You're down 11-7, game to 15. Your defense needs to score four times to
tie the game up. How do you manage a comeback? How do you call lines?
What do you tell yourself and your players?
What's a successful attitude and approach in this situation? We asked
our authors to think back on their own successful (or unsuccessful)
comeback stories and help us set a game plan for recovering for an early
deficit.
Brett Matzuka
First and farmost, attitude is everything. If you don’t actually have 7
players who believe you can actually win, then this isnt worth reading and the
rest of your game isn’t worth playing.
Most teams I have played on, in this situation, would try and load the
Defensive line with the top defenders. However, your goal isn’t just to stop
the offense and gain possession, but to actually catch the disc in the
endzone. So loading your defensive unit with pure defenders might not be the
best way to make the comeback a reality. Instead, I would put a majority of
the top defenders on, but also 2-3 of the smart offensive players (most likely
handlers). In club, players are more experienced, more versatile, and more
confident, so this doesn’t apply quite as much, but for college, this seems to
be an important component.
The main justification for placing a average defender, but good offensive
player, on at a crucial point of the game is that having the normal defensive
unit doesn’t seem to have been working so changing things up is a necessity,
let alone, scoring now has more weighting on the d line than before. The
oppositions O team is probably playing loose and in their element having a
substantial lead late in the game, so putting some breaks on the board is
necessary to make them tighten up and lose some confidence. Also, having 2
solid offensive handlers step onto the D line will give some patience and set
the pace upon getting the disc. The D-team may be feeling the pressure to put
breaks up which will cause the Defensive O to not play their game. Placing
some offensive players changes the psychology, mentality, and attitude of the
line and can help get them out of the rut they may previously have been in.
Overall, you have to change a losing strategy. Whether it be on offense or
defense, you always have to adapt to help make the team play to their
potential.
Miranda Roth
While I have not been personally very successful in this situation, other
teams have been successful at times against my teams so I can tell you what it
seems like they did. You must call tight lines—having players in the games
that can create Ds and capitalize on them is imperative. Now is not the time
to give players a chance to show their stuff for the first time—use people
that are tried and true on D and O. This may mean that these players are
playing a lot, but thems the breaks—they ought to be in good enough shape to
hang tough through this time. In terms of strategy, it might be time to change
something up. If your D has been creating Ds but you just haven’t been able to
score, you may think about switching to focusing on either fast-breaking or
settling down. If your D has not been creating Ds, you might consider trying a
new D.
In the 2008 Women’s Final, which was probably the best comeback to ever occur
in ultimate, Fury changed their D sometime around halftime or right after the
second half started. It was windy and we run a two handler crashing from
behind zone offense. They switched to guarding our crashing handler almost
like a box-and-1 with a huge cup around them. This flustered our handlers and
we were unable to adapt, opening the door for a huge and devastating comeback
by them. I’m guessing that they just took it point by point or broke the
points into games to three. Oftentimes teams can be successful just focusing
on shorter goals rather than thinking, “we have to score 10 times to be back
in this game.” On an individual level, it is important not to focus too much
on yourself and take too much of the responsibility of catching up, even if
you are playing a lot at this crucial time.
Ted Munter
If you are behind because the team has something you can’t handle (a few
players or a defense) you are not behind, you are getting beaten. Change it
up. Play a different D, run the counter play, even if you have to invent it.
Maybe the risk means you go down 13-7 and later people whisper about how you
got blown out. But if you can’t get the score to 11-9 or 12-10 so what?
There is no all-the-time rule for who to play and what to say. Depends on the
game, the time of year, and the opponent. But, do your team’s top
playersdeserve the opportunity to climb out of a hole they probably dug? Or is
now as good a time as any to find out who else can get it done? Is the change
a prayer or include some combinations you have practiced once in a while?
What are the one or two technical things everyone needs to do to close the
gap? Stop their tall recievers from going deep? Slow down the give and go?
It’s fun to see if you can make those changes and execute. Maybe not the
script as you would have written it, butthe kind of opportunity you and your
team should love once its there, whatever happens. Or did you really think you
were going to win everygame 15-7?
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.
Lindsey Hack
As a coach, I feel it is necessary to take some risks defensively and call a
few different defensive looks that may create enough confusion and lead to a
quick turnover by the offense. If you have been playing man the entire game,
try a little zone. If you have been forcing one way the entire time, try some
middle or straight up. At that point, you must try something different to get
the other team out of their comfort zone because clearly, they are comfortable
right now in the driver’s seat.
As a player, I say it is all about games to 3. Forget about the big score and
know that you have to start dominating games to 3. If you win the next game
3-0, the score is now 11-10. If you go 3-1, the score is now 12-10—totally
winable. If you think that you have to win a game to 5 or four, that suddenly
becomes a much higher mountain to climb.
Calling lines will depend on what defenses you decide to run. Although it
would be ideal to put a lot of defense out on the field every defensive point,
it may be more intelligent to go with smart defenders with some offensive
talent as your D line must score or it is game over. Therefore, there is going
to have to be a healthy mix of D line players and O line players who can play
smart D and help you score efficiently once you get the D.
Kyle Weisbrod
The opportunity to be successful in the face of difficult odds is created long
before you’ve been put in to that situation. It is an attitude that is built
in practices, team meetings, and work-outs from the beginning of the season.
The focus needs to be on what you and your team have control over in any given
moment. Things that you do not have control over include the score of the
game—those scores are now part of the past and we are unable to have any
affect on it. What we do have control over are:
Our Decisions. Continuing to make the right decisions on the field. This
includes each individual being responsible for the parts of the game that we
have designated. The mark is responsible for taking away the break side of the
field—they are not responsible for getting a handblock on a throw to the open
side. That D is the responsibility of the downfield defenders. Similarly, on
offense when we get the disc we need to continue to move the disc to the next
open receiver in our offense trusting that the team will make the plays, not
the individual.
Our Effort. At any given moment we have control of how we exert ourselves
on the field. We need to be giving 100% effort throughout a point—cutting,
defending, marking and then after the point we can put someone else on the
field that can match that effort.
Our Intensity. This is the level of “arousal” that each individual has.
How quickly we process and react to stimulus. Each player has an optimal
intensity level for peak performance and it is each players’ responsibility to
identify their optimal level and how they get there.
Our Attitude. Bringing a positive attitude that lifts up our teammates and
motivates them further. This will be particularly present from a loud and
supportive sideline. Our sidelines will high five and lift up our teammates
regardless of whether we score a point or if we get scored on.
The mnemonic I use for these controllables is “IDEA” or Pai “DEIA.”
What I would tell my players is a combination of the above—that, ultimately,
it doesn’t matter if we win or lose the game but it does matter that we focus
on what we have control over for each and every moment of the remainder of the
game. That everyone will play a role whether your on the field or on the
sideline and that when we come back and win it will be a team effort and a
team victory.
Charlie Reznikoff
Scenario #1. Your opponent has a short roster. In the first half they got
breaks early. But they are starting to look tired and predictable in their
offense. You have identified their play-makers. Your D line has already
generated some grueling points for their O line. Meanwhile your team has legs,
intensity, they just can’t cash in with breaks. In this scenario I’d turn up
the defensive intensity with a straight up mark, specific match ups, and hard
physical D. Take the other team’s key players out of their preferred game:
make their thrower go deep, make their deep cutter throw, face guard the
handler. Disrupt their initial play with a straight up mark, poaching off the
dump handler, forcing into the stack, transition junk, or whatever. Above all,
they should never get a one-pass-goal. Also unleash the team freak in the
huddle, get everyone jacked, and let a frenzy loose on the field. Avoid
stoppages of play and long discussions. After the turn, empower your key
throwers to take deep shots. If you don’t get the goal, you at least have
reset their offense against your smothering D. Bottom line: against a tiring
team, disrupt the initial play then fall into smothering physical defense with
quick transition.
Scenario #2. Your opponent is in rhythm and looking good. They show no
signs of letting up. The match ups are not in your favor. Your defense is
frustrated. Here you zone. Many teams don’t rely on zones in big moments, and
that is unfortunate. If you know and trust two zones, you can change momentum
in such a game. Start with your strongest zone. If your opponent takes a time
out to discuss their offense, switch your zone. Throw in a point of intense
man D after a few points of zone. Never let them regain their rhythm. Up to
this point your D line has not had many offensive possessions. They’ve watched
your opponents score at will. Commonly your D line will fritter away break
opportunities with impatience. I’d emphasize to the team playing within itself
and within the team’s offense. Challenge your team to out-think your opponent.
Bottom line: against a team in rhythm, switch up your defenses and play
methodical offense after a turn.
What not to do? Cheat. Often a second half deficit means travel calls,
excessive fouling-and-contesting, doubling-teaming zones, etc. At times this
is incidental to ratcheting up the intensity. Cheating shows the team’s lack
of actual strategy. In any case (and I’ve been on teams like this), bad calls
usually result in poor focus and lower energy for your own team. Against good
teams, bad calls will allow them to slow the game down, rest, think, and reset
their offense. Making key travel calls might get you some wins. But it will
prevent you from learning how to actually stop the throw, and you will not
grow as a player. My objection to cheating is not only moral. It’s practical.
It usually does not work.