We had the pleasure of chatting with Jim Parinella who will be playing with No Country at the WMUCC this summer. Jim brings years of field experience with him along with many medals to show his success. Find out more about Jim below!

What first got you playing ultimate?

Well, I’ve been a lifelong jock – and nerd. Varsity sports in golf, wrestling, track. I’ve also played, somewhat seriously, baseball, volleyball, skiing, tennis, and now mountain biking, and have dabbled in a few others.I was even in a bowling league one year and threw a few 200 games. The nerd part comes in because I track all the stats and make graphs and pivot tables and the like.

I started Ultimate as a high school senior in 1983 with pickup games after track practice, then joined the newly-formed Pittsburgh Summer League. The first thing I remember is how cool and strange it looked to throw a forehand, which we called a two-finger. 

Oh wow active doesn’t describe you! With being involved in so many sports, would you think ultimate has changed you in any way?

Off the field, playing ultimate may have made me be a little more rigid, at least when it comes to playing sports. 

I feel like I bring my own interpretation of Spirit of the Game and don’t tell others, so when something is done within the accepted behaviors of the game but against my interpretation, I tend to get frustrated. For instance, when playing basketball, there is the “good foul” and you have some guys making a tiny shout when others are shooting in order to distract them. This kind of stuff often makes me quite mad. But I’m a newcomer to the game, so I also realize that it’s my problem.

How would you best describe the team you are coming to worlds with?

We are No Country, based in the northeast portion of USA called “New England”, with Boston being our nominal home – though no one actually lives in the city proper. No Country has been competing in various Masters divisions for 12 years or so. Many of us played on Death or Glory (DoG) and won a few titles here and there. We have fairly rigid offensive and defensive lines, with some crossover as needed. I myself am an offensive cutter. Defense is too hard these days. 

What have been some of your achievements as a team?

As DoG, we won six Men’s US championships 1994-1999 and Worlds in 1996, 1999, and 2000, plus Masters Nationals in 2007 and Masters Worlds in 2008, and GM Nationals in 2009. No Country won GM Nationals in 2013 and 2016, and I think Beach Nationals GM somewhere in there. 

Probably the biggest overachievement was finishing 2nd last year at GGM Nationals, which qualified us for this event. US tournaments are brutal; you’ll play three or four consecutive games, no byes, and then repeat the next day, and sometimes a third. Add to the fact, because of injuries and hesitancy, we went there with only 17, playing at altitude and in heat at Denver. 

We would have been satisfied simply by making the quarters, but we caught a few breaks in the schedule and gutted out some hard wins including a four-goal run to win the semis by one. 

You have more than just a few medals coming with you all so. How have you all worked so well as a team?

Our playing style is based on the old DoG style of mixing it up on defense to keep their offense off-balance, and having our offense be extremely familiar with each other and so it’s more of a conceptual playbook rather than rigid cutting routes. 

One of our old rivals played with us at a tournament, eager to see what it was like, and said, “so, your offense is this guy cuts, then that guy cuts, and if he doesn’t get it, this other guy cuts. Huh.” 

That’s pretty much it, but of course there are nuances. Ideally, we all will see the field the same way and recognize the same open spaces and timing necessary.

How do you think your team would describe you? 

I think my team would describe me as strange once you get to know me. Very dry humor (hear that plays well over there, maybe just in England) with nothing sacred, and I play an exaggerated version of myself for comic effect.

Have there been times when you’ve found the whole Ultimate world a bit challenging?

The best and worst part is not being able to quit. I just love the tournaments, seeing people and being free and just enjoying myself the whole day and evening. But it’s a lot of running, and I always seem to be getting hurt these days. At Nationals last year, I had five body parts arguing with each other over who was going to be the first one to get hurt (the left calf won).

Universe point – it’s all on the line. You’re starting on O. Everyone looks to you – what do you say?

I would have to say, and have said, “this is an important point”. Someone would nod, say “Yeah!.  Wait, what?”.  Of course it’s an important point. I don’t think anyone is going to have trouble getting excited about it. Or more likely would be overexcited and tense and would need to relax a little. On the other end, I might say, “I’ve got this new play I’d like to try” just to distract people. Then I might remind them that we can huck it if it’s there, but don’t have to huck it. Or “win it with your legs”, not your throws.