I was just starting middle school the first time I heard about this strange sport called ultimate frisbee. My frisbee-throwing skills were mediocre at best, and I never played on a sports team before. It sounded fun, though, so I gave it a try. I played on the A team through 8th grade but stopped after that because my high school didn’t have an ultimate team. Going into college, my plan was to try out for the club volleyball team and see if there was an IM frisbee team of some sort. Well, within just a few weeks, my plan was thrown right out the window.
I didn’t expect it, but the frisbee program had a significant role in shaping and setting the tone for my freshman year. Besides the fact that I enjoyed playing ultimate frisbee, the community was a big reason why I kept going to the practices. I knew from middle school what the ultimate frisbee community as a whole was like, but it wasn’t until I came to Georgetown that I realized how much I missed it. With the Foyas, I found my people, and with ultimate, I found each element of PERMA.
Perhaps it’s unsurprising that the team is close, considering we normally practice together for seven hours a week. My closest friends I met through frisbee, and I found invaluable mentors and friends in the upperclassmen on our team. Despite the fact that we spend so much time together (especially on weekends when we have tournaments), tension within the team is rare in a way that was never the case among a big group of high school friends. I know that no matter what kind of problem I have, I can turn to my teammates for help and support.
Ultimate frisbee is a really fun way to stay active and motivates me to work out outside of practice. It also gives me an outlet to focus on something other than The Future. The Foyas and ultimate frisbee make me happy, keep me engaged, create strong relationships, gives my life meaning, and allows me to feel accomplished in something outside of academics. Reflecting back on my first year at Georgetown, I know that my life would have been quite different had I not joined the frisbee team. It is also clear to me that I would not have it any other way.
