Meet our current coaches here. The coaches of the programs are adults who are dedicated to the growth of the sport and the development of SOMSD youth ultimate across our two communities and around the state and region. Many are former competitive ultimate players. Some are parents of alumni and/or current players.

USA Ultimate provides an explanation of 10 simple rules that you can read on their website here.

No. Most games at the youth level are self-refereed. Players are responsible for learning and applying the rules of the game with the support of – but never the interference by – their coaches. For some more competitive tournaments, ultimate uses a role called “observers”, which USA Ultimate explains in this way: “Unlike referees, umpires or judges in most sports, observers do not make active foul and violation calls of a subjective nature. Instead, that responsibility lies with the players on the field. Observers are permitted to resolve disputes – if requested to do so by the players – and may make active calls related to conduct issues or some objective rules such as time violations and boundary decisions.” You can read more about the role of Observers on the USA Ultimate website.

Yes! The sport currently has more than 18,000 student athletes competing on 800+ teams across the country. You can find out more about college ultimate at the USA Ultimate website.

From the USA Ultimate website: “A truly unique and defining element of ultimate, Spirit of the Game places the responsibility of fair play solely on the athletes themselves by requiring each player to know the rules and make their own calls, without the help of a neutral official. These underlying principles reinforce mutual respect and trust between opponents; communication and conflict resolution skills; and self confidence – both on and off the field of play.”

Teams across all of our programs at the middle and high school levels travel to tournaments. The nearest games are held here in Maplewood, while the further may be a plane flight away. Generally speaking, the fall season consists of day trips to one or two-day in-state tournaments roughly 1 hr’s driving distance from SOMA. In the spring, in addition to in-state tournaments, our teams usually travel to northern Virginia, North Carolina, and Massachusetts.

The goal of CHS Ultimate is to find every player who wants to play ultimate the right opportunity to play at the level that best fits their interests. Each of the middle school, Sparkle and Open programs accomplish this in a different way according to the number of teams, players, coaches they have each year. The best way to find out how this will work for your player is to ensure that they complete the new player interest form so that we know which program they want to participate in and can share the right information with them.

The goal of CHS Ultimate is to find every player who wants to play ultimate the right opportunity to play at the level that best fits their interests. Each of the middle school, Sparkle and Open programs accomplish this in a different way according to the number of teams, players, coaches they have each year. The best way to find out how this will work for your player is to ensure that they complete the new player interest form so that we know which program they want to participate in and can share the right information with them.

Players do not need to register with the CHS athletic department.

Tryouts are a part of each of the programs. Each program will communicate with the players who want to participate exactly how tryouts work for that program. The best way to find out how this will work for your player is to ensure that they complete the new player interest form so that we know which program they want to participate in and can share the right information with them.

You’ll need soccer cleats to play in competition and in practice. If you’re new to the sport you can show up in your running shoes until you decide if you want to commit to participating in practices and competitions. At that point you should purchase soccer cleats. Aside from cleats, you should always have a water bottle or two, a dark-colored shirt to play in and a light-colored shirt to play in. If you don’t have a frisbee, don’t worry. These are supplied at practice.

Practices are located at different fields across the two communities. These are typically Memorial Park in Maplewood, Maplecrest in Maplewood, Underhill Sports Complex in Maplewood, and Flood’s Hill in South Orange. The practice schedule is published via TeamSnap for all participating players and families.

CHS Ultimate provides three programs: Middle School (Cougars), Sparkle Motion, and Open. Each program has at least one team; some have several.

• Middle School is for students in grades 6-8.
• Sparkle Motion is for players in grades 9-12 who identify as female or non-binary.
• Open is a program for players in grades 9-12 who identify as male-matching, female-matching, or non-binary.

Sparkle Motion is a program consisting of teams for players who identify as female or non-binary. Open is a program consisting of teams for players who identify male-matching, female-matching, or non-binary.

The word “Open” means that players in this program can be male-matching, female-matching, or non-binary. The program is open to all players.