Top Athletes and Coaches Teach Ultimate Clinic for United States Olympic Committee Staff
Posted: January 30, 2015 12:00 PM
Colorado Springs, Colo. (Jan. 30, 2015) – Last night, Jan. 29, at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, USA Ultimate staff, along with 13 of the best players and coaches in the state of Colorado, spent two hours teaching 60 members of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) staff how to play ultimate.
The 60 participants are all part of the USOC’s Sport Performance Division, individuals dedicated to helping members of Team USA enhance their abilities and win gold medals. They work with Olympians on all manner of athlete development: nutrition, biomechanics, strength and conditioning, high-performance leadership, sport psychology and much more. And now they know how to play ultimate.
[Photo credit: Casey B. Gibson]
Some of the most successful ultimate players and coaches in the state of Colorado, including three international gold medalists, three Callahan Award winners, a U-23 gold-medal coach, club champions, college champions and athletes with countless other accomplishments, joined members of the USA Ultimate staff in Colorado Springs for the two-hour clinic.
Unsurprisingly, the USOC staff includes many athletic, competitive people who picked up the sport with aplomb. College quarterbacks, defensive backs, weightlifting champions and basketball players are just a few of the talented people who comprise the USOC’s Sport Performance staff. Competing against one another in team sports, like indoor soccer and now ultimate, is common for them and often intense enough that not everyone walks away un-bruised. Fortunately, everyone emerged unharmed from their first ultimate experience.
Smiles and laughs abounded as the nation’s newest ultimate players learned the basics of throwing and catching before moving on to work through a couple simple drills and into 4 v. 4 gameplay, all with the help of their coaches.
Everyone was having fun and working hard. For nearly everyone at the USOC, it was their first ultimate experience, and it was not always exactly what they had anticipated. Despite knowing the sport takes endurance, many were still surprised at just how much running is required.
[Photo credit: Casey B. Gibson]
As the participants dwindled, either to see to other obligations or simply because they were worn out, the number of games diminished, until a single game of 6 v. 6 was taking place across the whole length of the court with plenty of cheerleaders enjoying themselves on the sidelines. Athleticism and enthusiasm on all sides were the afternoon’s hallmarks.
The event was just as fun for the 13 coaches who made the trip to the Olympic Training Center. More than once, groups of USOC tourists stopped outside the windows to watch and take pictures. And playing on a court with the Team USA logo emblazoned in the middle and a massive USOC banner hanging on the far wall was a special experience.
[Photo credit: Casey B. Gibson]
Callahan winner and U-23 gold medalist Claire Chastain called her mom as soon as she found out about the opportunity to coach at the clinic. Her mom was almost as excited as Claire.
Denver Molly Brown captain Lindsey Cross said it was a "surreal experience, to teach the people who teach Olympians."
As ultimate garners more and more recognition with the greater sports community and at the United States Olympic Committee, USA Ultimate hopes to take advantage of many additional opportunities of this nature, while carving out a place for the sport in the Olympic Family.
Participating athletes and coaches:
• Jeff Berget
• Claire Chastain
• Lindsey Cross
• Jimmy Donnellon
• Buzz Ellsworth
• Taryn Langlois
• Jimmy Mickle
• Nhi Nguyen
• Jim Schoettler
• Finlay Waugh
• Mike Whitaker
• Emily Woolridge
• Nathan Woolridge
USA Ultimate staff:
• Tom Crawford
• Will Deaver
• Mike Lovinguth
• Connor Maloney
• Sarah Powers
• Ernest Toney
• Stacey Waldrup
[Photo credit: Casey B. Gibson]
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