Selene Xu ’27 looks to pass during game against Arlington.
The Ultimate Frisbee team kicked off its season with energy, excitement, and a roster full of fresh faces. With only a handful of returning players, this year’s squad has many newcomers, most of whom are learning the sport for the first time. The Open Team faced off against Newton North, falling 8-11. The Girls and Non-Binary Team (GNB) played Arlington at home. Despite the inexperience, the team is already showing promise. They fully embraced Ultimate’s unique culture of sportsmanship in its first match of the season.
Due to the large number of graduates from the team during the 2023-2024 school year, the team mainly consists of newcomers to the sport. Sara Barton ’24, a graduate of the team who watched the game, described the GNB’s game against Arlington.
Barton said, “It’s pretty good. After only a few practices, it’s going how I would expect the first game to go. It’s a little rough right now, but they are getting blocks and catches, so I would say it’s going pretty well for what I expect at this point in the season.”
Despite the Open Team’s loss, Bill Ke ’27 is hopeful for the rest of the season and sees this first game as a learning opportunity. He also noted impressive performances by the newcomers on the team, especially Andrew Cai ’27, who scored his first point for Ultimate during the game.
“Despite the overall result, it was an excellent first step for our team, especially for the new players who got a chance to play and feel the overall spirit of the game. Even though we did have some unfortunate moments, it was a valuable learning experience for all of us. A special shoutout to Andrew Cai for getting his first point of the season as a newcomer,” said Ke.
Captain Serafina Shin-von Nordenflycht ’25 communicated with the team throughout the game, answering any team questions. She explained the main roles of players on the field, highlighting the need for constant adaptability.
Shin-von Nordenflycht said, “We only have two positions on this team: handlers and cutters. However, everyone has to do everything in Ultimate, including being a referee. When people handle, they’ll eventually have to run and get the disk. When people cut, they’ll eventually have to throw it to someone else.”
Beyond adaptability, another hallmark of Ultimate is the spirit of the game. Sportsmanship and support for teammates on the field are always at the forefront of the players’ and coaches’ minds.
“During our game, everyone on the sideline is cheering on the sidelines and giving advice. Also, with the opposing side, being very friendly is part of the ultimate culture. It’s called the spirit of the game; we have to treat others nicely, and also, in the end, we have to rate the other team’s friendliness and how fair they are,” said Ellie Su ’28.
With pointers from coaches and the other team, the GNB team is improving rapidly. Since few players have experience in the sport prior to the game, training sessions are centered around fundamental skills, aiming to set a foundation to improve tactical play.
“We’ve been practicing almost every day. We’ve been working on our throws, passes, and catches. Also, we’ve been practicing stacking, which is an offensive strategy when players get in a line, and either one or two people exit the line at the same time to try and catch the disk,” said Su.
As the team gains more experience, players and coaches are confident that the team’s performance will continue to improve. Despite initial challenges, Samantha Gong ’28 noticed improvements during the game.
“They scored two on us, and one person got a layout on the other side. Honestly, it’s been a little rough, but it’s getting better. Actually, it’s definitely getting better; people are cutting now, which means moving into open space, so that the throwers don’t have to just throw it to the field,” said Gong.
The Open Team will play Concord-Carlisle at home on Saturday, and the GNB team will travel to face off against Cambridge Rindge and Latin on Saturday as well. Both teams will travel to Northfield Mount Hermon for a round-robin tournament on Wednesday, April 9.
