N Y E N C O R E

Rodger Oakes OH I O L D

Dan Benjamin PAC E M A KE R

Paco Enright SU R LY

Joe Iannacone TE JAS

Britt Atack VO LT R O N 2 0 2 0

Travis Tooke WO O L LY M A M M OT H

13T PORTLAND BURNSIDE 15 FLORIDA WOOLLY MAMMOTH URLINGTON 16 B GET OFF MY LAWN

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 5.00

GET OFF MY LAWN

4.80

BEYONDORS

4.70

BAM!

4.67

WOOLLY MAMMOTH

4.60

BURNSIDE

4.60

CRAWL

4.60

SURLY

4.40

VOLTRON 2020

4.30

TEJAS

4.20

JOHNNY ENCORE

4.10

HORSE

4.00

PACEMAKER

3.83

BLACK CANS & HIGHLANDS

3.60

BONEYARD

3.40

OHIOLD

3.20

FLOOD

U S A U LT I M AT E

WOMEN’S WORDS BY

DANIELLE ENNIS

WINNING NEVER GETS OLD

Anna Nazarov (left) of the Baylands Kite Flying Team attempts to outreach Marjo Poindexter of Rio Grande Dame in the championship game. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos

SUMMER 2015

f it looks like Fury, hucks like Fury, and plays like Fury, it probably is Fury. But not always. Meet the Baylands Kite Flying Team, the 2015 women's masters champions and a team built on, and rich with, the history of seven-time national club champions, San Francisco Fury. Of the 27-person Baylands squad, two are current Fury players, seven are former Fury captains, most played with Fury at some point during their careers, and some were even on the original 1997 roster.

After finishing second in their last appearance at the Masters Championships, the Baylands Kite Flying Team won gold in 2015. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos

The Baylands Kite Flying Team (who hereafter I will take the liberty of calling BKFT) took their name from their habitual Sunday morning turf wars with local kite flyers at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, Calif. BKFT is stacked with experience and a common approach to their weekend in Denver at the Masters Championships. Of course, their philosophy is familiar to many teams: fun, spirit and the best possible performance you can give. But a long-standing hallmark of BKFT is defensive prowess. “We focused on strong defensive strategy to take away our opponents’ strengths. Coming up with specific game plans and focusing on our defensive schemes were instrumental in our success,” said Gwen Ambler, a seven-year Fury veteran and current Seattle Riot stalwart. “A mix of current club players and people who hadn’t played in a number of years represented the whole statistics sheet. There was definitely a lot of excitement throughout the weekend about getting to play together as a group and delight at seeing links between players who had never played together before,” said co-captain Bryn Martyna.

Connections of all kinds happened all weekend long, like the hammer from Shar Stuht to Dom Fontenette in the finals that gave BKFT the lead and set off a scoring run that would ultimately carry them to the win. Fontenette is a current Riot player and former member of Fury with many national and world titles to her name, while Stuht, who joined BKFT this year, won her first national championship in her 25-year ultimate career. The team is comprised of players with multiple national and world championship titles and players who don’t have any. It’s a team of fresh faces and seasoned veterans. BKFT has several members who recently became masters eligible, but they also played a whole line of women who are 40 and over. The team’s last trip to the Masters Championships may also have fueled the fury in Baylands while they were in Denver. That year, 2013, they lost in the finals on double-game point to a Boston Lady Godiva reunion team. In 2002, Fury suffered the same fate on double-game point in the Club National Championships final against a similar Lady Godiva roster. The next year, Fury went on to win their first national championship. In

“WE FOCUSED ON STRONG DEFENSIVE STRATEGY TO TAKE AWAY OUR OPPONENTS’ STRENGTHS.” —GWEN AMBLER

2015, as the Baylands Kite Flying Team, they wanted that same type of redemption. “When we lost in 2013, we all committed to playing again,” said Ambler. “Timing and location wasn’t ideal for 2014, so we made a call to reconvene in 2015, to come back and win it all.” And they did just that. BKFT soared through pool play, allowing their opponents only 23 points over four games. They faced a scare in the quarterfinals when Washington, D.C.-based Lame Duck took them all the way to double-game point. In the end, Julie Baker threw a long pass to Alicia Barr for the win. “We put in a clutch line, and they delivered on a big point, like they have many times before. We were fortunate to clear that hurdle, one that strengthened us for the two games ahead,” said co-captain Samantha Salvia.

Alicia White and the Baylands Kite Flying Team faced a scare in their quarterfinal match up against Washington, D.C.’s Lame Duck. BKFT won 14-13 to advance. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos In the semifinals against the defending champions, Philadelphia Loose Cannon, the score wasn’t as close. After a worthy performance from nearly the entire roster (every player on the team played throughout the weekend), Baker ended the game again with a high release into the end zone, knocking out the reigning champions and sending BKFT into the finals as the only undefeated team in the tournament field. Baker finished with six goals and 13 assists, behind Anna Nazarov who tallied 17 assists for BKFT. “She can break any mark at will, making her so dangerous with the disc,” said Salvia of Baker.

U S A U LT I M AT E

WO M E N' S R E SULTS UNNYVALE BAYLANDS 01 S KITE FLYING TEAM

02 DENVER RIO GRAND DAME

Anna Nazarov led the Baylands Kite Flying Team with 17 assists at the Masters Championships. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos

In the finals on Sunday, BKFT defeated Denver-based RIO, 15-6, with an impressive 7-1 run after half to take the championship. The win also qualified them for a trip to London for the 2016 World Ultimate and Guts Championships, which several ladies on the squad didn’t realize until after the game was over. “Some of us found out after our win, it was just so overshadowed by all the excitement to be playing at Nationals as a team,” said Martyna. BKFT will join Raleigh Boneyard (men’s masters champions) in London next year. If they keep to their adage, “Winning never gets old,” there is no foreseeable end to their success – as players and people. In addition to being ultimate addicts, they are moms, professionals and even mayors. Of the 27 women on the roster, eight have children. Barr heads the town of, and a brewery in, Truckee, Calif. Baker recently traded her cleats for trek shoes in Steamboat Springs, Colo., where she won her age group in the 2015 XTERRA All-Women’s Off-Road Triathlon. Above all, they are a group of thankful athletes. “There was a feeling of gratitude that permeated the weekend. It was evident in our spirit circle with Denver at the end of the finals game,” said Salvia. “We were so thankful to still be playing this amazing game, to still be battling each other at such a high level, to be together – happy and healthy.”

10 SAN FRANCISCO SALTY 11 MINNEAPOLIS C.O.U.G.A.R.S.

HILADELPHIA 03 P LOOSE CANNON

12 PORTLAND ZFG

04 DENVER JEZEBEL

13 CALIFORNIA HOT LAVA

05 RALEIGH RIPE

14 FLORIDA RESTLESS

06 SEATTLE MINT

15 CINCINNATI HOT FLASH

07 TRIANGLE AREA RETRO

16 DENVER HAYROLD

ASHINGTON, D.C. 08 W LAME DUCK

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS Dea Dauphinee B AYL A N DS KI T E F LYI N G T E A M

Rosie Ano B O STO N

Meghan Cain C.O.U. G . A . R . S .

Betsy Andrews HAYR O L D

Betsy Basch HOT F L AS H

Stephanie Decker HOT L AVA

Leah Borsheim JE Z E B E L

Jenny Wellman LA M E D U C K

Kristina Jozsef LO O S E CA N N O N

Elin Kuffner MINT

Ashlie Dummeldinger RE ST L E S S

Beth Varica RE T R O

Jana Krutsinger RIO

Sharon Tucker RIP E

Kelly Mack SA LT Y

Kara Giaier Z FG

SUMMER 2015

09 BOSTON

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 4.20

ZFG

4.17

HOT FLASH

4.17

HOT LAVA

4.00

HAYROLD

4.00

SALTY

3.83

C.O.U.G.A.R.S.

3.80

BAYLANDS KITE FLYING TEAM

3.60

LOOSE CANNON

3.60

RIPE

3.50

RIO

3.33

BOSTON

3.33

RETRO

3.20

JEZEBEL

3.20

MINT

3.20

RESTLESS

2.90

LAME DUCK

GRAND MASTERS

JOHNNY WALKER AND THE 5 CENT ROCKET RIDES

WORDS BY

BUZZ ELLSWORTH

Johnny Walker battled with Carrboro, N.C.’s Alchemy in the semifinals and emerged with a 13-10 win. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos

egend has it, as told in the Johnny Bravo Chronicles, that long ago in the Johnny Bravo ancestry, there was a stud pilot who could fly rockets to just about anywhere with stealth and precision: Johnny Walker was a master. As the years passed and his high-end flying days started to come to a close, he thought he would try to share his great experiences with others by restoring his rockets and running rocket rides for five cents down at the county fair. It was truly a great era for Johnny Walker. He was giving back to folks from miles around. Fun for everyone! Beginner, intermediate and advanced rides! Straight up to the atmosphere’s edge! Fades, bank turns! Loops and spirals! The Chronicles continue with the story

of a young, wild and adventurous Johnny Bravo who got in one of the advanced-ride rockets one day, took off, disappeared out of Earth’s atmosphere and cruised the galaxies. People worried, but he landed safely at the fairgrounds days later, all SOTG’d up and everything. Johnny Walker knew where he had been. Bravo was physically stronger and had a new level of confidence and an air of respect about him, something he could model and share with the community. The people were amazed and curious. “Johnny? What happened on your rocket ride?” “Well, I wanted to see what would happen if I took the governor off the rocket. I didn’t expect it, but I got through the atmosphere, and there were a lot of high-level rocket pilots up there turning, looping and doing all kinds of maneuvers at high speed! I was outclassed, but they helped me with my skills and were really cool about me being there. They figured if I got better at flying, it

U S A U LT I M AT E

46 would be more fun for them. That is something I’d like to pass on to others someday. Further along in the Bravo Chronicles, Johnny Bravo became a leader and positive force in his community, and in his Encore days, helped out Johnny Walker by taking the reins of the 5 Cent Rocket Rides down at the county fair. He worked with anyone who wanted to ride, people young and old. It was as much fun as ever, and Johnny kept spreading more of that good old SOTG. He had successfully passed on the hospitality he received the day he broke through the atmosphere. Even now, if you’re lucky enough, you can hear the kids’ squeals and the hoots and hollers of everybody down at the county fair taking off on Johnny Walker’s 5 Cent Rocket Rides.

THE EVOLUTION OF JOHNNY WALKER We weren’t “Johnny Walker” right away. We were a grand masters team put together by captains Jim Nolte and Matt Krei, two competitive, top-notch players looking to create a team that had a shot to go all the way in the USA Ultimate grand masters series. By April 2015, they had compiled a roster of players who were fun, epic fun. The five-cent rocket rides were about to begin. Our captains had completed the wellrounded checklist of characters for our roster. We had our team comic, Mark Karger, the only guy I know who can do stand-up while he’s shutting down a guy on D. He kept us laughing, and that’s important for a grand masters team. We had the token old guy. Actually, we had several. We had our token summer league player, Dan Carson. He played most of his years in B leagues and then, once everybody else had fallen apart due to old age, he advanced to the A leagues. We had the Seattle crew. We had the Texas crew. We had three original Johnny Bravo team members: Wes Williams (founder of Johnny Bravo), Jason Wedekind (design guru), and John Leach (big-game animal). And we had a list of players with histories too long to compile. It is also important to note Jim Nolte’s long-term vision for the team. In looking at regions with success across all divisions, Nolte saw that cohesiveness and strength

FALL 2015

came from a succession of competitive playing opportunities across all divisions in the same geographic area, i.e., Minnesota’s Surly squads or teams in Seattle and the Bay Area. Giving his grand masters team an identity similar to the already-established Johnny Bravo (club) and Johnny Encore (masters) programs would provide an even more established platform of opportunities for players looking to move from one division to another for years to come. So in the vein of the Johnny Bravo/Encore continuum and the epic story of “Johnny Walker and the 5 Cent Rocket Ride,” the team became Johnny Walker. Now all you aging Bravo and Encore players have a place to go when it’s time. Our practices started to rev up as Colorado got warmer. Yup. Grand masters practices. We could get injured getting in or out of our cars, and we actually had practices. It was all part of the fun, and it was downright fun-ny at times. Just before regionals, a porch pirate stole our jersey order from Nolte’s porch. I was mad. That fired me up to play not-crappy defense. I upped the ante to mediocre D for the series. I’m old. That’s all I have in my tank. A team from Arkansas and two Texas squads made the trip to Colorado for regionals to join Johnny Walker and Boulder Bighorn in yet another fun, five-cent-rocketride-type session in the journey to Nationals! In the end, four of those teams advanced. Then…Nationals at Aurora Sports Park, basically our backyard! The tournament was stellar, with masters and women’s masters divisions competing alongside our own. The fields were gorgeous, great to run on, and there were youth players everywhere – throwing discs around, volunteering, score keeping and making it a real family style

(Above) In just their first year as a team, Denver Johnny Walker defended their home state and took home a national title at the Masters Championships in Aurora, Colo. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos

(Above) Captain Jim Nolte, along with fellow captain Matt Krei, put Johnny Walker together based on a long-term vision that includes cohesiveness between all levels of play in the Denver area. Photo: Jeff Albenberg/Ultiphotos

atmosphere. And the grand masters division was full and competitive. The level of play for that age (40 and over) was amazing. There were offensive skills and pulls for the ages. There was SOTG. There was even some defense. Johnny Walker came in to Nationals with eager anticipation. We were looking to play the best we could. That’s it. Hopeful and sticking together. We had a huge roster with everyone willing to pitch in and contribute any way we could. And from the quarterfinals on, it was really anybody’s tournament to win.

GRAND MASTERS' RESULTS JOHNNY WALKER V. NO COUNTRY: THE FINAL POINT Tied at 11s – last point, winner takes all – one of the wildest memories of a tournamentdeciding point I’ll ever have. There were a lot of people that had gravitated to our field. They were packing the sidelines. It was electric. We pulled on universe. No Country worked the disc up about two-thirds of the way and turned it. Walker – a couple short passes, then Heath Mackay long to Tim Galvin, just out of reach on the layout. No Country from their own goal line, textbook. Steve Dugan is classic. He’s eating up the field in chunks with perfect throws toward the game-winning end zone. Then, for the win, a perfect inside-out forehand to the end zone, on the far sideline away from where I was standing. I thought it was over. Time practically stopped. Then I see the observer on the far side, hands turned up giving the bobble signal that there was not clear possession by the receiver on the field of play and then sweeping his arms to signal out of bounds. Turnover. I was shocked. At that point, Krei picks up the disc and taps it in to start play. Some good work downfield. Play is stopped one more time for a travel. Then with a ground check in, it was Kevin Monohan to Van Le for the winning goal. We went nuts. An adrenaline-packed five-cent rocket ride for our crew. Sometimes there’s a point in time in a close game where both teams are playing well, emptying the tank with all they have, and things could go either way. I don’t know if it’s luck or some other energy out there that turns the tide in a close one, but it’s hard to explain, and it becomes the magic of the game. If that wasn’t a game that could have gone either way, tell me what is. Like a ball stalled on a rim, waiting to fall. If you want to know, playing grand masters is about as much fun as you could ever have, like the 5 Cent Rocket Rides from Johnny Walker down at the county fair. So get out of your chair! Dust off the cleats and lace ‘em up! Bottle up some of that SOTG, and get out there! And here’s to Johnny Walker. 5 Cent Rocket Rides anyone?

01 DENVER JOHNNY WALKER

09 ALABAMA BIGWHEEL

02 BRATTLEBORO NO COUNTRY 10 DALLAS BIG DNR 03 OAKLAND SHADOWS 04 CARRBORO ALCHEMY SEATTLE GEORGETOWN

05 BREWING

06 BOULDER BIGHORN 07 MINNEAPOLIS SURLY UNTINGTON BEACH 08 H SUPER CALI FRAGILE DISC

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS Pat Vennebush ALC H E M Y

Zack Rader B IG D N R

Stanley Strunk B IG H O R N

Mo Bunnell B IGW H E E L

Jeff Pollak CH A R R E D G U YS

Jerry Keister G E O R G E TOW N B R E W I N G

Tad Miller JO H N N Y WA L KE R

Jaideep Talwalkar MO S C OW STAT E

Joel Thompson N O C O U N T RY

Tom Nolan O.G.

Mike Hixenbaugh OL D M A N W I N T E R

Luis Montes OZ A R K H I L L B I L LYS

Marc Zigterman RU ST B E LT

n/a* SH A DOW S

Trey Paulissen SU P E R CA L I F R AG I L E D I S C

Andrew Rutledge SU R LY

11 NEW ROCHELLE

MOSCOW STATE

FAYETTEVILLE OZARK

12 HILLBILLYS

13 CHICAGO OLD MAN WINTER 14 OAKLAND O.G. 15 SUDBURY CHARRED GUYS 16 DETROIT RUST BELT

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 5.00

RUST BELT

4.83

SURLY

4.80

OZARK HILLBILLYS

4.50

OLD MAN WINTER

4.40

O.G.

4.20

CHARRED GUYS

4.20

SHADOWS

4.00

ALCHEMY

4.00

NO COUNTRY

3.83

GEORGETOWN BREWING

3.80

MOSCOW STATE

3.67

BIG WHEEL

3.60

BIGHORN

3.50

BIG DNR

3.33

SUPER CALI FRAGILE DISC

3.20

JOHNNY WALKER

*did not nominate a winner U S A U LT I M AT E

U-19 BOYS

NAME: AGE:

SEAN MURRAY

HOMETOWN:Â CHAPEL

What player(s) do you most look up to or would you most like to meet? I really look

up to Nutt [Jonathan Nethercutt] as a player and

HILL, NC

coach. Getting the opportunity to be coached by him this summer was an amazing opportunity.

2015 YCC TEAM:

TRIANGLE AREA TRIFORCE

He has a better understanding of the game than anyone else I know. Watching him analyze film and explain different zones and offenses has re-

How long have you been playing ultimate?

ally opened my eyes to how little I still know about

Seven years.

the sport.

How did you get your start in ultimate? I

What is your favorite tournament? What

started playing ultimate in sixth grade for my

tournament would you most like to play in?

middle school team after being convinced to play

My favorite tournament to play in is definitely

by my good friend Katie Cubrilovic and her family.

YCC. I really enjoy being able to play with all the

After that season playing with my middle school,

incredible youth ultimate players from my area

I got absorbed in the sport and havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t looked

instead of against them like I have to do during the

back since.

high school season. Right now, the tournament that I would most like to play in is College Nation-

What other sports do you play? I played

als. I am looking forward to college ultimate and

baseball until I started high school. Baseball and

hope that whatever college I end up going to will

ultimate both have their season in spring at my

get to Nationals.

school, so I committed to playing ultimate and quit baseball.

What is a hidden talent of yours? I am se-

cretly a beast at dodgeball. As a kid, I was always What is your favorite college or club team?

good at throwing things hard. The speed at which

I am going to have to say UNC Darkside. They

I throw the dodge balls and the left curve that the

are my home team, so I kind of have to root

ball always seems to have makes it really hard for

from them. Plus, knowing many of the guys after

my opponents to dodge the ball. My school had a

playing with or being coached by them has made

dodgeball tournament recently, and I had a great

watching them play especially entertaining.

time hurling balls at people. In one game, I got four of the five opponents out for my squad. I take

Photo: Christina Sch

midt/Ultiphotos

dodgeball very seriously. What is your favorite throw? Being a lefty, I

would have to say that my favorite throw is either my righty thumber or scoober. I have never actually thrown either of them in a game, but I dream of the day. What is your go-to pump up song before a game? Reggae music is what really gets me

ready to play. I will get hyped up to play by listening to any old pump-up playlist, but I really value coming into games with a calm head, ready to play smart. I really like jamming to Bob Marley, specifi-

SEAN MURRAY U-19 BOYS

FALL 2015

cally. Reggae music just clears my head, gets rid of any pre-game jitters and allows me to enjoy the game and play hard.

U-19 BOYS

HOMETOWN: AMHERST, 2015 YCC TEAM:

Photo: Al

AGE:

LUKE WEBB

/Ultiphot ex Fraser

NAME:

BOSTON BUDA

What is your favorite college or club team?

Favorite club team: Dark or Light. Favorite college team: Massachusetts Zoodisc. What player(s) do you most look up to or would you most like to meet?

Players I look up to: Brent Anderson, Robin Stewart,

How long have you been playing ultimate?

Leila Tunnell, Joe Costello, Jeff Babbit and Dan

Nine years.

Hourigan.Players I want to meet: Matt Bennett. How did you get your start in ultimate?

What is your favorite tournament? What

I started playing at the Summer Ultimate League

tournament would you most like to play in?

of Amherst when I was eight.

Favorite tournament: Amherst Invite. Tournament most like to play in: U-20 Worlds.

What other sports do you play? Soccer

and basketball.

EBB LUKE W U-19 BOYS

What is a hidden talent of yours?

Ear wiggling. What is your favorite throw? Around flick. What is your go-to pump up song before a game? Excellent by Blackalicious.

U-19 BOYS’ FINAL STANDINGS

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS

BOSTON BUDA

15.0 WASHINGTON, D.C. DEADRISE

ATLANTA ATLIENS

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR A

TRIANGLE AREA TRIFORCE

14.8 INDIANA INFERNO

YUSEF ABDULLAH

JOSH EUFINGER

SEATTLE SHOGUN

14.7 SEATTLE SHOGUN

ATLANTA ATLIENS

13.8 CINCINNATI FLYING PIG

BAY AREA BEAR FLAGGERS

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR 2

4 5

CHICAGO U-19 ELITE

13.4 MINNESOTA SUPERIOR 2

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR A

13.3 CONNECTICUT INSOMNIA

COLORADO CUTTHROAT

NASHVILLE NASHVILLIANS

JACOB BYRON

SAM SCHERER BOSTON BUDA

NASHVILLE NASHVILLAINS

NED DICK

MATTHEW SUI

12.8 ST. LOUIS STORM

CHICAGO U-19 ELITE

12.8 TRIANGLE AREA TRIFORCE

MADDOX HILL

NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

9T DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL

12.8 CHICAGO U-19 ELITE

CINCINNATI FLYING PIG

INDIANA INFERNO

12.7 MAINE RISING TIDE

TEXAS TWO STEP

12.5 IOWA GOLIATH

PITTSBURGH IMPULSE

12.4 BOSTON BUDA

CINCINNATI FLYING PIG

12.4 NASHVILLE NASHVILLAINS

TRIANGLE AREA CAROLINA SKY

12.3 TRIANGLE AREA CAROLINA SKY

NEW YORK LITTLE PONY

12.2 BAY AREA BEAR FLAGGERS

DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL

LIAM BATEMAN

CONNECTICUT INSOMNIA

12.2 MICHIGAN SEMI

ZACK CINCOTTA

ST. LOUIS STORM

HOUSTON HELIX

12.2 NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

HOUSTON HELIX

NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

12.0 PITTSBURGH IMPULSE

IOWA GOLIATH

11.7 MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

BAY AREA BEAR FLAGGERS

11.4 COLORADO CUTTHROAT

MICHIGAN SEMI

11.4 TEXAS TWO STEP

MAINE RISING TIDE

11.2 HOUSTON HELIX

WASHINGTON, D.C. DEADRISE

11.2 NEW YORK LITTLE PONY

ST. LOUIS STORM

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR 2

CRAIG KAISER COLORADO CUTTHROAT

TIMMY KING

MICHAEL KWON NEW YORK LITTLE PONY

THOMAS TYSON PITTSBURGH IMPULSE

CONNECTICUT INSOMNIA

BRIAN SMAIL

LUKE DEASY SEATTLE SHOGUN

COLTON DAIGLE INDIANA INFERNO

PHILLIP SPEEGLE TEXAS TWO STEP

EMMANUEL BILOLO

DAVID MILLER

TRIANGLE AREA CAROLINA SKY

IOWA GOLIATH

ANDREW MOUW

JOEY KOSTERMAN MAINE RISING TIDE

TRIANGLE AREA TRIFORCE

JACK HEPBURN

NICK TANSEY

10.8 ATLANTA ATLIENS

MICHIGAN SEMI

7.6 DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL

CALEB MAY

WASHINGTON, D.C. DEADRISE

MOUSSA DIA

U S A U LT I M AT E

U-19 GIRLS

NAME: AGE:

MAYA OTSUKI

HOMETOWN: DENVER ,

2015 YCC TEAM:

COLORADO CUTTHROAT How long have you been playing ultimate?

my coaches, and it was great to be able to play

Two and a half years.

some other very talented teams. I would love to eventually get the opportunity to play at College

How did you get your start in ultimate? My

Nationals.

brother convinced me to start playing with him, so I started on my high school's mixed team and

What is a hidden talent of yours?

loved it and decided to continue playing for the

I can lick my elbow. :)

girls’ team as well. What is your favorite throw? What other sports do you play?

Recently, it's been a hammer. I've been working

I used to be on the swim team, but stopped once I

a lot on mine.

started playing ultimate. What is your go-to pump up song before a What is your favorite college or club team?

game? Take on Me by a-ha. hotos

My favorite college team is probably Oregon

t/Ultip

Fugue, since I'm currently trying out for them, and

stina S

chmid

my favorite club team is Johnny Bravo. What player(s) do you most look up to or

Chri Photo:

would you most like to meet? I definitely

look up to Jesse Shofner a lot. I've been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to practice with her recently, and I really admire her talent. She displays such a high level of intensity which motivates me and others on the field. What is your favorite tournament? What tournament would you most like to play in? YCC was my favorite. I loved my team and

TSUKI O A Y MA LS U-19 GIR

FALL 2015

U-19 GIRLS

Photo: Alex Fraser/U

ltiphotos

U-19 GIRLS’ FINAL STANDINGS 1

SEATTLE SEATTLESAURUS

BOSTON BUDA

TRIANGLE AREA WARHAWKS

CINCINNATI BELLE

NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

TEXAS TANGO

OREGON GLORY

DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL

MAINE RIP TIDE

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

PITTSBURGH MOXIE

ATLANTA CATLANTA

COLORADO CUTTHROAT

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS CAROLINE O’CONN ELL U-19 GIRLS

14.1 MINNESOTA SUPERIOR 13.8 ATLANTA CATLANTA 12.5 BOSTON BUDA 12.2 PITTSBURGH MOXIE 12.2 SEATTLE SEATTLESAURUS

NAME:

AGE:

CAROLINE O’CONNELL

HOMETOWN: HIGHLAND 2015 YCC TEAM:

VILLAGE, TX

TEXAS TANGO

11.9 DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL

What is your favorite college or club team?

My favorite club team would definitely be Maeve

11.7 MAINE RIP TIDE 11.4 OREGON GLORY 11.3 COLORADO CUTTHROAT

out of Dallas (because I play for it!), but I love to

10.9 CINCINNATI BELLE

watch the high-level women's teams that go to

10.4 TEXAS TANGO

Nationals and picture the day that Maeve will one

10.3 TRIANGLE AREA WARHAWKS

day be playing with them. I also loved watching the All-Star [Tour] team this year.

How long have you been playing ultimate?

What player(s) do you most look up to or

Four years.

would you most like to meet?

Jaclyn Verzuh and the rest of the all-star team

How did you get your start in ultimate?

10.0 NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS ATLANTA CATLANTA

MEREDITH FOSSITT BOSTON BUDA

OLIVIA LEDERMAN

I had a friend who played for the high school team

What is your favorite tournament? What

at my school, and when I started school freshman

tournament would you most like to play in?

KATIE BROWN

year, she insisted that I come out to a practice, and

YCC was the most fun I've had at a tournament.

COLORADO CUTTHROAT

I'm so glad I did.

It was amazing. I definitely hope to play at Club Nationals sometime soon.

What other sports do you play? I used to play

softball, but now I'm only committed to ultimate.

CINCINNATI BELLE

EMMA GANN DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL

JAMIE HONG MAINE RIP TIDE

MEGAN TAMMARO

What is a hidden talent of yours?

I'm a good painter.

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

PHOEBE EISENBEIS NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

HINDEKE TEWODROS

What is your favorite throw?

Definitely just a nice, clean flick huck.

OREGON GLORY

RACHEL VEGA PITTSBURGH MOXIE

JORDAN SCHULTZ-MCARDLE

What is your go-to pump up song before a game? Halftime by Ying Yang Twins.

SEATTLE SEATTLESAURUS

EMMA GOIDEL TEXAS TANGO

ZOE CZARNECKI TRIANGLE AREA WARHAWKS

MIRANDA MUNOZ

U S A U LT I M AT E

NAME: AGE:

Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

U-19 MIXED COLBY CHUCK

NAME:

HOMETOWN:

AGE:

BERKELEY, CA

about six years.

ARLINGTON, VA

2015 YCC TEAM:

BAY AREA HAPPY COWS

ultimate? I have been playing ultimate for

HOMETOWN:

2015 YCC TEAM:

How long have you been playing

RACHEL HESS

D.C. SWING VOTE

How long have you been playing ultimate?

I’ve been playing for almost exactly two years. I

COLBY CHUCK

started the fall of my freshman year of high school.

U-19 MIXED

How did you get your start in ultimate? My

How did you get your start in ultimate?

I first started ultimate at the University of

What is your favorite tournament?

older brother started playing when he was in

California Blue Camp where they had ultimate

What tournament would you most like

seventh grade. I went to a few of his games and

as a sports activity. The counselor for the

to play in? My favorite tournament has to

started to understand the rules. When I was in

activity was a Berkeley High School player

be the Chicago Invite. Hosted in Rockford, Ill.,

ninth grade, my field hockey coach, who was

at the time, and I quickly fell in love with the

at the Sportscore Sports Complex, the field

very involved in the school ultimate program,

game because of how it was so different from

conditions were absolutely terrific in addition

convinced me to go to my school club’s practices.

other sports. I also attended Bay Area Disc As-

to a very well-organized tournament overall.

All of the people were so fun and nice, I just kind

sociation summer camps the same summer

With the tournament directors being Luke

of kept going. In November of that year, I went to

because of how much I enjoyed the sport.

and Kelly Johnson, they had everything from

my first tournament. After that, I was hooked.

instant ramen and hot chocolate for the cold What other sports do you play? Tennis used

What other sports do you play?

Illinois mornings to terrific sponsors such

Ultimate is the only sport I have ever played

as Spikeball, Kind Snacks and Five Ultimate.

to be my life. I played a lot and really liked it. But

because I have a heart condition called Long

However, the main reason why this is my

tennis is more of an individual sport, and the

QT Syndrome.

favorite tournament was because I got to play

culture is pretty cutthroat. I found the ultimate

the Youth Club Championships finals this

iphoto

Vote who I previously got to play against in

team? Las Positas College #SoarHawksSoar

with people from Washington, D.C. Swing What is your favorite college or club

the guys and girls for four days was such an

or would you most like to meet? I do not

amazing time that I will never forget.

a Schm

What player(s) do you most look up to

idt/Ult

past summer. Being able to spend time with

The tournament I would like to play in the

such as Lucas Dallmann and Lisa Pitcaithley,

most is the World Junior Ultimate Champion-

I focus more on what teams are able to do

ships in Poland this coming summer. I would

as a whole on the field and how they execute

like to be able to represent my country in

different strategies, etc.

addition to meeting lots of new people and

Photo:

admire many of the great athletes of the sport

Christin

look up to any players in particular. While I do

experiencing new cultures. What is a hidden talent of yours? I

consume large amounts of bubble tea weekly. What is your favorite throw?

Backhand hucks. What is your go-to pump up song before a game? Borderline - Vanic Remix by Tove Styrke.

FALL 2015

HESS L E H C RA ED U-19 MIX

U-19 MIXED

YCC. The amount of competition at the youth level can’t be found anywhere else, and it’s amazing to see all the best youth players in the country in one place. community to be so much more easy-going and welcoming. I also played soccer and a little softball, basketball and swimming. Yay sports!

NAME: AGE:

JOE FREUND

What is your favorite college or club team?

nament, whether it be the U-20 open team

HOMETOWN:

I would love to play in a world games tour-

ARLINGTON, VA

2015 YCC TEAM:

D.C. SWING VOTE

My favorite club team is D.C. Scandal (of course). I’ve

playing in Wroclaw, Poland this summer, or a U-23 team later on in life. What is a hidden talent of yours? Maybe

gotten to meet and learn from some of the Scandal

How long have you been playing ulti-

not so hidden, but I love to sing. On the field,

players, many of whom are from or live in Arlington.

mate? I started playing competitive ultimate

on the sidelines, in the tournament buses,

They are exceptional athletes and great role models

during my freshman year of high school for

you name it, I’ve been known to belt out a

sponsoring clinics in support of the Girls’ Ultimate

Yorktown. I had gone to week-long summer

few off-key notes from time to time.

Movement every Sunday.

camps coached by William Smolinski since

What player(s) do you most look up to or

the sixth grade, however, I never fully com-

What is your favorite throw? I really en-

mitted until a few years later.

joy throwing my scoober, especially to break around cups. I’m not entirely comfortable

would you most like to meet? Jenny Fey on D.C.

with it yet, but I love working on it.

Scandal is definitely the person I look up to most.

How did you get your start in ultimate?

As a player, but also as a human being. She’s a

I was first introduced to ultimate during the

world-class athlete and still takes the time to coach

summer of fifth grade. I went to an ultimate

What is your go-to pump up song be-

youth ultimate. It’s really special to have such an

camp (Capital Ultimate Camp) coached by

fore a game? Eminem: Lose Yourself.

amazing athlete give you advice and then see her

Dave Soles and Will Smolinski. They taught

throwing dimes and skying people left and right on

me the sport throughout summers in middle

a live stream.

school and then convinced me to attend Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

junior varsity tryouts for YHB (Yorktown-HB What is your favorite tournament? What

Woodlawn) my freshman year.

tournament would you most like to play in?

YCC was my favorite tournament of all time. There

What other sports do you play? I played

were so many great players, and the quality of the

ice hockey for all four years of high school,

games was just so high. But more importantly, all of

but now I am focused solely on ultimate.

the teams truly understood the Spirit of the Game. I’d most like to play at Worlds. Playing at that high a

What is your favorite college or club

level would be an amazing experience.

team? I am slightly biased, as I play for them,

but my favorite college team is VT Burn, and What is a hidden talent of yours?

my favorite club team is Truck Stop.

I am pretty good at Bananagrams. It’s a lot of fun. Would recommend.

What player(s) do you most look up to or would you most like to meet?

What is your favorite throw? I’m a big fan of the

Personally, I look up to Matt Rehder and

around backhand. It’s such a reliable way to break

Beau Kittredge. These two are at the top of

the mark and switch the field completely.

the game and have perfected their play to a point where they make any team elite.

JOE FREUND U-19 MIXED

What is your go-to pump up song before a game? Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations.

What is your favorite tournament? What

No question. That song gets everyone hyped, no

tournament would you most like to play

matter the situation.

in? My favorite tournament so far has been

U S A U LT I M AT E

Photo: Christina Schm

idt/Ultiphotos

U-19 MIXED

What player(s) do you most look up to or would you most like to meet? The player that

I most look up to is my sister, Chloe Caroth-

ers-Liske, because she is the one who introduced

BAY AREA HAPPY COWS

SEATTLE ROYALE

me to ultimate, and without her, I never would

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

PHILADELPHIA FORGE

the most talented player that I know, but she

BOSTON BUDA

ceaselessly works to remedy her shortcomings

OREGON FLOOD

SOUTH DAKOTA SODAK

ATLANTA FLATLINE

that I truly respect, and her competitive spirit

MADISON MUFA BOTS

inspires me to be a better teammate and put in

MAINE RISING TIDE

maximum effort at all times. There is nothing I

COLORADO CUTTHROAT

VERMONT GMX

wouldn't do for her, on and off the field, and it is

U-19 MIXED

her passion for the game that motivates me to develop my skills and become an elite player. What is your favorite tournament? What

LAUREN CAROTHERS-LISKE

NAME:

AGE:

2015 YCC TEAM:

tournament would you most like to play in?

BAY AREA HAPPY COWS

How long have you been playing ultimate?

Three years. How did you get your start in ultimate?

My sister introduced me to ultimate in eighth grade when she encouraged me to play for California Roll, the Bay Area high school girls’ team. What other sports do you play?

What is your favorite college or club team?

My favorite club team is Fury because not only are the players tremendous athletes and role

clinics, coaching and encouragement of young

14.2 ATLANTA FLATLINE 14.0 SEATTLE ROYALE 13.3 BOSTON BUDA

because it provides me the relatively rare chance

13.2 MINNESOTA SUPERIOR 13.0 MADISON MUFA BOTS 12.7 VERMONT GMX

ships with players from outside of the Bay Area.

12.3 COLORADO CUTTHROAT

The experience I have had with the Happy Cows

11.9 SOUTH DAKOTA SODAK

has changed my perspective on what it means to be a teammate and an athlete. Playing at YCC is an amazing opportunity that I am very thankful

11.8 OREGON FLOOD 11.4 WASHINGTON, D.C. SWING VOTE 10.0 PHILADELPHIA FORGE 9.8 BAY AREA HAPPY COWS

to have access to. However, the next step in my ultimate career would be to be able to play for the U.S.A. at U-20 Worlds. To play in this tournament would validate all the work I have put towards improving my game and give me a chance to play women's ultimate at the highest level. This is a

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS ATLANTA FLATLINE

WYATT THOMPSON BAY AREA HAPPY COWS

goal I have been working towards for a while, and

MICHELLE SLAUGHTER

to actually be able to achieve it would be fantastic.

BOSTON BUDA

EOIN MCCARTER COLORADO CUTTHROAT

What is a hidden talent of yours? My dedica-

SAM CLAY

tion to food is rather astonishing, and in my spare

WASHINGTON, D.C. SWING VOTE

time, there is nothing I love more than making and eating my favorite desserts. If I do say so myself, I make a delicious chocolate bundt cake.

models, but they are also very supportive and focus on building women's ultimate through their

16.3 MAINE RISING TIDE

I have participated in, my favorite is definitely YCC

In addition to playing ultimate, I play basketball, tennis and lacrosse.

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS

I would have to say that out of all the tournaments

to play mixed on an elite level and form friend-

HOMETOWN: OAKLAND,

WASHINGTON, D.C. SWING VOTE

have discovered this wonderful sport. She is not

and improve her game. She plays with an intensity

LAUREN CAROTHER S-LISKE

U-19 MIXED FINAL STANDINGS

RACHEL HESS MADISON MUFA BOTS

ANDERS SHROPHSIRE MAINE RISING TIDE

HANNAH BABCOCK MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

What is your favorite throw?

An inside-out flick.

female players.

EMMA JASCHKE OREGON FLOOD

KAIYANA PETRUS PHILADELPHIA FORGE

COLIN WHITE

What is your go-to pump up song before a game? "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan.

SEATTLE ROYALE

KEENAN ALBRECHT SOUTH DAKOTA SODAK

ETHAN KNOBLOCH VERMONT GMX

LUCAS WELLS

FALL 2015

U-16 BOYS

NAME: AGE:

JAY BURNETT

HOMETOWN:

ATLANTA, GA

2015 YCC TEAM:

ATLANTA ATLAS

How long have you been playing ultimate?

Two and a half years. How did you get your start in ultimate?

I first played ultimate during PE at my school. I really enjoyed it and wanted to play more, but my school doesn’t have a team, so I looked around and ended up playing for Lakeside HS. What other sports do you play? Currently I

What is your favorite college or club team?

don’t play any other sports, but I played baseball up

I don’t usually root for any particular teams, but if

until 2013 when I switched over to ultimate.

I had to choose, I’d say D.C. Scandal because I got one of their replica tanks, and I consider it one of my best decisions ever. What player(s) do you most look up to or would you most like to meet?

I would like to meet any of the coaches of one of iphoto

the elite college or club teams and see how they

Photo:

Christin

a Schm

idt/Ult

approach the game and what their strategies are. What is your favorite tournament? What tournament would you most like to play in?

YCC is definitely my favorite tournament so far. I love that the competition is really intense, but after the games are done, everyone just hangs out together and has fun. The U-20 World Championship is the tournament I’d most like to play in because it would be so incredible to be able to represent the

RNETT

JAY BU YS U-16 BO

U.S. and play against the best players in the world. What is a hidden talent of yours?

In my free time, I do a little free-running sometimes. I’d say that I’m decent at it. What is your favorite throw?

Hammers. The only thing better than throwing a dime downfield is doing it with a crisp hammer. What is your go-to pump up song before a game? Any song by Logic.

U S A U LT I M AT E

Photo:

Christin

a Schm

iphoto idt/Ult

U-16 BOYS

D ETLAN BEN FJ

SOUZA

YS U-16 BO

U-16 BOYS’ FINAL STANDINGS 1

SEATTLE OLYMPUS

DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL

BAY AREA AFTERSHOCK

TRIANGLE AREA NC HAMMER

ATLANTA ATLAS

INDIANA INTENSITY

CHICAGO DEEP DISH

COLORADO CUTTHROAT

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

PITTSBURGH PULSE

NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL-B

CINCINNATI FLYING PIGLETS

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 14.8 ATLANTA ATLAS 14.5 COLORADO CUTTHROAT

NAME:

14.0 CINCINNATI FLYING PIGLETS

BEN FJETLAND-SOUZA

AGE:

13.3 DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL 13.0 DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL B

13.0 SEATTLE OLYMPUS

HOMETOWN: ST. 2015 YCC TEAM:

12.5 NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

PAUL, MN

12.3 PITTSBURGH PULSE 12.2 INDIANA INTENSITY

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

11.8 TRIANGLE AREA NC HAMMER 11.7 BAY AREA AFTERSHOCK

How long have you been playing ultimate?

What is your favorite tournament? What

This is my third year playing ultimate.

tournament would you most like to play in?

I think one of my favorite tournaments is the High How did you get your start in ultimate?

School Central Regional Championships because

I was introduced to ultimate by my science teach-

I like the opportunity to play against teams from

er (a former Surly player) on a school trip. I started

other states. Also, it’s a good bonding experience

playing the next season as a handler.

for the teams.

11.6 MINNESOTA SUPERIOR 9.6 CHICAGO DEEP DISH

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS ATLANTA ATLAS

DAVID CHALMERS BAY AREA AFTERSHOCK

What other sports do you play? I've played a

What is a hidden talent of yours?

couple other sports like baseball and soccer for

Painting.

about a year or two. However, I only play ultimate now.

I look up to are Xavier Maxstadt for his throws, Stanley Peterson because of his crazy pressure on D and Dylan Freechild for his throw-n-goes.

COLORADO CUTTHROAT

CHARLIE ERICKSON DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL

RYAN MOORE

What is your go-to pump up song before a game? The Distance by Cake.

would you most like to meet? The players that

CHRISTOPHER CRANSTON KEEGAN BUTLER

What is your favorite throw?

What is your favorite college or club team?

What player(s) do you most look up to or

CHICAGO DEEP DISH

CINCINNATI FLYING PIGLETS

Outside-in flick hucks. My favorite club team is Sub Zero, of course.

ELIJAH FRENDBERG-MATES

DELAWARE VALLEY DEVYL B

MATT PINDILLI INDIANA INTENSITY

ALEX HENDERSON MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

LEO SOVELL-FERNANDEZ NEUQUA VALLEY NIGHTMARE

JONATHAN TSENG PITTSBURGH PULSE

ALEX LEVINE SEATTLE OLYMPUS

JASPER DEAN TRIANGLE AREA NC HAMMER

ANDREW LI

FALL 2015

U-16 GIRLS

NAME: AGE:

YENNI LEE

HOMETOWN:

SEATTLE, WA

2015 YCC TEAM:

SEATTLE ECHO

How long have you been playing ultimate?

Six years. ltiphotos

How did you get your start in ultimate?

I joined the ultimate team at my school in sixth

Photo: Ale x Fraser/U

grade at South Shore PreK-8 at the encouragement of my older sister, but little did I know what this journey throughout the years would entail. The love I developed for the game was a surprise to me and everyone around me. If I knew six years ago that I would have the chance to represent Seattle at YCC, I would have been shocked. I joined AGE UP (All Girl Everything Ultimate Program) nearly five years ago and was quickly

U-16 G IRLS

introduced to many opportunities. I have met new

YENNI LEE

friends, new coaches and more ultimate advocates through AGE UP who would eventually become my peers in the Southend Ultimate Program board

because they have made such a big impact on the

that I am currently on right now that focuses on

Seattle youth ultimate community. Not only is hav-

expanding youth programs in South Seattle. If there

ing club players as coaches an inspiration to youth,

is one thing that I have learned from these two pro-

but they continue to expand the youth scene, which

grams, it would be that leadership in young women

is why Seattle is quickly producing so many experi-

is definitely a trait to cultivate early on in ultimate.

enced ultimate players at the youth level!

After playing for many different teams, like Seattle

Fryz, I would say that I started and continue to play

What is your favorite tournament? What

ultimate because of the community and family.

tournament would you most like to play in?

After going to YCC two years in a row, it is my

What other sports do you play?

favorite tournament so far because I get to spend a

Ultimate is my one and only sport. Disc is life!

lot of time with my friends and teammates during

the summer to train and play at nationals.

What is your favorite college or club team?

Without a doubt, Seattle Riot!!! <3

What is a hidden talent of yours? I love playing

music! My favorite instrument is the clarinet.

What player(s) do you most look up to or

would you most like to meet? Hana Kawai and

What is your favorite throw?

Shannon O'Malley, two players on Seattle Riot, have

My favorite throw is a low-release flick.

supported me ever since I just started learning to

throw, and they are athletes that I look up to. In fact,

What is your go-to pump up song before a

all of the Seattle Riot players are my role models

game? Remember the Name by Fort Minor.

U S A U LT I M AT E

Photo: Alex Fraser/U

ltiphotos

U-16 GIRLS

U-16 GIRLS’ FINAL STANDINGS 1

SEATTLE ECHO

CINCINNATI BELLE

BAY AREA BELLY OF THE BEAST

TRIANGLE AREA KITTY HAWKS

MAINE RIP TIDE

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

USAU FREE AGENTS

TEAM SPIRIT RANKINGS 16.5 SEATTLE ECHO II 15.0 MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

JANEY VANDEGRIFT U-16 GIRLS

14.5 TRIANGLE AREA KITTY HAWKS 13.3 USAU FREE AGENTS 13.0 MAINE RIP TIDE 12.3 BAY AREA BELLY OF THE BEAST 12.0 SEATTLE ECHO I 11.8 CINCINNATI BELLE

NAME: AGE:

JANEY VANDEGRIFT

INDIVIDUAL SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS

HOMETOWN: BETHEL,

BAY AREA BELLY OF THE BEAST!

2015 YCC TEAM:

ATHENA LYNCH

CINCINNATI BABY BELLE

CINCINNATI BELLE

GLORIA KAMMER MAINE RIP TIDE

ISABEL CLAYTOR

How long have you been playing ultimate?

What is your favorite college or club

Eight years.

team? I like watching San Francisco Fury.

LEONA DERANGO

SEATTLE ECHO I

How did you get your start in ultimate?

What player(s) do you most look up to or

Initially it was my brother. I had no desire what-

would you most like to meet? Octavia Payne.

soever to play ultimate, but he played a juniors

league and convinced me to try it out. It wasn't

What is your favorite tournament? What

super serious, and I was only eight, but I thrived

tournament would you most like to play in?

on the friendly competition and haven't stopped

I've been able to watch and volunteer at the

playing since. It was the other players on my

Division I College Championships that have been

high school team, Omega, that kept me playing.

held in Mason, Ohio. My favorite tournament

I looked up to people like Kayla Fry, who made

I've played in would have to be either YCC or the

an effort to keep in touch with me and make me

Paideia Cup.

feel like part of the team. I wanted to become an

athlete like Kjersti Fry and Rachel Monnin.

What is a hidden talent of yours?

I am currently taking voice lessons.

What other sports do you play?

I enjoy training for distance runs. I recently did a

What is your favorite throw?

half marathon.

The forehand huck.

What is your go-to pump up song before a game? Anything Disney.

FALL 2015

MINNESOTA SUPERIOR

ABBY HECKO SEATTLE ECHO II

CAMERON JEWETT TRIANGLE AREA KITTY HAWKS

JENNIFER QIAN USAU FREE AGENTS

BETSY SIEGAL

Who Wore it Best ?

CLAIRE

DORY

ELI

LIZA

HEATHER ANN & ALEX

TOM

Snaking from Top Left: National Outreach Director Claire Chastain at the 2015 World Championships of Beach Ultimate. Photo: Get Horizontal Brute Squad’s Dory Ziperstein at the 2015 National Championships. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos Madison Heist’s Liza Minor at the 2015 National Championships. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos Eli Motycka at the 2015 World Under-23 Ultimate Championships. Photo: Jolie Lang/Ultiphotos GUM Chair Heather Ann Brauer and Ultiphotos photographer Alex Fraser at the 2015 Masters Championships. Photo: Heather Ann Brauer USA Ultimate CEO Tom Crawford at the 2015 Youth Ultimate Coaching Conference. Photo: Bay Area Disc Association Seattle BirdFruit’s Luke Jesperson at the 2015 National Championships. Photo: William Brotman/Ultiphotos

LUKE

#gumaroundtheworld

Buy your own headband to support the Girls’ Ultimate Movement at gum.usaultimate.org!

#HEFORSHE

Noticed, Celebrated, Appreciated Words by Keith Raynor

T I KNEW THAT COMPETITIVE FEMALE ULTIMATE PLAYERS WERE FIERCE WARRIORS WHO PUT IN THE WORK AND WANTED TO BE SUCCESSFUL. BUT I LEARNED THAT THEY WANTED TO BE NOTICED, CELEBRATED AND APPRECIATED.

FALL 2015

here’s been a distinct increase in the focus on the development of women in ultimate. From youth girls’ clinics at the local level to programs like the Girls’ Ultimate Movement at the national level, the dialogue around how to increase participation and development of female ultimate players is gaining steam and garnering attention. As the women’s coverage coordinator and a senior editor for Ultiworld, I’ve gotten to watch and be a part of the exchanges and efforts. As part of a public media outlet, my role in the process, however, is still up for determination. When I started doing coverage of the women’s division, I wasn’t really sure if anyone was paying attention. I had been doing some ultimate writing online and had recently taken on my second women’s college coaching gig with Emory Luna, so it made sense to write an ultimate blog that focused on the women’s division, which had a distinct lack of coverage from outside media sources. The division was teeming with intriguing storylines and rife with characters worth watching and following. After carefully choosing the handle FullFieldHammer for my blog and corresponding Twitter account (I should have considered choosing a throw I can actually come close to completing), I just started throwing together as much information as I could. I met Charlie Eisenhood, Ultiworld Editor in Chief, at the first tournament I went to cover, Queen City Tune-Up, back in 2013. It is hard to believe that was almost three years ago. A few months later, he asked me to help Ultiworld cultivate its women’s division coverage,

starting with the 2013 College Championships in Madison, Wis. It was exciting to take on a challenge that felt a bit like trying to map uncharted territory. I ran around like a madman, trying to take notes while also live tweeting and getting quotes, statistics and scores, and then writing round-by-round recaps, hopefully providing comprehensive coverage of some 500 athletes in 80 games. What I saw confirmed some things I knew and taught me some I didn’t. My time around incredible ultimate women – having grown up in the Atlanta scene watching Rebecca Simon, Katherine KiddShippey, Eileen Murray and others – showed me very early on that women are not inferior on the field. Going to Tiina Booth’s first NUTC camps and watching a young Emily Baecher destroy competition of every type left an impression. I knew that competitive female ultimate players were fierce warriors who put in the work and wanted to be successful. But I learned that they wanted to be noticed, celebrated and appreciated. The college players and coaches I talked to in Madison that weekend seemed grateful to have someone asking them about their games and their teams. We have come a long way since those early days of Ultiworld, and the conversation about the role of media in the growth of the women’s division and execution of the official and unofficial guidelines of gender equity has exploded. Despite the progress, no event I attend is sans discussion about what more could be done. Sometimes the comments come in the form of criticisms: not enough videos of women’s division finals, not as many articles as the men’s division, or less dedicated speaking time on a podcast. Other

WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT THERE IS A DEMAND FOR WOMEN’S CONTENT.

Boston Brute Squad captain Emily Baecher is interviewed on ESPN after her team’s win at the 2015 National Championships. Photo: Paul Andris/Ultiphotos

times, it’s constructive discussion and idea generation of solutions and an addressing of issues. All in all, between comment sections, emails, social media and sideline chats, the conversation can get noisy. So it’s important to me to keep sight of both where we’ve come from and where we’re going, even if seeing one or the other is simpler or easier. All the noise doesn’t always translate well in the media. As frustrating as it may be, by nearly every metric, women’s media generates less engagement than men’s media. Men’s articles generate more page views and more comments, while videos of men’s division games have larger viewerships and more downloads. Most challenging of all is that we have significantly more applications for men’s writers than women’s writers. The end result is a smaller pool of resources being stretched thinner for a product that doesn’t deliver the same effective return on investment. The costs of being a small media organization are very real, even if they stretch beyond dollars and cents. But we’re not in the business of making excuses. We’re in the business of creating content. What is clear is that there is a demand for women’s content. This summer’s All-Star Ultimate Tour proved

that. The crowd funded venture was organized by a group of top college players and recent college grads in the women’s division and pitted them against local club teams in a series of games played across the nation. The series delivered a captivating show – in person and online – not only of female talent in ultimate but also support of the athletes who are the heartbeat of the division. It expanded the library of women’s video content, including some highlights that drew attention from the sports world at large. And it injected more star power and excitement into the ultimate community and helped further shift the perspective on women’s ultimate. Finding a balance between treating divisions the same and providing unique solutions to the distinct issues of two different divisions is tricky, to say the least. But what we as a community, and I as a member of the media, have to help do is figure out how to bridge the gap that exists and do so with limited resources. I say with limited resources because, while it would be helpful to have more, it doesn’t look like a flood of eager content creators is waiting around the river bend. In my position as a senior editor, there are three things I’m focused on. The first is to keep planting seeds that will hopefully grow into more resources,

U S A U LT I M AT E

After the 2014 College Championships, Oregon’s Hayley Wahlroos became the first female ultimate player to make SportsCenter’s Top 10. Photo: Brian Canniff/Ultiphotos

WHAT HELPS ME KEEP PERSPECTIVE IS MY OWN LITTLE WINDOW INTO THE ACTUAL ATHLETES AROUND WHICH THE COVERAGE IS FOCUSED. mostly by talking to potential writers and getting new blood into the coverage system. Our ability to deliver quality and timely content is dramatically impacted by each additional resource. The second is to keep listening to the feedback we get on our coverage and how it can be more engaging for the audience. The third is to keep trying to create and manage a robust content portfolio and continue doing what I can to spread the content our staff creates. Ultimately, other efforts won’t mean anything if we don’t have pieces to read, videos to watch, podcasts to listen to and ways for people to access them. What helps me keep perspective is my own little window into the actual athletes around which the coverage is focused. Coaching Luna keeps me near the motivation and provides the energy to keep working. Coaching can be humbling, educational and incredibly rewarding on many levels. And it also provides a look into the experience of the players and community. More importantly, it frames a large portion of the potential payoff: young women falling in love with the sport and gaining confidence in themselves as teammates and athletes.

FALL 2015

It’s a strange experience to leave a tournament where I’ve been surrounded by the best players in the world and go to a fall college practice where over half the people have never been on the line for a seven-on-seven pull. From a world of battle-tested, sweat-invested, media-dissected veterans to blank slates and fresh faces still looking to both impress the team and be impressed by the team, connecting them is simultaneously difficult and simple. Both of my assistant coaches compete at the national level – many college coaches and even some college players have – and those connections help tie the ultimate community together in a way we might not always have. For now, that takes some of the burden off of the media. How many young soccer players get coached by Hope Solo and Tim Howard? The ultimate community still reaps the benefits of these special relationships. Sometimes, I feel like I’m just a guy writing down what I see, but other times, I wrestle with the responsibility I have to these athletes, their teams and their stories. What I and the staff at Ultiworld do is just a small part of the whole; sometimes I connect on a metaphorical huck, and sometimes I drop one, but it’s just one goal or one turnover in a game to 15. We can only score one at a time, so we continue to line up and try to get the next one.

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Nutrition Matters BACK TO BASICS-FOODS TO FUEL ULTIMATE WORKOUTS By: Katy Harris

MSPH, CSCS, NS

ith the club season and championship series now behind us for another year, are you already hungry for more and thinking about next year? Ideally, the off-season is where most of your

The next step is to understand each type of workout and what kind of energy you are using for the workout, so you know what you’ll need to replace. Below are two tables describing each type of workout and the foods needed to fuel each of those workout types before, during and after. All recommendations are based on starting

fitness, strength and power gains should occur. You will likely be doing many different types of workouts throughout the year, and each type of workout and training has its own nutritional demands.

exercise three to four hours after a meal (so you basically have an empty stomach) and are assuming individuals are at their goal weight. Carbohydrates refer to healthy grain-based sources (e.g., dense bread, pasta, flour products, etc.) with no added sugar. Protein sources include meat, fish or eggs and some vegetable and grain combinations (e.g., beans and rice), and sources of good fats are high in Omega 3s, including nuts and nut oils; coconut and coconut oil; olives and olive oils; avocados; and whole-fat, organic dairy sources.

BACK TO BASICS Because there is no one specific diet or calorie requirement for all athletes in any given sport, it is up to us as individuals to see how our bodies react to training. What we do know is that ultimate is a demanding sport, requiring both cardiovascular and muscular fitness, strength and power. Similar to determining when to eat, the simplest way to determine what to eat is to go back to the basics and decide 1) what type of workout you are doing (e.g., strength, agility, endurance, etc.), 2) how intense the workout is going to be (e.g., how hard you will be working on average, on a scale of from zero to 100 percent), and 3) how long the workout will be. Then you decide what to eat and when. Done. Well, okay, maybe it’s not quite that easy, but if you can answer those three questions, you can use the resources below to choose your foods and decide when to eat them.

DETERMINING FOODS BASED ON TYPE OF WORKOUT Keep the five tips listed below in mind when planning what to eat and when for your workouts. Then use the tables to determine what energy source is used and how to refuel after the workout.

Things to Remember when Planning Meals and Snacks around Workouts 1. Blood starts to leave your stomach and go to the muscles once you are exercising at approximately 70 percent of your heart rate max (HRM), about when you start sweating. 2. Leaving undigested food in the stomach when you start your

Table 1: Types of Workouts Types of Workout

Duration

Intensity

Examples

Muscular or Cardiovascular Endurance

10-60+ minutes

50-75% of HRM

Body or low-weight activity or exercises (no jumping): gardening, walking, jogging, light dance or aerobics, swimming, cycling, etc.

Strength or Cardiovascular Power

15 minutes – 2 hours

50-100% HRM

Weight lifting, heavy pushing or pulling, cardiovascular interval training

Endurance Sport

15 minutes – 2 hours+

40-85% HRM

Track, cross country, cross-country skiing

Power Sport or Speed/Max Strength

20 minutes – 1 hour

60-100% HRM

Rowing, baseball, shotput, high jump, volleyball

Prolonged Sport or Agility/ Power

20 minutes – 1 hour

70-100% HRM

Football, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, ultimate

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65 Table 2: Foods to Fuel Workouts Muscular or Cardiovascular Endurance

Strength or Cardiovascular Power

Power Sport or Speed/ Max Strength

Prolonged Sport or Agility/Power

Energy Source

Carbs and fat

Carbs and protein

Carbs, protein and fat

Before Workout

1 handful carbs 1 hour before

2 handfuls carbs and 1 handful protein 2 hours before Liquid carbs and protein – 8 ounces every 15 minutes, 1 handful carbs every 30 minutes, 1 handful protein every 2 hours

During Workout

Liquid carbs – 8 ounces every 30 minute

Liquid carbs and protein – 8 ounces every 15-30 minutes

Liquid carbs and protein – 8 ounces every 15 minutes, 1 handful carbs, up to half a handful protein every 60 minutes

After Workout

1-2 handfuls carbs, ½ tbsp. good fat, within 1 hour

1-2 handfuls carbs, ½ tbsp. good fat, ½ handful protein, within 30 minutes – 1 hour

2-3 handfuls carbs, 1 tbsp. good fat, ½-1 handful protein, within 30 minutes

2-4 handfuls carbs, 1-2 tbsp. good fat, 1 handful protein, within 15-30 minutes

General Diet

1 handful protein per meal, extra ½ tbsp. good fat

1-2 handfuls protein per meal, 1 extra tbsp. good fat

1-2 handfuls protein per meal, 1-2 extra tbsp. good fat

2 handfuls protein per meal, 1-2 extra tbsp. good fat

workout can leave you with a bad stomachache a few hours later, and your performance may be affected due to a delay of energy and blood flow to the muscles. 3. One handful of carbs takes about one hour to digest. 4. One handful of protein takes four hours to digest. 5. One handful of good fat can take up to nine hours to digest! Using the tables above can help you determine which foods are best at supporting your workout. For example, you can see that if you eat a meal within three or four hours of an endurance run, you probably won’t need a pre-workout snack. But if you are a little hungry, you can follow the instructions in the table to determine that, for an endurance run, you would only need

about one handful of carbs within an hour of the run, then liquid carbs about every 30 minutes during the workout, and some carbs (one or two handfuls) and good fat (about half a tablespoon) after the workout. If this is how you work out most often, your normal diet would only require about one handful of complete protein per meal. The requirements for an ultimate tournament are quite different. As an extreme example, during a tournament, ideally you would have a small meal an hour or two before playing and continue fueling during and between games with liquids and carbohydrate beverages, handfuls of carbs and protein. Then you would have a snack – two or three handfuls of carbs, one or two handfuls of protein and some good fat – right after playing AND a normal meal a few hours later.

FOODS TO FUEL WORKOUTS As an ultimate player with a defined season and pre-determined tournament competition dates, you should ideally be following a periodized workout cycle. This means you will rotate through different types of workouts to 1) build an endurance base in the off-season, 2) focus on strength and speed during the pre-season, then 3) focus on power and agility during the season. Your dietary and caloric needs will need to cycle as well, which can sometimes catch us off guard. Using these simple guidelines and charts can help keep you healthy and performing well all year long!

REFERENCES 1. American College of Sports Medicine, Sawka MN,

high-intensity interval training. ACSM's Health & Fitness

5 . American Dietetic Association. Dietitians of Canada;

Burke LM, et al. American college of sports medicine

Journal. 2014;18(5):25-29. https://auth.lib.unc.edu/ezproxy_

American College of Sports Medicine, Rodriguez

position stand. Exercise and fluid replacement. Med

auth.php?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct

NR, Di Marco NM, Langley S.: American College of

Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(2):377-390. doi: 10.1249/

=true&db=s3h&AN=102476061&site=ehost-live.

Sports Medicine position stand. Nutrition and athletic

mss.0b013e31802ca597 [doi]. 2. Baechle TR, Earle RW. Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Human kinetics; 2008. 3 . Garzon RC, Mohr C. Meeting the nutritional demands of

4. Horner KM, Schubert MM, Desbrow B, Byrne NM, King

performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):709-731.

NA. Acute exercise and gastric emptying: A meta-analysis and implications for appetite control. Sports Medicine. 2015;45(5):659-678.

U S A U LT I M AT E

FALL 2015

Presented by:

Coaches’ Playbook

x x

FINDING THEIR ROLE By: Christie Lawry

“

tarting D-line handler cover.” That’s a pretty specific role. And it’s really quick and easy to explain to outside people. “Oh, you’re on Team X? What do you do for them?” “Starting D-line handler cover.” Sometimes it’s really easy to insert a quick answer to that question. And sometimes… well, it’s not. How do you explain that you are the guy who usually, but not always, sets the stack on the D line, IF the team is running vertical stack – but only if Joe and Bob are handling together and Susie had to play on O last point? Or you are the girl that plays in the cup when you are up by seven, and you need to save the legs of your teammates for the last round of Saturday because you already played two other pool play games, and you still have a crossover? Explaining your field role can be difficult. As coaches, we have to be consciously aware that everyone on the team has a role. We need to know what those roles are, know why they are

Executive Director, Pittsburgh Ultimate important, and (the tough part) be able to explain both of those pieces to the players – and sometimes even their parents or friends. Depending on the level of your team and the size of your roster, depth of roles will vary. For roles to be appreciated, every player must buy into a multi-faceted approach to building the team. If you are striving to be a well-rounded crew, then you are likely discussing things like: 1) Fitness: strength, endurance and agility 2) Health: eating and hydrating habits 3) Teamwork: active sidelines, efficient huddles 4) Intensity: high fives, chants, key words and phrases 5) Communication: knowing/explaining rules, dealing with conflict Within that list alone, you can probably start to think about who on your team is strong in which areas.

APPRECIATE THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOUR ROSTER. 1) Think about the bottom of your roster. Sometimes we forget about the strengths at the bottom of our roster. It is easy to get caught up in our top dogs, what they bring to the table and how we are going to use that to win. Every player is useful. Can he run forever? Does she have long arms? Is she super smart on the sideline? Does he bring high levels of intensity to the field? Do not get caught in the trap where you are only trying to hide weaknesses; every player has something to give, and using your whole roster may not only contribute to on-field success, but long-term program success and long-term player development. Having fellow athletes help look out for others’ nutritional and hydration needs can help a team become more well-rounded and balanced. Photo: Christina Schmidt/Ultiphotos

2) Think about the middle of your roster. You have three players that are really good? Yeah, so does the other team. Those six guys are going to match up against each other, and then what? Oh wait: your next 10 guys. Those next 10 might not be big-name players, but they can likely be the ones who win you games. Remember how important developing them as game-day players is to the team. 3) Think about the top of your roster. Okay, so your three best girls are better at almost everything than everyone else on the squad. But what do THEY actually do best? Maybe they should not be doing EVERYthing. Giving them a very specific role can be sometimes be more helpful, as they can focus on that role and give your other players space to fill other parts of the game. Now break into positions and on-field roles. Some roles are easy to see. Giant thrower. Great puller. Huge mark. Big hops. Think about some less visible – but just as important – traits. 1) Legs. Maybe those legs are not quite sure where to go just yet, but they sure can run. Maybe this guy needs a spot in the front of a zone where he is given very specific direction of where to go, who to follow and when. 2) Field Awareness. She might not be great at catching, but she sees the field well. Teach her how to create space for others. She can drag a big defender out of a space, so a better thrower can get there. Someone has to do it. 3) Quick Feet. She has played sports before but just does not know the game yet. Pin her on one of those squirrely handlers for a couple of points, tell her to face guard and never let go. Give your regular handler cover a break, and tire out the offense at the same time.

U S A U LT I M AT E

68 4) Brains. Not an athlete but has a head for the game and a BIG mouth. Pair him with Quick Feet or Legs and get him some sideline Ds; they can be just as rewarding. 5) Spider Arms. Find a defense that forces the disc to a newer or smaller handler. Once the disc is on the sideline, use Spider Arms and a trap mark to spook the thrower and maybe even get a quick D, even if it is a just-for-one-point plan. Off-field roles are just as important as the on-field ones, and you need to believe that before you will convince anyone else of it. Here are some common scenarios, how some different roles link together, and ways to fill holes in your roster. 1) F ittest Athlete is not a top player, but the team looks up to her – might even be intimidated by her! – and definitely respects her, and works harder at practice because of it. 2) T op Player eats poorly and always forgets to hydrate. Your more mature, health-conscious crew needs to keep on him at tournaments. 3) Injured Veteran is pouty because she is usually a top on-field contributor and cannot help in the way she wants. Remind her that you need a second set of eyes to help adapt your offense to new defenses and someone to teach the game to the New Guy. 4) N ew Guy is not getting much PT and needs some attention in order to keep him coming back. Injured Veteran should be helping keep him involved in the game, giving him notes now and then and demonstrating how to be a good sideline teammate. 4) M athlete is super excited about the game but cannot quite compete at tournaments yet. Teach him how to keep stats – useful ones. Track play time and note which lines are scoring without turning over the disc, getting Ds, successfully moving the disc from the sideline. Get together after games on Saturday to review and use that to help you call lines come Sunday. Thinking about roles will help you become much more aware of what everyone brings to the table and when it is appropriate to use those strengths. Your players will start

FALL 2015

to appreciate each of their teammates for how they contribute to the squad and how others excel in ways in which they personally do not. Players will feel proud of what they contribute and feel more committed to the team; you might even grab a couple additional players for a tournament weekend. When everyone understands the variety of jobs that are necessary, roles become easier to express and explain. Using a whole roster, with a bounty of on- and off-field strengths, you can build a team that functions BEST as one complete unit, and that is something of which everyone can be proud. Christie Lawry is a current a club player and is in her sixth year of coaching the Hampton High School boys’ ultimate team in Pittsburgh, Pa. Christie is the executive director of Pittsburgh Ultimate and has been running leagues and tournaments since 2006. She has also coached high school and youth club girls’ teams and captained for multiple years at both the college and club levels. Christie hopes to assist and inspire both new and veteran coaches to better themselves as leaders, competitors and mentors. Something you want to see next time? E-mail us at letters_to_editor@usaultimate.org

Coaches should think about all parts of their rosters, from top to bottom, assigning roles to athletes based on their strengths. Photo: John King/Ultiphotos

Spirit Circle By: Kate Kingery with Charlie Mercer

iot’s recent emphasis on spirit traces all the way back to our post-season reflections at the end of 2011. When we looked back

at our season, we were proud of the silver medals we won at Nationals but were disappointed to see that we were ranked near the bottom in spirit. During the offseason, we had a full-team meeting to set goals for 2012. We came away from the meeting with this goal, “We want to win Nationals, with good spirit, as a team.” That’s a high bar to set for any team. Gwen Ambler, Rohre Titcomb and I were captains that year. Hana Kawai was the additional member of the leadership. We took the ideas from that meeting and created Riot’s core values and their definitions.

EXCELLENCE • We lead by example. • We take pride in our contributions to the team. • We act with discipline and intention.

TRUST • We believe in each other. • We are accountable to each other.

LOVE • We play for each other. • We love the battle. • We invest in the ultimate community. These have been guidelines for our team ever since. One of the reasons we think spirit is so important is because Riot players are also coaches. On the 2015 roster, 29 out of 31 rostered players, practice players and coaches, have coached or are currently coaching outside of Riot and within the Seattle community. As coaches and role models in our community, we wanted to find a way to demonstrate our commitment to Spirit of the Game (SOTG). We see playing on Riot as an opportunity to lead by example, practice what we teach and demonstrate exemplary spirit. When we started to work on Spirit of the Game, we started small. We put a huge emphasis on tone, how we handled calls and what calls we made. It paid off because in 2012, we won the spirit

award at the U.S. Open. It didn’t stop there. In 2013, I traveled to Brazil with a skeleton crew of Riot and other players to play at the Pan American Ultimate Club Championships. That is where I first became intimately acquainted with the WFDF spirit scoring system. I found it to be a hugely helpful way to evaluate Spirit of the Game. In 2014, when Riot traveled to the World Ultimate Club Championships in Italy, I was asked to be the spirit captain and lead the spirit scoring and discussions. After every game, the entire team would sit down in a circle and rank our opponents and ourselves on a scale of 0-4 (0=poor, 4=excellent) in each of five categories: rules use and knowledge, fouls and body contact, fair mindedness, positive attitude and self-control, and communication. Along with the scoring sheet, we were also issued a sheet with examples of SOTG for each category. As we talked, I would read the examples for the good/ normal score (2), the very good score (3) and the not-so-good score (1) in each category. My teammates would hold out on one hand the number they thought was appropriate. If people held

Riot spirit captain Charlie Mercer leads the spirit circle conversation with Boston Brute Squad after the National Championship finals. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

In addition to their silver medals, Riot won the Team Spirit Award at this year's National Championships. Photo: Daniel Thai/Ultiphotos

out numbers that were especially high or especially low, I would ask to hear why they thought that score was appropriate. After opinions had been heard, we would revote and record the score. Charlie Mercer was selected to be our 2015 spirit captain, and she did a great job of upholding the tradition and wrangling everyone to do the spirit scoring throughout the season. Now, I’m sure you’re thinking: Five categories?! Vote and revote?! After every game?! With the whole team?! Yes. We do it after every game, as a full team. This creates a venue for discussions about calls, non-calls, physicality, fouls and everything else that goes along with spirit. It is an exceptionally valuable tool for spirit evaluation and selfreflection. Part way through this season, we had been giving ourselves average scores and had no plan for trying to improve them. As a rookie and a player who had been coached by many current and former Riots, Jaclyn Verzuh wondered why we weren’t working on ways to improve our spirit scores if we kept ranking ourselves as just average. She was right. We had higher standards than that. If we wanted to improve our spirit, we would have to address it. So for the last part of a key practice before Nationals, we used practice time to have a discussion about our spirit. It was not an easy conversation. Tempers flared, there was disagreement, strong opinions were voiced, the time designated was too brief, people shared passionate points of view and people left the meeting feeling unsettled. After the meeting, there was an immense surge of individual players reaching out to their

teammates to clear the air and offer support. As the leadership team, we discussed the meeting and sent out this message in our preNationals team logistics e-mail: Let’s be ambassadors for our sport. Spread the joy we find in playing ultimate,

excited to leave Nationals with the team spirit award, along with our silver medals. The most valuable thing I have learned through this process is that good spirit contributes to making ultimate more fun, and when you are having fun, you are able to play

connecting with our teammates, competing with our opponents, and being a member of this team. Let’s partner that joy with intention – when we are on the sideline, on the field, discussing calls, or partying it all out.

with better spirit. Connecting with opponents is a great way to have fun while building spirit and respect. By making the effort to introduce yourself to at least one person on the opposing team, you are building

The Riot Road! By the time we got to Nationals, we were ready to take the next step and hold ourselves to a higher standard of spirit. As the 2015 captains, Alyssa Weatherford, Hana Kawai and I made an effort at the start of every game to touch base with our opponents’ captains. We would introduce Charlie, our spirit captain, and let them know that we were working on improving our spirit. Any feedback they could offer would be greatly appreciated. That included both things we did well and things we could improve. Our goal was to open up the paths for communication before the games even started. All of the spirit scoring and team discussions worked. We were

respect which leads to trust and improved spirit. In spirit circles, by taking the time to stand shoulder to shoulder in a huggle with your opponents, we make them more than faceless enemies. We are reminded that they are ultimate players, athletes, former teammates and people who are striving for the same things we are: to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, be a part of this community, connect with our teammates, compete and have fun. Love the game, meet your opponents, use a good tone, sometimes choose to agree, sometimes choose to disagree, but most of all, have fun and spread the joy you have for this game every time you play!

Image courtesy Gwen Ambler, Riot

U S A U LT I M AT E

What’s the Call? RULES QUIZ

By: Colin McIntyre

Chair, Standing Rules Committee

In place of the usual format, this “What’s the Call?” column has a rules quiz with accompanying answers. Read carefully to be sure you understand what is happening in each scenario, who is making a call, and the timing of key events. When reviewing the answers, please refer to the cited rules; the quiz questions emphasize sections of the rule book that are important for all players to understand.

QUESTIONS 1. When the marker checks the disc in after a contested stall, what are the first words she says to reinitiate the stall count? A. Stalling one B. Stall nine C. Stalling nine D. Stalling eight E. Nine

2. A defender calls “pick,” and then the thrower completes a pass to a different receiver on the other side of the field. The defender determines that the pick did not affect the play. When play resumes, who has the disc, and where? A. The receiver, where he completed the catch. B. The receiver, where he was at the time the pick was called. C. The receiver, where he was at the time the pick occurred. D. The receiver, where he was at the time of the throw. E. The thrower, where he was at the time of the throw.

3. A defender calls “foul,” and then the thrower completes a pass to a different receiver on the other side of the field. The defender determines that the foul did not affect the play. When play resumes, who has the disc, and where? A. B. C. D. E.

FALL 2015

The defender, if the foul was uncontested. The receiver, where he was at the time of the throw. The receiver, where he completed the catch. The receiver, where he was at the time of the foul call. The thrower, where he was at the time of the throw.

4. Just after the marker counts, “three,” a defender calls “pick,” and other players echo the call as play continues. The marker counts “seven” and then the thrower acknowledges the pick call and stops play. The pick was not contested. When play resumes, what is the first number the marker will say when she reinitiates the stall count? A. One B. Three C. Four D. Six E. Eight

5. A handler calls “foul” on his defender, and then the thrower looks downfield and completes a long pass to a receiver far down the field. The handler determines that the foul did not affect the outcome of the play. After the foul call is resolved, who has the disc? A. B. C. D.

The thrower The handler The receiver The defender

6. A marker establishes a legal marking position on the thrower’s left side (forcing forehand). As the thrower begins to pivot, the marker leans to the right, and the thrower pivots directly into the marker’s chest and calls foul. Is this foul call valid? A. Yes, because the marker was not completely stationary. B. Yes, because both players were vying for the same space occupied by the marker’s chest. C. Yes, because once the thrower pivoted closer to the marker, the marker’s position became illegal. D. No, because the thrower initiated contact with the body of a legally positioned marker. E. No, because the thrower must call “disc space” once before a foul can be called.

73 7. Two receivers cut toward each other, and a defender calls “pick.” Then the thrower throws the disc into the ground. What happens next, under the rules? A. Play stops. Disc is returned to the thrower, because the pick was called before the throw. B. Play continues unhalted, and the players announce “play on.” C. Play stops. The turnover stands. The picked defender gets to catch up to the receiver. D. Play stops. The turnover stands. The picked defender can choose to catch up to the receiver or maintain her current position; whichever she prefers.

8. A receiver cuts across the middle of the field, close to a cluster of players, and his defender immediately calls “pick.” The receiver continues to run and catches a pass near the sideline. Play stops, and the disc is returned to the original thrower. Where do the receiver and defender reposition? A. Receiver and defender return to where they were at the time of the throw, and then the defender catches up the distance lost due to the pick. B. Receiver and defender return to where they were at the time of the call, and then the defender catches up the distance lost due to the pick. C. Receiver stays near the sideline, and the defender catches up the distance lost due to the pick. D. Defender chooses whether the receiver stays near the sideline or returns to the middle of the field, and then defender catches up the distance lost due to the pick. E. Receiver chooses whether to return to the middle of the field or stay near the sideline, and then defender catches up the distance lost due to the pick.

One of the most important sections of the rulebook for players to understand explains how to determine the correct stall count on which to resume after a call. Photo: Alex Fraser/Ultiphotos

ANSWERS 1. D. Rule XIV.A.5 states that the marker must say “stalling,” and Rule XIV.A.5.b)(3)(a) states that the stall count resumes with the number eight after the first contested stall. 2. A. The Continuation Rule XVI.C.2)(b) (2) states: “For calls made by a non-thrower, if the team that committed the infraction has possession, if the infraction did not affect the play, play stops and the result of the play stands.” In this case, the defense called the pick, and the offense (the team that committed the infraction) completed a pass, and the pick did not affect the play, so the result of the play stands. Note that the applicable rule is the Continuation Rule; it is not a special provision related to picks. 3. C. This is exactly the same as Question 2 above. Rule XVI.C.2)(b)(2) states: “For calls made by a non-thrower, if the team that committed the infraction has possession, if the infraction did not affect the play, play stops and the result of the play stands.” 4. C. Rule XIV.A.5 states, “If a stall count is interrupted by a call, the thrower and marker are responsible for agreeing on the correct count before the check. The count reached is the last number fully uttered by the marker before the call. The count is resumed with the word “stalling” followed by the number listed below.” In the case of an uncontested offensive violation, the number is “count reached plus one, or 9 if over 8.” For this

question, the count reached was three, so the stall count resumes at four. Note that the few seconds between the time of the call and the time the thrower acknowledged it were not completely free time for the thrower; the thrower was able to throw turnovers during that time, but many possible completions would have been returned to the thrower, if the pick affected those plays. 5. A. The Continuation Rule XVI.C.2)(a) (1) states: “For calls made by a non-thrower, if the team that called the infraction has possession, if the offense called the infraction before the thrower began the act of throwing (II.T.3), play stops and possession reverts to the thrower.” Note that in this case, it does not matter whether the play was affected; a completion will always come back. Though somewhat different than treatment of calls by the defense, it creates an incentive for the offense to make their calls loudly and quickly communicate them to the thrower. 6. D. Rule XVI.H.3)(a)(4) states: “Any contact initiated by a thrower with the body (excluding arms and legs extended from the midline of the body) of a legally positioned (XIV.B.3) marker is a foul on the thrower.” In this case, the marker was legally positioned, and the thrower pivoted directly into space already occupied by the marker’s body; it was not an instance where the marker was moving sideways as the thrower pivoted around and stretched out, with contact occurring as both players moved into the same unoccupied space. A) is incorrect because the “completely stationary” requirement refers to extended arms and legs, not a legally positioned body (see XVI.H.3)(a)(2). B) is incorrect because it acknowledges that the thrower moved into space that was already occupied, so XVI.H.3) (a)(3)’s provision related to “vying for the same unoccupied position” does not apply. 7. B. The Continuation Rule XVI.C.2) (a)(2) states: “For calls made by a nonthrower, if the team that called the infraction has possession…if the defense called the infraction, play continues unhalted. Players should announce ‘play on.’” 8. B. Rule XVI.C.4 governs positioning after a call. “If a pass is thrown…before the thrower acknowledges the call, and if possession reverts to the thrower, all players return to the locations they occupied at the earlier of a) the time of the throw, or b) the time of the call.”

U S A U LT I M AT E

LOCAL LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT

Valley Ultimate By: Josh Seamon

n the years since ultimate was first played in the Pioneer Valley in 1967, a full year before Columbia High School players started the first official ultimate team, the sport has exploded. Ultimate is played by all ages at all levels of competition in just about every corner of Western Massachusetts. While there has traditionally been decent communication and collaboration between all of the various Pioneer Valley ultimate programs, there has never been an organization whose sole purpose was to grow and promote ultimate throughout the entire valley. Until now. Valley Ultimate was founded in the winter of 2014 by long-term valley residents Tiina Booth, Joe Costello, Lee Feldscher, Dan Kaplan, Terry Plotkin, Josh Seamon, Jo Sleigh and Jim Pistrang. Since then, Valley Ultimate has run several large hat tournaments and two youth leagues, successfully become

a 501(c)3 non-profit, and joined the USA Ultimate Affiliate Program. We are also quite excited to be working on a middle school outreach program as well our first winter and summer leagues. Even though the Pioneer Valley already has numerous teams, leagues, tournaments and ultimate events to connect with just about every age group, Valley Ultimate is working towards making ultimate completely ubiquitous in the Pioneer Valley. Not only are we working to maximize the impact of existing ultimate organizations by helping them streamline and expand their operations, we are aiming to create many new ventures out of the ultimate talent and treasure that is found all over our region. Every member of Valley Ultimate can’t wait to see ultimate everywhere, being played by everyone, all of the time. Our primary efforts are currently focused on creating easier access to ultimate for populations not currently

exposed to the sport, as well as providing playing opportunities in the gaps between leagues and events that have been running for years. We also are fully leveraging the USA Ultimate Affiliate Grant Program to fund the design and implementation of ultimate outreach programs in rural areas as well as city centers. Additionally, a great deal of energy has been expended on growing our volunteer base. Valley Ultimate has just gotten started, and we couldn’t be more excited about how far we’ve come and where we’re going. For more information about Valley Ultimate and all the programs and events they offer, visit valleyultimate.org. To learn more about the USA Ultimate Affiliate Program, visit usaultimate.org/ affiliates.

Photo: Josh Seamon, Valley Ultimate

FALL 2015

NEWS & NOTES

Fall 2015

USA ULTIMATE MOBILE APP Early this fall, USA Ultimate launched version 1.0 of its official mobile app! The first iteration of the app lets you follow scores live at major events and read the latest ultimate news, provides easy access to the rule book and includes a brandnew digital way to read the USA Ultimate magazine. USA Ultimate will continue to expand on the app in the future, adding new functionality that will make it even easier for players, fans and spectators everywhere to keep up with everything going on in the ultimate community. Download the app for FREE! It is available now in the App Store and through Google Play.

NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGH STATE ORGANIZATIONS USA Ultimate is preparing to invest millions of dollars over the next eight to 10 years in motivated and high-energy individuals with a strong vision for growing the ultimate sport around the nation by building and leading brand-new stable organizations to oversee the growth and activity of all aspects of ultimate within each U.S. state or multi-state region. These new state organizations will be extensions of USA Ultimate that will bring the organization’s programs and services to their local areas, all while furthering the growth of ultimate around the nation. If you’re interested in leading a state organization or would like to learn more about the development of a new national infrastructure, visit usaultimate.org/stateorgs.

USA ULTIMATE JOINS FORCES WITH THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA

TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR’S CERTIFICATION PROGRAM USA Ultimate’s newest certification program was recently launched. The Tournament Director’s Certification Program (TDCP) was developed to help provide the best possible tournament experience for athletes, coaches, chaperones, family members and fans. The cornerstone of the TDCP is the Tournament Director’s Manual which, along with USA Ultimate staff, was crafted by a passionate and experienced group of volunteers and includes information about safety, standards and best practices that can help organizers run the best events possible. Certification is FREE through the end of the 2015 calendar year. Learn more about the Tournament Director’s Manual and the TDCP at usaultimate.org/tdcp.

In an exciting new alliance, USA Ultimate has joined up with the Boy Scouts of America to bring ultimate to thousands of scouts around the country through the ScoutStrong® Healthy Living Initiative! The initiative aims to integrate active lifestyles, healthy eating and emotional fitness into everything that the Boy Scouts of America does through alliances, campaigns and updated programs. Ultimate is now a part of those efforts. BSA’s adult leaders will have access to USA Ultimate’s Learn to Play kits to help get their Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting and Venturing units playing ultimate. The kits provide all the resources and materials necessary to introduce the sport and get people playing. The alliance offers an unprecedented opportunity for USA Ultimate to increase awareness of the sport and get more youth playing. BSA is composed of nearly 2.4 million youth members and approximately 960,000 volunteers across the United States.

TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR’S CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

U S A U LT I M AT E

76 2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NEW NATIONAL VOLUNTEERS

The composition of the 2016 USA Ultimate Board of Directors is set following the annual elections and appointments. Long-time board member Henry Thorne (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was elected to another three-year term, and Dave Klink (Minneapolis, Minn.) was elected as the new elite-athlete representative. Audrius Barzdukas (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Steve Mooney (Boston, Mass.) were named to the two open appointed seats on the board. Kevin Minderhout, who was elected as an at-large representative last year, resigned his seat on the board. The remainder of his term will be filled by Kathy Hendrickson (Pittsburgh, Pa.), whose current threeyear term is set to expire at the end of 2015. Board officers for 2016 were also set. Mike Payne (Oakland, Calif.) resigned his role as president but will remain on the board of directors through the end of his term in 2016. DeAnna Ball (Columbus, Ohio) will move from her current role as vice president and assume the role of president of the board. Henry Thorne will become the board’s vice president. The two remaining officer positions remained unchanged; Josh Seamon (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) and Brian Garcia (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) retain their seats as secretary and treasurer, respectively. Mary-Clare Brennan and Stephen Hubbard will leave the board following the expiration of their terms on Dec. 31, 2015.

Some new faces have joined USA Ultimate’s national volunteer structure in recent months. Remy Schor, who has spent the last four years as the organization’s National Women’s Director, has assumed the role of National Mixed Director. She replaces Dave Klink who will join the USA Ultimate Board of Directors in 2016. Carolyn Finney, a Fury veteran and captain, will replace Schor in the role of National Women’s Director. Following the departure of Zara Cadoux as the Girls’ Ultimate Movement (GUM) Chair, Heather Ann Brauer moved from her position as National Girls’ Outreach Director to fill the GUM Chair role. Rachel Johnson of North Carolina’s Triangle Youth Ultimate League was recently named to Brauer’s old position and is the new National Girls’ Outreach Director. National volunteers spend countless hours assisting USA Ultimate in delivering high-quality programs and competition across the country. They are invaluable to the organization, and we are excited to welcome these new additions!

2016 USA Ultimate Board of Directors DeAnna Ball (President) – Elected, At-Large Henry Thorne (Vice President) – Elected, At-Large Josh Seamon (Secretary) – Elected, At-Large Brian Garcia (Treasurer) – Elected, Elite Athlete Audrius Barzdukas – Appointed, Independent Val Belmonte – Appointed, Independent Mike Eck – Appointed, Independent Ness Fajardo – Elected, Elite Athlete Kathy Hendrickson – Appointed to fill vacant Elected, At-Large seat David Klink – Elected, Elite Athlete Steve Mooney – Appointed Mike Payne – Appointed

FALL 2015

UPCOMING EVENTS EVENT

DATE

LOCATION

Beach Championships

May 14-15, 2016

Virginia Beach, Va.

High School Southern Championships

May 14-15, 2016

Atlanta, Ga.

High School Central Championships

May 14-15, 2016

Ames, Iowa

High School Northeastern Championships

May 21-22, 2016

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Division III College Championships

May 21-22, 2016

Winston-Salem, N.C.

College Championships

May 27-30, 2016

Raleigh, N.C.

High School Western Championships

June 4-5, 2016

Corvallis, Ore.

Masters Championships

Aug. 5-7, 2016

Aurora, Colo.

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The highest level of competitive ultimate in North America will return. check it out. Everyone is invited. usaultimate.org/triplecrowntour

FALL 2015