Ultimate Frisbee is one of the most overlooked sports here at Pitt. From attending Nationals every year without fail and previously winning back to back national championships, to throwing crazy fun mixers, Pitt Men’s Ultimate can really do it all. After two great tournaments this fall (one of which they won every game), I decided to interview a few members of the team.
Jonah Wisch
Age: 22
Hometown: Glenside, PA
Single or Taken? Single
Order at Taco Bell: “I don’t eat fast food”
Matt Hanna
Age: 20
Hometown: Hampton, PA
Single or Taken? Taken (by yours truly)
Spirit Animal: An otter
Dylan Best
Age: 21
Hometown: Sharon, Massachusetts – Suburb south of Boston
Single or Taken? Single
Favorite place to eat on Pitt’s campus: Qdoba
First of all, for those who aren’t super familiar with the sport, Ultimate is played 7 on 7 on a field roughly the size of a football field. One team pulls (kicks off) to the other team, and the offensive team must complete passes to each other to catch a pass in the other team’s end zone. When you have the disc in your hands you can’t run with it. The game promotes sportsmanship more so than other sports because it is self-officiated, meaning players call their own fouls. Integrity is essential to gameplay.
Her Campus: How did you originally get involved in Ultimate Frisbee?
Jonah Wisch: I tried it out in high school and quit the baseball team to play because it combined my throwing skills and my love for (but lack of ability to play) basketball. The integrity of the sport aligned with my personality and I soon realized I joined a great community.
Hatt Manna: I used to play with guys on the high school team was I was in middle school. And then when I went to high school I get involved within the first 2 weeks and have been playing year round since then. I’m now starting my 7th year.
Dylan Best: I originally started playing my freshman year of high school.
HC: What makes “the program” here at Pitt so unique?
JW: Our coach has continued to add elements to our program that consistently enhance our ability to win a national championship every year. Those elements vary from advanced film analysis, statistics, strength and conditioning, recruiting techniques, and social media branding. We are constantly finding ways to innovate and pioneer the way a club ultimate program prepares for nationals.
MH: I think part of what makes us so special is the ability to become better and better. During my sophomore and junior years of high school Pitt won 2 college nationals championships, so I knew I could go there and play on a really good team. Once I got to Pitt I went through a long tryout process and was beyond excited to play with all the big name players I watched when I was in high school. I remember feeling so small and nowhere near they’re level when I first started. And I still felt that way until the beginning on this year. But I knew these guys were making me better, and I knew I would reach that level. Pitt is known for making stars, and this year shows it more than ever. We graduated a lot of superstars and the country thought our team was done, but they didn’t know how many guys we had ready to step up into starring roles. I feel like I could be one of those guys. I was just waiting for my chance to step up and this year I got it. We just build great players in general.
DB: The program is unique because we are all best friends and most of us live together. It’s been like this for the Alumni and will hopefully continue to be like that for future players.
HC: How have you seen yourself progress as a player through the team at Pitt?
JW: My throwing skills have improved from consistent deep practice. My defensive skills have improved because I’ve spent most of my playing time on D-line (the players you put on when your team starts the point on defense). Most of all my understanding of advanced strategy has drastically improved and my understanding of how the application of extremely minute details add up to create a dynamic player.
DB: An obvious one is getting better as a player and playing more in important games. It also means having more of an effect on the teams overall goals and vibes because my opinion has more weight now that I’m a senior.
HC: What are some ways you bond as a team?
JW: Training together bonds the team, especially during extremely difficult workouts. Because we practice and train together all of the time we end up eating together…all of the time. We have a few team houses that have 4-5 people on the team, so those groups of teammates grow super close. Also, 90% of the parties I’ve gone to in the last four years have been with the team which means I’ve seen my teammates when they are normal and when they are…not normal.
MH: It’s simple, but we bond through just talking. Trust is something we are pushing so hard this year, I think trusting your teammates can be one of the most important influence on winning a nations championship. There are lots of ways to build trust but one of the ways is through just talking. I live with 4 other guys on the team and we talk frisbee and feelings a lot. We talk about what we want out of the team, about fears and aspirations, how we played, what we are happy with and what we aren’t happy with. We talk a lot. We also have 2 track workouts a week and 1 team lift a week. We also lift on our own or with other guys on the team. It’s really great to work hard and get better physically together every day. Some nights you have near death experiences on the track, but your brothers are there to push you hard and lift you up. We all share one common goal, and we all know we need every single one of us to get there.
HC: How do you (and the team) keep up morale in some of the games/tournaments that might be tougher on you?
JW: Each year the team develops a new set of cue words/phrases and weird actions that either calm us or get us into the zone. When we are down we center ourselves and stay in the present which is pretty easy because we are a pretty goofy set of guys.
MH: We keep up morale by having each other’s backs. We pick each other up when we are down.
DB: We keep up morale by being loud, energetic, and goofy throughout games. Max Thompson is best at that.
HC: [Question specifically directed at Jonah] How did you get through being injured last year?
JW: For some context, I had two labral tears in my right shoulder from a dislocation that required surgery with a 6-9 month full recovery. Honestly, last season was the most difficult few months of my life and the way you phrased the question, “getting through,” would be an accurate way of describing it. Being part of a community where you constantly feel like you are under-contributing sucks. Even though I would much rather have been able to play last season I believe everything happens for a reason and I’ve learned more about overcoming adversity from that compared to anything I’ve faced in my life thus far. I learned to open up to my teammates for emotional support and found alternative forms of physical activity that didn’t hurt my shoulder.
HC: Favorite Pitt Ultimate memory?
JW: My favorite Pitt Ultimate memory on the field has to be a catch I had in a really close game against UNC-Wilmington in the finals of Easterns, a spring tournament in Myrtle Beach. I don’t have a favorite off the field memory, but I really enjoy the heart to heart conversations I have after a few of us have consumed multiple weekend beverages.
DB: Favorite memory is when we had an enormous snowball fight against a crew of random dudes in South Oakland at 4 am on a Friday night.
If you are interested in following the brotherhood’s progress throughout the year and performance at tournaments, you can find their twitter here. Keep in mind, fall is only pre-season for these guys and in the spring is when things really get going. So you have plenty of time to check them out going forward! Pitt’s women’s team, which was previously ranked 6th in the nation for Women’s Ultimate, has a twitter account as well. As for us here at Her Campus, we wish the guys luck with their practices and tournaments in the future.
Photo Credit: 3, 6, 7, the rest of the pictures provided by the players