Trying To Start A Team?!?!

[Guest]

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[gaftromm]

i'm trying to start an ultimate team at my school and i need tips on how to convince people to play. most people still think its stupid.

also i found that there isn't any ultimate around. the nearest tournaments and games are about an hour away.

is this how far most teams have to travel for games?

or is it just not worth it?

[Seppo]

Hey gaftromm,

Ultimate is definitely worth it.  Stick with it and you will meet some of your best friends for life.

As for tips, why don't you buy an Ultimate DVD and watch it with your friends.  Any of the UltiVillage DVDs are sensational, and really show Ultimate in a "cool" light.  There are plenty to see on the following link:

http://www.playulty.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

It's tough when the closest Ultimate to you is an hour away.  But get your friends to play and word will spread that there is a cool new game being played in the area.  Like the saying from "Field of Dreams" ... "If you build it, they will come." 

Go for it mate.  And good luck!

Cheers!

- Seppo #22

[rrudnic]

Its definitely worth trying to form a team. With the closest ultimate and hr away it will be hard to sustain numbers in order to play. I would just try to get enough people going so that you could play mini with 3's or 4's consistently and hopefully that will draw some interest and help you build. The HS I help coach at has to go over an hr to find another HS to play and it hasn't stopped them from being really good and winning a state championship. Where are you at?

[evanhp]

Keep it up, make it consistant. Pick a day to play and keep doing it. No matter the numbers. 3s,4s, 5s, 2s.
Theres games and things to play for any number of players. So dont just say ok, well lets go home if only 4 people show up, throw around, make up games, look up games from the web.

The closest tourneys to me have always been 2 hours minimum. Its definitely worth it.
Send emails to the Ultimate people close to you in that next town, tell them your story, and they will help you out.
Start picking up with them as much as you can. Try to meet halfway somewhere and play games. If they have a consistent following they should be willing to drive to you on occasion.

Tell your friends that a "team" from another town is coming to play a scrimmage and people will start to get excited about it.

But its true, show them some youtube videos or DVD first and get them pumped up.

My personal favorite is Above and Beyond http://www.ultimatefrisbeevideo.com/
Its older but the quality of presentation on that video is much more entertaining than any UltiVillage DVD I've seen,personally (havent checked out the new Club one yet).

It also has good introductions to Ultimate and how to play and such. Great highlight clips and great stories.

Good luck, yes where are you located?

[jmeijers]

Ultimate is definately worth it and showing any of the videos the other posters have recommended will indeed show ultimate in a good light.

As for traveling an hour, that might be a lot for 1 match, but for a tournament I think it is pretty good. Here in the Netherlands we usually travel way more for tournaments (since they're across Europe and all).

If you don't get many people to show up, there are a multitude of games that you can play that will use the same skills as ultimate such as hotbox, mini, stick or if you like a fun exercise, a mack line.

Consistency is key and I have found that just having a regular day of ultimate is good to get numbers. Just have people show up and play games, pickup style. Good luck on forming your team/club!

[huanga1]

If you really love Ultimate, then you should definitely start a team.

Ultimate Frisbee in the Philippines started with one woman, a disc, and a passion. She would drag whoever she could find to go toss. Eventually she had enough people for pickup, and then a team formed. She left the country but came back a few years later to find a large and thriving Ultimate community that was over 400 strong. There are now over 20 teams in the metro Manila region alone, and the sport is rapidly spreading to other cities around the country.

So yea, you can definitely start a team in your school. A big part of convincing other people is how genuinely enthusiastic you are about it. Also helps if you show them some great videos of what Ultimate really is. I collected a few that I think will do the trick.

These are high quality matches between top club teams.

http://thebestten.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/the-best-10-clips-of-ultimate-frisbee-tournament-games/

Good luck!

[jmeijers]

Definately check that link, I just read that post and it is a great watch. Takes you about 30 minutes to watch all the clips though