Making Friends

 


Unlimited Friends


Making friends is a free perk to playing Ultimate Frisbee which is why I love this sport so much. Thanks to Spirit of the Game and the laid back fashion of the sport, it is so easy to become friends with your team and even your opponents. Ultimate makes a point of not pitting you against your opponents, but rather lifting them up and encouraging them. I played for my high school's team, so already I was getting to hangout with people almost everyday whom I would not have usually spent time with. This made connections within my own school and new friends who I could say hi to in the hallways since my school was so big. Then, as we played other teams, I got to meet so many other players who shared a common interest. After my high school league, I joined a Columbus youth league where high schoolers from all around Central Ohio were recruited and played in tournaments. This allowed me to branch out from my school and become very close with the people who live in my general area. This was really cool because I feel like I have so many connections throughout the city now. Additionally, through disc clinics and just meeting up to toss the disc, my bonds were strengthened as I continued to see the same people over and over through this wonderful sport. Sometimes one person from a whole different school district would invite some of my team's. players to come practice with them, and I always though that was super cool. It goes to show how much Ultimate isn't just a single player sport, it isn't just a team sport, but it's a community sport that everyone can enjoy together. Since Ultimate is such a unique sport that not a lot of people know about, the second you say you play Ultimate and someone else does as well, it is an instant bond. I'm playing in a summer league soon and I am so excited to see the friends I haven't seen so long because of college and Covid, but know that we will get out on the field and it will be just like old times. If yo are looking for a new community of people to welcome you with open arms, the Ultimate Frisbee community accepts everyone and are just happy to be with people throwing a disc. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Disc Golf vs Ultimate Frisbee ??

Image
It's a Common Mistake    The most common mix up when I say I play Ultimate Frisbee is that people think of disc golf, where you throw smaller discs into baskets. This is probably because disc golf is a lot more common and the names can be kind of confusing. However, this is my biggest pet peeve because the could not be more different. Ultimate requires so much more knowledge of game play and athleticism while disc golf requires the acute knowledge of the disc. As much as you would think these would go hand in hand, the skills do not transfer... trust me. I had played Ultimate for over a year before I picked up disc golf, and I struggled so hard. I was so used to throwing the big Ultimate disc and was used to how it flew and turned. When I transferred to the smaller discs for disc golf, I truly could not get them to fly. I have been playing disc golf for almost a year now and still struggle with throwing my discs. The way you throw it and the way you angle your discs are comple...
Read more

Being a Female Player

Image
Girl Power   As a female player in this game, it is fun but it definitely is not easy. This is typically a player to player game, meaning I am almost always paired up with another girl to guard. Always returning to Spirit of the Game, I make it a point to learn the other girl's name and talk to her throughout the game. I always give her high fives after good plays and typically will give her a spirit award afterward if we really had a good time. Ultimate is definitely a male dominated sport, so getting to bond with the other girls is always fun. I was the only girl on the team when I first started playing and felt sort of isolated. The girls I get to play with share that common experience so it is almost a relief when I get to play against other girls rather than just the boys on my team like in practice. Additionally, I have had to go through some hardships with the boys on my team. I respect them a lot, but most times I did not get that respect back. Not to toot my own horn, but ...
Read more

Levels of Play

Image
  Levels of Play No matter what age you are, there is for sure a league for you to play Ultimate Frisbee in. There are high school leagues, youth leagues, college leagues, adult leagues and professional leagues. High school is pretty straight forward, you just play the other schools in your area. I played in this league and played a bunch of different participating schools in the Columbus area. I have played in youth leagues too. This has no affiliation to a school, but is connected to a certain overarching area. I play in a youth league in Columbus where players from all over the city came together. College leagues are just like high school leagues, just a little more serious but still play the schools in a certain region. I wish I could play for a college league, but my college unfortunately does not have a team. It is a goal of mine to have a team on campus before I graduate however, because I feel like this is such a fun an easy way to get college students connected and outdoor...
Read more