On April 28, the DC Current, one of the District’s professional ultimate frisbee teams, announced the signing of Wilson senior Jake Radack. The Current released a statement saying “Joining the Current will be two-year veteran, Freddie Tsai, and two practice squad players Jake Radack, and Austin Bartenstein. The new additions bring the active roster to 30 players with 13 veterans and 17 MLU rookies.”

The DC Current is one of DC’s two professional ultimate teams, the other being the DC Breeze. “There are two different ultimate leagues that DC has a team in. The Current are in the MLU, and the Breeze are in a different league,” Radack says. The Current are in the East division of the Major League Ultimate league, while the Breeze compete in the East division of the American Ultimate Disc league. The Current are scheduled to play ten games against the three other teams in their division, the New York Rumble, the Philadelphia Spinners, and the  Boston Whitecaps in their 2016 season. Five of their games are played at their home field, Cardinal Stadium, on the campus of Catholic University.

Radack tried out for the team in March, and later that month, he joined the practice team for the Current. As a player on the practice team, he went to all the team events, but he did not play in the games. “I was on the practice team and so for a while, I just went to practices and worked out with them every week,” Radack says. “After I got called up, I started playing in the games and not just the practices.”  Every week of the season, there are two track practices, two gym workouts, one practice, one group workout, and one game.

Radack signed with the team for only the 2016 season, which he will finish and play in the remaining five games. Following the season, Radack will be going to college at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The UMass Amherst ultimate frisbee team is currently ranked number one in Division 1 ultimate, with 25 wins and just two losses. •

PHOTO FROM WASHINGTONDC.CURRENT.MLULTIMATE.COM