Overview

Defense

man-to-man: If we are pulling to the other team then what we do is line up across from the person we want. The receiving team must "hold the line", meaning, they must stand on their goal line and not move. The team pulling decides who each person is to guard and then pulls the disc to them. If we are receiving the pull then the process is reversed. We must stand along our goal line and let the other team line up across from us. When they pull we go on offense and hopefully score. However, if we should drop the disc or otherwise turn it over, we go on defense. How we handle this transition is to immediately guard the person that was guarding you. I should stress immediate because after a turn over people will often bolt deep. New people tend to stand and think for a second which leaves their person wide open. After a turn, jump on defense and yell "turn" so other members of the team know to start playing defense as well.

zone: Zone defense is too complicated to cover here. If we decide that the other team is beating us deep too often, or perhaps it is a windy day, then we like to throw a zone defense at the other team. Basically, we assign three people (the cup) to guard the person with the disc. Two people (the mids) then line up about five yards down field guarding the throwing lanes created by the cup. Finally, two people (the deeps) are lined up even further down field and are responsible for stopping all long throws. No one should ever get deeper than the deeps. If we run this your exact responsibility will be laid out on the field.

Marking

force: It is a common tactic in ultimate to run a force. What this means is that the defense is trying to force every throw to be in one direction. Typically, we try to force forehand. We do this since most people throw a backhand better than forehand. Also, many people can't throw a forehand at all. They will try to throw a backhand right through you or throw some crazy pass that is very difficult to catch. Therefore, by forcing them to throw a forehand over and over again we increase our odds of them making a bad throw and turning the disc over to us.

on disc: If the person you are guarding has the disc, then you are said to be the "on disc" defender. Your responsibility is to hold the force. Knocking the pass down is strictly a bonus, not your prime goal. What you do is stand beside the person and slightly up field. If we are forcing forehand, then you are to stand near the offensive players left arm.


Do not get broken here! If the person tries to throw the disc to the right, fine. We want that. You should not jump over to try and block that throw since he may actually be faking you out. He could just turn after you jump and throw to the left. You job is just to not let him throw left and maybe try to block the straight pass as well.

down field: All downfield defenders play man-to-man defense. Since the mark is consistent through out the point, and hopefully held, the down field defenders have an advantage they would not have otherwise. The know that the mark is going to prevent throws to one side and so they can cheat over a little to the other side. When you are starting out you should try to take to much advantage of this fact though. Just be aware of it and as you play more and more you will start to get a feel for it. Also, watch the old guys on the team. Sometimes they may actually be poaching (which we won't cover here since that is not something we recommend) but most of the time they are covering the angles.

Offense

stack: We run a basic offense called the stack. The idea is to pull all the players into the middle of the field into a straight line. This opens up a lot of space along both sides of the field for people to use in order to get the disc. On the field you will hear the phrase "stack it up" or "get into a stack" often. When you hear this it means we want everyone to hustle and get into our starting position. The first person in the stack should be about ten yards away from the person with the disc. In a straight line behind him each player should be about two or three yards apart.

cutting: Any motion by a receiver to get open is called cutting. It is a lot easier to complete a pass when a person is running both in an open space as well as into an open space. The figure illustrates that the best cut is a diagonal cut. Either towards or away from the thrower. The reason is simple, but perhaps difficult to visualize. Basically, if you are running straight at the thrower your defender will be behind you so the risk of the pass being knocked away is low. However, it is not easy to catch such a pass because you will have trouble gauging the speed of it and it is coming right at you. Cuts made straight across field are bad because it is easy for your defender to step in front of the discs path and knock it down without you being contacted. The diagonal cut is the best. Your defender is behind you, or at least partially, so he must pass you to deflect the disc. Also, you are running somewhat off angle so you can easily gauge the discs speed and make the catch. Another thing to consider is how hard you make the cut. You should run hard during the cut for two reasons. One, this lets the thrower know how much to lead you and will help prevent the defender from passing you. Two, this encourages the thrower to throw the disc to you. Whether it be conscious or subconscious, the person lazily joging into the throwing area does not instill confidence into the thrower and will often result in his not getting the disc.

clearing: After cutting, you must "clear out". If you hear that on the field it means you need to get back into the stack and out of the throwing area so that someone else can make a cut into that space. This is something new players tend to have trouble with. It is easy to feel you are open and then just stand in that space. Even if you are open, the thrower is having trouble thinking of a way to get you the disc so go ahead and clear out and let someone else try. The figure shows that after the cut you should clear by running wide and then back into the stack. You don't have to run to the back of the stack, just be careful no to run to the front since you may end up cutting of someone elses cut.

Positions

handler: There are three handlers called for each point. The job of the handler is to be the primary handlers of the disc. This doesn't mean that other players don't get the disc, not at all, what it does mean is that after turnover a handler will generally pick up the disc. Also, it alerts the three people that they must work hard on offense that point as they are expected to be open whenever needed. From a strictly team standpoint, we tend to call experienced players as handlers early in the game. As we get a lead we will gradually call one, two, or three newer players as handlers. The idea being we develop new talent when the points are not a pressured. Also, the beginning of the game is when the other team usually runs the hardest so a confident thrower is necessary.

middle: A middle is the second line of offense. Each point two middles are called. The goal of the middle is to be open right after a handler catches the disc. The first cut is almost always made by a handler. If neither handler can get open the mid is the emergency cut. Usually, a handler will get open though. When this happens the mid should cut just as the handler is making his catch. By doing this the handler can catch, stop, turn up field and fire immediately to the mid. Kind of like a two for one sale. After getting the disc the mid should be patient. A yardage gain was just made so it is not necessary to force another throw up field. If nothing obvious, and automatic, presents itself the mid should wait for either a handler to make a good cut or the mid should go ahead and throw a dump and return to the stack. Really good teams come from hard cutting and smart mids.

deep: The remaining two players are called deeps. There job, obviously, is to make the deep cuts. This is not the only job though. Much like the mid they should be prepared to make the continuation cut. In this case, when a mid catches the disc the deep should start a cut. Another possible continuation is the deep continuation. When a handler makes a catch the mid fires in for the continuation. The deep can fire long at the same moment. Then, when the handler turns around he has two options. Deeps should also make long cuts into the disc when a mid is either tired or not available. If you catch the disc as a deep, you probably just gained significant yardage. For this reason, it doesn't make sense for the deep to try and force a throw that gains another few yards. If you have a good throw open, take it. If not, just wait and throw the dump. We lose a couple yards but the net gain is still there.