By Matthew Quattrocchi ‘21

Finally, in a break of cold weather and in the relief of warm weather, the Ultimate Frisbee team made it’s second semester debut for their first practices of 2021.

The club first started as a Kairos gimmick in September, but over the course of the school year has grown to be one of the most popular student activities at Rice, and the team couldn’t be more excited to be back in action.

Mr. Zielinski, one of the club moderators and coaches, said, “The return of warm weather this spring only meant one thing…the return of Ultimate Frisbee, and Ms. Sullivan and I couldn’t be more excited. We have had an absolute blast teaching and playing alongside the team this year.”

After a long winter, disks were being dropped, passes were flying out of bounds, and rules were forgotten, but it’s only taken two weeks for the team to regain their skills from the fall.

In the start of the second semester, due to COVID and the beginning of spring sports, the team was worried they wouldn’t be able to play at all. COVID regulations, a lack of field space, and missing participants due to other active sports makes it hard to have consistent practices.

Ms. Sullivan, another club moderator and coach, said, “A majority of our players are upperclassmen, and we are looking to recruit more underclassmen at the moment. Recently, we have had a few soccer players stop by after their practices to join our games as well.”

Ms. Sullivan also said, “In the past weeks, Mr. Z and I have been in contact with other schools and neighboring programs, and we hope to compete against other schools in the near future.”

Since September, the Ultimate Frisbee Club has been a staple for many students to be involved within the Brother Rice community; and serves as an excellent way for students to try something new, especially with a lack of activities due to COVID.

The team still has to wear masks, social distance on the sidelines, and can only have a certain amount of people per game, but despite these difficulties, the Crusaders continue to play.

Senior Joe McIntyre, said, “The return of Ultimate Frisbee has been great. It felt good to get back on the field after what felt like forever. I wasn’t expecting to be as out of shape as I was but the team played great and has improved week after week.”

Not only does the Ultimate Frisbee Club serve as an excellent way to involve yourself at Rice, but it is also great exercise for those who can’t play sports anymore due to COVID.

Senior Adam Homel, said, “It was great to get back on the field and play with the team again after a long winter. I felt energized and ready to play but realized what a good workout I was getting when I got home exhausted. I haven’t been able to participate in sports this year because of COVID, but Ultimate Frisbee is definitely keeping me in shape.”

With only a handful of weeks remaining in the school year, the team hopes to make the most of the time they have left, especially the seniors, hoping to continue to improve and learn the game.

Mr. Zielinski and Ms. Sullivan have been successful club moderators this past year and hope to build on their foundation to have a successful Rice activity for years to come.

The team has played great this past year and hopes to grow into the 2022 school year, one game at a time; but for now, and in the words of senior Jake Gliva, “It’s a bad day to be a frisbee.”