Mailbag: Next Elite Ultimate City, Struggling Without Ultimate

Plus some new data to inform my Return to Play projections.

Minneapolis Drag'n Thrust's Leo Sovell-Fernandez at thhe 2019 Club Championships. Photo: Kristina Geddert -- UltiPhotos.com
Minneapolis Drag’n Thrust’s Leo Sovell-Fernandez at the 2019 Club Championships. Photo: Kristina Geddert — UltiPhotos.com

The Mailbag is now for subscribers only. That’s going to do a few things: it will keep me committed to writing it every week. It will reward subscribers with a weekly column they can count on. And it will allow us to offer a free one-month Mini subscription for the best email or comment we get and publish in the Mailbag. If you’re already a subscriber, you get a free extra month (or a discount). If you’re not, you can come in and check out the benefits.

You can email me anytime at [email protected] with questions, comments, ideas — whatever you’ve got.

Q: I’m a freshmen ultimate player at UChicago. I’ve been struggling a lot lately with how much ultimate I’ve been missing because of COVID-19. One of the main things I was looking forward to in college was playing ultimate and becoming a part of the team, but of course that hasn’t really been possible. UChicago has been pretty strict with COVID, basically giving the finger to any non-varsity sports even though they facilitate varsity athletic practices/ limited competition. We had frisbee pod workouts in the fall, but it’s just too cold and snowy to practice outside now, and we can’t get any indoor facilities because of COVID restrictions. I’ve been trying to get in the gym 5-6 days a week (it is open to students if they reserve a spot) to train for when the season finally does arrive. However, mentally I find it difficult working hard consistently for a frisbee season that is 7-8 months away at best.

Anyway, my question is: what advice would you give to players struggling mentally with the complete lack of organized, competitive ultimate? Sure, I know how to deal with it physically, but mentally I’m still struggling with the ultimate-sized hole in my life.

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  1. Charlie Eisenhood
    Charlie Eisenhood

    Charlie Eisenhood is the editor-in-chief of Ultiworld. You can reach him by email ([email protected]) or on Twitter (@ceisenhood).

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