As Chicago Union eyes ultimate Frisbee national title, take a look at its Wilmette ties

Chicago’s professional ultimate Frisbee team, Chicago Union, is flying high this season.

With a 12-0 record, Chicago Union remains the only undefeated team in the 24-team Ultimate Frisbee Association, and on Saturday, Aug. 9, the Union will begin their postseason, taking on the Minnesota Wind Chill (10-3) in the Central Division championship game.

The winner of the divisional championship will advance to Championship Weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, with semifinals on Friday, Aug. 22, and the UFA championship match on Saturday, Aug. 23.

The Union have reached UFA’s Championship Weekend three times since the team’s founding in 2013. And while Chicago Union has earned a national reputation, the team still holds close its local ties.

Playing out of Northwestern University’s Martin Stadium, the Union have built a loyal fanbase along the North Shore. The team’s charitable arm, Chicago Union Cares, has also introduced the sport to youth and school faculty across the Chicago area since November 2023.

Wilmette residents Ben and Mimi Rodman became co-owners of Chicago Union in January 2024 after Ben said he attended a game and was blown away by the athleticism of ultimate Frisbee.

Even before they joined the Union, the Rodmans had an interest in empowering youth through sports. They had seen firsthand how youth sports can be a positive force, thanks to their children, Carrie and Sam, who were enrolled in the Wilmette school system their entire education.

Organizing a nonprofit offshoot of Chicago Union provided an opportunity to pay it forward.

Since its founding, Chicago Union Cares has served more than 7,000 youth by providing ultimate Frisbee programming for camps and in-school clinics. Often, Union players are the participating assistant coaches at these events.

Chicago Union Cares has also offered professional development for all physical education teachers in Wilmette School District 39 so the district can better incorporate ultimate Frisbee into their curriculum.

Mimi Rodman said conversations with Winnetka schools are underway as well.

“Those kids are getting really high quality coaching and introduction,” she said. “It’s about the quality of service that we offer to them, but it’s also about the equipment and then introducing others who might want to bring the sport to kids.”

Mimi Rodman said that team communication and collaboration are infused into every aspect of ultimate Frisbee, helping children develop agency and advocacy skills.

She added that Chicago Union players serve as unique role models for these children.

“We have players who are teachers and educators and sort of that whole opportunity of seeing that’s the kind of role model that you think of as an ultimate Frisbee player,” Mimi said. “You can meet them in our games. You can see them in our programming. You can get to know them very well. That I think is very important, and so it’s a value that we hold very close at (Chicago Union Cares).”

Nate Astrom, a Wilmette resident, is a player for the Chicago Union. He has coached children at ultimate Frisbee camps in Oak Park this summer as part of Chicago Union Cares’ effort to expand their youth outreach.

The groups have conducted camps across the Chicago area and even as far as Missouri.

“Not that I’m a hero, right, but I’m a sports player on a sport they’re trying to play. There’s a little bit of admiration there,” Astrom said. “And for Union to be able to have their players go and coach, I think that’s a huge thing in getting people more invested in the team and the games.”

While this outreach has helped build a fanbase, the young, aspiring players aren’t the only special fans in the stands for Astrom.

Astrom spent part of his latter high school years playing on New Trier’s ultimate Frisbee club team. Now, he said his hometown friends, familiar faces from pickup and club play, and people from college often watch him compete with the Union.

For Astrom, even the field holds important local ties.

“Really where I got better playing was at Floyd Long field on the Northwestern campus in Evanston, which happens to be right next to where we play,” he said. “That’s where I grinded. That’s where I built my community.”

Ben Rodman said the North Shore community has embraced the Union with open arms. The Union’s big season has further drawn attention to the idea that the Union is a top level team in Chicago, he added.

“People who didn’t know about it before, they go to a game and they want to come back,” he said. “It’s such an experience, and seeing the athleticism and the talent of these players and what they’re able to accomplish now against teams across the county has just been a terrific experience, and we’d like more and more people to experience that.”

For Chicago Union players, the sport is “a labor of love,” he added.

As Chicago Union takes on its divisional rival this weekend and looks toward securing a bid to Championship Weekend, Astrom said the team couldn’t be more excited.

“Both teams have the obvious respect for the ultimate community and for the spirit of the game and everything that Frisbee demands,” he said. “There’s definitely that competitive edge that both teams want to put each other in the ground, and there’s no better thing to watch.”

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