Photo by James Wiseman

On a recent trip to Seattle, Lori and I arrived to the jam full of energy. We walked up, setup our chairs, and began to prepare. As I pulled my jam gear out of my bag a sinking feeling came over me. I had forgotten my shoes. I was wearing flip-flops. At that moment my options were: jam barefoot or drive for about 1.5 hours round trip to get my shoes.

I don’t usually jam barefoot and I love kick brushing and kick tipping, which are more comfortable with shoes. This would really change my experience. However, imagining my friends jamming their brains out while I was driving would be torture, because by the time I got back, people would be tired and I would have missed the best part of the jam. Oh, the dilemma. 

This experience is the inspiration for this poll. Let’s say you arrive to the jam and realize you forgot one thing. Is there anything, besides a disc, that would cause you to turn around and go back home rather than jam without it? If so, what is it?

Oh, and for the curious, I decided to jam barefoot. I took it as a challenge and ended up having a wonderful jam.  And, the next day I certainly did not forget my shoes.

Which Item Could You Not Jam Without?

[poll id=”57″]

We often describe our Frisbee family as the Jamily, and we are like one big, happy family. But for some of us, we are lucky enough to have true family members who also share our passion for Frisbee. This is truly something special. When we talked to Jens and Erwin Velasquez, it was clear how much playing Frisbee together bonded them as brothers and as friends. I am fortunate enough to have Frisbee playing family members as well. My brother Matt and I started freestyling at the same time. We were partners in competition, we pushed each other’s games, and to this day, there’s just a sort of magic that happens when we are together in a jam. I’m also married to a Frisbee player, Lori Daniels. It’s great to share our passion for Frisbee. We play together, support each other, and there’s never a conflict about what we’ll be doing for our vacations. Plus, there’s nothing like waking up on a weekend and saying, “What do you want to do today?” and hearing back “Let’s jam.” 

In contemplating this question, I began to wonder, does Frisbee run in the blood? Or perhaps having a family member who plays Frisbee is not that common. In this weeks poll, we’ll find out. Extra credit if you share a story about your Frisbee playing family member in the comments below.

Do You Have a Family Member who Plays Frisbee?

[poll id=”56″]

The concept of the bail catch is an interesting one. It’s really your go-to catch. It’s a catch in which you have supreme confidence and that you can pull out without giving any thought to it. It’s the catch that’s used any time there’s trouble. Maybe you’re going for a hein combo and the wind puffs? Give the disc a touch and make the bail catch. Maybe your partner sets you short? No problem, pull out the bail catch.

Yes, we all need at least one bail catch. Mine is the left hand scarecrow. I recall the moment I realized this was the case: it was in a competition, the wind was unpredictable, and I was on a brushing run when the wind puffed. The disc began to blow behind me and, BAM, without even thinking about it I reached back and caught a scarecrow. It happened before I even had time to panic. 

So now let’s find out, what is your bail catch? Don’t worry if you have more than one, as this poll is multiple choice.

What is Your Bail Catch?

[poll id=”55″]

In case you don’t know what these catches are, follow these links:

• Under the Leg
• Behind the Back
• Chair
• Lacer
• Flamingo
• Gitis
• ScareCrow
• Behind the Head
• Phlaud
• Triple Fake