Ultimate in Seattle

I have been really impressed by the number of good players here in Seattle. There are definitely some players that did not make it through the first cuts of Sockeye that would've made it onto the Dutch national team. In a way it makes sense, there are just so many people that play in this city.

Just in schools alone, there are 2500 kids in Seattle that play ultimate. In every other park there is a game going on. During Sockey practices there are usually two games being played at the same fields. These games vary from no-stall-count, 6-on-6 turn over fests to decent games were everybody mastered the side-arm. On top of this, it is not uncommon for elite players to move to Seattle to play for Sockeye.

These 2500 kids are trained by payed coaches that really understand the game. I visited the Spring Reign tournament, the biggest junior tournament in the world, and the disc skills of these kids are really amazing. A lot of Sockeye players are coaches, so these kids are trained by the best. For Sockeye it is also a really good deal, because there is just a huge pool of players that are very good even before the go to college.

This coaching experience also shows in the Sockeye practices. They are all very well thought out, clearly communicated and practices are clearly building upon the previous ones. It is really inspiring to be part of a group like this and I am sure I am going to keep on learning a ton.