Despite the preponderance of clubs for interesting, yet obscure sports, ultimate Frisbee is no longer one of them. At least for Virginia Disorder, the University men's club team, ultimate Frisbee is one in a growing list of sports that are gaining immense popularity and are attracting some talented young players.
"Frisbee's always been a growing sport," team co-captain Robin Poullath said. "But the sport has grown immensely in the last few years. Some of the players you bring up now have already played in high school leagues. Some of the people playing on our varsity team already have experience. Every year the team is getting better as we get more people and our skill level improves."
For the incoming Disorder freshmen, who often come in with little or no prior experience, there is much to learn.
"The game is really fast once you get on the field," Poullath said. "We try to teach them the very basics, the offensive plays, the defensive plays. It's not backyard Frisbee. It's 7-on-7, very structured."
Luckily, the fall season allows the youngsters to learn that ultimate Frisbee is more than just throwing and catching.
"Younger players have a hard time understanding the lingo," Poullath said. "There's new talk, new words that they have to understand. They've understood all the basics by the spring. The fall season is a chance to give people a shot to see what you can do. It's a tryout for the type of players we want and lets us mesh together our offense and defense."
Even players who come in with prior experience find competition at the collegiate level challenging. Third-year Marshall Koch, who had seven years of playing experience, says the college game is much faster.
"College is a different game," Koch said. "Mistakes, turnovers affect the games a lot more than in high school. In college, you value the disc a lot more. You don't know if you'll get the Frisbee back."
The Disorder pride themselves on coaching their team from scratch. The captains, fourth-year Poullath and graduate student Dave Simons, find tricks to stuff in the team's hat.
"We try to teach everyone their position within the offense," Poullath said. "On defense, we teach them how to not get beat and how to position themselves."
The Disorder play in one of five national regions. Virginia's region, the Atlantic Coast region, is one of the stronger regions, especially on the East Coast.
Last spring, the No. 16 Virginia's men's team advanced to the quarterfinals of the regional tournament before losing to North Carolina, the number one team in the nation. UNC stood in the way of the Disorder's first ever trip to nationals. This year the Disorder plan on making the trek to the national tournament.
"We've never made it to nationals," Poullath said. "It's always a goal, and it's always a legitimate goal."
The elusive national berth aside, the Disorder credit their success both to the growing popularity of the sport, but also to themselves and their dedication to the game.
"The other teams in our league -- the good teams -- have history," Poullath said. "They have good organizations and good leadership."
Virginia's ultimate Frisbee team was founded in the 1970s. That it has managed to survive and succeed for over 30 years is a testament to the alluring power of the sport of ultimate Frisbee.
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