World Championships gives Steer and teammates a chance to introduce new faces to Guts

For Steer, the chance to travel to Surfer’s Paradise, which is just south of Brisbane, and show off what the Copper Country, and the U.P. has in terms of quality Guts Frisbee, was well worth the trip.

“It went honestly very well,” he said. “Going to these international tournaments, especially with Guts Frisbee in the area here, it’s a little bit of a smaller sport (on the global scale), (but it is) a lot bigger locally.

“I would say, all in all, I know our USA team, which was USA Red, took third place. I was very happy with that, especially with our team’s experience level, and only having five players on our team.”

Steer admits that the World Championships is actually a two-fold situation, as it is, naturally, a place to showcase the best players and teams in the world, but it is also a forum for teaching the sport to a wider audience.

Hogan Nemetz (left) and Connor Steer bite their bronze medals after the World Ultimate and Guts Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7. (Photo courtesy of Connor Steer)

“Kind of our goal with these international tournaments is to, obviously, compete and win,” he said. “But (it is) also going to kind of grow the sport and get some of those other countries that are there playing Ultimate Frisbee, and some of the other disc sports, and everything, kind of familiar with Guts Frisbee and introduce it to them.”

USA Blue, which was made up of several players from the Appleton, Wisconsin, area, ended up as the eventual champions. While his team did not win the title, Steer felt like the team returned to the U.S. as winners in other ways.

“USA Blue, which was comprised mainly of players from the Appleton area, and then one from Marquette, and one from downstate, took first,” said Steer. “All in all, the placing is good. But, we were really happy with a lot of just growing the sport and teaching a lot of people. While we’re there introducing it to New Zealand, Austria..a lot of the Italy players were very interested in Guts Frisbee. So (it was) just (a) really cool experience.

“I think we achieved our goal pretty well.”

USA Red was originally comprised of Steer, Nemetz, and Noah Gannon from the Marquette area, and players from the Copper Country. However, scheduling conflicts caused some players to not be able to make the tournament. So, USA Red added William Waldeen from Lansing, and Frank Brady from Albuquerque, New Mexico, along with Steer, Nemetz and Gannon. At first, the quintet struggled to get their footing as a team.

Once they were able to find their groove, they became the only team to defeat USA Blue over the course of the week.

“Hogan and I play on the U.P. Hardwood team out of Marquette, so we’ve played with each other the last few years, and are very familiar with it,” said Steer. “But, Noah has been a competitor of ours for the last few years, playing against each other on teams, and (the) same with Will. To kind of join forces was a little bit interesting at first.”

Add to that the 54-year-old Brady, it was going to take a little time for the team to gel as a group

“I think if you were to look at our games throughout the week, you can kind of tell the beginning of the week was a little more rough,” Steer said. “Then kind of as we started to gel and figure things out, figure how people move and how people play, we really started to get things going and put up a good win streak, which included a win over the USA Blue team, which was their only loss of the week. We were pretty happy about how we played in that game, and that gave us really good motivation throughout the rest of the tournament.”

Knowing that they had a matchup with USA Blue on the docket as part of the tournament, Steer and his teammates joked about the experience prior to the game, given that they traveled to Australia to face a team they see in multiple tournaments during the summer.

“Honestly, we kind of joked about that on the way there,” he said. “We were like, because those Appleton guys have been great for so long, you always want to play your best against them. It’s just the best against best. Like I always like to say, to a lot of new players and players coming in, iron sharpens iron. So, I love playing against the best players, because that’s how you’re going to get better.

“We kind of joked that that was one of the teams we were really wanting to play, and do well against, this week.”

For Steer, getting to share the tournament experience, from traveling to Australia, to teaching new fans how to play, with Nemetz, whom he has known for years, made the trip even more special.

“I mean, it was awesome,” Steer said. “Luckily, both of us had the opportunity to go to the Philippines last fall for a Frisbee tournament for the Asian Oceanic and Ultimate, Guts Championships. So, to do another international tournament with him, one of my best friends forever growing up, it’s really cool. I think we both carry a real big want and care for the game to grow the game, but also compete.

“We all both have that drive of we really want to win. I think we have a good chemistry between the two of us. Sometimes we can get on each other, but I think our little banter back and forth kind of helps pick each other up and get a light of fire under our butts.”

When comparing the quality of play between the World Championships and the International Frisbee Tournament that gets played in Hancock every summer, Steer felt that teams played the championships differently, which presented a fascinating challenge.

“I think you see when you have teams like Monte Carlo or our team, U.P. Hardwood, or Shottle Bop, those guys that have played with each other for so long, it almost looks like a musical out there,” he said. “Everyone’s moving, knows where they’re going, knows where everyone else on the team is going to be at.

“I think putting a lot of players together on teams that haven’t played before, or haven’t played as much together, I think you see some more mistakes, and some more drops, in that instance. But, I think you also see some incredible plays as well.”

Along with the competitive side of the week, the teaching side had its special moments for Steer and his teammates and friends. The most important thing was the fact that they had a chance to teach people who showed real interest in the sport.

“Really what we were happy about with this tournament was there were a lot of people that were willing to learn,” he said. “It’s hard sometimes, in the States, trying to get people to play. But, once they get that second or third practice in, that’s when they really start to get that itch and really, really find out that they like playing.

“We were really intrigued to see a lot of people coming to up to the fields (in Australia) and being like, ‘Hey, can I try out this sport Guts Frisbee you guys are playing?”

Also, given that a number of people who were interested in learning came over from the Ultimate Frisbee tournament, there were a number of interested people who had a grip on how team frisbee sports work, which helped speed up teaching.

“It’s always hard in the States to explain to friends how the game works, unless you pull up a video,” said Steer. “But, I think, with having a lot of the ultimate players, and fans and people from the area coming up to the fields, and watching the games firsthand, (that) made it really easy to explain, being able to explain it in real time.”

GUTS OPEN

Steer and his friends were back in action this past weekend at the Guts Open in Lansing. The Boomtown Saints, a local team from the Lansing area, ended up winning the tournament in the rain. Boomtown’s Ryan Scott earned Most Valuable Player honors.

Shottle Bop, which featured a roster that included Connor Poyhonen, Carter Nettell, Tony Hella, Gabe Coppo, Luke Rautio, Ron Blau, Gabe Perkinson, and Tim Meyer, also competed, taking second.

Monte Carlo took third place in the tournament. Tyler Brunet, Trevor Tchida, Will Blau, Hans Stimac, Trevor Batonia, and Tyler Turcotte all took part in the tournament for the bronze-medal team.