Russell Arkin didn’t play ultimate frisbee until he was a sophomore at South Eugene High School.
Arkin grew up playing soccer through middle school, but took a year off from the sport during his freshman year due to leg injuries. He found ultimate frisbee soon after, which he had never played previously.
“I didn’t really know ultimate was a thing when I was in middle school,” Arkin said. “It wasn’t really an option for most kids.”
Arkin continued playing ultimate through high school and at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Upon graduating from Whitman last May, Arkin returned home to Eugene. One of his high school teammates, Vinh Bui, asked Arkin to be a counselor for a week long summer ultimate camp run by Eugene Middle School Ultimate, a non-profit organization recently started by Bui and a few other Eugene-area players.
Arkin accepted.
Since, EMS Ultimate’s summer camp has continued its goal of making ultimate more accessible to middle schoolers by starting a structured league this fall. Five Eugene-area middle schools: Cal Young, Kennedy, Roosevelt, Spencer Butte and Waldport, each formed co-ed teams for the inaugural fall season. Arkin, now the Executive Director of EMS Ultimate and coach of the Spencer Butte team, said he and the rest of the organization were surprised how quickly ultimate has caught on among middle schoolers in Eugene. Anywhere from 70 to 100 kids show up on Saturdays at Century Field behind Roosevelt, where all of EMS Ultimate’s games are held.
“We were going into the fall hoping we would get 10 kids per school,” Arkin said. “Our biggest problem, which isn’t really a problem, is how do we keep track of all of these kids? It’s been more successful and popular than we were anticipating.”
The tight-knit ultimate community in Eugene has shown a willingness to get involved as well.
Former Oregon Fugue and Ego players, Lillian Weaver and Trevor Smith, and current players Jesse Shofner, Hope Zima, Will Watkins and Ty Livingston all coach fall league teams. Ego head coach Jay Janin serves on the board of directors, as well as former Ego standout Cody Bjorklund, who secured deals with Five Ultimate and Friction Gloves to cover jersey costs for the fall.
Still, EMS Ultimate is trying to develop a sustainable budget. Going into the summer camp, they were operating at a deficit. The organization continues to raise money through a GoFundMe page, which Bui created in early September.
“It’s an uphill battle, but if kids get a chance to play (ultimate) competitively at an early enough age, they’re going to pick it over other sports,” Bui said.
EMS Ultimate’s fall season concludes with a tournament on Nov. 21. According to Arkin, the organization is already in talks to start another league for the spring, and expand on last summer’s summer camp with several more sessions.
For EMS Ultimate volunteers like Arkin, they continue to strive to provide middle schoolers with an opportunity they didn’t have: to discover the sport of ultimate early.
“Getting the kids exposed to ultimate, so they can fall in love with it like we all did, that’s really the goal,” Arkin said.
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner