February Player of the Month
Full Name: Freeland Church
Nickname(s): Free, Willy
Age: 28
Hometown: Mo-Vegas, VT
Profession: Computer Technician
Years playing: 10
Former/current teams: Stoned Clown, Crafty, MUD Season, ACRONYM, Cupcake Reacharound, Slow Clap
Favorite tournament: Clambake
Highest level of play you’ve achieved: I bowled a 180 last night!
Where are you playing now-a-days: Slow Clap out of PDX
What first got you into the game: Shockingly, I discovered my college frisbee team at the student activities fair in the beginning of freshmen year. I don't know which is stranger, that I went to the student activities fair or that the Frisbee team set up a table there.
What brought you to Portland: It's progressive character and affordability.
Favorite O/D Strategy: Create good field position by forcing a turnover near the endzone.
Anything else to add: Thanks Katie. And for anybody looking for a fun co-ed club team this year, Slow Clap will be back with some practices starting in April!
January Player Of The Month
Full Name: Rigel Berg
Nickname(s): Thunder, The Grandmaster, The Biz
Age: 29
Hometown: Puyallup, WA
Profession: I play poker (online mostly)
Years playing: 11
Former/current teams: DOGFIGHT!!!!! UW Sundodgers, Shazam, EC Remix, MF United, Pocket Rockets, Shadrach, Torque, Cupcake Reacharound, Elixir/Shelixbac... etc
Favorite tournament: Potlatch
Highest level of play you’ve achieved: Club Nationals
Where are you playing now-a-days: It's the offseason, and as I get older my body seems to need it more and more, but I played some Fall League, and I will surely play some Winter League.
What first got you into the game: I used to play "ultimate frisbee" with my friends in high school which at the time consisted of gathering in a random field and playing 4 on 4 with an aerobie superdisc. Then when I went to the University of Washington, I stumbled across a booth for the ultimate frisbee team and decided to check it out.
What brought you to Portland: Christine Beaulieu
Favorite O/D Strategy: Don't really care what offense we run as long as we keep the disc, POSSESSION OFFENSE FTW!!!! I definitely prefer hard man defense (NO POACHING, everyone shut down their own person)
Anything else to add: Nope.
PUFF Volunteer Recruitment Party
Wanna get involved? Want to help your local Frisbee community be the most awesome community on the west coast? PUFF needs volunteers to help run leagues, be spring league and z-league captains,be on the board itself and other fun roles! Come out to the Old Towne Pizza at 5201 Northeast Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard on December 13th at 7pm and get some pizza, chat with PUFF members, and enter a free raffle to win cool prizes like swag and a coveted, reserved spot in PUFF's spring league! All ages are welcome and if your not able to attend, but still have an interest in helping out, feel free to contact PUFF at director@portlandultimate.org and we will find a way for you to help out.
December Player Of The Month
Full Name: Pete Overright
Nicknames:MVPete, Positive Pete, Ginga Ninja, Peteo… some might say Manet but those people are not my friends.
Age:26
Hometown:Normal, Illinois, home of the Corn Crib!
Profession:Mobile Software Developer / Badminton Player
Years playing:4
Former/current teams:ISU Gnomes, Montrose Globetrotters, Dogfight
Favorite tournament: Petelatch, aka Potlatch. No competition. Every time I've gone it has been the happiest weekend of the year for me.
Highest level of play you’ve achieved:My chicken wing pull at Onionfest that was better than all of Dan Shaw’s pulls that weekend. E Bracket Champions at Potlatch 2011 (with the flag to prove it). Also 5th place at Regionals this year.
Most memorable game: Winning the game against Flycoons 14-12 at regionals this year felt pretty good. There was also something strangely rewarding about beating the high school team on universe point at Spawnfest. But the losses at regionals are most memorable right now.
Where are you playing now-a-days?Fall/Winter League, whatever tournaments I can find… biding my time until the club season starts again.
What first got you into the game?The first time I played was on a frozen lake. No one knew what they were doing, and there were a lot of turnovers and falling on the ice. After a couple years I started playing some pickup and found that grass hurt less than ice. Then I joined ISU’s college team and Ryan Sean Kelly taught me everything he knew, except how to throw.
Favorite O/D Strategy:Offense: run deep and hope someone throws it. Defense: Man defense or any zone that works. Ever since Rigel taught me how to defend the dump, my favorite position is guarding a handler.
What is this twitter thing, and where do you get one? I have no idea. It's like if you thought about blogging but then got lazy after a couple sentences. But more importantly, @PDX_Ultimate just broke 100 followers! 200 here we come!
Shout outs? To the best pod ever, OJ and LA, for always being there for me. To Dan Steinberg and the Golden Robots for my rookie contract. To Jacob for being on my team instead of someone else’s. To Ash for inspiring me to try harder. To Future for helping me improve my weaknesses. And to Amy Bartlett for always having the perfect combination of friendliness and intensity.
November Player of the Month
Full Name: *Jennifer Annette Tibbals*
Nicknames:* J Tibbs, Aggro-cream (what Lewis and Clark would call me while I was in college. Serbia confessed this after becoming my teammate on Schwa; she's pretty much the only person who uses it)*
Age: *24*
Hometown: *Moscow, Idaho*
Profession: *Registered Nurse at the veterans hospital. Gotta love those crazy old men!*
Years playing: *5*
Former/current teams: *University of Portland Bathsheba, Schwa*
Favorite tournament: *2011 Club Regionals. Schwa put their heart and soul on the field and made it to the game to go after coming dead last in 2010. A really exciting weekend.*
Highest level of play you’ve achieved: *The same team and tournament described above.*
Most memorable game: *Tough choice. It's hard to determine which game from regionals was the best, but I'd probably have to say the game against Traffic. They'd pretty thoroughly whomped us throughout the year and we traded points with them all the way to the end.*
Where are you playing now-a-days? *Schwa*
What first got you into the game? *I was wandering around an activities fair at the beginning of my freshman year of college where there are booths all over the place with every club shouting at people to join and play. Frisbee was just sitting there and the gal behind the table knew me because her younger sister was a freshman in my dorm. She totally peer pressured me into playing and I was hooked from the start. *
Favorite O/D Strategy: *Run faster, jump higher, lay out further and intimidate the shit out of the opponent (I have no idea if I actually accomplish this last part)*
Is it true what they say about twins? *We're the best, of course. And yes, we finish each others sentences. *
As a nurse, Do you have advice for those wishing to avoid Mononucleosis? *Don't drink from Serbia's cancer bottle. *
Shout outs? *Kama, the woman who helped revive our team in college and who taught me much of what I know now. Everyone on Schwa for being so much fun to play with! Danny, who helped me really step up my game this year. Katie, Holly, and Mia, my number one frisbee golf partners during college, who helped me get into all sorts of shenanigans. And Serbia's cancer bottle, for providing inspiration to us all season long.
October Player of the Month
Full Name: J. Scott Christ. I like to keep the J abbreviated because it makes me feel badass like M. Night Shyamalan. Also, I thought The Village was excellent. I have no idea why it got panned by critics.
Nickname: The Passion. Contrary to popular belief, I did not nickname myself. This was a pre-Ultimate nickname that I wanted to carry over. Still, my college teammates gave me crap for “nicknaming myself.” One thing led to another, and I ended up having to wrestle a guy in order to “earn” my nickname. I pinned him in 33 seconds. Boom, lesson learned. Don’t mess with The Passion.
Age: 28
Hometowns: South Pasadena, CA; Arcata, CA; Portland, OR
Profession: K-12 Substitute Teacher. Imagine a cross between Jack Black in School of Rock and Steve from Blue’s Clues.
Years playing: 9
Former/current teams: Humboldt Buds, Pen15, Golden Robots
Favorite tournament: I’ll go with Log Jam because I love that time of year (summer solstice), it’s not too far from Portland, and I love the outdoor party and suzy sticks tournament.
Highest level of play you’ve achieved: 9th Place, N.W. College Open Regionals, 2006.
Most memorable game: At Log Jam 2009, in our inaugural tournament, the Golden Robots beat Guard Seize Them 12-11 on universe point. Some jabroni named Pete Overright emailed us and asked if he could pick-up; he pulled in the winning score. This had to be one of biggest Ultimate upsets of all time. Think Appalachian State/Michigan level of upset.
Where are you playing now-a-days: Sunday pick-up at Fernhill, Spring League, Summer League, local tournaments
What first got you into the game: I always loved Ultimate, even when I was playing 20-on-20 all-backhand jungle style before I knew there was more competitive play out there. It’s just intrinsically a very fun game.
Favorite O/D Strategy: (Inside the G-Bots’ huddle.) “We’re definitely going with a Huck-Zone here. We’ll work it up to half field and then Jan, Taylor, or Todd can look to huck to Duke, Marilyn, KG, or KP. If the huck misses, set the zone. On the goal line, we’re using Ranj as a hub. That’s right, it’s hammer time! If Ranj is out (very likely), we’re going to have to use Aziz as the hammer guy. Uh, oh."
Shout-outs: Chris Cook, great coach. Kellen Russell, amazing player/captain. Asa Hunt, Pen15 Fristator. Alex Mitchell, knows how to party. Andrea Jung, favorite Spring League captain. Matt Ryan, sideline superstar. Katie Kern and Mark Lyles, Dark Cycle co-coaches. Setha Nhuong, he who nominated The Passion. Dan Steinberg, G-Bot recruiter who moves great for 40. Golden Robots, a special team. PUFF Leaders and Volunteers, you all work for a special community. My mom, as far as she’s concerned, I’m the best Ultimate player ever. My wife, she’s a little more skeptical.
September Players of the Month
Name: OJ Hoehn // Carolyn McCaffrey
Nickname: "Jeremy" // "Pip"
Age: Young enough to want to run, old enough to have to handle
Hometown: Rural Southern Minnesota // Rural southern Oregon
Years playing: 12 // 4
Former/current teams: GOP, EGO, Goodtimes, The Coltrane, Dogfight // Divas, Keggers, Slow Clap
Favorite tournament: Spawnfest. It's a great mix of real ultimate and unreasonable amounts of partying. // Remember that one tournament where someone lost their pants and we all drank too much and and still broke seed while hung-over on Sunday? That was a pretty sweet tournament.
Highest level of play you’ve achieved: Been to Regionals a few times (Coed&College//College)
Where are you playing now-a-days: Dogfight // Slow Clap
What first got you into the game: Spirit of the Game, being fast was useful, there were lots of athletic women there. It probably occurred in the opposite order. // There was this boy I liked who kept dragging me to tournaments and one day I decided it would be more fun to play than to sit on the sidelines.
Favorite O/D Strategy: Offense: No one remembers the boring points. Let's just throw something up and see if the short guy comes down with it again. Defense: I like covering handlers or playing deep deep in a zone.
Who are some of the players you've looked up to as you've learned the game? At my first Logjam I learned from Ash that being smart and fast was far more effective then being faster. In my first tournament with Coltrane Chris showed me that loving the game is what makes it worth it. Early in Dogfight Jacob taught me that my height is no reason I can't also own the skies. // OJ was my first coach and a great role model. He taught me how to throw lefty break mark flicks, but most importantly he has shown me that the most important and hardest skill for a player to master is the encouraging side-line heckle.
What do you admire about your better half's game? She's never given up on her damn high flick, not matter how many times her coach/teammate/manmate told her to. // I love watching my little man in flashy tights be the tallest player in the air. I love hearing his cackle after a great play even more.
So we hear you're getting married. How are you going to celebrate? We are going to Napa and probably going to consume our weight in wine.
Any advice you want from other married ultimate couples? We want to thank so many ultimate couples for demonstrating that you can love both ultimate and parenting. Wheeza & Sparky, Nora & Barto, Hil & Tim, and many more: you inspire us.
Anything else to add? Portland has been so wonderful to me. I want to say thanks to Kyle for getting me here and thanks to everyone else for keeping me here.
July Player of the Month
"Yes, I hit the cameraman from 30 yards on the 1st shot because I thought he had thrown the disc into the back of my head!" -Milan Cole
Full Name: Milan Cole
Nickname(s): None really, but "Fashion", and "Smilin'" have been tried.
Age: 33
Hometown: Originally Ojai, CA but after 4 years I'm starting to say Portland
Profession: Real Estate Broker & Internet Marketing Director
Years playing: 4
Former/current teams: Rowboat, Peepshow, Golden Robots, Natural 20s, Pleistescene Supernova, Five-Oh, Detour, Prom-iscuous, Administrators
Favorite tournament: Potlatch
Highest level of play you’ve achieved: The Administrators won a couple lessor known college tournaments
Where are you playing now-a-days: Rowboat
What first got you into the game: I first played pickup more than a decage ago at UC Santa Cruz, but whatever Skillz I have come from playing PUFF leagues and local tournaments in/around Portland and the Northwest, for which credit goes to Matty Hopkins for introducing me to PUFF.
Favorite O/D Strategy: Whatever strategy leads to winning is usually my favorite. The "Paul Play" is a lot of fun because you can pretty much be sure that the huck will go up (foul or not), and I generally like horizontal and ISO offences and man/zone defenses.
Thank Yous: There have been many local players that have helped me improve my game, and I'd particularly like to thank my Skillz league captains, Martin, Athan, Chuck, Paige, and Laura, as well as the PUFF Board and the many volunteers who help make the leagues happen.
Anything else to add: I have missed the PUFF spring/skillz leage tournament for 3 years in a row, I hope that next year I get lucky!
Against The Grain - Pickup Players Wanted!
A few teams are looking to pickup some player for Against The Grain, Oregon's largest beach Ultimate tournament. Play is 4v4 and 5v5 in Seaside, OR, July 16-17, 2011. Please contact daisyhubbs@gmail.com if interested in picking up with a team.
SUNDAY PARKWAYS
PUFF is working on putting together Ultimate Frisbee outreach events at the Sunday Parkways. This is a great chance to share your love of the game with new people in Portland. The following dates are open:
- June 26 - NoPo. Parks: Arbor Lodge, Kenton, Peninsula, McCoy
- July 24 - NW/Downtown. Parks: Wallace, Waterfront Park Bowl
- August 28 - SE Parks: Laurelhurst, Colonel Summers
- September 25 - NE. Parks: Alberta, Fernhill, Woodlawn, McCoy.
Visit the Sunday Parkways website or contact Jeff O. for more information on volunteering.