What’s the only thing more intimidating than one guy sprinting down on the pull?
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4 Responses to “What’s the only thing more intimidating than one guy sprinting down on the pull?”
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i thought about that too as i read it, and found it a bit weird. ive never heard of elite players doing anything less than a hundred percent on the field or court (in any sport), but i realize that ultimate might be different. to conserve energy for the times that count, you might not be able to sprint all the time, even when it would be an advantage to your team. paradoxical..
Nothing paradoxical about it, in my mind. I think you’ll come to appreciate it more once you start playing with the A-team. You’re right on in thinking that part of it is due to the need to conserve energy–if you play every D point, that’s probably 40-60+ 50-70 yard sprints in a day with 4 games. (Train your speed endurance at these distances to have to work less hard on the run down)
Two factors in why you wouldn’t sprint down immediately on the pull:
1) If you wind yourself just getting to the other team, the offense’s inherent advantage from starting with possession will be doubled by your inability to defend the first cut (it’s one thing to mark a guy standing still, another thing entirely to run hard with a receiver that threatens both ways).
2) Taking a little time on the run-down ensures that if somebody goes deep right off the bat you won’t be so off-balance from hustling down that they can blow right by you. This has happened to me, and I’ve done it to others.
In the big scheme of things, one extra pass for a few yards is not always the main threat–and plus, some pulls give you more times than others. I usually strive to get a good, hard run started as the pull goes up, and then depending on where my man is (handler/receiver) and on how long the pull looks like it’ll stay up/if it’s going OB I’ll either redouble my efforts or coast in to position.
i’ve gotten into the habit of doing one tuck jump before the pull, then taking three or four 100% effort steps after the pull. whether placebo or not, this reminds my body of the motions i’m going to need for that speed later without tiring myself out.
the other thing to keep in mind, of course, is what type of person you’re marking. sprinting hard down might make more sense if you’re on a big-hucking handler as opposed to that guy mackey mentioned – the one who likes to bust deep and might do it early.
I was a big fan of the tuck-jump get-ready my sophomore year. It’s a great way to remind your body that it’s supposed to go fast before the pull.
…I’ve come to appreciate it more as a good wake-up after a few points off, now. If you’re a once-every-few-D-points guy, you need to establish a routine to make sure you’re going 100% every point (because, after all, this point is the only point that matters when you can rest afterwards). Playing consecutive points, every D point, etc, I opted more for conserving my energy this year. So long as I was limber, I knew my body would do all that I asked of it.
And I used my arms to really drive my sprint/relaxed coasting after acceleration on the pull. The trick to getting down consistently well on the pull is to learn how to run fast without emptying your tank. Focus on good, relaxed form. No need to exert yourself unless you’re kicking it up another notch for a particularly tasty pull. Those few hard steps can last you the whole way down if you milk ‘em properly.