Scobel Wiggins Photography

The Facts: What is the youth scene in your area composed of? Are there leagues/varsity-teams/programs? Who runs these? We are looking for general numbers and feel here, so don't feel like you have to find exact statistics...your best impressions will do.

New Jersey has a state league (the NJHSU) which has about 20-something Ultimate involved. This starts in the spring and ends with the state championships.

We also have a new fall league called DEVYL (Delaware Valley Youth League) any one from New Jersey Philly area can play in it, and most teams are made up of players from different teams.

The Development: How did Youth Ultimate in your area begin? What events or programs were the most influential in bringing Ultimate up? Were there any specific people....if so, what did they do that worked?

Youth Ultimate started in our state in 1968 with the invention of this wonderful sport. The very first game ever played between two youth teams was Millburn High School vs Columbia High School, at the parking lot where this sport was established. Columbia Won that game by a very large margin, but with that first game, a seed was planted and teams started sprouting up across New Jersey.

With the addition of the state championships, adult leadership, and dedication of players from schools we have been able to continue with a large list of teams. Most new jersey youth teams are kid run, with the occasional help from a local Ultimate player.

The Highlights: What have you seen in the Youth Ultimate in your area that you think exemplifies the sport, the players, or the programs?

What I have noticed most about youth Ultimate in my area is that it has exploded with great athletes and spirited yet competitive play. Just in the 14 years that I have been involved have I noticed such large leaps and bounds. It use to be that Columbia was the only team that could keep up with other area's teams, but now schools like Watchung Hills, Pennsbury, Princeton all have great programs with fantastic athletes.

The Future: What is next? How do we keep the growth going? The UPA, in particular, has made huge investments in growing Youth Ultimate...if you were in charge of the UPA, what would you do to allow the growth to continue? What would you do if you were in charge of the local scene? Can those two entities work together?

The future of New Jersey/Philly youth Ultimate looks great. If I were the UPA I would keep offering the coaches clinics in this area, as well as the state tournaments. I would also love to see DEVYL take off into a great fall club league for juniors players to meet other juniors players and develop life long friendships. With the way that this sport has taken off, I can only imagine that even better things are coming for this area.

I would also like to see more then just one summer league in New Jersey. Mercer County Disc league is a fantastic league, but far for North Jersey youth to travel. Hopefully in the future there will be other leagues involved.

Anything else that you think is important?

When I first started playing youth Ultimate in 1994 New Jersey and Philly area youth Ultimate was average at best. Now they are competing at the top youth tournaments and placing high. There is finally a mutual respect that has grown within this areas juniors players. No longer is it one or two good teams!

I would love to see more adult involvement and maybe even a real girls division and or a Coed division to develop. I would also love to see more local club teams jump in and get involved with youth development.

I know PADA and DEVYL are working hard but there is still a lot of work to be done.

Anthony Nunez is the head coach of the Columbia High School Boys Varsity Team.