(May 8, 2015) Ocean City’s club Ultimate Frisbee team, Humiliswag, went undefeated all the way to the finals before falling 13-7 to the Warhawks, the Boston team favored to win from the start.
Humiliswag had been seeded second, and team leaders knew it was going to be a challenge to win the first-ever beach national championship in Virginia Beach last weekend.
“It was tough for us, because they all knew each other very well and were able to stay collected and scoring goals. They knew each others habits and had great chemistry on the field,” Tim Morrill said.
Humiliswag has had several incarnations over the years, and this team had not been playing together for very long before the tournament.
Bryant Dean was positive on the whole experience.
“I mean, it’s always tough when you lose, but what an experience — it was very fun,” he said. “We were surrounded by a great group of individuals who are really motivated to get better and spread the sport. This tournament was everything you would want it to be.”
New team member, Dan Dypsky, farmed from the public pickup games held every Monday night at the Worcester Athletic Complex in Berlin at 6 p.m., learned what it takes to compete at this level.
“I learned that preparing for the endurance level required is key. There’s a lot of sprints and recovery,” he said.
Dypsky routinely competes in adventure races, and his goal is to one day do an ironman competition.
“I saw a lot of players better than me, which motivates me to come back with more skills next time,” he said.
Beach ultimate is a fledgling offshoot of traditional Ultimate Frisbee, but has recently been recognized as its own game due to the differences in field size and strategy. Beach ultimate is also favored by older athletes or players nursing minor injuries, because the softer surface is easier on joints.
“I think there were a lot of grass players out there on the beach, where I think we were the only true beach team out there,” Alex Jacoski said. “We are able to train on sand because we live on the beach. I’m going to make a run at hosting one of these events in Ocean City. We’ve got a great space for spectators and a great environment and culture to support us.”
Jacoski’s goals are to make the Ocean City area an incubator for talent utilizing the facilities, fields and beach that aren’t available elsewhere.
This is Jacoski’s second year playing for the DC Breeze. He was also named strength and conditioning coach for the team this year owing it to his work with Morrill.
Morrill and Jacoski were co-captains of Salisbury University’s Buzz club team as students.
Morrill formed his own business, Morrill Performance, based on developing Ultimate Frisbee specific training modules.
He spent the last few years circling the globe training and coaching teams including the Warhawks, but has landed in Ocean City once again to promote the area as a destination for the game.
Ocean City Beach Ultimate league play will begin later this year and be held on Thursday nights at 6 p.m.
For more information, visit www.ocbeachultimate.com.
