April 8, 2025
By Evan Lepler

Life—specifically, a prestigious internship with a leading global aerospace company—is what initially brought Aaron Wolf to Seattle.

One year later, frisbee brought him back. 

After becoming an unlikely anchor to the Cascades’ O-line during Seattle’s thrilling run to Championship Weekend in 2024, the 25-year-old German—he’ll turn 26 later this month—is excited to reprise his role and experience year two in the UFA. But thinking back to the moment when the ‘Scades season suddenly ended in the semis last August, Wolf’s future in the league was anything but certain.

“I remember right after losing that game [vs. Carolina], I felt kinda lost,” said Wolf, “like it was a weird experience to have, the whole experience of the UFA and playing for the Cascades was over just like that. Cause up until that final whistle, I was completely living this experience. And then the whistle, it was like, it’s over now, and obviously not knowing if I could return. It was hard. People had definitely been bugging me for weeks, like ‘Aaron, will you come back?’”

The steady pestering actually began pretty early in the 2024 season, dating back to a friendly and perhaps farfetched conversation with Cascades Captain Garrett Martin, who basically proclaimed to Wolf, ‘If we’re making Championship Weekend, you’ll come back.’ 

At that point, though, winning the West and advancing all the way to the UFA’s signature event was something of a pipe dream for a team that hadn’t even finished a season above .500 since 2016. But Wolf, unsure of how realistic the goal actually was, agreed with Martin’s premise; he’d be back if the Cascades qualified for Championship Weekend. 

“I definitely remember that conversation,” said Martin, nearly a full year later. “After he first said that he’d be back if we made Champ Weekend, I kind of kept asking him over and over again because I really wanted him to be serious about coming back. Players like him are hard to find, and I’m really glad that he had a good enough time to want to come back across the world and play with us. We are lucky to have him. Not just as a player, but as a friend and teammate. He fits in with our vibe and culture so well and is one of the guys that elevates the level of play at practice.”

When Wolf returned to his graduate school program in Berlin last fall, he started planning for the possibility of returning, though it was unclear whether he’d be able to make it work out. Obviously, he wanted to run it back, but circumstances with school and life would have to properly align. 

Thankfully, there’s been a dash of serendipity throughout his ultimate journey. After all, he once was a 14-year-old kid who had virtually no interest in frisbee until the day came when he was basically forced to give it a try. 

Rising To The Next Level

Gradually, Wolf evolved into one of the premier players in Germany—he was named as an alternate for the country’s World Games team in 2022—and so he naturally wondered whether he was good enough to play in the United States. He had played with some American teammates in Berlin and was intrigued to see if his non-ultimate life could help make that happen. 

“The driving force behind trying to find a U.S. internship was definitely motivated by the possibility of me playing in the U.S.,” said Wolf.

In April of 2023, he learned that he would in fact be going to Seattle one year later, so he actually watched almost every Cascades game throughout that ’23 season, trying to gain a better understanding of the UFA and decipher his chances of potentially making the team. 

“All of that got me really excited to try out,” he said.

He traveled to Huntington Beach, California in November of 2023 to compete with the Germany Mixed team at the World Beach Ultimate Championships, and after losing the bronze medal game against Team USA, he introduced himself to Khalif El-Salaam and told him he’d be coming to Seattle in the ensuing spring. 

The Cascades’ captain warmly encouraged him to attend tryouts, but the timing was not exactly seamless. Wolf had to stay in Berlin to finish up his exams during Seattle’s scheduled tryouts, but they agreed to give him an extended tryout, which led to a somewhat strange dynamic when he finally showed up. 

“It was weird because I was the only person still trying out,” he remembered. “I was the only person [at practice] not in the clear whether I was gonna make it or not.”

“I remember the first practice was rough. The different ruleset was not easy. The very first point I played, it was a pull that rolled out the back. I picked it up on the [end-line] and got stalled out. I left the field after that point and was like ‘oh shit, that was not a good start.’ But they gave me some leeway, and the next few practices I was able to establish myself.”

Despite the early hiccups, it didn’t take too long for the Cascades’ leadership to officially put Wolf on the team’s scout squad, and shortly after that, they elevated him onto the active roster. In his UFA debut on April 27, 2024, he produced four blocks, one goal, and one assist in Seattle’s massive 28-14 victory over San Diego. That opening triumph definitely helped firm up his belief that he belonged and that his team could compete. 

“It was really hard to get an idea of how good we were in [preseason] practices,” said Wolf. “I thought we were a pretty good team, but I didn’t know. After that [San Diego] game, we were like, ‘ok, we can do something this year. This is a serious squad.’”

As the season progressed, his stats were not necessarily eye-popping, particularly when compared to what fellow Europeans Tobe Decraene and Elliot Bonnet were putting up with Montreal and DC, respectively. But the Cascades recognized Wolf’s immense value, moving him onto the O-line in late May, a role he maintained through the rest of the season. They especially liked his ability to consistently break the mark, switch field position, and just maintain disc movement, all things that helped unlock a new level of efficiency for the Cascades’ offense. Gradually, as Seattle kept on stacking one win after another en route to a 9-3 regular season record, others around the league also began to understand that Wolf was one of the ‘Scades’ subtle secret weapons.  

For Salt Lake Shred Head Coach Bryce Merrill, his Cascades preparations always had started with the guys he was most familiar with, players like Martin and El-Salaam, Lukas Ambrose and Jack Brown. But as he dove deeper into late-season scouts, he started to appreciate Wolf’s tremendous impact too. 

“It’s not until you get into the depths of film where you’re like, ‘why is this guy crushing us? And who is he?” mused Merrill. “He was very big and they used him really well. Basically, Aaron requires a certain size and physicality of matchup, and then as soon as you do that, Aaron was so good in these certain spaces around the disc, you have to pick your poison. He’s just a guy who adds such quality and depth [...] I think Wolf did so many things right and didn’t give us any freebies and used his size and speed to punish us appropriately.” 

Wolf scored three goals, tossed one assist, and was credited with five hockey assists in the Cascades’ stunning 21-20 victory over the Shred in the West Division title game, earning Seattle another trip to Utah to compete in Championship Weekend. Even though the ‘Scades fell to the Flyers in a competitive 20-16 battle in the semis, the opportunity to be a part of the UFA’s marquee event was undoubtedly among the top highlights from Wolf’s rookie year in the Association. 

“It was absolutely amazing,” he said. “So so exciting to be able to experience that and be a part of this underdog group in Seattle that made its way to Championship Weekend with very few people expecting us to make it there [...] It was definitely also nervy to be there. That’s the big stage and that’s where you’re trying to be. Obviously, we had a tough game against Carolina. They played great, we had issues, and walking away from that game, it felt like we were just a little inexperienced and still had room to grow, maybe we weren’t quite ready to be able to pull out our A-game on that kind of stage, especially against a team like Carolina, who’s been there, done that, with a lot of players who’d been to Championship Weekend. I think they just had the slight edge over us in the mental department. But it was an amazing experience. Personally, I loved it and had a lot of fun.”

Ready For The Sequel

Along with playing frisbee for the Cascades throughout the coming spring and summer, Wolf will be continuing his schoolwork remotely with the plan of graduating with his masters in physical engineering science this September. He flew back to the Pacific Northwest in late March and is thrilled to be in Seattle again, ready for the challenge of trying to match or even exceed what he and his team accomplished in his first UFA season.

“Quite naturally, there’s just a little more pressure on us this year,” he said. “That’s just gonna happen after the season we had last year. The same goes for me individually. I think I played really well through the back half of last season, and there’s this pressure to continue that level of play and replicate that. Obviously, people will be prepared for us. We’re not going into every game as the dogs anymore.”

It also isn’t lost on Wolf that he’s just one of the many noteworthy European imports currently playing in the UFA. Last year, he was proud that three Europeans—Decraene, Bonnet, and himself—were the top three finishers in the league’s Rookie of the Year race. And the 2025 season will feature even more international additions on rosters across the league than ever before.

“I think it’s absolutely amazing,” said Wolf. “While the US is definitely still the best at ultimate, all the top European players can definitely hold their own and hang with the top US players [...] I think it’s great that we’re able to get more representation on the pro stage with teams pulling over more European talent. I think it’s great, and I hope it can stay that way.”

The Full Field Layout

While Wolf somewhat randomly stumbled into the Seattle frisbee scene, more and more players around the UFA are being aggressively pursued as the talent arms race continues to grow into an annual offseason affair. Life reasons are still often the dominant factor in why a player might switch teams, but it’s also becoming much more common for someone to uproot their life solely focusing on frisbee.

When the New York Empire first reached out to Everest Shapiro, he was a free agent coming off three seasons with the Los Angeles Aviators. Having never really previously contemplated a move of this magnitude to the northeast, he quickly decided that the opportunity to join the Empire was too promising to pass up. 

“I knew that if I didn’t make the move, I would spend the rest of my life wondering what could have been,” said Shapiro. “One day I was playing frisbee on the beach in shorts, and the next I was scraping ice off of a car windshield in 20 degree weather.”

Shapiro was one of the many Empire additions that had a soft launch of sorts with this past Saturday’s exhibition game at Philadelphia. Streamed on WatchUFA.tv, the Empire won 20-18 in a contest that featured several experimental rules and gave both teams the chance to compete under the lights and in front of fans prior to the actual season opener, which for New York is now just 16 days away.

For Shapiro, this wasn’t an ordinary preseason game. 

“I moved to New York solely to play for the Empire,” he said. “I have something to fucking prove. I needed to play well and show the team that they made the right choice by reaching out to me last year. On top of that, I wanted to show the Philly team—and every other UFA player in this division—that I’m gonna be a problem for them this season.”

It’s super foolish to draw any significant conclusions after one preseason contest, but Shapiro certainly shined in Saturday’s showcase, tallying three blocks, two goals, and one assist. Fellow Empire newcomers Max Sheppard and Oliver Fay also looked pretty comfortable in their first game wearing New York jerseys, with Sheppard leading all participants with 407 total yards while Fay produced two goals, two assists, and one block. 

Empire GM and Coach Matt Stevens was understandably pleased with the fresh feel of his squad, which played the exhibition without standout contributors like Ben Jagt, John Randolph, Jack Williams, and others. 

“We got to see a glimpse of how the transplant UFA players would look inside the Empire system,” said Stevens. “Oliver Fay’s integration into the Empire defense looked pretty seamless. He’s always been a block generator and an impact player after a turnover, and he did all of that on Saturday night. Everest was effective on offense, made some tough catches look easy, and was tied for the team lead in blocks. Max was as dynamic as anyone would have expected him to be. Dmitry [Suvorov] played 15 points on offense and his stat-line was spot on, with one assist, one block, one hockey assist, and a 100 percent completion rate.”

The Empire also introduced some rookies into the UFA conversation, with 18-year-old Sam McCrory registering bookends on his first point and fellow new addition Drew Schnaudigel producing three blocks to match Shapiro for the team lead in that category. 

“Drew has been trying out for this team since he was like 18 years old,” said Empire Head Coach Anthony Nuñez. “This year, his tryout was just completely different than years past [...] He’s a dog on defense, and he wants to continue to learn, continue to grow, evolving into some form of a superstar. But he’s also a really humble kid. Drew is quietly becoming one of my favorites because he’s just always asking questions.”

Overall, even when their returning stars retake the field, the Empire will be a considerably younger team than season’s past, with a mix of out-of-town additions and local rising talent supplementing the team’s established core. 

“We are significantly younger this year than we have been, but getting younger isn’t necessarily a good indicator unless those players can make a difference,” said Stevens. “Twelve of the 19 players on Saturday were 27 or younger. They played 70 percent of the points and accumulated 89 percent of the counting stats. All that is to say, we are younger in a meaningful way.”

As for the Phoenix, with a new coaching staff led by David Brandolph and Bill Maroon, Saturday’s game was very much about building upon the team’s recent practices, specifically in regards to their new offensive system.

“We weren’t interested in the final score or results,” said Brandolph. “But just creating moments and trying to have more successful ones than not. We think it was a good step for us, especially going against New York [...] We recognize that we have lost some key contributors from years past, and we know that expectations are not really put upon us, but that means we really get to create our own story and narrative of how this season goes.” 

Without a doubt, 23-year-old Scott Heyman was one of Philly’s brightest stars on Saturday against New York, as he led the Phoenix with 371 total yards and three assists. 

“The Phoenix truly have talented players all across our roster, but we need them to think less and just play with instincts so that their talents can really shine,” said Brandolph. “We haven’t really thought about our schedule yet, but we are young with lots of energy and ready to prove ourselves no matter who we play.”

Of the experimental rules that the teams utilized on Saturday, the most impactful was the tweak that enabled a team to call a timeout and pull from midfield rather than from 20 yards outside of the end zone. That 20-yard difference helped pin the opponent on the back-line of the end zone multiple times, with the Empire taking advantage late in the first half to add a tactically-engineered break. 

New York also had their fingertips on a pair of potential Callahans, but both times they went as blocks in the end zone rather than game-changing defensive scores, which under the experimental rules of the game would have also given the Empire an extra position because the team that caught the Callahan would have also received the ensuing pull. 

Other rule changes like the six-second stall and the legality of a triple team did not fundamentally change the feel of the game on a relatively tranquil night in Philly.

“I barely noticed the six-second stall,” said Shapiro. "I didn’t feel like it made much of a difference, but maybe the viewers felt like it made the game flow faster. There were a couple triple team moments, but they didn’t seem to make huge impacts either. I love the option though, and I think it could be really fun to play around with them some more [...] Sadly no Callahans, but Oliver Fay and I each got blocks in the end zone that we definitely wish we had caught. I think the marking and Callahan rules would be great additions to the league.”

Up next for the new-look Empire, a cross-country trip to open their season at Oakland on Thursday, April 24, with a date against the expansion Vegas Bighorns slated for one night later. 

“I’m super pumped to head out West later this month and play against my old nemeses, the Oakland Spiders,” said Shapiro. “And of course the Vegas game is very much anticipated too.”

*****

One player who we unfortunately won’t see the field for the Empire this season is their international import, Liam Haberfield. The New Zealand-native suffered an offseason ACL and meniscus tear and is currently rehabbing, but expects to miss the entire year. 

“Hurt it at mini,” said Haberfield. “Unfortunate series of events, late in the session, tired legs, and just a much too forceful jab step cut, and boom, explode goes the knee.”

He’s actually opted for a non-surgical recovery because his doctors are confident that he can return to full playing capacity without requiring a surgical procedure, though that very likely won’t have him back on the UFA field until 2026. 

Haberfield debuted in the UFA as a member of the Atlanta Hustle in 2023, scoring 13 goals and tossing 18 assists in eight games played for the Hustle. The Empire signed him prior to the 2024 season, and Haberfield added 14 goals and eight assists in an uneven first season appearing in every game with New York. 

It’s definitely a bummer to see the 31-year-old go down with an injury like this, but rest assured, he is determined to come back stronger.

“Injuries have a funny way of derailing or reinvigorating your love for the sport, and I’m in the latter for sure,” he said.