North East

Here's a profile of Catch the Spirit People in the North East:

 

Benjamin Martin

North East Region : Frisbee Coach (May to September)

COACH OF THE YEAR 2010! Lincoln University

Qualifications and Certificates:

  • Level 1 Ultimate Coach

  • Enhanced CRB Disclosure 

  • 1st Safer Care (Safe Guarding) Certificate

  • Emergency 1st Aid

     

Frisbee Profile

Ben is the president and founder of the growing University of Lincoln Ultimate Frisbee team. Favourite Disc Sports: Ultimate, Freestyle and Disc Golf. Favourite disc is the Ultra-Star.

I guess I’ve known about Frisbee most of my life. My brother in law always had a 175g Ultra-Star in the back of his car and we used to play it on our lawn when I was a small boy, however, I guess you can trace the start of my Frisbee life to about 6 years ago. I started playing Frisbee with my best friend when he was recovering from illness to get him out of the house. At first it was just a general chuck around but then we started developing our own throws and then starting encouraging our friends to play ultimate with us. In 6th Form we set up our High School team which we named the Hexham Catastrophe’s. In 2005 a man turned up into my school to teach Frisbee in P.E lessons so I went to show off my stuff to him. We had a competition to see who was better and after I managed to bounce pass a disc and curve it into a football goal and I came out on top. Since then I’ve been working for Chris O’Brien. I started working in schools and training teachers with Chris and this developed to us creating the brand ’Zoned’. I had a gap year before university and after a 3 month trip to Australia I returned to become a full time Frisbee coach for Catch the Spirit. During this time I developed my disc golf techniques and coaching experience before going to Lincoln university in September 2007.

There was no ultimate Frisbee team in Lincoln so I set up the University of Lincoln Ultimate Frisbee team. The team has now been running for 2 years now and its one of my pride and joy. The team ‘Disc-Guise’ went from being last in our first few tournaments to coming 4th in our most recent tournament. The club also won the award for Best New Club at the Universities award ceremony. I have also helped set up the university ladies team called ‘Linx Effect’ and I’m currently working to set up an open team in the Lincoln area.

Many people ask me why I play Frisbee so much and why my life seems to orientate around it. The reason I play Frisbee so much is because it is a sport that is so friendly and welcoming and quite a challenge to reach the peak of your game. I’ve made so many friends through working with Catch the Spirit and going to Frisbee tournaments, whether they be ultimate or disc golf and you can see the spirit of the game just radiating out of them. The spirit of the game is the main 'pilar' of all disc sports but I believe that it is not just about fair play on the pitch but its about making friends off the pitch and becoming a better person through it. 

 

Jeffry Hogg

North East Region : Frisbee Coach

 Qualifications and Certificates:

  • Level 1 Ultimate Coach

  • Enhanced CRB Disclosure

 

Frisbee Profile

Jef's been throwing discs for as long as he can remember he didn't really catch the bug until he was 15.  He had heard of ultimate Frisbee before through his brother but didn't really understand what it was or what it involved.  One day at school in an IT lesson, the combination of his Frisbee curiosity and the boredom of Geography coursework pushed him over the edge.  Jef did a quick search on the internet, found the email address of the president of Ultimate Frisbee at the local University, Nottingham Trent, and asked if he could come along to a session.  The world of disc sports being as friendly as it is, it wasn't long before he and a friend were off to a training session and he hasn't really stopped since.  Over the next couple of years he played with TNT, the University team, and the open team in Nottingham, Flyght Club, along with a few friends who he brought along.

At the age of 17 Jef still didn't have enough Frisbee in his life and so decided to set up a team at his school.  After convincing a couple of friends to help him they gave a presentation to his 6th form and in a week or two found themselves with a team of 20-30 players.  This was Jef's first real chance to coach Frisbee, having been on the receiving end for the past few years, but he enjoyed every moment of it.  Before long 'The Aviators' could all throw backhands and forehands, had a good understanding of the rules of ultimate and boasted such stars as Joseph 'Dangerously Fly' Lemberger and Remy 'The Hitman' Pickering.  The cherry on this very satisfying cake was delivered when they won the Spirit of the Game award at their first tournament.

Sadly the era of The Aviators had to come to a close for Jef as he moved off to Newcastle University, though they went out with a bang at the junior national outdoors which was a great experience for the whole team, showing just how far they had come in 8 months.  Since arriving at Newcastle Jef has been improving his game with the university team 'Too Many Pies' and the open team 'The Brown' who fortunately lead him to Catch the Spirit.  Catch the Spirit has given Jef the chance to get back into coaching, allowing him to gain the UKUA approved stage 1 coaching qualification, and has also introduced him to the fascinating world of disc golf.