“Not just a picnic pastime Ultimate Frisbee is an aerobic powerhouse - Twin Falls Times-News” |
| Not just a picnic pastime Ultimate Frisbee is an aerobic powerhouse - Twin Falls Times-News Posted: 30 Aug 2010 12:07 AM PDT KETCHUM — Imagine a cross between soccer, basketball and football. Now add a flying disc, and you've got Ultimate Frisbee. "A lot of people have preconceived notions that it's not a true athlete's game," said Alex LaChance, coach of the Borah High School Ultimate club and occasional player in the Ketchum Ultimate group's biweekly games. "People think it's hippies throwing a Frisbee around, but it's highly competitive." Also highly aerobic, with players darting this way and that across the long regulation field as they try to spot the soaring disc — sometimes high, sometimes low and sometimes with crazy spin — speeding across the sky. LaChance said one of his players wore a pedometer during a day-long Ultimate tournament earlier this year, and by the end of the session, he had run more than 10 miles. "The biggest benefit is you get cardio. You don't have to run the whole time, you can do short sprints," said Scott Rogers, director of campus recreation at the College of Southern Idaho. The college offers intramural Ultimate to its students in the spring and fall, with students playing about an hour at a time, one night a week. Rogers said he is unaware of any other organized Ultimate in Twin Falls, although he often sees pick-up games near Eagle Hall on CSI's campus, and he welcomes anyone to come use the space for it. "It's great to get out and have fun running around, getting some fresh air," Rogers said. "It's a good way to minimize stress, which is a great way toward wellness that people don't often think about." The college does have a disc golf course, on which players throw Frisbees for distance and accuracy much like ordinary golf, but the two games are quite different despite their similar equipment. Casual Ultimate players tend to be a mix between those who are in good shape, because they enjoy the running, jumping and competition, and those who are looking to get into better shape, because the game's quick pace distracts them from all the exercise they're getting. "You have to have a strong core, a strong back, because you make such quick movements and need to be light on your feet," Rogers said, noting that Ultimate Frisbee builds the lungs and heart. "It's definitely a cardiovascular workout." Although the rules of Ultimate disallow contact between players, when several aggressive players vie for the disc, collisions do happen. LaChance said he has broken his arm diving for a Frisbee, and players often suffer injuries or pulls to the tendons and muscles in their legs similar to those sustained by runners. Scott Runkel, an organizer of the Ketchum group, has been playing Ultimate since he was 13, and said the spirit of the game is what has kept him running and throwing for more than three decades. "You can't complain about the refs, everyone calls their own fouls," he said. In fact, there are no Ultimate referees, although at the higher levels there are observers who help arbitrate disputes between players. "It's a great, fun, skill-based sport. It's the kind of sport you would want your children to start playing." On a recent night, the Ketchum group split into players younger than 35 versus older than 35, and it was difficult from a distance to tell which group was which. The younger and older athletes ran with equal speed and fervor, shouting at teammates and feinting with the disc as they tried to score it into the end zones. As they subbed out to allow others a chance to play, brows were wiped and water bottles tilted skyward. But after a quick rest, those players were back on their feet, cheering their teammates — some with nicknames like "Pain-o," "Taco," "Kidd" and "Shocka" — or tossing discs back and forth on the sidelines to practice different throws. Another Ultimate evening. Ariel Hansen may be reached at 788-3475 or ahansen@magicvalley.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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