Anyone who knew me prior to 2000, knew me as a fanatic Ultimate Frisbee player. I was (mostly) all about chasing a plastic disc on lush green fields. Ultimate Frisbee, which took my attention and soul my first year of college, commanded my attention, time, and body for years.

The New York Times just ran a nice short piece piece about the UPA and older players should seriously “skool” the younger generation on the danger of injuries. It is an extreme sport that requires extreme care. Tournaments are usually composed of 4-7 games over the course of 2 days. If that is not demanding enough, the body gets pretty intimate with the the ground while “laying out” and then there are there all those sprained ankles and broken bones and ligaments from collisions.

Today I suffer from bouts of knarly neck pain, for example, which is due in part from playing without taking proper precautions. One of my best friends, who was a stellar player in college, also suffers from pretty devastating back pain. It is an extreme sport that requires extreme care. I say toss out the pride in pain/injuries and in place, instill a healthy sense of fear of the injuries so that people get proper long term and sustained care for their injuries so that they can keep on playing the world’s best sport.

PS– For those that don’t know, UF also revolves around an ethical philosophy Spirit of the Game, which unfortunately the article makes no mention of, despite its centrality to the sport.