LEXINGTON, Ky. — Basketball, bourbon and horse racing may be the first things that come to mind when people think about Lexington, Kentucky. But one resident has spent a large part of her young life working toward changing that.
What You Need To Know
- High school senior began competing at age 13
- Older brother sparked her interested in ultimate frisbee
- Selected for Team USA and will play in Poland
- Sport has grown in Lexington over the past few years
Lula Dutille, 18, of Lexington, will compete among the best players in the world Aug. 6-13 after being selected to represent Team USA at the 2022 World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) World Junior Ultimate Championships in Wroclaw, Poland.
“Lula is extraordinary,” said David Wu, head coach of Dutille’s squad, Team Pi. “She did seventh and eighth grade the same year so she could spend a year with a host family in Germany. She basically led and organized the Pi+ U20 mixed team in 2020 and 2021. She is the total player, has an incredible demeanor, and is super smart and kind.”
When Dutille was 12 years old, her older brother started playing ultimate frisbee and that introduced her to the sport.
“When he started playing, my family kind of got more involved in it,” she said. “My dad and Coach Wu encouraged me to come out and practice more. After a couple of practices, I was hooked, and I’ve been playing ever since.”
Dutille said she did not realize she had gotten very good at ultimate frisbee until she was being told that by those around her.
“The ultimate frisbee community is super supportive,” she said. “The summer when I was 13 years old, I played on an adult club team called Moonshine. Many of the women on that team and leadership really encouraged me. It was a lot of fun because I was obviously the youngest player on that team, and they would make jokes all the time about how young I was. I really grew as a player during that time and realized I could be really competitive because I kind of had a knack for it.”
Dutille, who is homeschooled, played in the boys’ division in high school. While she admitted that was difficult, she said she could hold her own, which also helped her realize she was a good player.
Her path to playing in the World Junior Ultimate Championship, which takes place every two years, is a multistep process Dutille has taken part in the past couple of years. She has gone to what are called Talent ID camps, which take place every couple of months, since she was 14.
“I started going to those and kind of figuring out the process,” she said. “There’s a process where you have to apply to get invited to tryouts. I applied and got invited to the tryout. Then, I got hurt and didn’t make the team, but it got canceled because of COVID. This round, I applied, got invited to try out, which was in December, then was invited to a tryout for the U20 Team USA this past March. Earlier this month, they announced the teams, and I made it.”
Dutille said Ultimate Frisbee in Lexington has grown over the past few years, especially in the youth division.
“When I joined, there were only two establish teams,” she said. “It was Pi and Lexington Catholic. Over the years, West Jessamine has created a team from a player that used to play on the Pi high school team and then Sayre has a team and so do different counties across Kentucky. We become more competitive over the years because there’s a lot of people that play here. I think we’re showing the rest of the country that Kentucky can be competitive.”
Up next for Dutille, the Kentucky State Championship at 9 a.m. Saturday at West Jessamine Middle School in Nicholasville.
Dutille plans to attend the University of Central Florida this coming fall.