Click the image above to see Aren's video!
Disc golf! What an amazing sport we are able to be a part of! There are things that drove us to have a love and affliction for the game that draws us in. That first pure drive right down the fairway or even our very first ace. The one thing that stood out more than anything to me was my community. Now when I say my community, I'm not just talking about my local area. No that would be entirely too small, I'm talking about the entire disc golf community as a whole. This is the force that drove me to fall in love with disc golf. These are the people that showed me sportsmanship, etiquette, and value for a sport that I did not know existed until a couple of years ago.
I recently had an injury that made a doctor look at me and say you need to lay off contact sports and get into something else. I was initially really bummed, I loved to compete, I loved being a part of a team. A couple weeks prior to my surgery, a friend of mine from work, Josh, invited me to go play disc golf. I was absolutely horrible at it to say the least. I had a full knee cast and I was trying to throw forehand rollers until I was blue in the face. Then my knee started to heal and the next thing you know I started throwing a little better. He then invited me to go down to an ace race with a friend and his brother. This was my first ever look at any kind of competitive activity within our sport. I had no idea what these discs they gave me were, but it was the first ones that were ever mine, "the roach". I had so much fun speaking with everyone joking around having a great day in the sun and was instantly hooked. The gentleman that we were playing with after hearing that these were my first discs offered to sell me his extra bag so I can have one. I watched as they had 50/50 raffles and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I had to have more.
Over the next course of a few months, I have had the pleasure of being involved in over a dozen different leagues and communities. I was invited into a group called The Ric Flair Glow League and through that group I fell in love with the sport even more, because of the fun we would have. I then started competing in tournaments that allowed me to meet some of the most amazing people I know. I have developed some of my dearest friendships by just throwing some plastic and saying "hey you want to play with me?" That's the beauty of our community. I mean I have literally reached out to pros to get something signed out to my son and have always gotten a positive response in the disc on my son's wall. I have talked with disc golfers on the other side of the world and laughed and joked about a horrible shot you would make on the hole they just posted on Facebook. Our disc golf community is filled with so many positive attitudes. We are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Our community in my opinion has the strength to do anything we put our mind to. I have watched so many people affect other people in the most positive way and I cannot wait for my son to get old enough to share these moments with me.
I wanted to make this video in tribute to my community. I hope everyone enjoys! I would like to give a huge thank you to anyone that has sat through a round with me, returned a disc, cracked a joke, or just shared a beer after a round. I would also from the bottom of my heart thank Wolf Pack Discs for having me on their team and being just the best wolves a friend could ask for! Howllll!
Written by Wolf Pack Discs team member; Aren Payne, #93571