by indyprosports
Last week I had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming season with owner Derek Tow of the Indy AlleyCats. Here are the highlights of our discussion.
How long have you owned the team? I’ve been part of the ownership team since 2018. I am one of five owners of the team.
Did you play ultimate frisbee? I have never played. I am a huge fan of sports and discovered the sport in the summer of 2017. My family and I were in Michigan visiting family and we went to watch one of them play an ultimate Frisbee club game. I feel in love the with sport and immediately looked into any programs we had in Indy. I found the AlleyCats and went to their final home game of the 2017 season. The team blew my mind, so I contacted Tim Held, the majority owner of the team since its inception in 2012. I own a video production company and studio, so I offered up my services for free in 2018 and at the end of the season, he offered a share of the team to me. I understand the entertainment business and I’ve learned a ton about Ultimate but never played.
Do you have a favorite moment? I have a few. Winning our playoff game in 2019 to go to Championship Weekend in San Jose. Huge season win in 2022 at Madison was big in route to a 6-6 season and playoff berth. Winning our home playoff game in 2023 at Brebeuf to get to the divisional championship game was great and playing halftime of Colts and Pacer’s games.
Do the players get paid? If so, without specifics, what is the range of the salary? We pay players $20/game they’re rostered in and cover transportation, away lodging, insurance, professional sports trainer at games and main events, uniforms and provide them a platform on an Ultimate Frisbee Association global stage against the best players in the world plus other perks.
How does the team get to the away games? Bus? Individually? Hotel? We partner with Flanner House (flannerhouse.org) for a 24-passenger bus rental for the team for most trips. Trips to Minnesota and Colorado (this season) will be flights. We cover their hotels and some of the food costs.
You had open tryouts. How many people tried out for the team? We got around 90 this year which was about average. Our tryouts are open to any athletes over 18.
Did anyone decide not to come back from last year? We have a few that aren’t coming back for various reasons but 75% of the team is back with some very notable additions. We recruit the best Ultimate Frisbee players from the entire midwest and roster players from Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. That is one advantage we have being a small market not known for a huge Ultimate Frisbee community. We are the only UFA team within a few hours from Cincy, Louisville, St Louis and Nashville so we recruit them hard and get the best from Indiana of course.
Did you make the call on the cuts or was it a group decision? That is entirely Coach Drew Shephard’s decision. We step in if it’s a free agent we need to negotiate with or for high-level long-term rostering goals in mind. Luckily one of our minority owners is also a player and our biggest recruiter so he helps draw them in as well, but roster is for Shep.
Did you have to cut someone that you really didn’t want to cut? There are a few players from last year who made our practice squad this year due to recruiting efforts, schedule / attendance changes and system changes we are implementing. They could be called up at any point in the season though. Most of our losses were for other personal reasons or moving too far away.
Why was there a coaching change? Coach Shepherd is back for this second year as HQ due to his outstanding 2023 results. We believe we have an elite coach in Shep and it was well communicated from the players to ownership. We plan to keep him!
Would you rather be indoors at Grand Park or outdoors at Brebeuf? I’ve read articles how it is not really frisbee playing indoors. It’s still Ultimate Frisbee no matter where it’s played. I’m sure some think football shouldn’t be indoors too. As our sport grows, more and more teams will play indoors – we are just the first to do it. It’s different for the players in some ways but for us, it’s all about a more positive fan experience which is king for a growing fringe sports team. We’d have 50 people show up for some game due to terrible weather. It’s always 70 and dry inside GP Event Center, the food is great, and the beer is cold. Our final home game is always outdoors for us, and we love that too. Brebuef was outstanding for the two home games we played there last season. Different fan experience but they loved it. The weather was still a huge piece of anxiety for us leading up to both games. It’s a tradeoff.
Are games played in the rain? Yes, but not lightning. We’ve played in some terrible conditions before – high winds, snow, rain and 20 degrees!
Can you talk about Cameron Brock? Of course. He is the GOAT. He is the league’s all-time leading scorer and not by a little bit. His records keep climbing and he comes back every year in immaculate condition. One of the worst days for the owners was when he retired and one of the best was when we came back! Luckily, he was only gone for about four or five games total. He is a rock in our identity and a UFA All-Star. He has been with us since day one even after many opportunities to play for other teams. When fans watch him play at our game, they are watching one of the best in world of all time. There is no player like him.
What’s your outlook for the upcoming season? We’re very much focused on getting to Championship Weekend in Salt Lake City in August. That is the next step in our progression of improvement from 3-9 in 2021, to 6-6 and playoff game in 2022 and then 9-3 with a playoff win in 2023. We’re tweaking some systems and upgrading some rosters spots to take that next step. We feel very confident we can beat any Central Division team on any weekend.
I would like to thank Derek for his time. Being a new website, he could have declined, and I would have understood. Here’s hoping the AlleyCats making it to Salt Lake City.