Ultimate Frisbee, my first love! I was never particularly an athletic kid growing up, in fact, I was just the opposite. My mom would remark on how clumsy I was: tripping over my own feet, tumbling down stairs, and on more than one occasion, falling into rivers. Still, my parents encouraged me to take on a couple of sports as a youngster: soccer, roller hockey, karate, and tennis. Soccer was the only sport that I played for more than a year, but that didn't mean I was any better at it than any other sport.
It wasn't until college when I discovered my dormant passion for sports, and it started with Ultimate Frisbee. For those who aren't in the know, Ultimate Frisbee (or referred to as "Ultimate" by dorks) is a non-contact sport with the objectives of American Football and the movements of Football Football (Soccer?). Although chaotic at first, most people get the hang of it after a few minutes. Its a surprisingly cardio-centric game with the focus of knowing when to run as opposed to being able to run the entire time (which would help too).
My introduction to Ultimate was as serendipitous as my roommate situation when I got to college. Without securing a roommate before moving into on-campus housing, I sprung for complete rando's and lucked out because each of my roommates were cool cats. We spent pretty much most of our time together, which I thought was pretty special since we all had different background and interests.
And one of those interests was Ultimate Frisbee. One the first night I learned to play the game, I was desperately trying to remember the rules but would trip up every time there was a turnover. In Ultimate, turnovers happen extremely quickly giving the offensive team to make an immediate play if the defense isn't ready (which they usually aren't). And I remember so vividly, after one of the games, I literally dropped to my knees in exhaustion; and I've been hooked every since.
Ultimate Frisbee photography shares many of the challenges of conventional sports photography: high speed with low light, focusing (harder for entry level cameras equipped with only contrast detection AF systems), distance from subject, and anticipation of the next big play.
There are a few things that you can optimize to make your sports photography standout.
Fast Telephoto Lens - having a lens in this range is pretty much a given. In almost all scenarios, you'll be relatively stationary or shuffling around a few spots but most of the action will be taking place a good distance away from you; the action will also be happening fast. Without a fast lens, you'll be forced to resort to either higher ISO levels or slow shutter speeds just to have a decently exposed photo. Unfortunately this will make the photos look too blurry or to noisy (respectively). It took me a while to realize what the term "fast lens" meant since I always correlated the word "fast" with the shutter speed; I knew the shutter speed was controlled by the body so how could a lens be fast? What it "fast lens" means is that the lens itself is a large aperture (generally <f/3.5), which allows more light to hit the image sensor in the same amount of time, effectively letting the user to shoot at quicker shutter speeds with lower ISO while still letting in ample light resulting in a crisper and properly exposed photo. The combine flexibility of zoom and low light capabilities make a fast telephoto lens essential for sports photography. However there are exceptions, primarily if most of the shooting will be taken during the day, the aperture isn't much a factor anymore and you'd be find shooting at >f/4. In-lens image stabilization isn't too important either since the shutter speeds you'd be shooting at to ensure a sharp picture would also take out the hand shakes (this could also be remedied by a simple mono-pod as well).
Phase Detection Auto-focusing (AF) System - Okay so I've watched multiple videos on different auto-focusing systems in modern day DSLRs and mirrorless set ups and only have gleaned the surface level knowledge of the technologies. Still I understand enough for practical use. There is absolutely no way you could manual focus on sports action, things are moving way too quickly for manual focusing which is even harder if you imagine zooming in and out at the same time. We need to rely on AF technology to hit focus. There are two main types of AF systems: Contrast Detection and Phase Detection. For all intents and purposes, contrast detection is an older technology that is, although still effective, slower and relatively less accurate than that of the newer phase detection technology. Phase detection will hit focus faster and more accurately (usually with more AF points as well) than a contrast detection AF system meaning you'll be able to produce more in focused and usable pictures at the end of the day (though you can still achieve similar results with contrast AF, just not as frequently). Phase detection AF systems are found on more higher end DSLR camera models and most mirror-less cameras nowadays.
Big Play Instinct - this is the more intangible tip for sports photography. Having a strong base knowledge of the sport you're shooting would obviously help. You got to know where all the big plays could possibly happen and be quick enough to snap to it, focus, recompose the frame and shoot which is easier said than done. A good idea is to shoot with both eyes open so you can see your viewfinder and the peripheral action taking place as well. Still, sometimes you can't beat luck and you'll pull some amazing shots without realizing it. The trick is to maximize the number of times you get lucky and you can do that starting with these three things.