Greg Husak
The pre-game warmup can take on any number of forms, and I have seen
successful routines span a huge range, from individual to team wide and from
fully choreographed to ad hoc. In all cases, the general goal of the warmup
should be to get the body ready to perform at a peak performance. This will
require people to exert some energy, get a light sweat on and get the muscles
firing, and should also include a few throws to help players calibrate to the
conditions.
One critical aspect to the chosen approach is that the team recognizes the
value and feels that the team gets best prepared to play through the selected
method. As a team, this buy-in to the method used will make a huge difference
in how mentally prepared the team is to play their best. The successful Condor
teams I played on derived strength from getting to the fields, doing
plyometrics as a group, and running through a few drills together. A lot of
the confidence in this approach came from the work some players did with
trainers. Jam teams that I played on also had a strict routine that players
enjoyed, involving plyometrics and drills, as well as a consistent playlist
that helped serve as a countdown to gametime. My interaction with players from
DoG revealed that they took pride in warming up individually, putting the
responsibility on each player to do what they needed to do to get ready. I’ve
seen other teams use half-field scrimmages to get the team warm and in game
mode.
One issue that can occur is an overworking of the body in warmups. In ultimate
you usually have 3-4 games per day. At nationals there may be over an hour
between games, and so you have to figure out how to get your body ready
without exhausting yourself with a difficult regimen of exercises. In really
hot weather, a warmup for a second or third game may only consist of a couple
plyos and maybe a sprint or two. In cold weather, an extended jog just to get
the muscles loose may be required before an active warmup. Understanding your
body, and the condition of the team, will help determine how to to adjust
warmups to the conditions.
This diversity of successful approaches to pre-game warmup indicates that
there may not be a single, superior warmup method. Certainly understanding the
basics of what is needed in a warmup, how to create and tailor a routine to
match the needs of an individual or team will determine what you or your team
does pre-game. Getting support from the whole team that the chosen approach,
while maybe not best for each individual, does the best job of getting the
whole team ready for the first pull is a critical component of a successful
pre-game warmup.
Greg Husak
When planning a practice, it is important to think about the personnel and
goals of a practice. For instance, a fall practice for a college team is going
to have very different objectives than a fall practice for an elite open team.
The college team might be trying to have a lot of fun to “set the hook” with
new players and give a lot of reps to players still learning the game, while
an elite team is tuning up for the peak of their season and should be focusing
on consistent execution of skills. Recognizing the goals of a practice is
critical in its design. This brief article will focus more on elite practices.
Early in my ultimate career I was exposed to high level college and pro
football practices. One of the things that I was most surprised by was that
the players were only on the field for two hours. I was used to ultimate
practices which went no less than three hours, and I figured top athletes were
doing the same thing. However, in those two hours of a football practice there
was more attention to detail, the movements were more scripted and the overall
focus was very different than my experience with ultimate practices. In short,
football players seemed to be getting more out of a two hour practice than we
got out of three.
This got me thinking more about designing practices for top-level teams.
Rather than doing a drill for a mind-numbing number of repetitions at a
continuous energy level that prevented execution at 100% speed, what if we did
two drills, but only did 6 reps of each drill, and did each rep at 100% speed
with some rest in between? The effects seemed to be very positive. The team
was much more focused, and it seemed that there were no wasted reps. Further,
the movements and timing of drills simulated actual play more closely than the
old version.
Some of the things that were required in order to get this focus and buy-in to
this “new” style was a more thorough planning of the practice, development of
new, stimulating drills, and finally talking to the team at the start and
letting them know which drills would be done, when we would rest, and a
general flow of the practice. When players saw that there was a clear plan,
with a focus on particular skills, they were responsive to this change and the
overall level of intensity at practice improved.
Finally, we got away from a mindset that a practice that lasted less than
three hours didn’t fully accomplish something. If the team could meet the
objectives in two-and-a-half hours, then we didn’t need to practice longer.
Incidentally, playing with full focus and full effort typically left players
feeling equally exhausted after a practice that wasn’t as long as before.
Overall, we were able to accomplish as much or more, in a shorter time, and at
a level of play and focus that stimulated what was required on the field
during competition.
Greg Husak
Different teams have a very different approach to the role of individuals when
they’re on the sideline. Some teams like to give the players on the sideline a
chance to rest and have them sit in the shade to recover for their next time
in the game. Others, especially in the college ranks, can have countless
players making tons of useless noise from the sidelines. I think the best
teams find a way to keep players involved in the success of the team when they
are not one of the seven guys on the field. There are countless ways to do
this.
Offensively, teams usually have a set of phrases that may define their
offensive objective. Things like “swing” (the disc), “keep cutting” or (move
the disc to the) “middle” are keywords that remind players to look for
specific throws or cuts within the context of the offense. These cues can
serve as helpful ways to influence the play on the field, while not over-
coaching or distracting the players from doing their things. In zone offense,
there is a possibility for even more talk from the sideline to help position
players or point out something that a thrower might be missing. However, I’ve
generally thought that offenses are better left to work without the
distraction of a lot of sideline input.
Defensively there is a much greater opportunity for the sidelines to
contribute to the onfield performance. The most basic is to give players “up”
calls when the disc is in the air. Putting a name on the end of that up call,
is the next step for helping the individual who the disc is going to. The next
step is for the sideline to be aware of the defense for that point, as well as
the general defensive philosophy. Does the dump defender overplay the
backwards pass, or protect against the dump going upfield? Is the marker
pressuring a backwards pass, possibly at the cost of giving up an inside-out
break throw? If the sideline knows the defensive priorities they can instruct
both the dump and the marker about a subtle shift in positioning to work
within the defensive concept. Telling the marker where that dump cutter is
with predetermined words (“left”, “right”, “45”, “flat”, “strike”) can make
the marker much more effective with simple phrases.
In the zone there is an even greater chance for the sideline to help. Because
of the nature of zone defense, it is possible for a sideline player to talk to
a single onfield player for the entire point. Effective sideline communicators
will keep a continuous stream of talk to help the player stay with that voice.
I’ve also found that a name, followed by an instruction is a much better way
to communicate than just yelling instructions. For example, “Greg drop, Greg
right, Greg you’re good” tells Greg to drop, move right, and then stay where
he is. There are a number of phrases that can speak to specific actions, but
each team may have different terms for those. However, the continuous flow of
information from the sidelines to the field will help players be their most
responsive to sideline communication.
Finally, sidelines can do a lot to pump up players on the field, or similarly,
contribute to the mood of an ugly game. Condors had a simple rule that you
don’t talk to the other team’s onfield players from the sideline. If an
opponent made a bad call, telling your teammate that he made a great play gets
the same message across as telling the opponent he is a cheater. However, by
doing the former you are pumping up your team while possibly creating doubt in
the opponent, while the latter overlooks your teammate’s play and may inspire
the opponent. Sidelines can also do well in creating an intimidating presence
with strong communication and forceful encouragement. Just the act of knowing
that a teammate is watching me is usually enough to make me give maximum
effort and do my best. With seven onfield players channeling that energy, a
team can be lifted to a higher level of play.
Greg Husak
Understanding positioning and distribution of players on the field is an
important skill, but also somewhat of an innate ability. How this skill
manifests itself is sometimes subtle and other times overt. It can show up in
the guy who always seems to be making the good cut to keep the offensive flow
going or in the physically ungifted player who consistently finds themselves
alone in the endzone. It can be the thrower who is able to find targets on the
goal line or the defender who gets a lot of poach blocks. It can be the
popper/wing in zone offense who is always touching the disc or the defensive
wing whose side the disc never advances on. All these traits come from someone
understanding the space around them and where the players on the field are
moving.
I was watching a Division I basketball practice once when a player made a
mistake and the coach, rather than ripping into him, asked the player what he
saw when he made that decision. By understanding the information that the
player was working with, he was better able to instruct the player. This
questioning is something that every player should endure, and at least ask
themselves, whenever a mistake is made. Did I recognize that poach in the
lane? Did I understand the balance of players on the field? Where was the open
space for me to cut to? Did I need to protect against my receiver going deep
when he was already 50 yards away from the disc? Of course, these questions
only deal with the perceived information, rather than what may have actually
happened, but it is a good starting place.
Developing field vision, or field sense, is a difficult thing, and requires
acute awareness of the other 13 players on the field, even while being
involved in the play. One thing that a thrower can do in a practice
environment is to throw the disc to the place where he sees the space, even if
there is nobody cutting there. By making this throw, it becomes obvious where
he is looking, and where he sees the space on the field. Cutters can also draw
attention by yelling at the thrower to alert him to where he should be
looking. Both these examples deal with one-to-one or one-to-few player
interactions. Developing this in a one-to-many or many-to-many fashion is more
difficult. There are some drills where a player turns to see a selection of
cutters, some which are marked, and others which are unmarked, and has to
recognize which players are open. This drill deals more with recognition of
cutters, rather than using space, but hopefully through this recognition, a
deeper level of identifying open cutters can be achieved. Another situation
may be where players close their eyes and then open them as the disc becomes
active; they have to quickly get a sense of the balance of players on the
field and where they should be moving, recognizing who should be cutting, or
what lanes need to be plugged before resuming the offensive/defensive plan.
Greg Husak
After twelve straight years as a nationals participant in the Open division
(1997-2008), in 2009 as a masters player was a different experience. First,
few people, and really nobody outside the division itself, care much about the
Masters division. That’s not to say it isn’t competitive, or even that there
isn’t good Ultimate being played there, it’s just that when you have the Open
nationals to watch, why would you watch Masters? So even I couldn’t focus much
on the Masters division, and spent as much time as possible catching the Open
games.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from playing on Sunday in Sarasota (and once
in San Diego), it’s that few people outside the team can get an accurate read
on what is going on inside the team.
Outsiders to Jam’s success would say it was a bunch of veteran players who
were able to put it together at the right time. While that wouldn’t be
entirely wrong, I would say there was also a subtle defensive adjustment, a
return of our leader and arguably best player who had missed parts of the
season (including Regionals), and a new found resolve that hardened the
questionably soft Jam.
The Condors had great players who had spent years playing together at the top
levels, paying their dues, and knew how to rise up when the pressure was
toughest. While outsiders saw a great huck game, or individual excellence, the
team always believed in a system that put people in a position to do their
jobs; a system that was built on at least half a decade of experience and
tweaks together.
Anyhow, one element that can undermine, or enhance, a team’s chances in
Sarasota is the weather. This year was no different. The heat was the worst I
can recall, and I heard that the first day saw the largest single-day
consumption of water at nationals. Yes, everyone is playing in the same
weather, but the teams that play in that weather consistently have developed
strategies to minimize the effects. These teams are most effective at ignoring
the impacts that weather has on their body and mind. In addition to the heat
and humidity, there was a near-total absence of wind. This certainly helped
Chain’s successful deep game. While I heard that their underneath game was
equally effective, I’m sure it would have taken a few turnovers to realize
that the wind was affecting their hucks and those few possessions could have
changed the complexion of the game.
From what I saw, Chain played an outstanding game with strong offense and
hard-nosed defense. This is very similar to the game they’ve brought to
Florida the last few years when they’ve come up a bit short. Were they an
improved team this year? I don’t doubt it. Did they have a great season, and
impressive run at nationals? Absolutely. Did they get an assist from the
weather? It’s the same answer I would give for my championships…it didn’t
hurt. Chain would have had a great chance of winning in any weather, but the
weather they got gave them a boost. I’m sure the other semifinalists would
have preferred cold (Boston), wet (Seattle) or brisk (Revolver) conditions.
Greg Husak
The best offensive teams can get big yards from the first few passes off a
pull, and immediately knock the defense on its heels. There are no shortage of
ways to do this, and the best offenses I have been a part of have always had a
few options for taking this advantage.
In all cases the critical first component is having a player who feels
comfortable catching the pull and throwing the first pass. This person should
feel confident catching passes while backing up, getting in front of rollers,
and in general putting themselves in that position where they may make the
mistake, and might not get noticed for doing their job correctly. So often I
see the catcher shy away from a difficult catch, let the disc hit the ground,
then gather it and throw the first pass. This second or two that is lost is a
tremendous advantage to the defense.
Some teams I have been on have a variety of plays to attack the sidelines or
the middle of the field, and can work on isolations, or on group movement to
create an advantage for the offense. In most cases these are very simple
plays, and so really only require a bit of practice time to get familiar with,
and a few scrimmages to get comfortable executing. Other teams have been very
simple, with just one pull play and then an option in case that play doesn’t
go off. Sometimes this simplicity is very helpful, but the simplicity also
requires all the players to be aware of what is developing so they can execute
the backup plan together. At any rate, there are a variety of options
available to a team, and even a novice captain should be able to draw up one
or two simple ones for his team, with a simple flood one side and execute a
string of passes to set players being the most universal/basic.
I think the only adjustment that needs to be made in response to wind would be
to designate the side of the field that the play will be run to before the
pull comes. By specifying the side of the field you can put your offense in
the position where they have an easier reset, or where the deep throw is most
favorable for the wind. In general, however, responding to the pull as it
comes will be dynamic enough to keep the defense on their heels and give the
offense the best possible chance to score by giving a well-designed play the
most space to work with.
Greg Husak
Rotating the mark can be a very effective strategy against teams that
effectively use the reset to work the disc upfield when the initial cut isn’t
open. This defense works best when it has the element of surprise behind it.
However, like many defenses, if offenses recognize that this strategy is being
used they can develop a plan to counter it.
The easiest thing to think about is what the defense gives up when they
implement this strategy. The obvious thing is the inside-out throw that gets
the disc off the line. Having an upfield cutter make a move back to the middle
of the field after making a hard cut to the line will frequently be an easy
way to take advantage. Another option is to shift the stack closer to the
sideline so that there is more space to the inside-out side of the stack for
the thrower to use and for cutters to cut.
If a team is determined to get the disc to the reset, one adjustment to make
is to have the reset wait for a thrower-initiated throw. This keeps the
throwing space more open for the thrower, giving larger room for error. If the
reset moves early and winds up behind the disc on that sideline there is very
little space for the thrower.
Finally, when that mark moves around, there is really no pressure on the
upfield huck. A patient thrower should be able to use this to get off an
uncontested huck if he has the confidence to wait until late in the count.
Greg Husak
While we call these hangers “50/50 discs,” I would bet that at the moment the
disc is coming down an observer would have a better than coin-flip chance of
guessing who will touch the disc first. Keying in on the information informing
that decision will help guide a player in giving themselves a better than
coin-flip chance of getting to it first.
I think that beyond obvious physical differences (“I like the guy who is 6'8”
over the short guy") the two main components are positioning and approach. If
you’re at the spot early you may want to position yourself so that someone
else approaching on a dead run isn’t going to be able to have a clean takeoff
and take it at their highest point. This doesn’t mean you are not playing the
disc, but it does mean that you are going to play the disc in a way that
allows you to reduce your opponent’s chance of taking it at a higher point
than you.
Related to this is the approach. If there are three people standing still
under the disc and one guy is coming in with a clean running jump, I like the
guy on the outside. This means that if you are going to be the third or fourth
man in the pile, it might be better to hold up for a second and try to time it
so you jump over the group. This is easier said than done, but we’ve all seen
pictures of people getting roofed because they’re stuck standing still while
another guy had a clean jumping approach.
Greg Husak
One thing I remember an old teammate saying was that “there are no four-
pointers in Ultimate.” What he meant was that you’re not going to bridge the
gap in one play, so you have to stay with the gameplan and keep doing the
things that your team needs to do to play their best.
The first key is to make sure that your offense is going to score every time
they receive, because the worst thing for the team would be to add another
break, which only lengthens the odds of a comeback while also being
demoralizing. Also, if they are scoring without giving up even a turnover the
other team will start feeling some pressure.
Defensively you’re going to have to ratchet up the intensity a bit. One
mistake I think is to get away from playing zone or junk because you are
afraid of matchups or want to force the other team. After many losses I have
thought to myself that we didn’t mix up the defense enough in the second half
of the game and while our defensive intensity was strong, we didn’t do enough
to keep the other team’s offense on their toes. If your gameplan includes
mixing up defenses, you need to keep with that plan even when you are down
late in the game.
As for subbing, I think you want to stay with your team’s plan, maybe trying
to give your stars an extra point or two. Of course, this depends on the
situation. If you’re a college team and it’s early in the season there is no
more valuable time to see what the younger players are made of than to put
them into the fire. Even if they don’t pull it off, the experience they get
will be helpful come sectionals or regionals, much more valuable than burning
out your stars but winning the game only to get slaughtered in the next round
of the tourney. However, if it is potentially the last game of your season
then you may tighten up the rotation a bit. However, I think teams feed off
the energy of having everyone in the game and the successful teams I have been
on have played all their players, even in championship games.
Greg Husak
I’m frequently torn between the value of a layout block versus just shutting
your guy down to the point that he’s not thrown to. Layout blocks, at least at
the elite level, are typically the result of a bad decision or throw by the
thrower, because it is very tough to get around elite receivers, and you’re
generally just not going to make up enough ground to go from a guy being open
to you blocking him unless the throw is in a bad spot or the receiver does a
terrible job of sealing you. That being said, I think there is definitely an
art to putting yourself in this position so that when the opportunity comes
you can take advantage.
The primary factor is desire. Whether it’s the desire to keep your guy from
getting it, to get the disc or win the glory of making that play, something
has to be ticking in the defender’s head that will make him hurl his body at
the disc. Learning the game in California we would occasionally work out and
play on the beach where the potential for injury dramatically decreases and
you start to think that maybe that’s possible on grass too. However, despite
training and practice, at some level the layout block is an uncontrolled
action with the prime motivation to get the disc. The mind just has stay out
of the way and let the body do its thing.
I’ve seen a lot of great blocks in big games, many of them for or against the
team I was playing on, which can bias me. However, one that I saw early in my
career, at my first nationals, is one of the few I remember that didn’t
involve my team. It was Boston DoG, and I believe it was their epic semifinal
of 1997 against Ring of Fire. Boston pulls during their epic comeback (they
were down like 7-1 to start the game) and one of the markers in their
clam/zone is sprinting down and the first pass is about to get thrown right by
him. As he’s sprinting he somehow launches his body at a nearly right-angle to
his left and about chest high. I actually cant even remember if he got the
block, but I know it was a super-human effort for a pass that, while it was
his responsibility, wasn’t really to his man. As he came do the ground he
didn’t get up and the word was that he tore his ACL, or something in his knee.
Boston went on to win that semifinal, and ultimately take down Sockeye in the
final.
Greg Husak
There are a number of ways to try to approximate the weather approximations
that a zone offense will face. Some of these strengthen the defense such as
adding an 8th player to the d or shortening the stall count while others might
hamper the offense no overheads or huck limits.
There is really no good way to approximate inclement weather for the offense,
but at some point you can handcuff the offense enough that when they face a
weather situation with standard playing conditions they will feel that things
are easy, and really that is the goal.
There is no right answer for the correct approach to playing zone offense, but
some are better than others. The Condors radically changed their zone offense
after losing to DoG in the finals of nationals in 1998, basically borrowing
whatever they gleaned from playing against DoG that year. The real story is
deciding how your team can realistically attack a zone. Do you have consistent
handlers who can swing the disc to tire the other team out? Do you have flashy
handlers who can beat a zone by going over the top? Do you have runners who
can keep moving around to stretch the defense and create holes? Depending on
the answers to these questions, the optimal offense may be different for your
team. The real key is to get players to know what their role is. Do you want
your wings/poppers running around getting into the cup and pulling and
prodding at the defense, or do you want them to be stationary and waiting
until they are in a free space to receive the disc? Similarly, should your
deeps be setting up for a deep cut, or should they be trying to pull the deep
defender out of the play, or should two deeps be trying to split the deep
defender? These questions can be answered through some trial and error, but
eventually the team should be aware of what the goals of the offense are, such
as “we’re going to swing until Bob can uncork a huck”, or “when it gets to the
line, we want the deep flashing in”, etc.
Recognizing that the opponent is running zone is critical to getting a
successful start to the point. Ideally the spatial distribution of skill on
your team will look fairly similar whether the opponent is running zone or
man. What this means is that your deeps in zone, are also likely the people
who are looking to cut deep off the pull, while your handlers are around the
disc in either case. Sometimes a clever zone offense doesnt need to announce
the other teams defense to fall into the proper spacing, and even making some
man cuts might free up space for other players to exploit in the zone. At some
point the offense should settle into its zone offense, but I always preferred
to try to get the man play off against a zone defense. If you can get the disc
past an unorganized cup, there might be an easy chance to exploit the defense.
Finally, I think it is important to put your most composed handler on the
downwind side to be there for the trap. This may not necessarily be your best
thrower, but rather the person that will create a sense of calm when in that
situation. Freaked-out throwers tend to draw everyone closer to them, which
might not be most beneficial to the offense. Rather, having a composed thrower
will keep the offense in its form so that the thrower will have the best
opportunities to complete things, the offense will maintain its plan of attack
because the positioning is stable, and finally to give everyone else
confidence that the zone defense can be beaten by sticking to the plan.
Greg Husak
Defensive matchups can be a positive aspect of successfully implementing a
defensive strategy, but they can also serve to be a limitation. There are
certain instances where a defender just has another players number and as a
team you would be foolish to not consider that, but if you let certain
matchups become the focus of the defensive strategy it may prevent you from
running the defenses that are most successful for the team. As a defensive
captain, I have always tried to set the defensive philosophy and then let
matchups occur within that strategy.
If a defender feels that he can shut a particular player down, then he’ll
usually get a chance to try his hand, but if the player is demanding a matchup
they better also feel the pressure to deliver some results. The teams I’ve
played on have always set their own assignments on the line, so if a player
makes a request for a matchup they usually get it. Frequently this will lead
to the defender putting some extra pressure on themself to succeed, and
hopefully get their full attention and effort into the matchup. The key is to
balance this within the defensive team play and make sure that, on balance,
the team has good matchups. In this way, I think the assignment of a matchup
coming from the defensive player, rather than initiated from the
coach/captain, gives the defender a chance to succeed because they feel the
most responsibility for the outcome of their matchup.
The matchup for the best defender would really come from the style of the
other team. If they have one big target that the offense likes to throw to,
that would be an obvious choice for the best defender. However, if the team is
a patient team that relies on resets around the disc, I would put the defender
on a handler who the team relies on for resets. Again, putting the defender on
a player that they are confident matching up with will most likely have the
best results.
Greg Husak
I tend to think of the Ultimate field in three lanes running down the field.
When the disc is in one of the side lanes, you really only have that lane and
the middle lane available, as throws to the far lane are quite risky.
Sometimes focusing on just two lanes can mean that you reduce the complexity
for the thrower and the offense, and it limits the angles that poachers can
come from. However, as a defender, I have always felt much more comfortable
when the other team has the disc on the sideline (with certain exceptions)
rather than in that middle lane. As a thrower I like the freedom of using all
three lanes to throw to, and also having a lot more variety of options with a
dump for a reset. For all these reasons I prefer using the middle third of the
field as an offensive player.
The biggest thing to focus on in attacking the sideline is keeping good space
between players upfield. Whether utilizing a vertical or horizontal stack, the
players must be spaced such that they have multiple cutting options, and their
movements must be coordinated enough to create space for one another to avoid
poaches and picks.
Having an offensive philosophy stressing certain movement principles (for
example: cut deep from the middle lane and in up the side lane; or clear that
side lane for more horizontal cuts from the middle-lane while deep players
come back toward the thrower up the middle) will provide guidance to the
cutters in flow and give them an idea about the general circulation of the
offense. Within that structure players can take advantage of what the defense
is giving them to move the disc up the field.
Greg Husak
Role players are valuable to any successful team. More than valuable, they may
be essential. This is typically because they have the ability to throw their
whole effort into a part of the game that the stars don’t have the effort for.
An obvious example of this is a marker in the zone. Marking takes a lot of
effort, and is very tiring both because of chasing the disc around, but also
because working hard on the mark takes a lot of energy. However, a zone can
fall apart if the marks are not sprinting to the disc or being aggressive on
the mark. Marking in zone is one of the more obvious examples of a specific
role player, but almost any zone position can have a specialist, and even some
offensive positions can be limited to the point of being a specific role.
I think it is a great benefit for someone to fill specific roles, but this is
also very dependent on the needs of the team and the expectations of an
individual. I think it is wise for players to continuously expand their
toolbox of tricks to make themselves more diverse. However, as a full season
progresses, it benefits the team (and the individual) to start to focus on
what has become their niche on the team. In other words, it would make no
sense for a college player in January to decide that he is going to be the
marker in the zone when he should be improving all aspects of his game
(throwing, man defense, etc). But maybe by the time Sectionals comes around he
should realize where his strengths lie and how he can best help the team
succeed. By keeping up all his skills early in the season he might realize
that there are others that are better suited to marking, or the captains can
give more direction about what each individual should rely on. When picking a
team, I think most teams would prefer the all-around player who can then fit
into the teams needs as the season progresses. Certainly if someone is
absolutely exceptional at a particular thing, they should play towards that
strength, but I think that teams would generally prefer well-rounded players
over specialists.
In the next five years I see the role of someone who can shut down the other
team’s handler being very important. Good handlers know how to juke, get you
off-footed, use space and keep you on your heels well enough to make guarding
them tough. Also, teams rely on their handlers to be available for easy resets
and to push the disc up the field. A person who can limit the effectiveness of
the other team’s top handler can create a few breaks for their defense. This
may mean that each team has a stable of two or three of these guys who,
depending on the opponent, fill that role of primary defender.
In terms of less important roles, I think the deep receiver is going to become
a thing of the past. Now so many strong athletes are playing defense that
having the one guy who is tall, fast and jumps really well isn’t enough for
you to just jack it to him without pause. More and more that guy is being
guarded by an equally tall, fast and great jumper. Knowing how to set up cuts
in flow, exploit a poach, or create space for teammates are going to be more
valued skills than raw athleticism.
Greg Husak
As a defender this is one of the most uncomfortable positions to defend if the
stack is well-spaced and with just the right depth to make both the deep cut
and the underneath cut a viable option. If the disc is in the middle of the
field (say at the brickmark), and your cutter is on the open side of the
horizontal stack, there is a lot of space to cover. Unlike with a vertical
stack, where two of the four diagonal direction cuts take the cutter behind
the mark, in this situation even the cuts towards the closed side of the field
are on the open side early in the cut. This forces the defender to have
prioritize between all four diagonals, knowing that the mark doesn’t have
responsibility for any of them.
In this situation, well-coordinated movement between the stack positions will
inevitably leave a defender vulnerable to a not-too-challenging pass. In this
situation the defender has to prioritize the cuts to stop based on his own
strengths, the receiver’s strengths, wind, team defensive priorities.
My priorities, given that I’m a bit above average in height, would usually
focus on stopping the underneath pass with my positioning, while knowing that
I have to go hard if my guy commits to the deep cut and I have to hope that
the pass isn’t on the money or that I can get some help on a deep throw. This
strategy might change if I know that the receiver is a big target for the
other team, or has relatively weaker throws, or if our team has been beat by
the long ball repeatedly in the game.
Even though this is an especially vulnerable position for the defense to be
in, it also requires some coordinated movement and excellent spacing from the
offense to make all options viable. After the first movement it will be come
more clear where the hotspots of the offense are, and where my receiver is
trying to go. Recognizing these positions early can help you defend more
effectively. Also, having defenders in different positions focus on defending
different cuts (for instance, the outsides help deep, the insides front) can
give the defender some priorities where his help is more defined and his
positioning pre-determined.
Greg Husak
I’ve been very fortunate in my career to play on many successful teams that
did not call subs, and this hypothetical situation could be a blessing in
disguise. Most players at elite levels are fairly self-aware, and after a
season of playing together most can recognize the hierarchy within the team
and could make an honest appraisal of their optimum contribution to the team
in terms of quantity and type (O or D) of points.
Some players may have to be told more explicitly ahead of time (and reminded
during a game) but most will have a good idea. At its best, allowing players
to put themselves in the game empowers them to control their contribution, to
put themselves in when they are feeling ready, and gives the rest of the team
confidence in them.
This may not work for every team, but I have been a part of very successful
groups where self-subbing was an ingrained part of the team structure, took
the onus of subbing off one person and distributed it to everyone, and created
an environment of success which pushed each player in practice and games to
achieve their best on the field.
Greg Husak
The fundamental catch most players at the elite level of the game is one where
you are running hard back to the disc with a defender on your back pressing
you to keep your maximum speed until after the reception. The basic component
to catching this is the mentality of attacking the disc.
I have seen many players drop this by trying to finesse the Frisbee into their
hands rather than aggressively securing it, whether with a “clap catch” or a
“tiger claw” technique. A very simple drill to improve this as a team is
setting up lines where you run at throwers who try to deliver crisp passes
right at your chest. Each individual must press themselves to push all the way
through the reception, rather than slowing up at the end, allowing a block for
a defender in a game situation. If any fear of attacking the disc in this
situation can be eliminated at practice, it will certainly bode well for in-
game performance.
Beyond attacking the disc there are basic hand-eye coordination elements which
will help players improve their catching. Hand-eye coordination can be
improved, and there are no shortage of ways to challenge you to get hands
reacting to what the eye sees. Some ideas for things to try when just playing
catch are always catching with one hand (i.e. 10 passes with the left, then 10
with the right) regardless of where the disc is thrown, trying to catch the
opposite side of the disc than you would normally catch (based on the spin) or
changing which hand you put on top when clap-catching. Training the body to
get outside it’s comfort zone will make some difficult in-game situations more
natural.
Finally, playing catching reaction games, whether with a disc or ball or
anything actually, will help the hands respond to new situations and improve
their ability to react to what the eye sees, rather than thinking through a
particular catch.
Greg Husak
I believe that it is impossible to design a zone (or any defense for that
matter) that takes away everything. If I knew that zone I would never lose a
game. I think the important thing about a zone is to make sure that everyone
is clear of what the zone’s objectives are, and when they are forced to make a
decision on the field, they do it within the context of that zone.
For instance, there might be a zone that encourages the other team to move
side-to-side, swinging the disc but is stingy about the upfield. There might
be another that really plugs up the short stuff and forces a huck. The defense
only has a limited amount of resources (defenders) and so you have to decide
how to distribute those resources throughout the field. The best zone is one
that all the players understand and run well together.
The zone I would choose would depend somewhat on the other team’s strengths,
but also on the best zone in our team’s arsenal. Typically this has been a
zone which puts resources up front, at the expense of fewer people helping on
deep hucks. We might allow the disc to move side-to-side, even for short
yards, but primarily stopping mid-range (10-20 yards) shots directly up field
to receivers. Hopefully frustration will set in and the offense will decide to
let one go on an ill-advised deep shot that we have a good chance at pulling
down. If there is a bit of tricky wind, we may even get lucky with a
relatively unforced error, brought on by the fact that the offense is throwing
a lot of safe passes.
Patient offenses may be able to wear the defense down and chip away up the
field to score, or even exploit a seam and then have an advantage behind the
defense (again, with resources put forward if the disc gets behind the wings
there is a lot of open space). A good team should have a zone to complement
their bread and butter, one which redistributes those resources on the field
to take away something else. Typically though, if there is one position which
could be easily adjusted to take away a different option it is the mark. By
making the mark tighter/looser or having him shift to prevent/allow a swing
the defense can take a different shape with some ease.
Greg Husak
I still remember being at Worlds in 1999 in Scotland and it was sort of the
debut of Fortunat Mueller with Boston. He was a young workhorse at that time
and DoG knew how to use him, as he was probably catching half their goals. I
remember watching a pool play game of theirs and a more experienced player
pointing out his footwork, how he was always on balance. While we had begun
some very basic footwork drills, it was the first time I remember noticing
someone’s footwork in a game situation. Footwork became a critical component
of our training after that as its value became more clear, and it’s an easy
thing to work on and improve.
Good footwork not only helps you stay on balance and and allows you to change
directions easily, it also allows you to be more explosive because your feet
are in the right positions to make explosive moves. The key is to practice it
so that in games you are doing the right things without thinking about it.
Practicing good footwork can come in a variety of ways. Obvious things are
ladders and hurdles, which will improve your footspeed. Simple cone patterns
of direction changing, or even having reaction direction changing can
reinforce footwork in a change of direction situation. Weight distribution is
also important, and to this end getting a player off-balance or extended and
having them find their balance point is helpful. Then there are more extreme
things like one of my teammates (Chris Frost) who goes for runs in dry
creekbeds to work on his foot placement and strengthening his ankles.
Greg Husak
In this situation, it seems that it would be best to prescribe some movement,
team-wide, which will give the thrower some better options than “turn to the
dump.” Expressing some coordinated movement where all players (or at least
those around the disc) have certain responsibilities will help clear up
confusion and provide purpose to people’s movement.
On a previous team I played for, we had very specific dump rotations, and we
ran a specific rotation for the first half and then switched that movement at
halftime. The movement typically involved at least 2 people around the disc
and was designed to give the thrower two complementary, simple looks.
In the example, the upfield movement is good so you have to be careful of
doing something which may interrupt that movement. To this end, it may be more
beneficial to encourage the reset receivers to really focus on getting setup
earlier. If the thrower feels the dump presence waiting, he will be more
inclined to turn earlier, and give the receiver more time to work. Too
frequently an incompleted dump pass is put on the thrower, but there are many
things the receiver can do to make the thrower more comfortable: give more
space to throw to, or position the defender in a bad place. Sometimes this is
as simple as having dump cutters focus on getting into position earlier.
I think these adjustments would be especially valuable for a begining team. A
more experienced team would have a more organic process where the thrower and
cutter are in tune with one another and have more freedom to ad-lib good
movement. Specific rotations and direct instructions (“Get set up earlier,”
or, “Give the thrower more space”) will help get an inexperienced team on the
same page quicker.
Greg Husak
There is a big factor that comes into play here that I should use to set the
stage:
Why are big time football receivers 6'2" or 6'3" and 220lbs (think Terrell
Owens), while big time defensive backs are 5'10" or 5'11" and 190lbs?
And: Why does it generally seem that DBs are the fastest guys, but you
routinely see them getting beat deep by receivers who should be slower?
There are two speeds that ultimate defenders (and football defenders) have.
The first is the sprint where your man may change directions, and the second
is the sprint where you’re going for the disc and can just go all out. Against
many receivers the former is all you need, but at the elite levels you have to
have the latter, and you have to be able to use it wisely. If you can stay in
the ballpark with your “change direction” sprint then you’ve got some big
challenges ahead of you. Try getting into an all-out sprint and have your man
change direction and you’re going to be hosed because your form is not
prepared to make this change and you’ll spend an extra few steps changing your
vector. Receivers have the luxury of being able to be in that full sprint mode
whenever they want because they know when they have to change direction and
can subtly alter their form to make those changes. Defenders have to
constantly be ready for the receiver to change direction.
As soon as I hear that “up” call, I try getting into the all-out sprint mode.
As I’m doing that, and maybe even more importantly, I take a quick look back
to see if I can get a glimpse of the disc. This quick look can give you a lot
of information: what shoulder is the disc going to, is it a missile or a
floater and is it flat or hooking? With this information in mind, I’ll then
try to close the gap, hopefully getting on the receiver’s shoulder on the side
I think the disc is coming to.
If I’ve got a bigger gap to close I might listen for a shoulder from the
sideline, or try to take cues from the receiver to get some of the information
the look back would have helped with. If I see the receiver really start
striding I know it’s going to be long and I’ve got to close and get by him to
have a chance. If I see him sit up I can guess it’s going to be a floater and
I’ll have time to get there and should be ready to jump. I can also figure out
which shoulder by seeing how he looks back.
In the last few steps I start assessing the situation: where is the disc
coming down, where can I take it earliest, where is the receiver? The goal is
to take it as early as possible while not giving a bailout foul. If he’s
misread it, I may have a little leeway in where I can take it down or how to
position myself to prevent him from making a play.
The athleticism of the opponent plays less of a role than one might think (for
me at least). The first thing is to figure out where I can take the disc as
early as possible. I’ll generally assume that my opponent will have similar
athleticism, so if I take it at my highest he should be looking to take it at
a similar spot. But if I can get there at the same time or a bit earlier I’ll
be fine. If he’s got position or can get it sooner than me, then I might have
to change my bid to try to take him out of his comfort zone and hope for the
best, assuming that my normal bid would be worthless.
Greg Husak
I think the first thing that a player should evaluate is their own talents and
strengths. During the tryout you should be focusing on accentuating those
strengths when given the chance. If you’re a tall deep threat, don’t waste
time in a scrimmage squirelling around the disc, and in any huck drill make
sure you are going up strong to show that you can climb. If you’re a squirrely
quick guy, make sure you are getting open on all short cuts, and that if there
are any sprints to be done that you are winning them all. And with these
points in mind, here are a few general tips:
Stay focused. A few lazy turnovers in a seemingly meaningless drill might
cause the powers-that-be to write you off or at least notice and inconsistency
or lack of focus to detail. That’s probably not going to be appreciated on a
successful team.
Give a good effort. It might not be how the ‘cool’ guys play, or even very
efficient, but if you’re going hard the people will notice, and that’s always
a welcome vibe to bring to a team. Never give up on a disc that’s in the air,
make every cut as hard as possible, make the guy you’re guarding in the drill
work a little harder…it’s a positive.
Recognize your strengths and make sure they are exposed in scrimmages. if
you’re going to make the team you’re going to have to be pretty good at
something. know what that is, and make sure you’re doing it better than
others.
Guard the returners who do your thing as often as possible. If you can do
their thing better than them, that’s going to be apparent if you are guarding
them. If you’re making them work harder than usual, that will get filtered up
to decision-makers. If you’re getting schooled, you’ll at least know why you
didn’t make the team and will have hopefully learned something from a better
player than you.
Finally, be supportive and enthusiastic. All players love to get high-
fives from teammates, they love when people get excited about their defense,
when people recognize their accomplishments…don’t be sparing with those
comments. Also, talk while your team is on defense, even if it’s just to one
returner.
I think it’s important to recognize that there most likely is some hierarchy,
even a subtle one, and that returners are likely above new tryouts. Some teams
may have a flatter structure than others, but if you want to get on the team
you’re likely going to have to displace somebody, so do all the things you can
better than some of those above you and hope that the effort and skill are
recognized.
Greg Husak
To my eyes, the advantage of the spread/horizontal is that you don’t need a
whole group of people working together, but can be effective by working in
just pairs of upfield cutters or on occasion an isolated receiver. Of course,
the better teams will have coordination of all the players, but for a young
team, or a team using a new system, things can get up and running effectively
with the horizontal.
To the question as which is more effective in windy situations, again I think
you have to look at not the ability of the team, but their familiarity with
one another and the system they are using. If a team has a lot of experience
working together in a vertical stack system, I think they will make
adjustments in the wind that will be very effective. Similar for a horizontal
stack, the difference would be in a pickup team, or a team without a lot of
practice together, I think the adjustments in a horizontal system are easier
to describe and implement for windy conditions than for a vertical system.