Ultimate frisbee athletes strike a pose after their win last season. @MANHATTAN_UNIVERSITY_ULTIMATE / INSTAGRAM
Laili Shahrestani, Features Editor
With the start of the spring semester, spring sports begin to ramp up as well. Teams, like ultimate frisbee, are putting in the effort to ensure a successful season. The Manhattan University ultimate frisbee team has been gearing up for this semester by training for hours on end, eagerly anticipating the new opportunities and achievements this season will bring.
Members of the ultimate frisbee team are hoping to land a spot at regionals again this semester and gain victory after not being able to attend last season due to budgeting issues.
Nicolino Marcoccia, a senior and an athlete on the ultimate frisbee team spoke about how he thinks his team has trained vigorously enough to participate in the regional championship again this season, despite the hardships that they faced last year with being able to play.
“Our team worked diligently last semester to prepare for our season this semester,” Marcoccia said. “Our goal is to build off of our successes from last season when we made regionals but were unable to attend due to a lack of fundraising. We have to put in a lot of effort and are hopeful that we will not only qualify for regionals, but make an underdog run in the tournament.”
To perform successfully on the field, members of the team strive to build strong relationships with one another to maintain a positive environment. Athletes express that it is important to encourage one another and partake in outside activities such as team bonding events to strengthen the camaraderie of the team.
Bryan DaSilva, a senior and member of the ultimate frisbee team, emphasized how the athletes constantly support one another both on and off the field, which ultimately allows for more room to grow as a team.
“We want to keep the positive vibe up and keep doing what we’re doing,” DaSilva said. “We motivate each other by building friendships within the team on and off the field. We bond like one big family. Sometimes, we bond by throwing parties at the frisbee house, have open practices with new players and hold fundraisers such as bake sales to engage with the community.”
In addition to fostering friendships, members of the ultimate frisbee team have also expressed that simply feeding one another words of encouragement or positive reinforcement pushes them to perform better.
Christian Molina, a senior and ultimate frisbee team member, added onto the idea that motivating one another during practices develops an environment where individuals are pushed to train at their highest potential.
“We offer encouraging words and advice to one another,” Molina said. “This cultivates a comfortable team, where anybody at any skill level can advance at the sport.”
The MU ultimate frisbee team is hoping to participate in several games and scrimmages this season, in addition to their regional and sectional tournaments.
Molina spoke about what the potential future of the ultimate frisbee team will look like in regard to their event schedule for the upcoming season.
“We have our sectional tournament on April 12 and our regional tournament on April 26- 27,” Molina said. “We will also have games before these tournaments, but the schedule is still to be determined.”