So it has been a good while since my last post. Things at work as well as the club series have really picked up over the last month, so you guys kinda take a backseat to those things. First I would just like congratulate those goats that played at sectionals. And big props to the kids on Pike for beating the shit out of those freaks from Pittsburgh.
Anyways, since we have covered the mark I figured the next logical step would be to move on to downfield defense. Now most people believe that downfield D is just following your guy around, and then once the disc is in the air, beating them to a spot. But a lot more work goes into it. Most of that work deals with positioning.
First you must decide what you are going to take away as a defender (the in cut or the deep cut). This decision is made before the pull and has a number of factors that go into it. What is the skill level of the team your playing? Do they have good huckers? Are you defending one of their deep threats? Are you defending a handler? Are you faster or slower than the guy you are defending? What kind of weather are you having?
Lets say that you have decided to take away the in cut (use the age old adage, force them deep until they prove that they can throw deep). I know that we attempted this a good number of times back in the day, but we never really did it well. Our problem would be that we stood way off our defenders and then would end up letting them run past us before we picked them up. We couldn't of been more wrong. First off, you will want to position yourself close to your defender. Personally, I like to make contact. Stand right next to them almost like you were marking them, using your shoulder to to take away their straight in lane. My legs are bent and I am on my toes (I tend to bounce a little bit to keep myself from being flat footed). This is an very effective defensive stance from a set position. The cutter really only has one direction to go now.
Once the cutter is moving there are two simple things to remember (when taking away the in cut). One is never turn your back on your defender and two is always keep a shoulder between the cutter and the openside of the thrower. The way to do this is to keep your hips open and facing the cutter when they are changing direction. Also, you will want to stay low and have your knees bent so that you are ready to explode out once the cutter chooses a direction. Don't be afraid to make a little of body contact at this point as well. Force the cutter to go in a direction that benefits you (i.e. deep or in toward the breakside more).
Drill: Set up offsetting cones that gradually get further and further away from one another (it will look like suicides if you were to breakout each part). start at the shorter end and sprint to the first cone. Once there focus on staying on the inside of that cone (the defender). Keep your hips toward the cone. Open your hips and get low while changing directions toward the next cone and then explode out. Repeat this through all the cones. It basically works like a suicide but with an ultimate aspect thrown in.
Drill: 1v1 drill. have a thrower with a force. Have the cutter and defender off to the side about 15yds off to the break side. Have the defender take away one of the directions. The cutter has no more than two changes of direction to get open. Simply get the D.
I know that some of this might not make sense or be a little vague. It is unfortunately a little hard to write out and much easier to demonstrate. As always, please ask any questions if you have them.
Good luck with up coming tournaments.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Mark
Alright,
So I am a little bored at work and figured this would be a good time to send out my first little blog of the college pre-season. I have some things you should look to work on while you scrimmage and play this fall, as well as a bunch of drills that you can try during practice or after on your own to better your game. Also I am going to be writing this assuming that the people who are reading it understand basic ultimate (i.e. IO flick, the force, breaks, etc...). So as a coked up mrs boterin would say, "Okay, here we go"
The mark is base of an entire defense. If a team has poor marks it becomes almost impossible to create turnovers. I know that when I was in college playing, I would use the mark as a time to catch my breath. Now I find the mark to be one of the more exhausting parts of the game.
The Basics
Like most things in ultimate, it is best to learn from the ground up. So we can look at your body position and movement first.
-When in the mark you want to be on the balls of your feet the entire time. It takes a lot more time to move if your entire foot is in contact with the ground.
-Your feet should also be only a little more than shoulder width apart. This is important because it keeps your center of gravity even with your hips. The easy breaks come when the mark leans on way to far.
-As most of us already know, breakside hand high and force side hand low (lower than you think)
-You will want to have your knees bent to help get your hands lower and help with the following point.
-When moving, you will want to make small shuffling movement. It is not a slide! Your feet should never come together! Also the majority of your weight should be on your trialing leg. This gives you the ability to kick the front foot in order to get a foot block, and change directions easier because you are not leaning out. This is the most important aspect of a mark. Too many people try to get the hand block by leaning over... All good blocks come from moving your feet in order to get you hands into a position to make the block.
Drill: The ability to shuffle is something that you can work on and get better/faster at. Setup cones about 10ft apart from one another. Get into a marking stance (knees bent, hands in position, etc...). Shuffle back and forth between the cones, making a foot block (kicking motion) with the lead foot. This will help you get use to keeping your weight on your trailing leg. Do it for 30 seconds and about two sets. This is great to throw into your normal warm up.
Drill: Get a partner and a disc. Stand about 5-10yds from your partner. Run at your partner and set a straight up mark (thrower must let the mark set). The thrower can then pick a side to fake to (try to extend as much as your normal limit). The mark should shuffle their feet and either get their hand on the disc or make a foot block attempt on the disc. The thrower and mark should then come back to a set middle position. The mark then back peddles about 5-10yds. You should look to repeat this about 5-10 times and do two sets, switching spots with your partner.
Moderate
Now we can look at actually marking someone in a game scenario. For this section assume we are forcing flick. The number one job of the mark is to not let any throws go to the breakside. The best way to look at this job would be to take away the greatest threat at that time. So what does that mean: Triangle!
-When we first set up on a thrower, the mark is going to look to take away the IO flick opportunity. That means your moving your feet and getting your body in a spot that makes it near impossible for someone to throw that IO.
-Assuming your down field D is doing their job, the thrower is then going to look for a backhand break. It would be very difficult to move your feet in a straight line and cut off that throw, so what you will want to do is shuffle back as well as to the backhand side. This greatly cuts away at the throwers angle. You should really only have to move off 2-3ft to make this effectively. After taking it away you will want to start to close back in. Be careful not to over pursue to one side or the other.
-And the last side of the triangle... When the thrower comes back to the force side, you look to shuffle back into your original spot, sitting on the IO flick. You may want to give them a little bit more room in case they are looking for a foul call, but if it is an inexperienced thrower you should get right in their face.
Drill: need a thrower and a mark. Mark will setup on the thrower covering the IO position. The thrower will then move to make a backhand break, the mark will look to prevent like mentioned above. The mark will then begin close the space. The thrower goes back to flick and the mark covers as mentioned above. It is good to do about 5 triangles on both a flick and backhand force.
Advanced (Elite Level)
Some of this practice you may not want to use at the level of ultimate you play, but I figured I would share it none the less. The first is something that you will definitely want to do as a team. That is active sidelines. There should be someone talking with every mark on the field as to where the threats are on the field. (No IO, No Around, No Dump, No line) This simple talk makes life some much easier. The second might be a bit above the college level so I won't get too involved with it (you can ask me if you want to know more about it). The aggressive mark is a great way to disrupt an offense. A small bump on a thrower early in the stall count is a great way to slow an offensive flow and make a thrower thing twice. Now I am not talking about leveling the guy... just making contact... getting in his disc space and making him uncomfortable. This should be done early in a stall count, and then should be backed off by stall 5. It only benefits the defense if a foul is called early in the stall count. Downfield defenders can usually move slightly to get in better position for the next cut.
Drill (The best/worst drill ever): The marking gauntlet is a great drill that puts all of the above skills into one drill. It can be done with or without the bump, so either way you should be able to run it this year. You start off with two even lines parallel to one another. There should be about 15 yards of space between the two lines. There should also be about 5 yards of space on either side of a person within a line. One of the two sides should have discs while the other should not have any. The drill starts with someone marking the first person on the side with the disc. The thrower will throw fakes for at least stall 3 and and then throw to the person across from them. The mark will then run across the space and set another mark. The thrower will fake for at least stall 3 and then throw the disc back to the person that threw it to him. The mark will then run to mark the 2nd person in the line with the discs... The mark will continue to work down both lines until the come out at the bottom (exhausted). As the first mark reaches about his 5th mark, the first person in the line without discs will run to mark the 2nd person in the line with discs and go through the whole line. Then the first person in the line with the discs will peal off and make his way through. When two people get to the end of the line the will become throwers like the rest of the team. It is a great drill that works on marking when dead tired. I hope i explained it well enough... if not please feel free to ask.
Alright that is finally it. Hope you enjoy all that... and as always please feel free to ask questions about anything.
So I am a little bored at work and figured this would be a good time to send out my first little blog of the college pre-season. I have some things you should look to work on while you scrimmage and play this fall, as well as a bunch of drills that you can try during practice or after on your own to better your game. Also I am going to be writing this assuming that the people who are reading it understand basic ultimate (i.e. IO flick, the force, breaks, etc...). So as a coked up mrs boterin would say, "Okay, here we go"
The mark is base of an entire defense. If a team has poor marks it becomes almost impossible to create turnovers. I know that when I was in college playing, I would use the mark as a time to catch my breath. Now I find the mark to be one of the more exhausting parts of the game.
The Basics
Like most things in ultimate, it is best to learn from the ground up. So we can look at your body position and movement first.
-When in the mark you want to be on the balls of your feet the entire time. It takes a lot more time to move if your entire foot is in contact with the ground.
-Your feet should also be only a little more than shoulder width apart. This is important because it keeps your center of gravity even with your hips. The easy breaks come when the mark leans on way to far.
-As most of us already know, breakside hand high and force side hand low (lower than you think)
-You will want to have your knees bent to help get your hands lower and help with the following point.
-When moving, you will want to make small shuffling movement. It is not a slide! Your feet should never come together! Also the majority of your weight should be on your trialing leg. This gives you the ability to kick the front foot in order to get a foot block, and change directions easier because you are not leaning out. This is the most important aspect of a mark. Too many people try to get the hand block by leaning over... All good blocks come from moving your feet in order to get you hands into a position to make the block.
Drill: The ability to shuffle is something that you can work on and get better/faster at. Setup cones about 10ft apart from one another. Get into a marking stance (knees bent, hands in position, etc...). Shuffle back and forth between the cones, making a foot block (kicking motion) with the lead foot. This will help you get use to keeping your weight on your trailing leg. Do it for 30 seconds and about two sets. This is great to throw into your normal warm up.
Drill: Get a partner and a disc. Stand about 5-10yds from your partner. Run at your partner and set a straight up mark (thrower must let the mark set). The thrower can then pick a side to fake to (try to extend as much as your normal limit). The mark should shuffle their feet and either get their hand on the disc or make a foot block attempt on the disc. The thrower and mark should then come back to a set middle position. The mark then back peddles about 5-10yds. You should look to repeat this about 5-10 times and do two sets, switching spots with your partner.
Moderate
Now we can look at actually marking someone in a game scenario. For this section assume we are forcing flick. The number one job of the mark is to not let any throws go to the breakside. The best way to look at this job would be to take away the greatest threat at that time. So what does that mean: Triangle!
-When we first set up on a thrower, the mark is going to look to take away the IO flick opportunity. That means your moving your feet and getting your body in a spot that makes it near impossible for someone to throw that IO.
-Assuming your down field D is doing their job, the thrower is then going to look for a backhand break. It would be very difficult to move your feet in a straight line and cut off that throw, so what you will want to do is shuffle back as well as to the backhand side. This greatly cuts away at the throwers angle. You should really only have to move off 2-3ft to make this effectively. After taking it away you will want to start to close back in. Be careful not to over pursue to one side or the other.
-And the last side of the triangle... When the thrower comes back to the force side, you look to shuffle back into your original spot, sitting on the IO flick. You may want to give them a little bit more room in case they are looking for a foul call, but if it is an inexperienced thrower you should get right in their face.
Drill: need a thrower and a mark. Mark will setup on the thrower covering the IO position. The thrower will then move to make a backhand break, the mark will look to prevent like mentioned above. The mark will then begin close the space. The thrower goes back to flick and the mark covers as mentioned above. It is good to do about 5 triangles on both a flick and backhand force.
Advanced (Elite Level)
Some of this practice you may not want to use at the level of ultimate you play, but I figured I would share it none the less. The first is something that you will definitely want to do as a team. That is active sidelines. There should be someone talking with every mark on the field as to where the threats are on the field. (No IO, No Around, No Dump, No line) This simple talk makes life some much easier. The second might be a bit above the college level so I won't get too involved with it (you can ask me if you want to know more about it). The aggressive mark is a great way to disrupt an offense. A small bump on a thrower early in the stall count is a great way to slow an offensive flow and make a thrower thing twice. Now I am not talking about leveling the guy... just making contact... getting in his disc space and making him uncomfortable. This should be done early in a stall count, and then should be backed off by stall 5. It only benefits the defense if a foul is called early in the stall count. Downfield defenders can usually move slightly to get in better position for the next cut.
Drill (The best/worst drill ever): The marking gauntlet is a great drill that puts all of the above skills into one drill. It can be done with or without the bump, so either way you should be able to run it this year. You start off with two even lines parallel to one another. There should be about 15 yards of space between the two lines. There should also be about 5 yards of space on either side of a person within a line. One of the two sides should have discs while the other should not have any. The drill starts with someone marking the first person on the side with the disc. The thrower will throw fakes for at least stall 3 and and then throw to the person across from them. The mark will then run across the space and set another mark. The thrower will fake for at least stall 3 and then throw the disc back to the person that threw it to him. The mark will then run to mark the 2nd person in the line with the discs... The mark will continue to work down both lines until the come out at the bottom (exhausted). As the first mark reaches about his 5th mark, the first person in the line without discs will run to mark the 2nd person in the line with discs and go through the whole line. Then the first person in the line with the discs will peal off and make his way through. When two people get to the end of the line the will become throwers like the rest of the team. It is a great drill that works on marking when dead tired. I hope i explained it well enough... if not please feel free to ask.
Alright that is finally it. Hope you enjoy all that... and as always please feel free to ask questions about anything.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
2009-2010 Season
Hey Goats,
Just wanted to throw a quick good luck out to all of you. I hope you get a good freshmen group in this year and finially make some noise in the section. I will try to continue to send you guys some things to think about during practice and tournaments. Also hope to throw some drill ideas and defensive schemes Finches way. The captains and current teammates may want to talk over:
1) what their goals are this year
2) how you are going to achieve the team goals
3) have the team completely commit to the above ideas (something the goats are famous for missing)
It may also be a good time to think about practice structure as well. A few drills and mostly playing can really only help so much. Possibly think about a set of drills that focus on a certain concept (like marking, cutting, D positioning) and then play a short situational game to 5. Then more drills that add to the first concept and go over what went wrong and right during the game.
And last but not least, conditioning! I have a couple really interesting drills that work on both in game concepts as well as making you run tired. I think it will be good to get you guys working on conditioning early instead of just waiting till beginning of spring.
So again... good luck and I hope the season brings a lot of good times, table topping, and wins
Just wanted to throw a quick good luck out to all of you. I hope you get a good freshmen group in this year and finially make some noise in the section. I will try to continue to send you guys some things to think about during practice and tournaments. Also hope to throw some drill ideas and defensive schemes Finches way. The captains and current teammates may want to talk over:
1) what their goals are this year
2) how you are going to achieve the team goals
3) have the team completely commit to the above ideas (something the goats are famous for missing)
It may also be a good time to think about practice structure as well. A few drills and mostly playing can really only help so much. Possibly think about a set of drills that focus on a certain concept (like marking, cutting, D positioning) and then play a short situational game to 5. Then more drills that add to the first concept and go over what went wrong and right during the game.
And last but not least, conditioning! I have a couple really interesting drills that work on both in game concepts as well as making you run tired. I think it will be good to get you guys working on conditioning early instead of just waiting till beginning of spring.
So again... good luck and I hope the season brings a lot of good times, table topping, and wins
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Hey goats,
Just wanted to see how everyone is doing...hard to believe that we'll be back at school in just a few weeks. With that in mind, it would probably be a good idea to start throwing around (if you haven't) or maybe get out and run or do something strenuous. I'm ridiculously excited for this year and what potential we have as a team. See you all soon enough!
-Eric
Just wanted to see how everyone is doing...hard to believe that we'll be back at school in just a few weeks. With that in mind, it would probably be a good idea to start throwing around (if you haven't) or maybe get out and run or do something strenuous. I'm ridiculously excited for this year and what potential we have as a team. See you all soon enough!
-Eric
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Start of the Elite Club Season
Going to see if we can't get some discussion going on this one:
The first weekend in August usually marks the beginning of the elite level ultimate season. Teams have solidified thier rosters, introduced the year's new offense, and have practiced as a team for just over a month. So the question is... Who is going to come out on top when the dust settles in Sarasota in November?
This weekend gets us started with three tournaments (two of which former scapegoats will be perticipating in. Dave Baer and CJ in the New York Invite with Pike. Simon in the Colorado Cup Elite Division with Bravo).
Colorado Cup Elite Division
The New York Invite
Furniture City Shootout
So lets here it goats... lets hear some predictions... either on the weekends tournaments and the season.
(hoping those links work),
Simon
The first weekend in August usually marks the beginning of the elite level ultimate season. Teams have solidified thier rosters, introduced the year's new offense, and have practiced as a team for just over a month. So the question is... Who is going to come out on top when the dust settles in Sarasota in November?
This weekend gets us started with three tournaments (two of which former scapegoats will be perticipating in. Dave Baer and CJ in the New York Invite with Pike. Simon in the Colorado Cup Elite Division with Bravo).
Colorado Cup Elite Division
The New York Invite
Furniture City Shootout
So lets here it goats... lets hear some predictions... either on the weekends tournaments and the season.
(hoping those links work),
Simon
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
2009 Club Season
Goats,
Tryouts for the Club series have wound down and Goats, graduated and current, have found themselves teams. Below is a listing of who is where for 2009:
Current Goats
Larry Ashton - Big Floppy Clocks (?)
Eric Helm - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Chris O'Sullivan - Big Floppy Clocks (?)
Chris Williamson - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Alumni
Dave Baer - Pike (Philly/NJ)
Jonathan "Finch" Hoffman - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Simon Jarrett - Operation Kapow (Mixed) / Johnny Bravo (Open-Alternate) (Boulder, CO)
C.J. Kozarski - Pike (Philly/NJ)
Derek Rabold - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Brandon "Soap" Soper - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Stephen "Tex" Thetford - Crude (Austin, TX)
Ernie Zeh - Bear Proof (Central PA)
If you are playing for a team, let one of the captains and/or coaches know and we will add you to the list.
Tryouts for the Club series have wound down and Goats, graduated and current, have found themselves teams. Below is a listing of who is where for 2009:
Current Goats
Larry Ashton - Big Floppy Clocks (?)
Eric Helm - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Chris O'Sullivan - Big Floppy Clocks (?)
Chris Williamson - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Alumni
Dave Baer - Pike (Philly/NJ)
Jonathan "Finch" Hoffman - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Simon Jarrett - Operation Kapow (Mixed) / Johnny Bravo (Open-Alternate) (Boulder, CO)
C.J. Kozarski - Pike (Philly/NJ)
Derek Rabold - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Brandon "Soap" Soper - Bear Proof (Central PA)
Stephen "Tex" Thetford - Crude (Austin, TX)
Ernie Zeh - Bear Proof (Central PA)
If you are playing for a team, let one of the captains and/or coaches know and we will add you to the list.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Off Season Throwing
I figured I would take a few moments and steal the Simon show and post some thoughts on some things we should all be doing to keep our throwing game sharp over the summer.
Throw Fakes
No matter if this is a casual throw with friends in the backyard, at summer league, at the beach, etc. you should be working fakes into your motion. I'd say 70-80% of the throws we have to make in a real game require some kind of fake to get the mark out of position and setup a throw. So you might as well get comfortable with it. Yea, you might get some chuckles from the crowd and yea you might turf some but it makes the tough throws easier and the easy throws damn near a guarantee when it counts.
Snap the Fakes
Focus on throwing a fake and instantly snapping into a throw. This means throwing the fake and getting a crisp throw off in a second or less after, which would be about how long the mark takes to adjust. Even the most elite players struggle with this but you gotta start somewhere. For this you want to start in closer quarters (15-20 yards apart) and gradually work your way up to a hucking distance.
Switch the Fields
If you are throwing, about half way through, switch directions. Get used to easing off and putting more touch on down wind throws and getting that little bit of I/O you need to move the disc up wind just right. The teams that have rosters where everyone can deliver the disc consistently, no matter the environment, are lethal.
All in the Release....
All long time ago, a blonde haired kid that weighed all of about 130lbs arrived at Shippensburg. He didn't look like much but when he hit the field, he was able to launch the disc the length of the field with what looked like relative ease.... This man we now know as DBaer. At that point, I was sold that it isn't how much you put behind the disc but all in how you release it. The better you become at whipping your arm and snapping your wrist through your release point, the less you have to muscle it and the easier the disc becomes to control, even at long distances. When you try to use too much arm, that is when your hucks blade, line drive, and just outright miss their target. Best thing I can reccommend for this is to throw at close quarters (3-5 yards) and concentrate on literally using nothing but your wrist motion to deliver the disc. Gradually increase the distance and as you do, keep the same snap in your release but add some whip in your arm to start compensating for the added yardage.
Alright, thats all I got. As everyone can probably tell, this is the end of the Club tryout season and the big boy tournaments are starting Simon and I are in Go mode with conditioning and practice. I understand this is everyone's off season to get money together for the school year and chill out but what you do now will help keep you sharp and come into the Fall season in a better place. Yea, all the freshmen will be dazzled initially by everyone's ability to throw back and forehand but as the season goes on, they will be looking to the veterans to show them how to throw and get them the disc consistently when they are cutting.....
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