Athlete Benchmark: Ken Porter, Ring of Fire

Ken Porter is a…  I can’t think of the word… how about… Megastud. Yes, that works.  KP is a Megastud.  He is humble, hardworking, passionate and leads his teammates by example… Not to mention, he is the fastest player in Ultimate.  It’s true, Ken Porter holds the 40 yard dash record in Ultimate.

KP is the athletic prototype that will make up the future of our sport. He is strong, powerful, explosive and gritty. Spectators watch Ring of Fire’s strength, power, grit and raw athleticism take the field and think, “man this team is big, strong and powerful, this isn’t what I would expect a Frisbee team to look like.”  Well, my friends, this isn’t Frisbee, this is Ultimate and this is the future of it.

The ironic thing about this statement is,  KP himself has never truly trained for strength and power.  He is genetically gifted, as many of the great ones are.  However, this off-season he has taken on a periodized resistance training program in which he will develop a solid strength base before converting that strength into Ultimate specific power.  Up until this point KP has dominated the Ultimate scene with virtually no strength training. Just think of what this guy will be capable of now that he has begun to train and seriously tap into his true athletic potential.  Could KP’s new paradigm shift set him on a path toward becoming one of greatest of all time?  Keep your eyes on Ring this season, for this could be a year full of glory.

Check out the video of KP demonstrating his lighting fast speed last year in Sarasota at the Ultimate standardized testing booth. Ken ran a 4.64 on his first attempt, the record in Ultimate.  He shares the vertical jump record with Evan Valdes of Streetgang with a monster jump of 33.5 inches.  Check out Ken’s third 40 yard dash attempt, .02 seconds slower than his record.*

Name: Ken Porter

Team: Ring of Fire (Raleigh, NC)

Number: 00

Position: Cutter/Defender

Height: 5’10”

Weight: 180lbs

Stats*

40 Yard Sprint: 4.64 (fastest recorded in Ultimate)

10 Yard Acceleration: 1.61 (3^rd best score recorded in Club Division)

Vertical Jump: 33.5 (tied for highest recorded)

Zig Zag Agility: 8.54 (4^th best score recorded in Club Division)

300 Shuttle: N/A

* All statistics are based on those recorded by Morrill Performance.

Chose One:

Sky  –  D-Block –  Lay Out Snag

Foot – Block

Callahan – Greatest

Ocean – Mountains

Jerry Garcia – Trey Anastasio

Stair Workout – Heavy Front Squats – Plyos/ Agility Workout

Agility – Quickness – Speed – Power

On to the next one (Jay-Z) – All My Life (Foo Fighters)

Describe your playing style in 1 word?

Explosive.

What are your strengths as a player?

Athleticism.

What are your weaknesses as a player/ what part of your game are you working hard to improve?

Throws, being a more complete player.

What is your biggest asset as a teammate?

My mentality to work hard for my teammates; whether that be training hard and pushing them at practice or motivating them in a game.

What drives you to play at the top of your game?

A pursuit of perfection.  There’s always room from improvement

Where and at what level do you see yourself playing Ultimate in 5 years?

Elite Club Level, but it’d be pretty sweet if I had the chance to wear red, white, in blue (Team USA) at some point in those 5 years.

What sorts of things do you do for off-season strength training?

This is my first off-season since I’ve started playing but I am hitting the weights, stretching a lot, coaching (to keep my mind sharp) and playing competitively when I get the chance.

What player/ person/ figure in history/ animal do you consider to be your biggest inspiration in life?

My dad.  My dad and I have a really healthy relationship.  He likes to remind me that he can still do everything that I can now and could’ve done way better back when he was playing football up at Michigan.  He’s a big inspiration to me, he’s my rock.

Who are your heroes and influences in Ultimate?

All of my teammates, past and present.  They’re the reason why I play so hard point after point.

Did you play any sports in High School/ College?

Baseball, Soccer, Wrestling, Ultimate

Agility – Quickness – Speed – Power- Endurance

Which quality (s) do you excel in?

Speed, Power.

Which qualities are you working on improving?

All of the above

What are you currently doing for training and or planning to do for training this off-season?

This is my first off-season since I’ve started playing but I am hitting the weights, stretching a lot, coaching (to keep my mind sharp) and playing competitively when I get the chance

If you could share one tip with players striving to play at your level, what would it be?

Never settle, keep striving to do better and to be better but at the same time take a step back every now and then and realize your accomplishments.

What is your favorite “let’s go!” jam (song)?

Right now it’s “Start it up” – Lloyd Banks ft. Kanye West, Ryan Leslie, Swizz Beatz, and Fabolous

What are your goals concerning this year’s club season?

My goal is for my team (Ring of Fire) to consistently improve throughout the course of the season and to not only make quarters but to win quarters and see what happens after that.