Defense!
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Loading ...I consider myself a pretty well-experienced man defender. There are a few things that I think are key to good defense:
-Dictate. Far and away the most important thing when on defense. You always have to focus on taking something away from your cutter; don’t try to be greedy and take all of your cutter’s options away, because he’ll be able to get whatever he wants as a result. Pick one thing–”He’s fast with great ups, so I’ll force him to cut towards the disc by setting up a few steps behind him”–and stick to it. Even as he cuts in, unless you’re positive he’s all-in on that cut, don’t overcommit, lest you see him turn around on you and bust deep, uncovered. Keep a take-away mindset about you at all times, and you’ll be less likely to get juked or faked into giving up what you want.
-Triangles. This goes hand-in-hand with dictating. There are three points in the triangle, and this varies depending on who you talk to: either it’s your man, you, and where he wants to go to be open, or your man, you, and where the disc is (the handler). Either way, you’re looking to get the same net result: get yourself in a position where you take away as many of your cutter’s easy options as possible.
-Stay close. This can vary depending on you, your energy level, and your man, but generally speaking the best defenders play close to their man. I can still set up to take away the out, but if I’m only one step away from my man I’ll be much better prepared to respond if he cuts in or busts to the break side, making all of his plays contested ones. The variance comes in if your man is much faster than you or if you’re out of gas and can’t keep up the energy that the quick reactions of staying close require.
-Be prepared to cover what you’re giving him. This comes with staying close to your man. If I’m forcing my man out in a forehand force, for example, I like to set up fairly close, in a ready stance, with my left and right feet oriented so that my left foot is pointed towards the break side, and my right foot it pointed deep. In this way, if my man just busts to either side I’m already prepared to start running after him.
-Keep your weight forward. This ties in with the above. It’s easier to start running or change momentum if your weight is already moving in that direction. If you’re on your heels, you’re handicapping yourself by a good step or two on most cutters. Always keep your weight forward when you’re set up, and as you respond to your cutter, continue to keep your weight forward.
-Don’t break into a run as long as you can manage it. You go faster when you run as opposed to when you shuffle, but you lose the response time the ready stance affords when you break into a run. Make sure you know your man is committed before you break into a run after them.
-Realize where/when your man is a threat. This comes with experience, and knowing your opponent (do they like to do breakside flow often, will they put it deep, how far can they put it, etc). If you’re covering somebody who’s running deep and they get 30+ yards away from the disc, you can ease up and let them keep running deep in vain while you stay close but conserve energy–at that distance, if the disc is put, it’s likely to be short, meaning you’ll already have better position, and it’ll take a while to get there in most cases, giving you ample time to respond on D. Likewise, if your man cuts to the break side and you’ve got a hard trap and the other team shies away from the break look, you can give yourself an open-side buffer to avoid the possibility of getting beat to the easy side of the field. But generally speaking, stay close enough that you’d have a play on a swilly put.
This also extends to poaching; if your cutter’s just standing still in the stack, or is uncalled in an iso and isn’t staying active, take the time to look around, assess the field, and keep an eye out for an opportunity to poach. I’m not saying immediately leave your man alone, because that’s generally not a good idea, but if you see a play developing and have the chance to get in the way, go for it, especially if you know you can get the D.
What else. Dump defense…same rules apply, try and play close while taking one option away with your positioning (I like to take away the upline cut), make sure you don’t get beat, and when they take what you’re giving them play it hard and contest the throw. This isn’t always possible, but keep pressure on, and make sure you’re quick to set the mark in that situation to avoid dump-swing looks.
That sums up most of my defensive thoughts in man. Playing good D (in my opinion) really hinges a lot on the athleticism of the defender; as you tire you need to give more of a buffer to keep taking something away, which gives your cutter more options. There’s no shame in coming out immediately after a hard-fought D point; fresh legs make for consistent D.
