By David Oliver
Freestyle Frisbee is more than just a sport – it’s a dance.
Partners rely on each other not only for skill and focus, but for charisma and creativity.
Brothers Jens Velasquez, 55, and Erwin Velasquez, 52, both of Morristown, have been “dancing with the discs” in competition for more than 35 years, winning five world championships.
The Morris County Public Library is featuring a lobby display of the brothers’ Frisbee collection and memorabilia through July 15. The brothers gave a freestyle Frisbee demonstration on the side lawn of the library on July 2.
Jens Velasquez works in the I.T. department for UPS, and Erwin Velasquez works at Bensi in North Arlington.
Neither brother discovered the sport. It discovered them.
Jens got a knock on his door as a freshman at Glassboro State College, now Rowan University, to play a pickup game of ultimate Frisbee.
Ultimate Frisbee involves passing the Frisbee to teammates across a field to make it to the end zone. Each goal is one point.
When Jens came home from school and showed his brother all the cool tricks he learned from both ultimate and freestyle, Erwin was determined to learn them, too.
Once he had, the brothers traveled to Peru, where Jens was born, to practice and refine their skills.
“Jens sent a box of Frisbees there,” Erwin Velasquez said. “We learned how to freestyle, we were like sponges.”
Jens Velasquez said he and Erwin figured out how to play in front of crowds. One only has 20 to 30 seconds to impress and capture someone’s attention, they observed.
“We were nobody, we would just play,” Jens Velasquez said. “Everyone was drawn to us, like flies to a light.”
The brothers participated in a national tournament in New Brunswick a few years later, and were amazed that people traveled all the way from California for freestyle Frisbee.
Erwin Velasquez discussed how he and Jens grew to have a unique chemistry in their play.
“We learned how to play together,” he said. “I learned what enhanced his play, to be cohesive together.”
He also reflected on the legacy of freestyle Frisbee. “When freestyle was in its infancy state 20 years ago, it was easy to create new tricks. Now, it’s harder to come up with new stuff. It’s evolved, but there are still infinite possibilities.”
This is why the brothers are hosting a freestyle Frisbee camp in Morristown on Sept. 17 and 18 to help get young people involved and interested in the sport. Visit www.veebros.com for more information.
Not only are the V Brothers incredibly talented performers, they are two of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. They are always first to lend encouragement and support to others. As pioneers of the sport, they set a standard of class and sportsmanship that exists across the entire spectrum of disc sports to this day.