Amherst, Northampton players shining for Ultimate Frisbee Association’s Boston Glory

For so long, the cities of Amherst and Northampton have been ultimate Frisbee hot spots. Talent pours out of the area, starting at the youth level and reaching the collegiate world at UMass. If the fact that the Amherst Regional and Northampton High ultimate teams compete for state titles every year wasn’t enough to stamp the area’s success, having double-digit players in the professional Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) certainly is.

The UFA was founded in 2012, and there are 24 franchises spanning across North America – the closest being in Boston. The Boston Glory play in the East Division, which includes the New York Empire, D.C. Breeze, Philadelphia Phoenix, Montreal Royal and Toronto Rush. On the Glory’s roster alone, eight players have ties to the Amherst area.

Jeff Babbitt and Benjamin Sadock played at UMass together, and Babbitt is now a two-time UFA league MVP. Wyatt Kellman, Luke Webb, Cole Davis-Brand, Luca Harwood, Ryan Dinger and Orion Cable all grew up in Amherst and play for the Glory. Both Solomon Rueschmeyer-Bailey and Oliver Fay are Amherst natives and also play in the league for other teams. Even 17-year old Roan Dunkerley – the youngest player in league history – of Northampton played for the Glory last season.

The Amherst-Northampton area is one of the best in all of the country when it comes to producing ultimate talent, and has been for some time.

“Amherst has a tradition of Frisbee,” Webb, who’s in his second season with the Glory, said. “There’s just way more kids who play in that area, and having UMass right there obviously helps too. There’s more ultimate going on there than other parts of the country. It’s not the only hot spot, but for some reason, Frisbee took off earlier and developed faster there. There’s more kids playing. And when there’s more kids playing, you eventually get higher level players out of it.”

Each team in the UFA rosters 20 players for each game, but can hold almost double that for practices. Boston flies to games when it plays Toronto or D.C., but drives to all other contests within their division. The base pay is $50 per game, with captains and top players across the league having the ability to make more. Most of the players in the league also play for top club teams in the offseason, and everything needed to compete (hotels, flights, food, gear, etc.) comes out of pocket. In the UFA, that’s all provided.

It’s a true professional feel, and the athletes get to play the sport they love.

“It’s super fun,” Webb said. “You may not be making a true salary, but it’s a passion for most of these players and the little bit of money on top of that is nice. It’s not like you have a lot of chances to play a pro sport, and this is a pretty accessible way to get into that.”

The Glory had their first game on April 26, and they breezed past Montreal, 26-18. They’ll play 12 total games in the regular season before turning their attention to the postseason – which they have high hopes for. Boston has a very strong and deep roster, and after winning in the first-round before a second-round defeat in 2024, the Glory are eager to make an even deeper run in 2025.

“We should make the playoffs, and we feel pretty good about the roster right now,” Webb said. “It’s definitely early, but that’s always the aspiration.”

One of the Glory’s traditions before every home game is to hold youth clinics for kids, providing them lessons from Glory players and coaches. Afterward, the kids get to watch the game and there are even fun halftime competitions. It’s a great way to get the youth involved and put the game of ultimate in a good light.

The UFA is a unique and exciting professional league that does a great job of harnessing the spirit of the game while also displaying terrific ultimate, and they’ve relied on the Amherst area to bring in some extreme talent year in and year out.