Resources

Captain and coach guides

How to captain is the guide we hand every new captain: a season timeline, roster math, and how to run a sideline that people come back to. The new team checklist covers starting a program from zero — talk to your town recreation center or school athletic director about field space early, register with the school, settle how dues get split, and recruit the people you want to spend every week with. The suggested BUDA curriculum gives coaches a practice-by-practice plan for a first season.

Learn and teach the game

Start with ultimate in ten simple rules, then the two throws you need first: the backhand and the forehand. From there, the vertical stack — the basic offense where six players form a line downfield and cut one at a time. The spirit course helps coaches explain self-officiating to players who've only known referees. If you'd rather be taught in person, that's exactly what a Learning League is for.

College ultimate

Boston has one of the densest college scenes in the country: Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Northeastern, Boston University, and Boston College all field club teams in the USA Ultimate college series, with Brandeis, Bentley, Wellesley, Emerson, and a dozen more in Division III. High schoolers — visit a practice during a college visit; teams love it. College teams looking for scrimmages or local tournaments can reach the community at info@buda.org.

Scholarships

A handful of schools fund ultimate players directly: Davenport University and Oklahoma Christian University run varsity-style scholarship programs, Winona State and Pittsburgh offer endowed awards, Tufts has an alumni-backed fund, and St Andrews in Scotland funds ultimate athletes too. The PHUL Scholarship from Pittsburgh ultimate is open to graduating seniors regardless of school. Know one we're missing? Tell youth@buda.org.

Gear and discs

The standard game disc is the 175-gram Discraft Ultra-Star; elementary players do better with the lighter junior discs. Jerseys and league merch run through Breakmark — that's the Shop BUDA link in the footer. Starting a program on a budget, BUDA can often donate discs and cones outright; just ask.