When this happens I need to assess what about our reset isn’t working before I change anything. Generally, there are a few problems that are typical of this sort of situation.
The dump is not working hard enough. This is actually not the most likely explanation, but it does happen. This typically results from lack of readiness—the dump fails to get to position in a timely matter, or relies on the thrower to thread the needle rather than actually getting open. Handlers can become lazy getting to the dump position, so I would encourage handlers to throw and go, whether that go is a cut or just getting to the dump position. This always makes life more difficult for defenders and allows the offense to set the tone. If anyone is confused about this, watch Gwen Ambler move after she throws and you’ll see what I am talking about.
The dump is working too hard. This is quite common and something I see very often in the college and elite women’s game. The dump will either start cutting before the thrower is ready, be indecisive in their cuts, or stick with a bad cut too long before clearing. These all result in movement I like to call “dancing,” and on the ultimate field dancing is bad. A dump needs to be patient (wait for the thrower to signal readiness with vocal or body communication), decisive (make 0-2 jukes and a strong cut), and realistic (if they aren’t open get the heck out—we typically have the front of the stack ready as a bailout dump option if the first dump is not available). Dancing often results from tenacious face-guarding defense, which can be dismantled better by the dump standing stationary and the thrower, unbeknownst to the defender, putting the disc into space, rather than the extra movement on the dump’s part. It is important for the dump to just chill out and not get frustrated.
The thrower is being tentative. I see this quite often and I spend a good deal of time working with my college and youth teams on this skill. People always say that if you can throw a dump, you’re good to go. But this is a little harder than it sounds. New players are particularly prone to intimidation by an active and physical mark. To combat this, at any level, a thrower needs to communicate with their dump—say her name and turn your entire body toward her, step toward where you want to deliver the pass and, as Michael Baccarini taught us, deal the cards (snap your wrist to get snap on a short throw).
I think that most reset problems stem from one of these three scenarios, as well as the problem of dumps being stagnant and being unwilling to go upfield. But to me, you have two equally good options as a dump—either up-the-line or back—and you better be able to take advantage of both, particularly against aggressive defenders.
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