More on Emotional Defense

Posted October 7th, 2009 by Mackey and filed in Defense, Strategy, marking
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I wrote on this a good while ago, musing on the effectiveness of playing all-out (emotionally driven, make-a-play-at-all-costs) D vs playing smart (seeking to contain more often than to strike aggressively). ( I find I tend towards containment D more often than not).

The example I offered then was that of the layout attempt; it’s great to try for the layout D, but a missed bid leaves the thrower unmarked for a couple counts (and against a good team, those few seconds can be enough to seal the fate of the point off of a quick give-n-go or break-side huck).

This same aggression vs containment dichotomy plays out more commonly on the mark. Often after some tight play, or in tense circumstances, players try to compensate by ratcheting up intensity on the mark.

I usually see this play out with a few consequences:

  1. The mark tends to foul more often. In any high-level play, this tendency is a liability (allowing free throws); against a weaker (/inexperienced) thrower this may yield the pressure-based turn.

  • The mark gets close. This ties in to #1 very clearly; again, this can work against weaker throwers, and often will not have dire consequence in the short term, but a close mark is vulnerable to step-through breaks (see Marking Adjustments for a bit more on the trade-offs of various spacings).
  • The mark jumps back and forth more aggressively, and will try more for point blocks. This is the most frequently exploited tendency in an aggressive mark, and one we all fall victim to from time to time. The desire to do more than just contain and prevent the break throw, to shift over and ramp up pressure to the open side, often creates the extra pressure intended; as a thrower, however, there’s nothing easier to beat than a mark that will shift early and often–without even making a full pivot, a good thrower can deke a mark into giving up an IO or huck angle, or bait an open-side strike to exploit an easy open-side opportunity. (Conversely, it’s the patient marks, who know what the thrower wants and refuse to concede it, that prove the most frustrating).

    • To be clear, there is a time and place for ramping up the pressure and aggressiveness of your mark. The unexpected strike on an open-side throw, a mark that is right on the border of the disc space call, any shift from a more passive role can and will take a thrower off-guard and may result in the turnover you seek; but don’t forget that it’s establishing a consistent D first–having a baseline to vary from–that makes aggression effective.

    Predictable aggression (or passivity) is exploitable. Be unpredictable to your opponent (but predictable to your teammates; that’s the real trick to playing Team Defense).

    Related posts:

    1. Defensive Adjustments: The Mark (Dynamic)
    2. Defense!
    3. Marking Thought: The Hole-y Mark
    4. Marking Thought: Spacing
    5. Marks: Or, the OTHER Most Important Thing in Ultimate

    One Response to “More on Emotional Defense”

    1. Torre says:
      October 7, 2009 at 11:56 am

      Nice article- reminds me of something i read a while back about essentially delgating an emotional player(although they were refering to zone d, and used differnt verbage)This could be applied to Man D.
      Varying who and when the pressure is applied by(and making sure the other defenders on the field know), would mean the breakside huck against your emotional D player, wouldn't be a surprise.

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