Did you know that Rowland Hall has an after-school ultimate frisbee club? Most people have seen the pre-covid flyers on the wall, but did you know that Rowland Hall is starting an actual ultimate frisbee spring team? Every time I've asked students or staff this question, they look at me confused, thinking that I’m just kidding. But the club is preparing for this spring season seriously. I interviewed the teacher who started it all, Mr. Long; the boys’ ultimate frisbee coach, Xander Knock; and a student player, Max Jansen, and asked them a variety of questions regarding the sport and the spring season. I also interviewed the upper school’s athletic director, Kendra Tomsic, and learned a lot more about the process and the details from her. But before all of that, how did Rowland Hall start playing ultimate?

Back around 2006, English teacher Joel Long, an avid ultimate player of 28 years started to play frisbee with students and other kids and eventually made the Frisbee Club in 2014 at the upper school. Back then, Frisbee Club was a place for Rowland Hall students to play a pickup ultimate game once a week (compared to the twice-a-week we have now) on the backfield. Mr. Long has always wanted to make a team for the school, but the school didn’t have the necessary players to start an actual league team until recently. Ms. Tomsic said that Mr. Long “was instrumental in getting students excited about the sport.” However, Mr. Long gives the credit to junior students Omar Alsolaiman and Max Jansen, both of whom play ultimate both at school and on weekends, for actually pushing for ultimate to be a school sport. They pushed for the sport after they read statements like “Utah has become an ultimate state” by the American Ultimate Disc League and “Utah has a strong youth division [in ultimate]” by Utah Ultimate, hoping to spread the hype they were already a part of.

How is the team preparing for the spring though? Ms. Tomsic has hired Coach Xander, who has played ultimate competitively for seven years, five of which were at the University of Utah, and has coached rival high schools like Skyline and West, and he has plans for the team. Besides continuing to play in the backfield no matter the weather, they are also going to watch professional ultimate gameplay. Doesn’t sound like much, but according to Coach Xander, “Watching film is the easiest way to learn a large amount about the game in a short amount of time and find new ideas.” And once the team learns a new strategy, they’ll implement it in the bi-weekly practices. Coach Xander has other stuff planned for the players too. He already knows what offensive and defensive plays the players will mainly be doing; what they need to do is expand their ultimate knowledge, practice, and improve their throws and athleticism.

With Coach Xander’s help, once spring comes, the team will be ready to go all out against other nearby high schools, according to Ms. Tomsic. With games on Wednesdays and potential tournaments on Saturdays, I asked Max Jansen, who has been playing ultimate for almost 6 years, if he thinks the team will play well in the spring against other real teams. He responded, “Not at all [way to believe in us, Max]; however, I think it’s going to be a fun learning experience.” Coach Xander, on the other hand, has a different opinion. He said that there is very fierce competition, but he believes “it will push us and we can rise to the occasion.” He also said that if the team has a strong work ethic and commits to the principles he plans on implementing, “there's no reason why we can't compete with any team in the state.”

Once the time comes to play for real in the spring, what would you guys hope to see? I know that I want to see the team trying their best and having fun, but what do the others want to see? Max hopes to see “more movement on the field” and “some new players out there on the team.” Coach Xander’s response was more in-depth. He hopes to see “players celebrating not only their successes but also the successes of their teammates.” All the best teams have super supportive teammates and coaches. Similar to my statement, he finished his interview saying that he “hopes to see a high level of effort from all the players,” as well as “a commitment to be players that have good sportsmanship and who represent themselves and the school well.”

Why be so excited for ultimate to become a sport? In other words, why is ultimate frisbee worthwhile? Besides the cliché that you learn teamwork, Mr. Long mentions that ultimate is a sport that is lively and competitive, meaning that both teams call their own fouls, and there is no need for referees. “It’s the spirit of the sport, true sportsmanship,” he explains. Not only that, but Mr. Long also mentioned that there is a very diverse group of people who can play; no matter your culture, gender, or age, if you are interested in ultimate, you will fit right in. You can make so many new friends, find a new community, and learn so much about yourself. You can understand how determined and persistent you can be, as well as learn ways that you can implement ideas you learn in ultimate into your daily life.

Don’t forget, male students can still sign up for the spring sport by December 7th by contacting Pam Stone at pamstone@rowlandhall.org. Players must have at least a 2.0 GPA in the fall semester. The team and I hope to see you either in the crowd or on the field. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at towfiqaziz@rowlandhall.org.