As the spring frisbee season approaches, Occidental men’s club program, Detox, is looking to continue making a name for itself as a Division III team. Occidental’s men’s frisbee is the leading team in the Southwest conference and the ninth-ranked team in the nation, according to senior frisbee player Jack Allen.
“In terms of DIII [NCAA Division III Athletics], we’re the best DIII team in the Southwest,” Allen said. “We won it two years in a row.”
Coach Nathan Warden and players Ebby Naftzger (junior), Paul Tomlinson (senior) and Drew Andersen (senior) have all been involved with club frisbee for multiple years and are looking forward to the development of the team moving forward.
Warden has coached men’s frisbee for two years and previously coached the University of Southern California women’s team. According to Warden, the team has a vision for success in the coming season.
“Going into this year for DIII, we’re going to be the first in our conference again,” Warden said. “I would say our goals are higher than that. Our goals are to probably place in the semis or nationals, or better. Obviously, that’s coming later, but I would say that’s kinda where we want to get to.”
According to Warden, for new students looking to join the team, practices are still open to anyone who is interested. Regular practice takes place three times a week.
“We practice Monday, Wednesday, and we have fun stuff Saturday,” Warden said. “Things like throwing clinics for the new guys, and maybe playing three-on-three. Mondays and Wednesdays are primary, Saturdays I would say are more optional or fun.”
According to coach Warden, the team is looking to acquire a solid group of players in the fall offseason, so earlier practices will be more rigorous.
“After about that first two weeks, I push them really hard, and the guys who can’t handle it drop,” Warden said. “So I push them pretty hard, and by the time we hit this stage, it’s committed, you know, you’re going to be here with us for the rest of the year.”
For Andersen, the presence of first years at early practices is integral to the longevity of the team.
“So far, I think we’ve got around fifteen first years coming out to every practice, which is fantastic, all of them seem really interested and like they’re having a good time with it,” Andersen said. “Which is great to see because my year—the seniors—we have five players. Every other class is great, we were just for some reason a really light year, so it’s fantastic to see the numbers and kids having fun.”
According to Tomlinson, though there is a level of hard work expected, having frisbee as a club sport makes it relatively stress-free in comparison to varsity sports.
“People talk about when you go to college and you play a sport, that’s your life,” Tomlinson said. “With club sports, you don’t have that. You have a little more freedom to have some fun; it’s a little bit more casual.”
According to Andersen, the fewer practices involved in a club sport allow for less pressure and more enjoyment.
“[Frisbee as a club sport] is way more low-key, instead of practicing five or six days a week with lift and getting up early and stuff like that, it’s three days a week, really low-key and super fun,” Andersen said. “All the fun that I think a sport should have without the pressure of having to perform or go to certain weightlifting sessions or stuff like that.”
As a coach, Warden believes the biggest advantage of club frisbee is the student leadership.
“That’s probably the biggest advantage of club sports, that the students are making the decisions,” Warden said. “I’m here to teach the game and to coach, they get to pick their own practice schedule and their own game schedule. It helps build a great team culture and develop responsibility when it’s student-led.”
Club sports offer these advantages, but Warden noted they can also offer financial and scheduling challenges.
“The big challenge is, logistically, we’re lower on the totem pole,” Warden said. “What that means is less funding, less access to facilities. Like today, we started at 9:15 p.m., because men’s soccer had a game, right? The logistics are tougher but it’s reasonable, it makes sense.”
Despite any challenges, players agree that frisbee offers a fun environment where all are welcome. According to Naftzger, he has met some of his closest friends through frisbee.
“It’s been really positive, it’s a really fun group of people,” Naftzger said. “A lot of my best friends at Oxy are on the frisbee team, and the atmosphere is really laid back as far as sports go.”
According to Tomlinson, the team works best together when they share the same mindset of success and mutual respect for each other.
“‘Buy in’ is what I call it. If you’re on the team, you’re committed to working hard and doing your best to make the team the best it can be,” Tomlinson said. “Competitiveness, also, you’ve gotta have that fire to win. Finally, just a good spirit. You’re all out here to have fun and hang out with some cool people. That’s what’s important to me, we just want to have fun as a family.”
To Warden, all these aspects of teamwork culminate in a dedication to hard work.
“I think for me, the most important part is building a positive culture of work,” Warden said. “Everything else will fall into place if we build a culture of, ‘We’re positive, we build each other up, and we want to work hard to get better, together.’ That’s number one. Number two is learning the game itself. The big thing about that is that the devils are in the details, fundamental details. Everything on top of that is gravy.”
