DC SHADOW ANNOUNCES 2024 ROSTER

New Faces on DC Shadow 

Shadow welcomes eight new players on its 2024 roster! Graham Cunningham, Jamie Eriksson, Lauren Johnson, Emma Jones, Ellen Mueller, Marie Perivier, Sami Smalling, and Caroline Tornquist. We’ve invited them to share a bit about themselves so our community can get to know them. 

Q: What excites you about being a part of Shadow for 2024?

Cunningham: I am excited to return to DC and play with some really talented players in the area. Despite being in the youth programs, I didn’t get the chance to meet and play in many of the adult leagues and club teams and I’m excited to get that chance! I was a Breeze fan all through high school and was so excited to hear that there was a PUL team coming to the city, but that was right before I moved away, so in a way this has been a long dream coming true.

Johnson: I'm excited to be playing with a talented group of athletes and to learn from a very strong coaching staff. This is my first season with the PUL, so I'm also looking forward to trying out the single-game format to see how that compares to the full weekend tournament format for club.

Q: How do you feel about Shadow's schedule for the season?

Cunningham: Excited to play some teams that are not on Shadow's typical schedule, such as Portland Rising and Austin Torch! Bummed that we're not playing Philly Surge or NY Gridlock in the regular season but still really excited for the teams we are playing.

Jones: Playing Raleigh twice will be so fun! I think it would be fun if our division crossover game was against Philly, NYC or MN, but I have heard great things about Portland, Maine as a PUL away game destination. Most of all excited for our game against Atlanta!! I cannot wait to see the matchups between old and new friends!

Q: What was your favorite part about tryouts or the first practices?

Cunningham: It's always so fun getting the opportunity to play high level ultimate in a new place with new people. There are always small differences in terminology and strategy norms that are interesting to see and adjust to. For example, during tryouts we ran endzone reps which tested our quick thinking/learning in addition to our physical athleticism.

Jones: The level of competition is genuinely unparalleled. I have never been part of a community with so many absolutely stellar players. The bids, the skies, the throws, the rizz.

Johnson: I've been away from DC for the last two years, so it was awesome to see the newest crop of young college players balling out at tryouts!

Q: Any fun facts you'd like to share with the Shadow community?

Jones: My fun fact is that fellow Shadow rookie Marie Perivier and I have been playing frisbee together for about six years now, starting as freshman together on UGA Athena. Marie has been a frisbee icon since she was a wee tot, and has been beasting on me at practices and pickup for all six years — with the notable exception of a one month period after she finished hiking the Appalachian Trail, when I beasted on her. Word on the street is that we are best friends, and I convinced her to move up to DC with me. We can neither confirm nor deny these rumors.

Johnson: My favorite sideline snack is Costco Aussie Bites. 

Coach’s Corner

Checking in with John Agan, joining DC Shadow for his 3rd year on the coaching team and his first year as head coach. 

Q:What were your main considerations coming into tryouts? What challenges did you face? What makes you excited about this particular group of players? 

Agan: A key consideration coming into tryouts was making sure that we had balance on the roster - the ability to play different ways, and have players who were capable of filling different roles when needed. The most exciting thing about tryouts is also what made it so challenging - the depth and versatility of the talent on the field. We had a lot of help from some expert volunteers helping us to evaluate talent, and had to make some very difficult decisions about how to put ourselves in the best position with the roster. This group has a great core of players who have been with Shadow for multiple years, and we're looking forward to incorporating some exciting new talent as well. 

Q: What goals do you have for the team in the first practices? What culture do you hope to set with the team? How do you feel about the first game against Raleigh, the PUL champs, on the road? 

Agan: The main goal is to get the team out and playing together - getting familiar with each other on the field and having each player learn about what each of their teammates can do. The other important goal is to get players on the same page with our systems and our terminology, so they can be communicating and in sync as much as possible by Game One. We're really emphasizing to players that because this is such a short season and every game counts, we need to work together to keep energy high and be resilient to surprises - good or bad - to make sure we stay focused on making the next play. Going on the road against the defending champions is going to be a great test of where we are with those things. 

World Ultimate Championships 2024 Tryouts