After an extensive search process, I have found that there are no threads devoted to Ultimate, and yet apparently, quite a few TL'er play it.
This is an unacceptable state of affairs for one of the greatest games to ever grace a field.
Seriously.
So if you spend your free time tossing a disc around, practicing your zone defense while brushing your teeth, throwing scoobers with everyday objects, or making layout D's on passerby, identify yourself!*
* And if anyone is going to High Tide Week III (15-18) you should tell me.
***
If you're thoroughly confused as to what gives a sport the awesomeness quotient that allows it to be called 'ultimate', I urge you to check out the following links:
ultimate is probably the most played sport at the university i just graduated from. there's a quad right in the middle of campus where we'd play for hours. i've grown to like it pretty good.
My school plays for IM teams, and my hall (almost) took championships this year. I love Ultimate, it's such a good way to stay in shape since you never stop moving.
Best shot I can do is the hammer, since it's like hitting an pronating overhead in tennis :D
Ultimate Frisbee is well "ultimate" . I've only played Disc Golf myself here in Santa Cruz @ DelaVeaga. Well fuck, I'm 44 yrs old now. Don't think I could handle banging heads with 20yr olds, but I'd give it a shot.
On March 05 2010 16:57 Bajadulce wrote: Ultimate Frisbee is well "ultimate" . I've only played Disc Golf myself here in Santa Cruz @ DelaVeaga. Well fuck, I'm 44 yrs old now. Don't think I could handle banging heads with 20yr olds, but I'd give it a shot.
Santa Cruz has pretty good pickup, and players range from UCSC collegiates to the middle age tech worker.
I play (ultimate), but my gripes are that it's not competitive enough. They just had the NFL combine over the last week, and any of those players would just destroy elite players. Tim Tebow, a freaking quarterback recorded a 38 1/2" vertical. Randy Moss had a 53" vertical at his combine, he's fast as shell, given a floaty disk he would be completely undefendable by any ultimate player. Ultimate players don't train nearly as hard as football players or olympic athletes, which makes it feel like a second tier sport.
If you can get past that, as a spectator sport, it's difficult to televise. The attempts they have so far need a lot more cameras and better angles, if you pan from an end zone, you have a terrible view of the action at the other end of the field, if you watch from the middle, the play will move in and out of your line of sight. And if you get past that, it's not that fun to watch unless you play yourself, although I would say the same about soccer. And the 90% scoring rates at club levels is a lot less exciting than 50% would be.
Yeah I play it a lot. It is such a fun sport, highly dynamic and with a lot of sprinting (which I also like doing ^_^). It's also so well designed for at lot of spectacular plays.
Self promotion: I just won the national indoor championship with my team in my country. YEAH!
On March 05 2010 16:17 talismania wrote: carleton grad here . ultimate is very fun, though I only ever played IM (was never good enough for either team)
Carleton's fucking good, you gotta be an athlete to be on their teams.
On March 05 2010 16:17 talismania wrote: Carleton grad here . ultimate is very fun, though I only ever played IM (was never good enough for either team)
The fact that GOP (the Carleton B-Team) regularly makes regionals, to say nothing of CUT winning nationals last year is insane. We didn't make it to Exit 69 this year, but I'd like to next year.
- Macalester
On March 05 2010 15:59 mmp wrote:
As your linked video shows, it is not a very popular sport. :p
Is everyone talking about the hammer toss? Do people actually do those in ultimate? I thought they were just a fun way to mess around with a frisbee. A hammer toss seems like it would be more difficult to catch because it's upside down.
Is everyone talking about the hammer toss? Do people actually do those in ultimate? I thought they were just a fun way to mess around with a frisbee. A hammer toss seems like it would be more difficult to catch because it's upside down.
The hammer is one of the most used throws in frisbee, after your straight forehand and backhand. A hammer is a little more difficult to catch than a normal throw, but that's not an excuse, it's pretty simple to catch, and not hard to learn.
It's useful in several situations, but they almost all involve a throw over a mark (defender) to a player who's poached (open) in some way. If the disc is on the end zone line, with cutters and handlers locked up, the throw of last resort is often a hammer to the back corner. Similarly, a hammer is a safe way to swing the disc over a mark that's trying to pin the disc on the sideline, or for a break-side throw.
The hammer is actually a very safe throw if you throw it properly, and incredibly difficult for a mark to block, since you release it behind your head.
On March 06 2010 00:24 Kentucky wrote: If this sport skyrocketed in popularity it would be dominated by Africans
Height and vertical leap and acceleration are so valuable here
This is so true. I love to play ultimate with teams of friends and I use to be really good. But once I got to college I realized I didn't know how to play and quit.
I love Ultimate!! I'm the captain here at Augustana College, and we have a great time playing against other schools in northern Illinois. Seriously, Ultimate and Starcraft are the perfect combination of hobbies!
fun to play but boring to watch since the elite players are some of the least athletic of any sport. the best amateurs of football/basketball/track blow away pro ultimate players
Played competitively (and was mediocre) in high school, played IM in college (and still play with that group). Knee issues make it hard to play at anything approaching a high level.
Especially enjoy indoor. The best is in a single basketball court, with walls as close to the sides as possible (there is no "out of bounds"). Less running, but more positioning, short-sprinting and throwing accuracy, which plays to what strengths I have.
Is everyone talking about the hammer toss? Do people actually do those in ultimate? I thought they were just a fun way to mess around with a frisbee. A hammer toss seems like it would be more difficult to catch because it's upside down.
The hammer is one of the most used throws in frisbee, after your straight forehand and backhand. A hammer is a little more difficult to catch than a normal throw, but that's not an excuse, it's pretty simple to catch, and not hard to learn.
It's useful in several situations, but they almost all involve a throw over a mark (defender) to a player who's poached (open) in some way. If the disc is on the end zone line, with cutters and handlers locked up, the throw of last resort is often a hammer to the back corner. Similarly, a hammer is a safe way to swing the disc over a mark that's trying to pin the disc on the sideline, or for a break-side throw.
The hammer is actually a very safe throw if you throw it properly, and incredibly difficult for a mark to block, since you release it behind your head.
The hammer is one of the most overused throws in ultimate. Of course if they're wide open and your backhand is a worse look (zone), then go ahead. But there's a guy who keep stats at tournaments, and backhands end up being 90% completion, forehands 80%, and hammers 50%. It's the throw of choice of too many egotistic handlers who have no remorse over turnovers, and believe that just because they can get it to the receiver, they should throw it. The basketball analogue would be a Rasheed Wallace continually tossing up 3 pointers with a 30% fg%, only with worse overall success.
On March 06 2010 02:38 Liquid`NonY wrote: fun to play but boring to watch since the elite players are some of the least athletic of any sport. the best amateurs of football/basketball/track blow away pro ultimate players
Really? I've always thought that ultimate combined the stamina needed for soccer, the hops needed for bball, and the finesse/skill needed from whatever else (tennis maybe?). Sure if you have a big tall guy your team can dominate without being too athletic, but from my experience you need to be in pretty good shape to last an entire ultimate game (the finesse/skill in throwing is also an added difficulty compared to simply running in track/XC/ and even to some extent football).
On March 06 2010 02:38 Liquid`NonY wrote: fun to play but boring to watch since the elite players are some of the least athletic of any sport. the best amateurs of football/basketball/track blow away pro ultimate players
Really? I've always thought that ultimate combined the stamina needed for soccer, the hops needed for bball, and the finesse/skill needed from whatever else (tennis maybe?). Sure if you have a big tall guy your team can dominate without being too athletic, but from my experience you need to be in pretty good shape to last an entire ultimate game (the finesse/skill in throwing is also an added difficulty compared to simply running in track/XC/ and even to some extent football).
The best ultimate players are former Div1 athletes from other sports (usually because they discover they love Ultimate). The best talent goes where the money is, so it makes sense that the best athletes aren't in "fringe" sports like Ultimate. I'm not saying that there aren't athletic people, its just that the top players in any non-mainstream sport without a real professional scene (no NFL, NBA etc) are not going to be nearly as athletic.
Just look at US soccer -- one of the main reasons we aren't great in that sport is because the best American athletes are in the NBA and NFL. If US soccer had the same talent pool as basketball or football, with the Lebrons and Iversons learning soccer from a young age, we'd be a world power in it. Talent goes where the money is.
What people are failing to realize is that tournaments are crazy demanding. You play nonstop basically the entire game. Tournaments usually last at least 2 or more days and on each day you can be expected to play three or more games. No matter how much of an athlete you are, it's expected for the majority of players to have debilitating cramps at least once during the tournament.
I've played competitive soccer and competitive tennis, but I've never been so tired as when I play competitive ultimate.
And it's totally a spectator sport, wtf :O It's like when someone throws a football 50-60 yards to a guy who is running full sprint with someone at his tail - they both leap up and try to get it, usually laying out because its just out of reach... except anyone can be the QB and there are no stupid technical rules about who can catch it.
highlight vid from 2008 of upa club teams
@hotbid: usa is good at soccer
And if anyone is in NC and wants a scrim, pm me ^^ WCU is sort of near Asheville
Its an ultimate tradition than durring any discussion of atheletes in Ultimate the following video be linked:
I spent the past four years playing for Jojah, which allowed me to not only compete with and against the top athletes across the college level, but also meet and watch/play many of the top names in the sport. I played at the College Open National Championship, Centex, Stanford, Queen City and many other college and club tournaments each year there. I can personally assure you nearly all top players all display a mid D1 level of raw athleticism, and those who wouldn't catch a D1 coach's eye for having potential all have a specialized skill set comparable to golf or pitching. These top athletes are largely spread out across the country however, requiring college and even club teams to fill the extra roster spots with the best they can find. These remaining players are usually D2 level athletes still devoted to the competition and comraderie of sports comparable to competitive adult rec soccer leagues.
Raw athletic prowess aside, ultimate is much like starcraft in its complexity and depth. The highest level games are controlled by what pace each team's offense dictates. There are often very few turnovers in top level ultimate, because the offense has developed an extremely effecient playstyle. For clarity a team is on offense when the point starts by them recieving the disc, where as a team is on defense when the points starts by them pulling the disc to the offense. In ultimate the concept of "the best defense is a good offense" reigns, if your team won the flip and scored every single point they recieved, you could not lose the game. Good defense functions only by making up for offensive mistakes, and/or separating a better team from a worse team by forcing and capitalizing on the worse team's mistakes. Overall any game with this type of structure will always be boring to an unfamiliar observer, because the offense oriented game play is full of nuance and precision that the new spectator is oblivious to. Amazing plays of athleticism are great to watch, but a good offense knows better than to depend on the chances of those plays, thus avoiding them.
Ultimate is an incredible sport, but like many other sports its total spectator value will never be quite that of football basketball or soccer. How could a sport in which no player is able to single handedly do anything without a teammate ever compare to the individual dominating preformances of Lebron and Kobe, Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush, or Drogba and Gerrard? Ultimate may not have quite the raw athletes of these major sports, but at the top it is closer than most would give it credit for. One has to realize it is more the style of the sport which limits its spectator value, not the ability of the players.
Yeah, USA is actually not that bad in soccer compared to the entire world ... obvious no where near the top teams, but still right there in the middle of the pack compared to ALL national teams in the world.
Played for a year in the UK, but playing in swamped fields and crazy wind was just silly. They also play indoors there (is it also played indoors in the US?) and thought it was actually great fun and much more fast paced.
Then tried at the beach in Portugal and it's just way too tiring and subject to the wind.
On March 06 2010 08:08 anImaru wrote: Needs contact to be a real sport
There is quite a bit of contact in ultimate frisbee actually. I've seen worse injuries in ultimate than any other "pickup" sports I've played (bball, tennis, baseball, soccer ... and I don't play much ultimate nowadays anyways). There's a lot of contact when someone throws a floater up ... and blocking throws hurts like heck. I've seen someone cut a huge gash in his face that leaked buckets of blood and had to be stitched up because of a frisbee to the face at point blank. Diving/laying out for the frisbee also gives you plenty of intimate time with the grass without having to have a player come into contact with you.
I spent the past four years playing for Jojah, which allowed me to not only compete with and against the top athletes across the college level, but also meet and watch/play many of the top names in the sport. I played at the College Open National Championship, Centex, Stanford, Queen City and many other college and club tournaments each year there. I can personally assure you nearly all top players all display a mid D1 level of raw athleticism, and those who wouldn't catch a D1 coach's eye for having potential all have a specialized skill set comparable to golf or pitching. These top athletes are largely spread out across the country however, requiring college and even club teams to fill the extra roster spots with the best they can find. These remaining players are usually D2 level athletes still devoted to the competition and comraderie of sports comparable to competitive adult rec soccer leagues.
Raw athletic prowess aside, ultimate is much like starcraft in its complexity and depth. The highest level games are controlled by what pace each team's offense dictates. There are often very few turnovers in top level ultimate, because the offense has developed an extremely effecient playstyle. For clarity a team is on offense when the point starts by them recieving the disc, where as a team is on defense when the points starts by them pulling the disc to the offense. In ultimate the concept of "the best defense is a good offense" reigns, if your team won the flip and scored every single point they recieved, you could not lose the game. Good defense functions only by making up for offensive mistakes, and/or separating a better team from a worse team by forcing and capitalizing on the worse team's mistakes. Overall any game with this type of structure will always be boring to an unfamiliar observer, because the offense oriented game play is full of nuance and precision that the new spectator is oblivious to. Amazing plays of athleticism are great to watch, but a good offense knows better than to depend on the chances of those plays, thus avoiding them.
Ultimate is an incredible sport, but like many other sports its total spectator value will never be quite that of football basketball or soccer. How could a sport in which no player is able to single handedly do anything without a teammate ever compare to the individual dominating preformances of Lebron and Kobe, Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush, or Drogba and Gerrard? Ultimate may not have quite the raw athletes of these major sports, but at the top it is closer than most would give it credit for. One has to realize it is more the style of the sport which limits its spectator value, not the ability of the players.
The problem with best players being about mid level D1 athletes is that you're getting a second rate product. It's kind of like why people wouldn't want to watch the WNBA, but less extreme. You're watching a sport where the only reason the current players aren't getting completely dominated is because the great athletes don't feel like playing it. Say their deep is Lebron James, what's your defense plan against him? This is too bad, since ultimate would be much more compelling if you knew the best players were playing, and because it's nice to have sports that aren't highly dependent on being 6'6" or taller or risking concussions and future dementia.
There's complexity, but compare the learning curve to other sports. A great athlete who just starts playing ultimate can become a very good player in maybe a year in a good environment. Compare that to QBs and basketball centers and point guards.
And personally I think tournaments devalue performance. If you have to ration yourself out for 12 hours of play over two days, you're just not playing as hard as, say NFL players. And in the NFL, there's 12.5 minutes of action in an entire game, so with offense and defense and substitutions, you're playing all out for about 3-6 minutes a week. NBA players are dead tired if they try to play 48 minutes in a playoff game or back to backs, and it's not because they're out of shape.
I spent the past four years playing for Jojah, which allowed me to not only compete with and against the top athletes across the college level, but also meet and watch/play many of the top names in the sport. I played at the College Open National Championship, Centex, Stanford, Queen City and many other college and club tournaments each year there. I can personally assure you nearly all top players all display a mid D1 level of raw athleticism, and those who wouldn't catch a D1 coach's eye for having potential all have a specialized skill set comparable to golf or pitching. These top athletes are largely spread out across the country however, requiring college and even club teams to fill the extra roster spots with the best they can find. These remaining players are usually D2 level athletes still devoted to the competition and comraderie of sports comparable to competitive adult rec soccer leagues.
Raw athletic prowess aside, ultimate is much like starcraft in its complexity and depth. The highest level games are controlled by what pace each team's offense dictates. There are often very few turnovers in top level ultimate, because the offense has developed an extremely effecient playstyle. For clarity a team is on offense when the point starts by them recieving the disc, where as a team is on defense when the points starts by them pulling the disc to the offense. In ultimate the concept of "the best defense is a good offense" reigns, if your team won the flip and scored every single point they recieved, you could not lose the game. Good defense functions only by making up for offensive mistakes, and/or separating a better team from a worse team by forcing and capitalizing on the worse team's mistakes. Overall any game with this type of structure will always be boring to an unfamiliar observer, because the offense oriented game play is full of nuance and precision that the new spectator is oblivious to. Amazing plays of athleticism are great to watch, but a good offense knows better than to depend on the chances of those plays, thus avoiding them.
Ultimate is an incredible sport, but like many other sports its total spectator value will never be quite that of football basketball or soccer. How could a sport in which no player is able to single handedly do anything without a teammate ever compare to the individual dominating preformances of Lebron and Kobe, Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush, or Drogba and Gerrard? Ultimate may not have quite the raw athletes of these major sports, but at the top it is closer than most would give it credit for. One has to realize it is more the style of the sport which limits its spectator value, not the ability of the players.
There's complexity, but compare the learning curve to other sports. A great athlete who just starts playing ultimate can become a very good player in maybe a year in a good environment. Compare that to QBs and basketball centers and point guards.
For every position except handler this may be true. But I doubt you can teach a D1 quarterback how to become a top level handler in 1 year. Possible but probably not. All the other run and catch positions it's probably true that they can become top ultimate frisbee players with a little bit of basic throwing skills.
Quarterbacks have to make decisions under far more pressure in far less time than handlers. It'd probably take a few months at most to get the throws down (remember, they're used to doing something similar, just with a different object) and besides that they've already got the requisite skills at a very high level.
That said, I do love this game. Anyone know of pick up games in the Seattle area?
I think throwing a football and throwing a frisbee are pretty different (as different as getting a pitcher to throw a football) but obviously different ppl can learn different things at different speeds.
The fact that GOP (the Carleton B-Team) regularly makes regionals, to say nothing of CUT winning nationals last year is insane. We didn't make it to Exit 69 this year, but I'd like to next year.
- Macalester
yeah and then GOP won D3 nationals last year too so we were D1 (well, Deveryone) and D3 champs last year.
and listen, of course frisbee players could be more athletic if they were all nfl wide receivers. just make it an NCAA sport already, and you'll see the athletes come.
and I can say that schools do recruit for frisbee in some sense... well carleton does anyway, but maybe that's just because we like clinging to the fact that a school with 2000 undergrads has a top national team every year.
who do you play for that you are going to high tide this year? our team went to high tide session 3 after years of doing a huck of the irish / georgia southerns spring break and it was massively disappointing
On March 06 2010 14:24 skronch wrote: who do you play for that you are going to high tide this year? our team went to high tide session 3 after years of doing a huck of the irish / georgia southerns spring break and it was massively disappointing
Really? Have to say I'm having a great time so far.
Brunswick/Saint Simons is a great location, chill and pretty. Tournament is pretty competitive without being absolutely intense.
Also, new pair of cleats is making a hell of a difference.
On March 06 2010 02:38 Liquid`NonY wrote: fun to play but boring to watch since the elite players are some of the least athletic of any sport. the best amateurs of football/basketball/track blow away pro ultimate players
Agreed, but I don't think it's just because of the quality of player. The layouts are exciting but the regular possession passing is present in lacrosse, hockey and soccer, but they do it in full motion and taking on physical contact. It adds to different strategies, but it makes it more boring imo.
On March 06 2010 08:08 anImaru wrote: Needs contact to be a real sport
There is quite a bit of contact in ultimate frisbee actually. I've seen worse injuries in ultimate than any other "pickup" sports I've played (bball, tennis, baseball, soccer ... and I don't play much ultimate nowadays anyways). There's a lot of contact when someone throws a floater up ... and blocking throws hurts like heck. I've seen someone cut a huge gash in his face that leaked buckets of blood and had to be stitched up because of a frisbee to the face at point blank. Diving/laying out for the frisbee also gives you plenty of intimate time with the grass without having to have a player come into contact with you.
Part of the problem is that a lot of the athletes are strong without proper knowledge of warm ups and stuff. Trying to train like D2 or D3 level athletes with none of the training or the support facilities.
i play ultimate too! ultimate teams all over the philippines are very active and starting to get attention, we have tournaments almost every month! the most prestigious one would be the Manila Spirits, its an international tourney, im hoping i could play this year!
Wow finally a thread about ultimate I started playing my freshman year of high school. Now I'm captain of my team. If anyone in the east bay (I'm in berkeley) wants to throw around sometime let's go
Any good instructional stuff online for new players who are learning how to play? I have a group of friends from church who are interested in learning, ranging from "how to throw the disk straight" to "how to make plays"
Woot! I love this game and I love the Ultimate envirnoment. Maybe I'll change my signature to my staple line when playing: "NO BREAK!" =)
I agree with most objections when it comes to quality as a spectator sport, but I don't care, I just want to play =P. I guess as the sport grows this is going to get better relatively fast =D.
And I'm a fundamentalist when it comes to throws. I don't even teach hammers to my newbies because I know they will want to throw it every single time and hammers are really just for some very specific occasions (hitting that lone guy on the break side far away).
On March 06 2010 02:38 Liquid`NonY wrote: the best amateurs of football/basketball/track blow away pro ultimate players
Not necessarily true. Each sport favors a particular model of fitness. You get hit harder in football and do a lot of shoving, so high body mass is favorable. Long distance runners want a strong but lean physique. Basketball requires (among other things) stronger hand-eye coordination than football or running. Soccer requires a level of foot dexterity that takes years to learn, let alone perfect.
Ultimate takes significant hand dexterity to master, and not all players throw well enough to be handlers. Beyond throwing precisely, learning to reliably compensate for wind and opponents is not something you can pick up in an afternoon.
As for physical fitness, it is true that most fans of Ultimate are not professional athletes and therefore may not maintain the highest level of fitness year-round. I will concede that professional athletes in more established (read: profitable) sports are far more competitive and have pushed their bodies farther, but these skills are molded for only one class of sports and do not translate to an easy win in another.
No doubt if you've watched amateur games, you have noticed that discrepancies in skill are everywhere. The runner with more endurance will always complete a play because his man couldn't keep up. However, the team with better tactics and coordination will throw circles around an inexperienced team, despite inferior physiques.
On April 12 2010 12:45 nosliw wrote: Any good instructional stuff online for new players who are learning how to play? I have a group of friends from church who are interested in learning, ranging from "how to throw the disk straight" to "how to make plays"
Head over to youtube, see how to hold the disc and throw. Read up on the basic rules of gameplay (there are very few, it's so easy). Wikipedia, UPA, Google, etc.
Don't worry about formations until you've got serious matches to play. As an analogy, if you were starting BW, I'd tell you to learn the tech tree, learn to micro/macro, and beat the CPU reliably before even learning a build order.
Buy a good disc, don't even try to learn how to throw with an inferior disc. Your local sports store might not have good options. I'm sure you can find one online, but if you do go to a store, the "Life is Good" brand makes a decent starter disc for around $15.
Get your friends together and just practice throwing. Practice forehand (flick) and backhand equivalently and when you have enough people for a game, have some fun.
Ultimate is spectacularly bomb. I played for a year in HS and ran a pretty horrendous team in college for my stay there. I played a summer league here in Denver for two seasons and attended a training camp at CU. The game is easily the most exciting sport I've watched. The speed and decision making is phenomenal, even at lower levels, and the athleticism and strategic play of good teams is out of this world. There is also the emphasis on spirit and the self-officiating nature, which really gives the game a dignity that is absent in most other sports without diminishing its competitive nature.
Since I graduated last year I haven't played much at all. I enjoyed tearing it up at our HS alumni game during the summer, but my broken cleats haven't been replaced and my contact lens prescription hasn't been updated. I do intend to pick up club ultimate at some point in the future though. It's a game I really love. I still throw a lot to keep capable if not polished (though after playing for years throwing is second nature).
As to the fitness of ultimate players, at least at the college level, they are at least as committed to staying in peak shape as any other athletes. Good ultimate players have lots of skills that are important to the game, but to be a great player you need superior speed and endurance. Claiming that ultimate players are less athletic than other athletes is malarkey. Also, this issue is largely moot because it was raised in the context of "pro" players, which (if you mean they make any substantial amount of money) don't exist afaik.
On April 12 2010 12:45 nosliw wrote: Any good instructional stuff online for new players who are learning how to play? I have a group of friends from church who are interested in learning, ranging from "how to throw the disk straight" to "how to make plays"
If you live in an city in the US there will almost certainly be pickup games at least once a week. Check out groups.google.com/group/rec.sport.disc and upa.org for info and resources.
Does anyone play for any noteworthy highschool/college/club teams? I saw a carleton guy and a Jojah guy. Anyone else? Any Revolver, Sockeye personnel out there?
I've played for LPC (college), YR (club open) and am currently playing for the Polar Bears (mixed).
On April 27 2010 15:34 lagmaster wrote: Does anyone play for any noteworthy highschool/college/club teams? I saw a carleton guy and a Jojah guy. Anyone else? Any Revolver, Sockeye personnel out there?
I've played for LPC (college), YR (club open) and am currently playing for the Polar Bears (mixed).
i saw revolver/fury play vs coaches at California states last week.mother fucker threw a 40 yard thumber. wtf.
On April 12 2010 12:45 nosliw wrote: Any good instructional stuff online for new players who are learning how to play? I have a group of friends from church who are interested in learning, ranging from "how to throw the disk straight" to "how to make plays"
Unfortunately, I've never found anything instructional online to be as useful as repetition and muscle memory. Everyone says different things, there's different grips, the most universal and useful technical advice would be to keep your arm on a level plane.
Practicing backhands with your friends is a waste of time. The wide arc your arm takes is considerably restricted by someone defending the thrower, beginners tend to travel on backhands, if you have enough friends you're better off running the box drill.
Practicing forehands is fine since it feels unnatural, you need to build up some tendon strength to keep it stable, and it takes awhile to get a feel for it (otherwise people could throw lefty with a little practice). Just remember to establish your pivot foot.
Making plays, learn a stack offense, run open space/directly to/away from the disc, keep your body in between your defender and the disc.
I played so much in college. I've moved back home recently and I'm super bummed out because there is absolutely no ultimate around here. Or at least none that I know of.
Does anyone know a good website that lists local pickup games? I desperately want to play again.
I used to play soccer, but i enjoy ultimate much more. More scoring, less hogging, but the points stilll feel liek they matter, unlike say... basketball.
There's a lot of resources online but frankly the best way to get a little good at ultimate is just to practice your forehand throws while tossing a disc with a buddy.
On September 17 2010 09:19 SS-guy wrote: I love ultimate so much.
I sprained my ankle playing on tuesday
Dude wtf are you me? I sprained my ankle on wednesday ((((
Out for at least two weeks, probably longer. Just started playing in a second league too... I only started at the start of this year and it's my second semester playing but my throwing has improved sooooooooo much. All about time on the disc, the more often you play handler the better your throws become. I'm still a pretty bad cutter though, just can't seem to get open
On September 17 2010 15:13 Random_0 wrote: This is a good resource I just learned about. It's helpful if you're visiting some city (mostly in the U.S.) and just hoping to find a game.
I personally play pickup in San Diego (2 games a week during the summer.)
Holy crap that is awesome. There is a lunchtime league 3 days a week like 5 minutes from my office. I wonder how my coworkers will feel about me comming back sweaty and disgusting
I'm new to the forums and am so happy to find a thread about the amazing sport of Ultimate! This thread should not die!
Ive been playing Ultimate for a little over 4 years now since I was 14 and just recently started competing with a team while I am doing an exchange program here in Germany. What I've learned from being on a team no amount of video watching and throwing with a friend can teach you. It takes so much skill and experience to really be a good Ultimate player. If you really want to get into the sport then i highly suggest finding a team, whatever skill level your at and get out there. I've found most ultimate players very willing to teach others how to play and throw.
I just recently competed in my first outdoor tournament with my team Göttinger 7 in Jena and we got second place. It was totally worth the cramps and sun sickness.
Here are some good websites I usually visit to get my Ultimate fix when there is no practice or anyone to throw with:
http://skydmagazine.com/ They always have something interesting up everyday with there Daily Dumps and do a very good job at keeping track on whats going on around the sport of Ultimate. http://www.usaultimate.org/index.html If you really want to get more in depth then i suggest the usaultimate page for rankings and more videos (although not the greatest quality) from most of the major events around the league. http://ffindr.com If your ever looking for tournaments then here is your place. FFindr does a great job at showing where tournaments are happenening all around the world. http://www.discvideos.com/ Here we have a website dedicated to Ultimate Frisbee videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/brodiesmith21 If your looking to work on your throws then I highly suggest checking out the new series Bro Tips put on by Brody Smith.
I've always hated running, but when it comes to Ultimate I will run the whole day just to get a piece of that plastic.
I found this thread a little...late, but it warmed my heart to find it. Those familiar with both Ultimate and SC will recognize that there are a number of similarities between the two games.
Alas, my Ultimate-playing days seem to have crawled to end, though it seems that my days playing SC are just beginning!
Thanks for the post and the video of such an awesome game.
On May 20 2011 06:09 forsteri wrote: I found this thread a little...late, but it warmed my heart to find it. Those familiar with both Ultimate and SC will recognize that there are a number of similarities between the two games.
Alas, my Ultimate-playing days seem to have crawled to end, though it seems that my days playing SC are just beginning!
Thanks for the post and the video of such an awesome game.
Yeah I came a little late too I suppose, but I love the sport and I want everyone to know about it... Whats slowing you from playing Ultimate?
On May 20 2011 06:19 FenneK wrote: Just found out about this sport. I have a frisbee, might have to get the guys together and have a game
yeah man, my first 3 years of ultimate was just throwing around for a couple hours a few days a week and then started a group and played every tuesday, thursday and whenever we wanted. Get it started!
I'm a co-captain for my high school team in Texas.
We placed second in state, and 5th in another UPA tournament.
(stealth brag!) One of our old captains was the only freshman to make Texas A&M's team, our coach plays for HIP, the Houston club, and we have various players on collegiate teams.
Ultimate is probably the most fun sport I've ever played, and hope it losses it's connotation of "so you guys just throw a frisbee?"
On May 20 2011 14:19 SixGun wrote: I'm a co-captain for my high school team in Texas.
We placed second in state, and 5th in another UPA tournament.
(stealth brag!) One of our old captains was the only freshman to make Texas A&M's team, our coach plays for HIP, the Houston club, and we have various players on collegiate teams.
Ultimate is probably the most fun sport I've ever played, and hope it losses it's connotation of "so you guys just throw a frisbee?"
O.O People actually think that?
I was going to say, "That's like saying baseball is just playing catch,' but then I realized Ultimate Frisbee is far more intense.
Man I loveeeeeeee me some ultimate. For the past three summers a good 30-40 people from my school will get together a couple times a week and play. It's such a fun sport. Not to mention basically free.
yah High school westerns was last weekend what a blast, luckily I live in the bay area where there is some kick ass ultimate going on right now, I just went to a revolver/fury clinic and it was so amazing (even got a revolver jersey)
If you haven't yet tried it, midnight ultimate is sooo much fun! Get some glow sticks, a glow, or light-up Frisbee, and some friends and let the fun ensue! The last time I did it (in Indiana) the cops got called on us and we had to leave (can't be in parks after dark), but still, it was worth it.
Dang, really jealous of you all that got to play with a team in Highschool. That would have been awesome. All we had was pickup after school every Tuesday and Thursday. When I get back to America I want to make a team at my Highschool. I will be attending Western Washington University next year and I'm pretty sure they go to a decent amount of tourny's on the West Coast. Super stoked for College Ultimate.
Speaking of Skez's story. Did the same thing the week before I came to Germany with a bunch of my friends in the rain, the middle of the night, glow sticks around wrists and necks, and barefoot. The fact that nobody got injured is amazing.
I have yet to brake anything. Has any of you guys broken anything from playing Ultimate yet?
On May 20 2011 14:26 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:
O.O People actually think that?
Yeah people actually think like that, when I tried to explain it to people here in Germany they laugh and ask me where the dog comes into play.
Ultimate is quality! I'm from the UK, and play it around 3-4 times a week :D 4 people from my school currently playing for Team GB Definitely reccomend you try it out if you haven't before
Go Stanford! I'm afraid they're going to get rolled by CUT, but Superfly should have what it takes to go all the way. Hurrah for Florida getting knocked out almost immediately, I guess Brody was really good.
hey, i just came back from an Ultimate Beach weekend, our team hosted the event and it was such a blast. I would post some pics later to share with you guys
Anyone going to the best tournament ever, Wildwood?! Roughly a month away. Playing 2-2 this year (did 3-1 the last few years) with the same team, Cheap Date. It's a weekend of beach, Jersey Shore, and partying your ass off. Easily the most looked forward to weekend off the year not only for myself but a bunch of my other friends who go with.
Trying to get my friends into this, it looks so epic to play. The university I applied to has a team, so I can't wait to join up and try it out if I get it (touch wood)!
Wohoo ! I am an Ultimate player from germany. I love the sport and it's growing so fast. But in Europe, the competitions are nothing in comparison to USA, even if we have nearly the same skill levels. Ultimate is still younger (in terms of money in the industry and awareness in the media) than SC2 ... LOL
I love me some Ultimate! Been playing competitively for almost a decade now! Since I was a senior in high school. And to the above post what about that huge beach tournament in Italy, I think its called Paganello.
Reviving the thread! Didn't realize there were so many TL ultimate players.
Been playing for about 8 years now(4 years high school team - finishing something like 15th in country my junior year, 4 years of summer during college), and have always loved it. Currently playing in a summer league in Connecticut (knees are a bit sore from last night's game, as well as some turf burn from 2 diving breakups in the same point).
I consider myself a pretty good handler, priding myself on some really good hammers this season. But I definitely need to get my stamina back up and I want to get faster.
Anyone going to Wildwood at the end of July?
Edit: It's awesome to see ultimate gaining popularity in America. MLU is doing a great job of having really competitive games.
I know a couple people who played for UConn, and one who played for Bryant. I never got the opportunity to play for a college team because I was on the Springfield College Men's Gymnastics team.
If someone is wondering, what this whole "Ultimate"-Thing is all about, just watch this highlight video. I was there, and the atmosphere was awesome. I can only recommend for everyone to come to Amsterdam and play there
EPT
![[image loading]](http://awesometheory.info/image/ideas/Ultimate_Frisbee.jpg)
. ultimate is very fun, though I only ever played IM (was never good enough for either team)
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