The team ended last season with just three players set to return. Consequently, doubt began to arise over the possibility of even having a team for the 2021 season. Then stepped in last season’s junior captain, Will Quigley, who has taken it upon himself to ensure that the Bullets will not only field a team this season, but also have a successful campaign.
Quigley has used a simple strategy to get his peers to join the team. He has “just walked up to people and said “you should play Ultimate Frisbee””. This word-of-mouth approach has proven to be effective as the Bullets now have enough players for the upcoming season.
Still, the team faced a major issue ‒ the Bullets did not have a coach. Accordingly, Quigley recruited Lucas Coniaris, former Bullet and IU Ultimate player, to coach the team. Coniaris has been holding weekly practices since mid-October with great player turnout.
Although the team is inexperienced, Quigley believes they can compete at a high level. He says that the team started holding practices “way earlier than [they] ever have” to make sure that there is adequate time to prepare.
Quigley himself went through a lot of growth to become the player he is today. He says he started ultimate frisbee being “not good at it at all.” Now, he is one of the best high-school ultimate players in the state, and hopes to play professionally in the future.
A newcomer who hopes to develop his skills like Quigley has is Sahil Desai. After wrapping up his senior season on South’s tennis team, Desai was compelled by Quigley to join the team. Comparing the two sports, Desai said that tennis requires a “tunnel vision” on his opponent and the ball, whereas ultimate requires him to be “mindful of teammates.” He believes the team aspect of ultimate has been a nice change of pace.
Desai believes that ultimate can “seem daunting at first” for newcomers. That being said, he thinks that the instruction of more experienced players and coach Coniaris makes the game easier. He believes other high-schoolers should join the team because it is “great fun” and offers a welcoming environment.
