After missing out on nationals last year, despite successful state and regional campaigns, the boys ultimate team hopes to compete once again under a new roster.  

Winning their state and regional tournaments, the team missed out on the national tournament by only two spots in the 2021–22 season. Since then, the program has undergone some big changes after losing over seven seniors. Head coach Sheryar Ali expects new and returning players to step up as leaders in their absence.

“The loss of seniors had a pretty big impact on the team, a few of the seniors last year joined as freshmen which gave them an invaluable amount of experience on the field,” Ali said.“They’ll be sorely missed, but I think they left behind a few players that will be able to step up and take on those leadership positions that they left open.” 

Co-captain  junior Jory Van Welie, is one of the few returning members. He hopes to build chemistry between old and returning players alike. 

“We lost a lot of important guys, which [has] definitely taken away from our talent and team chemistry a little, but with the team we’re building, we’ll have fresh legs and a lot of potential.  Hopefully we can rally everyone up for the upcoming season,” Van Welie said.  

Ali believes the team’s new influx of players will give them an advantage in the upcoming season. 

“We have a new team this year as well as more players compared to last year. We have a lot of rookies, they outnumber our veterans two to one, which is usually not the case,” Ali said.”Our numbers and depth are our sweet spot compared to other schools. Having over 27 players on our roster this season will allow us to change things around and find out what works and what doesn’t.”  

Junior Charlie Suazo, a new player on the team, says the team environment has been welcoming to him and other new players. 

“I’ve had a great time these first few practices, and I’m really excited for these next few months,” Suazo said.“There are a lot of new people on this team, and I think we’re all excited to go play in the tournaments. We’ve won states these last few years, so hopefully we can keep that pattern going.”  

Ali hopes new players will help the team find consistency this upcoming season. 

“I really want to see this team improve together as a unit this year, we always have a lot of great individuals, but I want to measure  our success on our overall growth as a team.” Ali said, “What’s important for me this season is getting a post covid foundation back. That means finally building a consistent pipeline of new players and building some continuity within the team.” 

Sophomore Ward Rentz-Baker says that the team has to stay focused on and off the field in order to replicate last season’s success. 

“We have to be giving 100% during practices and off the field, you know, just doing the extra things.” Rentz-Baker says “If everyone is throwing and stretching outside of practice, working out on their own, we will achieve our expectations. Doing more than what we do just in practice is really crucial to our success.” 

The team is confident even with new faces leading the way. 

“Our goal is to compete.” Ali said, “At the end of the day, whether it’s new faces in the team stepping up or familiar ones, our goal is to improve upon last year. That means winning our tournaments, like state, and competing in nationals.”