Thoughts.

Outside of your “standard” 3-3-1 set, a 1-3 is probably the most popular zone out there. It has some variations, but the basics include the following:

Personnel

• One “rabbit” or “puke” or, simply, “perma-mark.” Pretty self-explanatory. Doesn’t need to be a point-blocker (though bonus points if he is), just good at forcing bad throws in marker drill-type situations. Speed and stamina are helpful too.

• Three in the front wall, who, much as their name implies, prevent throws from going through them and instead force passes over or around–like the puke, they chase the disc and are generally in the way of any upfield passes. Your other quick guys go here–tall can be a plus for making over-the-tops hard, but short can be good for closing gaps.
• Three in the back wall, usually subdivided into two wings and one deep. The bigger, more menacing, and athletic they are, the better.

In terms of experience, this zone demands a competent deep (most zones do, but front-loading here makes it particularly important). Having a good “field general” type in the middle of the front wall is a plus too.

Setup

Here’s a look at a general X’s and O’s setup of a mid-field and sideline trap setup running a 1-3. Generally I’m against doing this for zones as diagrams always overgeneralize, but it’s hard to give a clear picture otherwise:

On the left, you can see a midfield setup (defense in blue, offense attacking upwards). The disc is being pushed to the backhand side of the field (the mark is attempting to stop dumps to the flick-side handler).

The front wall is very tight, and the arrows (indicating general movement priorities for each position at that particular point) specify only looking to stop throws through. It’s important not to get too greedy here and instead be content to force the disc to a sideline, where the zone really gets into its groove.

Note the amount of ground the backfield has to cover. The idea is that anything to the middle of the field will be a floaty over-the-top throw, giving a wing time to make the D, good blades notwithstanding. This set is best used in windy conditions to make over-the-tops riskier, but you can pull a wing in closer to the wall to apply more pressure on shorts and force the long over the top. Deep throws by nature take time, so any long throw will give time for the wing and/or deep to get on the receiver and hopefully prevent the catch. These positions generally demand good athletes to be successful against teams that will try the over the tops and long throws. You want to be able to get the D on these throws or, barring that, intimidate enough to discourage those throws in the first place.

On the right is a sideline trap. There are a couple important changes to note here. First, the far (weak-side) wing shifts roles from a deep-ish defender to a behind-the-wall defender full-time; he also is looking very strongly to get a D on the far handler should a good pass go up in that direction (generally a floaty hammer).

Your deep and near (strong-side) wing can do a couple things depending on what the O is doing; the near wing can pinch in to help out with the front wall, leaving the deep to roaming coverage (best in high wind, where the cross-field hammer isn’t viable); or he can drop back a bit more and focus on preventing an up-the-line shot beyond 10ish yards (typically manning up on whoever’s there), giving the deep a bit more help in the backfield.

The magic of this setup happens in the trap on the sideline, when the front wall and puke can work together to prevent an easy reset backwards or towards mid-field. The front wall still focuses on staying tight, preventing throws through the middle. The trap set–the front wall and puke–work together, shifting around to cut off as much of the backfield and cross-field as the offense is looking to use. Here there’s a dump almost directly behind, so the cup has shifted over enough that there’s a sliver on the up-field side–in this situation, a throw further towards the sideline is generally a positive outcome, as it usually allows for a still more effective trap. Were the dump only horizontal, the wall + puke could shift upfield a bit more, allowing for more pressure on up-the-line passes.

The one exception to this nothing-through, nothing-to-the-dump approach is the right guy (non-upfield) in the front wall here. Should he so choose, he can set up such that there’s a sliver of a gap in the wall–not so much as to be an open invitation to throw to that cross-field handler, but enough that, as the stall count gets higher and the mark prevents the easy backfield dump, the handler might risk a throw. This position in the front wall (or cup in similar traps) is commonly referred to as the “glory position,” as baiting this throw presents a great chance to get a layout D (and the accompanying glory, fame, and increased desirability to that hot, single player watching on the sidelines). Also note that the far wing is another potential D source on this pass–it’s one of the juiciest baits you’ll see on an ultimate field.

One additional point applies to both setups–the middle of the front wall, in addition to keeping the wall tight, is the primary “crash-stopper”– that is, when someone behind the wall comes close to the disc for the easy bailout dump (or a handler in the backfield comes up to do the same), the middle will come directly in to the thrower to stop a throw. In theory, this is a slightly shady, vaguely double-team-y practice as you’re essentially playing the thrower instead of the other man, but in practice the best defensive option almost always winds up being getting between the thrower and receiver to cut off that space, and pretty irregardless of where the receiver comes from a defender’s best option is to come straight in.

General Goals

1. To bait long, risky throws. These tend to come in three general flavors:
   • Long/floaty over-the-tops–think hammers and blades
   • Long hucks
   • Cross-field throws to the far handler (from a sideline trap)
2. To overwhelm a handler or cutter in a sideline trap. A tight wall and active mark can make a large field suddenly feel very small, especially if the player with the disc isn’t comfortable with over-the-top throws or breaks. Even if he is, any combination of weather, overconfidence, or underestimation of the backfield defenders can lead to #1. This defense lives and dies on the sideline.
3. To make resets difficult. This goal can vary depending on how much you leverage your mark, but with good communication (more on that in a bit) and a quick mark it often becomes a game of pick-your-poison; either an easy pass to what will become a sideline trap (#2) or a greater effort in order to simply dump it going the other way or backwards (or a risky over-the-top, which is goal #1).

Risks

Every zone takes away something(s) while giving something else, and this set is no exception. Throws that kill this D, followed by how to control for them:

1. Any throw through the wall to mid-field. With so many players around the disc, anything that gets beyond becomes quick fodder for give-and-gos up the field, while the wall does its best just to get set up again. I’ll address what the backfield can do to contain in a later post, as it’s pretty broadly applicable.

   Control by: Keeping the wall tight, even as the disc is being swung from handler to handler.

2. (Good) blades. Wings should be able to get to most of the floaty hammers, but a good fast blade (or other quick over-the-top) can gain big yards in a hurry.

   Control by: Throwing this set only in windy conditions, or against teams you know have poor over-the-tops. This can be augmented with a tall wall, forcing higher passes with more hangtime.

3. Good deep game. While to some extent, a goal of the 1-3 is to bait these long throws, you have to have the personnel deep to control those deep shots.

   Control by: You need appropriate amounts of field savvy and athleticism to manage this, as the backfield defenders are usually outnumbered. What works for you against one team might not against another; gauge their throwers and receivers when deciding whether to throw this set.

4. Quick cross-field dump + swings. Nothing is more demoralizing to this set to have a sideline trap begun and then lose it on a quick swing to the other side before you can even get set. What’s more, the ensuing out-of-position wall leaves massive holes for throws to the mid-field (#1), not to mention uncontested deep looks (#3).

   Control by:

   • This one starts with the mark. Though the mark often has to hurry after the disc, an easy trap to fall into is over-running on the mark, allowing for a quick break; when the disc gets to a sideline, hustle up ’til 5 or so yards out, and then slowly ease in, sealing off the easy dump options as you do. There’s a lot of value to a dump playing a few yards off in a trap situation, preventing quick breaks and forcing the floatier around/over-the-top throws.
   • Outside of the mark, the front wall (and to some extent, the wings) play a role in containing flow past the wall (#1) as the disc is swung–this can mean “flaring out” as a front wall and manning up on players in the backfield for a short time, and this certainly also means good hustle to get over and get in the way (but remember not to create holes by out-running the other parts of the wall). It is significantly easier to manage this cross-field motion if the disc is first forced backwards or to an intermediary dump before it is passed all the way across the field, as this gives the defense extra time to anticipate and adjust.

     The field sense to stop flow during and after the swing takes time and experience to develop, and an experienced front wall can do wonders here. The front wall (or the cup in other sets) should always be looking around as the disc is moving and be proactively taking away those options–I’ve found this one of the hardest skills to teach zone rookies.

Additional concerns include marker fatigue over a point or (especially) tournament (generally speaking, designate one member of the wall to switch in if necessary to help with this) and the biggie:

Communication

I can’t stress this enough, for any kind of defensive set. This begs for its own post (and will get one eventually), but the general lines of communication include the following in a 1-3-3:

• Sidelines to the back wall. The deep, in talking to his wings, can occasionally lose track of a sneaky cutter working behind him–it’s on the sidelines to catch the villain in the act and alert the local authorities. Sidelines can similarly provide “shoulder” cues to the wings or otherwise alert them to impending threats in their coverage zone.

• Deep to wings (and vice-versa). Especially in mid-field situations, where the numbers advantage of the O is more obvious, a good back wall will communicate with who’s taking who as players move. A great deep will be alerting the wings in front of him to players coming into and out of their zones and what threats to pounce on. Failure to communicate here leads to quick, easy, embarrassing goals.
• Wings to the middle of the front wall. Specifically, “crash!” when a player tries to come through the wall. Generally, “left shoulder/right shoulder” if a popper is lurking just behind the wall, so they have a sense of where to expect attempts to pass through (but remember, stay tight).
• The middle of the front wall to the two sides. Generally, “tighter!” Is always applicable. However, some situations will dictate a looser wall is appropriate–for instance, the wall is too close and poppers too far, allowing for easy short over-the-tops with wings unable to stop it; care should be taken to retract when a team again shifts to crashing and attempting to go through, however.
• Sideline to the mark. He needs to know where the handler he’s supposedly preventing throws to is moving. Develop an easy system to communicate this. Brevity is the soul of wit, and the backbone of good on-field communication.

Zone D is hard (hell, ALL D is hard). As Josh Mullen mentions, a set can work wonders against one team and look silly against the next. Always keep your general goals in mind; if you’re forcing your opponent into the situations you want and they’re still beating you, tip your cap and try again (maybe they got lucky) or make adjustments. If you’re taking them out of their flow and buying your subs more time to rest but they still score, realize that the true payoffs might not be apparent until later in the game.

Don’t fret about losing one battle, so long as it’s working in the big picture of the war.

Anybody have anything else to add? I’m sure there are angles I’m missing here, and I’m more than happy to update the post with relevant info.

UPDATE: Some great stuff in the comments.

Related posts:

1. Zone Sets: How to Run a 4-person Cup, Courtesy of Gwen Ambler
2. Zone Sets: How to Run a 3-2-2
3. Zone Sets: Box-and-one, others?
4. Zone Sets: Transition Zones (and musings on others)
5. Zone Sets: How to Run a "Standard" 3-3-1 (3-1-3, 3-1-2-3)