The Union Jaxx ultimate team began their 
spring season by competing in the Samford USA Ultimate tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Jaxx won their first game of the tournament against Samford University 11-5, lost the second game to University of Alabama at Birmingham 10-11 and lost the third game to University of Alabama Huntsville 8-10.
“[The tournament] was a warm up for our team,” said Harrison Hayes, the team’s coach. “We are trying to add depth, so this was a great opportunity to get our young guys in the game and try and add that in game experience before the series starts.”
Jesse Dahms, team captain and junior business management and psychology major, said that the team’s win against Samford 11-5 was definitely the highlight of the tournament.
“We fought hard in the other two games,” Dahms said. “We lost on universe point to UAB, which was disappointing, but I think that in future games we can play harder and hopefully come out with a win.”
The Jaxx, who are in their second season, began as a club-level ultimate Frisbee team in 2012. Throughout the rest of the spring season, the Jaxx will attend two tournaments; one in Miami, Ohio and the regional tournament in Huntsville, Alabama. They will also host two home games on March 21 against Rhodes College and Harding University. Dahms said he hopes to see both Union and community support at the home game.
“I’m excited about the future of ultimate here at Union,” Dahms said. “I’m also excited to see how some of our newer guys will turn into some of our key playmakers this season,”
The Jaxx, who have added six players to their 2015 roster, practice around two times per week. Dahms said he would like to see the team show more patience in the end zone and become more comfortable handling the disc.
“An improvement that must be made is getting our sidelines more engaged,” Hayes said. “Encouraging and being an extra set of eyes for the players on the field is huge for the success of any team.”
Hayes and Dahms selected two MVPs for the tournament: Nathan Parke, junior engineering major, and Garrett Wilson, sophomore economics major.
A club team is a sports program that is not offered as a varsity team. Club teams are generally more structured than an intramural program and provide competition against other universities. Since an ultimate Frisbee team is not a university-sponsored sport nor a NCAA team, the Jaxx players cover all of their own expenses, including jerseys, traveling, food and training.
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