The Saint Louis University Ultimate Frisbee Team is back for another year and preparing for its long season. The Billikens’ appearance at regionals last year has encouraged them to repeat its achievement again this year with another trip to postseason play.
“The goal is of course to do that again, we need to make regionals,” captain Sebastian Welsh said. “All of our focus and all of our energy is concentrated on getting to that point again.”
Ultimate began in the late 1960s, with the first-ever intercollegiate match held in 1972. The popularity of the sport has grown quickly since then, with over 600 college teams currently in the United States.
The Billikens founded their own Ultimate Frisbee club in 1998. While the club was originally formed as a recreational sport, it has since become more competitive, and now the team is focused on heightening its level of play along with its win tally in order to make a second appearance in the regional playoffs.
“We have to work on conditioning,” Welsh said. “That is what we have really been working hard on and will continue to work hard on through the season. We want to be, without question, the fastest and the strongest team to step on the field, tournament after tournament.”
In Ultimate, being the fastest and the strongest usually translates into more success and more wins, according to Welsh. He said that the best teams are the ones that are in condition, and the best is exactly what the Ultimate team is looking to be this season.
Welsh cited incoming freshman and new faces to the team as two of the many positive contributions to the team this season.
“This incoming group of freshmen and new players have a lot to offer the club,” Welsh said. “They are dedicated and have a lot of talent to bring to the team and, more importantly, they are rising to the challenge of the sport and are dedicated to making the team and themselves better in general.”
One newcomer, sophomore Max Howe, looks forward to the upcoming tournament in Naperville, Ill., which is set to be played Oct. 13. Dubbed the “Glory Days,” the tournament is put together by a group of Truman State University graduates, and this year is the second annual holding of the tournament.
“It is a great chance to show what we are made of and see where we measure up in comparison to other teams in the Midwest,” Howe said. “The team plans to play three to four tournaments in the fall months, as well as playing three to four tournaments in the spring, working again towards the goal of making regionals.”
Unlike most club sports, Ultimate has the opportunity to spread its season throughout the majority of the school year, which leads to more chances to compete and tighter bonds between players.
“We play hard together, we condition together, we travel together; we really grow tight bonds throughout the year, and we get to know each other really well,” Welsh said.
In order to play in the college series, players must join the Ultimate Players Association, the regulating force behind Ultimate, although a player may practice with the team without being a member of the UPA. While the team seeks to have serious competitors, the emphasis is still on having fun and enjoying the game.
“We have fun playing the sport together,” Welsh said. “Of course, winning those games and making it to regionals makes us have more fun, but the bottom line is that we are a group of guys that just love to play the game,” Welsh said.
One obstacle the Ultimate team will have to tackle before regionals is beating cross-town rival Washington University, a team that has given the Billikens difficulties in the past.
“Through the last few years, it has proven itself to be a rivalry that just keeps building and expanding,” Welsh said. “It is one of the major match-ups that the team looks forward to, and it’s a real grudge match. Beating Washington University is not our primary goal, but it would definitely be second on the list and might feel just as good as making regionals.”
