DiscNW Person of the Month - March 2013

Many awesome people help to make the Seattle ultimate community something special. There are team captains who lead the thousands of players at leagues and tournaments. There are volunteers who help make those events happen. There are parents of youth players who drive the kids around and help to manage teams. There are coaches who teach this great sport to the next generation. There are the folks at parks departments who rent us the fields.

Because we don't get the chance often enough to fully thank and celebrate everyone, we are glad to announce this new feature, the DiscNW Person of the Month. Inspired by the fun Player of the Month profiles of Portland Ultimate, we will showcase a person (player, coach, parent, fan, volunteer, etc.) each month on the webpage.

For our next feature of the new year, we recognize...

Christopher "Fozz" Forsberg

Age
33

Hometown
Kingston, TN

Years playing
about 15 or 16 (wow, that's a lot)

Former and Current Teams
ThunderStats, University of Washington Sundodgers, Shazam, Voodoo, Dublin Sombreros, none currently

How did you start playing ultimate?
Someone in my freshman dorm, I forget who, wanted to put an intramural team and I said; "Sure, I'll play." Same thing happened in grad school, minus the dorm. My start in more competitive ultimate came through people I met in a DiscNW hat league. They suggested that I should play for UW as they could use another experienced handler, so I tried out and the rest is history.

What's your favorite memory as a player?
On competitive teams two memories stick out; 1) making college nationals in 2005, 2) then beating UBC in prequarters on double game point at nationals . It's always fun to end one of your rival's seasons. In a more general sense, just hanging out with my teammates from ThunderStats and Dublin. Those were great crews to spend time with on the sidelines and on the field.

What's your favorite memory as a coach?
Now that's a tough one, as there are so many and they are so different, from team accomplishments to player accomplishments. If I had to choose just one it would 2009 USAU Westerns where the Hale girls won the championship and I had bet them that I would get a Raiders tattoo if they won. They played a great tournament and overcame some nasty weather on day one. On paper they probably shouldn't have won the tournament, but every single player stepped up in bracket play and they did it. On the player level there's just so many, I'm not even going to attempt to pick one or two. So many great memories.

You've been coaching/coordinating the Nathan Hale HS team for some time now, how did you get started?
In 2004 James Evans was coaching Hale and I had played with him on a DiscNW league team. I ran into him on the bus and he said Hale could use another coach in the coming spring season. As I was in grad school my schedule was flexible and I said I could help out. That summer when James said he was moving to California, I just sort of took over and was there ever since. Though I never would have survived without the help of all the other coaches, players, and parents that have helped out throughout the years. Particularly Sammy C-K, who, until he moved to Atlanta, was my long time co-coach at Hale. Welcome to Hale.

You also have coached the Seattle YCC Girls team for the last 7 years (Miranda was the coach in 2005 the first year of YCC), winning titles every year. What do you think leads to Seattle's continued youth success on a national level?
It's because of the Seattle Public Schools Middle School Leauge. Sure a few of the best natural athletes I have coached came late to the sport of ultimate, but the disc skills is what makes the Seattle youth so dominant on the national level. And that skill is only learned by lots and lots of throwing. And in Seattle every single public middle schooler has a chance to start playing in the 6th grade. As far as I know it's the only such league in the nation.

You've recently stepped down in your roles on the Youth Strategic Committee and as the Hale coordinator. What does the future hold for you?
I'm hanging up the clipboard and maybe even the cleats and becoming a grown-up. Life is pulling me more and more towards Portland and thus there was no time to continue working in the greater Seattle Ultimate community. Who knows what the future holds? I often joke that I've become Masters eligible, so maybe I should make a comeback.

Do you have anything else to say?
I'm excited for what the future of Seattle youth ultimate holds. If the Seattle ultimate community can make the SPS high league a reality, that would be an amazing accomplishment for the ultimate community in Seattle.