Strategy on the Battlefield Part 2 - Defense

There can be no offense without a defense. As an Ultimate Frisbee player, one must know how to play on both sides of the disc. At any time a point can change from an all-out attack to an on-the-heels defense. In this case, it's better to be not be "on your heels" when defense comes knocking.

Defense in Ultimate Frisbee normally comes pretty naturally. Guard people, stop throws, keep the Frisbee from getting into your end zone; easy stuff. However, if the effort is organized confusion and question will never be and issue and efficiency will be the only concern.

Unlike offense, there aren't any special terms for the players on defense. Everyone on the defensive end constitutes a defender, and while they each have their own job to do, the kind of defense doesn't change from player to player.

There are, however, still key things that need to be done in order to be effective. When covering a cutter it is the defender's job to keep up with them at all times and cover avenues through which the handlers could pass. When covering a handler, the defender stands a few feet away from them and attempts to cover the pass without physical contact. As soon as the defender reaches the handler holding the disc they are allowed to begin a "stall call". To perform a stall call the defender will count from one to ten saying "stall one, stall two..." in a time frame close to a second. If the player hasn't thrown the disc by the count of 10 then the disc is forfeit to the defending team.

Now on to the plays.

This play is called man to man defense, also known as man on. In this picture the blue team, the offense, is attempting to pass down the field and score. The red team, the defenders, are playing man to man defense in an attempt to cover all possible means of moving the Frisbee forward. In this play the defenders are tasked with staying on the man they are assigned to at all times. If the defender is covering a cutter they will be following the cutter's every movement on the field trying to stop the Frisbee from getting to them. If a defender is covering a handler they will be attempting to block the handlers throw and will be calling stalls. This play is incredibly straight forward and easy to use.

This play is called zone defense. This play consists of a few crucial parts: the cup, the wing-men, the middle man, and the safety. The cup is a unique way of covering handlers. In a play using a cup, three defensive players will have the task of forming a semi-circle around the player with the Frisbee at all times. These defenders must stand at least 15 feet away and sprint to every throw from the handlers, making this one of the most tiring roles in Frisbee. Next is the wing-men. These two defenders stand on the right and left sides of the field and are tasked with stopping cutters from being passed the disc. Third is the middle man. This defender stands near the middle of the field near the middle of the offensive stack and watches for cuts straight up the field or to the side and rear. Lastly there is the safety. This defensive player is tasked with keeping any long throws from happening, but can also guard throws to the back sides of the offensive stack. Zone defense can be a little confusing and very convoluted but can pay off immensely with large defensive plays.

There you have the two most prominent defensive plays. Zone may be a bit harder to explain and implement in a pick-up game, but be persistent and the time will come to use it. As with anything involving Ultimate Frisbee, practice makes perfect. Man and zone guarding are both very difficult and require a large amount of skill and agility. Knowing what kind of offense or defense to use, however, will certainly help on the battlefield.

Defense in ultimate frisbee. (2004, November 21). Retrieved from http://www.hartdesign.us/vansaunultimate/html/defense.html

Strategy on the Battlefield Part 1 - Offense

A firm understanding of Ultimate Frisbee doesn't mean much if a team can't score. Any team can run out onto a field and throw a disc until it ends up in an end zone, but the coordinated teams are the ones that strike the fastest and hardest and score the most reliably. This post will cover offensive strategy in Ultimate Frisbee both as a team and as an individual. 

All offensive strategies follow the same basic principle: get the Frisbee down the field with as little hassle as possible and score. To do this Ultimate Frisbee players came up with plays to move the disc from player to player. These plays have been time tested and run thousand and thousands of times on the field and have proven to be some of the most effective ways to score. 

Before getting into detail about the plays, however, it is important to go over two crucial aspects; cutters and handlers. Handlers are the players towards the back of the field who are tasked with passing up the field to other players, and cutters are the players out in the field making cuts. A cut is performed when a player is running in one direction and quickly cuts to another direction. This is most often used to shake off defenders and get open for passes. Typically, a handler will pass to a cutter and cutter the will look for an open pass in front of them. If the cutter can't find an open pass within a few seconds the cutter will pass the Frisbee back behind them a short distance to a handler and the process will begin again. 

Now on to the plays.

This play is called the vertical stack. In the image, the blue team has the Frisbee and is attempting to pass down the field to score. To set up for this play the blue team has three handlers in the backfield and four cutters set up in a vertical stack standing still. When the disc is called in the cutters, in no particular order, will begin to cut outwards from the stack and make cuts in the sides of the field. The cutters will cut at different times and move away from each other in an attempt to give the handler as many options as possible. From time to time cutters may even have the chance to break off from the pack and go far down the field for a long pass, also known as a huck. If the handler unable to pass the disc to any of the cutters for an extended period of time then he or she will pass to one of the other handlers. When this happens the cutters will reset the vertical stack and begin the play again. This play is extremely straight forward and easy to execute making it the bread and butter play for a majority of teams.

This play is called the horizontal stack. While a bit less prominent than the vertical stack, this play can still be very effective. When the disc is called in the cutters will begin to run up and down the field (vertically) in their respective lanes at different intervals. When an opportunity is presented a cut will be made from the lane in an attempt to receive a pass. If the cutter does not receive the pass they will go back to their area, or another open area. Just as in the vertical stack, once a pass is caught up-field the cutter will look for another pass to make and if there are no open options they will throw back to one of the handlers. This play can prove to be a bit more confusing, but can open large holes in the defense allowing for consistent gains.

Those are the two plays most commonly seen on the field. If you find yourself playing in an unorganized game try and explain one of the plays in between points and try it out. There can be no team without a defense, however. Part two will cover the most common defensive plays in the world of Ultimate Frisbee.

Duraney, W. (2009, March 09). Offensive strategies for ultimate frisbee. Retrieved from http://www.helium.com/items/1370565-ultimate-offensive-strategy-stacks

Toss Up - Part 2

Now that the starter throws are out of the way and the basic toolkit is complete it's time to cover the crazier stuff. These are the throws that are situational and sometimes a bit risky, but very rewarding.

This post will cover three of the most advanced throws that a player can have in his arsenal. Just as in the last post, if you are a left hand dominant player, the instructions will be on the opposite side of the body. There will be pictures accompanying each description to aid the learning process.

The first throw in this post is a modified version of the backhand throw known as a lift pass or lift throw. This throw operates identically to the standard backhand, but instead of just throwing the disc out from the body, the disc will be thrown upwards and outwards. This is done from a standing position with the disc a bit under shoulder height. The player will push equal portions upward and outward, releasing the disc at the peak of height with a large flick of the wrist to give it a good amount of spin. If performed properly, the disc will go up for a few feet and then quickly drop back towards the ground all while moving forward. This throw is very useful for getting around defenders, but it can easily be blocked or intercepted.

The second throw, covered in this post is what's known as a push pass. The push pass is a lot like the lift pass in style, just reversed to the other side of the body. The grip requires four fingers under the disc and the thumb on the lip forming a c-like shape. Then, to throw the disc, the player starts with the disk at shoulder height or higher with the elbow slightly bent and pushes outward quickly with a small bit of spin clockwise on the disc. This throw is extremely difficult to master, as the disc never really seems to want to cooperate. A balance of force and speed are required to achieve balance. This pass is mainly used to catch defenders off guard in short-range passing situations. 

The last throw that will be covered, and by far the most peculiar of the whole bunch, is the scoober. Yes, you read that correctly. This throw is an odd combination of the hammer, a lift pass and a flick all rolled into one. The grip is identical to the flick with two fingers on the inside and the thumb on the outside, but the disk is going to be on your left and upside down. To throw this, stretch your arm out at a 45 degree angle to the ground with the disc upside down in a flick grip and lever your arm at the elbow and throw outwards, just like a flick. This throw is extremely difficult to use effectively because the disc will be upside down in the air, and Frisbees don't behave particularly well upside down. This pass is rarely used, but it can be used to throw around defenders and to the left side of the field.

There you have it. A collection of throws in Ultimate Frisbee from the basic to the downright uncanny. Learning to perform any throw well takes time and practice. Passing back and forth with a friend is a great way to get your bearings, or try out that crazy throw you saw online. Either way, the oldest of sayings holds true here: practice makes perfect.

Toss Up - Part 1

The basics have been covered and you're ready to hit the field. There's one tiny problem though, you don't know how to throw a Frisbee! Fear not, another two part post is coming to satisfy your disc throwing needs. It's time to cover how to throw a Frisbee.

This post will cover three of the most common throws used in the game of Ultimate Frisbee. These throws are some of the most used in the game and are great tools for and player. These will be reversed if you are a left hand dominant player. Each of the throws described here will have a corresponding picture to help show the throwing process.

First off is the most basic of all throws, the standard backhand. For this throw, the player brings the disc across to his or her left side and in a twisting motion brings the arm from left to right in a quick motion, releasing the Frisbee in the process. This throw hinges on the players ability to move their body during a throw and flick their wrist outwards during the disc release. This is the throw that comes most naturally to most people who have used a Frisbee, so getting the hang of this one shouldn't prove too difficult over time.

Second on the list is the next most basic of all throws, the forehand throw, also known as the flick. To perform this throw the player grips the disc with the index and middle finger together on the underside and the thumb in it's natural position on the lip. The throw itself is quite simple. The player extends their arm to the right, leaving the elbow bent. The player then flicks their hand forward with a slight bit of arm movement and voila, a flick. Despite being a very basic throw, this one takes many players the longest amount of time to master. It's counter-intuitive minimalistic gestures can send any beginner for a loop. This one takes lots of time and practice to find the sweet spot.

Third and last on this list is the most advanced (and odd) of the basic throws. This throw is known as the hammer. For this throw, take a grip identical to the one used for a flick. As seen in the picture, put the arm over the head with the disc near the center of the body and the elbow bent backwards. To throw the disc, keep it near a 45 degree angle from the ground and in a quick motion lever your arm forward at the elbow and flick the disc out from the hand. This throw can be a real stickler, but once mastered it can be one of the most powerful in a player's arsenal, allowing the player to throw over entire groups of defenders.

These three throws constitute the basic toolkit for an ultimate player. One throw from the left, one throw from the right, and one throw over the top. In the second part of this post, we'll discuss three more advanced throws, some that are practical and some that are not. Either way, it's better to understand a throw than to be left confused.