Random tidbits of advice:
Handlers
- Always catch the pull if you can. If you don't know who's
catching the pull, someone call for it.
- Off the pull, the other handlers should be ready for the hitch (a
quick pass before the marks get on). One handler should be on each
side of the field.
- If the stack doesn't know where it should be, tell them. "Stack
home," "Stack away" or "Stack middle." "Stack short," "Stack deep", etc.
- Take the first open throw that's there.
- Dump cuts should be as solid as receiver cuts.
- When breaking the mark, make at least one fake before you throw.
- When someone's poaching in the cutting lane, find out who that
poacher isn't covering and figure out how to get him the disc, either
with one pass (hammer, huck) or with several passes (dump, swing,
break side continuation).
- Always lead your receivers. Throw the disc to the correct side of
the receiver.
- Never cut off a downfield receiver.
- When running give-and-goes or upfield dumps, watch out for
poachers.
- In zone O, don't lose so many yards on the dump.
- Keep the disc moving and avoid static situations. In the absence
of a called play, look for opportunities to gain free yards: hitch
off a pull or turnover, give and go, upfield dump, etc.
- Off a turnover, decide whether you want to fast-break or stack,
and communicate this decision to the rest of the team.
- Make good choices. Risky throws are acceptable only if they're
worth something. For example, a huck to a covered tall guy or a
break-mark throw to start the flow might be acceptable risks. A huck
to a covered not-so-tall guy or a hammer into a crowd in the middle of
the field are not.
Receivers
- Never try to run around your defender. It never works.
- Always try to set up your cut so that you have two options.
- You almost always want to fake before you make your cut, even if it's just a stutter
step here or a head fake there.
- Make your fakes while you're running at full speed. As soon as
you come to a standstill in the cutting lane, you've lost all
advantage you had over the defender and need to clear out.
- If your defender is leaving some area open and your thrower can
get you the disc there, cut there.
- If not, you'll have to get your defender out of position or
off-balance before you get open.
- To get your defender out of position, cut hard
to one place, then back towards the place you really want to go.
- To get your defender off balance, run towards him at the proper
angle. You want him to turn in such a way that his shoulders and hips
are no longer
perpendicular to the direction he needs to be defending or so that
he's hit full stride in the wrong direction.
- Almost all cuts should be vertical or slightly flared. You almost
never want to be cutting straight to the sideline, because those are
the easiest throws for a handler to miss and also the easiest throws
for a defender to intercept.
- Run towards the disc so that your defender doesn't have time to
recover and make the layout D block.
- Box out.
Defenders
- Stay between your man and where he wants to go.
- Even if you're face-guarding, try to know where the disc is at all
times. Don't get too dependent on 'up' calls, because often it won't
tell you if you have a play on the disc. Turn your head and glance at the disc periodically. Some
defenders stand in such a way that they can see both the receiver and
the disc out of the corners of their eyes, but this has the
disadvantage of turning your body in such a way that your shoulders
and hips are no longer
perpendicular to the direction you need to be defending.
- If your man is running straight towards you, backpedal as much as
you can. Avoid getting turned around.
- If you man is juking, stay with him and avoid committing to one
cut as long as possible (i.e. don't overplay one cut, turn your body
or hit full stride until you know where he's going).
- If your man beats you deep, keep running after him until it's
obvious that he's out of range or the thrower has otherwise looked him
off. At that point, stay in front of him so that he doesn't
immediately beat you coming back to the disc.
- If your man beats you short, don't catch up to him entirely,
because then he'll just turn around and burn you deep.
Instead, stay half a stride behind him and slightly to the side. This
way you have a shot at a layout block if you guy doesn't go to the
disc or the throw is off-target.
- If you're last back in the stack, stay half a step behind your guy
and face the disc. If he cuts in, you still have a shot at a layout
block, and if another cutter goes deep, you'll be able to see if you
need to switch onto him, if you can wait until the disc goes up to
play him, or if you should just let him go.
- Box out.
Back to Ultimate or to the home page.