After coming in fourth at state and qualifying for nationals, Crush, Parks ultimate frisbee team, is preparing for another strong season by putting in the work early. Starting on Jan. 7, Crush’s indoor practices have kicked off, featuring drills, skill-building and team bonding.
Assistant coach Eric Andersen said he measures the impactfulness of winter practice by whether the players arrive ready to challenge themselves or enhance their abilities. According to him, when the players show up with the right mindset, Crush positions themselves for a strong season.
“Success indoors can be viewed in many ways. For me, as a coach, I see success as a combination of attitude and effort. Do our players show up and push their limits? Do they learn a new skill or improve their athleticism? If they show up with the right attitude and effort, we can set ourselves up for a great spring season,” Andersen said.
According to senior captain Ethan Yakes said people should join ultimate because of its low-stakes environment, and it’s easy to join as many practices are open to the public.
“It’s a lot less stressful than other sports, and it’s very fun. It’s also a great community, and we have several practices that don’t require sign-ups, and you can just show up and try it out,” Yakes said.
Andersen said indoor practices set the tone for the season, laying the groundwork that has been a key part of Crush’s identity over the past years.
“Winter practice lets us set the foundation for Crush. Crush has always been a fundamentally sound team, both with skills and athleticism, which starts in the indoor season,” Andersen said.
According to Yakes, he enjoys the winter practices because they bring him closer to his teammates and prepare them for the upcoming season in an uplifting environment.
“Winter practices form a community, getting us in shape and ready for the spring season, while having some fun,” Yakes said.
According to senior Ami Davis, winter practices are a way for players to refine their technique and get into better shape, so they can hit the ground running at the beginning of the season.
“It’s a good time to work on individual skills like throwing or conditioning, so once the regular season comes, we’ll be better,” Davis said.
Andersen said winter practice offers players a chance to build consistency with teammates through constant repetition, creating a strong team identity built on strong principles.
“The more reps you get with your teammates, the better you will perform in game scenarios. We want to get as many reps as possible while starting to build the team culture early around our values of resilience, trust, support and honesty,” Andersen said.
According to Davis, Crush’s objective for the upcoming season is to improve on the last and to improve as players.
“Our goal every year is to be better than we were the previous year, and just individually get better,” Davis said.
Yakes said the team believes they have the talent to take home the state title and advance to nationals this upcoming season.
“We want to get first in the state, because we think we have that in reach this year, and we also want to go to Nationals,” Yakes said.
According to Davis, while the practices are climate-controlled, the team will be ready to deal with the elements due to the preparation they have done in these practices.
“Even though we’re not necessarily playing in the elements like wind or rain, we’ll still have all of our throws down,” Davis said.
