It didn’t take long for Mason to figure out his size and previous athletic achievements mattered very little.

“It was crazy,” he said. “But it really opened up my eyes about something that from the outside looking in looks relatively easy.”

The struggles left Mason more intrigued than discouraged about the sport and he was connected to Radicals coach and co-owner Tim DeByl through a mutual acquaintance. Mason attended the team’s combine over the winter — “Possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” he said — and was asked to join the team.

A few sessions with experienced players on a team that has reached the AUDL semifinals in each of its first four seasons provided another reminder to Mason that this wasn’t going to be easy.

“He’s gigantic,” DeByl said. “But if you misread the disc (in the air), it doesn’t do you any good.”

Mason believes throwing the disc accurately might be even more difficult. And then there’s the cardio challenge involved in a sport that involves a lot of stopping and going and cutting.

Long periods between points have left Mason — who’s at 260 pounds, up about 25 from his football playing days — winded as he tries to keep up with players in better shape.