26 January 2009

Ready stance

Last weekend, the AFDA hosted a Coaching Development Course.

Idaho, from Sockeye, was the presenter for the weekend, and shared a range of concepts that he uses when coaching in Seattle.

One of them was the ready stance for a thrower - always having the disc ready to be released as soon as needed. This is useful if a cutter suddenly gets open, or the stall count reaches 9, or the marker starts bumping you. You can throw immediately.

Holding the disc with two hands by your waist - generally not good.

Having the disc out from your body in one hand - good.

This ties in with Idris' earlier point about not pivoting, unless there is a specific need to. Always be ready to throw.

7 comments:

  1. I would add that 'ready' includes being 'wound up' to some extent. If you have to wind up from your ready stance to make a short throw, it's not really immediate.

    Obviously hucks take a bit more work, but getting the shoulder/elbow tandem pulled back (forehand) or being wound up at the hips/torso (backhand) and being comfortable in those positions will also add significantly to this time.

    Totally agreed though--disc in front does nothing to engage the mark or help you throw.

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  2. What about a stance that lets the thrower throw either side (FH or BH) in the shortest amount of time on average? I.e. to have equal threat of break throw or open pass.

    A more neutral (central) stance from this perspective could be better. Although your arm could still be out one side without much time loss to the other throw.

    (Note when I think about it, many break passes are inside out anyway, which is a factor.) Thoughts?

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  3. In terms of being wound up, I think a lot of it can come from the wrist being cocked. The majority of throwing options that are only open for a split second are under 20 metres. And a wrist snap throw can cover that distance.

    For hucks, any body position that minimises the time needed to throw is also handy.

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  4. Goldy, if the disc is halfway between a backhand and forehand, it will take a period of time to get it out to either side. Half the time it requires a grip change and a step across. This could be ok if you wanted to have backhand and forehand equally ready, but I'd rather have one of them ready for an immediate throw.

    I came across a concept from Idaho that might be an answer to throwing on either side quickly.

    Idaho used what I called a scarf pivot to keep his throwing threat. From a forehand stance with a normal height forehand, he pivoted over via a forehand blade, hammer, high backhand, to normal backhand. It looked like he was putting a scarf on. If he received a bump anytime during the pivoting action, he could immediately throw the disc forward 10 metres. This gives a free throw when fouled by the marker.

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  5. I am definitely going to try the scarf pivot.

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  6. The scarf pivot is the most awkward movement I've tried in ultimate since throwing a forehand for the first time. You're supposed to change the grip when the disc is behind your head or somewhere around there. I understand the reason for it, but it'd take a bit of getting used to.

    I naturally tend to stand with a forehand grip and wrist cocked, especially when being forced forehand. If I want a backhand, I'll fake a wrist flick to change the grip and bait the marker, then wind up as I'm stepping across to throw as I put my foot down. Never really thought of a more efficient way to do it.

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  7. One clear advantage of the scarf pivot (and the "around the world" pivot, its bigger cousin) is that the disc isn't caught in between 2 bodies at any point. But that still hasn't sold me enough that I am using either yet.

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