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Career highlights: Player of the Year 2002, Move of the Year 2001; Top Ranked Player 1994; Meeting amazing people worldwide like at the 2001 World Games Japan. Made final four of SuperHein mob-op division 2005!
Media exposure:ESPN, National Public Radio, MTV Europe, Outdoor Life Network, That's Incredible (as a kid :-), and more.
Mentor(s): Skippy Jammer, John "JJ" Jewell, Joey Hudoklin, Richie Smits, Bill Wright, Rick Castiglia, Corey Basso, Steve Lane and all the Chico Airheads & Sonoma UFOs.
Started playing: 1978
How I started playing: Started playing freestyle with Jim Terhorst, Alan Young, Mike Burns, Carl Dobson, Brian White, Lester Lloyd and Clark Tomlinson between computer classes at Chico State Univ. in California.
Favorite move: Running hard after a disc into a nice breeze on a brush/kick run, with flankers on the side.
Other fun: Mountain and road bike racing, powder skiing, logging
Partners past & present: Bill Wright, Skippy Jammer, Tom Leitner, Pat Marron, Rick Castiglia, Joel Rogers, Dave Schiller, Mikey Reid, Paul Kenny, Joey Hudoklin, Richie Smits, John Jewell, Steve Hubbard, Peter Rosing, Corey Basso, Randy Silvey, Ted Oberhaus, Jan Ekman, Clay Collera, Stacy McCarthy, Jim Terhorst, Brian White, Alan Young, Jamie Chantiles, Donny Wallace, Chip Bell & 50 more.
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Larry Imperiale is one of the legends of freestyle. The 2002 FPA World Pairs champ with Joel Rogers, "Laerbs" has been winning World Titles for 20 years yet is still among the top players.
Larry earned the prestigious "2002 Men's Player of the Year" Skippy Sez Award. According to Skippy Jammer, "It's unbelievable what Larry is doing. He continues to astound and amaze and seemingly gets better with age. There is probably no quirkier or identifiable style of play than his.
The cornerstones of his game are brushing, scarecrows, rolls & gitis, all in large amounts. An interesting element to his game is he rarely uses fake fingernails like almost all other competitors do.
His win in Pairs at the 2002 FPA Worlds continues to solidify him as one of the greatest freestyle competitors of all time. Think about this: he's tied for the most major titles with Joey Hudoklin. He's won tournaments in 4 decades and Major's in 3 decades. His list of partners reads like a "Who's Who" on the all-time list. His influence is felt throughout the world due to his "Ambassador" status. When he hits a routine like the one in Boston 2002, it's like another day in the office for the pride of the Chico Airheads."
According to Laerbs: "...it was a revelation once I realized I couldn't do all the moves others player could, because I couldn't even touch my toes. So I really started having fun with freestyle when I did what was fun for me - airbrushing and running after the disc more. That puts me on the edge of control & good things usually happen."
Tournament Results Results are current through 1992 Please email us if there are errors. This list will be complete through 1974 in a year or so.
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Learn to Jam Video!
Secrets of Pro Disc Freestyle Vol. 2 DVD Dave, Z and their Freestyle Frisbee champion friends from around the globe explain advanced moves and techniques. Available from The FPA Store at The Wright Life.
