Player Profile | Frank Lauria

June 20, 2014 - 9 years ago

Captain of Spaghetti and Dodgeballs and a tactical mastermind, Frank has the dubious honour of being the first (and hopefully last) player to have used his shoe as a projectile mid game. This resulted in the creation and implementation of “Frank’s Law”, outlawing this practice amongst many of his other antics.

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Hey, what's your name? 

Frank L (codename Bangerz)

Which Urban Rec Sports do you play? 

Wednesday Night Dodgeball @ Marrickville

What's your team name? 

Spaghetti & Dodgeballs

What's a random fact about you? 

A former professional wrestler that wrestled under the ring name 'Frankie Fettucini' from 2008-2011, AWF Tag team Champion (http://www.awfwrestling.com.au/wrestler/328/Frankie+Fettucini.htm). Worked as a Pizza Chef as a teenager, now a Civil Engineer & Type 1 Diabetic by day!

Why did you choose UR and Social Sports over the more competitive sports played in Sydney? 

Location and we wanted to play dodgeball specifically... and it was more of a female friendly option than Rugby Union and the setting was more social between the teams and officials than other social sport set ups.

If in a Team, who did you decide to sign up with and why? 

Myself and fellow dodgeballer Gabriel Wong (codename WongFu) signed up to be able to do something uniquely exciting with an element of danger and sex appeal.

What is your best advice for someone who hasn't played your sport before, if they would like to come along to try? 

Just take a leap of faith and back yourself to make the run or throw and catch the 50/50 balls. Have no trepidations because in the social atmosphere UR has provided someone is always watching and ready to cheer you on and/or give advice or encouragement should you fail miserably.

Tell us about a funny moment on the court/field? 

I love seeing my typically shy friends unexpectedly rise to an occasion and take a catch or eliminate an opponent and instinctively become more assertive or aggressive in spontaneous moments. The one on one face offs at the end of a game are very much 'cometh the hour cometh the man' scenarios and in particular, I remember being dressed as a gorilla staring into the eyes of an opponent dressed as a shark each with dodgeballs and throwing arms cocked and wondering where else in the world would such a confrontation occur.

How long have you been playing your sport? 

Since May 29 Last Year (2013) This is my 4th dodgeball season.

What sport do you wish you could play? Or what sport are you choosing next season If not Dodgeball?

I would play Caged Soccer

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Be like Batman and stand up for sportsmanship!

June 10, 2014 - 9 years ago

Urban Rec prides itself on being the only truly recreational competition in Sydney. We offer a place for the beginners, people trying new sports, and getting back into it, to come together in a place where people are like minded, fun and friendly, without feeling intimidated. This is the life blood of our business, and what separates us from the "regular" competitions on offer in Sydney.

Things to remember at all times when playing in any Urban Rec League:

You will be playing beginners or people that don't want to go toO hard

As mentioned, we are the only club that offer a space for people to come and learn. If you are a more experienced player, you need to be conscious of that, and be aware of the newbies, go easy on them, coach them, and help them learn and improve. Secondly people sometimes come to Urban Rec to "retire" after playing in more serious leagues it's a place people can join when they don't want to take the game or themselves too seriously. 
 

We don't tolerate aggressive teams

Social Sports is ALL that we do. If you want to play hard, and aggressively, frankly you're in the wrong spot. There is nothing wrong with some healthy competition, but we do FUN best, and that should always be top of your mind when you are playing in our leagues. Moving from Urban Rec to more serious leagues is OK, we get that. If a team scores lower than a 2 in rec points, three times in a season, they will be asked to leave the league. This is our commitment to keeping the fun teams in the league happy. 

We don't tolerate aggressive people

Don't be a di*khead. Its that simple. Every single one of you have signed our code of conduct and we will hold you accountable to that. If any aggressive behavior is displayed by individuals, we will ask you to play elsewhere,  in a league more appropriate to your level, or attitude to sports. Under no circumstances should you put your team, or any other teams down, during a game. It's just not on. Participate for your own enjoyment, and benefit. 

Learn how to win and lose gracefully

If you are a sucessful team, and you know it, when you play the less experienced teams, don't go your hardest, and show them who's boss. Destroying them on the scoreboard will leave them feeling horrible, and you looking like a team of douchebags. Likewise, if you are losing don't get aggressive, or defeated. Just enjoy the game, and have some fun with it. Sometimes playing better teams can help build up your skills. Don't give up and throw your hands in the air, no one likes a tantrum!

If you are a captain of a team you are also the captain of fun

This means you are an ambassador for the recreational side of our leagues, not only are you responsible for making sure your team has fun on the court or field you are in charge of the fun off court. This means getting your team together for drinks at the Clubhouses, or joining in on some of the social stuff we do. You have a great honour bestowed upon you, and your team are relying on you! If you're not a captain, be a champ and get involved anyway. 

We play mixed only sports for a reason

Because it's better. Mixed sports are more fun, more relaxed, and more interesting. Always make sure you have a min of 2 people from either sex on the court. This isn't to measure performance, it's so we can enjoy a mash up of characters, skill level, and attitudes. Everyone out there is going to be a different height, weight, and experience level to you. So enjoy it. 

For a list of other policies we use for our leagues click here. 

Hopefully all of this is a relief to you all, and a reminder that you have indeed signed up to the most fantastic league in Sydney. If any of this makes you feel uncomfortable, please try and turn that frown upside down. Maybe this is not the right league for you, or maybe you just needed a gentle reminder to have a blast and enjoy you weeknights being out and about, social, and having a laugh with your friends. 

As always, keep it active. social. fun. 

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