EXPAND YOUTH ULTIMATE IN THE BAY AREA!

by Bay Area Disc Association

With your support, we can provide youth with the opportunity to learn and play the great sport of Ultimate at all levels of competition. We are very proud to provide a wide range of growth experiences for youth, ranging from entry-level clinics to sending youth select teams to the National Championships. Please give to help us expand our youth program's outreach and impact. 

Your TAX-DEDUCTIBLE donation enables the Bay Area Disc Association to reach thousands of kids through our three stages player development:

  1. Intro to Ultimate -- clinics and community events
  2. Learn to play -- L2P programs, leagues and summer camps
  3. Train to compete -- Youth Club Championship (YCC) programs

 

We need $20,000 to take our competitive youth programs to the next level:

  • $8,000 to fund this year’s YCC programs
    • We help kids and families in financial need. We don’t just keep our program prices low; we provide thousands of dollars of financial aid to youth players every year ($4,250 in 2015).
    • YCC is an expensive program, and we run a deficit on it before fundraising. Yes, we could raise fees by $100 per player in order to break even, but we want to keep the program as accessible as possible, like Ultimate should be!
    • In addition to covering the costs of the YCC tournament itself (player fees, hotels, coaches’ flights to MN, etc.), we also provide beautiful 3-piece full-sub uniforms, summer league, 2 warm-up tournaments and weekly practices.
  • $12,000 to expand competitive youth programs
    • Our YCC programs can’t expand without funding for more field space, professional coaches and management capacity.
    • With $12,000, we can get 150 additional hours of field space all around the Bay Area AND 300 additional hours of staff time to plan and manage new programs. We’ll be able to provide more playing and training opportunities to hundreds more youth players!

*Remember to request your employer matching gift and check out our stock donation options. 


FAQs:

What is YCC?
YCC is short for the Youth Club Championships, the national championships of youth ultimate. Every August since 2010, Bay Area Disc has sent regional select teams to YCC in Blaine, MN. In 2016, we are sending 4 teams to YCC: U19 Mixed, U19 Boys, U16 Girls, and U16 Boys (we started with just 1 team back in 2010)!

 

How do Bay Area Disc’s YCC teams and players fare at YCC and afterwards?
They’ve done extremely well. Bay Area Disc is training the next generation of local world-class Ultimate players, and we can do even more with your help!

  • In 6 years of competition, the U19 Mixed "Happy Cows" have won the championship twice and been runners-up twice more.
  • In 2015, the U16 Boys "Aftershock" and U16 Girls "Belly of the Beast" both finished in 3rd place.
  • 12 Players from our YCC programs have made US national teams in the last 3 years:
    • Chloe Carothers-Liske (2016)
    • Jenna Krugler (2016)
    • Jeremy Dolezal-Ng (2016)
    • Colby Chuck (2016)
    • Simon Higgins (2015 and 2016)
    • Lisa Pitcaithley (2015)
    • Nathan White (2015 and 2016)
    • Marisa Rafter (2015)
    • Leah Farris (2014 and 2015)
    • Monisha White (2014)
    • Josiah Mort (2014)
    • Sarafina Angstadt-Leto (2014)

 

Do YCC players learn about Spirit of the Game, or do they just want referees ASAP?
Bay Area Disc coaches always strongly instill the values of Spirit of the Game. In our YCC programs, youth players learn and practice Spirit at the highest level of competition, which results in great team camaraderie, personal development of social-emotional skills, and the formation of enduring friendships with friends and opponents alike.

Chloe Carothers-Liske, member of the 2016 Team USA U20 Girls team, describes her experience at the 2015 YCC tournament:
"Even at the most elite levels, Ultimate is about more than just winning. Winning is fun, but at the end of the day, the reason we all play this sport is to be part of a community that is both competitive and compassionate. This was exemplified this summer during YCC… In the long run, developing friendships is more important than winning. You can only call yourself a champion until someone else takes the crown, but there’s no time limit on friendships."
 
What is the player experience like in Bay Area Disc’s YCC programs?
Here is a tour through a season, from pre-tryouts to the Championships:

April: Spring Break YCC Bootcamp
This intense week of Ultimate consists of competitive drills with advanced instruction from our YCC coaches and special guest coaches such as Matt Tsang (Team USA), Beau Kittredge (Revolver), Mac Taylor (Team USA), Kaela Jorgenson (Fury), Lucas Dallmann (Revolver), and Satoru Ishii (Japan/Buzz Buzz Bullets).

Dennis “Cribber” Warsen, USA Ultimate Hall of Fame member and proud parent of a YCC Boot Camp player, calls this program “one of the many great Bay Area Disc Association offerings on an annual basis - Ultimate Boot Camp during Spring Break for kids with top level instruction from all over the World!”

June-August: Tournaments and Club Summer League
We provide important opportunities for youth teams to play in real-game settings before the YCC tournament. At SF Revolution, Bay Area Bash and Club Summer League, youth players get the unique experience of competing against established adult teams, many at the regional and national levels. Between these events, all YCC teams are practicing regularly.

Geoff Rexroth, Head Coach of the YCC Mixed U19 Team, says:
"Thank you for helping us train for the Youth Club Championships (YCC). Playing experienced club players helps us so much. It's intimidating to play someone with experience, so when we get to YCC in Minnesota and are playing against players that may have only been playing for a few years in high school, it's a little less intimidating."

July: Nike Ultimate Camp
Bay Area Disc runs the first and only competitive-level Ultimate camp in California. With advanced training led by Valerio Iani, Geoff Rexroth and Maggie Ruden, campers spend a week honing their Ultimate skills while living on a college campus, getting a taste of life as a student.

Jenna Krugler, member of the 2016 Team USA U20 Girls team, says:
“I was extremely impressed by the Nike ultimate camp in Hayward. It was very well run and organized… I really enjoyed the way the camp was formatted with rotating group stations focussing on different aspects of ultimate with different drills. We would often do small scrimmages after focusing on a new strategy, this was really useful and helped me to remember and better understand the training I had just received. I would absolutely recommend this camp.”

August: Youth Club Championships (YCC)
95 players from Bay Area Disc’s 4 teams travel to Blaine, MN with their teammates, coaches and chaperones for the experience of a lifetime. For 3 intense days, they play against the best youth teams in the country, guided and encouraged by Bay Area Disc coaches to strive for victory while upholding the Spirit of the Game at all times. Regardless of their final standing, the players return home with amazing memories of hard-fought games and fun times both on and off the field.

August-September: Mission Impossible Club Team
This club team, which is assembled after YCC each year, was formed in 2012 by YCC players (including tryout players that didn't make the teams), alumni and coaches with the idea of:

  • Fostering a bigger and more inclusive YCC "family"
  • Giving opportunity to play in different divisions (often those who played single gender are sent to play mixed and vice versa)
  • Showcasing and introducing youth to the club scene
  • Creating mentoring relationships between adult and youth ultimate players

Valerio Iani, Youth Director of Bay Area Disc, says:
"Mission Impossible aims to prove that connecting and competing with different levels is possible and fun and looks to continuing building success in the seasons to come."
 

On behalf of all current and future YCC players, THANK YOU for your donation! 

 

Photo credits: UltiPhotos