Giving frisbee a try

by Eben Gourlay

(Photo: Ryan Hulse)

The wind whipped the leaves across Cheshire field with the dark sky overshadowing. For the first time, I was going to try playing ultimate frisbee. I met up with Cas Szulc, a member of the frisbee team at Franklin Pierce, to help me in my first practice. With little experience even throwing a frisbee, I wasn’t sure what to expect. 

We started by just catching and throwing. I noticed right away that it takes soft hands to catch. Early on, there were a few times where the frisbee bounced off my palm. It wasn’t until Cas told me to loosen up my hands that I began to consistently catch it.

I often times see people throw the frisbee sidearm. When I asked how to do it correctly, Cas replied, “Honestly I don’t really know how to throw, I just run deep and catch it.” Although it wasn’t the advice I was looking for, my sidearm throws began to look less foolish. Cas did mention using my wrist when throwing. He said “using the wrist gives you a better chance of hitting your target.” This improved my accuracy, although the wind served as an obstacle to make a good throw. 

After playing catch, Cas had me do a drill to practice being the cutter. The cutter is the person who tries to get open and catch the frisbee, or as Cas put it, “like the wide receiver of frisbee.” In the drill, I would run straight before cutting left or right to catch the frisbee, alternating sides each time.

What sounded like a simple drill ended up being a rigorous workout. Cas gradually speed up the drill until I was in an all out sprint. He told me while I was practicing catching the frisbee, I was also working on speed and agility, all of which Cas said are “crucial skills for a good cutter.”

When the drill was finished, the sweat that seeped through the back of my shirt was refreshed by gusty wind. I was dehydrated and ready for a nap, but I made it through a day of ultimate frisbee.