By Cooper Rooks, middle school PE Teacher & Ultimate Coach.

The Hyla Middle School Ultimate team, which includes over a dozen student athletes from other schools on the island, made the annual pilgrimage last weekend to Spring Reign, the largest youth Ultimate tournament in the world.

On Saturday, the Hyla Frogs played three games against well polished teams from the Seattle area. Unlike their opponents, these were their first games of the year against other teams, after a spring season of only scrimmaging with our own team. As Hyla was getting warmed up, they had help from the steady 15 mph wind, often gusting into the 30’s to get all the cobwebs cleared beginning to put all their hard practice into action on the field. With many short passes getting swept away by the wind, the Hyla team had trouble getting into their normal rhythm and narrowly lost their first three games. But in true Hyla PE and Ultimate spirit, not one student voiced disappointment or blamed anything, and we stuck to our plan to gauge our success not on the outcome of the final score, but if we feel proud of our collective team efforts, and commitment to sportspersonship and the spirit of the game. Many other players and coaches commented on the positive and friendly energy while staying competitive.

The second day was Hyla’s day to shine, even though we traded out strong winds for rain squalls that varied from light drizzle to fire hose amounts of water from the sky. Hyla came out ready, making incredible passes, communicating their game plan and playing more relaxed while simultaneously turning up the intensity. They won their first game 13-0 against a strong opponent, and rode the wave of confidence throughout the day. As they continued to find ways to utilize their athletic speed and accuracy of throwing to win all three games of the day, they also continued to make friends and allies with the other teams. From giving high fives to a younger player who got a point, to helping injured opponents feel supported and cared for, Hyla showed that even at the most competitive moments, at its core Ultimate is about taking care of each other, even the other team.

Hyla Ultimate has finished another year of after school practices, but you can get some more frisbee time this weekend – join us at the Frog Hop Disc Golf Tournament on Saturday, May 4 from 10AM – 2 PM!