Frisbee hanging in the air, wind keeping it afloat, players surround the disc to attempt to bring it down. Suddenly, the youngest player on the whole team, middle schooler David Fales stunned the crowd with a catch that the coaches described as eye popping, showing signs of how the middle school program has already had a positive impact on the high school level.

Eighth grader David Fales has become the first ever player from the new middle school frisbee team to be moved up to play on the Junior Varsity level. This milestone is especially significant for the program, showing how younger players can rise quickly through dedication and performance.

“He is appreciated by older players and I see the future of the DUC program in him,” JV frisbee coach Matthew Delehaunty said. “He contributes with amazing plays you don’t think he’ll make, where he comes up with the disc and an eruption of the crowd happens.”

David was originally scouted out by middle school coach Riley Scott and Middle school teacher and Varsity coach Henry Sampson. Before tryouts had even ended, he was fully cemented into the Junior Varsity level, which is something that does not happen often and reflects his natural ability and awareness on the field.

“The characteristic that we appreciate most is how smart he is on the field,” Mr. Delehaunty said. “He finds open space easily, and he makes numerous defensive plays with this talent of reading the disc.”

The middle school has shown strong interest in the frisbee program, frequently throwing discs at recess. Because of this, the coaches see the program developing substantially with a variety of new people participating in the sport.

“His ability to focus and improve in a new sport has been key, Mr. Delehaunty said. “His throwing, catching and speed have all improved.”

The Frisbee team plans to build off this in the future by continuing to move up players that excel at the middle school level to play for Junior Varsity and Varsity level teams, which will help strengthen the overall success and depth of the program moving forward

“We have been scrimmaging against the middle school team at practice, and so when the other middle school guys see David on the JV team,I think they consider that their skills can improve similar to his,” Mr. Delehaunty said. “And that really is an window to what is possible for the middle school team.”