As the ultimate team looks ahead to its season, coaches set stricter rules about commitment from returning players, according to girls’ ultimate coach Seija Stratton.

Stratton said beginning the season sooner will help combat the short season.

“(Both teams are) starting practices earlier and making it more clear for returning players that this is more of a required practice mentality to gear up for the season, as opposed to optional practices for everybody,” Stratton said. “It is such a short season with our games starting (at the) end of March, with the state tournaments at the end of May, so there’s only a couple months to get back into ultimate shape.”

Senior girls’ ultimate captain Anna Gleason said the coaches and captains created the idea for mandatory practices during pre-season meetings.

“In the summer, the captains and the coaches met, and we discussed ways to get people started with ultimate earlier and making sure people stuck with it.”

Gleason said players can work on strengthening their skills during the workouts.

“We do a lot of conditioning. For newer people, we do a lot of throwing practice and then we always scrimmage at the end,” Gleason said.

Stratton said practices allow the athletes to push themselves individually.

“A lot of the things we do, as many situps or as many push ups that you can do in a minute, that way it challenges on an individual level. So whether you are new or a returning player, you are pushing yourself,” Stratton said.

Stratton said space issues push the team to explore new ways to practice.

“We are indoors, so we are a little bit limited, just because of the space restrictions,” Stratton said. “The space that we have is great at the middle school, and we are really grateful for the opportunities that we have, but with the indoor space, it’s not the size of an ultimate field, so we have to get creative in what we do.”

Gleason said the training also benefits the team as a whole by giving the athletes time to bond.

“I think that the more people play together, the more chemistry they will have on the field, and also chemistry off of the field can also help with that,” Gleason said. “I think that we are definitely getting closer and getting to know each other, which always helps.”

Stratton said team bonding aids the team while on the field.

“It’s very important to have a team that is well bonded. You have to know that you are teammates and that when you are on the field together, you are going to stick up for each other,” Stratton said.

Both the boys’ and girls’ ultimate teams practice on Fridays at both Park Spanish Immersion and the Middle School.