Reading the Disc with Professor Kyung Cho

Charlotte Arzouian ’28

Professor Kyung Cho leaves room 511, a sanctuary on the fifth floor characterized by its black chairs with armrests, desks optimal for knocking, and soothing blue paint. At first blush, his classroom is classically BHSEC. Lingering for longer, though, one discovers 511 is also a dimly-lit think tank, intended to amplify student voices, serving as a continuation of polarizing discussions that echo through the hallway. This room is an anomaly among its fellows, lively and decorated with a melting pot of cultural symbols, curated by Professor Cho. Scattered with tea tins turned pencil holders, an analog clock, and fake flowers, the room has a comforting ambience.

Having migrated to another room for our interview, I am across from Professor Cho, who sits with his legs crossed, when he says to me in reference to Ultimate: “When you spend a lot of time on something, it is almost as though you can predict the future.” Professor Cho is well known for his role as a teacher at BHSEC, but it also is his niche and lesser-known Ultimate Frisbee career that makes his eyes light up. Professor Cho’s passion for frisbee over a long resume now intersects with his role as an academic, energized by his coaching career for the Bardbarians.

Ultimate Frisbee, which debuted in the 1960s, is a non-contact sport played with fourteen people on the field– seven on each team. The primary objective of Ultimate is to throw the disc to a teammate in your end zone. Distinguishably, it is self-officiated, making players responsible for making their own calls. Professor Cho attempts to emanate this in his game, translating it into his coaching style.

***

Professor Cho’s love for Ultimate had modest beginnings. It was born at Stuyvesant High School where he was first exposed to the sport, joining the team for predominantly social reasons. Ultimate was an opportunity for him to find a community, sharing experiences with people he identified with as a Korean American. In our interview, he emphasized that part of this closeness can be attributed to the self-directed nature of the sport. As he developed the team with his classmates, he found himself connecting to them more deeply. Most members of the team were immigrants who weren’t being shuttled around to more popular American sports, further initially sparking their united interest.

Professor Cho’s passion continued to grow after high school. The summer after his senior year of high school, he attended Worlds in Oslo, Norway as part of the US National Juniors team. To prepare for Worlds, Professor Cho dutifully embarked on a rigorous training schedule, exercising regularly and playing games twice a week. Continuing to play in college, he obtained the captaincy in his last two years. Critical to his Ultimate frisbee career was his tenure as a student at The University of Iowa for graduate school, where he developed the school’s frisbee program. Since then, he has played in various leagues across New York City — open, mixed, masters, grand masters, and most recently great grand masters.

When asked what has encouraged him to stick with frisbee for so long, Professor Cho exclaims that he simply loves the game. Though he has been involved in a variety of leagues, the sense of community he first experienced at Stuyvesant has never waivered. Professor Cho has practiced with the same people for thirty years, emphasizing Ultimate's social aspect and sense of unity, both of which have contributed to his dedication to the sport. He has met a network of people through the tight knit Ultimate community, which, he exclaims, is still truly invaluable and idiosyncratic. One memorable frisbee interaction, Professor Cho says, was meeting the CIO of Google at a club team practice. On the field, Professor Cho has played in various positions, changing and evolving with each league he participates in. He is normally a handler, though, focusing on the offense as he takes responsibility for maintaining possession of the disc and controlling it throughout the game.

Combining his passions for Ultimate and teaching, Professor Cho coached The Bardbarians—Bard Manhattan boy’s Ultimate Frisbee team, initially begun by an NYU medical student. In order to be an effective coach, he draws on his experience as a leader throughout college, graduate school, and his teaching career. Ultimate has evolved over the years, slowly becoming less self-directed as it begins to involve hired leadership. Professor Cho, however, attempts to preserve the agency of his players, striving to maintain one of his favorite aspects of the sport. His “light,” coaching style parallels his “light” teaching style– he regularly gives freedom to his students to lead their class discussions and games, on and off the field.

Professor Cho also draws a connection between coaching and the classroom when he says that Ultimate has allowed him to further his relationships with some of his students. Prior to becoming a literature professor at BHSEC Manhattan in 2006, he had extensive experience in academia, honing his teaching skills at The School of Visual Arts, The Borough of Manhattan Community College, and The University of Iowa. As well as frisbee, Professor Cho’s switch from teaching semester-long college courses to year-long high school courses has allowed him to develop closer relationships with each of his students. “[It] makes you think a little more long term,” he said in an interview with The Bardvark. He shifts his teaching style to accommodate the various attitudes of his students, allowing the class to productively participate in deep, literary discussions.

The Bardbarians have left an indelible mark on high school ultimate frisbee, popularizing the side stack–a strategy in Ultimate where the players line up vertically on one side of the field. The team also frequently runs vertical stack– the same concept as side stack but in the center of the field– and horizontal offense, where the players are organized horizontally. Professor Cho has recently begun experimenting with “hex,” a more contemporary strategy that involves a hexagonal spread offense.

Approaching the 20th anniversary of the team, the Bardbarians themselves and their players have also achieved impressive accolades, winning the city-wide championships in 2016 as the only co-ed team, receiving recognition from the Mayor’s Office, and also with members competing nationally. Alumnus Connor Chin competed with the U20 USA National team in 2018, securing a gold medal in the World Junior Ultimate Championships. Robin Vickers and Jacob Rubin-Miller, alumni of the Bardbarians have also competed for national Ultimate teams.

Professor Cho is constantly experimenting with strategies to improve his game. His favorite aspects of the sport are an amalgamation of his unique emotional experience playing frisbee, and immense time spent perfecting his craft. Professor Cho describes frisbee as a “sort of whole body experience.” As his knowledge of Ultimate has amassed, Professor Cho has achieved an incredible level of fluency in the sport. He has developed the ability to visualize plays before they happen, “reading” the game accurately. It is an instinctual practice that allows him to plan ahead, anticipating where the frisbee will go and getting there. He explains that this ability is a product of his experience, resulting from the many practices he has attended because of his enjoyment of Ultimate. Professor Cho feels free and present when he plays. He is creative with his frisbee strategies, and this experimentation has encouraged him to stick with it over time.