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#8 Josh Suskin
6′
A 2004-2008
South Brunswick, NJ
joshsuskin AT gmail.com
- 2008 Metro East All-Region (5th Year/Grad)
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been intrigued by stories. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that sometimes my actions will be completely illogical and stupid, but they’ll often occur so I can tell the story about it afterwards. Anything that I’ve done that I can tell about through a good story after the fact is probably something I’m proud of, whether or not I should be. To me, sitting back with friends after the fact, just telling and laughing about a good story is one of the most enjoyable things in life.
The story of Pitt Ultimate is one that we add a new page to everyday. Sometimes that page is as simple as a great practice; sometimes that page is as significant as making nationals. Sometimes that page is about teammates butting heads at practice or sometimes that page may be something off the field, like a van and a car brawling over a little toy bike and using baseball bats and broken glass bottles as weapons. There are also a lot of common themes that can be seen on those pages. Hard work, self and team improvement, battling with everything you have, winning, and the bonding of what I consider to be the greatest team in the nation are all things you’ll see on many pages of the story that is Pitt Ultimate.
This year marks a new chapter in the story, for both the team and myself. I have been put into a leadership role, that I may or may not be ready for, but you can be sure I will give my all. I have been gifted enough to learn from some of the best players the east coast has to offer to help improve my game. I have also had my setbacks, where I have fallen short of expectations and disappointed people I look up to. However, for me personally, this chapter is about maturation and pushing myself to the highest level I can, in recognizance that the contribution I am trying to make goes to a story that is much much greater than any of us individually.
This is also a new chapter for a team, that when I joined lacked confidence and constantly underachieved. Last year we wrote the greatest chapter the storybook had yet to see. However, that chapter pales in comparison to what this team can accomplish this year, if we want it bad enough. Some people only get the opportunity to accomplish something truly amazing in their life once. For many of us, this is our one chance, and whether or not we make the most of it depends on what everyone puts in between now and May.
If college is supposed to teach you about life, then classes are Tuesday and Thursday from 3-6, with recitation Mondays and Fridays and you should be studying every single time you get a chance in between. The University gave me a schedule that begs to differ, but you can’t let school get in the way of your education. While I have struggled academically, I must be doing pretty well, because I’ve learnt something very quickly. Disc is life. I’ve played non-serious pickup for a little while, but have always viewed it just as a game to kill some time on weekends, and like so many other people had a life changing experience at the Club Fair. I came into Pitt expecting to walk onto the volleyball team but didn’t even bother with tryouts because after two days of pickup and a little convincing from Sean before he became a d*ick (I still love ya Sean) i knew playing with En Sabah Nur was exactly where I wanted to be for the next four years. Sometimes you have to live a little to live a little. Well disc is life, and everything else is an unimportant blur. Once I can figure out how to pass Calc, throw the little 175g piece of plastic and keep myself out of my own head, I’ll be all set.
I had the pleasure to live with Josh my sophomore year at Pitt, Josh’s 5th year, and it was one of the most memorable times at Pitt. I would say that my freshman year and Dawson after parties were the most memorable, but I can’t really remember that year all that well thanks to Josh. Josh was Captain of the team in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, and he was also one of the smartest cutters and hardest workers I have seen. His leadership those years, and his pure willingness to do what was best for the team, including stepping down from Captaincy to play his fifth year, is outstanding. His influence on the team was incredible then, and it is incredible now as Josh Suskin returns to help the Program as Coach in the 2009-2010 season.
Josh graduated with a degree in Marketing in 2008, and works as a Recruiter for the same company in Pittsburgh that he’s been working at since his Sophomore year in College.
-Written by Eddie Peters
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