Fossil Ridge Ultimate Frisbee. You may see us practicing on the fields outside the athletic doors every Tuesday and Friday after school while you make your way either towards the track field or the baseball diamond. Yes, we are the Ultimate Frisbee Club here at Fossil, but we are also a team, meaning that we compete against other high schools in Colorado.

Why am I telling you this? Well, it seemed obvious that the Fossil community didn’t really know about the program when Jonathan Steiner and I introduced the concept during Team Sports. Don’t worry, this isn’t your fault. Fossil Ultimate is still formally considered a club, which means that we aren’t fully associated with the school (which is why we’re the Fossil Ridge Phantoms instead of the Fossil Ridge Sabercats). Nonetheless, Fossil Ultimate has been an asset of the school that has gone somewhat unnoticed. For this reason, it is my obligation to write about the team’s progress throughout my high school career and to persuade the Fossil community in attending their next game.

For starters, during my freshman year, Fossil had an Ultimate Frisbee Club run by seniors, which really just included pick-up games every Wednesday after school. Don’t get me wrong, it was really fun, but going into my sophomore year, my friends and I wanted to make ultimate frisbee more important to the school.

So, the following year, we began a “new” Ultimate Frisbee Club. With the help of Miranda Markland from Preston Middle School, our Fossil Ultimate Team was able to get into two tournaments in Colorado during the fall of 2016 (the tournaments were “fun divisions,” which was more recreational than competitive). Nonetheless, we went undefeated winning all of our games in both tournaments. In addition, we were able to secure a volunteer coach from Colorado State University (CSU) who helped us during that time.

After my sophomore year, we continued to expand ultimate frisbee at Fossil, entering two more tournaments in the fall of 2017 (which included a Division II appearance that November). In the spring of 2018, we entered a high school league and the Division I State Tournament at Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, both coached by a member/worker of Fort Collins Ultimate (who will continue to be Fossil’s coach for years to come). Similarly, we placed second in the Division II State Tournament this past fall in Denver. And, for the upcoming season, there are plans to continue the expansion of ultimate frisbee at Fossil, which will most likely include yet another Division I appearance in May.

You see, Fossil Ultimate has made quite the progress the past four years. Therefore, I highly recommend that the Fossil community come and witness the Fossil Ridge Phantoms, a team that consists of roughly six seniors, three of whom are attending CSU to play ultimate, including myself. The Phantoms next game will be played against arguably the best high school ultimate program in the state, Monarch High School. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, April 9 at 4:30 PM MST, when the Fossil Ridge Phantoms will welcome the Monarch Coyotes in a fantastic home matchup. The game will be played on the fields outside the athletic doors (where we normally practice). So, come and support the Phantoms as they look to knock off Monarch!