Courtesy of SDSU Ultimate

Ultimate Frisbee sounds like something you played with your kids and dog last weekend at the beach.

Ten minutes into Friday night’s scrimmage, and you can see it’s not.

All 28 players on the San Diego State Ultimate team – known as the Federalis – are dripping sweat and caked in dirt. The players have sculpted calves like professional soccer players and diamond-shaped shoulders like a football player.

After watching a scrimmage of what the players call “Ultimate,” this is nothing like the leisurely game of Frisbee played on lawns.

Ultimate is known by few, and played by even less.

“Most people have no idea what (Ultimate) is when I say I play,” Federali assistant coach Lane Niehuser said. “I always have to try and explain it to people – they think it’s some sport with Frisbees and baskets.”

But among those who know, Ultimate is developing a cult-like following for a wide variety of reasons.

For one, it’s player oriented.

Ultimate doesn’t have any referees. Violations are called by the players. The rules are simple, and sportsmanship is one of the main components of the game.

Unlike the mainstream sports that people grew up playing as kids, Ultimate is spread by word-of-mouth and not much else. The Federalis players and coaches feel that may change soon.

“I do think it’s on the cusp of becoming mainstream, but if it gets much bigger, we’ll have to start worrying about media and sponsors changing the spirit of the game,” Federali head coach Ross Lenta said. “Playing (Ultimate) is as much about the camaraderie and making friends as it is about competition.”

Lenta and Niehuser are roommates, and several of the other Ultimate players share houses and apartments together. The Federali team is a family atmosphere, with even the coaching staff being young.

Niehuser and Lenta both graduated from SDSU in 2004 and are the team’s senior members. Their youth and laid-back style dictates the attitude of the group.

Most Federali players have scruffy beards, floppy hair and look like they should be playing hacky sack on the beach between surf sessions.

Their relationship with the rest of the team is different than in other sports, too. In other sports, coaches usually dictate the practices from the sidelines – but Niehuser and Lenta play with the team during practice.

And Lenta plans on keeping that up.

“I could play all my life, or until my body won’t let me anymore,” Lenta said. “It’s just one of those games where as soon as you play, you’re completely hooked.”