Is Ultimate Frisbee taken seriously?

C

CaligulasHorse

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Hi all,

One of the main things in my resume is my UF experience, which is somewhat complicated to explain. Basically, we were a club sport for decades through my sophomore year, when I (as captain of the "A-team") initiated and helped lead the process of becoming varsity. Last fall (Junior year) we were recognized as a spring varsity sport by our athletic department but didn't get to play due to COVID. Basically, by the end of 12th grade, I'll have 3 seasons of A-team/varsity captain, and 2 seasons of captaining the fall program, which is a club focused on recruiting fundraising, and training.
Essentially, I'm wondering if this is likely to (by admissions) be taken seriously, or written off as a non-serious sport due to its reputation for hippies and weed.

Similarly, I've noticed USAFA seems very focused on "traditional" sports (football, etc.) and I wonder if (at USAFA) that comes at the expense of non-traditional sports like Ultimate.
 
I'm jealous that you have an UF team at your school. But to answer your question, I think they'll take it seriously. It's not so much about the sport itself, rather what you're doing IN the sport. The fact that you initiated and lead the effort to make UF a varsity sport says a lot about your leadership abilities in my opinion. I'd definitely talk about that. Good luck.
 
Agree, it is not the sport itself, but what you did with the opportunity - in this case, the lack of one and how you created it.

Be able to explain the criteria that led your club to become a varsity sport. What parties were involved with the decision - coach, AD, school district? What was your role through this? What is the "level" of play, competition? The lay person like me is not aware of how it can be viewed as varsity vs. a fun club. Articulate the scope of your fundraising - how much, how did you do it, over what period of time, YOY, what did you do with the proceeds, etc. How did you get more people to join? What was your target? Did you meet it? Overall, how will you leave the club in better position and as a sustainable varsity sport after you leave?
 
Agree with above...it could be basket weaving. Honestly, whether you actually had success isn't that important (though it helps your narrative). What did you learn? What experiences did you have? What did you learn about leadership? Do you have examples where you demonstrated leadership? Organizing practices, keeping folks motivated after a loss and/or dealing with that one kid who just wasn't a good teammate all make for solid life lessons and good talking points for essays and interviews.
 
I'm a teacher and we had a student get in last year who was the captain of the UF team at our school. He also did rifle and was an Eagle Scout and had great test scores.
 
The only reason different sports might register differently with a service academy is how much teamwork is involved.

Football is a sport where teamwork is required on each and every play. Sports like wrestling, while team scoring is involved, depends on how one individual performs on the mat. There is no teamwork there.

Now I don't belittle sports like tennis, wrestling, golf, etc. It takes individual skill, discipline to practice, physical fitness, dedication, and will to win. These are many of the fine qualities the academies look for. It's also why folks without 'team' sports gain admission to an academy. My son was a wrestler. Hell, i wrestled back in the day, and each and every match was the longest, most exhausting six minutes of my life.

Now, I don't know that the academies treat them differently, but if they do, I think that would be why. If I'm right then Ultimate Frisbee is much more like football than wrestling. It's also, IMHO, why some folks without sports but plenty of band experience, including leadership roles, often get appointments. Teamwork.
 
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Ultimate frisbee has a presence at USAFA. They have a club that plays a bunch of games at home and away. Like any club sport there, the ones that play take it seriously.
 
HCopter said:
Agree, it is not the sport itself, but what you did with the opportunity - in this case, the lack of one and how you created it.

Be able to explain the criteria that led your club to become a varsity sport. What parties were involved with the decision - coach, AD, school district? What was your role through this? What is the "level" of play, competition? The lay person like me is not aware of how it can be viewed as varsity vs. a fun club. Articulate the scope of your fundraising - how much, how did you do it, over what period of time, YOY, what did you do with the proceeds, etc. How did you get more people to join? What was your target? Did you meet it? Overall, how will you leave the club in better position and as a sustainable varsity sport after you leave?
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Thanks for the advice. When do you recommend I share all this? I try and convey some of it in my resume, but I reasonably can't fit all that much in there. Is this something I should devote the 3rd essay to? Or should I just be prepared to talk about it in my interview?
 
I would personally say definitely 3rd essay since this for sure what they read. The interview is also a great place just only when those type of questions pop up or when you can thread it in. My ALO highly recommended not over doing everything to do with leadership ( got quite a bit and he knew that) instead make it a very polite conversation that happens to highlight the best aspects of you.
 
I think what everyone is trying to say is that you don't need to provide an explanation as to why you "only" played UF. We could be wrong, but I don't think there is a stigma attached to it or that you are at a disadvantage to someone who played football. You could have had an amazing experience in UF that has really helped you mature and grow into a leader and taught you a ton about teamwork. Someone else could be a bump on a lot on the football team.

You should devote more time in your essays to the BEST experiences that you had. What did you learn and how? What most clear demonstrates that you are capable of facing challenges, motivating people, are a team player and are willing to put team above self? What experience shows a young man or woman who rise to the occasion instead of shrink? What demonstrates that you can handle adversity?

So maybe it is UF, and maybe it is something else in your life that best demonstrates one or more of the above traits. That is what you should talk about. You want actual examples - not vague statements like " I learned teamwork." Instead something like, "Sophomore year, I had the worst game of my life [details] and then at the next practice, a Senior lifted me up [details] and it made all the difference. It showed me the power a teammate can have and from then on, I became a much better teammate by [details]..." That's a quick look at the kind of thing I would go for. If you are Gen Patton type, Captain of the State Champion Football team, great. But even if you are an below average player, on a sport like UF, you can learn just as much as anyone else playing anything else. But maybe, you have something more interesting to talk about in your 3rd essay regarding your service work, or the tutoring you did, or that time you handled that one thing or faced that one challenge. Point is, don't be self-conscious about UF.
 
CaligulasHorse said:
Thanks for the advice. When do you recommend I share all this? I try and convey some of it in my resume, but I reasonably can't fit all that much in there. Is this something I should devote the 3rd essay to? Or should I just be prepared to talk about it in my interview?
Click to expand...

I recommend having hard facts firmly in your mind, for example if you say you fundraised, you'd better know exactly how much you raised, and at least roughly what it used to purchase, and if you combine with a total sport booster, if your sport was net positive, negative, etc. As with any resume item, you want to think placement (and how many impact bullets) to tell your story. Then have a "master resume" of talking points, and if any of these things are especially meaningful to you, they might be an essay. Remember the typical essay prompts - Why SAs, why this SA, why you, diversity essay, time you failed essay, the anything else essay., among others.
 
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