Ultimate is an Understatement
It’s Ultimate Frisbee season here at Wheeler High School! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Ultimate Frisbee is a sport similar to soccer or lacrosse. They are similar in the fact that they are “up and down” field sports where the ball or in this case “disc” goes down the field, scores and/or turnovers, and goes back up the field for the opposing team to also score. The rules are simple. Players work the disc up the field by passing it, and once it is caught the player holding it is not allowed to step. Players on his or her team move away from their defenders to receive a pass from the player still holding the disc. Similar to football, once a certain point is reached (the end zone) a team receives a touchdown. “Started back in 2012, ultimate started to pick up steam after their 4th season. Wheeler’s team won many regional games and even advanced to playoffs in 2016. We have gone through a difficult process of rebuilding and recruiting after last year since nearly all of our roster consisted of seniors who graduated” -Eric Yao (11). Currently, there are forty-seven players on the Wheeler team, and there are three captains who manage them. They consist of primary students from the junior class. However, there are a few freshmen and sophomores as well. The captains are Eric Yao, Jared Ryley, and Sai Rajendrakumar.
I had a chance to talk to some players on the team and see what they had to say. When I asked players why they decided to join they said, “Because it’s one of my top three sports I enjoy to play” – Dankwa Buckle (11). “I joined the ultimate team because I saw how fun it was last year. However, I wasn’t able to join. I also wanted to stay in shape over the whole year” – Mitchell Fountain (11). Later on, I asked them what they hope to see for the future of the team. “I hope we can grow and mature as a unit and win as many games as possible” – Joel Dethose (11). “I want to see the execution of plays, and the chance to play Lassiter again” – Cason Fuller (11).
As mentioned before, the ultimate team has three captains, Sai, Eric, and Jared. I talked to Jared and Sai to see what it’s like being a captain. “I’ve been playing ultimate in a league now for two years. Currently, I am serving as an offensive and defensive coach. My goal for the team is to build a team that produces great ultimate players, win games, and create a functioning ultimate league in our state. To Wheeler, I say we are looking for high-performance athletes to make an impact on the field.” – Jared Ryley (11).
If you are interested in joining the ultimate team, the captains gave me some helpful information. Anyone who is interested in playing is welcome, and practice (where they primarily pick teams for the day and scrimmage) are on Wednesdays and Thursdays on the back practice field behind baseball. They play against teams like Pope and Lassiter every week or so, and next semester they will be competing in a tournament.
