Some athletes relish the opportunity to outperform their respective competition or even their own teammates, rather than focusing on how they can benefit their sports program as a whole.
In the fields of the Pioneer Valley stands a different group of athletes driven by teamwork that put forth their time and energy into building communities that are home to some of the biggest ultimate programs in the country.
Amherst Regional built one of the longest standing and most successful high school ultimate programs in the country. But over the course of the last two seasons, a worldwide pandemic left the sport in unfamiliar territory.
“Last year we did a full virtual season, and it was all about building connections and routine in a time when that was gone from other parts of life,” Hurricanes girls coach Hannah Baranes said. “This year we ended up framing this season as being focused on effort, energy, community building, and growth. All of those are internal to our own athletes and team. We turned the focus inward on our own community rather than focusing on external competition.”
Amherst, along with Northampton and Four Rivers, decided to opt out of tournaments – including the state championships – this season, and instead focused on the development of players skills and team chemistry through weekly scrimmages against one another.
“Our main goal of the season was to get out and play,” Blue Devils girls coach Mary Andrews said. “I think making that choice to not participate in states was meaningful and definitely the right decision for our program because we have a young squad that turned into a strong varsity team. Our goal was to bond and find our footing as a team, get as many reps as we can, as much playing time, and get ready for a competitive season next year.”
Scrimmages opened the door to not only on-field experience, but a chance for opponents and friends to spend time with one another, outside of the house and away from screens which had become so important to the daily life of students over the last 18 months.
“It was great that we only did scrimmages because we not only got to play teams multiple times to develop strategies, but we got to come together at the end of games and talk, have long conversations and do fun things together,” Northampton captain Madeline Hines said.
Hurricane’s captain Meiyi Weisbord had her sophomore season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was disappointed learning she’d be missing out on Valley Ultimate – an area club organization – sanctioned tournaments two seasons in a row. As this high school season comes to a close however, Weisbord feels tit sparked growth on her team both in regard to talent and camaraderie between herself and her teammates.
“I was worried this season of not having that in between year of growth, but it’s been amazing,” Weisbord said. “After the pandemic everyone has a new perspective of life and the importance of the little things. I feel that’s been an impact on our team and how we are grateful to be with each other and be outside on a field playing a sport that we love. This season in some ways has been better than a normal season would have been because people are just so happy to be here.”
Ultimate leads the way in sports for being a prime example of how you can enjoy playing a beloved sport in a community that is dependent on competing in an open atmosphere. Andrews sees her underclassmen identify that culture after leaving a different sport to join ultimate.
“There are a lot of players that come from soccer and they’re like ‘ah, I can finally feel at home here,’” Andrews said. “I think that has come partly from the Spirit of the Game, our code of conduct for self-officiating and having respect for other teams.”
“I think what makes playing a sport so fun is having that lightness to it that isn’t necessarily going easy or not playing your hardest but really feeling like you have a place on the team, a place in the sport, and that you’re welcomed. It makes me and the other players on the team play harder and I think ultimate is the leading force for that in sports and it’s really special.”