According to Rosoff, a lack of any preconceptions about how the game should be played allows the rookies to be molded to Yale's style of play. Some of the best players, including Rosoff, had no experience when they came to Yale. Many of the people who come out for the teams, however, have played field sports in high school ,according to Tversky, who added that as the sport catches on in high schools there will be more people who enter Yale with Ultimate Frisbee experience. Practices for Ultimate Frisbee take place three times a week for about three hours and tournaments take place on weekends. The practices are run by the captains and more experienced players, since Ultimate teams generally do not have coaches.
Practices are hard, with emphasis on drills, sprinting, and basic skills.
Players who are less experienced are expected to work on skills such as basic throwing on the off days. Throwing accuracy is important in Ultimate, but the hardest part of the game is the necessary endurance, Rosoff said. Throughout the games the players constantly alternate sprinting and jogging. Though this is not different from many field sports, Ultimate usually plays four games in a row on a single day. Though Ultimate players take their sport seriously and play and practice hard, they do not consider winning the most important aspect of the sport.