Edit: Thank you to Mr. Jim Yu for the video of one of our many creative cheers (see point 3 below)! After a wonderful and long weekend, I can say this definitely all still holds true. Through the good (travelling in style for once, beast mode-ing day 2, and general shenanigans) and the not-so-good (having a car towed, four of us getting stranded at LAX). Go Greens!
I’m currently sitting at the gate in LAX waiting to start my journey to Dayton, Ohio. Why am I heading to the middle-of-nowhere Ohio? For an ultimate frisbee tournament, of course. And as such, I figure that it’s time I tell you about the 5C women’s ultimate frisbee team, the Claremont Greenshirts.
To be honest, I’ve been putting off writing about the Greens for a while. I joined the team in September having never played a minute of ultimate before and have since fallen in love with the sport and this team. Joining the team is honestly one of the best decisions I’ve made since coming to college. But I’ve been avoiding writing this post since then because I know that I can’t actually express how much love I have for the Greenshirts, as cheesy as that sounds. That is probably how sappy the rest of this post is going to be; you’ve been warned.Before I start ranting, I’ll give you a quick rundown on the ultimate frisbee scene at Claremont. There are two teams, the Braineaters (the guys team) and the Greenshirts (the girls team). We both play D-III and are pretty competitive. The Greens are the reigning women’s D-III champions and the Brains won the title in 2011. Ultimate is a club sport, and we are entirely student-run. Huge shout-out to the captains of both teams, who completely manage the team, running practices, organizing tournaments, and just generally keeping us all in line. All while also doing the whole college student thing and the insane workload that accompanies that.
But back to my love for the Greenshirts. I couldn’t figure out the best way to do this, but I figured if I made a list I wouldn’t be able to ramble on for too long. So without further ado, just a few of the reasons why the Greens are the greatest people.
- They’re insanely supportive. As I said, I joined the team having never played before. I showed up to my first practice in sneakers and not knowing what a ‘flick’ was. (For all you non-ultimate players, it’s the most used throw in the game.) The vets were all really eager to help you out and are always there to offer encouragement. And it’s not just left on the ultimate field. The team has a tendency to “Greens crash” events like senior thesis talks, performances, and events hosted by fellow Greens. And it’s awesome.
- They’re heaps of fun. I love spending time with the team. Tuesdays are definitely my worst day schedule-wise, but practice at night manages to make the day so much better. Don’t get me wrong, practices are intense and can sometimes leave you hurting the next day, but we also have fun. And of course there’s always fun to be had outside of practice, whether it’s a meal with just one or two other Greens, baking nights, ultimate parties, or the annual joint Brains-Greens Spring Break trip to Bahia de Los Angeles.
- They’re slightly crazy… There are moments when I wonder what the hell is going on. Like when a tribal chant/dance is being made up for our end-of-practice cheer. Or when the team couch surfed at Bear from Santa Cruz’ house. Or when a certain Greenshirt drove for six hours straight with a boomerang in her shirt. But these also tend to be the moments when I am laughing the most and having a great time.
- They’re inspiring. (I’m sorry, I swear I’m not trying to make this as corny as possible…) I mentioned the captains earlier, but really, all of the upperclassmen continually impress me with their ability to balance hectic school demands, like that thesis stuff that old people are dealing with right around now, while committing to the team. Our tournaments take up a whole weekend, and are fairly frequent this semester, so it’s a big time commitment. I’m constantly reminded that everyone on the team goes to the 5Cs and that while everyone shares a common interest in frisbee, they also have their own passions and are extremely motivated and driven.
- They’re damn good at ultimate. Did I mention they won Nationals last year?! Getting to play with these girls is so awesome. Because, let’s be real, it’s more fun to play a sport when the team does well.
Anyway, our flight is going to board soon, so I should wrap it up there. But by no means is this a complete list. Honestly, everyone on this team is such a great person and adds so much to the team. You’ll notice I wrote this list in very broad terms, but it’s because everyone on the team actually encompasses all of these things. It makes me so happy that I can be a part of this amazing group. And now, off to kick some east coast butt.