Scobel Wiggins Photography

Miranda ROTH
Player: Carleton (4 years), Washington (1 year)
Coach: Washington (3 years)

What are the best ways to get new players involved on a college team?

Sign them up at a college fair or high school tournament during their junior/senior year of high school. Think about selling or giving away gear, or invite them out to an early season practice if they are good. Since there are no NCAA rules here, they can even play at the practice.

Once they are in college, get them at an activity fair. Get folks out to practices and make practices fun! Next, be nice; invite them to social events, sit with them at the dining hall, and just generally be the kind of people they want to hang out with (this is especially important for new college freshmen as they don't enter with a group of friends!).

What sorts of drills/practice formats have been successful in introducing the sport, as well making it fun?

Use throwing demos and distinct practice with individual help, defensive positioning including the mark to give an initial field sense, catching practices. Then to make it fun always do something that real athletes will be good at to keep them hooked (huck drill where they are just running, jumping, and catching), conditioning and sprints, or Monarch (basic frisbee tag). Also, lots of praise and taking them aside individually and telling them that you're glad they're at practice is huge.

What off-field things can you do to make being on the team a priority for a new recruit on the fence about committing?

For high school players, go watch them play, invite them for an overnight "recruiting visit" where they stay/go to class/practice with current players, send mailings home with them and to their parents. For current college students, eat with them, ask them how their classes are going/if they need help, throw parties.

Also, what qualities do you look for in a brand new ultimate player? What skills should they have, and what skills can be developed?

Athleticism first. Generally speed, aggressiveness and agility are the biggest ones for me. If they are strong and can jump, that's sweet too. If you make skills sound easy they will be easier for them to learn. Short throws are easy to teach, especially dump-type throughs focusing on keeping their body between the defender and the disc.

Also, focusing on defense is great; there are no "skills" to defense if you teach it properly (like that running hard and being aggressive can get you blocks even if you aren't in the right place). New players will develop the rest of what it takes to be a great defender from practice and watching others.