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INSIDE COLLEGE ULTIMATE

Player Profile – March 2005
JESSIE AMBERG

Name Jessie Amberg Nickname She-Ra Birthdate April 10, 1978 Hometown San Diego, CA School UCLA Year 2nd year law Major Law School

Jessie Amberg was selected to be the player featured this month because she is the main leader on her team, UCLA, which has arisen as a competitive program in only its second year of existence. Not only did UCLA come in third at the Santa Barbara Invitational in Janurary, but then the team went undefeated during the recent President's Day tournament. This season the team is setting its sights on qualifying for the UPA College Championships out of the Southwest, and Jessie will be the one leading the team with her aggressive defense and skilled throws. Read below to find out more information about her ultimate beginnings, history, skills/profile, and upcoming college season.

Ultimate Beginnings:
What other sports do you have a background in and when did you play them?
Growing up, I played all kinds of sports. Soccer and softball pretty much dominated the scene, but I also dabbled in tennis, volleyball, basketball, and field hockey. My sixth grade coed rec basketball team featured future celebrities Nate and Luke Walton. Nate played hoops at Princeton and ran for Governor of California during the recall election, and Luke is currently warming the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers. We dominated that rec league, but I'm pretty sure my contribution wasn't what did it.

In college, I had to pick just one sport to devote my time to, and softball won. We had a great team, and Harvard is a fabulous place to play Division I athletics because the department is really supportive and understanding of your academic commitments. I played centerfield, which I think translated well into being a receiver and also into a good hammer. In another brush with celebrity, I got to cheer on future Callahan runner-up Jen Burney (Harvard '99, current Stanford grad student) as she played goalie for the Harvard soccer team.

Where and when did you first learn to play ultimate? Phoenix, Arizona. Valley of the Sun (VOTS) Ultimate. I was teaching elementary school there through Teach For America. After a semester of working late in my classroom every night until the custodians kicked me out, I realized how much I missed playing organized sports. My roommate at the time read about this coed rec ultimate league they run in Phoenix, where you play a game every Thursday night and then go out for pizza and beers afterward. Sounded like a good way to meet people that weren't in fifth grade and play a team sport again, so even though I'd never heard of this "ultimate frisbee" nonsense, I signed up. (If only I'd known about ultimate while at Harvard...turns out they were pretty good.) What about the sport has made you continue to play since then? The people. And the spirit. And the awesomeness of the sport itself. I love the running, the layout Ds, the sick endzone grabs, the strategy, the field positioning, and the leave-it-all-on-the-field attitude. Who would you describe as your main mentor(s)? Jimmy Price, Al Taylor, Jamie Nuwer and Alex Korb. Jimmy played for the Condors (even though he lived in Phoenix) and I was lucky enough to get drafted onto his team in that first league I joined. Al coached our women's club team after Jimmy left town. Jamie and Alex are my coaches at UCLA, and they are the most incredible and generous people I know. Alex played for Brownian Motion and Jamie played for Stanford Superfly. Between them, they have a very impressive ultimate resumé. They have taken a group of rookies who had never played disc before the fall of 2003 and transformed them into a team that is seeded 2nd at PresDay and 3rd at the Stanford Invite. Their dedication is truly inspiring.

Amberg over Brown at the Stanford Invite 2004

Ultimate History:
What teams have you played on?
BLU (UCLA) - Spring 2004 and Spring 2005
Heroine (San Francisco Bay Area) - Summer 2004
Huckwallas (Phoenix) - Fall 2001
What has been your greatest ultimate achievement/memory?
Eeking out a win over Brown 13-12 in the morning fog on Sunday at the Stanford Invite last year (2004). It was my first glimpse into BLU's potential for greatness; that was our first win over an historically impressive team (Disco Inferno made semis at nationals in 2003 and quarters in 2004.) Can't wait to play them again this year...should be a good game!
What has been your worst (most heartbreaking, most challenging, or most embarrassing, etc.) ultimate memory?
It's funny, but even when we lose close games, I always feel like we won. Losing to Claremont in the game-to-go at Regionals last year was one of those games. We lost by two points at the cap, but we played our hearts out and I have never been prouder of a group accomplishment. Claremont was a great team, and one of the most spirited groups of girls I've ever encountered, so I was pumped for them to get their first appearance at Natties. Also, I was confident that BLU would continue to improve...hopefully we'll get our shot this year.
What type of recognition/honors/awards (if any) have you received for your ultimate play?
Most Spirited in the Best of VOTS 2002 (this is my favorite)
Best Defensive Player for BLU 2004
Southwest All-Region Team 2004
What has it been like to be one of the founding members of such a young team?
This has been the most fulfilling athletic experience of my life. My mom always tells this story that when I was about 8, I came to her and announced (imagine a cute little kid voice), "Mom, I was born to play sports." With ultimate, I feel like I finally have found the sport I was looking for as a kid. I have played softball and soccer very competitively in my day, but nothing matches the raw athleticism and the incredible spirit that ultimate players have. I've never played on a team that worked so hard to improve or wanted to succeed so badly. BLU rocks my world. I feel so lucky to have been here from the beginning.

Amberg throwing v. USC at the Santa Barbara Invite 2005

Ultimate Skills/Profile: What position do you play? Has this differed on different teams you may have played for? I currently play mid/deep for BLU, though last year I had to handle since I was one of only three veterans on the team. Since the BLU girls are so self-motivated and have improved so dramatically over the past year, I thankfully can retire my blade-y flick and my airbounce backhand, and can instead cut for our studly handlers. What do you view as your strengths on the field? Defense, definitely. And catching swilly stuff in the endzone. Not that anyone on BLU ever puts up swill. :) What are you working on most to improve? My fitness level and strength. After mandatory morning workouts in college, I pretty much swore off weightlifting, but Jamie has convinced me again of its benefits. And my throws. I wasn't joking about that airbounce. What is your role on your college team (include leadership roles on and off the field)? I am the big sister to BLU, which is a nice way of saying I'm the oldest one on the field. But depending on who you talk to, "big sister" might be replaced by "team mom". What type of pre-game or pre-tournament rituals (if any) do you have? Nothing in particular. Stretch well. Get someone to french braid my hair.

Upcoming College Season:
Describe your experience at the recent Santa Barbara and President's Day tournaments.
Santa Barbara was a great opportunity to see what teams looked like in January. So while I was glad we played well, I was also really impressed by Sol, Superfly, and the Burning Skirts. PresDay was bizarre given the conditions, of course, but I loved playing against teams from outside our region; UBC, Cal, Wisconsin and Washington each challenged us to a tight zone-filled showdown. I was totally disappointed that Miranda Roth got sick on Sunday (I hope you're feeling better, should you happen to read this) because I had been dreaming for weeks about the chance to match up on her and see what I was capable of against the Callahan winner. I've only seen her play on the very small screen of my Powerbook courtesy of http://www.collegesports.com/sports/c-ultimate/cs-c-ultimate-body.html, and I am so looking forward to seeing her live at the Stanford Invite next week. How strong do you think your college team will be this year? How does this compare to previous years that you have been on the team?
BLU has looked really strong all year, starting with a second place finish at Sean Ryan this fall and continuing through PresDay where we went 6-0 in inclement weather. I think as our veterans continue to improve (as they certainly will since they've only been playing a year) and our rookies catch the ultimate fever, we should be the best team in the Southwest region. Since this is only the second year of BLU's existence, it's hard to compare this year to the past. Last year I started the season with zero expectations, but quickly modified those to expect us to finish third in our region. This year, I have much higher expectations and am hopeful that we continue to play to the best of our ability, and that we have as much fun doing it this year as we did last year.

What are your personal and team goals for the season? My goal, and that of BLU as well, is to qualify for Nationals. Personally, I'd like to go out with a bang and make at least semis in Corvallis. That's the thing about sports, though...any team can beat any other team on any given day. We shall see. What do you most look forward to during the upcoming season? I am pumped about the Stanford Invite. Good competition, hopefully good weather, and another chance for BLU to continue its steep learning curve. For me, a chance to match up against Claire Meneely, Enessa Janes (and maybe Jen Burney?), Kath Ratcliff, Syd and Linds of Claremont, Tenise Ambler and Tracy Woo, and Sarah Pittiglio. I'm sure after the weekend there will be more names for me to add to my list of girls that I love to play against because they challenge me to be a better player on every point.

Amberg catching v. UC-Santa Cruz at the Santa Barbara Invite

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