Two years ago, Co-Ed Ultimate Frisbee popped up as a spring activity for both middle and upper-schoolers. Now, the team is beginning its inaugural league season in the Mass Bay Independent League (MBIL), competing against other teams while keeping the same openness to all kinds of students.

Then ninth graders Sebastian Velastegui ’26, Edward Flint ’26, and Andrew Flint ’26 launched the activity in spring 2023.

“That year, it was more of an activity,” Velastegui said. “We did not have any games scheduled. But we went along with it for the year and it was just a nice time to relax and throw a frisbee around.”

The following year, the team adopted a hybrid model, being an activity with a few scrimmage games. However, the team was unable to find a coach. With the team’s season on the line, Velastegui stepped up, taking on the role of “Player-Coach.”

“We couldn’t find a coach, so then I stepped up to become the coach and I think that was a big step for us,” Velastegui said. “Not only that, but we had three games scheduled. We only played two, and that was big for us.”

Velastegui acknowledged the struggles that came with his first season as Player-Coach, especially with this being such a new program.

“I think that was a little bit of a rougher season considering it was my first time coaching,” Velastegui said. “I really was inexperienced and didn’t know how to properly coach and I didn’t know some of the drills that I do now.”

Still, the team went 1-1 in those two games, marking room for improvement for the next season.

Now entering its third season, the team boasts a record-high 16 players—five from the Middle School and 11 from the Upper School. As a co-ed team with two female players, at least one must be on the field at all times, per league rules.

According to Co-Captain Andrew Flint ‘26, having so few female players has caused struggles for the team.

“One challenge we’ve faced is needing a female identifying player on the field at all times,” Flint said.  “We have two female identifying players, and if one or both of them are absent, it makes it difficult to play.”

Flint also cited the newness of the team as an issue the team faces.

“With this being the second year with a full-fledged team, we occasionally had struggles with being ignorant of rules and nuances of the game,” Flint said.

Additionally, Velastegui acknowledged some of the struggles of the team, including those that come with being a player-coach.

“Taking on the role of student coach is pretty hard,” Velastegui said. “It takes a lot of extra time to come up with what drills I’m running, planning out the week… The dynamic is also a little bit hard to manage. Considering a lot of the high schoolers are my peers, they often see me as a friend and sometimes don’t take me as seriously. But I think I’ve gotten a little bit better with that.”

Currently, the team is four games into their season, having won one game and lost three. However, the athletes are still optimistic for the rest of the season.

“I think our recent win against Commonwealth is a marker of the trajectory of our season,” Flint said. “I’m excited to see the results of our next string of home games, especially since they’ll be our first ones of the season.”