Only 11 days left until the World Ultimate Club Championships in Lecco, Italy!
To continue our Countdown to WUCC, we proudly present more of our Riot Stories – quick bios written by the players on Riot. We hope you enjoy.
If you would like to help support us this season, please consider donating through our Sportfunder page. We are player-financed, and any contribution helps!
Name: Shannon O’Malley
Jersey Number: #11
Position: Handler
Years Playing on Riot: 10 years!!
Hometown: Seattle
Occupation: Teacher and Coach
Tell us about one of your first experiences with Ultimate
I was 11 years old, I just started at Eckstein Middle School, the largest in the state, around 1,400 kids. I hadn’t played a sport in 2 or so years since little league baseball but had never played any other mainstream sport. I loved P.E., unlike most at that age, and the first unit we did was Ultimate Frisbee! I instantly fell in love with how the game worked, how I could make my own calls, and that I could run forever! I learned then that I was fast! I found out there was a school team and brought the forms home to join. My parents had no clue what it was but saw the excitement on my face even though I could barely explain the game. I signed up and have been addicted to the game and its community ever since!
Why did you decide to tryout for Riot?
My friends and I played Ultimate 7 days a week in high school. We found and took every opportunity that involved a frisbee. When it was dark out, we gathered at friends houses and watched Ultimate documentaries, the same ones, over and over. We watched Seattle Riot and Seattle Sockeye come close to and win national titles. We idolized the players on these teams and wanted to be them. It was my dream all through high school to play on Riot. At the time, Riot had a rule that anyone under 18 or in high school could not tryout out. During my senior year, I applied for the Riot NUTC scholarship to attend camp with my best friends. I was traveling to the Amherst Invite when I got a call from one of the captains. It started, “Unfortunately, you haven’t been selected for the scholarships…” I was devastated. “..but will you tryout for the team?” I was speechless. I made that team that spring.
What do you do off-the-field for Riot?
My official team jobs are organizing the Riot Clinic, Riot Elementary League and the Riot Scholarship. I generally spend a lot of my time reaching out to the youth of Seattle to tell them about Riot and to come to our events. We especially reach out to girls in the community to come to our Women’s and Girl’s clinic to support the growth of women in our sport. This year our scholarship program is morphing to support local youth team in the area.
How does Riot impact the Ultimate community?
I personally reach out and work/coach many youth in the Seattle area. I am currently coaching 3 middle school teams and the Seattle YCC U19 Girls’ team. I direct and run Team Ultimate Camp and the Riot Elementary league. I help coordinate auction items for schools, Riot has donated clinics to school auctions to help them raise money and to support the youth programs at the their school. Many Riots coach youth in and around the Seattle area.
To learn more about me, check out my player profile at: https://seattleriot.org/roster/shannon-omalley/
To learn more about Riot and our impact in the community, please visit: https://seattleriot.org/sponsors/