By Eric Sousa, Staff Writer
One of the more brilliant parts of being involved in campus life is the wide variety of new experiences out there to discover. While every college has their mainstream attractions, it is important to remember the plethora of student-run organizations that fill the nooks and crannies of the college experience. At UMass Dartmouth, it isn’t a stretch to say there is a niche for everyone. The Ultimate Frisbee team on campus fills a few of those niches quite nicely
It appeals to the audience of people who enjoy challenging themselves to become better, but don’t have a specialized sport popular on campus. Colin Ireland, one of the Ultimate Frisbee team’s captains, when asked about the types of athletes the Ultimate Frisbee team appeals to said, “It doesn’t really appeal to just one group, playing Ultimate Frisbee takes aspects from different sports. I used to play basketball and football; I used techniques from there and incorporated it into the game.” Colin is a Junior at UMass Dartmouth and hadn’t ever played Frisbee until he was introduced to it as a freshman.
Our UMass Dartmouth Frisbee team is also coed. Karina Cruz, another UMass Dartmouth Junior, had been on the team since she was a freshman herself. Through her hard work she became not only the first female Captain, but also the first female President of the team. “It’s one of my dreams to get together a full female team for tournaments,” she had to say about her important role. “But I love my boys. They were welcoming from the get-go.” Karina then excused herself and went back to tabling at the Corsair Fair, donning her Moon Unit Jersey with the rest of her team.
One of the most interesting aspects of the team was the diversity of not only the players, but their skill levels. At practice, the team had players who clearly had plenty of experience under their belt and others who were still green. However, everybody ran the same drills. Nobody had special treatment. The only difference is the more skilled players would take new players aside to show them the tricks to improve. “It’s amazing how much improvement you can have in even one hour,” spoke Karina. “I’ve seen players make amazing strides in such little time.”
Most importantly however, the practice was fun. The team joked around as if they had known each other their whole lives. They gently ribbed on each other, and it was clear that everybody had room made for them on the team. “At the end of the day, it’s about having fun,” said Colin. “We have practices every day, but not everybody can make practice all the time. If you can only make a few, that’s alright. School comes first. Mostly, we’re all here because we like being a part of a team.”
There are a lot of good draws to the Ultimate Frisbee Team. It’s perfect if you want to be a part of a sport, but you’re worried about being involved in something too committal. It’s inclusive to just about anybody and everybody. All they ask is that you give what you can, and the team will give back everything it has to offer. But don’t take my word for it, go find out for yourself. They meet at the track fields for 4-6. Maybe you’ll find it’s not your style. Maybe you’ll find you like the environment, and want to come back. Maybe you’ll enjoy the positive people, the fresh air, and the energy of the team, but there’s only one way to find out.