Players’ Club: Miles Migliara

We love our DC Fray sports leagues, so we’re highlighting players in a new series: Players’ Club. This week, we’re featuring DC Fray superstar Miles Migliara. Click here to learn more about our leagues.

“My team started with ten people,” says Miles Migliara, a 27-year-old communications and media professional. “Now there’s a group chat of about 60 people, including players from other teams and sports. I’ve made a sizable percentage of my friends [through] Fray.”

Active in Fray’s ultimate Frisbee league as a member of the amusingly-named team, Unsolicited Discs Pics, Migliara also plays corn hole and occasionally referees for the social sports league. Read on to learn more about Miles’ experience with DC Fray.

District Fray: When did you start Fray?
Miles Migliara: I started in 2017. I moved to D.C. after attending college in Missouri. I maybe knew one or two people in the D.C. area. I figured Fray was the easiest way to meet more.

How did you pick ultimate Frisbee?
I started with football, which I played growing up. But after that first season, I was looking for something a bit more relaxed. I figured I’d give ultimate frisbee a shot. On my college track and field team, every once in a while our coach would let us forgo practice and play a couple of frisbee games. I’d always played sports with balls, never with a disc. That really got me interested.

Football and ultimate Frisbee are similar, yes?
In Frisbee, there are your handlers, like a quarterback; your cutters, more of a wide receiver; and your hybrids. I tend to be more of a cutter. I do a lot of running and catching.

What’s the scoring system?
We play first to seven [points]. Halftime. Then it’s first to 13 from there. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but with as much running as is involved and how many times the disc turns over, a game can go to an hour, an hour ten.

What’s a typical postgame like?
One of the things that really made our team stick together is going out afterward to Fray’s sponsor bars (Fray leagues have food and drink specials at bars close to playing fields). You can’t really talk a lot in the middle of playing, but [after,] we’d go have a couple of drinks and laughs and get to know each other better.

Do y’all hang out outside of Fray?
We do. Everyone has skills and distinct traits, so we’ll put them to the test. One of our teammates is a tour guide, so we’re all planning on doing a tour. We’ve put on our own “Drunk History.” We’ve gone to comedy shows. All different sorts of activities.

What was your first Fray Frisbee game like?
We got blown out. It was a cold day. No one liked our t-shirt color. But we were like, ‘We’ll see where this goes.’ We’ve played together as a team, with a lot of the same players, for about five years now.

Misery can make good company.
I remember one game in our first season in particular. It was before the [NFL’s] AFC or NFC championship game. It rained throughout the entire game but not enough to cancel it. We won, but we were just soaked and covered in mud by the end. We were still really excited and went to a bar afterward and caught the football game. It really didn’t bother anyone too much that we were all wet and muddy. Those are the kind of friends I’ve made through Fray. I’ve found those people that are able to take a miserable situation and make the best of it.

Neighborhood: I just moved out to Rosslyn, a quick hop, skip, and jump from D.C. Favorite D.C. Museum: The O Street Mansion. It’s four row houses converted into one mansion with all kind of themed rooms and like 100 secret doors. It’s a hotel too. How many rooms did you find? 12 or 13. Favorite D.C. restaurant: Lauriol Plaza. Great sangria and margaritas. Favorite Bar: Sudhouse. It’s always a terrific place and they’ve got a great staff. People love the Fray Corn Hole League there. Best Part of Living in the DMV: There’s a lot of fun provided here. You just got to go get it.

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Chad Dexter Kinsman