Mini Camp #4 - The Dump: Offense and Defense

Greetings campers,

We've missed you and can't wait to get back on the field Sunday night.  This week we're building on our previous lessons and introducing the other half of person-to-person defense and a critical part of any offense, the reset of the stall count otherwise known as a dump.

Drill #1 - Open-field defense

Description - Defending a cutter with the option to go deep or under

Detail - The defender starts in the middle of the playing space and the cutter starts at the sideline.  The cutter tries to get past the defender to receive a pass on the open-side, either deep or under.

Dump Handler Offense

A dump is needed in ultimate when the thrower, at the point of attack, is reaching a high number in the stall count and a reset of the stall count is needed through a short, simple, high percentage pass.  Often however, the shortest passes are not the easiest.  As a thrower in need or a handler cutting for a dump, it’s essential that you do several things to increase the chance of an easy reset.

1. Communicate the need to reset clearly.  Thrower should commit at stall 5 or 6 by pivoting towards and facing the dump.  They should not look upfield again.
2. As the dump, be ready for a pass the moment the thrower turns.  Then, make a decisive cut while maintaining space away from the thrower (the most common error is to cut too close to the thrower to bail them out).
1. Instead of running at the thrower, focus on options to run past them, with additional room for them to make an effective throw.
2. “Dancing” in place is a really great way to confuse the thrower, it is important to communicate with your body language exactly from which direction you are prepared to receive the pass.  Using your hands as targets is a great way to signal this.
3. If the cutter isn’t able to get open it is ok to clear the space and allow the other dump cutter to fill from the far side.
3. A truly effective cut is not just a reset of the disc, but a reset of field position, giving a clean cut that allows the thrower to throw to space in front of you yields the best result for your team.
4. The dump throw is often not an easy one and should be treated with the same level of focus and intention as a down-field pass (full pivot).
5. It is always better to have the disc on the break-side of the field (behind the mark) than on the trap-side, try not to throw into a trap if you can help it.

Dump Handler Defense:

Defending against resets is one part of the game easily overlooked as players are learning, allowing easy throws to reset the stall count, poaching off of handlers, and anticipating a turn to happen downfield.  Hassling the easy resets is an easy way to stop offensive flow and provide your team with opportunities to win.  After all, getting a turnover in the area of the handlers results in better field position than a down-field or deep D.  To do so, a few points are essential to master.

1. Footwork and body position is paramount as sprint speed makes little difference over 30-40 feet. Use position to take away their first option, forcing a higher stall count and lower-percentage opportunities.
2. Force the cutter into a less ideal position, such as directly behind the thrower, giving no gain in field positioning and no opportunities to move the disc across field.  This helps reset defensive positioning down-field.
3. If your cutter gets the disc, taking away the continuation pass is the next most important role. Against an up-line cut, this means a quick strike on the huck. It means taking away the swing if they received a cross field break.

Drill #2 - Dump, Swing drill

Description - Small groups walk and run through various dump cuts against defense

Detail - With the disc in the middle of the field and two dumps, the offense attempts to reset against defense. They do this by progressing through a series of possible throws/cuts which will be demonstrated. Then, with the disc trapped against the sideline, the near dump attempts to get open by cutting up-line. If that is covered, cut back to the middle of the field to receive a swing pass. If that pass is completed they will continue the motion by swinging the disc to the far handler.

Captain's Clinic

We have some special guests joining us this week, An-Chi Tsou and Greg Marliave, the long-time captains of Polar Bears, one of the most successful mixed ultimate teams in the country. They will be leading a clinic on best practices for being a leader on an ultimate team, including game-day prep and management, planning and facilitating a practice, and what it takes to lead both men and women towards the same goal. Anyone interested in getting this advice will be taken aside by them around 8:15. We'll try to wrap it up in time to allow everyone to play a few points before 9.

This is our last night of Mini Camp.  Next week we will be proposing summer playing opportunities to everyone who has registered for our Club Summer Academy.  It has been a lot of fun getting to know you all and enjoying the super positive atmosphere we've created together.  We'll be celebrating ourselves at Pyramid immediately post-game.  We really want as many people to come as possible (especially because we're going to spend some of your money when we get there and you should come enjoy it).  

Mini Camp Week #3 - Down-field: Cutting and Defense

Greetings campers,

So sorry for the last second roll-out of this email.  Sometimes life just gets in the way.  Anyway, since you won't really have time to read the materials that we prepared here is the link to the full explanation of this week's skills.  You can refer to this in the future and we will do our best tonight to explain it.  

Drill #1 - Go-to drill

Description - Throwing against a mark to an open under-cut.

Detail - First you are the mark forcing the thrower one way.  Then you become the thrower and your job is to pivot and fake before throwing to an undefended cutter coming from the other line.  At first the cut will be to the open side so the mark should not be threat but merely a presence.  Eventually the cut will go to the break-side and the thrower will have to use their pivots and fakes to break the mark.  After you throw, you are the cutter for the other line.

Drill #2 - Defensive box drill

Description - Two players, one offense one defense, take position in small box marked by cones.  One side of the box is declared the force side.  The offensive player then has 10 seconds to cut in any direction, trying to get to the open side.  The defender's job is to use body positioning and footwork to prevent the other player from reaching the open side while also maintaining close proximity to them.

Some of you will be coming from a long day of Bay to Breakers so we promise to run you hard enough that you sweat out all that booze and are perfectly fit for work tomorrow.  We will also answer all your questions about our Club Summer Academy.  See you soon.

Ultimate for All Player Registration Survey

Ultimate for All Team Charter

Mini Camp Week #2 - Marking, Pivoting, and Faking

Greetings Campers,

First, if you haven't answered our survey regarding the Memorial Day Tournament, please do so now on this form.  Right now we do not have enough women to field a team.  If any of the men who have signaled interest in playing know any women that would be interested please feel free to recruit them, we have a space reserved and we'd love to get you out there.  This tournament is one day and very relaxed and fun, a great intro to organized ultimate.  

This week we will be building on what we learned last week as well as reinforcing our lessons on throwing and catching.  Also, we heard a lot of great feedback over the last week and have decided to give you what you want, more drills.  We're going to cut down the time for open scrimmages and instead do a little more focused learning surrounding our topic for the day, as well as some discussion on team strategy.  

Drill #1 - 4 Lines

Description: A progression of throws to an open cutter.  Shorts, mediums and longs.

Detail - Players form 4 lines starting on the goal line.  The outer lines are throwers, the inner lines are cutters.  The first cut is a short one simulating an up-line route.  The second is a 15-20 yard throw to space for the cutter to run on to.  The last is a deep cut and throw.  Throwers uncomfortable with deep throws can fake the throw (a signal for the cutter to cut under) and then complete a shorter throw to the under cut.

Lesson of the Day

Pivoting is the act of getting to a space where you can make an open, uncontested throw to a cutter without moving your stationary "pivot foot".  It requires you to move from a set position, but does not require you to complete that motion across your body and into the opposite throw set (forehand and backhand or vice versa).  Successful pivots:

• Move your marker into a disadvantageous position.
• Allows you to throw an uncontested throw and preferably break the mark.
• Sets yourself, so that all throws are balanced, controlled and released to space ahead of the defender.
• Pivots should always be made with intent. Pivots to simply shake the mark are done when the mark is winning that individual matchup.
• Often an entire pivot is not required and shimmy will raise the hips of the defender enough to allow for the appropriate throw.

Marking is the act of defending a thrower.  A good mark is an active mark.  The common mistake made with marking is treating it as a place where the defender has an opportunity to rest after a period of running.  It is actually the point where the defender needs to work harder than ever, as being an active mark requires a lot more use of energy and does the work of taking away typically half the field (the break side), while your down-field defenders take away the open side half.  A good mark:

• Is unpredictable
• Counts the stall
• Prevents a throw to the break side
• Shuffles feet and centers body weight, instead of stabbing of big blocks
• Forces more than one pivot from the thrower
• Blocking the open pass is not the intent. The intent is to prevent a relaxed thrower, easy options, and throws to the break side.

An active mark is constantly moving and making the thrower feel pressure from constant movement.  Letting throwers feel comfortable allows them to pick apart the defense.

Drill #2 - Mark Triangle

Description - A marker forces a throw to the open side, protecting the break side.

Detail - Three offensive players form a triangle, one starts as the thrower.  A marker defends the thrower and attempts to prevent a throw to one of the other two players, allowing an open throw to the third.  The thrower tries to break the mark using pivots and fakes for the first 6 stall counts before making the throw to the open side.  The marker stays in the triangle for 7 throws and can switch the mark direction whenever they like.

After our individual skill drills we will break into our practice squads which will be assigned by Sunday evening.  In these groups our volunteer coaches will go over the horizontal offense that many teams use.  We will finish the night with some open scrimmages followed by beer at Pyramid.

Remember to bring a dark and a light shirt and to be ready to go at 7pm when we start running.  See you out there!

Memorial Day Tournament Form

Mini Camp, Week 1

Greetings Campers,

We hope you are as excited as us for our first event this evening.  Sorry in advance for such a long email but the simplest things are often the hardest to write about, future emails should be more succinct.  Here’s what to expect tonight.

Please arrive at least 15 minutes early, that is by 6:45pm.  We only have 2 hours, our schedule is full and we want to pack in as much playing as possible.  This is not a league game or pickup, this is a club practice experience and we will start running at 7:00pm sharp.  Along those same lines, I (and the other organizers) intend to maximize your playing time with our preparation and time management.  In order to minimize standing/talking time, each week you will receive an email such as this with teaching points for that week’s skills and explaining the drills.  Please study these points to be as prepared as possible.

Every Sunday we will spend the first 15 minutes on a basic warmup including a short jog followed by dynamic stretches.  We’ll then go straight into a drill reinforcing the skills taught the previous week (for Week 1 we will be doing a simple throwing practice).  At 7:35pm there will be a 5 minute water break during which the skills of that session will be demonstrated by volunteers and coaches.  Then, we will drill those skills until 8:00pm at which point we will start games.

Our player development program starts with the fundamental skills of ultimate, catching and throwing a disc.

Drill #1 - 30-30 throwing

Description - 30 forehands and 30 backhands (10 outside-in, 10 flat, 10 inside-out)

Detail - Use this time to really break down your throwing motion and make sure you are executing fundamentally sound throws every time.  Try to complete each set of 10 without a turnover.  The goals of basic throwing technique are:

• Proper footwork
• Start from a balanced standing position, knees slightly bent
• Step directly sideways as far as you can while maintaining balance and keeping your torso upright
• If you’re unbalanced at any point, start over
• Disc spin
• Grip the disc as firmly as is comfortable
• forehand - both middle and index finger should be up against the rim of the disc, no “training wheel” index finger toward the middle of the disc
• backhand - no finger on the outside rim, get a strong, fist grip
• Disc spin comes from a snap of the wrist, this can be difficult before the muscles in the wrist are developed,  Practice by holding the disc far away from the body and throwing with zero arm motion, trying to isolate the action of the wrist.
• Release
• Keep your eyes on your target
• Flat
• Release point directly aside from body
• Aim for target’s belly-button
• Inside-out
• Release point slightly in front of body
• Aim for target’s opposite side (disc should cross the invisible line connecting your belly-button with your target’s)
• Outside-in
• Release point as far from body as possible
• Aim for target’s outside shoulder (disc should not cross that invisible line)

Drill #2 - Straight-ahead catching

Description - Catching a disc while running straight towards the thrower

Detail - Catching a disc is actually the primary skill of ultimate, nothing can happen without it and therefore it deserves the utmost focus and attention.  Most people believe there are two ways to catch a disc, a pancake or a rim catch, but these are actually two halves of one catching form combining the strengths of each.  This is likely new to most people and will be demonstrated thoroughly on Sunday.  Here is a breakdown of these different techniques and general catching principles:

• General rules
• ALWAYS catch with two hands, as in NEVER catch a disc with one hand that can be caught with two
• Attack the disc, with arms out-stretched and hands together without slowing down
• Pancake catch
• Pros
• Wide arms make for the largest possible catch-zone making it good for windy days when a disc can move quickly vertically
• You can use your chest/stomach as a back-stop if your hands miss
• Generally the way people are introduced to catching
• Cons
• Hands starting far apart means greater chance of missing their target
• Hands clapping onto center of disc not as reliable as gripping the rim
• Timing the clap is difficult on hard-thrown discs
• You’re not catching the disc as soon as you can
• Rim catch
• Pros
• The rim is the most reliable place to grip a disc
• Both hands moving together means greater chance of hitting their target
• Able to catch the disc with arms out-stretched
• Con
• Catch-zone is limited to the length of the hand, making it difficult to catch a bouncy disc
• Hybrid (Pancake-rim) catch
• Pros
• Using one technique every time will most quickly commit the skill to muscle memory
• The reliability of a rim catch and the security of a pancake catch
• While catching with two hands you are actually training each hand to catch independently of the other so when a one-handed catch is necessary both hands already know what to do
• Cons
• You may have never been shown this before and new tricks, old dogs, etc.  
• While learning this your catch-rate may drop initially before eventually reaching unseen levels

Among you are players of a very wide skill range.  I ask that you focus on what you can get out of each drill.  No matter what level you are in your development you can always catch a little more reliably, run through a disc a little harder, or throw more consistently.  If you see an opportunity to tweak something to make it more difficult or accessible for you, please do so, it is our goal to make this a high-yield learning environment for everyone.  This is not a try-out and it is perfectly ok for you to drop a disc because you ran too hard or to fall over because you stepped out too far, this is how we learn.  We want to do things right, then do them well.

Please bring a dark and a light shirt as well as water and all your spirit.  You can bring a disc if you like but we have plenty for use during the drills.  For our first scrimmage tomorrow we will mix the teams around a bit to try to find the most competitive combinations.  Starting Week 2 you will be assigned to practice squads and we will play a three week round-robin.  

As always, please email us with any questions or concerns.  And don’t forget, Pyramid Brewery (just three blocks from the field) has donated a banquet room for our post-game socials.  Don’t worry, they close at 10 so we won’t be staying out late on a work-night but we’d love to have everyone hang around to get to know us.

Vlog #3 - Pre Season Mini Camp

Pre Season Mini Camp, this is a no-pressure, focused learning environment for any player heading into the club season.  Our goals are to build the foundation of your game, introduce you to simple drills you’re likely to encounter at any club practice, provide some structured playing opportunities, and allow you to make the connections that could become your new team.  

Mini Camp is a 4-week course starting May 4 and ending June 1 with no events Memorial Day weekend, Sunday nights from 7-9 at the Gabe Catalfo fields in Berkeley, right down the street from the Gilman fields we’re all used to.  Each night will follow the same format: warmup, drill reinforcing the previous lesson, teaching and demonstration of the next skill followed by a drill for that skill, ending with up to an hour of ultimate.  These sessions will be led by myself with the assistance of volunteer coaches from local teams.

We are starting with the absolute fundamentals of ultimate.  This might seem too basic but one thing I realized this year is that the majority of you don’t ever get to run drills in a non-tryout environment.  So whether you’re the player looking to take the step out of Rec League or a college player looking to enter the club scene, no matter where you are in your development your mark can always be a little better, your throws a little more consistent, and your defense a little stickier.

How does this relate to Ultimate for All’s bigger picture?  These lessons will be the first four steps of our Player Development track.  We will be adding to it throughout the year and hopefully next spring we’ll be able to offer a much broader range of the track, allowing players to play/learn at exactly their current level.  If we are going to successfully train hundreds of players, it can’t all be done in a coach’s head, we need a systematic, data-driven solution to player development.  This is what Mr. Morley will be working on for us this year.

So, if you are looking for more than just league games this spring, sign up for Pre Season Mini Camp when registration opens, hopefully sometime this weekend.  That’s all for this week, I’ll be back soon with details on how this program is going to support the creation of new teams this summer.

Vlog #2 - Ultimate for All overview

I’m back with more details.  Today I’m going to give an overview of Ultimate for All, the motivation behind it, our goals for Year One, and some ways you can help.  This idea is a direct result of my experience last year moving here to play and some of the setbacks I encountered.  Seeing just how the status quo fails so many players every year along with just how much ultimate means to so many people really got the gears moving.  

Just a quick list of some of the problems Ultimate for All is addressing:

1. There aren’t enough teams.

2. There is no opportunity for player development outside of established club teams.

3. Too many barriers to entry for non-elite players new to the bay.

4. The tryout situation is a “mess”, to put it kindly.

In Year One we are focusing on the first two of these problems and developing some key elements to the bigger picture.  First, we are building a package of services to facilitate the creation of more teams, taking the administrative burden off of team captains hopefully encouraging more people to want to step into those roles.  This is going to get started in mid-May and I’ll have more details about this later.

The second element we are building is a player development track, a system to empower individuals to take control of their growth as players.  Our goal is for every player at every level to know where they stand and how to take the next step.  We’ll be introducing the first part of this next month at Pre Season Mini Camp, a 4-week series of events hosted by Ultimate for All and supported by Bay Area Disc, that will be the topic of tomorrow’s video.

You might be thinking, “wow, that’s a ton of work for Tyler to do” and you’d be totally right.  Which is exactly why I am now going to ask for your help.  If you’re an experienced player looking to give back to the community I’m looking for volunteer coaches and mentors.  If you’re an event planner or experienced tournament director, my man Eli Menaker is going to need help throwing some awesome parties and a tournament for you this year.  If you’re a designer, we need a logo.  And if you’re thinking you’ve got nothing to offer, show up with a smile on your face knowing that we all make a difference when we’re on the same team.  See you tomorrow.

Vlog #1 - Introduction

Hi, I’m Tyler and I want to talk to you for a minute about Ultimate for All, specifically who and what it is.  Until recently, Ultimate for All could best be described as a movement, centered in the bay area, towards the goal of increasing opportunities and services for all ultimate players.  At the moment, our nascent organization consists of myself, the fabulous “Boozy la Belle” Beckie Menten, and David Morley, the coach of Alchemy, a new mixed ultimate team here in the bay.  

Last week the movement reached an important milestone when we obtained approval for a partnership with the Bay Area Disc Association.  Their support is going to allow us to reach many more people than I had ever dreamed of for Year One.  I want to thank them for their confidence and shared vision.  And I want to thank all of you, my friends, who have helped push this idea forward with your positive feedback and your pledges of support.

There’s a lot of exciting news to share this week.  I’m going to try to post one of these every day and cover topics such as the why/how/when/where of Ultimate for All, our plan for Year One and how it relates to the bigger picture, and details of how you can get involved and put your talents to work for the community.  Right now, you can learn more about the bigger picture on our blog, Like us on Facebook to stay connected, and email us at ultimateforall @ gmail with any questions.  Let’s get the conversation started about how we’re going to make the bay area the best place in the world to play ultimate.

Ultimate Manifesto

Problem

Every year, USAU provides the public a framework of competition within which compete the best ultimate players in the world.  Any group of people can form a club and enter the competition.  This open system is what allowed ultimate to become one of the fastest growing and most accessible sports.  Access to the highest levels of competition is something that inspires thousands of adults around the country to train, try-out, and travel for their teams.  Yet still the status quo leaves much to be desired.

The current club system, as we envision and enact it, does not adequately serve the ultimate community.  There are many talented and enthusiastic players who, for some reason, are dissuaded from or unable to join a club team.  Some of these reasons may include:

1. For players new to the area, the size and sociability of the bay area ultimate scene can be intimidating.  Club teams are very clique-y and this is discouraging to people who aren’t as social or extroverted.  One should not need to have friends going into the season.
2. Communication and advertising regarding club teams is notoriously poor.
3. The window of competition for spots on teams for non-elite players is small, unclearly marked, different for each team, and inconsistently managed.
4. Expected commitment level varies widely among teams and players leading to troublesome incongruities.
5. Clubs dissolve frequently, devaluing an investment in one.

In addition, now this grassroots foundation also faces threat from the forces of professionalization and commercialization.  The club system stands in opposition to the professional leagues in which team owners and other moneyed interests call the shots, for the good of their bottom line.  In a club the members share the power and decisions are always made for the good of the people.  A club system is the only system that holds the potential to serve the greater ultimate community; we can’t all be pros but we can all be clubmates.  

There are many reasons why our current model is failing to live up to its potential.  Surely if we wish to live up to ultimate’s grassroots heritage we must first look to ourselves, the enactors, for both problem and solution.  The clubs of old can’t keep pace with the growth of our sport.  If we want to preserve ultimate, as we love it, for the next generation, we need a new kind of club.

Solution

A club for everyone.  The only club you’ll ever need to join.  Based on the model of Western European athletic clubs.  Between October and July the club practices as one, learning the foundational playing principles and enjoying all sorts of off-season exploits.  In June or July, the club forms as many teams as necessary to participate in the USAU season and local leagues, still sharing resources while competing head-to-head at all our favorite tournaments.  The small goal is having more fun with more friends more often. The grand goal is providing cradle to grave ultimate opportunities for everyone.   

How is this good for…?

A player - At its core this concept is about designing the most positive, empowering, high-yield player experience we can dream up.  From the moment you sign up your destiny will be almost entirely in your hands.  Come to as many practices as you can or want.  Find a weeknight workout group in your neighborhood.  Win a tournament and/or a party.  But most importantly, never doubt your place in the community.

An organizer/captain/coach - By combining efforts we can cut costs (field rentals, gear, travel, etc.), streamline coaching, and eliminate redundancies in team management; reducing the burden on individual leaders.  By expanding the player pool, holding well-attended practices, and creating a support network we will maximize the impact per effort of each individual leader.  And through example as well as policy we will develop from among our clubmates the next generation of ultimate leaders.  

Everyone - We live in the age of the social network, a time in which many people are rejecting old ideals of self-interested consumerism and are embracing connectedness.  But nobody is judged on their number of Facebook friends, our real-life relationships are the building blocks of a healthy life.  Did you know that joining and participating in just one group reduces your odds of dying next year by half?  Starting with keeping oneself healthy and continuing by representing our shared values of community, sustainability, and Spirit of the Game, we can be the change we want to see in the world.

This effort is not meant to immediately impact the top tier competitive teams but rather to unite and serve the vast middle class of ultimate.  We all play ultimate because we love it; but we also like to compete and improve our skills.  We benefit equally from the fitness, the fun, and the friends.  The professionalization of ultimate threatens to transform it into just another American pro sport.  We want to ensure that ultimate remains accessible to the general public and that it returns dividends to those who invest their time and love.  Furthermore, we believe that ultimate is potentially a transformative social force that can improve the lives of players and foster community-at-large.

Change is inevitable and it’s something that we feel happening in ultimate right now.  We can sit back and watch as factors beyond our control shape the growth of our beloved sport.  Then, decades from now we can all lament these good ole days of close-knit community and a full competition schedule.  The power to create our own ultimate experience has always been in our hands but until now we’ve handled it with kid gloves.  Ultimate is here to stay and now is the time to make it ours.