Zone: Offensive Skills
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Loading ...First and foremost, you have to:
- Recognize SPACE and MOTION. Any zone player worth his salt needs to be able to do this. Being able to attack a defense necessitates recognizing where and when holes form. By “motion,” I mean motion of the defense, but I especially mean disc motion and player motion (anticipation, in other words)–recognizing When positions will change and you might have an open angle of attack is just as important as Where–both are necessary (though perhaps not sufficient–you have to be able to act on this information too).
How do you cultivate such recognition? Unfortunately I don’t have a good (easy) answer for this. (I know zone, and can play zone, but it tends to be more of an inexact, hard-to-explain “art” and less of a precise “science” for me).
Experience goes a long way; sometimes you have to screw up royally before you’ll remember well enough to get it right. To that end, constantly evaluating your performance–after a point is over, looking back and seeing what worked, what didn’t, if there were opportunities missed–can help accelerate this learning process (obviously this applies beyond zone).
You can also gain this experience through observation. Watch high-level ultimate teams and see what kind of throws they take and avoid–what surprises you? Try to get back to the source of their decision-making, figure out WHY they do what they do.
Finally, visualization can help here too. If you can remember an opportunity you missed, replay it in your head and act on it this time–key in on what stands out most (you spot them with nobody in a 10yd radius? He’s moving deep and the wing is in front of him staring at you?), as you want your in-game recognition to be quick.
What else?
- Communication. This is of extreme importance in zone D, but it has its role in O as well. It doesn’t necessarily need to be out-loud “look here” “go there,” but subtler forms–faking, looks–can communicate a lot in terms of “there’s a hole here” or “you’re covered there.” This tends to fall under the umbrella of experience & chemistry, but I think any team could institutionalize a system without too much extra effort. It’s particularly important for your handlers, who need to be able to adjust within the span of 1-2 stall counts to ensure continued resets against a novel defense (of course, this all depends on how dynamic you want your offensive set to be).
- Mobility. Handlers, poppers, and wings all need to be able to move when the time is right–a quick backfield is a backfield that can quickly flow up the field once the disc gets past the cup. Quick handlers can frustrate even the best cups with motion and crashes from behind the disc, forcing the defense to adjust to you rather than the other way around.
- Judgment. In short, don’t make bad decisions. It’s important to distinguish “bad decision” from “bad execution” or “unlucky.” (It’s also important to realize when “bad execution” or “unlucky” are symptomatic of a larger trend (i.e. lack of skill or an opponent who outclasses you), and are therefore “bad decisions” in the context of a given offense, game, or player’s role/skillset).
That cross-field hammer that would’ve broken it wide open, but slipped through the wing’s fingers? Likely bad luck/bad execution. That high-release backhand for five yards that got D’d by the lurking middle-middle? Maybe a bad decision, depending on what your offense is trying to do. Generally speaking, value the disc, and if you’re going to take a risk, make it one for significant yards or position.
Again, evaluating yourself after each point can go a long way towards improving your decision-making. It’s almost mandatory in fact; if you’re not holding yourself accountable, who is?
- Throwing and catching. These skills in a zone context are not fundamentally different from a man D situation, but your “riskier” throws (over-the-tops) become more necessary; extra work in being able to throw, read, and receive them will help to make “risk” into a strength.
What sticks out in your mind as essential skills for zone O? I’m no expert and I’d love to hear more in the comments.
If you’re not gonna catch a fish, might as well not cath a big fish! I like the thought that some risk taking is inherent in zone O, and that it might as well be a risk for a big reward. Watching Colorado sectionals this weekend, I saw way too many (in my mind) short turnovers. The successful teams seemed to take much bigger gambles, at the right times of course. 40 yd. hammers that had a 1/4 success rate vs. 8 yd. turnovers off of a reset might be worth 3 points.