It’s time for the second interview in the “5 Questions With…” series. So far so good, right? 🙂 As a reminder, the goal of the interview series is to show the perspective of various Ultimate Frisbee players on the sport. You can expect them on the last day of each month, so remember to mark your calendars (follow Introverted Ultimate or the blog).
Last month, I’ve had Melina answer “5 Questions With“. Her last answer is a nice follow up to this month’s interview. Have you ever wondered how to handle your life and the team? Most of us can hardly picture it. You need loads of motivation to keep going. You need to motivate others. Team life is not easy – think about all the ups and downs. A good captain is a person who can talk you out of self-doubt and make you keep going despite the failures. It’s the person who after a disappointing tournament finds a way to encourage the team to work harder. Piotrek proved many times that he is a good captain. Check out the interview and see his perspective on Ultimate! 🙂
Name: Piotrek Przybyła
Number: #8
Height: 182 cm
Plays Ultimate Since: 2005
Team: Cool Flights (Mixed/Open, 2005 – 2013), Stockholm Syndromes (MIX, 2009 – 2010), Foreign Legion (Open/Mixed, 2013 – 2014), Ultimatum Gdańsk (Mixed/Open, 2014 – present)
Cutter/Handler: Handler
Favourite throw: Between the legs quick release backhand
Favourite type of the tournament: Not HAT
Favourite division: If the team has gathered in full force it doesn’t matter.
Favourite thing outside of Ultimate: Star Wars, Freeride/Downhill/Enduro bike riding
1. How did you first get into Ultimate Frisbee?
Back in 2005, I have accidentally read something in Bravo Sport about a team sport where a ball has been replaced with a frisbee. Having several frisbee discs back home I gathered some friends and we started playing “frisbee” based on makeshift rules we came up with ourselves. Later on, we managed to find some more information about the sport online and switched to a more official version of the rules. And so it goes for over a decade…
2. What does this sport mean to you?
I am a very competitive person and Ultimate Tournaments give me the necessary dose of adrenaline and endorphins my body craves. Also having played tennis for half of my life I found out that there is nothing that can be compared with companionship that comes with being part of a team.
3. What is the most difficult thing about leading an Ultimate Frisbee team?
The biggest challenge of running an amateur niche-sports team is to find people interested in trying something new. That’s step one. Then comes a very crucial moment when you gotta do all it takes to get them hooked on frisbee, and by hooked I mean to return to practices. Then it is only going uphill. A disc throwing junkie needs to be upgraded to an Ultimate Player, which means, learning the rules, understanding SOTG and going to tournaments.
If a player goes through all those phases, then we might have a chance for a team. There is only one step left… A team needs to have a common goal and mindset. All team members have to be on the same page in terms of what they want to achieve, why they want to do it and how will they work in order to reach their common goal. Without it, there is no real team and no real chance of success.
4. What does it take for the team to achieve success and handle failures?
Commitment, common goals, support.
5. What’s your favourite Ultimate Frisbee memory or moment?
I have plenty, but my favourite ones are those when my team while being the underdog, managed to magically scramble together enough motivation that we basically willed ourselves to a victory. But then again, it always gets me thinking “what if we played like that all the time?”. It really shows how your focus and mindset can determine the outcome of games.
What’s your Ultimate Frisbee story? Would you like to share it? Feel free to message me on Introverted Ultimate or via email. I’ll get back to you with 5 Questions. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!