USA Ultimate

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		JIM PARINELLA Inducted: 2014 - Player Current Home: Sudbury, Mass. Born: Mar. 25, 1965		Jim’s long and storied ultimate career has been the definition of excellence, leadership, longevity and innovation. After learning the game in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Jim first came into the spotlight while leading different contending Boston teams in the late '80s and early '90s, but when he helped form and lead Death or Glory in 1994, he changed the fortune of his teammates and the game of ultimate forever. A gifted athlete who simply could not be covered, Jim was also a strategic mastermind who was an integral force behind the invention of cutting-edge hybrid zones and elegant offensive formations that frustrated and conquered the best teams in the world. As an understated captain who led by doing, Jim delivered results with DoG: six straight national championships from 1994–1999 and three world titles between 1996 and 2000. Arguably Jim's most impressive statistic is an individual one; he has played in a national championship (open, masters, grandmasters) every year since 1992 and is still going!

Playing Career | US Nationals | WFDF Worlds | Contributions and Service | Interview

Playing Career 1983 - 1985    Ubiquidisc/North Coast   Cleveland 1986   Crash   Pittsburgh 1987 - 1988   North Coast   Cleveland 1989 - 1991   Earth Atomizer   Boston 1992 - 1993   Commies/Big Brother   Boston 1994 - 2012   Death or Glory (DoG)   Boston 2013 -    No Country   Boston WFDF World Ultimate Championship Tournaments Team   Div   Year   Event   Placement Earth Atomizer   Open   1991   WUCC   Third Big Brother   Open   1993   WUCC   Seventh DoG   Open   1995   WUCC   Second (DoG)   Open   1996   WUGC   Champion  (DoG)   Open   1998   WUGC   Third DoG   Open   1999   WUCC   Champion  (DoG)   Open   2000   WUGC   Champion DoG   Open   2002   WUCC   Second  (DoG)   Masters   2008   WUGC   Champion   Masters   2011   WCBU   Champion   Grand Masters   2015   WCBU   Champion   PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Herman

US National Championship Tournaments   Team    City   Division    Year    Placement Earth Atomizer   Boston   Open   1989   11th Earth Atomizer   Boston   Open   1990   Fifth Commonwealth   Boston   Open   1992   Second Big Brother   Boston   Open   1993   Third DoG   Boston   Open   1994   Champion DoG   Boston   Open   1995   Champion DoG   Boston   Open   1996   Champion DoG   Boston   Open   1997   Champion DoG   Boston   Open   1998   Champion DoG   Boston   Open   1999   Champion DoG   Boston   Open   2000   Third DoG   Boston   Open   2001   Third DoG   Boston   Open   2002   Third DoG   Boston   Open   2003   Fifth DoG   Boston   Open   2004   Fifth DoG   Boston   Open   2005   Third DoG   Boston   Open   2006   Seventh DoG   Boston   Masters   2007   Champion DoG   Boston   Masters   2008   Fourth DoG   Boston   Masters   2009   Fourth DoG   Boston   Grand Masters   2009   Champion DoG   Boston   Masters   2010   Eighth DoG   Boston   Grand Masters   2010   Third DoG   Boston   Masters   2011   11th DoG   Boston   Grand Masters   2011   Fifth DoG   Boston   Grand Masters   2012   Sixth No Country   Brattleboro   Grand Masters   2013   Champion No Country   Brattleboro   Grand Masters   2014   Third No Country   Brattleboro   Grand Masters   2015   Second No Country   Brattleboro   Grand Masters   2016   Third    Beach Nationals Team    City   Division    Year    Placement No Country   Brattleboro   Grand Masters   2015   Second No Country   Brattleboro   Grand Masters   2016   Champion

2000 WUGC with DoG PHOTO CREDIT: Dennis Warsen PHOTO CREDIT: Heather Tausig

Contributions and Service  UPA Board of Directors from 1998-2003, serving as President in 2001-2002.   Observer for several years, including being the Head Observer for the finals of College Nationals in 2001.   Beginning in 1994, wrote articles for several publications, including the UPA Newsletter on strategies and skills in ultimate. In 2004, co-wrote "Ultimate Techniques and Tactics" with Eric Zaslow, published by Human Kinetics. It is still in print and has sold over 12,000 copies.   Fall 1991, Death or Glory PHOTO CREDIT: Scobel Wiggins

Interview 

Q: What position(s) (e.g., handler, deep cutter, middle-middle) did you usually play?

A: Primary receiver and popper in zone O. I was both a deep threat and a possession receiver. Up to age 35, I also played a lot of D, usually on receivers or as wing or deep in the zone.

Q: Describe your major accomplishments – both as a teammate and an individual player?

A: I was a key part of the DoG dynasty that won six straight national championships. We had so many great players that it’s hard to claim that any one of us was indispensable. I made Nationals 20 straight years, the last five in Masters, and made semifinals at Nationals 11 straight years. For most of those years, I played virtually every offensive point and was the first downfield cutter in the called play more than half of the time. 

Q: Why did you stand out among the elite players of your time?  What was it that you did best, or were known for? 

A: I was always able to get open with the force and I always caught a lot of goals, many of them where I was so open that I could catch them flat-footed. While I don’t have the classic "sweet throws", I became an effective thrower, adding deep throws and break marks to my game as I matured. I was the key popper in our zone offense, which helped to redefine the way to play zone O. We became so good that teams just wouldn’t play zone against us (more than once).

Q: What role did you play on the best (or most overachieving team) that you played on?

A: I was a primary downfield cutter. We had some great receivers (Chris Corcoran, Fortunat Mueller) and many good ones on a team that won 52 straight games at Nationals, so we all were called as part of the four-person play. I would both throw and catch a lot of goals.

Q: What year was the peak of your career? During which years were you playing as the "stud" of your team? If you continued playing after your peak years, how did your role change? In what year did you stop playing at the top competitive level?

A: I would be hard-pressed to pick a particular year as my peak, with anytime between 1992, when I was 27 and at my peak physically, and 1998 being possible. I think my single best performance was in the 1995 Nationals. I was the first cutter on probably 75% of the points and led the team in catches in the finals (usually a handler touches the disc the most), which we won 21-10 while committing only three turnovers. Steve Mooney commented that he had a hard time finding a good picture of me from the video because there was never anyone else in the frame when I was catching it. As late as 2002, when we came close to winning both Worlds and Nationals, I was still capable of carrying the team on occasion. From 2000 (when I was 35) to 2006 (my last year in open), I played almost exclusively on the O line and became more of a possession receiver (and occasional handler, especially near the goal line) rather than a deep threat.

Q: Why do you believe you are worthy of being inducted into the Ultimate Hall of Fame?

A: I had a very long career with a prolonged peak that placed me as one of the top players in the game for a number of years. I was a versatile player who had great field sense.