Rip's Rookie Survival Guide, Autumn Edition

Being a freshman is tough. Add to that the pressure of being a rookie on one of the premiere ultimate teams in the country, and your first month here can easily be overwhelming. Hence, I give to you, “Rip’s Autumn Installment of Rip’s Rookie Survival Guide”. I should charge money for this, but I don’t.

Who We Are

We tend to come across as young adults who don’t wanna grow up and are obsessed with a silly game. This stems from our competitive nature and fun loving spirit. To us, Ultimate is fun, and we make it more fun by being good at it. We also want others to have fun and be good at it too. This is where you come in.

Who You Are

As a rookie, you’re in one of three categories: high school athlete, frolfer, or an upperclassman looking to join an organization. If you think you fit into a different category, you don’t and I don’t care. No matter what category you’re in, you can become a really good ultimate player.

High school athletes have the easiest transition. You probably either played soccer or you ran cross country and track. If you were lucky, you played on a UPA youth team, but if you did, then this guide isn’t for you. Yours truly played football in high school. Your athleticism and history of team sports gives you an advantage over the other two categories, but your lack of skills can make you look foolish on the field. You’re good, but not that good. You have one job in these first few weeks: develop a forehand.

Frolfing is not ultimate. I’ve had to explain that to a lot of people, and half of them still think I play disc golf. I will play disc golf when I retire from ultimate, and I won’t before then. Frolfers, ultimate might seem like a lot of work to you. The running will be your biggest obstacle. Do not let this dishearten you. You have superior throwing skills that we need and will use in important games. That’s the beauty of ultimate, you don’t have to be overly athletic in order to be good.

Upperclassman, you guys usually come in one of two categories: dedicated or not. We have no hope for the nots. They usually quit after a month, and we are better off without them. The dedicated know what it means to be part of an organization in college. They manage their time well. They work hard. They really don’t need my guide, but they’ll read it anyway. Their biggest obstacle is dealing with the people who are younger then them giving them advice. Getting past the seniority complex will definitely make your life and ours easier.

Gear You Should Get

Cleats. Cleats. Cleats. If you are going to make one purchase all semester, then buy cleats. Everyone’s foot is different, but soccer and football cleats tend to work the best. Look for ones that are lightweight. I own a pair of adidas soccer cleats. Next, buy a disc. We sell ‘em for 10 bucks. If don’t want to buy them from us cause you think it’s a rip off, then buy from somewhere else. You should find that our price is good. We also offer deals for multiple disc purchases (if you buy more than one at a time, we give you a deal on every disc after the first one). Discs will break and get lost. I’d buy three, but maybe you’re better at not destroying things. If you buy a disc from somewhere else, make sure it’s a disc craft brand (Wham-O sells Frisbees, not discs. Don’t buy Frisbees.).

Then there’s the stuff that may or may not help but looks cool (sometimes). Trucker hats seem to be all the rage in the ultimate community. They’re light and block out the sun. Sweatbands also give you a look and can be useful. Football receiving gloves have been known to help some players, especially in chilly weather, but wearing them on warm days just looks stupid. Sunglasses are pretty much a no unless you complete 100% of your throws 100% of the time.

We do have some team gear: sweat pants, hoodies, track jackets, and polos. These do cost money, but as young freshmen, most of you can still get money from your parents for “books”.

Practice

Some college ultimate teams cut people who don’t demonstrate superb skill in the first few weeks. Illinois is not one of those schools. We prefer to teach and cultivate talent. We can make you a baller if you’re willing to learn.

Do not be upset if you can’t learn throw a forehand in one day, or even one month. If you’re new to the game, your forehand will be embarrassing. Trust me. I lived in “noforehandville” for a semester. I have a museum named after me. You should check it out while your there. Other sites of interest include Mickey’s Hall of Shame, Mickey’s Library of Bad Jokes, Mickey’s House of Talking too Much. Don’t forget to check out the statue of Chuck and Troy in the town center. They were the only two residents of noforehandville to play on the A-team while still living in noforehandville. I digress. My point is: your forehand will suck. It will only not suck if you keep practicing it. Don’t let the embarrassment stop you from throwing it. Us vets see the effort you’re making. We like to see effort. Don’t be afraid to ask veterans for help. It makes us feel important when we help out rookies.

Besides learning how to throw effectively, you’ll be taught our offense and rudimentary fundamentals of the game. We will throw a lot of information at you. Don’t be concerned with memorizing everything on the first try. We go over things a lot. Some of the vets still don’t know our plays. (Hey lefty, alpha six means you don’t throw deep, but thanks for the broken leg anyway. Really, I appreciate it.) Just do your best to learn the overall principals of good cutting, positioning, and defense. The rest of the game will flow from that.

For our practices, you’ll want to bring a water bottle (medium to big, I like gallon size: 69¢ at Wal-Mart), a white t-shirt, and a dark t-shirt. Grey is neither white nor dark. Do not wear grey. Camouflage isn’t a good idea either since we won’t be able to see you (that’s a joke, but seriously, don’t wear camo).

It’s a good idea to get to practice about half and hour early. Now, we understand if you have conflicts, especially if those conflicts are classes. Just make it to as much of practice as you can. The more time you spend with us, the better you’ll get.

Extra Stuff You Can Do

We like to work on stuff outside of practice as well. This usually means tossing a disc out on the quad on nice (or not so nice days). One of us will often send a email out to the listserv (need to sign up for the listserv? pripsky@gmail.com) stating a time and place. Show up, make a new friend, and learn how to throw a disc. Also, don’t be shy. Email the list yourself. Coming out to these throwing sessions is good for two reasons: better throws, girls tanning (yeah, I said it.)

Other Activities

Ultimate is not the only thing we do. Occasionally we’ll party, and by occasionally, I mean at least 3 times a week. Not everyone goes to everything, but someone is usually doing something that involves drinking and other teammates. We also tend to make this competitive as well. Hang with us and you will get good at drinking games. You won’t beat us, but you’ll amaze (or dominate) your non-ultimate friends.

When you come to these events, bring a garbage bag with you. This is what’s known as the Chuck Rule. Chuck, as a young, arrogant youth, drank more than he could handle and ended up ruining the entire wall of a teammate’s apartment.

Tournaments

You’ve already signed up for classes, but if you can still change your schedule, I recommend having no classes or early classes on Friday. The sooner you can leave on Friday, the more sleep you’ll get the night before a tournament. Also, having late classes on Monday is highly recommended. Always check the weather for the weekend. It really sucks when it’s raining and you have nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. Sunscreen and lip balm are also essential.