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.
Back to Issue