Putting the Ultimate in Frisbee

Putting+the+Ultimate+in+Frisbee

Few at Enloe know that ultimate frisbee exists; fewer know how it’s played. Even fewer still don’t know that Enloe has an ultimate team of its own, or who’s on it, or when they play, or who’s in charge. PSA: it exists, it’s an incredibly good time, and it is in need of members!

Ultimate frisbee has been a sport at Enloe prior to 2016, that’s right before even an old man like myself arrived at the ‘Loe. Back then the team consisted of around nine people, and around six who would actually take the time to practice. Nowadays these numbers are up, a good thing in some aspects, but it seems to have become a group in a space of their own. Running essentially all year, the sport has the potential to be an incredible workout for those on the off season for their main sport, or athletic individuals just looking for a game with a little less toxicity where everyone isn’t so incredibly competitive. Anyone who has ever played a sport can honestly tell you that they have probably thought about shocking some guy on the other team who pushed you one too many times, or just felt so disappointed in themselves because it was just such a big deal to them. Ultimate has successfully created an environment full of just a few fellows having a good time tossing a disc up and down a field, getting hyped up over the best plays and switching right into defense on the bad ones.

This idea that ultimate frisbee doesn’t even really take itself that serious creates this little pocket of a sport where anyone can escape from feeling like winning is a necessity, or they are “bringing dishonor upon their family” for getting scored on. A free play style full of complicated and simple aspects alike makes for a high skill ceiling, but a good game for beginners where you need more than just one player to carry an entire team on their back. The whole concept is best described as similar to American Football; there is a kind of huddle, there are plays, and there is a stack, or a predetermined formation. This fast paced and intense style of play the game requires is nicely complimented by a friendly environment; often at the end of a game teams will gather around and shake hands, thank each other for a good game. A self reffed game makes for players having to talk things out, removing a middleman to lay waste to when a call does not go your way. Such a college kid sport was conceived to relieve some of that pre exam stress and exercise simultaneously, so how can anyone get mad, really?

Enloe frisbee in particular follows the same kind of design. The teacher in charge is Mr. Leblanc, one of the coolest guys around, and he knows his stuff too. Playing ultimate in college, he not only knows how to run a laid back and enjoyable practice, but also one where everyone is able to improve upon their technique and physical fitness all at once. By combining with Raleigh Charter, Enloe Ultimate grew to around double their size, and managed to create a team full of fun loving people without any amount of drama or personal issues. This may be the nature of the sport, but it is also important that the team captain, Jackson Kerr, is incredibly knowledgeable, skilled, and committed to ultimate frisbee. Not only this, but he is also not the type to haggle over a play, but instead gives criticism where needed and is otherwise just a good guy on the whole. Inquiring why Jackson doesn’t switch to another sport he replied that “I do play other sports at the same time. It’s just frisbee is my favorite, it’s the best sport”. He justified this further in saying that ultimate is just “different from any other sport. Football is really stagnant, Soccer’s not as stagnant, but it’s not the same, and there’s a lot of different aspects to it, and you can be really creative with it”. Jackson reflects the attitude of most ultimate players well, and describes well the real appeal of ultimate. It’s a game for athletes who want to have fun playing sports again, not kill themselves over the competition.