2016 Pikesville Rec./ JCC Youth Ultimate Frisbee Leagues

Boys Ages: 8-12. *(other age groups may be added if there is sufficient demand.) Dates & Times: April-June. 7 weeknight sessions on Tues nights from 6:15-7:45 PM. 4/12/2016-5/31/2016, skipping Passover week. Note: Wellwood baseball for ages 8-10 are M,W nights so there is no time conflict. Location: Wellwood E.S. 2901 Smith Avenue, Pikesville, MD 21208 Format & Ethos: Each session will feature coaching and games. Good sportsmanship and competition will be emphasized within a structured league format. We understand that most players will be brand new to the sport. The league will have experienced, competent and talented coaches in a ratio of appx. 6:1 to allow for individualized coaching and feedback. Mike Myers (Beth El member) is the head coach and Brett Weil (Park Heights) is the commissioner/organizer. This is a fantastic learning experience where good players get expert coaching to help them grow their skills so they achieve their highest potential both as great players and great kids. The previous years have been fun for the kids and meant exciting competition and a chance to create quality friendships. Our boys program, using the Boy-to-Mentsch framework, directs young male athletes on a path to become a man of substance and character, a mentsch. Pillars of the curriculum are 1) Communicating without Anger, 2) Empathy, 3) Being Part of a Team and 4) Conflict Resolution. The first two weeks will be fun/warmup and scrimmage games before divisions and teams are officially decided. Boys will be grouped into the 'clinic' level or the more advanced 'league' based on ability. The plan is to have a “clinic” (lower) level and a separate “league” (upper). This is based on skill level, which often but not always, correlates with age. Additionally, the teams are only 4-5 kids and each one has a coach, so there is lots of individual attention. In the clinic and league games, there is a coach who plays on each team and makes sure everyone gets passed to. There is also a built-in incentive to pass around as an “all-touch” goal counts for two points. The clinic will spend more time on skills and drills. We also want to encourage players to toss the discs at home with siblings or parents, as that really helps the motor skills and coordination. Contact: Brett Weil ultimate@pikesvillerec.org, 410-262-6136 Registration at this page Fee: $55. Save $5 with the code PUDA2016. Includes a disc plus end-of-season awards and kosher pizza party. ________________________________________________________________

Girls Ages: 8-13 Dates & Times: Tuesdays in May 2016 (5/03/16 - 05/24/16). 6:00-8:00 PM. Location: Owings Mills JCC Format & Ethos: Ultimate Frisbee is an outdoor team sport that combines the aerial passing skills of football with the non-stop movement and athletic endurance of soccer. This Ultimate Frisbee series is perfect for beginners who want to learn how to play the sport! Experienced, competent, and talented female coaches will be teaching the basics of ultimate, including how to throw, catch, and run for a disc. Each session will include a skills building portion, followed by game play (scrimmages). As a part of the nationwide Girls Ultimate Movement (GUM), this clinic is designed to build confidence and leadership skills of girls through physical activity and teamwork. Contact: Rebecca Chinsky | 410.559.3542 | rchinsky@jcc.org Registration at this page Fee: $70 ($50 for JCC members)

I“I am very passionate about building healthy, strong communities on a foundation of family,” says Brett Weil, Coaching Development Professional - Level I with the Pikesville (MD) Ultimate Disc Association. “So, in the Spring of 2015 I organized, directed and coached in a boys Ultimate Frisbee league with 30 participants through the JCC of Greater Baltimore, partnering with Greater Pikesville Recreational Council, USA Ultimate and Boy to Mentsch.” Ultimate Frisbee, or Ultimate as it is also commonly known is an outdoor sport with seven players on a field about the size of a soccer field. Passing the disc between players until a player catches it in the endzone, Ultimate is a sport like no other in that it has no referees. It is governed by Spirit of the Game.

This league was a great outlet for the boys and a great opportunity for Weil to help coach in sport where the rules of fair play are the referee. As Weil explains, “One of the many beauties of Ultimate is how, even amid the most difficult of situations, utmost graciousness is allowed to meet the challenge head on.”

The ethos called Spirit of the Game, stresses responsibility and conflict resolution. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules, or the basic joy of play. “Through our partnership with the local program Boy to Mentsch we teach some basic behavioral concepts which include Communicating without Anger, Empathy, Being Part of a Team and Conflict Resolution.” Boy to Mentsch is a federal grant directed toward young Jewish men and partners

with Jewish Women International in Washington, D.C., and CHANA, the Counseling Helpline and Aid Network for Abused Women in Baltimore.

“Throughout the seasons we will continue with our sportsmanship lessons through a review of Spirit of the Game and talk about anger. Letting the boys know that it’s ok to be unhappy with how things may occur on the field, but also how to maintain a positive attitude even when we get upset with something on the field. The focus here will be communicating a way to share this without demonstrating anger. Also important to note is how, by not communicating with anger, the game tends to stay more positive, even in the most competitive environment.”

Being located centrally at offsite fields between two JCC’s, Weil’s league drew players from multiple communities. At the conclusion of the season, he wrote to national-level Ultimate star player, Jeff Silverman from the Ultimate club team Santa Barbara Condors. Silverman replied in letter to the Baltimore league champions, also named the Condors, “Congratulations on winning your first championship! Winning takes a great deal of strength and hard work so you should all be very proud of yourselves. But there is more to

SPIRIT OF THE GAME LEADS ULTIMATE FRISBEE PLAYERS

TO VICTORY - ON AND OFF THE FIELD

UltimateFrisbee.indd 10 12/7/15 1:32 PM

SPRIT OF THE GAME | www.onsite-fitness.com 11Ultimate Frisbee than winning.

“Ultimate Frisbee is about the community you form with your teammates… If you want to be the best, you need to put your teammates ahead of yourself. That means you always encourage your teammates to be better, play smarter and work harder each step of the way. Be helpful every chance you can and you will be the best.”

Weil read this letter aloud at their end-of-season banquet and a printed copy was presented to the winning team members. Everyone was touched by Silverman’s words and their impact on these growing boys did not go unnoticed. As the 2016 Ultimate Frisbee League is formed Weil knows these kids will continue to model the great sportsman ethics of those leaders both in the JCC and out of the field who have come before.

Based in part of the success of the JCC of Greater Baltimore’s league and offering Ultimate as a “unit” within Maccabi sports camp, the JCCA is partnering with USA Ultimate (USAU), the sport’s governing organization to enable JCCs nationwide to offer the sport. USAU is working to create a foam disc to allow players to start as young as 4 or 5. Both Girls (Girls Ultimate Movement) and Boys (Boys to Mentsch) leagues are great opportunities to get kids onto the field! OSFPhotos: Nadav Singerman

UltimateFrisbee.indd 11 12/7/15 1:32 PM

Ultimate Frisbee is an outdoor team sport

that combines the aerial passing skills of

football with the non-stop movement and

athletic endurance of soccer. This Ultimate

Frisbee series is perfect for beginners who

want to learn how to play the sport!

Experienced, competent, and talented female

coaches will be teaching the basics of

ultimate, including how to throw, catch, and

run for a disc. Each session will include a skills

building portion, followed by game play

(scrimmages). As a part of the nationwide

Girls Ultimate Movement (GUM), this clinic is

designed to build confidence and leadership

skills of girls through physical activity and

teamwork.

The 2016 Spring league will run on Tuesdays from May 3rd to May 24th 6-8:00pm at the Rosenbloom JCC in Owings Mills. More information at http://www.jcc.org/fitness-wellness-sports/sports-leagues/youth Contact: Rebecca Chinsky rchinsky@jcc.org 410.559.3542 Fee: $70 ($50 for JCC members)