The New York Rumble, the professional Ultimate Frisbee team of Major League Ultimate, hosted a clinic for West Windsor High School before their home opener on Saturday. They will hold a similar clinic for the Ramapo College Ultimate Frisbee team on May 3, before the Rumble's next home game against the Boston Whitecaps.
The Rumble will be hosting clinics before each of their home games this season to help build local interest in the sport, and to teach players of various levels with professional players.
"That's part of the awesomeness of this sport. We're always trying to grow it, we're always trying to get more and more people involved and love this game," said Rumble head coach Anthony Nuñez. "That's what we do, so we love sharing that with every type of age group and people. It's great to see them learn from the guys because they just eat it up, it's fantastic. "
While the Rumble will host clinics with various age and skill levels, Nuñez said that they tailor each clinic to meet the needs of the teams they are hosting.
He said that Saturday's clinic with West Windsor was focused on building basic skills for a group of players who are new to the sport, but that the Ramapo team can expect something different.
"We're trying to run more based upon their needs and their skill level," Nuñez said. "Ramapo's got some players who are fairly on the newer side, but really they've got players who have played before so we're going into more detailed help."
Vice president and co-captain of the Ramapo Ultimate Frisbee team, Jon Boyle, said the team is looking forward to getting the chance to learn from professional players.
"Myself, and the two other captains bring to the team what we know, but having a coach who is coaching a professional team and doing higher level stuff and more advanced things is really what we're hoping to get out of it," Boyle said.
Boyle hopes that doing clinics with the Rumble and getting involved with New York's other professional Ultimate Frisbee team, the New York Empire of the American Ultimate Disc League, will help open doors for Ramapo players who want to pursue a professional career.
Saturday's game was a thriller for the Rumble, as they outlasted the Philadelphia Spinners in a 24-23 double overtime win. Chris Mazur, who was recognized before the game as last season's Eastern Conference MVP, scored the winning point in sudden death as he caught a short pass from rookie Quinn Hunziker in the end zone.
However, the Spinners will not have to wait long to get another chance at the Rumble, as the teams will meet on April 26 in Philadelphia.
"Now that we know the matchups that we want to see, we're going to switch up some of the matchups. The defense's offense is going to run a lot smoother, we're not going try to huck it as much," Nuñez said. "We only get better each and every game because the team only gains more and more chemistry."
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mmontal1@ramapo.edu
