How
To Start A Team
No matter what your situation is, there are
some things that are pretty much universal about starting a new team, where
there was no team before.
You will have to be an ultimate frisbee fanatic. The easiest way
to get people interested in playing ultimate (listening to what you have
to say) is for you to come across as being extremely enthusiastic. Enthusiasm
is infectious. You will discuss ultimate in just about every friendly conversation
you have. It will permeate your very existence, at least as long as it takes
you to recruit enough people for consistently attended practices. People
look up to someone who is enthusiastic about what they do, ultimate is no
different.
Be positive. You will have to be positive in every aspect of recruiting,
practicing, and teaching. Be absolutely sure to point out the good points
in everyone's skills. People don't like to feel inadequate. Every single
person, from the first time they come out, have at least one trait that
can be seen as positive. That can be harder to determine with some people,
but there is always SOMETHING that you can compliment a person about. Follow
any improvement, and try to remark about these improvements often.
Ultimate is as much a social outing as it is a physical fitness outing.
Always try and meet somewhere after practice on a regular basis. You will
find that some people who can't always make ultimate due to schedule conflicts,
will often show up to the social outings afterwards as long as there is
some regularity to the outings. Ultimate people, are COOL to hang out with,
whether at a pub or a BBQ, just do it. You will find that once you have
recruited people, the social aspect of the sport will keep people coming
out to practice as much as the sport itself.
Along those lines, Scrimmage another beginners or intermediate team as
soon as possible. Call your Regional Coordinator to locate the closest
team. It may even be a Juniors Team, but they are always keen to play and
help promote the sport. This means that they will meet others like them,
and will feel less intimidated. It also adds a certain degree of legitimacy
to the sport. If it is an intermediate team, mix the teams up for the scrimmage,
and ask for help in sharing teaching the fundamentals to the beginners.
And further, Get your team to a beginners or fun tournament as EARLY
as possible. Nothing lights a fire under a beginner's butt like traveling
to a tournament and playing an intense match against other people just like
them. Most new players come back from tournaments enlightened as to the
true extent of the possibilities of being a member of the ultimate community.
BE ORGANIZED. The more organized you are, the more comfortable people
are and the more likely they are to join, and the less they think it's just
some rogue sport that isn't played anywhere. Have a typewritten description
of the game to hand out in your possession at all times during recruitment.
Have a phone list/contact sheet drawn up immediately and passed out to the
members. Pass out strategy sheets as time passes and experience levels improve.
You will notice that particularly after tournaments, teams will be hungry
for such information.
Be prepared to be the only person willing to take ANY responsibility.
At least early on. Be willing to delegate responsibility and workload (phone
calls, posting notices, etc.) to anyone who offers to help, or even to someone
who you think holds promise in this area, otherwise you will end up doing
it all yourself, forever.
You WILL get frustrated!!
Don't ever let your team see it. You would be surprised how quickly a bad
attitude can spread around a team, and how quickly it will run people off.
Be prepared to lose up to 1/2 of your team to the transition from indoor
ultimate to outdoor ultimate.
The weather (wind, rain, mud) can totally ruin the confidence built up by
beginners indoors. Try to stay in touch with players who stop coming out,
and get them to come to at least 3 outdoor practices to try and build their
confidence up. Invite them outside for a throw around on off days.
Don't Expect to Win a Game in your first season.
There have been teams that don't even score a point in their first season.
This shouldn't be the case, as there are always a multitude of beginners
teams to play against, but make sure your team is mentally prepared.
Remind your team that Everyone is a beginner.
Remember to let them know that there is no reason to be intimidated because
everyone is in the exact same position. Also let them know that within about
6 weeks of practice, they will be completing the forehand throw (if they
continue to practice) up to 15 meters with accuracy (especially indoors).
Emphasize the greater importance of Judgment as compared to Skill.
It isn't too difficult to convince a beginner that they can contribute to
the game if they just play within their ability. While this is true of any
player, for most beginners, it is crucial, for them to be able to contribute.
At this stage of their playing career, they lack the knowledge of the sport
to make up for it in other areas. Few beginners are capable of throwing
full pitch hammers for the score. A player who repeatedly tries this in
a game situation when they still can't even throw it in warm up is exercising
BAD judgment!
References
Sue Wallace and Eric Simon ftp://ftp.upa.org/pub/ultimate/articles/start.html
Aaron's Tips on Starting or Improving Ultimate Teams http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/public/ca/ad943925/ultimbg.htm#start
