Ultimately, there's nothing like it: Amherst gears up for tourney
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AMHERST - It was the late 1960s, and then-Amherst College student Jared Kass was tossing a Frisbee with friends. He jumped high, caught the floating disc and, feeling one with the universe, exclaimed, "This is the ultimate game."
Thus a legend was born, although Kass only learned many years later that historians of the sport - which combines Frisbee with aspects of soccer or football - trace the birth of the name Ultimate to that moment.
Cut to the present: Amherst Regional High School is the host this weekend of what is probably the most prestigious Ultimate invitational tournament in the country. Thirty or so teams will compete, Saturday and Sunday, on fields at the middle and high schools and Hampshire College.
The ARHS boys Ultimate team is ranked number 1 among high schools in the nation, according to the Ultimate Players Association Web site; the girls team is ranked third.
Amherst is home to some distinguished Ultimate figures. Jim Pistrang, a middle school coach, founded the team at Tufts University; ARHS boys Ultimate coach Tiina Booth co-authored a book on the sport. There are even plans to create a local Ultimate Hall of Fame.
And what better place for it? Amherst is at the center of the Ultimate universe, even if it is not where the first Ultimate game is said to have been played.
That would be Maplewood, N.J., where it was introduced by Joel Silver. He learned the finer points from Kass at Northfield Mount Hermon School, where Kass worked in the summer of 1968.
Booth, who teaches African-American literature at the high school, recently brought the boys team to the parking lot in Maplewood, N.J., where a plaque identifies the site of the first Ultimate game.
"I figure they've been to Amherst College and Northfield Mount Hermon, and now they've seen Maplewood. They understand the history," she said, while overseeing practice on Tuesday.
Although the Frisbee is sometimes associated in popular culture with slacking at the park or beach, Ultimate is a high-intensity sport requiring good passing skills. It also helps to be able to run fast and leap high.
Put another way, while it may appear a typical Amherst sport on first glance because of its "alternative persona," Booth said, "there's nothing alternative about the team. They're one of the hardest-working teams in the school."
When it comes to combining a challenging sport and team camaraderie, "there's nothing else like it," said senior Michael Lawlor.
The teams of seven players each referee themselves.
Amos Adams was sick on Tuesday, but he still showed up for practice. "I can't not play," he said.
Ultimate is played in more than 42 countries, and more than 300 colleges and universities have a program. Massachusetts has more teams than any other state with close to 70 teams.
"The sport really has exploded all over the country," Booth said.
She, Pistrang and Sue Morrello, who coaches the girls high school team, say the sport is so popular in Amherst because there are countless opportunities to play. Children start playing at Leisure Service and Supplemental Education camp in second grade.
Morrello, who has been coaching for 11 years, said people are often surprised that the girls high school team has actually had a more impressive record in recent years than the boys team. The girls were national champions in 1999 through 2003 and were eastern division champions after the nationals were eliminated from 2005 to 2007.
The public is invited to this weekend's tournament. The schedule can be found at amherstultimate.org. Teams from Northfield Mount Hermon, Longmeadow, Northampton and Four Rivers will compete, among others.
Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.
