Twirling a disc in his right hand, 16-year-old Finn Proctor casually approached the start line at the 2025 AKC UpDog Invitational. He stooped down to pluck a few blades of grass, then stretched his arm outward to release them, observing how the grass drifted downwind. This event, unbeknownst to him, would be one of many giving his name — and disc dog skills — recognition.
Border Collie “Figment” eagerly watched the ritual, held at the ready by Proctor’s dad, Kevin. The sun was in a bad spot for Figment, who is deaf and has bilateral vision impairment — Proctor would need to throw the disc far enough left that it was out of the sun yet still visible to Figment’s better eye. On top of that, a stiff headwind threatened to knock any disc off course.
Quickly strategizing for these conditions, Proctor stepped toward the throwing line, twisted his body, and sent the bright orange disc soaring. Figment bolted across the field, glanced side to side to spot the disc, and caught it at an impressive 85.5 yards.
With a cumulative score of 242 points, the team took first place in the Men’s Far Out division of the AKC UpDog Invitational on November 8 and 9, 2025, in St. Petersburg, Florida. The teen from Troy, Virginia beat every adult, and also nabbed third place in the same event with “Amadeus,” his Whippet.
These are just two wins in Proctor’s already lengthy and growing list of Disc Dog achievements. In the six years he’s played disc games, he’s set several world records for distance throws, swept international events, and been crowned champion in multiple organizations.
He’s got the athletic chops to throw far and accurately, and the analytical skills to adapt to wind and field conditions. But Proctor’s not the only player in this game.
“It’s not about just throwing far,” he says. “It’s about getting the catch.”
Playing Disc With Sensory Impaired Dogs
All but one of Proctor’s disc partners are rescues with vision or hearing impairment. His family runs Green Dogs Unleashed, a nonprofit organization that rescues and rehabilitates dogs with special needs. Many of the dogs also receive training for therapy and service work.
“He has an incredible relationship with the dogs he plays with, whether they can hear him or not,” says Proctor’s mom, Erika. “That relationship is kind of that pivotal piece, where he can tell the dog — again, verbally or just with his body language — what they need to do.”
There’s Figment — “the best boy,” Proctor says, who will give the side-eye when he doesn’t get to play his favorite game (Distance). “Norbert” is in it for the joy of the game, especially Freestyle: “He plays fully with his heart, gives his all for everything, even when he jumps 3 feet early and misses discs by even more than that.”
Proctor’s first Disc Dog partner, “Rumor,” is “a bossy little girl” who may abandon the disc to sit on a judge’s lap. And Whippet-mix “Neverland” rounds out the pack, a “mischief-maker” with a repertoire of Freestyle tricks.
“They can do everything a hearing or full-vision dog can do — they’re just as capable,” Proctor says. He’s won competitions and set records with all of them, though special considerations are taken for their needs. For example, the Proctors use fewer verbal cues and more hand signals with their deaf dogs. For their vision-impaired dogs, Proctor thoughtfully selects discs by color and opacity.
“You have to be very deliberate and careful, along with the type of the throw, the placement of the disc in the air, how fast you throw it,” he says. “Because if they don’t see it, then they’re not going to be able to catch it.”
A Natural Competitor
Calling Proctor a “standout” would be an understatement. Few kids play disc overall, and even fewer play Distance, a game in which players amass as many points as possible by totaling the distances of three catches.
At 10, when Proctor started playing Toss & Fetch through K9 Frisbee, his scores were so high that the league owner required video proof. At his first Quadruped event in 2023 — his second-ever Distance competition — Proctor dominated the men’s division as a 13-year-old.
His secret? Practice. Research. Proctor considers every detail for a successful catch: the disc’s weight, the type of plastic, and the curve of the rim.
“Finn’s spectacular,” Erika Proctor says. “He has this hyper-intelligence, that he is able to take the speed and the direction of the wind and somehow figure out exactly what his body needs to do in order to get the disc to do exactly what he wants.”
And the Disc Dog community rallies behind him — whether they’re cheering him from the sidelines, attending his throwing seminars, or buying his custom-dyed discs, which he makes to help offset the expenses of the sport.
“Overall, especially in UpDog, everyone has been very supportive and encouraging,” Proctor says. “I think a lot of people love seeing me succeed just as much as I do.”
Playing for Keeps
Impressed by his throwing abilities, fellow disc doggers approach Proctor to throw for their dogs to see what they’re capable of. (He’s even broken a few world records with “borrowed” dogs.)
“He loves — fully and deeply and with 100% of his soul — every dog he works with,” Erika Proctor says. “It doesn’t matter if it’s his dog or not. They just want very badly to also have this relationship with him.”
One of those borrowed dogs was Amadeus (CH All’Aria Symphony No. 1 RI FDC BCAT DM AM AS HDM DDUE VHMP). The multitalented Whippet’s owner, Lynn Mitchell, had tried for a year to get in touch with Proctor, so he could throw for Amadeus. At last, they were able to play at an event.
“I loved him from the first time I saw him,” Proctor says. “And on my first round, I broke the light plastic world record” — the first of many for the duo.
Mitchell trusted Proctor and allowed his relationship with Amadeus to bloom on and off the field — from traveling to competitions to snuggling on the couch at home. After more than a year of winning events and breaking records together, Amadeus officially joined Proctor’s pack.
“[Mitchell] said, ‘I want you to co-own him. That way, you don’t have to say he’s a borrowed dog. You can say he’s yours,'” Proctor says.
Going Further Together
Proctor hopes to inspire more kids and teens to try Disc Dog — an inclusive, welcoming sport with a low barrier to entry. To start, Proctor says, kids should find a local disc club, where they can take classes and learn how to throw and many different disc games.
“Nine times out of 10, they’re going to be very supportive to new players, and to young people especially,” Proctor says. “Then just to practice and try, because you’re never going to know what you like until you try it.”
Toss & Fetch is a good place to start, Proctor says, and UpDog Challenge offers dozens of fun disc games for teams to pursue their own path.
“It’s not as hard as you might think to accomplish things that you want in disc, because you just need to put in the effort and to put in the time,” Proctor says. “But at the entry level, there are plenty of things you can do to get started and build your own goals in disc.”
As the oldest of four kids, Proctor is building up the next generation of Disc Dog phenoms, starting at home with his own siblings.
“When the little ones are up on the line, normally the parent stands there coaching them. But it’s Finn that’s coaching,” Erika Proctor says. “And I think those moments are amazing for Finn to see the kids doing well with his instruction. But for me, as the mom, and for my husband, it’s kind of amazing to watch him stand there on the line and then cheer when the little ones do really well.”