(COVINGTON, La.) With the plethora of activities, clubs, and sports found at St. Paul’s, notable extracurriculars often get hardly any publicity. One such extracurricular is that of the St. Paul’s Ultimate Frisbee® Team, the Dire Wolves.

Since the team’s start at St. Paul’s in 2003, the Dire Wolves have consistently done well, often finishing in the top five in the state. Despite the team’s many successes, however, most people know very little about it. For instance, the Ultimate squad’s schedule is unlike most sports teams at St. Paul’s.

“We have two seasons,” three-year team captain William James said, “One in the fall, and one in the spring.”

The fall season, which lasts from late August to early November, consists of tournaments around the state but does not include an official state tournament. The spring season lasts from late February to around the end of the school year. This season consists of tournaments throughout the state and ends with a state tournament that determines the final standings of all the teams in Louisiana.

The Dire Wolf consists of a Junior Varsity and Varsity team.

“Varsity is open to all grades, and it all depends on skill,” James said, “but usually sophomores play up to varsity while JV is reserved for eighth and ninth graders.”

Collectively, both teams consist of around 20-30 active members.

“We expect more in the spring season,” James said. “Hopefully we can get a lot more seniors to come out and play.”

Since James started playing in 2013, the varsity team has placed 2nd in state (2013), 3rd in state (2014), and 4th in state (2015). The team did not get to compete in the state tournament last year due to scheduling conflicts.

“This year, I see a lot of really good eighth graders,” James said. “And the seniors that we have signed up, I feel like they can all contribute to the team pretty well.”

The Baton Rouge-based Catholic High team, a rival of the Dire Wolves, recently won the 2017 national tournament for high school Ultimate Frisbee. At the Beowulf Ultimate Frisbee tournament held on St. Paul’s campus this past Saturday (Oct. 21), the Dire Wolves lost to Catholic High 11-2.

“It’s not the prettiest score, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect how we played,” James said. “(Catholic High) had three times the amount of players we had, and we only had one substitute, while they had about 18. And I mean, come on, they are the number one team in the nation.”

Of his time spent playing Ultimate Frisbee for the past four years, James said, “It’s been my favorite thing that I’ve done since I’ve been at St. Paul’s.”

To anyone who is considering joining, James says, “Come out and try it at least once. It’s a very low commitment club. If you come to one or two practices and don’t come to anymore, we’re not going to be upset; we’re going to happy you tried it.”

The Dire Wolves practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the varsity soccer fields. The team encourages students of all grades to attend a practice if interested in playing.