Second Year Player Spotlight

Jul 25

Written By NYGL

Last year, we welcomed many new players to NYGL, but after our team retreat and one weekend of practice, the season was cut short! Read below to learn what has kept them on the team and how they are approaching the 2021 season.

*Photo credit: Sam Hotaling, UltiPhotos*

#9 Natalie Bova

“There has been a lot of hard work, planning, and anticipation that has gone into this team. Last year was tough not being able to get together and be with everyone but through match fit performance’s weekly workouts and video calls, it gave me the motivation to continue to train with the hopes of getting back to playing this summer. I hope to make connections and build chemistry with all of my new and existing teammates and I am super excited to be able to play with NYGL, finally!”

#15 Caro Turner

“Making New York Gridlock in 2020 was a bit of a personal breakthrough in ultimate. I was proud and excited to be joining so many players I have admired but never competed with. The prospect of a 2021 season was my motivation for training and staying healthy during lockdown. The goal of finally seeing the field again has meant everything. I’m ever more grateful to be back and determined to make the most out of this season.”

Photo credit: Paul Rutherford, UltiPhotos

#17 Margo Cody

“Playing with NYGL is a dream come true - Gridlock is a team with strong core values, wild athleticism and skill. Every player brings something unique to the team and it is amazing to see all our different personalities and playing styles coalesce to form a community. Earlier in 2021 I got Covid and was definitely worried that it would hamper my development as an athlete. I am so grateful to the fitness staff at NYGL/team in general for supporting me through a difficult time and motivating me to get into shape and back on the field safely.

What motivates me? Practice! The level of play at NYGL practices is insane - I have played some of my best ultimate training with this team. Everyone brings a fierce intensity to scrimmages and we all push each other to learn and grow. I cannot wait to compete with this team!

My greatest hope for this season is for NYGL to win the PUL East Championship! We are a fantastic team with a deep roster, I want the ultimate community to see just how talented we are. Let's ball out!!!”

#24 Casey Gorman

“I really appreciate how intentional Gridlock is as a team and a community, so I thought rejoining the team for 2021 would be a great way to return to ultimate after all of the frankly terrible things that have been happening in 2020 (and still are). We didn't have a chance to gel much in 2020, so I have been very excited and happy to get to know players I haven't played with before and come together to create something great.”

*Photo credit: Kevin LeClaire, UltiPhotos*

*Photo credit: Sandy Canetti, UltiPhotos*

#25 Kyla Dayer

“I'm stoked to return to NYGL in 2021 after an uncontrollable halt to our 2020 plans and I've come back to the field with resilience and grit. I'm motivated by my experienced teammates and knowledgeable coaches that push me to train and perform at 100%. My greatest hopes for this season are to achieve our team missions of high-level competition and visibility of BIPOC, women, non-binary, and genderqueer ultimate players. I'm excited and honored to contribute to NYGL and the PUL.”

#41 Martha Gregory

“I knew as far back as last summer that I'd want to be on Gridlock's roster whenever it might be safe to compete again. The love and connection I felt for the team seemed palpable even though we'd spent the bulk of our time together via zoom workouts between the beginning of the shutdown and the end of what would have been the 2020 season. The fact that I felt so motivated and connected to the team despite our physical distance underscored my commitment. It made me feel like a far deeper team connection was absolutely possible alongside the potential for big buy-in and a strong team identity given the chance at a full season together. Gridlock also gave me one of a few new close friends I was able to make over the course of the year in shutdown. A true gift.

Having now played the sport at varying levels for upwards of 18 years, I know myself as a teammate and an athlete well enough to understand that it is the friendships and love I feel for my teammates and coaches off the field that makes me want to play my heart out for them when I'm on the field. I also know now that on field successes, team bonds, team identity, and mental strength can only truly exist when the community and team values reflect our life values. And I see Gridlock actively pursuing a community-centered approach that encourages us to do anti-racist work and continues to look critically at ourselves and our community in lots of different ways. These are my values on and off the field. Ultimate does not exist in a vacuum.

In a wildly unfortunate twist of fate, I've already had to test Gridlock's capacity for love and support. At our first practice back, at my first in over a year and a half, I ruptured my right Achilles tendon in the middle of a drill, an hour into training. Not the way I had hoped to begin the summer. Our incredible trainer Rena Eleázar of match fit performance scooped me off the field, both of us knowing exactly what the injury was and its implications. I'm still in awe of her grace and ability to help me through those first moments of pain and realization and grief that were slamming into me like rogue waves. I left that practice in a wildly different place than when I had arrived, but I also knew I'd find grounding and solace as a part of this team. The way the coaches, owners and my teammates check in with me regularly has been so beautifully unsurprising. I also can't give enough thanks to our trainers Rena and Erwin. They've stuck with me through every step and Erwin is continuing to work with me on my overall fitness as I move through the early stages of Achilles rehab and it's this mentality of training towards the future that has been helping my brain as much as my body.

My hopes for the team this season are simple; that we build new friendships and strengthen the team's values and identity with our eyes more open than perhaps they have ever been before.”

#44 Raha Mozaffari

“I was encouraged to come out for the 2020 team by my AMP teammates, Linda Morse and Andrea DeSabato. There are a lot of great athletes in this group, and I was excited to return in 2021 to compete with everyone. This season, I’m hoping to have a great time playing as a team and showcase high level women’s ultimate.”

NYGL