Louis Douville Beaudoin’s red, white and blue jersey will say “USA.” He’ll be honored and proud to represent his country at the 2022 World Flying Disc Federation World Junior Ultimate Championships next month in Wroclaw, Poland. It will display the destination, a longtime aspiration fulfilled.
His cleats, meanwhile, will honor the journey. He hand-painted the logos of four entities that shaped him into the player and person fit to play ultimate on the world stage: the National Ultimate Training Camp, Summer Ultimate Frisbee of Amherst, the Amherst Regional ultimate crest and the Stanley Street sign for the park where the Hurricanes practice. Each team, coach and organization contributed to his development.
“Any national team is special because you’re representing your country, but I come from such a wonderful community — the Amherst ultimate community, which I think is different from most,” Douville Beaudoin said. “It’s an opportunity to represent Amherst, which in all the Frisbee that I’ve played here since fifth grade, I’m grateful to have the opportunity represent that.”
But before he can, Douville Beaudoin had to ask that community for help to get to Poland. He started a GoFundMe aiming to raise $4,650 to help cover the cost of travel to the tournament and visits to Denver and Chicago for training camp. The campaign was at $2,724 as of Sunday evening.
“I knew I was going to need financial assistance. It’s been heartwarming to see everyone that’s donated and supported me in this. All these people who have been in my life and been in my Frisbee life for so long supporting me into the process is special and grateful for all of that and all of them,” Douville Beaudoin said. “They’re making the dream possible for me.”
The dream has been on Douville Beaudoin’s radar since he first picked up a Frisbee seven years ago. He watched the Hurricanes compete in the Amherst Invitational on the fields behind his house and formed friendships with Team USA qualifiers as he progressed in the program. Amherst has sent 10 players to Team USA since 2014 (Orion Cable made the team twice), at least one in every two-year cycle. The 2020 tournament in Malmö, Sweden, was canceled by the pandemic.
The 2022 edition will run from Aug. 6-13. There, Douville Beaudoin will try to help the USA retain the crown while also visiting relatives. He’s a quarter Polish and has extended family in Wroclaw whom he’ll meet for the first time.
“That’s a really unique opportunity for me the happened to fall into place,” Douville Beaudoin said. “It’s cool that it’s not just a Frisbee tournament for me but it’s a chance to be in a country that I have my roots in and meet these people who I’m related to.”
The U.S. has won seven of the past eight boys gold medals dating back to 2004, losing just one match over that span. They’ve claimed eight championships in 14 tournaments.
Douville Beaudoin applied for the tryout in October and received an invite in December to the mid-March event in North Carolina. He drove down with Amherst teammates Geir Hartl and Taylor Hanson, Hurricanes girls players Nomi Zeidenberg and Becky Marshall, and Four Rivers athlete Ashley Schlinger. They competed among 200 of the nation’s best for 48 spots.
“We had a really great trip. We all went down together and trained together,” Douville Beaudoin said. “That brought me closer to my teammates and was a really cool opportunity to go through that process with them. It relieved the stress of it.”
The look on his mom Lea Douville’s face told him that he made the team returning home from a game in mid-April. His parents received the email while he was out.
“It was neat to have that moment with my family, who have been the biggest supporters of all my Frisbee endeavors,” Douville Beaudoin said. “I walked in and I could tell something was up.”
His father, Rick Beaudoin, practiced throwing and catching with him on the high school fields next to their house from the moment he started playing through the pandemic quarantines when doing anything outside felt like a trip to Europe.
“Very full circle to have thrown with him for all these years and be able to celebrate making this team with him and my mom was special to me,” Douville Beaudoin said. “To me Frisbee is so special and the community around it is so special, especially here in Amherst. It’s easy for some parents to not appreciate that side of a sport, not the playing itself but the community and spirit around it. They definitely get that, and I think that’s why they understand how big of a deal it is not just to make the team but for me to be a part of the Amherst Frisbee community.”
He’s not just taking from the community, either. Douville Beaudoin volunteers as a coach for both the SULA where he started and the Town of Amherst Leisure Services and Supplemental Education Ultimate Day Camp. Molding the next generation of Amherst ultimate players reminds Douville Beaudoin of his first experiences with the game and his welcome into the community. Now it’s his turn to open his arms.
“It’s really sweet to remember those days looking up to the high school players and learning my first throws and being the one helping these kids learn the throws and see those moments of realization where, finally, their forehand works or they’re finally able to throw far, and remembering that being me and finding the joy in Frisbee at a young age.” Douville Beaudoin said. “It’s cool to suddenly be on the flip side of that.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.