Additional Reporting by Kalpana Gopalkrishnan
Between the track and field roster, the cross country roster and a list of Ultimate Frisbee club members, there are plenty of similarities. Names appear multiple times in each roster. According to junior, co-president of the Ultimate Frisbee club Andy Ma, 60-70 percent of the club’s members come from the MVHS cross country and track teams. Ma finds that the relationship between the club and the teams brings athletes together.
El Estoque: What is the connection between the club and the cross country and track teams?
Andy Ma: Well, the club was originally founded by cross country and track members. [They] got other people into the club who were also in the sport. A lot of ultimate frisbee is running so that correlates well with the sport [of Ultimate frisbee].
EE: What are some of the different mindsets between running and ultimate frisbee?
AM: Ultimate frisbee is just a lot more relaxing, you don’t have to stay focused and really push yourself all the time like you do in cross country and track. In cross country and track, you’re really trying to improve and get better as the season goes. It’s sort of the same in ultimate frisbee but it’s more relaxed, because [they’re] just games in the club so it’s more [about] having fun.
EE: How does being a member of this club and the teams help you bond with your teammates?
AM: The track and cross country teams are more serious and centered around on getting better and improving [our times]. Ultimate frisbee allows us to relax and have fun. And we get to know each other better than when we’re really pounding it on the track or on trails.
EE: Tell us a story about people you’ve gotten close to through track and cross country along with ultimate frisbee.
AM: When I first joined track and field, I didn’t really know anybody because they were seniors and I was a freshman. But when I went to ultimate frisbee, I got to know them more closely because we were playing together and we had more interactions. There was a lot of people [like MVHS class of 2014 alumni] Casey Darmawan, Michael Trinh, Norman Mu, Ching Pan. I just got to know them a lot better.
EE: What advice would you give to a person who would want to play ultimate frisbee?
AM: I think the main thing is throwing around a frisbee and getting comfortable with it. That’s pretty much the biggest thing: passing and catching. Even if you’re not really sure where to go or what to do, if you’re able to throw and catch the frisbee, you can still play the game and have fun.
EE: What have you taken away from the sports you play: ultimate frisbee, track, and cross country?
AM: Cross country and track and field are very individually based, so from Ultimate frisbee I learned some more team based aspects. In running you’re focused a lot on yourself, but in ultimate frisbee you learn to work with people and play with people. It changed how I play games as a person.
