Nightshade Fall 2022 Recap

*Written and edited by Megan Ma, Emily Yin, Olivia Woodruff, and Anisha Barde*

Intro

A main goal for our training season was high-volume recruitment, allowing us to introduce the sport to more students while building our team. Through a more comprehensive outreach plan and leveraging our existing connections (vets: bring a friend!), 15 new players were recruited who currently make up half of our team and bring our roster size to a whopping 31 players (as in approximately 4½ lines!). This increase of players was especially important since COVID largely impacted the team last year.

We are honored to have four Nightshade alumni continue their commitment to the program by coaching the team during the 2022-23 academic year. Our coaches include Janine Hlavaty, Megan Ma, Emily Yin, and Olivia Woodruff. Additionally, the coaches work with student leadership to manage other components of the program. The captains for the current year are Whitney Zhou (Sr.), Anisha Barde (Sr.), and Eveline Shiao (So.), who are coincidentally all West Windsor-Plainsboro High School Ultimate alumni.

Meanwhile, the Executive Board plays a vital role in managing the logistics of everything including jerseys, field space, dues, tournament fees, and fundraising. The E-Board also maintains our main channel of communication to Rutgers, specifically the Club Sport Department (AKA Sport Club). The E-Board positions include President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, all of whom use their individual valuable skills to preserve the value of the team.

Practice

The fall season is structured for teaching rookie players and refreshing the skills of veteran players, while the spring season focuses on refining team strategies and individual skills, especially to prepare for Championship Series competitions.

Fall practices were held every Tuesday and Thursday night on the Sports Club and University Park fields on Busch campus. We focused on building strong fundamentals as most of our rookies were new to the sport. Cutting and throwing basics, forcing and marking, vertical stack offensive flow, handler progression, person defense, utilizing the break side, reading the disc, and more were all trained to build a solid foundation leading into our competitive season.

Training didn’t stop when the Fall season did; during winter break, players were split into workout pods that focused on injury prevention, long distance stamina training, and high intensity workouts. Not only was it effective in maintaining our physicality, but it also encouraged teammates to workout together to strengthen bonds off the field.

To continue these off-the-field relationships, the team stayed connected through our Slack workspace. Some channels we’d like to highlight include our #spotted channel, where players sent lighthearted photos of each other when spotted outside of ultimate, and our #fitness-finesse channel, where individuals, workout pods, or other groups of players shared workout selfies of their beautiful sweaty smiles.

Tournaments

Nightshade attended one fall tournament, Autumn Sky, hosted in Vineland, NJ, where we played teams both in and out of the Metro East region including Temple, Lehigh, and Columbia. It was a great opportunity for veterans to jump back into the season, while also being a valuable opportunity for rookies to learn. Additionally, Nightshade players attended the 50th anniversary, where we got many reps playing womxn’s and mixed, and had an amazing time connecting with alumni and learning more about the rich history of the Rutgers ultimate program.

Off-field

Off the field, we strive to maintain a culture of transparency, inclusivity, and healthy competition. In our #wholesome-gatherings Slack channel, our Director of Fun (aka DOF), Amy Entin, works with leadership to host weekly social events on and around Rutgers Campus, including Game Nights, ice skating, mixers with Machine, and more. Additionally, we have a voluntary Mentor/Mentee program where vets are paired with rookies and are encouraged to hang out outside of practice. We love to see how impactful this program is, allowing everyone to feel more comfortable around each other and resulting in long-lasting friendships after college.

Youth Ultimate Involvement

Many of our experienced players come from NJ High School teams and several of our coaches also coach the U20 DEVYL Women’s Youth Club team - cultivating a pipeline of young NJ talent. We want to build on these connections and give back to the NJ ultimate community, therefore hosting Nightshade High School Clinics. We were able to have three high schools represented: West Windsor-Plainsboro, Columbia, and Watchung. Within these clinics, the camaraderie between teammates, new and old, is felt by everyone on the field. The future of NJ womxn’s ultimate looks bright!

Fundraising

We understand the limitations that financials can have on a team. Therefore, we work to fundraise as much as we can to lower costs for individuals and increase opportunities for our program to grow. This fall, we had two fundraisers in conjunction with Panera and Honeygrow, along with joining the Move-In crew, where we helped students move into their dorms for a portion of revenue. In total, this season we’ve fundraised $500 and are excited to continue fundraising in the Spring.

Future Action Plan for Spring Season and Beyond

We are so excited to get the Spring Season started! Now that we have our fundamental skills down, we are working towards establishing playing lines for tournaments to further on-field chemistry between players. Besides the Championship Series, we will be attending a local scrimmage against Princeton University and two tournaments this season, including a home tournament hosted here at Rutgers! (Please feel free to come and support!) After having several tough losses at Sectionals last year, we are determined to have our most competitive season yet. We have our eyes set on Regionals and of course, the biggest dream, Nationals!

Spring Tournament Schedule

• Princeton Womxn’s Scrimmage @11am on Saturday, February 11th in Princeton, NJ

• No Sleep Till Brooklyn on Saturday, March 4th and Sunday, March 5th in Brooklyn, NY

• Shady Encounters (hosted by Nightshade) on Saturday, April 1st and Sunday, April 2nd in Piscataway, NJ

• Metro East D-I College Women’s Sectionals (TBA)

• Metro East D-I College Women’s Regionals (TBA)

Contact Info

Get in touch with us!

Email: rutgersnightshade@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ru_nightshade/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ru_nightshade

Facebook (new page!): https://www.facebook.com/people/Nightshade-Rutgers-Womxns-Ultimate-Frisbee/100089588397397/?comment_id=Y29tbWVudDo0OTA0NTczNDY1ODYzNzZfNTgyOTAwODgzODUzNzI1

*Written and edited by Megan Ma, Emily Yin, Olivia Woodruff, and Anisha Barde*