Thoughts.

To lack in either is to invite defeat to even the best systems; to excel in both provides the foundation upon which any system will thrive.

Ben Wiggins has said it before (audio, hard copies), but the mark is THE most important defensive position at any given point.

Think about it. How much of the field does the mark take away? Perhaps not the full half of the field that’s expected (that you ask that speaks to the importance of the position as well), but it authoritatively takes away a fair portion and adds additional pressure to a heck of a lot more than that. A great mark can make even great throwers work for anything but the easy open side passes, while a weak mark exposes the weak underbelly of a defense (otherwise known as the break side), leading to more running and, generally, quick scores. If you’ve ever seen a quick break completely open up the field and get an offense into flow, you know what I mean.

So why is it, then, that marking is relatively under-emphasized in the big scheme of ultimate strategy? You can spend all day talking about zone sets, refine the fundamentals of man defense and dictation, but at the end of the day if you can’t force the disc to go where your defense wants it to with a strong mark, you’re spinning your wheels.

I would contend that most or all of the best teams out there apply dedicated practice to their marking on a regular basis. If you’re not at least doing marker drill consistently in some form or another (break mark go-to or some other variant that includes movement is good too), you’re not training to play to your potential. It’s a great hubris indeed to assume that players will better themselves on the fundamentals, or even worse, that players are already good enough. If they’re fundamental it shouldn’t even be an issue to practice them and keep them sharp, should it?

So on to the mark itself. How do you leverage it?

I’ll spread out the technical points over the coming month or so (and would welcome input there, as well, as I’m not at the pinnacle of marking). In short, however, be mobile (on your toes), be smart (know your thrower, and know your situation), and be active (apply pressure and take away looks–don’t simply react to the thrower).

In terms of strategic use, a mark is less a tool for point blocks and more a tool for forcing bad throws or close plays (of course, some players have the tools, wingspan and/or intelligence wise, to get the point block more than others, but this is not necessarily something you can plan a defense around). It’s a tool for taking your opponent out of their comfort zone and forcing them to use the field in ways that either they don’t want to/aren’t used to or in ways that you anticipate and are in a position to D/will eliminate the threat potential of your opponent. Simple adjustments, deciding to pressure the huck with more of a straight-up mark, etc, can have profound effects.

If you don’t have adjustments on the mark in your toolbox as a player and especially as a coach/team strategist, you’re missing out on a very potent tool indeed.