Outstanding spirit of the game

Armstrong and South players locking arms

High fives after the game

I witnessed amazing sportsmanship at this weekend's Minnesota State Ultimate High School championships. Exemplifying this spirt was a particularly hard fought game between Minneapolis South and Robbinsdale Armstrong.  These teams had a game earlier in the week that ended in a tie, due to time constraints. Their game on Sunday proved to be just as competitive, with tremendous defensive play that never allowed either team to go up by more than one point over the other team.

Reaching for the disc

Despite the intense competition the spirt between teams continued to be positive, as players congratulated one another on good plays throughout the game. Afterwards there was the traditional lines of players with high fives. But instead of quickly taking off to prepare for their next games they all gathered around in a circle with arms locked and talked about the good plays the other team had made during the game. They also combined their team names in a celebratory cheer after their huddle.

The winning catch

After the game a photographer, coach and seasoned player said he was almost in tears after witnessing the high quality of play and spirit of the game.  Way to go ladies of Armstrong and South Ultimate teams!

Oh, by the way, Armstrong won the game by a single point, when an Armstrong player caught a disc that had been just been blocked on its way down to the turf.