The Throw of the Year goes to...
March 11, 2022 by in Awards, Opinion with 0 comments
One of our most popular series to begin each year, it’s time to look back at last year and let our readers decide some of the top plays of the year from 2021.
We watched many hours of game footage and highlight reels to hunt down the hucks, breaks, bombs, dimes, and everything else; believe us, there were more than enough options to fill up this Throw of the Year bracket, so even some worthy nominees were left on the cutting room floor. Over the past week or so, we’ve invited you, Ultiworld readers, to vote for your favorite of the finalists selected. And after that, you’ve chosen the winner.
Nicky Farren – Nashville ‘Shine (USAU Club)
After three rounds of voting that followed an extensive selection process, it was Nicky Farren’s colossal backhand assist that wooed the crowd and was selected as the Throw of the Year. His long-range strike from the heart of his own end zone sailed the length of the field and then some, softly landing in the waiting hands of Nashville’s star cutter, Jesse Shofner.
“We had called a play for Jesse Shofner to go deep once it got in my hands,” recalled Farren. “It was a litttle messy to get it to me, but I knew should be open when I got it because… well, she always is.”
However, a throw of this magnitude was probably not exactly what the play call was looking for. While Farren is from Nashville and played at the famed University School of Nashville, which produced players like Shofner and teammate Eli Motycka, he was at his first ever tournament with ‘Shine. After playing at distant Santa Clara during college, not many of his new teammates were all that familiar with his skillset. “I don’t think a lot of my teammates knew I had that in my game,” said Farren.
Farren’s range as a thrower is something he credits to his background in golf. When asked about what advice he’d give for aspiring deep shooters, he offered “Cork the hips and shoulders!” Surely that torque-generating motion is influenced by years of driving balls on ranges.