The Jackson-Reed boys’ ultimate frisbee team is ranked first in the country and has qualified for the High School National Invite (HSNI). This annual tournament features the top 16 teams in the country and crowns one team the best in the nation.
This is the first time in the program’s history that they have been ranked first in the nation. Head coach Dave Ohls said that “it’s incredible to see the team go from a small program ten years ago with barely enough players to a program with strong girls and boys teams.” He attributed this growth to the incredible work players, parents, and coaches have put into the team.
As of April 10, the team has already won two tournaments: Queen City Tune Up in North Carolina and Youth Ultimate League of Arlington (YULA). They are also currently undefeated.
“Under Coach Dave, we have consistently grown as a team, with many players joining the team every year,” said junior varsity player Mitchell Lillie. Despite the team’s success, there’s an understanding among players that the work is far from over. “We’ll see how it turns out,” Mitchell added. “We need to keep practicing and keep up our work ethic so that we can improve even more as a team.”
In March, the Tigers won the YULA invite tournament for the first time in the program’s history, in a 13-4 final. The tournament featured teams from across the East Coast, including North Carolina, Massachusetts, and New York, and earned them a place at the HSNI this June.
While their regular season began in February, the team has been training since the start of the school year. Their fall season focuses on helping new players build foundational skills. In February, the team split into JV and varsity, along with ramping up their level of competitiveness in practice.
Despite the team losing several of its key graduates, they have still been able to perform at their highest level. Ohls said that he “thought this would be a step-down, we graduated a bunch of really good players last year, but we’ve been playing at a high level over the past few years and developing really good players.”
HSNI will take place June 13 and 14 in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania and overlap with JR’s class of 2025 graduation. Currently, there are eight seniors on the team. All of them will be skipping graduation for the chance to take home the national title.
Senior captain Roger Beckel said that “while [the team] is still focused on the rest of the regular season, as the season progresses, [they] are going to shift their goals to HSNI.”
“We’re looking forward, our goals are to play to our potential, be a positive, spirited, and joyful team, and have competitive success,” Ohls added. While winning nationals is a stretch goal, Ohls pointed out that the team’s deep roster gives them an edge over competitors.
To do this, Ohls says that in order to be the quality of team they are capable of being, they are putting in the work off the field, doing film sessions, conditioning, and building cohesiveness among the team.
With a few more tournaments ahead, the team is focused on staying sharp and continuing to improve. Beckel said he hopes the team “plays at a high level at HSNI and to the best of their ability.” •
