Help Jacob Play for Team USA in the UK!!

Hello!

My name is Jacob Cowan, and I have been selected to represent the US Under-24 Mixed National Team for ultimate frisbee at the world championships this summer in Nottingham, UK. I am so excited and deeply humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of Team USA, to meet other athletes on the national team, and to represent those who have helped me get to where I am today. Unfortunately, USA Ultimate is not able to provide financial support for this opportunity.

I am fundraising with a goal of $4500 dollars in an effort to help cover the costs of this trip. This money will help me pay the cost of flights to training camp in Minneapolis and to the United Kingdom, food, housing, and other fees. I sincerely appreciate donations of any size, or a share if you are not in a position to donate.

Unfortunately gofundme does take a slight portion of the money which is donated through the platform, so if Venmoing is an option, that would be preferable. Donations there can be sent to me @pscjacob and write something like "Team USA Donation" as the subject. Thank you!!

A bit about me:

I began playing frisbee in 9th grade at Beacon High School in New York City. I was pretty hooked from day one despite being only 5’ 4” and not knowing how to throw. When I became captain during sophomore year we struggled mightily to recruit (we played a tournament with only 8 players) or play very competitively (we went 5-5 in the city’s B league). By senior year, as a result of investing an immense amount of time and energy I helped to transform the team into a program with upwards of 30 players that was able to compete at a much higher level, finishing as runner-ups in both the city and state championships.

In the fall of 2019 I began college at Grinnell College in Central Iowa and immediately joined the D-III open team there, the Grinnellephants. In November of that year I tried out for the Under-20 National team which opened my eyes to higher levels of the sport and motivated me to take it seriously as an athletic pursuit. When the pandemic interrupted my freshman season and I returned home I was able to continue with frisbee by convincing my sister to begrudgingly throw with me and later figuring out how to serve as a Sophomore captain of a team which was scattered across the country and world.

Returning to campus for my junior year saw a massive increase in interest in the frisbee teams. Whereas practices freshman year regularly drew less than 20 people, we suddenly had 60 people coming to a practice led by myself and two other captains. This, combined with the fall postseason, resulted in a much larger responsibility than I had anticipated. Working with my two co-captains we figured out how to run a 60-person practice, began to overhaul team culture to eradicate a false equivalency between competitiveness and toxicity, and strived to create an explicitly inclusive, supportive, fun-focused team atmosphere in which all individuals could thrive. Come last spring, we worked hard and achieved our lofty goal of making nationals for the first time in 11 years. Since attending nationals we on leadership have gotten the college to hire and pay coaches as a step in institutionalizing the growth of the program in an effort to establish sustained success. On the field we are off to a successful beginning to the season and are hoping to make nationals again later this spring.

I must also attribute a large part of my growth as a player and a community member of to the broader New York City ultimate community. In particular, the past two years that I have spent playing club with Blueprint have opened my eyes to a higher level of play and dedication to a team which has enabled much of my on-field success. I owe a massive shoutout to the various coaches and captains of that program.

All in all I have invested an immense amount of time into this sport as both a player and a leader. In both high school and college, facilitating the growth of a community and team has been some of the most important work I have done and I am incredibly grateful to all of my teammates and coaches for believing in me as a leader, pushing me as a player, and supporting me as a human being.

If you have gotten this far, thank you for taking the time to read my (not very concise) writing. Thank you so much for your support!