Author Archives: Josh

New Local Winter Playing Opportunity!

There’s now a place in Northampton to play indoor ultimate this winter!

Valley Ultimate has arranged a pickup ultimate night at Allsport, on the 3-County Fairgrounds in Northampton! (54 Old Ferry Rd.)

The games from every Thursday from 6-7pm starting on Thursday, February 15th! The games will run until outdoor grass pickup games resume.

The cost is $10 per person. All ages and abilities are welcome.

What better way to stay in shape this winter or to shake off the winter rust before the spring season starts?

Questions? Contact Lee.

Coaches needed!

Four Rivers Charter School is hiring 2 coaches for the spring season. Knowledge of ultimate and work with youth preferred. They are paid positions. Pay is competitive depending on experience. The openings are in m.s. girls and jv girls or boys. The m.s. girls practice Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday after school from 3 -5:15. The jv teams also practice on Wednesday from 1:45- 3:30. If interested please contact Terry Plotkin at terryplotkin@gmail.com.

PVPA boys varsity is looking for a coach. The job is paid. The team practices three days per week. Contact Gabe Reif with questions: greif@pvpa.org.

Here’s the link to apply:
https://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=2882200
Here’s the job description:
http://www.pvpa.org/?DivisionID=23203&DepartmentID=27683

Academy at Charlemont is also looking for coaches. Those who are interested should contact John Schatz at jschatz@charlemont.org.

Women’s Ultimate Day, Round 2!

Announcing VU’s Second Annual Women’s Ultimate Day! The event will be held on Friday March 2nd from 6pm to 10pm at Indoor Action Sports located at 1385 Bernardston Rd., Greenfield, MA 01370. The event costs $18 per participant.

Whether you are looking to dust off your old cleats, continue winter training, or pick up a disc for the first time, women of all ages and abilities are encouraged to attend this indoor event. The all-female environment will be led by Championship-level female athletes with ties to this area as coaches and players.  

For more information and to sign up, please visit the event page. 

Valley Ultimate is hosting a USA Ultimate Coaching Development Program Level I Workshop on February 10!

What: The Level I program consists of two workshops (Coaching Ethics and Coaching Performance) where coaches will learn skills and techniques to introduce ultimate and its skills to new players.

Are you a female coach or a coach of a female or mixed team? You may be eligible for a rebate through the Women’s Development Program. Visit Women’s Development for details.

When: Saturday, February 10 from 8:30 am-5:00 pm

Where: Longmeadow High School, 95 Grassy Gutter Rd., Longmeadow, MA 01106

Cost: $82.50   Longmeadow, MA CDP Registration

Registration: play.usaultimate.org/members/login  Click on “Clinics & Certifications”

NOTE: A USA Ultimate membership is required to attend. While any membership will work for attendance, a background check ($21.50+ additional county costs), and a coach-level membership are required for certification.

What do I get? In addition to gaining certification (and the benefits of the list above), coaches will also receive the following from USA Ultimate and program sponsor, Five Ultimate:

  • USA Ultimate Coaching Ethics and Performance Manuals
  • USA Ultimate Coaching Code of Ethics and Spirit of Coaching
  • Five Ultimate CDP Pullover upon achieving the Level I CDP certification (valued at $45)
  • Five Ultimate Coach Bag (valued at $30)
  • USA Ultimate Coaching Development Program Disc

Do note that if you are under 21, you may attend the workshop, but your certification will be held until you turn 21.

FAQ:

Do I have to pay now?
Yes. If you’ve signed up but haven’t paid, please pay for the course right away. We need to have 10 paid sign ups, not just sign ups. If the class doesn’t happen for any reason, you will be refunded in full by USAU.
 
Do I need a membership to sign up for the certification class?
No. You can sign up and pay without being a current member. But before you attend class, you must be a current member at any level (player/ family-friend/ coach etc.) note that to become a current coach level member in 2018, you have about 3 hours of videos and quizzes to watch and pass- concussion, SOTG, etc.
 
What’s the difference between a Coach-Level membership and CDP Level 1 Certified Coach?
Coach membership involves an electronic background check, and recently watching videos and passing a few short quizzes. Current Coach member status is required to be listed as a coach on active USAU rosters. A USAU Certified Level 1 includes a current Coach Membership PLUS the day long training in ethics and performance. The level 1 certification is geared to provide a basic level of ethics, game knowledge, teaching instruction, and safety. It’s a designed for people new to coaching and people new to ultimate or both. USAU CDP Certification can be used as a proof point of competence for athletic departments.
 
Do I need to be a USAU Certified Coach to coach High School, College, or Club teams?
Some of the time. See below where the Coaching Development Program Level 1 Certified Coach status (which includes a current Coach membership) is currently required for certain games national-level events like YCC, High School Regional Championships, and College Championships.

CDP Certification: At least one member of the registered Coaching Staff must be currently Level I Certified or have attended an Ethics level workshop for sideline access to restricted fields at the following events (Club events do NOT currently require certification):

  • High School Regional Championships (semifinals & finals)
  • D-III College Championships (semifinals & finals)
  • D-I College Championships (all fields)
  • Youth Club Championships (semifinals & finals)
  • Coaches should make plans to attend the Coaching Ethics Workshop (part of the Level I workshop) between October and March of each year in order to ensure access to the sideline for all games at Championship events.
How much does the certification cost?
$82.50, which includes lunch and snacks and some gear from sponsors. Female coaches and male coaches of female or mized teams can apply for a rebate once the certification process is complete and you are on a roster. You can pay by credit card. If you would like to take the course but you can’t afford the cost upfront, please let me know.

Spring 2018 Scheduling Meeting & Annual Meeting!

Come get your local team (college, high school, middle school) schedule set for the spring!

The meeting will take place on Sunday, 2/4 from 11am to 1pm at Amherst Regional HS.

Lunch will be served at the event.

The meeting will start with Valley Ultimate’s Annual Meeting (11 to 11:30am) where we’ll:

– Outline of the upcoming year of Valley Ultimate activity
– Take input on what to work on
– Breakout into groups to discuss specific topics like leagues, hat tournaments, governance, youth development, and communication
– Lots more!

We’ll then move on to the scheduling fun! (11:30 to 1pm)

Please note: No scheduling will be done from 11 to 11:30.

We are running the annual meeting first and shortening it to make it possible for more people to attend. That being said, if you’re only interested in scheduling, please just show up at 11:30.

The entire event is open to all – Hope to see you there! Invite people through the Facebook event!

2017 Fall Middle School League Recap

The 2017 Valley Ultimate Fall Middle School League just wrapped up a successful 8-week season! Coach Lee just sent in this dispatch:

We couldn’t be more excited about the first ever Middle School Youth Fall League that just wrapped up this past Sunday. Steve Andrews, JFK teacher and Ultimate coach was there every week to guide the players, who were also treated to multiple guest appearances by Jim Pistrang, from the Amherst Middle School Ultimate program, Lee Feldscher, Boys Varsity coach at Northampton High School, Ben Wood, former Girls coach at Northampton High School, and Andy Charlton (Coach Boss), coach of the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School Ultimate team. With a lineup of coaches like that there was always lots of variety and new perspectives to keep the players on their toes. Mother Nature had plenty to say during our 8 week program, starting out with scorching heat the first few weeks, some high wind days in the middle, and plenty of rain for the finale. Despite her attempts to throw a wrench into the proceedings – the program went off without a hitch, and everyone had a great time and learned tons. New friendships were made, skills were honed, and muscles were toned. We’re looking forward to doing it again next year, as some of our players will graduate to the high school league, and a new crop of 6th graders will get to be part of the fun. Please spread the word so the program can be even bigger and better next Fall. Best of luck to all our players in the Spring and Summer Ultimate seasons.

October 2017 Board Meeting

The next Valley Ultimate Board meeting will take place on Monday, October 16th from 7-8pm at Johnny’s Roadside Diner in Hadley, MA.

Anyone with any interest in growing Ultimate in the Valley is welcome to attend!

Topics of discussion at the meeting will include:

  • Outreach programs
  • Fall youth league
  • Coaching clinic
  • Winter event planning
  • Spring even planning
  • Womens events
  • …and much more!

Spread the word! Facebook event online here.