What Would Derscheid Do?

There is a game that we used to play as kids where we would say a word, and you would have to respond with the first thing that came to mind. It usually ended up revealing some interesting truths and funny thought processes. For me and many others, the first thing that comes to mind when someone says "ultimate frisbee" is "Rachel Derscheid."

Woman Scorned is a relatively young team, but our program has grown rapidly in the few years we have been around. Many great players have come through our program and added to it, but every single person who has been involved with Woman Scorned points to the same person when you say "heart and soul of Woman Scorned." This is Rachel Derscheid.

After playing with ISUC, Dersch started the ISU woman's team (Woman Scorned) and has been the driving force behind it ever since. In the time I have been a part of ultimate, I think she has "stopped coaching" or "stepped away from ultimate" like three times. As hard as she tries, her love for the sport and the team pulls her back, and for this we are very grateful. The dedication of Dersch (and all of our coaches) is an asset that puts us at a definite advantage above many women's teams. We have world class coaches, with an abundance of experience and knowledge to mold us into the best team that we can be.

As badass as Dersch is on the ultimate field, it doesn't hold a candle to the off-the-field Derscheid. During weekdays from 8-5, she is known as Dr. Rachel Derscheid. Rachel is currently finishing up her PhD and residency in Veterinary Pathology. If this doesn't make sense to you, just know that she will be a doctor twice over and will have more letters after her name than most people can acquire in a lifetime. Even as impressive as this is, her personality is what really makes her the Derscheid we all know and love. Intensity and passion carry over into all parts of her life, and she is always enthusiastically willing to help anyone in need.

Ultimate has its roots buried in a history of people who like to have a good time. As the sport has developed, some people have turned the sport into a job and forget how much fun it is. Even when WS gets going on a 5 weekend tourney streak and starts to complain about practices, we are always brought back by Dersch yelling at us (through emails) about how much fun ultimate is and how much she wishes she could just play it all the time. We remember pretty quickly how easy our lives are, and how much fun we get to have running around the country, throwing a disc around. Woman Scorned, despite its rapid improvements skill-wise, has not forgotten its "fun roots." The epic stories that involve the names like "Dersch," "Taiwo," "Hucket," and many others still get told on long car rides, and the new ladies of WS fight hard to live up to their legacy. Before our goal was to make nationals, it was to be the team everyone wants to play. As our team progresses in skill level, we may advance our goals toward higher levels of excellency, but the goal to be the team people want to play still remains.

The love and respect we have for each of our coaches is more than we can properly put into words, but the way that we can best describe our affection for Dersch is shown in the common saying, “What would Derscheid do?” We even considered putting it on our 'throwback' jerseys! Basically, this saying can apply to almost every aspect of life:

1. You are on the field and somehow you get the disc in your hand-What would Dersch do?

2. You are at a tournament party and someone throws a full disc in front of you- What would Dersch do?

3. You see your defender running right ahead of you towards an floating disc-What would Dersch do?

4. You are trying to decide if you should further your education or just graduate and get a job-what would Dersch do?

For me, Derscheid has been a huge influence in my life, and I know that many others say the exact same thing. So thank you Dersch! We know how much time you don't have to give to ultimate, and we really love that you decide to do it anyways. Woman Scorned and the ladies of it would not be the same without you!