Former Bucks resident guides U.S. to a win

Guided by a former Bucks resident, Team USA won the gold medal in the World Games Ultimate flying disc competition with a 13-6 win over Japan on July 21, exacting revenge for its only preliminary round loss.
Earlier in the day, the Japanese defeated the United States, 13-11, in the final qualifier to earn a spot in the gold medal game, but the U.S. capitalized on its size advantage and superior skills to control the final.
Team USA jumped out to a 7-4 lead at halftime and was rarely threatened in the second half despite the Japanese team’s effort to mount a comeback. Clockwork execution on offense and tight defensive play paved the way to a decisive victory for the Americans.
The U.S. is guided by former Morrisville resident Greg Connelly, who earlier this year, was selected by the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) to coach the 2009 USA World Games Ultimate team.
A graduate of Pennsbury High School, Connelly brings a wealth of domestic and international Ultimate experience to the position. In college, he played for the University of Pennsylvania where he made nationals appearances in 1989 and 1991. He continued his Philadelphia Ultimate career by playing for the Rage in 1994 and '95.
Connelly then headed west and played for Furious George from 1996 to 1999, where he made a semifinal appearance at the 1997 World Ultimate Club Championships.
Connelly coached the University of British Columbia women's team from 1998 to 1999 and women’s club team Brute Squad from 2002 to 2003. Since 2007, he has co-coached open club team Ironside, which made it to the quarterfinals in 2007 and finals in 2008. For the last three summers he has trained and coached the Chinese Taipei National Mixed team, leading them to a bronze at the 2007 Asia Oceanic Ultimate Championships.
In addition to playing and coaching the sport, Connelly has done extensive work building the UPA's Observer program. He has also spent time during the last three Septembers running Ultimate training sessions in Croatia and Slovenia.
Greg, the son of Tom and Judy Connelly of Yardley, currently resides in Waltham, Mass., Where he is employed by Vertex Corporation as a bio-physicist.