In search of a GURU

It seemed like a simple assignment. I would go out, find a sport that I've never played before, and attempt to survive through an organized game.

After deciding that I didn't want to take a beating from lacrosse or experience the early morning hours of rowing, I finally settled on Ultimate Frisbee. What little experience I had with the sport came from my days in middle-school P.E., but the game seemed simple enough that I figured I could fake my way though it. What could possibly go wrong?

Gonzaga Ultimate (or simply GURU) team captain Ryan Van Hook was more than willing to let me participate in one of their practices, and so despite freezing temperatures I went out to Mulligan Field one night to join the team.

At first, all I got were encouraging signs. Even after I told Van Hook that I had barely played before, he told me that most of the players on the team had never played competitively before college.

Well that makes me feel better, I thought. Maybe I won't do so bad after all.

And then I got hold of a disc.

Keep in mind, I go months at a time without touching one, let alone perfecting my tosses. My first few attempts at a pass during warm-ups ended up being wobbly tosses that barely skidded above the ground. Van Hook tried to show me the technique of a forehand toss, but that ended up being even worse, as my throws went out of my hand at awkward angles and never came close to reaching my partner. I soon went back to my fifth-grade, wobbly form.

I tried to play it off and finally fired off some decent looking tosses, just in time for warm-ups to end. I caught up with my friend and third-year team member Spencer Magnussen, attempting to get a realistic gauge on my skills.

"Honestly, I don't think you'll do that well," he said. "You don't know any of the plays, and I really don't know how in shape you are."

In shape? How intense is this going to be?

Before I knew it, I was in the middle of a box drill, running and cutting from corner to corner while attempting to catch passes. Players and discs were flying at me from all sides, and I went from trying to do well to trying to stay alive. After several missed cuts and near-collisions, I was out of breath.

"That was rough," I said to Magnussen.

"Well that was the easy drill," he replied.

Normally, I would have been completely embarrassed by my performance at that point, had it not been for the welcoming group of guys on this team. Every time I seemed to screw up, someone offered to explain the drills to me, and I was met with shouts of encouragement whenever it was my turn. Most of the team thought I was a new guy looking to join, and it seemed like they all wanted me to do well.

After about an hour, I finally decided to not let them waste their entire practice teaching me the basics, and opted to sit out for the first few plays of the scrimmage. Not only did it allow my dizziness to subside, but I was able to see just how intricately and intensely this team played. They were a machine: Cutting, passing and catching as if to a rhythm. They had the game down to a science, and nothing was overlooked.

Whereas my original perception of Ultimate was just a lot of running around and throwing a disc, the team showed how strategic and calculated the game can be.

Still, I thought that I could hold my own for a few plays, and finally went into the game. I thought that I would just guard a few people, maybe catch a pass or two. It would be fine.

Moments later, I was back on the sideline, as a tornado of a game left me disoriented and my ego a bit bruised. Not only did I not comprehend the offense - I often found my teammates telling me to get back in formation - but physically I couldn't keep up with the pace of the game. With no discernible Ultimate skills and no traction thanks to my basketball shoes, I couldn't get open, I couldn't stay with opponents in a breakaway, and I couldn't defend against cuts that would make a running back jealous.

I had finally had enough, and decided to officially retire from my brief Ultimate career. To play at this level was not for the inexperienced.

Surprisingly, I was invited back, which was a miracle in and of itself, but that just shows the character of a team that simply wants to have fun playing their game at a high level.

It was painfully obvious - I was wrong about Ultimate, and I would never have known about just how overwhelming the game really is, had a GURU not shown me the way.