The Ultimate Frisbee line-up of the best the Scottish Football League’s have to offer! Playing in the common Vertical Stack formation from outdoor Ultimate matches, this team is a mix of the best goal-scorers and assist kings from Div. 2, Div. 1, the Championship and Premier League. The handlers and cutters in this line-up were chosen based on their form during the 2018/19 season up to the 9th January 2019. If you want to learn more about the requirements of each position in Ultimate, please read my other post – Frisbee for Footballers: Positions

Our SPFL Ultimate Team Line-Up

Handler 1

The team captain and key handler. Tavernier is renowned for his gut-busting runs, beautiful free-kicks, endless energy and tenacity. When it comes to dead-ball situations Tavernier is the man, which translates to a reliability in picking up the disc to begin plays in Ultimate which is part of why he is picked as our main handler. With 8 assists already in 21 games in the 2018/19 season, his ability to pick out a killer pass and creativity shows that as a handler he would be able to play the throws necessary to unpick teams with a solid defence, be it man or zone. Additionally, as Rangers club captain he is a leader, organiser and motivator which is just what our squad needs. A great handler is consistent, reliable, composed, agile and has solid technical ability and Tavernier would be able to apply his greatest attributes in football to a game of Ultimate as a handler with great effect.

Near Miss: Ryan Wallace (Arbroath)

Handler 2

 

Our second handler and the top assist maker with 13 in the Championship this season, Aird is a natural fit alongside Tavernier in our lineup. Born in Canada, perhaps he even played a bit of Ultimate in his youth with the sport being much more popular in North America than it is here in Britain and four Canadian teams playing in the AUDL (Toronto Rush, Montreal Royal, Vancouver Riptide, Ottawa Outlaws). A right-sided midfielder, his assist tally underlines his creativity and coolness on the ball which would be invaluable for our team. Not only is he offensively dangerous but he works hard defensively as well and the fact that he won the Championship Player of the Month for November attests to his talent. We could have gone for a player like Callum McGregor for this position but Aird has 5 more assists to his name than any other player in the SPFL as it stands(Jan 10th). This talent marks him out as a potentially excellent handler, knowing the right time and place to play a pass and how to pick apart stubborn defences.

Near Miss: Callum Mcgregor (Celtic)

Cutter 1

With 8 goals and 6 assits for Celtic, Forrest has become one of the most important creative players in their squad. The first cutter chosen for our team, his raw pace, frightening agility and excellent technical skills would make him a nightmare to mark during a game of Ultimate. His lack of height does not limit him in football and in Ultimate his ability to change direction, get into space and outwit defenders would mean that his lack of height would also not hinder him scoring many points for our team. A hard worker, he also doesn’t shirk his defensive duties but Forrest would primarily be a devastating end-zone player with defenders at a loss as to how to mark him out of a game.

Near Miss: Odsonne Edouard (Celtic)

Cutter 2

The top scorer in Ladbrokes League One by a margin of 4 goals, Nisbet has been the reason Raith Rovers are still in sight of Arbroath this season. It surely won’t be long before Nisbet is snapped up by a team from a better division as his goal-scoring abilities are second to none in League One and this is why he is in our team. The main responsibilities of a cutter are to get into space,away from your man to receive passes and to be the player responsible for scoring points and Nisbet is clearly excellent at both. A fox in the box, Nisbet would be extremely dangerous in an end-zone, able to use his height, power, movement, coolness under pressure and potent finishing ability to pick off teams and leave defenders wondering how he scored another.

Near Miss: Bobby Linn (Arbroath)

Cutter 3

Cutters are point-scorers and Shankland is one of the most prolific in the Scottish league system. With 18 goals in 18 appearances for Ayr United this season and 44 goals in 46 appearances he is consistently the main man for the ‘Honest Men‘ and is definitely worthy of a place in our Vertical Stack of cutters. It is not just his goal-scoring prowess that would translate into an effective Ultimate cutter however. At 6″1 (the same as Kevin NIsbet) his stature and jumping ability would provide an excellent asset to our team, being able to contest aerial duels from high passes to win offensive and defensive plays for our team.

Near Miss: Stephen Dobbie (Queen of the South)

Cutter 4

Henderson may be playing at the lowest level of all the players in this side, but as a representative of League 2 there is nobody available better suited to being our 4th cutter. Now, it must be said that an effective cutter does not have to be very tall or incredibly quick to be effective in a game but Henderson fits that stereotypical image perfectly. Standing at 6″4 with 18 goals in 18 appearances, Henderson stands (literally and metaphorically) head and shoulders above most other players in his division. Top scorer for the three clubs he has played for in three seasons, his point-scoring would of course be invaluable but his height would play a crucial role as a threat in our side. His aerial threat would allow our more diminutive players such as James Forrest or Fraser Aird to find space more easily due to defenders feeling his presence is of more danger and would also give our team a reliable out if a huck became the only available option.

Near Miss: Shane Sutherland (Elgin City)

Cutter 5

The final cutter in our team, Stewart played a key role in the inspired form of Kilmarnock before switching controversially to Aberdeen in January as Killie traded first place in the table with the Old Firm and Aberdeen for the first time in years. No doubt learning from veteran Chris Burke, his 8 goals and 6 assists were key in the transformation that boss Steve Clarke achieved with the Rugby Park side. His ability to combine goal-scoring and chance creation makes him an ideal cutter for our Ultimate team. Alfredo Morelos was the closest challenger to Stewart for this position in our team due to his much higher goal tally but the importance of the ‘Spirit of the Game’ in Ultimate dictates that Morelos should not play. With 2 red cards and 6 yellows to his name, Morelos does not have the temperament to play Ultimate while Stewart’s modest tally of only 3 yellows and combination of assist-making and scoring makes him a much more ideal candidate.

Near Miss : Alfredo Morelos (Rangers)

Do you agree with our team or do you think some of the ‘Near Misses’ deserve a place in the lineup? Leave a comment with what you think!

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post! Football was always a passion of mine before Ultimate Frisbee overtook it and I thought it would be fun continuing to make comparisons and relate the two sports to each other. The general understanding of football in Scotland is obviously much higher than Ultimate therefore I’m trying to use comparisons with football to make Ultimate more relatable and understandable.