In a matter of days Mark Worsfold will make the transition from WMU student to alumnus and he's already got a pretty unique opportunity waiting for him.
Worsfold, who earned a B.A. in Communication last week, will be working—and playing— full time for the Detroit Mechanix, a Professional Ultimate team representing Michigan in the inaugural season of the American Ultimate Disc League. Worsfold is among several other Broncos on the team, but he was the very first team member added to the Detroit Mechanix roster. Aside from playing, Worsfold has also been hired as an assistant marketer for the team.
What is the American Ultimate Disc League?
Ultimate combines aspects of other sports such as football, soccer and basketball—but it's played with a Disc, or Frisbee. Ultimate players use 'Discs' because "Frisbee" is a brand name, owned by Wham-O, Inc.
As Worsfold explains, "take the field of football and the endurance of soccer, with the defense and speed of basketball. The game is played 7 on 7 and the object is to pass the disc down the field to the respective end-zone, like football. You can not run with the disc and the defense tries to keep the other team from completing passes."
Worsfold went on to explain how rapidly Ultimate is growing, "it's a sport that features big time plays that crowds can really get into—it's only a matter of time before its goes mainstream."
Five years ago Worsfold began playing ultimate, first learning from his older brother who captained a team at MSU. Worsfold said he knew immediately that he wanted to play in college. After completing an internship in Seattle working for Five Ultimate, the leading apparel company for Ultimate teams the world over, Worsfold was certain, "It was so amazing to get to work within the sport that I love, I knew I had to find some way to work within the field."
And now, that's turned into a reality.
The Detroit Mechanix play at the Silverdome, in Pontiac, Mich. Worsfold invites everyone to come out and experience Ultimate this summer; "it's a very exciting sport with big-time action."
Other players from WMU are: Ricky VanAmburg, Andrew Lucarotti, Michael Serota, Brendan Schwalm, and Jeff Robinson.
To learn more about Ultimate or the Detroit Mechanix, please follow the link below:
Detroit Mechanix— Website