Houston, TX
When you think about Houston, Texas, in 2012, you probably think about Big Oil, big mosquitoes and big suburbs, but there is something else big happening here, a big experiment. Actually, we call it The Great Experiment, and you can be a part of it.
One Super Club
In any big city, there are Ultimate players of different experience levels, from brand-new rookies to Nationals and Worlds-caliber studs. Houston is no different. We created Space City Ultimate to give everyone on those extremes and in between the opportunity to play with each other, learn from each other, push each other, and play at the highest level of competitive Ultimate they are willing to push themselves to reach.
SCU is more than just a team. It is a club of several teams organized to create a career path for emerging players to reach an elite level. SCU is inclusive. Everyone makes the team, but instead of having your fate on the A, B, C, D Team determined at a tryout in the spring, players have most of the summer to prove themselves. Between tournaments, captains promote players or reassign them to work on specific development goals. Everyone has the chance to move up and down between levels depending on performance at tournaments and dedication along with effort at practice.
Last year, several players who started at lower levels worked their way up to the top team through hard work and improvement. In 2010, SCU’s first year, the club sent 88 players on four teams to Texas Sectionals. We were all part of the same club and all wore the same uniform.
Committees
While most teams rely on a handful of players to lead and organize everything, SCU takes a more participatory and democratic approach. In a way, SCU is like a corporation. We have a president who oversees the organization and heads the leadership team of officers in charge of operations, human resources, competition, finance and Information. Beneath the officers are 19 committees focused on training/fitness, filming, mentoring, logistics, membership and more.
With a diverse group of players, everyone has skills from their work or personal lives that can help the club. All club members work on committees and contribute service hours for the greater good of the club. That involvement reinforces the sense of community and camaraderie that are core to Space City Ultimate.
Mission
Besides hosting a competitive team at the highest level, SCU’s mission is to attract talented players to Houston, make our players better and keep them here so this city becomes a mainstay in sustainable competitive Ultimate. That long-term goal guides club decision-making. Everything feeds to the top team, just like Major League Baseball has a farm system with the goal of making the big league club a world champion.
All of this started with one person’s idea, shared for the first time in some college kids’ jam-packed living room and now playing out on a field near you. If you’re ready to be part of something big and you’re ready to put in the work to become great and help your teammates become great, come join Houston’s Great Experiment.
