ULTIMATE FRISBEE ~ is it a real sport?

Have any of you wonderful people ever heard of Ultimate Frisbee?

A few years ago, I would have answered that question with a big "No." Now it's a huge part of our family's life.

It was introduced to us by Son #1 when he would play the game with his fraternity brothers.

Then Son #2 started playing for his high school intramural team during his Senior year.

They all got mohawk haircuts for the tournament. Can anyone say "sunburned heads"??

This is Son #2 in action and I'm pretty sure he thought he could fly!

Following his older brother, Son #3 joined the team his Junior year and has played for two years.

Yes, he has a mohawk too! I just don't get it!

His youngest brother, Son #4, is now on the team for his Freshman year.

When we were first introduced to ultimate frisbee, our boys dragged us out to a field near our home and taught us all the rules. I've never run so much in my life!! The game is a combination of football, frisbee, and lacrosse. It's a fast-paced game where your goal is to get the frisbee down the field and into the end zone. You throw the frisbee to a teammate, the teammate stops running and looks for an open man to throw it to and so on. The opposing team tries to block or intercept the throws. I never knew there were so many ways to throw a frisbee. I always just threw the frisbee with my hand across my body and throwing outward hoping the frisbee stays flat. Well, there's many other ways to throw it now. There's the flick which is basically the backwards of the "normal" way to throw it the disc. Your arm is out away from your body and you just flick the disc with your wrist. I haven't figured that one out yet. There's also the hammer which is holding it over your head vertically and throwing it by bringing your arm down slightly.

It's amazing to watch these kids dive and jump and run what seems like miles while having a whole lot of fun!

But something I'm so impressed with is the fact that it's a gentleman's game. There's an observer and coaches but every call is made by the players. You have to agree on the call or do the play over again. It's amazing to see these kids be thoughtful and honest and very good sports.

This past weekend, the family got to watch the boys play at an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament which consisted of two days of four games each day. Each game lasted about an hour and a half. Imagine how much running that occurs in two straight days. I was exhausted and I was just sitting in my chair cheering my heart out.

Some fun pictures of our weekend. Son #3 is #21 with yellow cleats. Son #4 is #15 with blue cleats.