Jonathan has been playing, coaching, and living Ultimate for over the past 12 years. He was first introduced to Ultimate at an overnight summer camp, and understands how special the space is that Camp UP provides for youth to learn from one another and grow as individuals; he strives to make each summer the best experience possible for everyone involved.
Jonathan started playing ultimate competitively in high school (Robbinsdale Armstrong, in Plymouth, MN), helping to form his school’s first team, and captaining a young squad to 3-straight state championship appearances. He then moved on to the college game, and played within the University of Wisconsin Ultimate program for 5 years. He spent two years gaining experience and captaining the B-team before working his way onto the A-team, the Hodags, helping the team win a national championship in 2008. Jonathan has also played at the club level, with both Madison Club and Seattle Voodoo. Coaching ultimate has also served a prominent role in Jonathan’s life. He coached the University of Wisconsin B-team for a year before moving to Seattle and jumping into the vibrant ultimate community there. Jonathan has coached at a number of youth summer camps in Seattle, and helped form a co-ed team at Rainier Beach High School in South Seattle. He’s coached the high school team for the past 3 seasons, and helped facilitate the team’s growth from a squad of 7 kids to an established program of 25 strong, including a new boys team. This year the team won a division championship in the DiscNW co-ed league, and looks to support a full boys and girls team in the seasons to come. Jonathan also worked as a team representative at Five Ultimate in Seattle for nearly two years, where he was able to assist UP with jersey design and management for camp. Ultimate is more than a sport for Jonathan, it’s a passion, and a way of life.
Jonathan became involved with Ultimate Peace while studying abroad in Jerusalem during the fall semester of 2009. It didn’t take long for him to start bonding with many of the local coaches and players on the Israeli Ultimate scene, and Jonathan realized shortly after that he had found a calling in UP. In an effort to promote the Ultimate Peace mission, Jonathan traveled to various towns and villages within Israeli and the Palestinian territories, and met some wonderful people along the way who were just as pumped about UP’s message. After he returned to the states and by the end of his undergrad degree, Jonathan had written two lengthy papers on UP, presented to a number of people on the Ultimate Peace message, and was totally on board to join Camp UP 2010 as a mentor coach. That first summer at camp was the icing on the cake, and Jonathan hasn’t looked back. This will be his 5th summer as a volunteer coach, and the excitement behind the experience has never wavered for him. Some of his favorite parts of camp are lunch time cheering sessions, playing camp’s disc golf course, bonding with new teammates and coaches, and co-hosting the talent show. As a camp veteran, he’s ready to make this summer the best yet!
Jonathan is ecstatic and honored to be returning to camp once again this summer. It’s a privilege to be able to contribute to such a powerful program, and he is graciously appreciative for your donations to the cause!