by Ingrid Gillies

When Zach Teutsch moved to Petworth, he brought his bike, some boxes and a love for frisbee. Gathering friends he met through city-wide leagues, they started playing frisbee Sunday morning at Raymond recreation center. Ten years later, these Sunday games still happen.

Adult recreational sports leagues are not unique to Petworth. DC is rife with companies like Volo and District Sports coordinating teams for sports in every season. Often, these commercial leagues involve a significant commute and steep entry fee, prohibiting people from joining. In opposition to that, joining Petworth pickup frisbee means you just need to show up. Using Google Groups, members send quick notes to coordinate games, rides and even happy hours.

It is this informal structure, Zach says, that gives everyone so much agency over the group. The ownership everyone feels ensures games continue irrespective of holiday weekends, three-foot snowstorms, or the humidity of a DC summer. It is what kept the group alive after the enduring pandemic.

In 2019, David Delaplaine moved to Petworth and almost immediately joined the Google Group. Not shortly after, COVID-19 began, and for the first time in seven years, the Sunday games were paused. After a long spring of quarantining, email notifications resumed, and people began inquiring about restarting play. After assessing CDC guidance and gauging comfortability of players, residents were back out (now at E.L. Haynes), playing through masks.

“I would go through as many as five masks in a game,” David recalls. “It was hard to breathe through wet cloth, so we’d have to change them out frequently.” Whereas many organizations struggled to retain membership after a pandemic, players returned to pickup in strong numbers despite uncomfortable conditions. Sure, people missed playing frisbee, but really they missed their neighbors and their friends.

Not only does frisbee create a sense of community but so does the distinct and strong identity as a Petworth resident. When asked about Petworth as a neighborhood, Zach said, “Here, people really want to know each other and feel part of a community. I’m really glad we have that.”

Not even snow will stop a good game of frisbee

An informal structure also lends itself to a more diverse group of players in terms of age and skill level. At any given pickup game, people range from high school students to those in their mid-60s. Without a coach or staff, pointers are given by teammates. People who know a lot impart their knowledge and continue to share with those new to the sport.

“We are fortunate to learn from people who have competed at the national level. Just having them on the field improves all our play,” said David.

This culture of teaching extends beyond the field and to the sidelines where many of the players’ children cluster on any given Sunday. For some, pickup frisbee is not just an individual commitment but a family engagement. At the beginning of a game, children will join their parents on the field to throw around the disc for a couple of points. Week after week, children watch their parents throw, learn about the sport, and more importantly, make some of their first friends.

Back at Raymond Recreation Center, Sanam Aghdaey and Zak Doenmez organize pickup soccer with some friends. For Sanam, pickup provides a different style of play than found in the leagues and the opportunity to play with a wider group of people. Without rankings and fighting for playoff spots, the stakes are lower, and people play for fun and for the love of the game. A more relaxed environment allows players to try new techniques, skills, or positions that might seem risky in a league game, but that’s not to say these pick-up games aren’t competitive.

Pickup soccer keeps the neighbors connected together.

When Sanam and Zak run pick up, they like to split players into three evenly matched teams and play king of the hill. The games are short – five minutes or first to two goals– and though teams switch around every week the premise remains the same: if you lose, you are out. Everybody wants to win, but the atmosphere remains friendly and full of banter.

Though pickup reduces the cost and commute associated with organized sports, coordinating informal games begets another host of challenges. Without the resources of a commercial league, securing field space on a consistent basis, can be next to impossible. And finding well-lit fields, for evening games in the winter months, is even harder. Fortunately, pickup frisbee found strong community partners with the schools in Petworth: E.L. Haynes and Washington Latin. The gift of their facilities is a true gift to players and strengthens the camaraderie of the neighborhood.

When looking for a pickup sport, Sanam recommends starting with MeetUp, Facebook Groups, or your neighborhood recreation centers. And if a group doesn’t exist, well… Sanam encourages residents to start one! Gathering people together with a shared interest is easy, fun, and a great way to build community where you live!