ULTIMATE
YEAR BY
PINE-RICHLAND BOYS ULTIMATE FRISBEE TEAM CAPTURES 2017 CITY TITLE.
JENNIFER BROZAK
Last year, Pine-Richland’ s Boys Ultimate Frisbee team earned an ultimate recognition: they were named 2017 City Champions in the Pittsburgh High School Ultimate League. During the 2016-2017 season, they also were named both the Pittsburgh / Western PA Winter League champs and the Pittsburgh / Western PA Spring League Champs.
Now, as they look forward to the 2018 season, the team hopes to build upon their success of the past few years and capture a second consecutive PHUL win and perhaps even the state title, after coming in second at the state championship in 2017.
The Pine RIchland Boys Ultimate Frisbee team after they took 2nd at the PA State Championships last May.
The team was founded as a club sport with just 10 to 15 players during the 2005-2006 school year at Pine-Richland, and has competed in the PHUL since its inception, says head coach Marcus Ranii-Dropcho, 25. Today, the team has a roster of approximately 25 players, and hopes to grow.
“ The team has continued to grow and improve since I began coaching them in the fall of 2014,” says Ranii-Dropcho.“ In PHUL, we have improved our city finish each year: tied for third in 2015, runner up in 2016 and city champion in 2017.”
The team also attends the Neuqua Knockout tournament in Illinois during the spring season, where they compete against teams from different states. Last year, they finished 9th out of 42 teams at the tournament.
For those not familiar with Ultimate Frisbee, the game its often characterized as a“ non-serious” casual sport. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth, says Ranii-Dropcho.
“ The stigma about ultimate is slowly changing from its counter-culture roots to a game of peak fitness, grueling endurance and spectacular spectator-worthy plays,” he explains.“ Players must have the long-distance speed of wide receivers or cornerbacks, and they must have the small-space agility possessed by point guards in basketball or strikers in soccer. They must possess the stamina and endurance of midfielders to have the ability to expend energy on defense and offense in a single point, and they must be able to leap high and dive to save possession from errant throws.”
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