Over break and coming back to school

Hey goats,
Stay in shape over break. When we get back from ship and start conditioning we are going to condition hard and take it serious. If we don't want to look like a joke team at regionals then the hard work from everyone should be starting now. If we dream big, work hard, and believe in each other we will accomplish our goals.

Do Work!
C-Will

Notes on The Fall Classic

Hey Goats,

Just wanted to say thanks for having me out to PA to play some college ultimate. I had a lot of fun and it was great seeing how much I have progressed as a player, as I matched up against old rivals. I figured I would just point out some areas that the team could improve on. These points basically come from watching the final and a little from when we played you guys. Please, no one take any of this to heart. It is meant as constructive criticism.

1. Resets on offensive. A reset is one of the most fundamental parts of a team's offense. It seemed to me, that as soon as a bit of pressure got put on the dumps, massive panic ensued and usually resulted in a turnover or loss of about 10-15 yards. The primary reset continued to make too many cuts and found themselves in a position that only made matters worse. Also dump cuts were started entirely too late. The handler should look up field for one/two throws at most... None of this waiting to stall six bull shit. The continuation isn't there, look back and activate the primary... the primary makes his cut back for the dump and then clears up the line and then cuts back across for the break pass or swing from the secondary dump. While that is going on the secondary dump should be mirroring the primary's cuts.
2. Resets on defense. GET A BODY ON SOMEONE... for the love of god. Too many times I saw the dump defender about 10 yards off their guy. Not even poaching the lane, just standing away from them. You are giving your opponent uncontested throws and allowing them to easily move up the field. Get right up against them. Get your shoulder in front of them preventing the up the line cut. Ask Stab, he will tell you it sucks when every dump is made difficult. Seriously, this separates average teams from good teams. I suggest running resets in groups of six. 3-5 throws from each person from each sideline and the middle. They are boring to run, but so important.
3. Marks. Need to be more active. Need to be up on your toes bouncing around. Anticipate the next handler movement. Read the handlers eyes. Keep your weight centered. Don't reach, move. Read the marking blog for tips and actually go out a practice it.
4. Downfield defending. I am not sure if it was b/c you were tired (which with forty kids on the team, should not be the case), but defenders were following cutters. I saw no defense at all. You looked like you were just waiting for the other players to make the mistake instead of taking the disc away. They were able to easily work up the openside or breakside. It is the same thing as reset D, get a body on them, force them to cut in or out, and stay on their hip.
5. Cutting. During that final game the cuts really were lacking. People were jogging in and out of spots instead of sprinting. In ultimate there really is no moment where you should be jogging as a cutter. You have subs. Everything (especially the clears) are hard. Lazy clears cause clogging and kill an offense. If you don't get it thrown to you, don't complain about it... just get the hell out. Throwers... use pump fakes to move your cutters around (a pump fake=change direction). Throwers also need to stop looking of wide open players and then jamming into a small space so that one of the studs on the team can get the disc. Trust all 7 guys on the field, otherwise get off.
6. And last of all was some heart. You got down in that final and I saw 7 people walking back the the line with their heads down. Even worse, I saw 20 some players on the ONE sideline and just talking amongst themselves. With that many people you need split sidelines. Your talking to the marks (no around, IO, No dump...). Your talking to the cutters (all under, looking huck, no thrower...). I understand that it sucks that your not on that field, but you do everything you can for your team from where you are. As for the people on the field... Just remember that you are out on that field in front of 20 some other people that would kill for that spot. So when you are playing, your not just playing for yourself, but also those 20 guys. Earn your spot on that line and keep your head up, energize your team, and sprint everywhere on that field.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck next weekend

Shippensburg Fall Classic 2009

Our annual Fall tournament, the Shippensburg Fall Classic, will be held this weekend, November 6-7! We will be hosting 10 team this Friday night and Saturday. The pools and schedule are now available on the UPA tournament site. All are encouraged to come out and support the Scapegoats!

Showcase games:
Scapegoats vs SUSA (Ship Alumni), 10:15pm Friday
Semi-finals, 2:30pm Saturday
Championship, 4:15pm Saturday

Reset Defending

It has been awhile since my last post. Life went up and got really busy for me. Anyways, I figured I would write a quick one on how to defend against the dump. I have seen entirely too many players use this time to rest and catch their breath. At the elite level, resets are thought of as almost a given. There is no reason why a thrower shouldn't be able to hit one of their two dumps within the 6-8 seconds they have. However, you guys are not playing at the elite level, thus defending the dumps really well could completely shut your opponents down. I guarantee if you work on this points you will drive teams crazy and get lots of turns.

So the first thing to ask here is, What cut do I want to take away? This answer is obviously the up the line cut, or "oven" cut. To prevent this, just like we would prevent a down field cutter, is to put your body between them and the spot. So if you are defending the dump on the breakside of the thrower, you want to be on the up field side of them. You should be touching them (arm up against their hip, shoulder even or in front of theirs). You want to be on your toes and bouncing a little so that your ready to move as soon as the cutter is activated. The key is to keep your shoulder in front of your defenders as they try to go for the oven cut. Don't be afraid to get a little physical here. If they release to take the dump, continue with contact and layout only if you have a play, otherwise take the outside line and make sure you are ready to mark so there are no easy swings.

Bravo does a "play" called team D. Basically anytime the disc is on the sideline the dump defender can take away the up the line cut while the mark can take away the dump pass. This is very effective if run correctly.

I know this one was pretty vague and had a lot of holes in it, but I have shit to do. As always, ask me any questions you have.

I am looking forward to playing against you guys. See you on the 6th

Simon

Gettysburg – Abe Lincoln’s Fall Classic

The first tournament of the 2009-2010 season took place the weekend of September 26-27 in Gettysburg, PA. We went into the weekend with high hopes having won here in 2008. The competition looked to be impressive though with strong teams from Dickinson, Gettysburg and F&M as well as other local schools looking to dethrone us. Despite that, we came in confident with a large squad (over 25 guys) including numerous rookies and a slew of returning veterans.

Day 1

Before we would get a chance to defend our title, we first had to survive pool play in hopes of getting a decent seed a perhaps a first round bye on Sunday. Our first game of the season was against Slippery Rock. We started out with the ‘Fab 5’ guys (Ness, C-Will, Sully, Stab and Eric) and our starting girls (Gazelle, Ginger). We came out strong and took an early lead, 3-0. This gave us an opportunity to see how some of our rookies and returning vets would fair so we quickly put in a rotation that allowed everyone an opportunity to play. We were able to stay comfortably ahead for the remainder of the game and took the game 13-8. Our next two games were against the B teams of Gettysburg and Dickinson. These games were learning experiences for both teams and everyone got an opportunity to show what they’ve learned in just a few short weeks of practices. We prevailed in both games 13-4 leadign into the bye for the day. With the weather alternating between cloudy and raining the bye was welcome. Returning from our break we faced what looked to be our toughest opponent of the day in VCU. They played a tough game against Slippery Rock earlier, losing on Universe point so we had to come out focused and ready to play early in order to secure the top spot in the pool. With a quick start from the starting line, we were able to jump out to an early 3-0 lead. With a mix of man-D and a strong zone we were able to get several breaks and maintain the momentum throughout the game, taking the game 13-4 and winning the pool with a record of 4-0.

Day 2

Winning the pool in Day 1 set us up with a bye for the second day so we were able to get more rest and a later start. The first game of the day was the quarterfinals against F&M who had defeated IUP in the pre-quarters. We started out strong once again, going up early 6-3. Thinking that we were on the way to another easy game we let up considerably and let F&M back in the game, allowing them to take half 7-6. Our numbers helped tremendously coming out of half, not just because our starters were fresh but mainly because the sidelines were active and spurring on those the field to push themselves further. We started out with 3 consecutive breaks to take back the lead and from there we never let up, winning 13-10 to move into the semi finals. In the semi-finals we faced the home team, Gettysburg, who were eager to knock us out and win on their home turf. We once again came out strong and took an early lead. This time we were determined not to let up and with the help of the our sidelines (who were even more active than the home team) we were able to make it back to another finals appearance. In the other semi-finals, Dickinson was able to pull out a victory over the Gettysburg Alums. This setup a finals appearance against our local rivals, a team that had knocked us out of contention at Sectionals in the spring. Just before the start of the game, the clouds broke and the sun came out, bringing with it a fairly strong wind. Despite the strong wind, the game was fairly clean with both teams breaking the others zone with ease forcing it to be a man-to-man matchup. We traded points and a couple of breaks but Dickinson was able to get a late break into half, going up 8-6. We received at half and the first point was long and hard fought, but a crucial one if we wanted to stay in the game. We were able to finally take the point and then quickly got a break to tie it. We traded points until 10 all, at which point we were able to make some traction with our zone and get the break to take the lead 11-10. The cap was on, making it a game to 13 so we just had to keep scoring on offense and we would have it won. We traded points again to make it 12-12, universe point. We sent back out the Fab 5 to receive and they were able to work it down the field prior to turning it over with a huck that sailed long. Staunch defense led to a quick turn over at mid field. Eric broke deep and this time the throw was right on, culminating the weekend with an undefeated run and a second consecutive championship to start the season.

Highlights

• Winning the championship on universe point
• Having a massive sideline presence
• Layout D’s from veterans (C-Will) and rookies (Ryan) alike
• Gazelle scoring on the only 4-3 point of the weekend
• Rookie points
• Ness not throwing an air bounce flick
• Breaking any zone thrown at us
• Debbie saving Eric in the finals
• Going undefeated

Video Footage

Down field defending

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.

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.