Jim Pistrang is the Ultimate coach
Jim Pistrang has been coaching Ultimate Frisbee at ARMS since 1994, but his legacy goes far beyond his 30-plus years of coaching in Amherst.
As a high school senior in New Jersey, Pistrang helped start one of the first high school Ultimate teams in the country in the fall of 1971, forming a league in the winter with other local teams including Columbia High School.
He went on to found the men’s varsity Ultimate team at Tufts University in the fall of 1972 with Columbia High School graduate Ed Summers. This team was among the first varsity-level college Frisbee teams in the country.
“Ironically, what attracted me to Ultimate initially was the absolute absence of any adults,” said Pistrang. “When I was in high school, it was totally organized by kids—kids were captains and kids coached their teams—and the same was true in college.”
Pistrang developed the travel team model for the ARMS Ultimate program in 1999 and has used it every year since. Everyone gets to play in the intramural league, and players can choose to try out for the travel team, which is more competitive and plays games against other schools.
“This year’s travel team is going to be amazing, but you have to take into account that I say that every year,” said Pistrang.
Pistrang has made an impact on countless players who have come through his clinics and is credited by many with helping them discover their passion for Ultimate.
“Jim is a phenomenal coach,” said ARHS senior Patrick MacDougall. “For the seven years I have been coached by him and coached with him, he has been an inspiration and a huge part of making me the Frisbee player I am.”
“Jim has been the most pivotal person in my eight years of Ultimate Frisbee,” said senior Eamon Giles-McCreary. “His passion has been passed on to everyone who enters his clinics.”
Along with inspiring the next generation of youth Ultimate players, Pistrang stays busy with many other interests. He has been the production stage manager for the Amherst Community Theater for 20 years and is still working part-time as a software designer, which he has been doing since the 1990s.
Pistrang notes that he has loved Frisbees since he was about eight years old. For all the years since, his commitment to the game has made him a legend within the Ultimate community.
“The community is great. Over the years, parents and families have been equally passionate as their kids and have stayed involved, helping to run tournaments,” said Pistrang. “Some parents have stayed on after their kids were involved to continue working for the [Ultimate] community.”
Pistrang also loves the self-officiating aspect of the sport. “I love that it encourages players to take responsibility, to know the rules,” he said. “And I love the whole concept of spirit of the game, of respecting your opponents and respecting the game itself.”
