Winchester Welcomes Ultimate Frisbee Team

Oskari Rautiainen ran cross country, indoor and outdoor track for his first two years at . And while he enjoyed competing, four stress fractures in the two lowest vertebrae of his spine forced him to give up those sports.

But it didn’t take long for Rautiainen to find his next sport; one that he could play.

Rautiainen is one of the five captains on the Winchester Ultimate Frisbee team, which started its first varsity season this spring with 46 players. The other captains are Colin Burbage, Lee Gutierrez, Michael Parnas and Lydia Olson.

"In the past when we played with a club we'd have 15-20 kids show up, so I wasn't expecting more than 20 kids on the team," Rautiainen said. "I was pleasantly surprised when 60 kids signed up."

The team is coached by Daniel Downs, a web design teacher at Winchester who also played ultimate and ran cross country while attending St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, N.H.

 "There was a good club community in Winchester and kids are really looking for an alternative to track and other sports," Downs said. "Kids are always looking for a new sport to play, and kids in Winchester are really outgoing and willing to try new things."

The team lost its first two games at Masconomet and Manchester Essex, but has since won five straight against Concord Carlisle B, Newton North B, Andover JV, Reading and St. Johns Shrewsbury.

Besides playing its toughest competition first, Downs thought his team was nervous and wasn't used to playing competitively early on. But the current winning streak means the team is hitting its stride heading into the Division II state tournament next month.

"We have a strong base of seniors who have played and are also really talented," Downs said. "We have a lot of height on the team and good natural athletes and our team leadership has really allowed us to have really productive practices. We've been able to really develop and kids are even practicing on their free time."

The Sachems practice three times a week and are back in action next weekend, with games at Somerville on Friday and home on the turf against Arlington on Saturday.

In the future, Downs hopes to have a varsity and JV teams with about 20 players each. Rautiainen has no doubt that this sport has staying power at the school.

"Previously there have been a couple club teams at WHS that have fallen apart after a year or two," he said. "But the varsity team provides enough structure and support to form a solid long lasting ultimate program at Winchester."