youthultimate.com the magazine (first edition)

XXwww.youthultimate.com

PAIDEIA CUP: Sixteen teams from around the country will gather for the sixth annual Paid-eia Cup. More on pg. 10

the Magazinethe Magazine

Holy Family Catholic help builds youth league Pg. 5 | College Spotlight - Oregon Fugue Pg. 6

MY OPINION: Check out what Kevin Lakritz says about the new under-16 division at the Youth Club Championships. More on pg. 18

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Who are we?John is a junior at West Virginia University and is from Atlanta, Ga. He is the Managing Editor for The Daily Athenaeum, the third-best college newspaper as rated by the Society of Professional Journalists in 2010. He gradu-ated from the Paideia School in 2008 where he played for the Paideia Varsity Gruel for four years. He has played at the Youth Club Championships and the World Ultimate and Guts Championships, winning championships at both.

John Terry - Founder, Editor

Eli is a sophomore at the University School of Nashville in Nashville, Tenn. He is a writer for his school news-paper and is interested in pursuing journalism. He has played USN-Brutal Grassburn since eighth grade.

Eli Motycka - Contributor

Michael is a junior at the University of Georgia and is from Atlanta, Ga. He works as a student

assistant in the University of Georgia sports com-munications department. He graduated from The

Paideia School in 2008 where he played for the Paideia Var-sity Gruel for three years. He won a national championship at the 2007 Youth Club Championships. Additionally, he was an alternate for the United States’ Junior Open team in 2008.

Michael Terry - Founder, contributor

Kevin is a senior at Jonathan Dayton high school in Springfield, N.J., where he is the Pop Culture editor of his high school news-paper. He plays for ultimate for Westfield High School. He also helped coach Westfield’s middle school ultimate team last season.

Kevin LakritzContributor

Vinh is a junior at South Eugene high school in Eugene, Oregon. He has played ultimate for eight

years, winning a USA Ultimate Westerns Champi-onship in 2010. Before YouthUltimate.com, Bui wrote

on a personal high school ultimate blog. He will be one of YouthUltimate.com’s west coast contributors.

Vinh Bui - Contributor

Jason is a teacher at Amherst Regional High School and pursuing an M.S.Ed in Spe-cial Education. He currently coaches at Amherst Regional high school, directs several youth day camps, recreation-al and intramural leagues in Western Massachusetts year-round.

Jason Chow - Contributor

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Table of Contents

5 Holy Family Catholic has helped build a youth league in Cincinnati, Ohio.

6 The Oregon women’s ultimate team, Fugue, is featured in the College Spotlight. Find more at www.youthultimate.com

8 The 4th annual O’Hara Invite has turned into the most anticipated high school girl’s ultimate tournament of the year.

10 The sixth annual Paideia Cup will take place this weekend. Learn how it was created from scratch six years ago.

22 Columnist Kevin Lakritz writes why he thinks the new division at YCC’s is a good thing.

High school ultimate coach Jason Chow explains why having a reason and a purpose is important to players.25 REASON

and a

PURPOSE

Front page photo by William Cooper


WELCOME!

Welcome to the first edition of YouthUltimate.com the Magazine. Since the website’s inception in 2007, we have been thinking of new ways to bring even more youth ultimate coverage to peo-ple around the world. Along with our website, YouthUltimate.com the Magazine will do just that. The new magazine will be the first of its kind for youth ultimate. Youth ultimate continues to grow around the United States, and for the first time in USA Ultimate’s his-tory, the number of youth mem-bers exceeds the number of adult members. This isn’t a pattern that is going to change. Youth ultimate is going to continue to grow and grow, and we, at YouthUltimate.com, are prepared to grow with it. Our site has come a long way since 2007. We have transformed from a stagnant looking website with a staff of just two (Michael and me) to a website with slide-shows, videos, audio interviews, stories and a staff of many more. Our additional manpower has allowed the website to do more

things. Not only are we able to post

more stories, but we come from different parts

of the country giving us a more diverse knowledge base. To start out, the new online magazine will be published four times a year. Our goal, though, is to increase the frequency of its publication over time. We have some really cool things planned for the first edition of the magazine:

Tournament spotlightWith the first tournament spot-light, we featured the O’Hara In-vite. It is just the fourth year of the tournament and will host some of the top girl’s teams in the country.

Giving back to the communityHoly Family Catholic Home Educa-tors hasn’t just burst onto the high school ultimate scene in the last three years, but it has also helped grow youth ultimate in the greater Cincinnati area.

The history of the Paideia CupWith the Paideia Cup coming up this weekend, we thought it would be a good idea to let you know how one of the most com-petitive tournaments in the coun-

try was created, and tournament organizer’s ideas for the future.

The field of 16 Along with the history of the Paideia Cup, be sure to check out write-ups on each team partici-pating in the Paideia Cup this year.

My Opinion YouthUltimate.com Columnist Kevin Lakritz explains why he thinks the expansion of the USA Ultimate Youth Club Champion-ships to include an under-16 divi-sion is a good thing for the sport.

Those are just a few of the fea-tures you will find inside the first edition of YouthUltimate.com the Magazine. As always, if you have any ideas please let us know. We’re always looking for new ways to give the ultimate community top-notch coverage. Please send us an email at [email protected] if you have ideas or would like to join the YouthUltimate.com team.

See you on the fields,

John TerryEditor

www.youthultimate.com

Holy Family Catholic girl’s team captain Kayla Fry started playing ultimate in 2006 during a Cincinnati youth league for 8 to 14 year olds. She’s now a junior coaching in the same league teaching the next generation of ultimate players. She, along with the rest of the Holy Family Catholic girl’s and boy’s teams, serves as coaches for that same juniors league. The league was first started because the younger siblings of the players on the Holy Family Catholic high school team wanted to play ultimate. “It wasn’t even thought about the bigger benefits of being able to bring up players,” said Joe Beatrice, a captain on the Holy Family Catholic open team. “It was more just about getting kids the chance to play.” But it has turned into some-thing much bigger than anyone ever thought. This year, the league has over 120 participants on ten different teams. What originally started out as a league for local home schooled kids is now drawing from local elementary schools in the Millford School District. The teams are split up evenly based on skill level. This past year was the first year there were sepa-rate boy’s and girl’s teams. Fry said that approximately 80

boys make up six teams, while 60 girls play on four teams. “It has continued to grow,” Fry said. “A lot of the kids are home-schooled, but a lot of them come from schools all over.” When the group meets every Friday, the teams break up and have roughly 45-minute practices before having a weekly game. The league occurs in both the fall and spring with each season culminat-ing with an end-of-the-season tournament. The two Holy Family Catholic high school teams then practice afterwards. Holy Family Catholic Home Edu-cators is a home-school coopera-tive in Cincinnati that competes in the USA Ultimate high school division. “It’s an amazing experience,” Fry said. “I love being a part of it.” Beatrice, now a junior captain of the open team for Holy Family Catholic, started playing in the youth league because his friends kept talking about it. “My siblings hate (ultimate) Fris-bee, but I wanted to try it,” he said. The junior says that the league has been advantageous to the development of the Holy Family Catholic team that competes in the high school division.

“This program is really cool be-cause we’ve been playing togeth-er since we were like ten,” Beatrice said. “So we’re great friends on and off the field.” The kids participating in the league that aren’t home schooled have even started matriculating into local high school’s and start-ing teams. “This is the first year that they’re in high school,” Beatrice said.

5

Holy Family Catholic has grown a youth league in Cincinnati from the ground up.By John Terry, Editor

““It’s an amazing experience. I love being part of it.”

”-Kayla Fry HFC Girls Captain

Photo by Tom Cook

Photo by Tom Cook

.

6 www.youthultimate.com

featuring...

YouthUltimate.comCollege Spotlight

OREGON FUGUEDoes your team have a coach? Yes! Our coach, Lou Burruss, attends one practice a week as well as all of our tournaments and is actively involved with our team even when he is not there. He works closely with the captains to help keep practices organized and strategic, and he is extremely moti-vated to help individual players reach their maximum potential throughout the season. We also receive help from our assistant coach Ryann Crowley (a Fugue alumni) who attends most tournaments with us.

How many teams does your school have? Currently Oregon only has one women’s team, Fugue. We are hoping for enough motivated play-ers to start a new B-team to help build our program. Competitive tryouts are held in the fall each year, but we are always interested in having new and athletic players come out!

What makes your program better than others? Fugue is a unique team in general. It is full of players who are dedicated and love to work hard, and who recognize that they continue to play simply because

of their love of the game. While we are known for our fun and “clown-tent” style off the field, we all come together combining our individual talent and unique personalities to play ultimate and fight for the na-tional title.

Does your program have any traditions? One major tradition that Fugue has is the pairing of “Psych Buddies” at the beginning of the season following tryouts. These pairs help welcome rookies onto the team, while providing moral support on the field on a more individual level. Buddies often use this system to pump each other up on the line, work out together outside of practice, and even give fun little gifts at tournaments.

How close is your team off the field? While most teams will say they are close on and off the field, Fugue is even more so. To be a part of this team is to be a part of a family, full of exceptional women and players who all share one thing in com-mon. Our love of the sport drives our love for each other and connects us on a level that none of us will

Photo provided Oregon Fugue

7www.youthultimate.com

ever lose or forget. Most players choose to live with each other, train together, take classes together, and just enjoy spending time together outside of practice.

What on-field successes has your program had in the previous five seasons? Oregon Fugue has a history of Callahan winners. Jody Dozono won in 1999, and Chelsea Dengler won in 2003. Julia Sherwood placed in the top 5 in 2010. Since then, Fugue has been a big competitor at Nationals, placing third in 2009. We have a history of fielding former USA U-20 team members and have been successful at major tournaments year-round such as Stanford Invite, President’s Day, and Cen-tex in the past few years. Last year, Fugue won the National Title in Wisconsin, and we hope to continue our streak this coming May in Boulder, Colo!

How is your program going to improve? These past two years have provided a very strong base of talented rookies for Fugue that will hopefully maintain and add to the intensity and success of the team. Each year we pick up more experienced play-ers while continuing to develop as a team with the help of our coaches. Anything else? While Fugue is an extremely competitive college ultimate team, we are also all students off the field. We place a high value on scholarship, and players are easily able to balance their schedule to be success-ful on and off the field. If you are interested in the program or have any questions, please feel free to contact our captains, watch online videos, or follow us on Twitter at @OregonFugue!

Record last season 42-1

Quick Hits

Number of tournaments Nine (including the series)

Funding from schoolWe receive a small amount from the Club Sports program at UO, and we work hard to make up for the difference with fundraising throughout the year.

Team duesUsually around $500, depending on levels of fundraising and tour-nament schedule.

Websitehttp://fugueultimate.com/

Contact InformationChristina Wickman [email protected] Schueler [email protected] Sherwood [email protected]

Want to see more of our college spotlights?

Either follow the QR code to the right or find them on:

http://www.youthultimate.com

Photo provided Oregon Fugue

University of Oregon Location: Eugene, Ore.Enrollment: 19,528 (Undergraduate)Type: Public, Four yearsStudent body: 53%/47% (In-state/Out-of-state)


In just four years, the O’Hara Invite has turned from a one-day tournament into one of the marquee high school tournaments of the year. The year’s event this year will bring in teams from across the country includ-ing powerhouses Paideia and Amherst. “This is a huge event to have,” said tournament or-ganizer Tom Cook. “We re-ally want to showcase what high school youth ultimate is all about.” Four years ago, Saturday served as a one-day open division tournament, while Sunday served as a one-day girl’s division tournament. The second year, Cook decided to make the O’Hara Invite a two-day girl’s division tournament after his boy’s team wanted to attend Pennbury’s Born to Dive the same weekend. It was a blessing in disguise. After six teams at-tended the first year and 12 teams attended last year, Cook will have 16 teams this year. “The second year we started inviting girls teams,” Cook said. “Now we’ve exploded.” Cook said he was blown away when he got an email from Paideia head coach Kyle Weisbrod in January saying that he wanted his team to end his season at the O’Hara Invite. When he received an email from Amherst head coach Josh Nugent two weeks later, Cook and his Cardinal O’Hara captain jumped out of their shoes. Amherst head coach Josh Nugent said he and Weisbrod were trying to find a tournament for their two teams to meet at. “St. Johnsbury, where Josh Seamon works very hard to put on a great tournament, was a bit too logistically complicated for Paideia, but O’Hara was workable for both of us,” Nugent said. “Tom Cook was psyched to have us on board, and it looks like it’ll be a huge event.” Amherst and Paideia are just two of a handful of

elite teams attending the tournament. HB Woodlawn, Cardinal O’Hara, Watchung Hills, Lower Merion, Beacon Hill, and Radnor are also at-tending the event. “We are super, super excit-ed to have all of these teams coming here for our tourna-ment,” Cook said. Cook thinks that this event will help the growth of youth ultimate because of the at-tention the tournament is getting and the excitement surrounding youth ultimate in Philadelphia. In March, the

USA Ultimate high school Eastern Championships will be held there as well. “Being able to host Easterns and then host this girls tournament is really good,” Cook said. “It’s huge having two tournaments to attract these great teams out here to the Philadelphia scene. We only have seven girl’s teams in Philadelphia, but we have seven very strong teams.” Cook has been able to get more support from the school for this year’s event too as the tournament will be tied into the school’s annual fair. “Our school has been incredibly supportive,” Cook said, “They are super happy. We’ve really tied it into the school and it has become a huge draw.” The school is also offering the tournament more fields. While in years past the school limited the tour-nament’s field space, it told Cook the tournament could use every field the school had control over this year. The tournament will also have access to the school’s new stadium which opened earlier this year. Some of the championship bracket games will take place in the stadium Sunday, but all the No.3/4 seeds in every pool will have a game in the stadium. “The first day I wanted to make sure that even some of the teams that were seeded lower in their pools got the chance to play in that type of atmo-sphere,” Cook said.

O’Hara Invite has turned into an elite tournament in only four yearsBy John Terry, Editor

Photo by William Cooper

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www.youthultimate.com 11

A dream come true

Paideia head coach Michael Baccarini had always dreamed of his school hosting a high school ultimate tournament drawing teams from across the nation. After years of trips to the northeast for the then-UPA High School National Championships and the Amherst Invitational, Baccarini had always wondered what it would be like to have the best teams in the country compete on home soil. “We realized we wanted to attract those teams from the north to come down here to Atlanta,” Baccarini said. “I really thought we could make Paideia Cup into a really big event.” So Baccarini decided to mention it to parents Dave Clauson and Jed Augustine. Both had spearheaded an effort to form more parental sup-port for the ultimate teams. “They asked what they could do,” Baccarini said. “They said they had an army of parents, and they wanted to help.” The long-time head coach of Paideia told them exactly what he wanted: an elite ultimate tournament drawing teams from all across the country. “I expressed my desire to have a marquee tournament where I didn’t have to do anything but coach,” Baccarini said. Parental support was so important for Baccarini and Paideia. Having to watch every other sport at the school get support from the parents made him want to tap into that support channel too. In the early days, whenever Paideia hosted a tournament, Baccarini did everything – coaching, setting up the schedules and making sure the cap was called, among other things.

It has taken the Paideia Cup only six years to become one of the most prestigious high school ultimate

tournaments in the countryBy John Terry, Editor


“I wasn’t giving all that I could to the team that I work with,” he said. A meeting in the fall quickly morphed into the creation of the Paideia Ultimate Parents group (PUP) grow and the “organizing committee” for the first Paideia Cup.

The organization There were over 360 individual items on Dave Clauson’s to-do list before the first Paideia Cup. Clauson, who along with Ed Augustine was the mastermind behind the Paideia Cup, had every de-tail on the list including things like spare batteries for the walkie-talkies. “The little things have helped differentiate our tournament from other tournaments,” Clauson said. Baccarini jokes that Clauson spends so much time on the event, he’s surprised Clauson’s marriage has survived. “They (Dave, and his wife, Patti) definitely don’t see each other a whole lot those three weeks leading up to the event,” Baccarini said. “Meanwhile, he’s a business man who runs his own business and is very busy doing lots of stuff that takes him all around the world. The fact that he can devote this much time is huge.” While Clauson and Augustine had no problem try-ing to put together the Paideia Cup, there was one problem. Neither had run an ultimate tournament before. But Clauson thinks the lack of knowledge actually benefitted the tournament. “We didn’t have any preconceived notions,” Clau-son said. “We were wide open to do anything.” Clauson said things such as scoreboards are what set Paideia Cup apart. He said to ease the problem of

both players and spectators on the sidelines always asking the score, setting up scoreboards was some-thing easy that could be done. At the first event, government athletic officials from nearby counties were invited, as well as princi-pals from local middle and high schools. A delega-tion from the YMCA even showed up. In addition to wanting to run a quality event with high-level teams, Clauson said there was equal importance to help grow the sport of ultimate in the region. “If we’re known as a destination tournament, then I think that’s helping ultimate develop,” he said. “We’re pleased that teams from across the country still want to come play.” With every year, though, comes new ideas and improvements. Aside from the little things that make the tournament go, Clauson said he wants to see the showcase game come back to the tournament. For the first two years of the event, a showcase game took place and food was served making for a nice atmosphere. In the past three years, there hasn’t been one. Clauson said he envisions a showcase game fea-turing two middle school team’s in the future. “There will be a big crowd which would be really neat,” Clauson said. “It would get younger players exposed and it would make them want to stay with the sport in high school.” In just five years, the event has already been dubbed one of “The Big Three” – also consisting of the Amherst Invitational and either USA Ultimate Easterns or Westerns. Josh Seamon, who has brought a girl’s youth club team to the tournament since 2007, said that it’s one of the best tournament’s he ever attended.

Photo by Eric Kocher


“Dave Clauson is a rockstar when it comes to be-ing a steady, calm leader,” he said. “He has that busi-ness experience, and it’s being applied well to a large high school experiment. It’s a great model for other schools.” So the whole problem about not having run an ultimate tournament before hasn’t seemed to mat-ter. Clauson said he wanted to take all of his busi-ness, financial, and organization skills and make an ultimate tournament run well. It’s worked.

Continuing growth Baccarini and Clauson knew it was time to expand with a girl’s division after the first suc-cessful year of the Paideia Cup. The Paideia girl’s team participated in a showcase game against Atlanta’s club team Ozone on Saturday night of year one, but that wasn’t enough. “We wanted our girls program to have the same support and push that our men’s team got from go-ing to big events,” Baccarini said. “The only big event for them was Amherst, so we needed some-thing here.” Baccarini said Paideia wanted to start out the event with just an open division because it was more manageable at Python Park – Paideia’s two soccer field, four ultimate field complex. “We didn’t know if a girls division would fit,” Baccarini said. “We wanted to see if it would work with this small intimate space.” Baccarini said he knew he could get eight open teams to Atlanta, but wasn’t sure if he could fill up a girl’s division. He wanted to be sure Paideia did it right. In 2007, the division had six teams. It has had five teams in each of the previous three years. For the first time in 2011, the Paideia Cup will have eight teams in each division, the maximum number of teams it can host. Baccarini said there was going to be a play-in game the weekend before between two Atlanta schools – Grady High School and Atlanta Interna-tional School. Both teams were going to host a home

game, and if a third and decisive game was needed, it was most likely going to take place at Python Park. The NCAA-like playoff wasn’t needed, though. “Adding a girl’s division was really important for the growth of girls ultimate,” Baccarini said. “Not just here, because we’re still struggling in our city, but across the country. It helped the national scene on the girl’s side.

From an outside perspective This season will be the first in four years that Josh Seamon hasn’t traveled down to the Paideia Cup. Seamon, who is the varsity ultimate coach at St. Johnsbury Academy, in St. Johnsbury, Vt., has brought a girls team to Atlanta since 2007.



It all started on a freezing cold afternoon in the fall of 2006 in northern Vermont. Seamon was sitting with a few of the girls from his St. Johnsbury team. The group was more or less dreaming of all the tour-nament the team would love to go to. On that list: Paideia Cup. “We (St. Johnsbury) could never go to some of the tournaments because of funding (it would take) and geographic location,” Seamon said. Seamon had an idea, though. “At that point, I had coached at the Youth Club Championships for two years and had known a good group of people,” he said. “I started to realize that there were other girls that were in the same posi-tion.” He called up Baccarini to see if bringing a club team would be acceptable. It was the first year of a girl’s division, so Baccarini jumped at the opportu-nity to have a team travel from New England. “It’s a really rewarding experience to see people make that effort to come to your own tournament,” Baccarini said. Seamon started contacting girls from all over the region to see if there was interest about taking an early-season trip to the Paideia Cup. It was a way for girls from different schools to get to know each other and play in a competitive tournament. While he started off with primarily a team from

New England, the team has included players from Atlanta, Nashville, and Salt Lake City. Seamon has been to the tournament every year the tournament has had a girl’s division. In 2007, the first year Seamon put together a team, Paideia Cup was home to wind, rain, and near-freezing weather. “It’s professional and well run,” Seamon said. “It’s treated like every ultimate tournament should be treated. It’s really easy to run a bad ultimate tour-nament and have everything turn out lucky, but it takes skill to run a quality event, where everything is perfect and having teams there to play and so-cialize.” Rush, the name of the team Seamon puts togeth-er, is a one-weekend team meaning its soul purpose is to play in the Paideia Cup. Seamon said coming to a new region is so advantageous for the players on his team because it allows them to play teams they wouldn’t otherwise play. The tournament also allows Seamon to see a high-quality event in person. He is the tournament direc-tor of the St. Johnsbury Invitational – a tournament that has turned into the largest high school ultimate tournament on the east coast. “I like stealing good ideas from good tournaments and bringing it back to mine, he said. “The little things matter and the little things are done well at the Paideia Cup.”

Photo by Josh Seamon


The memories It was cold. It was windy. It even rained. But the 2007 Paideia Cup is what stands out to Bac-carini. Not only is it one of two of the six Paideia Cups that his team has won, but Baccarini said it was one of his best teams. “It was probably our most dominant team ever. We were extremely low-mistake and ridiculously domi-nanting on defense – seemingly unstoppable,” Bac-carini said. “Having that year where we peaked and having a really strong field here was a real highlight.” Led by seniors George Stubbs, Grant Lindsley, and Ollie Honderd, Paideia went 32-1 winning every tournament it played in, including a pair of college tournaments. The only loss came to Georgia Tech in an early March scrimmage. Paideia, Amherst, Columbia, and senior-laden Pennsbury and North Hills teams highlighted the 2007 field. University School of Nashville and St. Johns Ravenscourt (Canada) were the additional teams in the field. Paideia met Pennsbury in the semi-finals Sunday morning in what was one of the most hyped match-ups of the spring. Both teams came in vying for the top spot in the country. Fortunately for Baccarini, his team came out on top. Two identical teams played the year before in a game where Pennsbury blew a five-point second-half lead to lose 12-11 and a spot in Sunday’s Champion-ship Bracket. That made the 2007 matchup at the Cup much more special.

““It was probably our most dominant team ever. We were extremely low-mistake and ridiculously dominant on defense - seemingly unstoppable”

”-Michael Baccarini Head Coach, Paideia


Photo by Eric Kocher


Paideia jumped out to a lead in the first half despite horrible conditions and won the game, without much problem, 13-4. “Our level of skill and tactical know-how was phenomenal,” Baccarini said. “I mean, we still didn’t turn it over much despite the weather.” Baccarini was also impressed because of the number of fans that came out and watched despite the bad weather. It’s hard to believe it’s been more than half a decade since the inaugural event, and with it has come memories for Paideia’s head coach. “There was a sea of fans watching and I was blown away by that,” Baccarini said. “I think what it showed to everybody – we had teach-ers and administrators show up and it showed dedication. It was really impressive to our ath-letic director. He was impressed the first year, but I think he was blown away by the second year.”

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PaideiaPaideia lost USA Ultimate U-20 team player Chris Kocher, but the team hasn’t missed a beat yet this season. It has won Deep Freeze and High School Terminus going a perfect 14-0. The team hasn’t allowed more than eight points to be scored against it on high school competition.

No. 1 seedAtlanta, Ga.

HB WoodlawnHB Woodlawn had a disappointing performance at last year’s USA Ultimate High School Eastern Championships,, but the reigning Virginia state champion still has had a strong 2011 season. HB Woodlawn is 11-0 against high school competition this year. The team won the YHB Invite, and went undefeated at the Chicago Invite, but had to leave before the championship game to catch a flight home.

No. 2 seedArlington, Va.

Seattle FryzThe Fryz are a combination of passionate youth players from ten different high schools in the Seattle area. The youth club team has been together for three year, but split into sepa-rate boys and girls teams in the fall. The boy’s team finished fifth place at the Sundodger College tournament in November and second at Hangover 2011 in early January after losing on universe point in the championship game.

No. 3 seedSeattle, Wash.

De SmetDe Smet Ultimate was one of the first two programs that emerged in St. Louis a decade ago. Last year’s team went 21-4 going undefeated in the St. Louis high school league and state tournament. The team graduated ten players, but it had 36 on the roster. De Smet returned nine varsity players and will promote players from its B team to be competitive this season.

No. 4 seedSt. Louis, Mo.

Pool A

OPEN DIVISIONPaideia Cup - April 16-17, 2011


ColumbiaColumbia is one of the most storied programs in the United States. Traveling to the Paid-eia Cup from Maplewood, N.J., the birthplace of ultimate, Columbia is the only other team than Paideia to attend all six Paideia Cup’s. Columbia’s only recorded win is a 15-3 win against Delbarton.

No. 1 seedMaplewood, N.J.

Holy Family CatholicHoly Family Catholic has won every YUC Championships since 2003 and every State title since the inception of the tournament back in 2005. It finished third at last year’s USA Ultimate High School Eastern Championships in 2010. This year, the team is a perfect 12-0 against high school competition. The team won the high school division of Arctic Vogue and also win the Chicago Invite.

No. 2 seedCincinnati, Ohio

University School of NashvilleUniversity School of Nashville graduated two seniors last year when it regained the Ten-nessee State Championship and finished with a tenth place finish at the USA Ultimate High School Eastern Championships. It is 15-4 against high school competition with tour-nament wins at Freaknik. It lost in the championship game to Paideia at Deep Freeze.

No. 3 seedNashville, Tenn.

LC BirdThe LC Bird Skyhawks are a changed team from a year ago after graduating three of its seniors. The team has played in Easterns and the YHB Invite this season. It is 11-1 against high school competition with its only loss coming to Calvary Baptist Day School. It won the high school division of Easterns.

No. 4 seedChesterfield, Va.

Pool B

2011



Holy Family CatholicOmega formed officially for 2010 USA Ultimate Ohio State Championships, and won the girls division against three other Cincinnati-based teams and one Columbus-based team. Omega has already been successful this season as it won the Chicago Invite in March. The team also received its first bid to the 2011 USA Ultimate High School Eastern Champion-ships. It won the Chicago Invite in March.

No. 2 seedCincinnati, Ohio.

Atlanta International SchoolThe Atlanta International School women’s team has had a lot of early success, but is still growing as a team. This is the first season the team is together, and the team is looking forward to meeting and learning from all of the more experienced teams at Paideia Cup.


Seattle FryzThe Fryz are a combination of passionate youth players from tem different high schools in the greater Seattle area. The youth club team has been together for three year, but split into separate boys and girls teams in the fall. The girl’s team finished third at the Sun-dodger College tournament in November. It finished fifth at mixed USA Ultimate Sections in the fall.

No. 1 seedSeattle, Wash.

University School of NashvilleUniversity School of Nashville reached the quarterfinals of the 2010 USA Ultimate High School Eastern Championships and lost just three seniors this season. The team will also have seven new players on it.

No. 3 seedNashville, Tenn.

GIRL’S DIVISIONPaideia Cup - April 16-17, 2011

Pool A


ColumbiaThis year is a building year for Sparkle Motion after graduating 11 seniors this past sum-mer. Columbia has a lot of younger players that are talented and athletic and are stepping up to lead the team. It went 6-2 at the YHB invite in March losing to HB Woodlawn in the finals. The team went 5-1 at this month’s Keystone Classic with its only loss coming to the Pittsburgh Allerdice.

No. 3 seedMaplewood, N.J.

GradyGrady is a young, inexperienced team in their second year of existence. The team has eight returning players, and some good new athletes. Grady is hoping to participate at the Paideia Cup and the USA Ultimate High School State Championships.


HB WoodlawnThe HB Woodlawn girl’s team finished second at the 2010 USA Ultimate High School East-ern Championships. HB Woodlawn played as a split squad its own tournament, the YHB Invite. Both teams advanced to the semifinals. Both would have met in the semifinals, but one fell on double-game point to Columbia. HB Woodlawn ended up winning the tourna-ment against Columbia.

No. 2 seedArlington, Va.

PaideiaThe Paideia women’s ultimate team lost the core of its team last year to graduation, but after an early-season college tournament in Tallahassee, Fla., head coach Kyle Weisbrod said that this year’s team was further along than lat year’s team. The team hasn’t played much high school competition, but is 9-5 in college tournaments.


Pool B

2011


www.youthultimate.com

USA Ultimate took a huge step forward with the creation of an under-16 Youth Club Championship division. Previously only a U-19 division took place, with girls, mixed, and open divisions. The new U-16 tour-nament represents so much more than simply add-ing another division to Youth Club Championships. U-16 symbolizes the enormous amount of growth youth ultimate has seen over the past decade, and a bright future for the sport. The recent growth in middle school ultimate has increased the number of players below high school age. Prior to the creation of the U-16 division, a talented 15-year-old player, for example, would have little to no opportunity to compete at a high level with players of his/her own age. The new division allows the enormous amount of new players to be showcased on a national level. In 2003 the number of registered UPA (now known as USA Ultimate) youth members was at 1,489. In 2010, there were 8,467 members, a 469 percent increase. For the first time in the organizations his-tory, the number of youth members outnumbered adult members. Such numbers produce an optimistic outlook for ultimate, but in order for our sport to grow more events like the U-16 YCC should be created. Right now only a handful of middle school ultimate tour-naments exist around the country, creating a huge travel problem for any team not within a reasonable

distance to an Ultimate hotbed, as well as limiting the number of games a team can play with any con-venience. The hyper growth in youth ultimate can be attrib-uted to more and more players in their 30’s and 40’s raising children who play ultimate. Parents of young players, more than anyone, need a more structured youth structure. Eventually ultimate may be able to be run like soccer, basketball, or baseball with season schedules, age/skill divisions, and enough eager and knowl-edgeable coaches to satisfy the growing number of players. For now, events like U-16 are small steps to achieve such goals. If we use the growing number of high school ultimate programs as an indicator, the number of middle school programs will follow suit in the com-ing years and increase dramatically. USA Ultimate is making appropriate moves to accommodate the anticipated jump in youth ulti-mate. An increase in sub regions for the high school series and events like U-16 YCC’s will provide a larger number of higher level teams the opportunity to participate. And it is participation that USA Ultimate, as well as the entire community is looking for with the new division. Look for Delaware Valley, Seattle, Boston, and Minnesota to have strong teams. And in spite of the outcome, I look forward to seeing the best youth ultimate has to offer.

Creation of under-16 division a good stepMy Opinion

By Kevin Lakritz, Contributor

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April 16-17, 2011California HS Warm Up........................... Burbank, Calif.Hotchkiss Mini-Tourney......................... Lakeville, Conn.6th Annual Paideia Cup......................... Atlanta, Ga.Born to Dive............................................... Fairness Hills, Pa.BU Academy Girls Tournament............Boston, Mass.13th Annual NMH Tournament............Gill, Mass.

April 30-May 1, 2011Middletown Invitational.........................Middletown,Conn.Andover Invitational (Div 2)..................Andover, Mass.Spring Reign................................................Burlington, Wash.St. Johnsbury Invitational.......................St. Johnsbury, Vt.10th Annual Madison Mud Bath...........Madison, Wis.O’Hara Invitational.....................................Springfield, Pa.Deal Spring Invite.......................................Washington D.C.Andover Invitational (Div 1)....................Andover, Mass.

May 7-8, 2011 NMH Round Robin...................................Gill, Mass.Amherst Invitational............................... Amherst, Mass.Hopkins Hustle..........................................Maple Plain, MinnSt. Louis Classic..........................................Cottleville, Mo.

May 14-15, 2011USAU llinois HS Championships..........Location TBDUSAU Maryland HS Championships..Catonsville, Md.USAU Virginia HS Championships......Chesterfield, Va.Greenfield Tournament..........................Greenfield, Mass.USAU HS Western Championships.....Corvallis, Ore.

May 21-22, 2011USAU Ohio HS Championships........... Chesterfield, Va.USAU N.C. HS Championships..............Location TBDUSAU HS Eastern Championships...... Kennett Square, Pa.USAU Vermont HS Championships....Lyndonville, Vt.(Girls’)

May 28-29, 2011Amherst Middle School Invitational..Amherst, Mass.USAU N.J. HS Championships.............. Location TBDUSAU Vermont HS Championships....Lyndonville, Vt.USAU New York HS Championships...Scotia, N.Y.Chris Goeke Memorial Tournament...Apple Valley, Minn.USAU Maine HS Championships.........Location TBDUSAU Vermont HS Championships....Lyndonville, Vt.(Open)

June 4-5, 2011USAU Wisconsin HS Championships..Location TBDUSAU Oregon HS Championships......Tigard, Oregon

June 18-19USAU Indiana HS Championships.......Location TBD

Upcoming Tournaments

Are you hosting a tournament?Let us know! Fill out our online submission form:

http://www.youthultimate.com

Photo by Ivan Chow

XX www.youthultimate.com

Top 5 Reasons To Attend The National Ultimate Training This Summer:

5. Spend a week on the beautiful campus of Amherst College. 4. Receive a player’s package with gifts from VC Ultimate, Breakmark, Spin Ultimate and other companies. 3. Learn skills and strategies from top college and club players in the U.S. players in the U.S. 2. Compete in an all-camp tournament at the end of each session. 1. Make lasting friendships with high school ultimate players from all over the country!

www.NUTC.net“Ultimate for the Next Generation”Amherst, Massachusetts

Session A July 9-14Session B July 23-28Session C July 30-Aug 4(above sessions for Players 14-18)Session G July 16-21(NUTC Gold for Advanced Players 17-18)


For us up in New England, the high school season is just underway. There is a buzz around school and at practices of all sports. Every one has been waiting all winter to play their spring sports. I wanted to share a little about how I look at train-ing in the sport of ultimate. My goal is not to show people how to play or run or catch, but more so to trigger a thought or two about how you prepare personally for your season. Hopefully, my viewpoint will spark some ideas and thoughts about how you prepare and maintain yourself throughout the spring. Have you ever been asked why you play ultimate? Think about it. Many of you who visit this site strive to play as competitively as possible. So, why do you play? Why do you train so hard? Why do you set goals and high standards for your-self? It is essential for a player who wants to play competitive ultimate, achieve their goals, and maximize their potential as a player, teammate, and person, to have a reason and a purpose. Whether it be because you thrive in the heat of competition, because you love striving for and achieving that unexplainable, unbreakable team chemistry, or because you simply love the game of ultimate, you must have a reason. You must have a reason behind your commitment to train, work hard, sacrifice, encourage and build up your teammates. Whether it is making the team you want to make, pushing yourself to see how far you can go, or dreaming about playing that college team under the lights in the middle of the track, there’s a reason. You must have a reason behind your commitment to train, work hard, sacrifice, encourage and build up your teammates. A player who has a clear and definite reason will naturally exude the attitude, confidence, and com-mitment of a mentally focused athlete who truly wants to achieve the most they can individually as

well as for their team. A player who has a reason will never cut corners at practice, literally and figuratively. They will not only run every sprint, pushing 100%, but they will get the people around them to push just as hard. They will make the utmost effort to be punctual and not to leave practice early. They will show up each and every session, whether it be at a workout, practice, or tournament, ready to work their hardest no matter what. It is easy to recognize a player who does not have what we are trying to achieve. A player who has no reason, no purpose, will often think practice as a drag. They will complain throughout training, work-outs, and find excuses like it is their job. Let’s face it. A player without a purpose has no reason being there. Or, a player without a reason has no purpose being there. There is a difference between not liking something and not wanting something. A lot of mentally tough players with the biggest of reasons and a definite purpose do not like training. It all comes in how you address it, commit to it, and carry yourself while doing it. A big part of piecing together your personal pur-pose is motivation. What motivates you to work hard? Why are you hitting the indoor tracks during strange hours when college teams aren’t practicing running intervals or outside on the weekends running hills in January? What made you, however often or consistently, com-mit to training in the winter for that “spring season” that felt so far away? What gives you that mental edge to lace up your sneakers and face the pain and the punch every time you commit to a workout? Motivation can come in many different ways. Whether you are training to peak at tryouts, to get quicker and faster, or just to stay in shape, to prove

REASONand aPURPOSEBy Jason Chow

Contributor


yourself to someone or yourself, there is always a reason. These reasons are mostly reactionary. Something exists (you got cut from the team, you are slower than him, you are not quick she is) and you are responding. Even though you are responding to some event, the best and most effective motivation is self-driven and proactive. Setting goals for yourself is a great way for you as an athlete to self-motivate, as well as a vehicle for team bonding. You set the goals. You set the guidelines. You set the expectations. One of the most effective ways to help you mentally stay fo-cused and committed to your training is to have a competitor to visualize and to focus on…particularly when the going gets tough. This competitor or opponent is someone you choose to help you push yourself when you think you can no longer. Vi-sualizing your competitor helps channel your energy into the right place at the right time. Pick someone who can help motivate you. It is the most effective if it is someone you know personally, who you have competed against. They bring out the best in you, but are better. They challenge you to work hard, train, bust your butt, but still beat you. Imagine this person is there while you are training. She made the team you got cut from. He beat you deep for three goals last time you played. When you are running the last sprint and every muscle in your body is telling you to let up a little, think of your competitor; they wouldn’t let up. When you are on a run out in the freezing cold all by yourself and it would be so easy to slow down the tempo and just jog it in, think about your competitor; they would pick up the pace. It sounds like a hit-or-miss kind of deal. It sounds pretty intangible, but give it a shot. If your head is in the right place and you are fully committed to attaining your goals, it really works. Commit yourself to visualizing a competitor when you train. It can be someone you know, a teammate or an opponent; someone who pushes you and makes you want to be bet-ter. Visualize that kind of hard work and tenacity during your workouts and your mentality toward training will light up and the results will come. Many players and coaches put a lot of emphasis on skills and athleticism. You need those to win games. You also need to be driven, and part of being driven is hav-ing a reason and a purpose when you train and as you prepare for those moments in competition. Develop a reason and a purpose to base your training on, and approach it with your goals in mind. Train your mind to visualize where you want to be, and push yourself. Changing how you look at training can change results—and it all starts with your reason and your purpose. . Photo by Ivan Chow


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