Ultimate Frisbee

[blackize]

In my neighborhood there is a group of like 30-45 year olds who meet Tuesdays to play a pickup game. Senior year and for two summers after high school a bunch of my friends and I would show up at the field and we'd play a big pick up game.

The biggest problem with the game on a semi-skilled level is how ridiculously easy it is if you have a height or leap advantage. I was 6' at the time and could out jump everyone we played with. A friend of mine was 6'4 with decent leaping ability. Games basically degraded into lobbing the disc to us in the endzone

[cbloom]

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The biggest problem with the game on a semi-skilled level is how ridiculously easy it is if you have a height or leap advantage. I was 6' at the time and could out jump everyone we played with. A friend of mine was 6'4 with decent leaping ability. Games basically degraded into lobbing the disc to us in the endzone

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That's no different than if you play basketball with one tall guy who can dunk. Think of the game in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - have the big Indian stand by the hoop and lob him the ball. If you have a sport where someone with much greater physical ability doesn't have an advantage, that's one screwy sport.

Just put the two tall guys on different teams and it's still a game, they can defend each other. A skilled team of small guys will definitely beat unskilled big guys though.

[Brain]

I handled and played deep at Drew U. (NJ) and then Skylands summer league for 3 years after college until I popped something in my leg and couldn't sprint any more. I keep meaning to go to pickup with Your Mom, but I'm too lazy to go up to Montclair on Sundays. Gonna play with some friends tomorrow afternoon though, looking forward to throwing around and goofing off.

It was nice being 6'3 and outjumping everybody in the endzone, like blackize said. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Jay Riall]

Ultimate Frisbee is a sprt for people that are crap at sport. Several people form my school now play for England. I've never seen them play it, but I was in gym class with them and they were the most uncoordinated bunch of monkeys in there. If those guys can be on the national side of a country like England, well, its not going to be a sport I have any respect for in the slightest.

[StevieG]

Played for many years, but have not done played for a few years now.

I highly recommend the Paganello tournament in Rimini, Italy, as something every Ultimate player has to experience once.

Good parties, good food, and a well organized beach tournament. Worth the trip.

[Aces McGee]

I played for four years on the team at American University. Never even made regionals; we forced a turnover on universe point against Salisbury in the game that would have sent us through, but we couldn't score and they worked it downfield and scored on us.

Now, I play for an alumni team in various Washington Area Frisbee Club leagues (fall league is starting up). However, I have arthritic knees that are slowing me down so much that I've often considered quitting because of how frustrating it is to play at essentially half speed.

-McGee

[blackize]

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That's no different than if you play basketball with one tall guy who can dunk.

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Only somewhat true I think. In basketball the tall guy who can dunk still has trouble defending smaller faster guys. Greater speed, maneuverability, and coordination can go a long way toward overcoming a size advantage in basketball(especially 1 on 1).

In ultimate though, size is a HUGE advantage that speed doesn't even come close to making up for. It's basically impossible to cover someone much bigger than you while it is possible for the bigger slower guy to cover the smaller faster guy pretty well.

I think what I really want to say though is that the incentives to really play Ultimate are so limited that it doesn't attract great athletes. So the talent pool is of average athletic ability and thus things like height and leaping ability make a disproportionate impact.

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A skilled team of small guys will definitely beat unskilled big guys though.


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A team of big guys with zero experience yeah, but if they can throw even reasonably well the small guys are in trouble.

[emon87]

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ok the main problem i had with it was there are really no 1v1 confrontations.



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Ultimate is full of one on one situations, at least once you get past the point that every throw just flies way up into the air and allows everyone to camp underneath it.

[emon87]

Blackzie,

once you get a game with a bunch of skilled players, the throws won't be just floating around really high. Shorter people can just amke quick throws to space that don't float. Also shorter people are often quicker, which allows them to get open underneath.

[Dane S]

Height is a big advantage but disc reading, positioning, and speed can all make up for it pretty easily.