Sort by Date: November | December | January | February | March | April | May Mar 3, 2003 "Keep Your Head Down" If you are running deep (either to defend or to cut) put your head down and run. Trust that you will hear an up call and then turn briefly to check where the disc is. As you get better and better at reading the disc, this quick check will allow you to know how fast and where the disc is going and you can put your head back down and run some more. It is extremely hard to run (and even harder to run fast) with your head looking back over your shoulder.       Mar 4, 2003 "Dictate" The question arises: what do i do if i am guarding a man that is taller/faster/smarter/can jump higher than me? The answer is dictate. Dictating is positioning your body so that the only direction your man can cut without running into you is the way you are letting him go. Clearly, this involves constantly changing your body position and is the most difficult aspect of good defensive play. As a defender, you cannot completely shut down a very good cutter, but you can stop him from doing the things he most wants to do, which are likely the things he is best at. If you think your man is faster than you, then you should force him to make an in cut (ie. back towards the disc as opposed to towards the end zone). Once you are forcing your offensive player to do what you want him to do, then his strengths become less important because you are playing to your strong points. If you do not know what type of player you are guarding, it is probably better to force him in at the start of the game, because this is a less devastating reception if completed.       Mar 5, 2003 "Straight Cuts" Make sure that when you cut deep you do not "run the curve". If the disc is coming in at an angle a good player makes sure not to follow the path of the disc, but to intersect the disc at a point when it is easily catchable. If you follow the path of the disc you will end up running much further and may not catch up to it. For you mathematicians out there, running to the place where you think the disc is catchable is the equivalent of running the hypotenuse of the triangle or the chord of the arc.       Mar 6, 2003 "Throw Extension" You often have to move your throws out when you want to make a throw around a mark. A common misconception is that to do this you should extend your arm out even further than normal — this causes you to lose control of the disc and it will often not be released parallel to the ground (instead it will be an outside-in bending throw). To throw around your mark extend your entire body out so you can keep your arm at the same distance as if you did not have to stretch for the throw. If you do this correctly then when you are in the throwing position it will look like you are doing a lunge.     Mar 7, 2003 "Fruit" Make sure to eat your fruit. It is often expensive to get fruit (for those off of meal plan) and difficult to get good fruit (for those on meal plan). Make sure to keep eating apples (applesauce is good too), oranges and bananas. Also, jos has begun to offer a nice tropical fruit selection and I am especially partial to the baby pineapples for only $3.00.       Mar 8, 2003 "Deep Cuts" When you are running for a deep disc (either on O or D) make sure to run on the line that takes the shortest distance to where the disc is catchable (this sounds like a repeat of the tip from a couple days ago, but read on). Not "running the curve" is a matter of reading the disc and making sure that its flight doesnt outrun you and has little to do with opposing players. In terms of positioning, if you have your body on the line the leads to the place where the disc will be easiest to catch, then even if your man is faster than you he has to go around you on a longer path to get to the disc first. A great deep cutter will combine the elements from these two similar tips; run to where the disc will be, not where it is and take the straightest most direct route to that spot so as to keep your opposing player on your back. Doing these two things will force your defender to make a choice; 1) try to go around and outrun you and get to that spot first or 2) run the curve and try to make a play on the disc at a time/place hed rather not. if he does 2) youve done your job. Stay on your path and if he makes a spectacular play shake his hand after the game. If he does 1) refer to zips tip on 12/17/02       Mar 9, 2003 "Capitalize on Breaks" A good cutter (one who is dangerous on both in and out cuts) will likely "break" their defender at least once or twice during a game. This occurs when the defender bites big for a fake and either falls over because he is trying to move faster than he can or gets tangled up. If your defender is in this situation it makes sense for you to immediately cut deep, since you are open wherever you want. This tip may seem intuitively obvious, I suppose, but it is something I do not do well and is an easy way to score a lot more easy goals, since youve already done all the hard work.       Mar 10, 2003 "The Dump" 1) When you hear the word "six" turn your body and face your defender so now you are being marked straight-up. 2) Make eye contact with your dump and wait for him to make his move. 3) When the dump has made a cut and is open, put the disc out into space. other important points: -to accomplish 3) you will have to make a break mark throw. See zips tips tomorrow for more on making a good break mark throw. -if your throw allows the dump to run onto the disc and catch in the motion of his movement (as opposed to stopping and having to wait for the throw) it will be easier for him to make another throw to the break side. -finally and most importantly: Dont give up on your dump. If you turn at stall 6 and he is covered on his first fake do not turn back upfield. This is what happens: everyone will have stopped cutting and you will turn back to your dump. Now at stall 8/9 most markers will strike around to guard the dump because he knows its all youve got. At this point you will a)get stalled b)get point blocked or c)throw a big, looping dump which will result in an even bigger loss. STICK WITH YOUR DUMP! If at stall 9 he has fallen/has no chance of getting open, turn upfield and throw it in the direction of your best receiver.       Mar 11, 2003 "Breaking the Mark" The first thing you need to have good break mark throws is to have good throws. There is nothing "tricky" about these throws. Next, it is important to work on your fakes (see ZT 2/7/03:solid fakes). Once you have good throws and good fakes, breaking the mark is very easy. Some tips for breaking the mark: 1) The best break mark throwers are often also the players with the best field vision. If a break mark cut is about to develop (assume forehand force) then a good thrower will give a big forehand fake (or even an io forehand fake) to get their mark to move around and try to stop the throw. Once he has moved, it is easy to beat him back to the break side and get the throw off. The key to doing this well is timing — too late and the cut is expired, too early and your mark will likely be able to recover. 2) If a cut develops too quickly or you dont have great field vision, then the key to getting off a break mark throw is using your body. Step around your man and use your leg and hips to seal him off. Now the break mark throw is easy. 3) If you can throw around your marker because he is not very good or you are simply faster than him, then make sure to follow [ZT 3/6/03:throw extension]. It would be quite a shame to ground a throw on a porous mark. 4) This is mentioned in all three of the preceding points, but it need be restated for emphasis. When you turn to face your mark (either to hit the dump or break) your legs are at shoulder width. Never, ever, ever throw from this position. The key to solid fakes is pivoting and the key to flat, controlled throws is pivoting/lunging out into the flat.       Mar 12, 2003 "Seniors" I didnt quite realize until this spring season the feeling of last years seniors being gone from the team. My advice is this: appreciate the seniors on the team because in reality we dont have them for that much longer. Invite them to come to jos with you after practice even if it means forking over some points for their food. Give them a high five when you guys connect for a goal and make an effort to spend time with them at practices and tourneys. I promise you, you dont know how much you will miss teammates after they leave the team, so build a bank of memories for each one of these guys.       Mar 13, 2003 "Rationalize" Develop certain rationalizations for specific pieces of your play that can explain either your negative or positive performance. These will make you always seem like a better player than you are, especially when used correctly. My three primary examples: 1) I ran hurdles in high school and it changed my stride form which is why I run so fast/just tripped while cutting. 2) My right wrist is double jointed which is why I have good deep throws/just turfed that forehand. 3) I have a heart murmur which is why I am in such good shape/struggling with this last 400. Clearly the less the person you are talking to knows about physiology/athletics, the better off you are. Conceive and use these well, for they will take you far.     Mar 14, 2003 "Competition" Use your teammates to push you when you are doing a workout. If you look around and try to go as fast as the fastest guy (and everyone else does this too) then the entire speed of the team will necessarily increase.     Mar 15, 2003 "Focus" Go out and try to break the consecutive throws record. It is as much a test of focus as it is of throwing skills. Paul and I did today and it was awesome; there were two great things that came out of it. 1) I realized that it is never acceptable for me to drop a throw — ever — because today when I was focusing on it I didnt drop. 2) I feel like I saw something new about paul today and we now have a connection that will transfer onto the field. It is also now unacceptable for there to be an error when Im throwing to paul or vice versa, because today when we were focusing we never missed.     Mar 16, 2003 "The Redzone" The closer you get to the end zone the better a player you should become. Wicks said it today — the difference between good teams and great teams is how well they convert in the redzone and the same goes for individual players. If you would not throw to a man when he is open by one step in the field then you should not do it when he is in the end zone. Three things to remember about end zone offense: 1) We know where we are going and they do not 2) There is not shot clock in ultimate, thus no rush to score 3) The gut cut scores as often as the cone cut...do it     Mar 17, 2003 "Fatigue" During a long point or a long game your body tends to get physically tired. People yelling at you and pushing you on or telling yourself to keep working are both good ways to keep your physical output high. A much more difficult aspect of fatigue is to keep your mental game on point. Some keys to achieving this and also playing well when you are mentally tired: 1) Only take higher percentage throw options. Your receiver is probably tired as well and he may not be able to leg out a long huck. Also, even the best of the best dont have as good throws when they are tired — instead they just have a very good sense of which throws they still have. 2) Find out what type of player you are; a thinker or a non-thinker. Thinkers remain focused because they are always thinking and do not let their mind drift. Non-thinkers are never actively thinking, but are actually always thinking, and their play is based on instinct and/or good habits. You can usually pick out a non-thinker if you ask them to show you the form on how to throw a flick and then they cant throw it themselves (because they are now thinking about it too much). If you are a thinker then keep thinking, do not let yourself slide — you thrive on this intense mental focus. If you are a non-thinker, do not begin to think, "should I cut now" or "I am getting tired" just try to stay in your game. 3) Find some things that individually work for you. For example, during a stoppage I often will take a deep breath and fix my hat. I have classically conditioned myself to associate this with a need to focus. When I do this, I know its time to buckle down and focus in (or actually focus out, I am definitely a non-thinker).     Mar 18, 2003 "Throw When Fatigued" After a hard track workout or practice make sure to pencil in 10 more minutes of practice time. Throw thirty forehands and thirty backhands and focus on making them good. It is not often that you get a chance to throw when you are very tired and it is extremely important to be able to maintain your throws late in a tournament.     Mar 19, 2003 "To Sophomores" Bring your concentration forms on spring break. Its a great stress free time to do them so you dont have to cram them in among the long hours of school and disc. Paul and I are going to hold a phat cypher one of the afternoons and just bust 'em out.     Mar 21, 2003 "Fakes Against Poachers" If you are playing against a team that poaches a lot then the best way to clear the throwing lanes is to uses pumpfakes. When you fake, poaching defenders will jump out into the lanes and at a most basic level you will be able to see where the poaches are so you dont throw into them. Even better is if you can fake in the lanes and get them to bite on the fake and then throw the disc where they just were, likely to an uncovered receiver. P.S. a definition — a poaching defender is one who is not guarding a man, someone who is just floating on the field looking to get a d when a throw goes up. I have used this term before and wanted to make sure everyone knows what it means. If you are being poached, yell "poach, poach" and go find the disc, as described in an earlier zips tip.