Youth Speeches
Leslie's speech
Hello, my name is Leslie, I’m in the 9th grade, and it’s great to be here this evening. Since I was in elementary school, I’ve played a lot of sports which includes basketball, soccer, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee. In the 4th grade at El Dorado Elementary school during the afterschool program, I started playing ultimate frisbee with Ultimate Impact. Through the program, I’ve gone to see the Golden State Warriors play, taken countless trips in the van to tournaments and scrimmages, flown to Minnesota to represent the Bay Area to participate in the Youth Club Championships, stayed in contact with my friends as get older and go to different schools, and have met so many new people. My favorite thing about Ultimate Impact is the community of people that I’ve become a part of. Ultimate Impact was my first team ever and I remember falling in love with the sport when I went to my first tournament years ago. My favorite memory over the years is getting third place at the NorCal middle school state championships last spring. Over the years, the team has worked hard to improve our throwing, catching, and strategy and we went from almost last place at tournaments to near the top of the middle school division. The hard work paid off. After every tournament, a highlight is that go out to eat together and bond as a team.
I’ve learned a lot through Ultimate Impact and their coaches. The coaches always believe in us, even though we might be a little stubborn at times. From the Ultimate Impact coaches, I’ve obviously learned how to play frisbee, but they’ve also taught me leadership skills, the importance of hard work, and how to be a more competitive person. I remember that I struggled with my forehand at first but I worked with my coaches, they showed me techniques, and with practice, I improved. On the field, I like to play defense but my favorite thing to do is throw because I love to fake my opponents out. My goals are to keep maintaining good grades in school and play a lot of sports throughout my four years in high school. This winter I’ve decided that instead of playing basketball, I want to focus on the Ultimate Impact club team called “the Dragons” to help the high school team get better and ready for spring tournaments. Thank you.
Muhammad's speech
It’s great to be here tonight. My name is Muhammad, I’m 14 years old and a Freshman in high school, and I’ve been playing with Ultimate Impact since the 4th grade. My favorite thing about Ultimate Impact is how it introduces kids to a new sport. Also, it gives chances for kids to become leaders and better athletes alongside people who share the same love of frisbee and sports. From my first days of playing in elementary school with Ultimate Impact, I remember learning the basics of how to throw a forehand and backhand while doing very
simple cutting drills and learning how to catch. I’ve learned so many many things since I started playing frisbee, but the most valuable lesson is that failure is inevitable, and no matter how bad you lose, it’s about how you pick yourself up and keep moving forward no matter the score at the end of the game.
Over the years, I’ve become a lot closer with my teammates and my coaches, I have gotten much better at ultimate frisbee, and I am now a leader on my team compared to when I first started. When I was younger, I was too scared to speak up and I've gained a lot of maturity from playing ultimate and from the Ultimate Impact Coaches. In October, I used the leadership skills that I’ve gained to organize and coordinate Ultimate Impact’s first-ever high school team at a tournament.
My goals in high school are to continue getting good grades, then go to college. In college, I’ve set a goal to continue improving as a player and one day win the Callahan award for the best college frisbee player in the US. I also want to continue being a coach and role model for younger players. Last summer, I got to be an Ultimate Impact coach through the Developing Leaders program and it’s really nice seeing how much potential some of these kids have. One thing that I learned from playing and working alongside coaches like Sarafina, JJ and Rocky, was how great the Ultimate Impact coaches are at empathizing with kids who are struggling in areas on or off the field, and helping them work through problems, because the Ultimate Impact coaches really do care.
I love literally everything about ultimate and have played all positions before but no matter what position I play on the team, I love to play and win. Over the years, my favorite thing has been going to tournaments to play and meet new people and see how I match up against them on the field. Win or lose, it's always a great way to see where I can get better not only as a player, but as a leader. Thank you.