Each player’s experience will be unique, given your relative position on each team and your experience level. For me, I had to give up teammates of 2.5 years for a handful of girls that I had only met a few times; when a couple of them backed out for our first regionals, it was a bitter pill- I had to miss regionals for the 2nd time in three years because of others’ decisions, but this time I could have prevented it if I just hadn’t started that women’s team. I certainly don’t regret it now, but it was tough then. There were other growing pains, and hopefully by sharing my experience, they can be less painful for you.
The other big jump was my position on the team- I jumped from slowest, least athletic, and a defensive liability on ISUC, to one of the quickest, definitely the most experienced, and defender extraordinaire for Woman Scorned. Most of the girls had NEVER played Ultimate before, whereas it had been my life for the past 2 years, and nearly all my friends were Ultimate players. In the end, being physically hampered in the men’s game lead to an ability to anticipate and defend that many athletes take years to gain. And starting the women’s team lead to some of the best friendships I’ve made. I had a fury that ran deep to beat my opponent that carried over to the women’s game and was less common among the female players. I still was not a fantastic thrower, and with the smaller targets (most men can just cover more space, making them bigger targets), my good ideas and grasp of spacing was not enough to be the handler I wanted to be for the team. I honestly didn’t want to handle at all, but didn’t have much choice at the time. In addition, I had become accustomed to calling for help when the disc went up deep; when I started playing with Scorned, more often than not I was the help deep. So, while I had developed into a much stronger, smarter, and more aggressive player overall by playing with and against (generally) physically superior players, I had also developed some weaknesses that took years to break: lack of touch and precision throwing, lack of confidence in the air, and an over-reliance on the force.
One complaint voiced by other women I sometimes played against on open teams or occasionally picked up with when they switched to women’s was that the game was “too slow”. It is a different game, for sure, but the game is much what you make it. If you start the team, it makes it pretty easy to impress your expectations on women, but even if you don’t, there is no reason why playing “balls out” in a women’s game can’t be just as satisfying, if not more, than struggling to even get open in the men’s game. Remember, you can do more in a women’s game than you can in an open game- you are more likely to be closely matched or to overmatch your opponent, so instead of struggling to do a small part, see how big an impact you can make, both on and off the field.
Whether or not you’ve played on an open team, chances are your role on a team will change at some point in your Ultimate career either through personnel changes on your college team or from moving to an entirely new team. The pitfalls and challenges I faced can be lessons to bolster your effectiveness on any team.
1. Never EVER get too comfortable in a role! You’ve always been a cutter? That is no excuse not to throw daily & learn what handlers do and why!
2. Recognize weaknesses as such and work on them; I never exactly gave up on a disc in the air, but while I worked hard at that moment, I did not consciously work on improving my vertical jump or reading skills. Similarly, though I threw all the time, I didn’t work on my touch until I was over throwing all my teammates.
3. Be prepared to be what your teammates need you to be!
4. STAY POSITIVE!
I can’t say enough how much I have enjoyed all the divisions I have played- college open, college women, club open, club women, and club mixed. There is nothing like playing against someone woefully better than you to push you to improve!
-Rachel Derscheid
Founder of Woman Scorned
Long time Coach of WS
Current CLX player
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