BY KONADU AMOAKUH AND GRACIE WHITE

The Grady Gauntlet, the boys ultimate team, has high hopes for this Saturday’s round robin at Heritage High School in Conyers.  The Gauntlet  (12-2) will face several local high school teams in the event, and, because the Frisbee team has grown to approximately 40 players, the team will split up into varsity and JV units for the first time.  The split squads will allow the veteran players to play more points together.

“Our wins and losses in this round robin will affect our overall record for the season and influence our seeding in the state tournament,” senior captain Caleb Shorthouse said. “I think we’ll do great especially since we’ve been going over the fundamentals and plays in practice.”

While the varsity faces foes in Conyers, the JV squad will take on all comers at a concurrent round-robin event at Python Park, hosted by the Paideia JV ultimate Frisbee team.  Both teams take confidence not only from their practice regimen but also from the depth of the Gauntlet roster.

“I think Grady should take advantage of its large size,” junior player Luke Webster said. “Frisbee is a very physically exhausting sport, and we have enough people to always have a fresh sub to play while other teams can all get very tired.”

Not only is the size of team an advantage, but Grady has a few more strategies up its sleeve for doing well this weekend.

“Our offensive flow is superb, and we’ve gotten to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses really well,” Shorthouse said. “But we have to work on keeping our defense from getting sloppy.”

Team members don’t feel the pressure of a rivalry for this round robin because the players aren’t familiar with the teams they will be playing.

Despite not knowing their opponents very well, Grady’s ultimate players remain optimistic that  they will prevail in their games this weekend.

The Grady varsity opens play against Lakeside at 10 a.m at the Sims Elementary School field.  They will play Collins Hill at 11:30 a.m. and Riverwood at 1:15 p.m., both on Heritage High Field 2.  They conclude the round robin back at Sims Elementary against the Ben Franklin Academy at 2:45 p.m.  Heritage High School is located at 2400 Granade Road in Conyers.  Sims Elementary is located at 1821 Walker Road in Conyers.

The Grady junior varsity will play morning games against Druid Hills at 9 a.m. and the Paideia JV, both at Python Park Field 2.  After a lunch break, the JV squad will continue play against the Woodward Academy JV at 12:45 on Field 3 and the Academe of the Oaks at 2:15 on Field 3.

Click here for directions to Heritage High School, here for directions to Sims Elementary School and here for directions to Python Park.

The complete schedule for both round-robin events is posted below.

HERITAGE HIGH SCHOOL ROUND ROBIN

at Heritage High School and Sims Elementary School

Round 1  10 a.m.

Heritage vs. Collins Hill (Field 1)
BFA vs. Riverwood (Field 2)
Lakeside vs. Grady (Sims)

Round 2   11:30 a.m.
Heritage vs. BFA (Field 1)
Grady vs. Collins Hill (Field 2)
Lakeside vs. Riverwood (Sims)

Round 3   1:15 p.m. (extra 15-minute break to eat)
Heritage vs. Lakeside  (Field 1)
Grady vs. Riverwood (Field 2)
BFA vs. Collins Hill (Sims)

Round 4 2:45 p.m.
Heritage vs.  Riverwood (Field 1)
Lakeside vs. Collins Hill (Field 2)
Grady vs. BFA (Sims)

PAIDEIA JV ROUND ROBIN

at Python Park

Round 1  9 a.m.

Woodward JV vs. Academe of the Oaks (Field 1)
Grady JV vs. Druid Hills (Field 2)
Brookwood JV vs. Paideia JV (Field 3)

Round 2   10:30 a.m.
Woodward JV vs. Druid Hills (Field 1)
Grady JV vs. Paideia JV (Field 2)
Brookwood JV vs. Academe of the Oaks (Field 3)

Round 3   12:45 p.m. (extra 15-minute break to eat)
Academe of the Oaks vs. Paideia JV (Field 1)
Druid Hills vs. Brookwood JV (Field 2)
Woodward JV vs. Grady JV (Field 3)

Round 4 2:15 p.m.
Academe of the Oaks vs. Grady JV (Field 1)
Druid Hills vs. Paideia JV  (Field 2)
Woodward JV vs. Brookwood JV (Field 3)