Mama?s Club Nationals First Timers

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Three Mama’s alumni qualified for Club Nationals for the first time in 2025—an incredible milestone and a testament to their dedication to the sport. In honor of their achievement, we caught up with them to hear how the season unfolded, what Nationals meant to them, and how their time with Mama’s helped shape their journey. Read below to see how these Mama’s reflect on their experience:

Lucas Coniaris - Portland Rhino Slam!

How would you describe the difference in pace, physicality, and strategy between the Club Nationals environment and high-level college ultimate?

The difference between the college ultimate I played and club nationals is not even comparable. Every club team at nationals is made up of entire lines of college teams’ best players. The strategies that you can execute are so much more nuanced and fast than anything in college. Similarly, the things you have to game-plan for are crazy. The athletes at the club level are capable of some insane plays, like just straight up being faster, taller, and smarter than you. 

Why should alumni who never played club care about Nationals? What’s a behind-the-scenes moment that fans and alumni never get to see?

To me, nationals is the pinnacle of the sport. It is the most dense collection of ultimate talent that you will experience. I found myself at times standing in the middle of the complex just taking it in. During a bye on the first day, I was sat between a Scandal-Molly Brown universe point thriller and a Machine-Revolver slugfest. And that was just pool play. For someone who loves the sport, there is no better place than nationals. And when you are there, you get to take part in the emotion. For so many, nationals is the height of their year. You work so hard to get to that point, to have that weekend. So the emotions run high, both the thrill of victory and the absolute crushing sadness of the end of a season. I have felt similar emotions in college, with the end of the season coming in the finals of regionals. But there is something about the unknown that follows a club season. In college, you already know who is leaving, who is staying. In club, there is so much more up to chance. 

What about your experience with Mama?s translated to Club Nationals?

The Mamas prepared me most to be a good teammate. Through my time with IU I learned how to channel competitiveness and love for teammates into something that can make a difference on the sideline. I know how to support my teammates when they are high, and when they are low. 

What’s a moment from this year’s Club Nationals that you’ll still be talking about in ten years?

To be honest, I had a tough time at nationals this year. Finding my place with Rhino was a huge learning experience, and I have some regrets about how the season ended. Whenever I reflect on this nationals, I will always think of semis against revolver, and how we could’ve played that game differently. I know that because of that game, I will approach every season and every team I’m on moving forward differently. My biggest takeaway is that my voice does matter. 

What was your most memorable point?

Before the first game of pool play, Vinh Bui had a message in the huddle - “let’s make some moments”. On my first or second point of the game, I skied someone for the first break. As my teammates rushed onto the field, I found Vinh and cheered “that’s my first moment Vinh”. It just felt very surreal to make my mark so early at my first nationals.  

Honorable mention, in quarters against Truck Stop, Dylan Freechild and I ran a give-go sequence of about 40 yards, completing one yard passes as we ran next to each other, until finally converting that into a break. I got to flex a niche skill of mine in the bracket at nationals, with one of the legends of the game. 19 year old Lucas was ecstatic.

Max Hamilton - Denver Mile High Trash

We made it to pre-q's before losing out to place last. I was a secondary o-line cutter/handler hybrid, I would sometimes center the pull or help initiate downfield and very occasionally they would let me play defense. Trash as a program is founded on the idea of playing frisbee with ya friends while also competing as hard as you can. Our "mantra" this year was always to ramp, from point to point/game to game/tournament to tournament. For Nationals specifically we really narrowed down our focus to the games in front of us in pool play, the mixed division is always chaotic so worrying about who you might see where in the bracket is an exercise in futility. 

For me specifically I had a great time, it was my first-year captaining and getting to compete against the best every game was a joy and a challenge. The fields were incredible and the weather in San Diego was perfect all week. I walked on the beach every day and ate so many fish tacos. I learned a lot as a player and a leader and I'm excited to implement those lessons going forward.

How would you describe the difference in pace, physicality, and strategy between the Club Nationals environment and high-level college ultimate?

Mixed is a little different than single gender in terms of defensive and offensive schema and what you can and cannot do, but in general everyone is athletic, understands how spacing works, and can make medium-medium hard throws consistently. It is less easy to find an obvious weak link to utilize. The preparation is also much greater as there is usually an abundance of high quality film to utilize in the weeks before nationals. Having played Great Lakes college frisbee I wouldn’t say that the physicality at Club Nationals is higher per se, rather that people are generally more athletic and smarter defensively which makes the use of physicality more impactful.

Why should alumni who never played club care about Nationals? What’s a behind-the-scenes moment that fans and alumni never get to see?

I don’t know man, it's just another sport to follow. The behind-the-scenes is all the work we put in and out of practice together, the bonding of spending time with like minded individuals in pursuit of a common goal, that's what makes the experience so worth it in my mind. Journey over destination type shit.

What about your experience with Mama?s translated to Club Nationals?

My love of spending time with my friends and just playing the game were all discovered with my days playing with the Mama?s (and Daddy!s)! Getting to grow as a person and meet some really great people while being included in a community made my college experience so special and I wanted to continue that into my adult life.

What’s a moment from this year’s Club Nationals that you’ll still be talking about in ten years?

I had to pee at the tournament party and I was slightly inebriated at that point so instead of waiting in line I walked out of the bar and around the corner into the neighborhood to commune with nature. As I was walking up to a friendly bush to investigate 6 people arose from 6 different bushes near simultaneously (nature lovers like myself) and grinned and skedaddled back to the party.

What was your most memorable point?

We had an upwind zone o point against mixtape in the Pro-flight play in game that was 50-60 throws of slicing and dicing to get the score. Incredible feeling afterwards and they looked so demoralized :).

Jack Galle - Huntsville Space Force

teams (we were seeded 12th pre-tournament). My role was essentially to play a ton of defense points and guard the other team's best player. I can't really comment on my team's ethos throughout the year given that I played the regular season with Chicago Machine and only played regionals/nationals with Space Force. However, I would say that leading up to nationals there was a lot of emphasis on executing the stuff that the team had worked on all year at a high level and peaking/preparing for the big moments, but also mentally preparing to adapt when things are not going to plan.

How would you describe the difference in pace, physicality, and strategy between the Club Nationals environment and high-level college ultimate?

The comparison between pace and physicality is a little difficult to compare because I played mixed club and open in college. I will say that the atmosphere at club nationals was different than anything I had ever experienced. Every play, moment, and call felt crucial and that was only amplified by people watching your field and recording media and  the overall sideline presence.  Again it is kind of hard to comment on all of nationals given that we placed 12th, but I got to play against a lot of top players that I faced in college like Theo Shapinsky (Michigan Alum) and Will Zamsky (MSU Alum) and these players more or led their teams, so the best players in college tend to have an impact even at the club nationals level.

Why should alumni who never played club care about Nationals? What’s a behind-the-scenes moment that fans and alumni never get to see?

We have IU alumni getting to compete on the biggest stage against some of the best players in the world, what is there not to care about? In our hotel elevator my Grandma told Michael Ing that she hoped that Machine beat Revolver the evening before the national finals. But in general I think there is a lot of deliberation during foul calls and chatting on and off the field that fans/alumni don't get to witness.

What about your experience with Mama?s translated to Club Nationals?

I think it is hard to pinpoint specific things that my experience with the Mama?s translated to Club Nationals, but I do credit my time on the Mama?s for turning me into the player that was strong enough to make Club Nationals.

What’s a moment from this year’s Club Nationals that you’ll still be talking about in ten years?

I got name-dropped in the club national finals broadcast by Evan Lepler. I also had a crazy layout catch that got included on ultiphotos' top photos of the tournament on their instagram.

What was your most memorable point?

I got to guard Theo Shapinsky, who had beaten the Mama?s in the 2021 fall regionals final with Magnum, in one of the final points against D.C Rally and locked him up in the endzone and honestly for most of the game. We did lose a close game but it felt like retribution for losing to him my freshman year regionals when he was like a 5th year.