The ultimate frisbee team at Neuqua has been putting in a lot of work during their current pre-season. Each player is preparing for the games to come. One of the coaches for the boys’ varsity team, Coach Gross, elaborates on the team’s spirit by mentioning, “Since ultimate frisbee is a self-officiated sport, there has got to be a lot of respect for everyone in the game.” Most competitive sports are officiated by referees, and ultimate frisbee remains one of the few exceptions. It takes a lot of integrity from each player, and all players are individually responsible for this.

Brendan McCluskey explains that they “have been doing a lot of weight training and building skills and working on a lot of offenses and defenses. [The team’s] ultimate goal is to prepare players for the spring which is [their] main season. [They] want everyone to be ready athletically.” He believes that major improvements will show in their coming season games as the team takes on stronger out-of-state opponents.

As ultimate frisbee grows in popularity, its potential to become an IHSA sport remains a possibility for the future. Currently, NV Ultimate is a club that is run outside of school where they compete in other states which is what senior, Ethan Smith, enjoys about ultimate not being an IHSA sport. However, Ethan also mentions how “[being in IHSA] would mean having more people to spectate the sport which would bring a higher sense of legitimacy to it.” Ethan wishes for their hard work to be recognized but also still craves for intense competition. The regular season for the boys starts in the Spring and will feature the hard work they have been putting in. Games are played around Illinois, as well as outside of the state. All of the players are waiting patiently for this main season to arrive.