SPORTS

The Resurgence of Ultimate Frisbee

by Will Johnson, Joey Pitarelli, and Levi Freeman

The Ultimate Frisbee Club, run by track and cross country coach Mr. Patterson, has been seeing a large surge in popularity in the past couple of weeks. New members of the club particularly love its initiative, which is to provide a fun, beginner friendly, and semi-competitive environment. Even though the club has grown in size and has taken new leadership roles, its goal remains the same; to provide a fun and relaxed environment for both newcomers and frisbee enthusiasts.
Ultimate Frisbee first sprung up nearly a decade ago and had the goal of providing a fun and relaxed environment for students to enjoy themselves in the sport. While it succeeded well for many years, it has unfortunately faded into obscurity since the pandemic. Membership and hope for the club reached what seemed to be an all time low last year; however, new Co-Presidents Will Johnson, Joey Pittarelli, and Levi Freeman are committed to grow the club and create a more engaging, inviting, and formal environment. These desires have culminated into real scheduling, more games, teams, and future tournaments. “We’re really trying to push the message that the club is a place for anyone to play, even if you’ve never thrown a frisbee before,” said Co-President Will Johnson when asked if a beginner could join the club. When we asked Joey Pittarelli who should join the club and why, he responded by saying that “it’s a place for anyone who has an interest in playing as a team and just having fun. There’s no strict schedule; just come, play, and have fun. We have a large sum of players with varying skill who would love to teach anyone the rules of the game. We always aspire to have a great time, no matter the number of people. If you’re interested in joining the club, join our Remind with the code OTFRISBEE. The club usually is on the football field and lasts until 2:45.”
The passion from its leadership has been felt in the members of the club; a near all time high attendance of 17 was reached on the 25th. This was a significant increase from the first meeting of the club, which tallied at about 9. For the first time in the club’s history, 4 teams with 2 consecutive games were played at once. When asked about the future endeavors of the club, Freeman replied that “a 4 team tournament may happen soon if fellow members agree to it.” Leaders of the club always prioritize the experience of the players and make sure that everyone has fun at the end of the day. We encourage you to try it out and have some fun!

Ultimate Frisbee was started in Ocean a little over a decade ago and has been slowly falling into obscurity. “Me and my Co-Presidents want to make an impact in our school and create a positive environment for our peers,” said Johnson when discussing the resurgence of the club. “I have been slowly trying to find my way into something I can lead and spreading Ultimate Frisbee to the school can help me with that.” Many students have been attending this club, over doubling in numbers from the year previously. “I strive to be the most well-rounded student within my school so leading this club while handling all my other responsibilities gives me the confidence to keep pushing forward” Johnson furthers. Joey Pitarelli has been handling a lot of the behind the scenes work with Levi Freeman to keep the club centered around the students. “Our goal is students first,” Freeman stated in an interview. “The club is student run so our responsibility is to leave the power to the students; we are young adults so we should take our priorities seriously.” When the boys were asked about the reasoning behind Ultimate Frisbee’s sudden resurgence Joey Pitarelli repsoded by stating, “All three of us have a passion for success from all regards. I enjoy different types of activities and Ultimate Frisbee just happens to represent what I want to show to the school. By explaining the game to our peers and asking if they would like to attend was the best way to get people to show up. ” When asked about what students can do to join, Will Johnson stated, “Anyone can come. Grade doesn’t apply here; it’s for everyone. The game is simple and easy to pick up. We luckily haven’t had any injuries or complex procedures take place yet. We just set up a date and people attend. It’s student ran and student biased so we want everyone we can get to come. Teachers are invited too.”