Level 1 Ultimate Frisbee Coaching Course
The starting point for coaching Ultimate.
Flik’s Level 1 Ultimate Coaching Course provides the essential knowledge and practical tools needed to coach beginner and developing players in a safe, inclusive, and Spirit-led environment.
It is designed for players moving into coaching, volunteers, teachers, and anyone responsible for leading Ultimate sessions in clubs, schools, universities, or community programmes. It is designed to create consistency and quality in coaching globally. The content is at least the equivalent of a Level 1 Coaching course provided by a national federation, but in some cases goes beyond that scope. It will enable people to start thinking like a coach, and provides a framework for teaching ultimate. For people unfamiliar with ultimate, we also cover all the basic skills and game knowledge required to get a session up and running.
What this course covers
Establish a coaching culture
Learn the role and responsibilities of an Ultimate coach, develop a clear coaching philosophy, and align your approach with Spirit of the Game. The course covers inclusive leadership, defining and building an inclusive team culture, and effective communication.
Player welfare and safe practice
Understand your duty of care as a coach. You’ll learn core principles of risk management, health & safety considerations and safeguarding responsibilities. You will learn coaching best practices for ongoing player development, how to plan sessions effectively, best practices for content delivery, and how to assess your performance for continual improvement.
Rules knowledge and self-officiation
Develop a working understanding of the basic rules of Ultimate. Learn how to support self-officiation, Spirit circles, and respectful conflict resolution during play.
Coaching fundamental skills
Learn how to coach the core skills required by beginner players:
- Throwing fundamentals (grip, stance, backhand, forehand, and basic overheads), video tutorials and guidance on how to teach throwing
- Safe and effective catching techniques with video tutorials
The focus is on how to teach skills clearly, identify common errors, and give effective feedback.
Game-based learning
See how to use small-sided games and simple scrimmages to teach skills, decision-making, and teamwork in realistic, engaging ways. Remove the guesswork by using our proven series of lesson plans that have been delivered thousands of times to introduce ultimate to beginners.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Coach beginner players with confidence
- Create safe, inclusive, Spirit-led environments
- Apply basic rules knowledge and support self-officiation
- Teach fundamental throwing and catching skills effectively
- Plan and deliver enjoyable, game-relevant sessions
Who is this course for?
Current or aspirational coaches who want to ensure they have a rounded knowledge base and wish to baseline their understanding globally. No previous coaching qualification or ultimate experience is required. This is a digital product with no in-person coaching, so it will never truly replicate the in-person experience of attending a coaching workshop. If you live in a country which has a national federation that offers coach education programs – Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, UK, USA for instance – then we recommend that you prioritise following your national federation’s coach education program. However, many federations do not offer coach education programs, so this course aims to bridge that gap and enable people from around the world to get an understanding of how to coach ultimate better.
Level 1 is the foundation of the coaching pathway and represents the minimum standard expected for those leading beginner Ultimate sessions.
This course is approximately 50% new content exclusive to this course, and 50% existing Flik content available to subscribers
Flik Ultimate believes coach education should be accessible globally. Supported pricing is available for coaches in lower-income regions or development roles. Contact hello[at]flikulti[dot]com if you represent a national governing body and want a dedicated discount code for coaches in your country.
Train better. Play better.
Registered members of Flik can enrol in our Academy courses. They are full of help, advice and tips that will make you a better player.
Coaching Philosophy & Leadership
An introduction to the role and responsibilities of an Ultimate coach, focusing on coaching philosophy, inclusive leadership, and Spirit of the Game. Coaches explore different leadership styles, ethical decision-making, team culture, and communication, and learn how to adapt their approach to support positive, inclusive environments and deliver clear, effective feedback.
- Developing a coaching mindset
- A Professional Approach & Organisation in Coaching
- Coaching culture
- Coaching Excellence
Spirit and Rules
An overview of the basic rules of Ultimate and the principles of self-officiation. Coaches learn how to apply rules in play, support Spirit of the Game through appropriate etiquette, lead Spirit circles, and guide players in resolving on-field disputes fairly and respectfully.
- Self-officiation
- Playing with Spirit
Teaching Catching Fundamentals
The most important skill for any new player isn't throwing, it's catching! This guide describes key catching techniques for different disc heights and gives simple cues for hand position and execution to help beginners improve their catching skills.
- How to teach catching
- Thumbs down catching
- Clap Catch
- Thumbs up catching
- One Hand Thumbs Down Catching
- One Hand Thumb Up Catching
Teaching Throwing Fundamentals
Learning to throw is the biggest hurdle for most new players, and if you've never tried to teach throwing, it can be complex. Here, we explain how to throw the most commonly used passes in ultimate, and advice on how to coach people through the process of throwing.
- Backhand
- Forehand
- Forehand to space
- Overheads
- How to teach throwing
Coaching your first practice
This lesson focuses on giving beginners a positive first experience of Ultimate by prioritising enjoyment, inclusion, safety, and confidence through simple rules, minimal interruption, flexible game formats, and positive reinforcement.
- Introducing ultimate to beginners