“Fun. Fast. Intense.”
That is how junior Diego Donna, the men’s ultimate frisbee club president at UM, describes his sport. This Miami local fell in love with the fast-paced game in high school when he started to play with some friends. Now he is the president of a promising and highly-motivated club team.
The seven-year-old program at UM has ambitious goals for the upcoming season.
“We want to make it out of the sectionals and advance to the regionals,” said senior Ari Schiftan, the captain and vocal leader of the team.
It is not like the team hasn’t had success before; they won the Heat of the Huck (a deep pass in Frisbee jargon) tournament in Valdosta, Ga., three years ago and the FIT in Melbourne, Fla., last year. The consensus within the team is that this group has the tools to take the next step.
“We’re planning on mixing and matching to field an A and B team,” Donna said.
They can afford this team reorganization because the interest in ultimate frisbee has been steadily rising over the past years, causing player participation to increase.
Although official tryouts aren’t required, the team is not short on competitive spirit.
As soon as their practice begins, the intensity of the sport is evident. Offensive plays are called out, players jump to the sky to snag the flying disc and dive on the ground to make improbable catches.
Nevertheless, the whole group is still involved and animated. Even the players on the sideline bark out encouragement and instructions to their teammates. This team chemistry and steady influx of young talent has everybody excited about the upcoming season.