All posts by Scott Veirs

As of spring 2016, I've coached 3rd-5th graders at Bryant Elementary for 4 years. I help manage the Eckstein fall program as part of a parent steering committee that I formed in fall, 2014. I coached the 6th and then 7th grade Eckstein co-ed teams with Morgan Wescliff in fall of 2014 and 2015. I play recreationally in Seattle, either Masters Hat or pick-up, and joined Che in October, 2014.
Clinic, All genders, Co-ed, fall, middle school, high school

Rainmakers youth clinic in Seattle this Thanksgiving vacation

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The Friday after Thanksgiving (11/28/14) the Rainmakers will offer middle and high school players near Seattle an opportunity for improvement!  Their 2nd youth clinic of the year, this fall clinic will happen from 3-5 pm at Jefferson Park in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle.  It is open to players 12-18 years old of all skill levels and will be led by top players from the Rainmakers team!

Kids can expect:

  • A two-hour training session with Seattle Rainmaker players and coaches, consisting of exercises, drills and scrimmages designed to help players improve their Ultimate skills in a controlled environment.
  • Unfettered access to some of Seattle’s most elite men’s ultimate talent, and the ability to work one-on-one with them over the course of the afternoon.
  • A ticket to the first home game of the 2014-15 Seattle Rainmakers season.
  • Lots of chances to win great swag and rainmakers prizes.

Please encourage any youth you have on your teams to join us.  The cost is only $25 and all participants need to do is show up.  Participants will be required to have a parent/guardian sign a waiver to participate and are encouraged to bring cleats and a water bottle.

For more info please encourage your kids visit us at the Rainmakers Facebook page or TicketLeap or if you have any questions please feel free to contact gabe.fertman@seattlerainmakers.com

Equipment

Best ways to buy discs for youth ultimate

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For coaches and team managers, here are the best ways to purchase high-quality discs in bulk quantities for your team(s), ordered from least to most expensive.  Costs are approximate, based on late 2014 early 2018 quotes and conversion rates, and are somewhat specific to orders being shipped to Seattle (shipping costs vary regionally).  If you order from one of these sources and want to share your experience (cost, delivery time, quality, etc.) — just leave a comment and we’ll add your data to this post.

50 misprints from Discraft!

All makes/models listed here are approved as meeting USA Ultimate’s Disc Technical Standards.  Be careful to order the right size disc, though!  (They are listed here together…)  The 175 g discs are used in most ultimate; the 145g discs are intended for younger players, generally in 4th or 3rd grade, or younger (although they’re great for traveling or camping, too).

Cheap discs (<$7)

$3.32-3.84/disc – Discraft Ultimate Juniors Program

  • These are misprinted Disccraft discs only for use in K-12 programs in the U.S.
  • Order either Ultrastar (175 gram) or J*Star (145 gram)
  • Must ship to a school address
  • Order must be placed by a current USA Ultimate member
  • School must be listed as a USA Ultimate team (as of 2014, USA Ultimate member/coaches can add a team on-line)
  • Max order size is 50 discs per calendar year
  • Minimum order size is 10 discs
  • Price range is due to variable shipping ($16-42 for 50 disc orders, more as you get further from Michigan)
  • 2016 cost data: An order of 50 discs sent to Seattle cost $150 + 41.80 shipping = 191.80, or $3.83 per disc
  • Turn-around time:
    • 2017, March: turn-around time of 10 days (mailed order from Seattle on 3/3; school received on 3/13!).
    • Other Seattle coaches reported (in 2016-17): “received discs as quickly as 1 week after ordering” and “still waiting after about a month…”

$4.00/disc (-$6.80/disc?) – Aria Ultimate practice discs (175g)

  • New in 2017, these high-tech discs use a slightly softer plastic but fly great (see our 2017 review).
  • Minimum order for bulk discounted orders isn’t clear, but non-discounted custom disc orders have a minimum of 100
  • 2018 cost estimates: for minimum (100) bulk order of single-color custom-printed logo on white is $6.80 ($6.53 for 150 discs)
  • In Feb 2018 they offered free domestic shipping for orders >$100
  • They offer discounted pricing for bulk orders via inquiry; $4/disc has been reported by a Seattle team in 2017 (for a 110 disc order). In a Feb 2018 email they confirmed “$6.80 is our base price (max.) and we lower the cost/disc from there.”
  • Turn-around time is not yet clear for discounted bulk orders (but their custom orders typically take 4-5 weeks overall, 3-4 weeks from payment).
  • Based on their 1-for-1 donation model, for each disc sold at retail price , the company gives a disc to a social partner! But there are caveats for discounted quantities…
    • They offer a 10-pack of practice discs for $12/disc, often on sale for $6/disc, and donate a single disc for each pack sold.
    • “Because we offer large discounts for bulk orders of discs, we are not able to match each disc in custom team orders. However, if you order 100 discs, we will donate 10 discs to your choice of one of our organizations. We encourage you to host a discussion with your team about the impact of discs and the impact of the sport of ultimate and its value system, and imagine the effect that 10 discs can make on another team somewhere that is just getting off the ground.”

$5.50/disc – 10-pack of Discraft UltraStar (175g) misprints from their factory store

  • 10-pack of misprint of 175 gram Discraft UltraStar discs
  • Random assortment of  (assorted colors, designs)
  • Not guaranteed to be “kid-friendly” designs
  • Usually cheaper than Ultrastars through their retailers
  • 2018: $55 and free shipping by ground (to Seattle), so $5.50/disc…

Inexpensive discs ($7-10)

$7.00/disc – DiscNW  discs (175g Ultrastars)

  • $7 is the price for youth (confirmed in 2018), regardless of how many are ordered (retail price is $12)
  • Obtain a youth discount code by emailing ops@discnw.org
  • Order through the FiveUltimate web site
  • Can be shipped or picked up from their HQ downtown
  • 2018: free shipping is being offered for orders >$100.

 $7.00/disc – USA Ultimate’s custom prints (175g Ultrastars)

  • A great benefit of becoming a member of USA Ultimate ($36/yr for coaches)
  • Nice variety of designs on mostly white discs
  • Can order any combination of J*Star (145g) or Ultrastar (175g) discs, each costs $5.00 $7.00, including shipping (2018: price increased to $6/disc + $1/disc shipping)
  • Can specify any combination of nifty designs
  • Order via the USA Ultimate merchandise order (Google) form
  • $5.00 is actual cost as there is no shipping charged
  • If you are a coach, team manager, or PE teacher (and especially if you are already a USAU member) the cheapest source of 10-15 discs may be one of the USA Ultimate kits (60-70$ $107 [$90/kit for members in 2018, plus $17 shipping/kit] for members) because they come bundled with valuable supporting materials…  $70/15=$4.67/disc e.g. the PE kit comes with cones, curriculum, DVD, rule/spectator guide.

$7.99/disc (?) – Daredevil 175g misprints

  • Assorted colors or all-gold USA Ultimate Championship Series misprints
  • 2018: $7.99 Canadian/disc (plus shipping?), ~1,500 in stock

$8/disc (?) – DiscNW 5-disc grab bag (175 Ultrastars)

  • leftovers from DiscNW tournaments like Potlatch and Spawnfest
  • portion of sales goes back to DiscNW!
  • 2018: $40/bag (reduced from $48), so $8/disc (plus shipping?), only some ink colors in stock (no rainbow!)

$9.03 to ~$10/disc – Discs for Development (VC Ultimate + Discraft) Ultrastar misprints (175g)

  • Bulk quantities of misprinted 175 gram Discraft UltraStar discs
  • Choice of assorted colors or white-only
  • Can request “kid-friendly” designs (check-box on order form)
  • 15% development discount offered on orders from youth teams (upon request and review of your team’s story)
  • 2018 prices:
    • 1 disc for $7.95 (US)
    • 3-pack for $7.75
    • 10-pack for $67.50 ($57.37 with development discount)
    • 10-pack to Seattle via standard shipping (4-7 days) from Canada is $9.03/disc with development discount (quoted in 2018)
  • Shipping charges may be lower per disc with bulk orders (but are determined based on quantity)

~10$/disc – 175g ultimate disc via Amazon

  • Used discs are often offered in the $5-7/disc range
  • Amazon Prime you can sometimes find deals offering new Ultrastars for ~$8-10/disc
The famous DiscNW rainbow logo disc.

Archived/broken sources:

$3.00-3.49/disc – Discraft misprint J-star (145g) 10-disc packs

  • Note these are smaller, 145 gram discs good for younger players or portability (fits better in a kid’s backpack)
  • These are misprinted Discraft discs direct from Discraft (which has much better shipping rates than other distributors, e.g. Sportdiscs.com below)
  • Listed as 29.99 in November, 2015
  • 34.95 for 10-pack with $5 standard shipping = 3.49/disc
  • 59.98 for two 10-packs with shipping included = $3.00/disc
  • Assorted colors: white, blue, red
  • 2017 (March): out of stock!
  • 2018: link is broken. Only J-stars on their site now seem to be a 3-pack for $24 plus $5 shipping, or $9.66/disc.

$3.57-4.37/disc – Discraft J*Star (145g) misprints from SportDiscs.com

  • Note these are 145 gram discs good for players less than about 10 years old
  • 10 discs for $30.00 (before shipping); with shipping to Seattle, the total cost is 43.66, which means shipping costs ~45% of the disc cost…
  • 50 discs (5 orders of 10-pack) is $150+$28.60 for shipping (about 19% of disc cost), yielding a total of 178.60 or $3.57/disc.
  • Random assortment of 145 gram Discraft discs (assorted colors, designs); these are best for 3rd or 4th graders, or other youth with small hands
  • Good source for schools that need more than 50 discs (the max Juniors Program order)
  • Be sure to specify “kid-friendly” designs
  • 2017: broken link, sportdiscs.com redirects to http://discraftfactorystore.com/

$4.00-5.20/disc – Discraft UltraStar (175g) misprints from SportDiscs.com

  • Random assortment of 175 gram Discraft discs (assorted colors, designs)
  • Good source for schools that need more than 50 discs (the max Juniors Program order)
  • Be sure to specify “kid-friendly” designs
  • Cost above varies with order size ($4.32 is for max order of 75 discs) and does not include shipping
  • 2018: broken link; can’t find anything on their site related to misprints (other than disc golf discs)

$5.80/disc – VC Ultimate practice package

  • This is an example (from Oct 2015) of an intermittent or seasonal special deal
  • Package of ten 175 gram Discraft  UltraStars
  • Mix of colours and misprint designs
  • Not sure how much shipping would add
  • Original price listed as $14.00/disc…
  • Single misprint discs going for $5.95 (w/o shipping)
  • 2018: new program called “Discs for Development” in partnership with Discraft (see above)…

$8.06/disc – Discraft J*Star (145 g) from DiscAce

  • $5.99 before shipping (looks like ~18% of cart total for shipping to Seattle)
  • Discount code might help?
  • 2018: link works but leads to “Sold out” notice…

$8.79/disc – Daredevil (140g)

  • Note these have a mass of only 140 grams — the lightest available for young (<10 year old) players who have small hands
  • Made in and shipped from Canada
  • $9.99 Canadian (plus shipping?)
  • 2018: They don’t seem to offer 140g misprints anymore…
All genders, Co-ed, middle school, high school, All seasons

Small/Fryz tryouts on December 7 & 14, 2014

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2014 tryouts for the Fryz teams (open, girlz, mixed, and small Fryz) are now set for December 7 and 14th (both Sundays) from 10-3 p.m. at Magnuson Park.  Details are archived below from the Fryz website (where you will find the waiver in PDF format) and there is an announcement and some player comments on the Fryz Facebook page.

Last year (December, 2013) 130+ kids attended the first tryout, vying for ~30 spots.  In December 2012 there were 100+ attendees.  That suggests high demand and high growth in demand for more ways to play youth ultimate in Seattle!

The first tryout this year (on Sunday December 7, 2014) should be an exciting chance to see yet another manifestation of the explosive growth in youth ultimate.  Note that the second tryout (on December 14) is by invitation only, each day of tryouts costs $10, and the pre-registration form involves input from both parents and players (a short essay on why you want to play for Fryz).

Some questions and answers, specifically about Small Fryz:

  1. What types of players will benefit from joining a year-round ultimate team as 6th graders?  Is it better to play a variety of sports in middle school, including seasonal ultimate, and then tryout for Fryz in high school?
  2. Who will be coaching Small Fryz this next year?  What is their background and experience?
  3. Is practice for Small Fryz truly year-round, or are there some Sundays off (e.g. holiday weekends)?
  4. Where and how often do Small Fryz compete?  How much travel is involved, for players and parents?
  5. What is the annual fee?  What costs does the fee cover?  What additional costs should be included in a player’s annual budget?

If you know an answer or have other questions, please comment!  We will incorporate further information below as it accumulates…

  1. There are costs and benefits to (and controversy surrounding) single-sport specialization in middle and high school
  2. The Fryz website has a history (2008-2013) of the impressive coaching team and their backgrounds. Coaches of Small Fryz in 2013-14 were
    • Shannon O’Malley – Head coach
    • Angelica “Geli” Boyden
    • Khalif El Salaam
    • Henry Phan
    • Tian Yen
  3. No answers yet.
  4. A current parent sez: “Fryz is mostly about training and conditioning.  They play a hand full of tournaments a year.  High school Fryz (3 teams), play college tournaments and travel is national.  Small Fryz play adult tournaments and travel is local.”
    • Small Fryz has played in these tournaments:
    • Fryz has played in these tournaments:
      • Annual Fryz Highschool Hat Tournament (June; 2012, 2013, 2014)
      • Spawnfest (July 2010; Burlington, WA)
      • Sundodgers (Nov.; 2013 women’s champs; 2012 girlz 2nd)
      • Geofest (2012; adult mixed tournament in Lacy, WA)
      • Chicago Invite (2013 open and girlz champs)
      • Paideia Invitational
      • Amherst Invitational
      • WA/BC Club Sectionals (Sep. 2014)
      • Mixed sectionals (2010)
      • U.S. Youth Club Championships
      • World Ultimate Club Championships
      • Junior Worlds
  5. No answers yet.

 

 

Archived information from the Fryz website (where you will find the waiver in PDF format) —

Please pre-register.  There are 2 tryout dates.  December 7th and December 14th. The December 14th Tryout will be by invitation only for all teams: Open, Fry Girlz, Mixed and Small Fryz teams.

Pre-Registration Form: http://goo.gl/forms/kQQayZsOSu

We use our tryouts to evaluate players on the following qualities by playing, drilling, conditioning and character.

Being a good teammate, fitness, dedication to Fryz, dedication to the sport of ultimate, spirit of the  game, skill, desire and ability to have fun while competing at a high level.  We expect our players to maintain a 2.5 GPA, which is monitored 2-3 times/year by coaches to ascertain whether extra help (from coaches or teammates) is necessary to remain a student first and an athlete second. We also expect our players to remain role models in our community by their stewardship to ultimate as well as their behavior on and off the field – fighting, drinking and the use of illegal drugs are prohibited on and off the field for members of the Fryz team.  We expect dedication from team members and practice attendance is not optional – delinquency is grounds for removal from the team. (Please note that we practice most Sundays year around from 2:00pm-4:00pm).  If the player makes the team, there is a yearly membership.  (All players participate regardless of their ability to fund.) – part and full scholarships are available upon request.

Tryouts are for 4 teams:
Fryz Open • Fry Girlz • Mixed • Small Fryz

Location: Magnuson Park
*Potential carpool: If you are unable to get to Magnuson Park, we will be offering carpools based on demand. Please indicate your need for or your ability to provide a carpool

Times: 10:00am-3:00pm.  Be there 30 minutes early for registration & warm-up

Ages: 6th grade – 12th grade

Cost: $10 (per Tryout day)

If you are interested in trying out, pre-register (with a photo) and download the waiver below, sign and send back.  Please make sure all the contact information is legible so that we can contact you after tryouts.  If you turn in a waiver at the first Tryout on Dec 7th, you will not need to do it again at the second Tryout on Dec 14th. However, a 2nd Tryout fee of $10 will be requested if you are invited back.  Please show up 30 minutes early to register and warm up.  Please bring plenty of water, light and dark jersey with numbers or names.

*Fryz is represented by 18 different high schools and 13 different middle schools from the greater Seattle area. Last year, 28 high schools and 21 middles schools were represented at tryouts. In order to keep our reach as broad as possible, we are testing out the possibility of carpools for tryouts and throughout the practice year.

Co-ed, Fun and games, All levels

Durango Boot: the ultimate 3-on-3 game

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Last month during the final day of the Disc NW Masters Hat league, Andy McRea of the Whidbey Flyers introduced me to a GREAT disc game called “Durango Boot” (or just “boot” or “Durango”).  It turns out it has wonderful potential for youth players, primarily because it demands that you maintain awareness of the whole field all the time — a skill that is elusive for most beginners and seems to only come slowly with experience.

Our Masters team had a huge roster, so none of us were getting much playing time during our first game.  Andy threw up his hands and declared “I haven’t even broken a sweat.  Who wants to play boot?”  I raised my hand, but had no idea what a workout I was in for…  Here’s a video that captured the craziness that ensued —

Not many players were familiar with the game (including me), but it turns out the game has it’s own website — Durango Ultimate.  In the simplified form that Andy taught us (and that the Aussies are playing in the video), you place two cones (or better yet boots) a few meters apart near each end of your playing space, mark center field with 2 more cones, and proceed to pass among your teammates trying to knock over a goal cone with a scoring throw.  A huge novelty is that you can head for the goal at either end of the field, and switch your goal at any time!  Another key rule is that on a turnover (upon interception, stall count to six by any defender, ground contact, or a score), the team gaining possession must first complete one pass that crosses the center line.

Though different than the official version, Andy really increased the pace by reversing the normal rule that a score results in a turnover.  Instead the offense that just scored stayed on offense (but still had to “take back” the disc by passing it once over the center line before attempting to score again).  This may be known as the Albuquerque Variation.

In addition to improving full-field awareness, Boot could be useful in the context of youth ultimate in at least these ways:

  • if you have too few players at practice for 5-on-5 or 7-on-7;
  • if you want even more continuous play than ultimate (there is no dawdling around or resting in preparation for the next pull);
  • if you’re tired of playing box;
  • if you want a lot of practice making quick, accurate passes, particularly in the 2-on-1 offensive strategy that is recommended as a basic approach;
  • if you want an early, organic introduction to how a zone defense can be a successful strategy.

 

 

 

News, elementary, middle school, high school

Jude LaRene is new youth director for DiscNW

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Jude in action (from his public FB photos)
Jude in action (from his public FB photos)

Congratulations to Jude LaRene who will be the new Director of Youth Operations for DiscNW.  Jude is a talented, serious player (who was on my pod in the 2013 Masters Hat League) who in a game often takes the time to lead strategically or offer guidance to newer adult players (like me).  With his extensive experience playing and coaching with DiscNW, and running small businesses like Izilla Toys and Velocevelo, I hope he will improve how youth ultimate is organized through DiscNW and continue the impressive growth accomplished under the outgoing Director, Wynne Scherf.

The news on the DiscNW site (posted Aug ~12, 2014)
The news on the DiscNW site (posted Aug ~12, 2014)

Jude’s DiscNW history shows that he’s been actively playing and coaching in DiscNW leagues since at least 2006 and has captained the teams “Tofu” and “Vince.”  He has coached the Washington Middle School “Dawgs” since at least 2006 (along with Pam Kraus, Autumn Tocchi, Adam Roca, and Noah Boudra) and coached an elementary mixed team in 2011 (Montlake Epic).   The Dawgs participated in Spring Reign in 2013 and 2014.  He coordinated a USA Ultimate coaching clinic in 2011 and generally seems deeply dedicated to and steeped in the sport.