By: Tina Yen

Since 2018, every Spring Athletics season at Abington Friends, new athletes interested in joining Ultimate Frisbee find their way off-the-beaten trail and onto the rain saturated Meadow Field, tucked away behind the creek and Headwaters Discovery Playground, hidden from view of the average passerby.

But steadily, year by year, the program has grown both in its competitive play and in its inclusivity of players. This season, the program boasted a new Girls-Non Binary team (the “Joeys”) and a Boys-Non Binary team (the “Roos”), both of which included brand new JV players and high-level Varsity Players.

The Joeys, a young, developmental team, finished their season in high spirits at the PHUEL Cities Championship in mid-May. Meanwhile, the Roos continued their journey, and for the first time in program history headed to the PA States Championship held on May 25 and 26 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

Always the underdog due to our roster size, the road to States for the Roos has not been an easy one. Ultimate is not offered at many other independent schools, so the Abington Friends Ultimate program competes in the Philadelphia High School Ultimate Education League (PHUEL), a league with 36 teams, primarily of larger public and magnet schools in the Philadelphia region, across three divisions.

After losing to Holy Ghost Prep at the PHUEL Cities qualifier due to a play clock technicality, the Roos thought their hopes of making it to States had been dashed. Fortunately, fate had other plans.

Entering States as an alternate and ranked last (16th), the Roos faced 7 tough games, challenging each opponent in tight matches over the course of States weekend. A rematch against Holy Ghost on Sunday of States was just what the Roos needed to prove themselves, taking the win 13-6.

What was the secret to success? What many may not know is that Ultimate is a sport that positively screams Quaker values. It certainly has its share of bizarre jargon – hearing players yelling “break side”, “huck,” and “dump” make Ultimate feel like an “alternative” or niche sport. And like other sports, playing a high level of Ultimate requires training, athleticism, mental focus, and strategy. 

But unlike other sports, Ultimate is self-officiated, relying on the players to leverage their own integrity in navigating conflict and calls on the field, a skill that spans beyond the game and echoes the ethos of Quaker education.

This also requires a high level of sportsmanship – the“Spirit of the Game” – that requires players to respect opponents in a whole different way. This demand for respect for others, acknowledgement of conflict, and emphasis on integrity and peaceful resolution in a diverse playing field creates a uniquely strong team culture. It’s no wonder we cheer “AFS on 3, Family on 6.”

The Roos wrapped up their first States appearance with a 12th place finish overall, with commanding plays from several veteran and developing players including captains Theo Stehle-Smith ’24 and Nico Zapf ’25, and rookies Tristan Reinhold ’26 and Timur Kryzhanovsky ’26. Coach Natalie Gustafson, who subbed for me and coach Marc Davies, noted that “the ceiling is high for this team” and applauded the efforts and skill of every player.

Captain Nico Zapf shared that the States Championship “was an incredible experience – it brought us together and pushed us in ways we couldn’t imagine. Our hopes are high as we look into the future for next season.”

For Theo Stehle-Smith ’24, “captaining this season has been an honor.” Former captains Maddie Singer ’23, Scott Katz ’22, and Justin Tate ’22 and many families came out to support the team. “It was so crazy to see how far the team has come. It was really cool to see the improvement of Nico and Theo,” Justin remarked.

This groundbreaking experience has been highly meaningful for Roo Ultimate players and will continue to shape how Ultimate is viewed as a competitive sport both at AFS and other Friends Schools, with our Roos leading the way.

Read more about the Abington Friends School’s ultimate frisbee team on Abington Friends School’s website.

Abington Friends School