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