D id you know MRA has a clay shooting team, an equestrian team, and a fishing team?? These club level teams have been added in recent years to our roster of athletic teams and we are quickly becoming competitive in these events on a statewide level. But the OG, as the kids would say, is our Ultimate Frisbee Team, led by Coach Matt Bramuchi. Started nine years ago, MRA’s Ultimate is now one of the most dominant teams in the state on the youth level. Made up of players from 8th—12th grade, both male and female, MRA’s Ultimate plays independent and pub- lic schools from all over the state and also plays in tournaments in cities such as Tupelo, Oxford, New Orleans, Chattanooga, Birmingham, Mem- phis, and Tuscaloosa. Asked about the growth in this program at MRA, Coach Bramuchi says, “A big piece of our success in building a program with 30-40 kids each year is that our kids love each other. That love for each other and the common purpose of successfully representing their school is what they value. It’s a low stress/high performance environment in which the kids get to showcase their skills and be competitive, and they love it.” One of the fastest-growing team sports in America, Ultimate is a mixture between soccer, basketball, and football. It combines the athleticism of running while making quick changes of direction with the skill of throw- ing and is under consideration to become an Olympic sport. The unique aspect of the sport is that it is dominated by a code called Spirit of the Game. Ultimate USA explains this term this way, “Ultimate places the responsibility of fair play solely on the athletes themselves by requir- ing each player to know the rules and make their own calls, even at the sport’s highest level. What you see and what you say matters. In Ultimate, mutual respect is what matters most. Spirit of the Game sets the tone for everything that happens on the field.” Coach Bramuchi describes the game this way, “It’s a unique game in which the emphasis is on camarade- rie and putting individuals first so everybody is involved and included.” Competing against local teams such as JA, Prep, Madison Central, and St. Joe, playing in tournaments against national championship-level teams, as well as playing college teams in exhibition tournaments, MRA’s Ulti- mate has made a name for themselves. Says Coach Bramuchi, “Instead of getting on a bandwagon, our kids are going out and leading in this region at the youth level.” MRA’s teams have experienced unparalleled success as measured against any school in the state and Bramuchi attributes that to having “great players but even greater people. Our success comes from the community, that sense of team. We have 8th grade boys and a senior girl working together toward a common purpose, and that sense of com- munity is at the fiber of who we are and that’s why our kids come back to play over and over again.” That community also extends to the parents of his players, “The club is so fortunate to have so much support from our parents. We have built an Ultimate Frisbee family.” He goes further, “You can’t have the kind of success we have experienced without a ton of commitment. We have absolute commitment not only from the team and myself, but also from MRA. The school and administrators have embraced what we’re doing. They recognize that regardless of wins and losses, the commitment and effort that 30-40 students and their families have put into Ultimate Fris- bee is so valuable.” With a 38-5 record over the last 5 years, the team is successful by any measurable. However, while he loves to win, Coach Bramuchi measures the team’s success this way, “It’s about family. It’s about community. It’s about loving the game and those are what keep people coming back over and over again.” -Beth Yerger
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