Playing the Long Game
Ultimate Impact Brings Frisbee and Community to Oakland Students
The Bay Area is an internationally renowned hub for ultimate frisbee, a fast-paced and dynamic sport. Yet, for many young athletes in Oakland, it isn’t on their radar. Ultimate Impact is here to change that.
Ultimate Impact runs ultimate frisbee programming at schools across the Bay Area, including 10 schools in Oakland. Eat. Learn. Play. is proud to support their work at West Oakland Middle School (WOMS). It’s part of our mission to ensure Oakland middle school students have access to high-quality, inclusive sports programs that remove barriers and raise the bar regardless of their school or zip code.
At WOMS, Ultimate Impact staff lead after-school practice sessions and support instruction during PE classes each week. Registration, uniforms, equipment, and transportation are all covered by Ultimate Impact, so cost is never a barrier to play. Recently,WOMS students proudly modeled their new shirts, featuring a phoenix soaring, helping them look and feel their best on the field. Ultimate Impact also maintains a "cleat library" with hundreds of donated and purchased pairs of cleats that students borrow as they need and return when they've grown out of them, removing the burden on families to source and purchase gear.
Building Skills Beyond the Field
Beyond the fundamentals of the game, Ultimate Impact focuses on the social and emotional growth the sport offers young people. "Youth in school learn how to be part of a classroom, but they don't learn how to be part of a team," shared Rocky Beach, founder of Ultimate Impact. "We really focus on the things you need to do to lift your teammates up and being consistently there for each other."
"We show up for kids week over week to build that trust that's really needed. Youth, whether they've gone through trauma, are having a really hard day at school, or just want the opportunity to work hard at something, can find consistent support here," said Rocky.
That consistency is reflected in Ultimate Impact's staff, many of whom have been with the organization for years. In addition to their full-time roles, every staff member is also a coach, ensuring that kids remain at the heart of the work. At WOMS, the three Ultimate Impact coaches have over 17 years with the organization collectively.
A Consistent Support
One of the most distinctive features of Ultimate Impact's model is school linkage: partnering with elementary schools that feed into the middle schools where they already have a presence.
"I really wanted to create an organization where we stay with youth consistently year over year," Rocky explains. Six WOMS students first got involved in the organization back in elementary school, with some students continuing with the program through high school. This consistent support means kids in Oakland can bring their best to ultimate frisbee in one of the strongest regions in the country for the sport, grounded in an approach anchored by dedicated coaches, staff, and family engagement.
As part of our broader mission to ensure OUSD students have access to safe, joyful, and high-quality sports and wellness, Eat. Learn. Play. is proud to stand alongside community sports organizations like Ultimate Impact whose work brings inclusive, accessible sports programming to thousands of students across Oakland.