Jack Hatchett, #1, is a prominent defender on the Tuft’s E’men squad, guarding the likes of George Stubbs. Hatchett is a journey man, making his way from the B team, to a limited role on the A team, and finally a large role his junior year.
How were you introduced into ultimate?
During my sophomore year of high school, my brother started playing fall rec league with his school’s team and he invited me to come play one time because they were short on numbers. I was instantly hooked, soon found out my school had a team, and joined immediately. We had a great coach, Ben Johnson, who really helped me grasp the game and learn to throw very quickly.
What was your sports background and how did the skills you picked up there translate into ultimate?
In high school, I played soccer and ran track before I got into ultimate. Sophomore spring I managed to juggle track, ultimate, and club soccer, but I quit track my junior year to focus on ultimate. Not many skills from soccer really translate to ultimate, so speed and athleticism were the only attributes I really brought with me to ultimate.
Jack Hatchett throws a backhand
What has your career at Tufts been like?
I’ve had an interesting journey at Tufts. My freshman year, I wasn’t completely committed so I ended up playing on the B team. I came backsophomore year much improved after playing over the summer with DC club team Eastern Motors, and made the A team. However, I ended up taking the spring semester off from school, so I didn’t get to play any real tournaments with the E-Men. I continued to improve over the summer, playing with Eastern Motors again, and quickly worked my way into the starting rotation in the fall. This year I’m finally playing my first real college season, and it’s been an absolute blast helping Tufts get back to Nationals. Andrew Hollingsworth and Jay Clark are two players who have been big role models for me; I try to play like them every time I step on the field
What do you do outside of Ultimate?
I’m studying quantitative economics at Tufts, and besides playing ultimate I like to play Angry Birds, eat buffalo chicken calzones, and find funny things on the Internet.
What do you plan on doing with ultimate after college?
My plan is to play club pretty much until I physically can’t play anymore, and I’ll probably try to get into coaching and youth development at some point as well.
Photo courtesy of David Nelson
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