Ultimate Frisbee’s comeback kids

Wolseley

Crescentwood

Armstrong Point

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/10/2023 (768 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Team Manitoba was thrown for a loop in the junior open bracket at the recent 2023 Canadian Ultimate championships in Surrey, B.C.

Despite entering the August ultimate Frisbee tournament as defending champions, the Manitobans got off to a rough start this time out, losing their first three games.

“It was a lot of pressure,” said Myles Raichura, who plays as a handler — the sport’s offensive position. “We put ourselves in a tough position.

“For me, coming into the tournament, I kind of knew that we were the ones to beat, and that if we all had a mindset that we were the best before we had proven that, it would be very detrimental for us,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s what we came in with and that was what made us lose those three games.”

After its horrible start, the team met to discuss how it could come back, Raichura said. That gathering proved successful, because the Manitoba squad stormed back to earn a place in the championship final before succumbing to the Vancouver-based Dyno team.

Raichura attributed the team’s ability to bounce back to its very strong bond.

“We knew what we had to do and that we did not want to lose another game,” he said. “Winning our first game was a huge confidence boost, because we hadn’t had the feeling of winning, yet, at that tournament. Getting that first win was probably the biggest thing for us.”

Raichura explained that the biggest thing for him when their backs were against the wall was keeping a good relationship with his teammates.

“Knowing that everyone has my back … that will allow me to get through any situation. Because I’ll know that there’s always someone who’s (behind me).”

He and his teammates also worked to narrow their focus.

“One point at a time,” Raichura said. “Never focusing on anything after what’s at hand, because you’re not at the next thing until you finish what you’re currently doing.”

Raichura has had a full plate since returning from B.C. The 18-year-old has been training for upcoming Canada U20 tryouts, as well as coaching the varsity team at Kelvin High School, from which he recently graduated. He said that he hopes he can push more students to love the sport as much as he does.

“My dad played, so I’ve been around sport since I was born,” Raichura said. “I have a picture of me, where I could be in a diaper, and I’m holding a Frisbee … I started actually playing in Grade 6. I did a summer camp with the provincial organization and then I played in my first league in Grade 8 … Then I made the varsity team in Grade 9 high school, and then it kind of just kept going more and more high-level from there.”

Now that he’s coaching he said it’s “cool” to be seeing the game from the other side, and helping former teammates succeed.