of what is going on. We walk around with our cell phones out, responding to a text and only partially aware of the spring beauty around us. Irony is the current generation’s dominant form of humor— dressing or talking in a way that creates humor in the incongruence of the truth and the appearance. Even without these cultural trends, knowing oneself and knowing others is not an easy task. Most current ultimate coaches work with high school and college-aged students, and that 14–22 year old period is a challenging time when individuals are dealing with major issues including bullying, sexual awareness and orientation, and peer pressure. This is a period where character and personality are very much developing—individuals are determining who are they and how they interact with the world. At their worst, teams can make this period even more challenging for individuals. It can be easy as a coach to focus on one aspect of your players: how good are they at ultimate, and how can I make them better? In a way, that’s the obvious reason you are there as a coach. But a culture that only values players based on how much they can contribute to winning and losing not only fails to help make a safe and trusting environment, but is likely not giving the team their best opportunity to improve and win in the long run. Short of the worst, there are many damaging ways teams can interact if they don’t intentionally prioritize whole individuals. With 20+ players, it’s often easy to put people in boxes and look at them one-dimensionally (e.g. that player is fast, that player is funny, that person is a bad decision maker, that person is a great athlete). Creating caricatures can simplify complex interactions with teammates but
AUTHENTIC ULTIMATE SEEKS TO CREATE TEAMS WITH REAL, LASTING RELATIONSHIPS WHO ALSO FIND ON-FIELD SUCCESS. PHOTO: CBMT CREATIVE
often results in players feeling like they are not truly known and/or leads to players not trying new things that may be outside of their normal “box.” Another common occurrence is a team culture rife with put-downs, sarcasm and inside jokes. While joking and nuanced communication such as sarcasm can sometimes strengthen team bonds and understanding, unclear communication that has a negative or cliquey feeling can be a minefield for a team. Negativity breeds insecurity, and insecurity will create division, slow player development and limit player investment. Authentic Ultimate is a philosophy that helps me focus on creating a supportive, positive environment that allows people to be themselves. It is a reminder to look at my players as whole people and provide opportunities for players to share themselves. Through this approach, I hope to allow my teams to learn and grow more quickly as individual people and players. And through the experience of competitive ultimate, I hope to forge lasting relationships with my players and for them to form enduring friendships with each other.
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