Forehands, backhands and pivots, the Rockville Ultimate Frisbee team is back for an intense 2016-17 season.

Ultimate frisbee team is not an official Montgomery County sport. However, this does not mean the sport is not competitive. The team is a club at RHS sponsored by English and Math teacher Sean Pang and Carmen Tong, that competes in tournaments usually held in Howard County.

The club was founded by a group of students in the class of 2012. The majority of these students played frisbee throughout high school and named the team “Deez.” They competed in numerous tournaments throughout their high school years, scoring first place in tournaments at River Hill HS and Glenelg HS.

RHS alumnus Sam Chisholm (“16) was a part of the team throughout his time in high school and hopes he influenced future high schoolers to join the team to hopefully end up competing at the higher level.

“We did really well throughout high school and I hope future players can see our success and be inspired to join the team for years to come,” Chisholm said.

Unfortunately, the team ended up losing 12 seniors in 2016, and now they have around 20 kids for this year starting a period of rebuild for the team.

The team continues to hold weekly practices after school at the Bauer Drive Community Recreation Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where they look to improve their skill for upcoming tournaments. The team competed in its first tournament Oct. 15 at Glenelg HS. The squad did not perform up to usual Deez standards, as they did not win a game and lost 10-0 in the consolation bracket.

Sophomore captain Connor Shields was disappointed with the performance but saw potential within the games.

“I wish we did better but I saw improvement to our players, definitely better than when we started the year, the practices look like they are paying off,” Shields said.

Since the frisbee team is not an official school team, this allows them to have more freedom and fun at their practices, where players form bonds on and off the field. Pang has been the sponsor for the frisbee team for five years and thinks of it as more of a relaxed sport for students to participate in and connect with each other.

“Because ultimate frisbee is more of an informal sports team, I think students can be more relaxed around each other,” Pang said. “We play together, practice together and are there to support each other.”

Students usually hang out before and after practice, getting food, such as Subway, before practice together to form a bond that extends from the relationship seen on the field.

Junior Mark Olivero is on the frisbee team for his first year and has come to like the team dynamic and playing frisbee

“Hanging with my boys before, after, and during practices along with competing at tournaments has been a huge highlight to my otherwise rough school year,” Olivero said.