If you walk by Chapels Field during the fall and spring, chances are that you will come across a men's Ultimate Frisbee team practice. Unlike other sports, there are no coaches present. Yet the team still shows its commitment to routine, discipline and improving its game at every practice. "It's about a bunch of guys who have drive and who push themselves to get better because they want to win," member Aaron Louison '11 said. "It's about being your own coach. Although you're working for a team, no one's asking you to get better except yourself."

Tron, as the team calls itself, recently wrapped up a very successful fall season in which it won the Ultimate Players Association Club Sectional Finals and reached the semifinals at the University of Rhode Island's biannual tournament, the Lemony Fall Classic.

Tron practices several times a week and competes in regional tournaments on many weekends throughout the fall.

The team has gone up against top squads such as Boston College, Stonehill College and the University of New Hampshire and had an overall record of 15-3 this fall.

But success for this team is defined by more than its winning percentage, as members of the team commit themselves just as a varsity athletes do.

"We lose having 'fun party weekends' because we go out to tournaments that are both Saturday and Sunday. We end up leaving campus around 6 a.m. both days usually driving over an hour and a half and return close to 8 p.m. just to do it again the next day," Louison said in an e-mail to the Justice. "That's dedication."

"We're just a bunch of average guys who love the game, have fun and stay in shape," co-captain Jake Yarmus '10 said.

Tron was established in 2000, when the Frisbee team, then co-gender, separated into men and women's teams so that both squads could compete on a regional level.

Like other club sports, Tron has looked for players with a shared passion for their game.

According to Yarmus, the team's goal is to "play competitively on a regional and national level and to put in the dedication necessary to achieve that goal."

The club sport is allotted approximately $1,000 per year, enough for the team to enter four or five tournaments and fund other team necessities.

Despite this restriction, the team looks to enter seven to eight tournaments a year. In order to gain the necessary funds to enter this many tournaments, the team holds multiple fundraisers every year.

The team's most recent fundraiser was a coffeehouse at Cholmondeley's last month but only raised one dollar. However, the team has ordered approximately 100 Frisbees to sell on campus at $12 apiece, with the goal of raising some of the money required to hold an open Ultimate Frisbee tournament in the spring.

"Our goal is around $2,000, so we really need to find ways to bridge that gap," team manager Andrew Ng '10 said.

Tron attracts a wide range of new members. While most Tron players have prior experience playing Ultimate Frisbee, some of the current players had never thrown a disc in their life before they joined the team.

"A few years ago, most of the guys who joined had no idea how to throw," Yarmus said. "Over the years, as the game has grown in popularity, we keep getting better and better players."

The players put in full effort during games and practices, and many of them do so while fighting through various injuries, just like varsity athletes.

"We have one player who has been battling a knee injury all year, but he has still come out to every tournament so far, and he's been a huge contributor," Ng said "We've played in really bad weather, and everyone would like to be in their room, cuddled up and warm. But everyone has still come out and contributed."

Although Tron's coach, Library and Technology Services employee Charlie Blumenthal, does not normally attend practices, Yarmus attributes much of Tron's success to Blumenthal's guidance.

"He doesn't come to practice, but during the games he is a huge help. We have a lot of guys on the team, so he helps us organize and put out a strong squad," Yarmus said.

Since Tron is a club sport, not all members are mandated to attend every practice or game. However, the team, consisting of around 30 members, does its best to make every practice, game and tournament even though there are only seven players on the field at a time.

The team holds four practices a week at Chapels Field during the fall and spring and moves indoors to Gosman Sports and Convocation Center during the winter with intersquad games, team workouts and drill practice.

Tron members bond not only through their time practicing Frisbee but also through their charity work. The team participated in an Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk last September and plans to teach children how to play Ultimate Frisbee at a local YMCA at a later date.

"It's kind of cool: We're not just about the sport but about a group of guys," Tony Rimburg '10 said.

The team's record proves that they can play with some of the stronger teams. The team hopes for a spot at the UPA College Championships in Columbus, Ohio next May.

While different colleges and universities host most weekend tournaments, the UPA sectional and then regional tournaments in the spring determine the squad's national standing among other teams in the nation.

To advance in the UPA standings, a team must win its section and then its region before reaching the national championships. Tron reached the regional championships two seasons ago and was one game short of reaching the regional championships last season.

Since the standings do not distinguish between Division I, II or III teams, Tron's appearance in the regional championships would be a significant accomplishment.

"We've proven to ourselves that we're really competitive, especially in the metro-Boston area," Ng said. "Our goal every year is to make the regional tournament, and we think our goal is definitely possible this year."

Yarmus summed up the team's attitude toward winning and keeping close relationships within the team by emphasizing the pure fun the team has in playing Ultimate Frisbee.

"This isn't the most talented team I've been on, but we have good flow and are a really good united team," Yarmus said. "It's really great to be a winning team."

-Ian Cutler contributed reporting.