The 2026 Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) season begins this Sunday, May 10 for the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds.

Interview by: Brett Gombita, Thunderbirds Intern Sports Reporter

Last season, the Thunderbirds went 3-9, finishing fifth in the Central Division. In January, the team announced David Berg as its new head coach, succeeding Max Barowski.

Berg, a former UFA competitor with the DC Breeze, is in his second year in Pittsburgh as he was an assistant last year on the Thunderbirds’ staff. As far as expectations go for year one at the helm, Berg wants to be a problem for other teams.

“The number one goal is being a difficult team to play against,” Berg said. “I don’t think there’s a lot of expectations for us as far as performance. I think all of that will come if we’re doing things right. We want to return to playing competitive ultimate and be in every game.”

Over the offseason, the Thunderbirds lost their all-time leader in completions, Jonathan Mast, who signed with the Indianapolis Alleycats after a decade in Pittsburgh. Berg talked about what this year’s roster can bring to the table.

“We have a very young roster overall with a few veterans,” Berg said. “We have tons of potential if we put the work in. A lot of our players are very dynamic. I don’t think that anyone is locked into one specific role. If we’re going to be successful, everyone is going to need to step up.”

Compared to last season, Berg wants to be on the attack more.

“We want to be a lot more aggressive and attack,” Berg said. “Don’t try to play perfect ultimate, but take what’s given to us and go score as much as we can.”

A win in Sunday’s regular season opener would mean a lot to Berg, but he doesn’t think one game defines the season.

“It would be huge, especially with the way we finished last year,” Berg said. “It would be huge for morale to come out and surprise everyone. With that, I don’t think that measuring our success for the season hinges on one game. We need to prove to ourselves that we can play the way we want to play.”

The Thunderbirds host the Montreal Royal this Sunday at F.N.B. Stadium with a scheduled start time of 2 p.m. The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a magnet schedule, presented by Matt Bonosky Realtor.

To purchase tickets, visit the official ticket site of the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds here.

To watch the game, visit WatchUFA.tv.

The rest of the schedule can be found here.