Ultimate Frisbee Added as New MC Club Sport

"It's the most uplifting and positive community I've ever seen."

by Noah Drewes, Contributor

After months of organization, planning, committee meetings, and anxious waiting for approval, Mississippi College junior Matthew Easie has seen his vision of an official club Ultimate Frisbee team come to fruition. This new team will be the first team club sport the university has offered since the folding of its table tennis team in the fall of 2021. 

Ultimate is a relatively new sport, originating in 1968 with a group of high school students in New Jersey, the sport consists of two teams of seven players who pass a disc in an effort to get into the end zone. After a player has caught the disc, he or she cannot take any steps, necessitating a strong team effort for each point. 

Eaise has been the person that has developed and led this project from the beginning. He discovered Ultimate at a young age and has sought out opportunities to bring his passion wherever he went. 

“The first time I was ever exposed to it was eighth grade,” Easie said. “Me and my classmates would go outside at lunch and we'd play at lunch or just in the backyard with no real structure or anything. Me and my best friend at the time loved it. So we told my mom he wanted to start a team for the school. We looked into that, it was going to be a lot of work and a ton of hassle so my mom looked and found a rec league that I could play in in Birmingham locally. So I started there, and then as I got older I did the adult league. And then I played on a club team in high school as well.”

After moving from his hometown of Birmingham, Ala., to MC, Easie tried to get the Frisbee spinning on a team for the Choctaws. The process hasn’t been smooth flying though.

“I wanted to start a team here just coming in as a freshman, and honestly, the reason I didn't start it earlier is because I just didn't even know where to start,” Easie said. “It's kind of one of those things where you're overwhelmed by just not knowing.”

This spring was the first semester that the Tribal Ultimate club team has had approval to start organizing. Sophomore Michael Long is one student who is excited at the opportunities to start playing. 

“I’ve always had a lot of fun playing ultimate, and made some good memories playing it. It’s somewhat nostalgic to me,” Long said. “I am hopeful and excited about the possible camaraderie within the team. I think there is the chance for the team to build very good, strong, and close relationships which I think is a cool and unique thing.” 

Everyone involved with the sport and the team emphasized the strong team atmosphere that the sport creates. The teams are generally smaller, and the lower numbers result in stronger bonds being made. 

“It’s just the atmosphere at the game, because it's ultimately the most uplifting and positive community I've ever seen, especially in sports,” Easie said. “I could count on one hand the number of people who would be toxic. In tournaments, in pick up, whatever level that I've played at, most of the time even when your bigger rivals with whatever team, you're going to treat each other with respect. That's what I love about it.”