Thoughts.

This is a pretty simple concept, but applied properly can make a big difference in your efficiency and effectiveness on an ultimate field. In ultimate, as with many things, knowing your limits allows you to excel while remaining within yourself.

Your absolute pivot range is how far you can get out to throw. Period. How far does your lunge take you? How much farther does your reach and body torque get you on top of that? Can you throw from that far out? Can you throw well from that far out? You have to be able to throw from this distance (or, phrased differently, know what you can throw at this distance), because the only reason you should extend yourself this far is to throw.

Your practical pivot range is how far you can get out while still being able to quickly move back (which is to say, how far you can get WITHOUT overextending, or your effective faking range). This is a range you’ll wind up doing a lot of your motion on an ultimate field in–realistically, a lot of situations won’t require you to get out to your absolute range to throw successfully. Think open-side passes, or even a quick swing (fake) when you catch the dump ahead of your defender.

Generally speaking, it’s good to keep the fact that you can extend further hidden until you have an opportunity to exploit it (for instance, if you have a killer full-extension inside-out pass, there’s no need to show it until you can make that killer IO for a goal or to start some flow, etc.). Even once you’ve shown it, you shouldn’t need to fake all the way out to that range to get a mark to bite, assuming you have convincing, effective fakes.

Pivot/extension range is worth paying attention to in any circumstance–just tossing around, drills, even in scrimmage. Developing a sense of not only what you can do, but what you need to do within that range to suit your goals (get a throw off, or make a mark bite), can and will make you a better player.

Flow in zone situations, at its finest, is so beautiful and potent as to completely crush the will of the defensive team, making them completely shift away from zone as a defensive strategy. It is an offense’s best friend and a defense’s worst nightmare.

How does it happen? And how can it be stopped(or perhaps you can only hope to contain it)?

Flow starts when the disc moves past the cup. It may end there if no continuation options are available, but simply breaching the cup puts the defense, well, on the defensive.

Continuing flow takes coordinated movement. If all the downfield receivers rush towards the disc, it’s likely that only one more pass (with perhaps a second quick dish for minimal yards) will go off before crowding prevents further motion. This is still better than no flow, but the best teams will work in turn such that 3-4+ passes are made, quickly moving the disc downfield.

On offense, flow in a zone situation is essentially a series of opportunity cuts.

If you’re deep, the defense is usually flipping out about preventing a quick deep strike–meaning at least one and perhaps two or three defenders are good bets to be behind their men deep. This usually means the cutters who were in the deep/wing positions on offense are perfectly positioned to get a big gainer on a cut back to the disc; 15-20 yards is not too unreasonable an expectation.

Poppers or those close to the disc should look to do one of two things off of the initial move past the cup:

1. Get a quick dish to keep the disc moving (if the popper in question is immediately open and the thrower is being marked or otherwise has few options)
2. Haul ass upfield and look for an opportunity to get the disc further down the pass chain–you never know when that deep might get pulled too far to one side, etc.

Above all else, flow demands that you keep the disc moving. It’s almost always a better call to dish it to somebody nearby and keep pushing upfield than to hold the disc waiting for the perfect look. The longer you hold the disc, the more time the defense has to catch up and get comfortable; a constantly moving disc forces the D to constantly adjust, and it can be very demoralizing for a cup to constantly be left behind the action.

If you’re on defense, goal #1 when the disc gets past the cup is to slow disc motion.

A backfield defender‘s main priorities are,

1. To stop the quick huck for a goal, and
2. Stall (disc motion) for time while the cup catches up.

Sometimes this means taking your one guy and sticking to him, but more often than not this means letting a small fish go to keep the big fish at bay–you can let them get off those little 3-5 yard squirts for a time if it means the disc remains generally in the same area for your cup to catch.

Again, being able to read space and motion is key–recognizing what spaces are viable for the offense in flow and where the biggest threats are, and then responding to limit them, is the crux of zone D.

If you’re in the cup and the disc gets past you…bust ass to catch up and get in the way again. In much the same way that you don’t want to just blindly sprint from station to station when the disc is swung, though, you have to be cautious to make sure you’re not rushing to your ‘position’ only to let the disc slip right by you and start the chasing cycle all over again. A cup needs to expand and become dynamic as the disc moves to limit threats in flow, much the same way the backfield does.

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.

I should first disclaim by saying that I’m presupposing a 3-handler set–the same general tenets for motion apply to other sets as well, but be aware of the differences in spacing they bring.

Generally speaking, you have two sources of motion in a zone O: the poppers or the handlers. Wing motion tends to synergize with popper motion, but by itself does not do a lot, due to the large swath of space a deep can cover.

If your primary source of motion is the handlers–weaving and the like–the poppers will wind up doing a bit less to break the cup, and the converse is also true–if poppers are your primary source of motion, your handlers will generally have to move less. This does not mean they aren’t working and moving. Great zone defenses, will likely pressure you into moving with both units at varying intervals, just like the handlers and cutters will take turns taking responsibility to move the disc in man defense. Having a range of capabilities will make your offense more versatile, and harder to stop.

The number one consideration with zone O, as with any O, is simple:
Create space. Find space.

You are always doing one of the two, regardless of role. Motion is a means to these ends. A lack of motion can also enable these same ends in the right situations.

How do the poppers, and by extension the wings, make space and find space? Conventional wisdom says the poppers/backfield look to do one of a few things:

1. Get the swing continuation. This requires some teamwork–either with the wing on that side or the other popper or both–to split the defender on that side of the field before the cup is set (or if the cup is conceding the up-the-line). Usually this means one wide cut to the line and one “gut” cut more straight to the disc.

   See left. With three receivers it can get a little crowded, but the wing cuts to pull her defender to the sideline while the two poppers work different angles, the assumption being that if the cup gets over in time the point will only be able to stop one, leaving a hole for the other. More on this (flooding an area) below.

2. Crash the cup. This is either a move to bail out the handler at a high stall or a feint to create a hole to enable a pass elsewhere (#3). A good tool to have, able to take advantage an over or under-zealous cup. (NB: handlers can crash the cup too, from behind. The forward momentum you can get coming this way puts the cup slightly out of position = more potential holes)
3. Get the pass through the cup (“find holes”). Probably the most punishing of the three conventional popper options, as this tends to result in a popper with a disc in mid-field, ahead of the cup. When you get to this position you’re off to the races! Short, qick passes to the other downfield receivers (who are hopefully finding space coming towards the disc) can result in some quick yard gains, or potentially free up a deep strike for a quick finish. It can be difficult to get this sort of look against disciplined cups or against a team that continues to throw zone and makes adjustments, however.

The other option a popper should always be aware of (and the primary one a wing should be looking for):

• Get an over-the-top to space–typicaly, this has similar results to #3 above (depending on the speed of the throw and the location of the popper).

The last smatters of 2-handler set, I know, but in appropriate situations this can become an option for a team with a good thrower in a 3-handler set, and experienced poppers are on the lookout for these situations.

See to the left for a rough idea–with the two wings occupying the deep defenders (one coming in for what could look like a blade; the other moving across–not a terribly threatening cut with the deep there but hopefully enough to make the wing look), one of the poppers can drop back 5 yards and find herself in a good spot to get a quick, short hammer/scoober/lefty blade.  (You’ll note I didn’t suggest a high-release backhand).

How do you consistently create any of the above situations? Each one requires the popper to be ready, in a particular position at a particular time–cutting for the swing too late means the cup is there to stop it; too early usually means a throw for short yards (or to a stopped receiver–D bait), usually not significant enough to break the zone.  Crashing the cup to create a hole is only useful when the other popper is in position to fill said hole, and the handler is prepared to throw to her.  An over-the-top needs a capable thrower and a popper finding space before the defense adjusts to take it away–all are delicate acts.

Even great offensive teams fail to capitalize on every opening. The two keys to generating more openings:

• Disc motion. It doesn’t necessarily need to move far and fast, but one of the two is usually necessary to keep the D on its toes and hopefully catch it with its pants down. Don’t underestimate the power of the quick, easy reset.

  Equally important to moving the disc is knowing where the disc is/will be moving to.  This falls under the umbrella of “anticipation,” an offense’s biggest asset.

• Backfield motion. In contrast to cutting in a man D situation, zone O is less about hard fakes and dekes and much more about forcing defenders to make choices until they are overmatched or out of position (typically it’s at these junctures that you “cut” hard in the sense that you’re running quickly to space–analagous to opportunity cuts in man D sets)

  Poppers and wings can rotate positions as the point goes on, forcing the defense to dynamically adjust to cover their respective zones, and can selectively “flood” an area, sending 2 or 3 receivers into a particular area with the knowledge that one defender cannot cover them all, given they’re far enough apart and the thrower can make the pass to that area.

The concept of flooding an area is a basic tenet of zone offense, whether it’s a conventional standard set or a junk D–the defense will either concede an option or shift coverage to take it away, and in either case, you’re creating openings.

It’s essential that you trust your teammates in these situations–if you’re helping to flood an area, trust that your teammates will find the open space you’re creating. Likewise, if you see a teammate moving to flood an area, be on the lookout for the defense to shift their priorities and give you an opening.  Not every opening is viable, so strive to learn what kind of motion in what situations make holes your offense is looking for.

Anticipation is the best weapon an offense can wield against high-level defenses–given that well-practiced teams will be prepared to quickly recognize and fill gaps in coverage, an offense needs to be well-practiced enough to know that, for example, when Sam gets the disc on a reset he’ll look for a quick hammer strike; the poppers are on their toes as soon as they see somebody looking to throw to him, looking for holes. Synergy between poppers makes creating and finding holes more predictable, and synergy between handlers can go a long way to reducing miscues on the reset.

This is true for any offensive set, but whereas this tends to be more structured in man D situations, with set plays and the like, the wide variety of zones out there tends to force players to lean more strongly on experience. I suspect it’s for this very reason that you see today’s O line/D line splits; chemistry must be cultivated. Get a small group constantly practicing together against a myriad of zones, arm them with a basic understanding of the offensive priorities, and you’ll develop a capable offense.

Next post (or two) I’ll try and break zone down a bit more in terms of individual skills. Is there anything else you think needs to be said about zone (offense or defense)? Leave a comment or let me know if you’d like me to write about it (or write about it yourself–I’m happy to make guest posts).

Goal #1 is, of course, to score (You can argue that “keeping posession” is a more relevant, process-oriented goal, but sometimes you need to embrace (or at least flirt) with the turnover to get where you want).

How you get it there is where you see splits in philosophy, and to some extent this will vary with conditions, personnel, and what kind of zone you’re faced with.

Big split #1 in zone O strategy:
How Many Handlers?

This makes the biggest fundamental difference in zone strategy. The two typical sets:

Your traditional set. The general tack is to work the side-to-side dump-swing motion of the three handlers, tiring out the cup and hopefully leveraging the poppers coming from around or through the cup to work the disc upfield.

Generally, zone defenses are structured with this offensive set in mind (witness my diagrams on the prior zone defense posts), and in bad conditions the last thing you might want to do is work the disc back and forth horizontally, risking the short turnover. However, you can leverage a 3-handler set in a number of ways to beat various D sets–running handler weaves, for instance–and having two dumps at most every instance provides some extra security. This remains a go-to set, with the right mentality.

Another strategic innovation I think can be attributed to DoG (check this article for a better explanation than I could ever offer). Dropping down to 2 handlers lets you move an extra body downfield, letting you split any backfield defense that uses 3 or more in the cup. Tends to eschew dump and swing action for over-the-top strikes–there’s more risk, but in the big picture, a high risk/high reward look can often be a better option than multiple moderate-to-low risk/low reward ones (and with practice, those high risks are lessened).

Obviously this set relies more upon a strong handler or two to make those risky looks. You’re usually not going to be relying on the dump as anything more than a bailout, so in addition to shifting more pressure on the handlers to make throws, there is more pressure on the backfield receivers to get open NOW. Poppers behind the cup tend to stay in the backfield and look for open space, rather than attempting to create openings by crashing into the cup.

You can reduce some of the pressure to make high-risk throws by allowing a popper or two to be a fill handler, coming around or crashing on high counts, but this generally defeats the point of the set (you’re mitigating the numbers advantage) and isn’t always the most effective strategy. I haven’t actually seen this used too commonly of late (’07-’08)–at least, not in New England ultimate. This set tends to do best in better conditions where those over the tops are more certain, so the mercurial New England weather might have something to do with this. Anyone have observations to offer here?

With either set, your mileage will vary depending on your personnel and the team you’re playing against. Either set, particularly the 3-handler, is flexible enough that you can incorporate parts of one into the other (having a handler push up more in a 3-handler set to make it play more like a 2-handler one), so in terms of strategy I’d say to pick one set and make adjustments within it, rather than flipping between the two.

I’ve heard of 4-handler sets, but generally these tend to be 2- or 3-handler sets with flex wings coming back as fill handlers. Generally speaking, the more players you have downfield (or with the option of being downfield), open for a gain yards, the better your O’s chances of scoring.

The next split in zone O strategy (a bit subtler perhaps):
Who are your playmakers?

Your handlers will carry a large part of the load in any set (esp. 2-handler), and everyone has to work to make zone O work, but typically you’re going to have an ideal play that you’re looking to make–what is it? Is it your primary handler throwing a big cross-field hammer/blade to a wing? Is it your poppers working together to get the continue off of a swing and weaving it up for 20 yards? Is it getting any handler open enough that he can jack it to your 6’8″ monster deep?

Think about what your strengths are and how you can best leverage them. If you’re looking to make that cross-field look, make sure your wing is really staying on the far sideline and that your other players in the backfield are pulling defenders away. If it’s cutter motion, make sure you’ve really rehearsed timing the cuts and set up your swings so that they’re ahead of the cup. If it’s jacking it deep, work on a good handler weave or other motion to try for an open shot (and go hard to recruit that giant freshman you’ve been eyeing). This is the sort of evaluation you need to do in order to develop a consistent, effective system–be prepared to improvise within (and outside of) it, adjusting as the D adjusts, but having that framework sets up the rest.

I’ll try and get more into specifics next week (backfield motion in particular). A little behind on writing–ironically I find myself writing less on spring break–down time with few options at work becomes down time with myriad other options (like cleaning my shithole of a house, finishing my taxes and applying for financial aid next year–anybody out there have opinions/experiences with Army/Navy/Air Force scholarships?).

I’ve written about the importance of balance before, but it’s a very broad concept, its applications diverse, and bears revisiting.

In the context of throwing, balance comes in to play a few ways–generally speaking, you want to keep your torso balanced by using your core. A good example of this is throwing with your non-pivot foot picked up off the ground. Can you still throw a forehand and backhand on target? How dependent are you on your legs for not just power, but the general trajectory of your throw? Can you balance without your legs? Work this from standing at first, and then mid-pivot–don’t wait for your foot to set down, but throw midway.

You should be able to make passes at 10 yards with touch, without using your legs. This is a pretty essential skill to grasp, as throwing without your legs leads to throwing with touch from any position your body is in. It will vastly improve your dumping efficiency (and resets are the most important thing in ultimate).

Balance comes in to play from your legs, too. One of the best nuggets of wisdom I received when working on my hucking (I was trying too hard, muscling up, and hooking my attempts to throw 60+ yards outside-in instead of the nice float I was looking for): “try to hold your body position at the end of your throwing motion.” I was stepping out to huck, but continuously moving through the whole step and throw–by forcing myself to wait at the end, to find balance in that final, extended position, my throws improved immediately.

Part of it was still that core balance to gain touch, but a lot of it was finding a balance point through my legs–a lunge position I could hold (incidentally, lunging is an underrated component of ultimate training–more on that later).

Find your balance points to master your throwing.

Learn it, do it, own it.

Want to be an elite ultimate player? Learn how to play good handler defense.

If I asked you the question,

“What do you look for in a good handler?”

Your list would probably look something like this:

• good throws
• good hands (catching)
• quick
• good hucks
• breaks
• good decisions (doesn’t turn the disc over)

I’ll offer that, while there is some requisite level of competence required in some of these areas (I’m thinking “good hands”) to be a handler, you can actually do a LOT without anything close to a complete skillset.

The most important thing for any handler (or really any player with the disc in his hands) to know is:

• his/her own limitations

That’s all. Can’t huck it? Maybe learn the fake, but don’t sweat it. Always turfing your IO? Shelf it. Always throwing the disc away? Maybe you need better teammates to catch your visionary throws. (I’m kidding). Not quick enough to shake ‘n bake your man in two steps? Master the fine art of positioning and timing, instead of dancing in the lane.

Right there with knowing what you can’t do is knowing what you CAN. Maybe you don’t have a money flick bomb, endzone-to-endzone, but when you get the disc on an upline cut you can put it to Fred where he’ll rip it down 80% of the time. Maybe your IO sucks, but if your mark is overplaying it you can make a beautiful leading around pass.

Play to your strengths!!! Maybe your team asks you to do more than you’re capable of or comfortable with right now. Instead of simply trying (and failing) to live up to those expectations, think about how the things you WANT to do and CAN do can jive with those same goals. If you’re a handler without game-changing throws, but you can move quickly and get open, instead of trying to make that short IO break pass the coach keeps preaching you can instead focus on dishing the disc to the first open man you see as soon as you get the disc and get back to where you’re the most dangerous–moving. If you’ve got big hucks and little else (including good judgment on when to throw and when to hold), consider talking to your cutters and establishing some preferred receivers you can be comfortable throwing to (and make sure the rest know not to make that cut for you, so you’re maximizing completions).

I’m sure you’ve had experiences where you’ve run up against guys and thought, “I/we are so much better than them, can do so much more,” and then get your ass whooped. You can do a lot with a little if you know how to use it. Before you get caught up in all the stratagems, running a ho-stack or a clam because everyone runs one, try running it from the other side–what can you do well? In what setups, or simply “how,” can you best utilize this skill or ability? (Or instead of the positive definition you can look at the negative definition–given your limitations, how can you most avoid overextending yourself?)

Nobody has it all. You can be a great, well-rounded ultimate player, but there are bound to be areas where you feel less confident. Sometimes you’ll bump up against those limitations–but it doesn’t have to be by design! The best offenses are structured to play to their strengths, to feature their talents. Certainly, progressing in your skills and abilities is something to work towards, but when it counts,

Know yourself.