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!
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