Scobel Wiggins Photography

Michelle NG
Player: UC-Berkeley (2 years), Texas (2 years)

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

There are two parts to this process: recruitment and retention.

While most teams go about the recruitment process somewhat similarly, the Berkeley women do an especially impressive job of rookie retention. The Pie Queens are very good at making sincere connections with rookies, which often means staying after practices to help them with their throws, hanging out with them one-on-one, and generally going out of their way to make the rookies feel included. Off the field, the fall season culminates with Rookie Appreciation, where the returners cook dinner and make personalized gifts for all of the rookies.

On the field, it is important to play up each rookie's strengths. Everyone enjoys being good at something, so figure out what each rookie is good at and let them loose. Last year, one of our best rookies was on the fence about playing. Throughout the fall, we had a number of "I think I'm going to quit / I don't know if I can commit" conversations. My co-captain and I started creating opportunities to play up her strengths. We sent her deep every chance we got and gave her tough defensive assignments that we knew would appeal to her competitive side. She had a breakout tournament at Texas Throwdown and by Regionals, she was one of our top goal-scorers. Now she jokes that we somehow tricked her into staying.

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

I really like the Berkeley pod system because it kept rookies from falling through the cracks and provided a great forum for giving them lots of feedback. Appointed pod leaders were responsible for following up with the rookies in their pods by sending them encouraging emails and organizing fun activities for their pods on off-days. We drilled and scrimmaged in these pods at practices, switching them up a couple of times throughout the fall in order to give everyone a chance to get to know each other.

Both of my college teams played lots of 3 v. 3 to in the fall and Texas placed heavy emphasis on 1-on-1 drills to up the level of competition and aggressiveness. Here are a couple of my favorites:

1. Hot drill: 1-on-1 cutting drill where the cutter/defender pair lines up in the middle of the field, about 15 yards from the thrower who is on the sideline. Cutter is trying to beat the defender on an in-cut to the open side. Add a mark and deep cutting option for more variation.

2. Shoulder-to-shoulder drill: A defender, cutter, and thrower set up in a line about 15 yards apart. The cutter runs toward the defender, pivots, and cuts back toward the thrower. The defender starts when the cutter turns her hips back toward the thrower. The thrower throws the disc to the cutter/defender pair, letting them battle for the disc. The defender then becomes the next cutter—the drill should be continuous. This is a great drill to work on layout Ds and catching under pressure.

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

Both the Berkeley and Texas programs were very good at including rookies in fun off-field activities. When I captained the Berkeley team, a number of us lived in a house called "The Ultimate Loveshack." It was a couple of blocks away from almost all of the freshman dorms and we hosted potlucks, parties, and encouraged all of the rookies to hang out and study at our house. We spent a lot of time watching ultimate footage, throwing in the dorm courtyards, and just generally having a lot of fun, and by including the rookies in our day-to-day activities, we drew a lot of them in socially and got them to commit to ultimate.

The Texas team was also very inclusive and welcoming. My first year on the team, my teammates went well out of their way to make me feel at home in Texas and even took me on a tour of the state to show me Texas culture and introduce me to good bbq. People often got together to bike, play disc golf, and swim at Barton Springs and this year, a group of current players and alums meet weekly for Bible study. Someone on the team is usually doing something fun at any given time and including the rookies in these activities draws many of them into the fabric of the team.

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

I look specifically for a desire to win and athleticism. Desire to win is about attitude—I want someone who, every time they step on the field, is doing everything they can to help our team win. I want to see this desire in drills, in sprints at the end of practice, and of course, in scrimmages and at tournaments, both on the field and on the sidelines. I think that desire to win also implies commitment. If you want to win, you're probably out at the extra throwing sessions, staying late after practices, and doing everything you can to improve your game.

Athleticism is also important and I personally place the most emphasis on being able to run, catch, and jump, probably in that order. Players can always improve these skills, but I think it's much harder to teach someone how to run, catch, and jump than it is to teach someone how to throw, time her cuts, or position herself properly on defense. Understanding of the game is nice, but raw athleticism can be molded and the new players who contribute in Year 1 are almost always the ones who can run, catch, and jump on Day 1.