Although I’m passionate about frisbee, my focus is really on physical literacy, and working to encourage, promote, support, and develop physical literacy in kids.
The reason I’m successful in frisbee is not just because I have spent a lot of time practicing, training, competing, and learning. Much of my skill in frisbee was developed before I ever threw my first disc – growing up as a multi-sport athlete.
As a kid, I skated, swam, played soccer, hockey, golf, badminton, baseball, rugby, football, volleyball, track & field, and basketball. In my senior year of high school, I was voted athlete of the year and was a member of the soccer, hockey, rugby, and track team.
I am so grateful that my parents encouraged me to play different sports, and I’m so thankful that my high school had rules in place that each sport was a different season.
Had I played any of the sports I mentioned above all year as a kid, I wouldn’t be the athlete I am today.
After I graduated from high school, I discovered frisbee, and the rest is history. Although frisbee is my sole focus, even within frisbee there are many different disciplines. It’s very much like track & field in that way.
The disciplines recognized by the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), which is the global body responsible for governing the sport of flying disc (frisbee) are:
- Ultimate (Grass & Beach)
- Disc Golf
- Guts
- Freestyle
- DDC (Double Disc Court)
- Distance
- SCF (Self Caught Flight) – MTA and TRC
- Discathon
- Accuracy
- Canine Disc (not one of the WFDF disciplines, but has thousands of participants worldwide – both human and canine)
Frisbee is a wonderful sport for many reasons, but in the realm of physical literacy, there are 3 core fundamental movement skills (FMS). They are: Throw, Run, and Catch. I created the graphic below which showcases the disc sports that correspond to the three fundamental movement skills.
The best way to get better at frisbee is not solely by playing frisbee.
- Learn to catch from playing baseball, softball, football, juggling, etc.
- Learn to run through track & field, soccer, football, lacrosse, etc.
- Learn to throw from baseball, softball, football, track & field, etc.
My favourite event is the Overall, which is a multi discipline event featuring 7 disc sports: Distance, Self Caught Flight, Discathon, Accuracy, Freestyle, Disc Golf, and Double Disc Court (DDC).
Very much like a heptathlon in track & field, you get points based on how you finish in each event, and the person with the most points is the Overall Champion. Although I’ve been in the top 5 a few times at Overall competitions, I would rather win a few events and not be the overall champion, than not win any events and be the overall champion. My favourite events are Self Caught Flight (4x World Champion), Distance (1x World Champion), and Disc Golf (1x World Champion).
Ultimate and Guts are two disc sports which really showcase throwing and catching.
Most people don’t know what’s possible with frisbee, but in fact you can throw a frisbee to many different targets:
- Yourself (Self Caught Flight, Freestyle)
- A friend (Freestyle, Catch, Ultimate, Speed Flow)
- A dog (Canine Disc)
- A target (Accuracy, Disc Golf, Discathon)
- For distance (Distance, Self Caught Flight, Disc Golf)
- At someone else (Guts, Double Disc Court)
Please contact me if you are interested in bringing my frisbee workshops to your school, organization, or if you are interested in having me at your event.
Play Catch. Invent Games.