Drilling For The Sideline Trap

Charlie Reznikoff

Tuesday, Mar 31, 2009

An organized approach to sideline situations gives the offense a great advantage. For example: a well-isolated huck down the line or a series of swings to the breakside. Unprepared and against a good defense, a team facing a sideline trap will likely turn the disc over. I would challenge any team to spend more time practicing from the sideline. Most teams have only one play for the sideline, and many for a centered disc. Most teams design their plays to start from a stopped disc. Most teams draw up their endzone offense assuming the disc centered, ten yards out. Most teams do not train for when things break down. Like most teams, Sub Zero spends the majority of its energy developing strategy for the middle of the field, for the best case scenario, and for the O-line catching the pull, though this represents the minority of our actual offense. Teams that use wishful thinking when designing strategy and drilling will get forced into unplanned situations by a good defense. No situation more exemplifies this than the sideline trap.

Sub Zero ends practice with a scrimmage, O-line versus D-line. If the O-line scores, they pull to the D-line. The D-line calls a play, receives the pull, and centers the disc. Yet this never happens in a game. Why not instead have the D-line set up on the sideline with the disc? Why not spend entire practices with possessions starting randomly around the field, giving the team only 20 seconds to set up? Or, do the same but ask your players to set up out of position with no play call. You could practice offensive possessions with your team setting up a play, but start with a swing to the trap and flow from there. Your frustration in that practice will lead you to develop strategy for those situations. I suggest that every team dedicates fifty percent of its practice

Back to Issue