VU U20 BX Youth Club

Valley Ultimate's 2025 Bx U-20 team welcomes athletes who want to raise their game with an organized summer club ultimate experience. Players of all skill levels are encouraged to register, from those who are already local high-school all-stars hoping to also play with BUDA's YCC team, to those who hope to step up into leadership roles for their high-school teams in future years. We just ask that you be committed to working hard, having fun improving both your physical skills and your game intelligence, and helping build a positive and supportive team culture so this program can thrive for years to come.

Players who register will work closely with coaches Travis Norsen, Jay Watson, and Roan Dunkerley to hone their skills, technique, field vision, and decision-making. The group will work toward developing a fluid and truly collaborative style of team play on both offense and defense, to be showcased at local/regional tournaments in the late summer and early fall.

Travis Norsen has been playing ultimate since the early 1990s. In the last decade he has competed at Grand Masters club nationals with several teams including Critical Mass. He has recently coached the Northampton HS Gx team to a MA state championship and a 5th place finish at HSNI, and presented his unique approach to playing, training, and coaching in The Ultimate Resource.

Jay Watson's early experiences playing frisbee games on Long Island developed into a life-long passion for ultimate. He's played for teams from New Orleans, New York, Amherst, and -- most notably -- Boston, where he was part of DoG's incredible 1990s run of six consecutive national club championships. Since then he has continued to excel in the Masters, GM, and GGM divisions and has shared his wisdom with new generations as a coach for the ARHS JV teams.

Roan Dunkerley is a recent graduate of (and former two-year captain of) Northampton HS who now attends UMass and plays for both ZooDisc and Boston Glory. In addition, he served as spirit captain when he represented his country and brought home the gold last summer for U-20 team USA at the World Junior Ultimate Championships.

**Team training and program events for all teams will take place at the Oxbow in Northampton, MA or MacDuffie in Granby MA - TBD

Eligibility:

** All players must not turn 20 or older during 2024. (This is a high school-level playing option)

** All players must be USA Ultimate members. [Paid players due, signed online waiver]

** All players must abide by all USAU eligibility rules.

** Certain exceptions to the above rules may be granted on a case by case basis. Contact dan kaplan for more information

2019 Practice Players and Travel Players at the last practice before the YCC tournament

VU U20 Youth Club BX Team

We are planning on

twice weekly training sessions (one weekday evening and one weekend morning) from mid-June through early August in Northampton or Granby.
scrimmaging other local club teams.
competing at the Northeastern Youth Club Tournament in Granby, MA in July.
exploring the possibility of also attending one other club tournament in August or September.
building local Valley energy and momentum toward a nationally-competitive youth club team in 2026 and beyond.
keeping our costs to a minimum to encourage maximum participation.

Cole Davis-Brand at 2017 YCCs

VU U20 BX YCC ATHLETES

While we will not be sending a VU team to YCC's this summer, our program intends to support the participation of VU/W.Mass Bx Athletes to attend tryouts and compete with the BUDA Open YCC team. We also plan to work with the BUDA Open YCC coaches to:

schedule VU practices at times that don’t conflict with BUDA YCC trainings,
Offer skills-training open to all BUDA YCC athletes at our W. MA field, and
be in open communication with BUDA Open YCC coaches for any strategy/skills training so that we might be able to provide for VU and/or BUDA athletes who compete with BUDAs Open YCC team.

We plan to build the Valley Ultimate Bx Youth Club program in 2025 and move toward hopefully sending our own VU Bx team to YCCs in 2026. Be part of this local movement even if you're playing with BUDA too!

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