Flying Discs and a Whole Lot of Fun: The SHS Ultimate Frisbee Club

Flying under the radar, the Ultimate Frisbee Club is a true force to be reckoned with at Scituate High School.

Maintaining an undefeated record since 2019, this popular club has high hopes for the spring season. Leading this effort are the club’s captains: Joe Masuret, Michael James, Kyle Mullen, and Brody Dunn.

For those unfamiliar with Ultimate Frisbee, the sport is relatively simple. The game is played on a rectangular field that is slightly longer and skinnier than a football field; however, at the high school level, using football field boundaries for games is relatively common. Teams can score points by passing a frisbee up the field and into the opponent’s end zone. The first team to reach 15 points wins the game.

Additionally, there are several notable rules for the game: No contact is allowed in any form, players may not run or walk while possessing the disc (frisbee), and players have a ten-second “stall” to throw the disc after receiving it. There is also no game clock in Ultimate Frisbee. Aside from a halftime break once one team reaches eight points, the game runs continuously.

One of the game’s most interesting aspects is the lack of a formal refereeing body. At all levels of ultimate frisbee, foul-calling is completely up to the players. The club’s head coach, SHS history teacher Andrew Roberts, noted, “We tend to not call fouls, ever, even when the other team fouls us, and try to play through it.”

Ultimate Frisbee is played with seven players at a time on each team. Roberts also proudly remarked, “Even though we basically play all-guy teams, last year and this year, we’ve had almost a half dozen female players out on the field.” Roberts is extremely proud of the success the club’s female athletes have been able to find in this generally male-dominated sport.

One of the biggest questions people have about the twelve-year-old SHS Ultimate Frisbee Club is whether or not it will ever become an official varsity sport. Despite playing against tough teams like Abington High School, Sharon High School, and St. Sebastian’s School, the club will unlikely gain varsity status. However, according to Masuret, who holds the club’s record in career points and assists, this may be for the best. Masuret described the club as “very stress-free,” adding, “it’s fun–it’s just you and your friends.” Praising the team’s camaraderie, Masuret said, “You drive up to the games, dominate, get some Wendy’s on the way home. It’s just good vibes. I kind of like it being a club, but if people want to make it a sport, they should.” 

Roberts appreciates strong backing from the SHS administration. He noted that, especially since athletic director Scott Paine joined SHS, the support has been “awesome.” He said, “We are a fully recognized club now, which wasn’t always the case. I feel like we have tremendous support, which we’re very grateful for.”

While explaining the club’s extraordinary success in recent years, SHS senior and three-year Ultimate Frisbee player, Jesse Rees, made it clear that “we don’t lose, don’t like to lose.” He also had a message for anyone considering joining Ultimate Frisbee: “I think that everybody should do it. Anyone that doesn’t have a sport, I think you should play Ultimate. It’s a great sport.”