As Discmania continues to evolve as a company and a brand, we are looking to support those that give the Shield a visible presence at events all over the world. Currently, there are 35 players representing eight countries on Team Discmania, but we feel it's time for another evolution. 2018 will welcome the emergence of the first Discmania Junior Team consisting of four disc golfers discovered at the Discmania Combine.
Braden Green
Braden Green
Braden Green, from Cookevile, Tennessee, is the youngest player on the team on the age 9. He has all the skills at such a young age with good accuracy and distance. He was a crowd favorite at the Discmania Combine in Atlanta. He had good focus the entire event as his game face was enough to show how serious he was about his performance. He barely cracking a smile after making a long putt.
Green's favorite tournament to play is the South Eastern Junior Championships at the International Disc Golf Center in Appling, GA. His goals are to win both the US Junior Championships and the World Championships in his age division of Boys Under-10. His favorite disc is the new Discmania P3X and he really wants to meet his favorite pro and Team Discmania teammate, Eagle McMahon.
Jakob Walz
Jakob Walz
Representing the west coast, we have the 15-year-old phenom Jakob Walz. Walz has played disc golf for the past four years calling the world famous De Laveaga Disc Golf Course his home. He was impressive to watch at the Discmania Combine in Santa Cruz as he placed in the top-10 and he was one of the youngest players to compete. Walz is a good all around player, but his putting was amazing as he tied the top score for that event making 7 out of 10 inside of 40-feet in windy conditions.
His father, being an Ultimate player, first taught him how to throw a frisbee, but his good friend introduced him to the sport in elementary school. The Masters Cup is his favorite tournament because of the unique difficulties that De La offers that can be both mentally and physically demanding.
Walz aspires to travel to more tournaments and meet new people as he continues to develop into a top player. His favorite disc is the Discmania PD because of it's controllable flight at high speeds with a very predictable flight path.
Bradley Brown
Bradley Brown
Next we have a young up and coming player from Kansas City metro area, Bradley Brown. Brown, who is also 15-years old, has been playing disc golf since 2014. He was a lot of fun to watch being the youngest player in attendance at the Kansas City Discmania Combine. Brown had good power averaging over 400+ feet and threw 68 mph on the speed gun which is awesome for a junior player. He also had the ability to dial it back for accuracy scoring the second highest on the approach section of the event.
Brown was introduced to the sport by a youth group at church and he instantly got hooked. His favorite event is the Junior's Challenge at the Glass Blown Open because he really likes competing against other players his own age. His favorite disc is the Discmania C-Line P3 because of the consistent flight and he loves throwing putters.
Brown's goals for the coming season are to develop a stronger mental game along with getting more involved with Disc Golf aside from just playing.
Brendan Taylor
Brendan Taylor
All the way from the Buckeye State, we have Brendan Taylor who just turned 15-years old. Taylor has been playing disc golf since he was four-years-old. He had a very impressive showing at the Michigan Discmania Combine placing 10th out of 24 competitors. He has very strong overall game and he played with confidence finishing two-strokes behind the leader during the disc golf section of the Combine on a very challenging, long course.
Taylor remembers being pushed around the disc golf course in a stroller by his father when he was very young. His favorite tournaments to play are the Ledgestone Open and South Michigan Open among other local and regional events. His goals for 2018 are to win the Junior World Championships or the Junior US Disc Golf Championships in his age division and finish in the top-three in Advanced tournaments that he will play. His favorite disc is the Discmania FD because of the very controllable flight and accuracy to the basket.
We are all very excited to have each and every one of these Discmania Junior Players on the team as this is the first step in the process in their development as overall players. We are here to support their passions, goals, and aspirations within this incredible sport.
The youth of disc golf is the future and these players really stood out to us helping to pursue our vision. It's really great to have all of them with us and it's a step in the positive direction in the year of the shield!