TEAM: Ultimate Frisbee (co-ed)
COACHES: Head Coach: Jason Scott (14th year – 1st year back after 6 year break. Founded team in 2005.) Asst: Mike Barry
PROGRAM SIZE: 18 players
KEY PLAYERS: Juniors Kevin McGlynn and Gavin Soulia are the captains and will play major roles as starting handlers.
Senior Henry Sage is a consistent deep threat. Juniors Ben Franey, Hayden Crowell and Aidan McCann will also be dangerous downfield targets.
Freshman Drew Flaherty is also a “do it all” style player whose contributions on offense and defense will be significant.
Johnny McGrath, Sky Manley, Connor Boyle, Joe Cotter and Luke Hammil will also play key reserve player roles.
Senior Liam Giller, who is unable to play due to injury, is the heart and soul of the team. Roy Chin, Jakob Khalil, Dan Hanna, Cameron MacNeil-Berry and Gavin Ryan will also contribute as important practice players and in-game reserves as they develop from newer players to veterans.
CIRCLED GAMES: Some of the key matchups are against local schools like Scituate, Bridgewater-Raynham, Cohasset and Plymouth North.
We always have spirited matches to compete for the top spot in the South Shore. We will also play schools like B.C. High, St. Sebastians, Bishop Feehan and CATS Academy.
We are hosting an 8 team tournament on May 11th. This is a great opportunity to bring a lot of programs together and to give the players a taste of what tournament frisbee is like (5 games in one day). We are fortunate to have the support of the athletic department to provide the field space to have 4 games going at the same time.
KEYS TO SUCCESS THIS SEASON:
Here are my consistent talking points:
1) We are always focusing on the point in front of us, not what happened or what may happen later in the game: mentally, the score should always be 0-0, game to 1.
2) Focusing on whether we got better in a game, not whether we won or lost.
3) Treating our opponents and each other with the respect the game deserves.
4) Bigger picture goal: athletic competition in high school is fleeting but they will be members of society for their whole life. This sport can offer them so many skills to make themselves better people (respect, conflict resolution (we have no referees for the sport, players make all the calls), getting the most out of yourself and pushing through dark or challenging situations)
ABINGTON HAS BEEN A PREMIERE TEAM SINCE ALMOST THE START. ANY INSIGHT INTO WHY ABINGTON IS ABLE TO COMPETE SO WELL EVEN AGAINST BIGGER SCHOOLS?: This comes down primarily to the seriousness the players have treated the sport and the program. Whether a school has 500 students or 2,000 students, there will always only be 7 players on the line for each team.
We have worked to create a culture where the leaders and veterans of the team teach the newer players how to go about their business. This leads to a group of people that are passionate about the program and the sport.
One of the things that I think best shows this commitment is the attendance at our alumni game every year. Players from over 10-15 years ago still come back to play against the current team and have a fun afternoon reliving the glory days.
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