Ultimate Frisbee is on the fields and in the gym giving it their all. This year, however, things are a little different.

“Usually there have been both JV and varsity teams. That’s not the case this year,” said sophomore Henry Hilton—he’s been tossing around the disc for a while now.

This means all players, regardless of skill level, play on the same team and work together during practices. Although, inexperienced players are always welcome on the team.

“More experienced players work to teach or mentor younger players who haven’t played as much,” Hilton said.

The way the team is set up this year opens up more teaching opportunities for the veterans of the sport while the newest players get to work on improving their skills with their guidance.

“It’s really nice being in ninth grade, being one of the newest team members, and being able to learn from a lot of the oldest students,” said freshman Dominik Polley.

They practice at both Goodrich and Randolph campuses. On occasion, they must practice in the gym of the Goodrich campus due to bad weather.

“We warm-up and then do some drills and then usually like scrimmage at the end,” Hiton said.

Warming up seems to consist of tossing around the disc and running laps. Especially in this cold Minnesota spring, it can be good to raise one’s body temperature.

Afterward, they do drills. One drill they do consists of them forming lines and having a handler, who is someone that throws the disc. One line is of defenders and the other consists of cutters, the people that try to catch the disc. They run around and try to get the disc and then the next pair goes up and repeats the same process. Pair by pair, it is like a dance of hard cuts and swift movements to get the defender off of them. Incredible dives, jumps, and reaches are nothing out of the ordinary during drills like these.

“Well, it’s definitely physically demanding,” Polley said.

Soon, they end off their practices with scrimmages which are like actual games, but in this case, just between the people on the same team. “Of course, (I) like scrimmaging,” Hilton said.

In between drills, the team takes water breaks together. During this time the team socializes and chats amongst themselves. Laughter and the sounds of hurried drinking fill the air as they are nothing but smiles. Having all the players on one team seems to make a tighter community of Ultimate players.

“There’s definitely a sense of community throughout the team,” Hilton said.