Buff Ultimate Frisbee players headed to Nationals

CU Boulder ultimate Frisbee clubs are sending six players to the U-23 National Team tryouts. Getting the opportunity to tryout for the national team was no walk in the park for these Buffs, but all six Buffs were accepted.

Over 500 players submitted applications for the U-23 team and a total of 96 men and 88 women were chosen to attend the training camps. This is the first time ever that the U.S. is sending a U-23 team to the World Ultimate Championships in Toronto, Canada July 22-28.

Senior Amanda Good steps out to make a pass around the CSU defender. Good is one of 6 students from Colorado’s club ultimate teams trying out for the U.S. U-23 national team this weekend in L.A. (Amy Leder/CU Independent)

The six Buffs that will be heading to tryouts are, on the men’s side, seniors Jimmy Mickle and Tim Morrissy. For the women, CU will be sending seniors Amanda Good, Christina Mickle, Natalie Plaza and junior Megan Cousins.

No CU woman had tried out for the National team before this year. Mickle and Morrissy are not strangers when it comes to tryouts; both were chosen for the men’s U-20 National Team their freshman year, 2010.

“Playing for the U-20 team was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Morrissy said. ”We traveled to Germany in 2010 and represented our country. It’s fun to represent your school, but representing your country is a very special feeling.”

The two men play on a club team in Denver, and their coach is also the current coach for the U.S. men’s team.

“I’m looking forward to trying out again, basically playing with the best U-23 players in the country,” Mickle said. It’s exciting to play kids from other countries as well.”

Tryouts will be intense. Coaches who make the selections do not have the luxury of watching players over a period of months, the players only have one shot, and there is no time for mistakes, make-ups or do-overs.

“You only get one shot,” Cousins said. “You have to go all-in.”

The group has exactly two days to showcase their absolute potential and hopefully it proves to be beneficial. They all agree that it is a challenge preparing mentally and physically for the pressures of tryouts.

“The best players in college are all in one spot. The fact is that every person you go up against is going to be amazing,” Mickle said. “I added in cardio and lifting over winter break, and mentally, I think about [ultimate] when I’m falling asleep.”

Despite the nervousness and challenges, there is a lot of excitement involved in the tryouts.

“I’m excited for the chance to play against all of the other guys in our age group in the country,” Morrissy said.

Plaza also commented on her excitement.

“I’ve never been in the situation where I get to compete with so many good players, it’s really motivating,” she said.

“I wanted a way to culminate my ultimate experience and I thought that this was the best way that I could,” Good said.

Morrissy and the women headed to the west coast camp in Los Angeles this past weekend from Jan. 26-27. Mickle leaves for the east coast camp in Orlando on Feb. 2-3.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jessica Malknecht at Jessica.malkencht@colorado.edu.