For club sports, full commitment from the players can be difficult to achieve. The Michigan men's ultimate frisbee team, known as "MagnUM," has been working hard to break that trend. When asked what the team is doing to improve, Max Puchtel, who is in his fourth year with the team, focused on making players dedicated to the team.

"To make this team better we have had more rigorous recruiting sessions and had more clinics to generate interest in the program," Puchtel said. "We have also stepped up the expectations and commitments we demand from the players. We now do more off-season training and conditioning than ever before. Over the four years I've been with the team, we have become much more organized, dedicated and committed."

These efforts have been worthwhile for the team. The growth in the ultimate frisbee club team is demonstrated by the fact that it has had a "B" team the last three years. It also has around 50 players right now, more than ever before. This past weekend, MagnUM visited Northwestern primarily to give its newer members some experience. MagnUM went 2-3, beating Hope College and Oberlin's "B" team while losing to Illinois twice and Northwestern.

MagnUM has been one of the top 10 clubs for the last three years, and last season it lost to Wisconsin in the quarterfinals at the national tournament.

MagnUM has high hopes for this year, and to achieve those goals, Puchtel thinks the team needs to keep doing what they have been doing. They practice three times a week all year, usually on Mitchell Field, so the players on the team must be committed.

"Right now the team is focusing on specific skills and trying to work together and become real unified," Puchtel said. "Conditioning is what's most important for pretty much everyone on the team. Because we have stressed off-season training, we're in pretty good shape."

This weekend MagnUM hosts a tournament at Mitchell Field.

"I am real excited to play at home this weekend," Puchtel said. "A lot of good teams from the area will be there, and I hope a lot of people come see us play. That's the best way to get interest in the team."