Our candidate enters his second season in the demanding sport
As the father of two young girls, Eric Duckworth feels a certain responsibility to maintain a healthy lifestyle. That’s why, when his doctor told him a little over a year ago that his cholesterol was high and he was a bit overweight, the 41-year-old Duckworth decided to start exercising. Since he was never much for gym workouts, he started looking for a team sport—and discovered the Delaware Men’s Ultimate Frisbee League.
“I played a few pickup games in my younger days,” says the Graylyn Crest resident, “but I had never been in an organized league.”
O&A Fitness Challenge participant Eric Duckworth with his family.
Official Ultimate involves seven players on a side, with about 15 total on a team. It’s played on a field about two-thirds the size of a football field, with larger end zones, By tossing the Frisbee to teammates, teams try to reach the end zone and score a point. Games are played to 15 points, with a two-hour limit. Players are divided into two basic positions: handlers (throwers) and strikers (receivers). The Delaware League plays its games on the Alapocas fields off Rt. 141.
Duckworth, who is president of Coliseum Construction in Eddystone, Pa., was a wideout on Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High School football team in 1991. He didn’t see much playing time because he backed up Marvin Harrison, who went on to a highly successful NFL career, but he did have some receiving skills, so he became a striker.
He quickly discovered that Ultimate can be a true aerobic workout. The six-foot Duckworth lost 12 pounds in that first season but has put about half of it back on. He says he is now at 195 pounds. The six-week-long spring season began last month, and his goal is to get to 185 pounds. Just as important, he wants to become a handler and win the coveted black disc, which goes to the league champion.
The league also has summer and fall seasons, and Out & About will be following Eric throughout the rest of the year as part of the 2015 O&A Fitness Challenge.
Anyone interested in the joining the league, which is part of the Philadelphia Area Disc Alliance, can go here.
