There’s a moment in my sporting career that I consider defining. I have simply deemed it “The Catch.” No, it was not an Odell for the football win (never have I ever ran a wide receiver route), nor was it a leaping home run steal. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt it if The Catch is totally forgotten by my teammates, as well as our friends on the opposing team. I simply did what any good Ultimate Frisbee player would do in my situation: I laid out for what seemed to me as an impossible catch, snagged the frisbee disk from the air, rolled, and came up throwing to my teammate in the end zone. Goal. Looking back at this moment of triumph, it is difficult to understand why high schools can’t compete in this (in my opinion) perfect game. Texas should adopt Ultimate as a UIL sport, allowing schools to have an Ultimate team and season.

Ultimate Frisbee, or Ultimate, is a sport that combines aspects of soccer, American football, and basketball into an intense battle of skill and stamina. After the initial throw off, in which one team throws the frisbee to their opponent from across the field, the competition begins. Each team continuously runs and passes, attempting to catch the frisbee in their opponent’s end zone to get a point. The only person who has to stand still is the one holding the frisbee, and as soon as they throw the disk they can run again. The opposing team who doesn’t have possession is on defense, trying to knock the frisbee to the ground or catch it. If either of these things happens, the frisbee changes possessions, the team that was just playing defense is on offense and vice-versa. All of these aspects lead to a 30 to 60-minute match in which most of the players are continuously running, diving, juking, throwing, and catching. The team with the most points at the end of the set time or amount of points wins the match, and teams play two out of three matches to determine the winner of the game.

All in all, one full game of Ultimate consist of about 10-15 miles of sprinting. From an athlete’s point of view, that sounds like some pretty intense conditioning. The only sport that comes close to that amount of running per match is soccer, whose players (besides goalies) run an average of only 7 miles per game, about half that of an Ultimate player. This means that UIL sanctioned frisbee matches would provide a great second sport to athletes who want to excel even more at their main sport.

Another blessing of Ultimate is the ease in which beginners can pick up the game. Once players learn to throw a frisbee, the rest begins to come naturally. As opposed to soccer, a UIL sport which takes years of practice to be truly good at, Ultimate can be learned and played pretty well in little time. However, this does not limit the expansion of a player’s ability. The disk is unlike any other piece of sporting equipment, and the trick shots and throws available to learn or invent are almost limitless. Plus, you can get a sturdy, usable 175g frisbee for under 10 bucks. This accessibility to beginners, as well as room for drastic (and cool) improvements, is attractive not only to athletes who want to condition without having the skill for soccer or the attention span for track, as well as students who would normally get stuck in PE or not have a sport to play.

USA Ultimate, the governing body for Ultimate frisbee in the US, is a huge organizations who facilitates matches all across the country. There is also a World Flying Disk Federation, which mediates games between country’s national Ultimate team. Yep, you heard right. There is a United States National Ultimate team. Ultimate has found its way into the World Games and is on the list to become an Olympic sport. With ample opportunities for play in over 700 colleges, and other high schools across the country adopting clubs and teams, doesn’t it just make sense to jump aboard? UIL could partner with USA Ultimate for help in guiding the state through the first stages of training and mobilization of the sport. USAU even has modified rules for use in high school and college teams.

Now, anyone who has ever been to a high school football game (much less played in one) knows that athletes in high-pressure, highly competitive situations have a tendency toward dishonesty and animosity. As a lineman in football, I have experienced this first hand. This leads to one of the only problems with introducing Ultimate into Texas high schools: the lack of a referee. Decisions concerning fouls, unsportsmanlike conduct, and close plays are made by the players. This immediately brings up issues, mostly pertaining to “What the heck? They want us to have a sport with no refs? Is this guy serious?” However, I believe the refs missing from the Ultimate game can teach young athletes more than if they were present.

The lack of referees brings something to Ultimate that no other UIL sanctioned game can boast. It has a Spirit. The Spirit of the Game is an honor system, in which the players treat their teammates and opponents as they want to be treated. This, my friends, is a lesson that many of us could learn from. The Spirit stems from the love of Ultimate and takes the game from simple contest to a life lesson in cooperation, competition, and brotherhood that grows deeper and more complex with each toss of the disk. When you are wronged, you have no right to wrong in return. When you do the right thing, people notice. Life is much more fulfilling and enjoyable when mutual integrity is guaranteed. In a world full of conniving, clawing your way to the top and confusion, these life lessons are hard to come by.

With such a huge following, entertainment potential, and deeper life lessons baked in, Ultimate can no longer be ignored as a “fad”. Considered by some (author included) to be the greatest sport in the world, UIL should not wait for the rest of the world to pick up Ultimate, but get the head start and put a frisbee in every high school in the Lone Star State. With state-sanctioned games and seasons, Ultimate and all that it entails would spread like wildfire through Texas. After all, isn’t time that we provide the opportunity to anyone who desires could snag their own “Catch”?