Max Cook

Preparing For The Game At Hand

There are many strategies for trying to prepare your team to get properly warmed up. I will hit on the main scenario for pre-game warm-up- preparing for the first game of the day.

Most teams have their own set warm-up that they perform; however, in my opinion the overall goal for warming up before the first game of day should be to get everyone’s body and mind ready to compete at its peak level. The problem with that is with a team of 25+ players, all those bodies and brains react to stimuli differently. Due to this, team leaders should always be open to allowing teammates to deviate from the set warm-up if it better prepares that player for action. Most teams allot about an hour of time for a proper first game warm-up, so that means you should try and get your team to the fields about 75-80 minutes before the round starts to allow for everyone to cleat up, slather on some sun-screen, and toss around the Frisbee to feel the wind.

Once you get everyone rounded up, I always think it’s a good idea to give about five minutes for everyone to mentally prepare for the game at hand. There are various mental exercises that can be performed, but my overall goal during this time is typically to have players envision being successful (getting a D, catching a goal, throwing an assist, breaking the mark, storming the field, etc). The mental preparation can be at the beginning of the warm-up or at the end of the warm-up right before the game, my personal preference is to have it at the beginning because I feel the team is usually more focused for the hour leading up to the game. After the brain exercises, some form of cardio (extended jog) is good to get the blood flowing and the muscles ready to go into some stretching.

Some form of dynamic stretching is then the next step: recent studies state that dynamic stretching (high knees, butt kicks, lunges, shuffles, etc.) is a preferred method to properly get the muscles fully prepared for intense movement; however, some players still prefer static stretching. After getting a good stretch, to further assist the muscles in getting fully prepared for game like movements, I like to do multiple progressive cross-field sprints that culminate in a full sprint.

After the stretch/cross-field exercises, it’s good to allow everyone to get some liquids (water or drink-ade) and eat some food. The next 10-15 minutes are usually occupied by some drills that will prepare your team for the upcoming game; throwing drills that incorporate game time cuts, and marking drills that focus on not getting broken. Ideal drills don’t involve lots of standing around allowing muscles to get cold. After going through a couple drills, it is always good to get in a short scrimmage so that come point one in the game, everyone has already gone through game-time situations at game- time speeds. In my opinion, the opponent’s end zone is where most turnovers occur due to the field space being minimized, so I look to practice a few end zone sets during this scrimmage time.

After a good intense scrimmage, I usually allot about five minutes for free time so that players can practice aspects of their game (pulling, hucking, three-man mark) or better prepare themselves for the game ( additional time to stretch, additional mental exercises, etc.). Last but not least, the final five minutes are used to bring the team together to discuss strategy (Is it windy? Are we going to run zone? Do we need to be ready for zone? What players do we need to identify, and what are their strengths that we need to take away? Is this a physical team?). Once all those things are completed, it should be game-time!

For me, the key aspect to a successful warm-up is having a set routine that the entire team knows and is comfortable with and that maximizes your time before a game. However, you should always be dynamic and ready to alter your routine to change if the conditions call for it. Below is a quick timeline of a generic pre-game warm up.

755-800: Mental preparation
800-810: Jog
810-825: Dynamic Warm-up & Cross-field
825-830: Drill (Throwing)
830-835: Drill (Marking)
835-850: O v D scrimmage
850-855: Free time (pull, eat, drink, rest, shade, etc.)
855-900: Strategy discussion
900: Game-time

Timing Is Everything

Max Cook

Goal line cutting (especially in the elite division) is a difficult technique to master. The fact is, the closer you get to the endzone, the more effective a defensive player can be because you are shortening the field and removing the threat of a deep cut. In general, the offense always has the advantage, but close to the endzone, your advantage as a cutter is lessened.

All organized teams usually have a specific endzone offense that they default to when they get within ten yards or less of the goal line. The cutting that I will discuss involves one main cutter engaging the handlers and working with and cutting for them to score the goal. As the main cutter, I have to trust that my teammates (other cutters in the endzone) will occupy their defender, keeping them honest and not allowing them to poach.

As the main cutter, I need to know one crucial thing: who are the handlers that I will be cutting for? Playing with teammates throughout the season, you start to learn things about them that help you in these situations. After I survey the field and identify who I will be cutting for, I then want to identify how my defender is playing me. Some defenders like to know where the disc is at all times and position themselves accordingly, while others focus entirely on the cutter and shutting him down. Either way the defender is playing me, I rely on the timing of my cuts to get open and score goals.

If my defender is trying to monitor disc location and me at the same time, I will watch his eyes and take advantage of that split second where he loses sight of me. This can lead to goals on the open side as a split second of my defender losing sight of me can turn into a two-yard separation. If the handlers are in a position to get me the disc it is an easy goal. If the handlers are not in a position to get me the disc, even though I was open, I find more often than not, the defender has recognized that I took advantage of his mistake, and then his focus shifts to me entirely and less on disc location.

If my defender’s focus is entirely on me and not disc location, most of the goals that I score are on the break side. This is where knowing your thrower and their tendencies and abilities comes into play. Initially, I want to position myself closer to the open sideline, which allows for more space to the break side. Then, I usually set up my cut with a jab step to the open side. This gets my defender both on his heels and moving in the opposite direction I intend to cut. After the jab step, I then cut to the break side but only after I have identified who has the disc and what throw to the break side they excel at. If I have timed my cut right, an adequate break mark throw is all that is necessary to score the goal. Because my defender is already on the open side, and I have set up my cut with a jab step, I should have a couple steps to allow the thrower some error and still catch the goal.

In my opinion, constant cutting in the endzone usually will lead to bad things: fatigue, high stall counts if you are not open, cutting off throwing lanes to other teammates, and eventually, turnovers. For the most part, I find that timing my cuts properly in the endzone has been the most effective way for me to score goals.