Chase Sparling-Beckley

There are few players in the history of the sport with the combination of stature and grace on the field as Chase Sparling-Beckley. While Chase was often the biggest player on the field, he was also one of the most fluid. He was light on his feet, had incredible top speed, and the ability to launch himself up in the air or to full layout extension with relative ease. He cut with knife-like precision and with a throwing motion that was smooth and graceful.

As much as Chase had dominant physical skills, he was also known and appreciated for his leadership, humility, and team-first mentality. In the tensest of moments, Chase offered calmness through both his presence and counsel to teammates; he was a critical part of team culture. Yet this calmness did little to hide the fierce competitor underneath as Chase had a rare ability to simultaneously exude calm and play like a beast. He played a huge role as an offensive lane-cutter, chewing up yards, breaking the mark, and making consistently accurate continuation throws. He could beat you underneath with timed, slashing cuts, and was also huge in the air as a receiver. In addition to being an offensive star, Chase was also a universe point style defender with both shutdown and layout block ability and would cross over to play defense at critical points. In recognition of his exhibition of personal responsibility, integrity, and fairness combined with a high standard of playing ability, Chase received the Farricker Award in 2007.

Chase was a winner. He was best known for being a key member of the Seattle Sockeye teams that won 3 USAU championships in 4 years from 2004-2007 and part of the 2005 gold-medal winning Team USA at the World Games. In addition, and quite uniquely, Chase has won national championships in high school, college (Carleton 2001), Mixed (Axis of Cville 2009) and Masters (Voltron 2019). There are many teammates and opponents who view Chase as one of the most elite players of his generation for his combination of on-field abilities and calm, spirited demeanor. 

In addition to winning on the field, among Chase’s proudest ultimate moments was coaching the USA U-20 teams in 2006 and 2012 as a assistant coach and as head coach in 2014 and 2014. The team won Gold at Devins, MA, Gold in Dublin, Ireland in 2012, Silver in Lecco, Italy in 2014, and another Gold in Wroclaw, Poland in 2016.