Conventions to challenge

Conventions get challenged at the cutting edge of a sport, ie the elite level.

These conventions include those relating to training methods, tactics, attitudes and organisation.

Look at what used to be convention in ultimate, 15 or so years ago:

Once in zone, stay in zone. Stacks are vertical. Be patient against zone O.

Nowadays, these are no longer hard and fast "rules", merely suggestions for beginners.

Here are a few paradigms. I bet a proportion of these will no longer be set-in-stone paradigms, before too long. Maybe teams are experimenting with them right now.

• mark on the open side of your man
  
• stack upfield
  
• don't reveal your plays to the opposition
  
• throw to an open player
  
• look at your dump on high counts
  
• defensive plays are decided before you pull

Its a lot of fun to try new ideas - and its fascinating to see a paradigm be changed.

The distribution of playing time

In an elite ultimate team, how should the team's minutes be distributed among the players?

Note that I have deliberately not used the phrase "how should you distribute playing time" since that assumes the process should be determined by one person.

This article gave me insight.

There is a lot to be gained from keeping everyone focussed on the team's aims, and away from comparing their performance relative to others.

I have always tried to keep stats of individual players away from the players, whenever I have been responsible for them. Team stats I will happily share.

To get briefly political, it seems like this applies to the "how shall we pay teachers" debate in Australia.

For me, the important issue is not who gets rewarded, but where the focus of the people doing the work is - on contributing to the effort, or on how they compare to their neighbour. We know the approach of the US, in the teacher pay debate.

Parinella says (and debate follows his post):

the player has to draw one of the following conclusions, depending on how the subbing is done: either whatever I do has little effect on my playing time, in which case I don’t have to play smart, or I am going to be benched if I make a mistake, in which case I probably should play so conservatively that I’m not going to help the team.

I believe, if you can reduce the focus on "how am I doing" and bring it to bear on "how can I help the team more", better results will follow.

And calling lines most points, where you are disappointing several keen players every time you call them off, seems to push the focus in the wrong direction.

So what are the alternatives?

One is self-managed playing time. If your team plays lots, players should have time to get comfortable with their roles. The coach or leadership should make suggestions to players chiefly in non-crucial tournaments and in scrimmages ("play more zone", "make sure we have 3 handlers on", "play less this game, more next game", "play more on O, less on D"). So when you hit the big games, roles are set and players can focus on cheering and getting ready to play, rather than listening for their name, and not hearing it.

Any exceptions e.g. "our strongest lines will be called in crunch time, or to take half", should be established in preparation games too.

Bottom line is, if you use pay or playing time as the carrot, then you need to devise a better carrot - such as seeing how you contribute to success.

Triggers for transitions

What are all the possible triggers for a transition from one defense to another defense?

• Nominated on-field defender decides
  
• Disc reaches a pre-determined part of the field
  
• Offence makes a pre-determined number of passes
  
• Stall count reaches a certain number
  
• A certain offence player gets possession (eg a weak thrower)

Any others?

Which do you like? Which ones have you seen (and not seen)? I've used the first three triggers over the years.

Up the line

I am a well-known advocate of the dump cutting up the line. To clarify, I mean the dump cutting forward of the thrower, when the thrower is on the line and being forced line.

The advantages seem numerous:

• many defenders are used to dumps catching the disc behind the thrower
  
• catching the disc up the line puts you in the power position (ie you have a 1 second window where you can throw anywhere upfield, including long, since your defender is behind you)
  
• it is a simple way to score when you are close to the endzone
  
• other defenders are often not in a position to provide help defence
  
• it opens up the backwards dump, once cutting up-the-line is an established threat

This last point is one I tinkered with yesterday at the Heads of State training camp. If you cut up the line, and then come back for a backwards dump, you can leave your defender far behind.

I realised that this is generally true only if you go far enough up the line.

So clearly we need a name for this.

When the dump has cut forward far enough that the thrower can throw to them, the defender has to commit to defending up the line.

Basically, the dump needs to enter the up-the-line throwing lane. I shall call this the Wedge (coloured orange in the diagram). It looks wedge-shaped.

To summarise: to open up your dump, Enter the Wedge first. Very Zen.

10 Things instead of Drills

Here is a random collection of 10 activities that are not conventional join-the-back-of-the-line drills. Try one next time you are running a training session. It may spark some new ideas for you. The activities are suitable for most abilities.

1. Modified-scoring ultimate
Scrimmage with a modified scoring system, eg 1 point for a break throw as well as 1 point for a goal. This well help you practise and focus on using break throws (and stopping them). You can assign points for anything you want to focus on: blocks, dumps, hucks, hammers, open side cuts, you name it.

2. Unlimited turnovers
Scrimmage with the offense getting the disc back after each turnover. The offense can repeatedly practise their O, and the defence their D.

3. Play schtick
Schtick uses many skills used in Ultimate. But it is a good change up from ultimate.

4. Play mini-ultimate
Play ultimate - but only one aspect. Examples are offense starts 10 metres outside the endzone, or 4 on 4 zone, or 3 on 3 where the only aim is to dump and swing the disc.

5. Team goals
Have a fishbowl, brainstorm or think-pair-share about what your team wants to improve on or achieve.

6. Play disc golf
When every throw contributes to your score, you work hard at your throws. Try a discathon for a faster activity.

7. Tag
Great as a warm-up or energiser. Helps improve defense. Variations: frisbee tag, stuck-in-the-mud, bullrush, octopus.

8. Juggling
How many passes can 2 people complete in 30 seconds? Using 2 discs? 3 discs? Consecutive passes?

9. Feedback
Organise activities for players to get feedback on their play, and perhaps off-field roles too (social co-ordinator, treasurer, leaders, etc). Feedback can have different formats: anonymous/open, from teammates/leaders/self, one-on-one/group/team, talking/doing.

10. Learn the rules
Hands up if you are confident you know what stall count a contested travel now comes in on? Some ideas for learning the answer are here.

Videopapers

Check out these videopapers on Ultimate.

It is reassuring to see Dan recommends a power forehand, though I would debate exactly where the forefinger and index finger should be in that photo.

And good to see an Aussie in there: Clip 12

Games of fun

Disc games and activities I like to play...

• Schtick 
• Stubby guts 
• Hotbox 
• MAC line
• Blind DDC
• Blind catching
• Frisbee tag
• Warriors and Dragons

Any other good ones?

Hammers

After throwing hammers today, I reckon it is about fingers.

Throw the hammer with your fingertips, not your hand. All the force goes through your fingertips, like you are pushing it.

Yeah hammers.

That is all.

Measuring a good pull

How do can you tell if you have improved?

Sometimes it seems obvious to you.

But other times you need to measure that skill or aspect of your game.

Here is how I measure the quality of a pull. It is a useful system for pullers to compete against other pullers, or to compare their own pulls over time. This follows on from my 7 Postulates of Pulling.

Alpha pull - disc lands in the endzone, more than 5 metres away from a sideline.

Beta pull - disc lands in the field, but not in the alpha zone.

Brick pull - disc lands out of bounds.

Alpha (green) is better than beta (yellow) is better than a brick (white).

Take 10 pulls, and see how many alphas, betas and bricks you get. Maybe 6-3-1. Which is better than say, 4-2-4.

"But hang on a tick!" you say. "Why is it less valuable to land the disc near the back of the endzone? Isn't a disc that lands 1 metre from the back left cone a fantastic pull?"

The problem with such a pull is that you can't do it regularly. If you aim there 10 times, a bunch of pulls are going to land out, giving your opponents bricks. (Unless you are the most accurate thrower ever, in which case you are earning money playing disc golf in the US, not reading this blog.)

Aiming well within the bounds of the endzone should mean that almost no pulls land out. And that is far more valuable than 5 pulls in the corner and 5 bricks.

This is why I don't congratulate pulls that do land 1 inch from the back left cone. The puller is lucky the risk didn't backfire that time - they're not worthy of "Wow! Great pull!"

Addendum: Tao calls alpha pulls with lots of yummy hangtime "Alpha pluses". Making it a 4-tier scoring system.

GSWAP explained

In a previous post, I glossed over GSWAP.

Here is GSWAP explained. GSWAP is a 5 point guideline that is both a useful explanation for teaching a beginner to throw, and a good list to choose from if giving feedback to a beginner.

It is in the AFDA Level 1 Ultimate Frisbee Coaching Course. You may have seen some discs with the GSWAP explanation on them.

Grip - use a power grip. See previous post for the details.

Stance - for a backhand, stand side on to your target. For a forehand, face your target.

Wrist - flick your wrist, to give the disc lots of spin

Angle - angle the outside edge of the disc down towards the ground

Point - point at your target after releasing the disc

The beginner's throw doesn't have enough power?
Check their grip.

The beginner's throws are zooming off to the right too much?
Check their stance.

The beginner's throw is wobbly?
Suggest more wrist.

The beginner's throw turns over during flight?
Suggest more angle - ie point the far edge of the disc more towards the ground.

The beginner's throw is zooming off too high?
Suggest pointing at the target after release.

Beginner has a different problem? Which point would you choose?

Sometimes you just need legs

In a competitive game, you sometimes rely on skilful throwing to win. You may rely on appropriate tactics.

But dang it, sometimes you can just use your physical advantages.

One example is stamina. If you have a slow handler defending you, and you have good stamina, start doing laps. Cut upfield, then cut downfield, cut up, cut down. No stopping or joining the stack. If they aren't smart enough to switch (and I find about 50% of the time they aren't), they will get exhausted marking you.

Then time your cut for a goal, or watch them make a throwing or catching error later in the point/next point.

When only a minority of players are doing a regular fitness program, and you are one of them, this is very do-able. Just be judicious in when you use this, and how often, or else in the next match you may be a step slower, and your next opposition will have the advantage.

Its usually been quite entertaining when I have seen it.

Observations from Clubs - women's ultimate

The Japanese women set the standard here. Dominance. They took 1st, 2nd and 3rd. I saw one team warm up in pairs. They would jog along throwing flat throws to each other in pairs. Can you throw an inside forehand to someone on your right as you jog along? Every player on this team could do this - flat, sharp and accurate. Pure throwing skills might have been a major part of the Japanese women's dominance.

Aussie results across the divisions. See here. The Aussie's final placings:
Open (21 teams): 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 18th, 21st
Womens (18 teams): 9th, 10th, 12th, 16th
Mixed (40 teams): 9th, 12th, 20th, 26th, 31st, 37th
Masters (11 teams): 3rd, 9th, 11th

Aussie men vs Aussie women. Both divisions had numerous Japanese teams, some easybeats and a sprinkling of ok-to-excellent European and US teams. Yet the Aussie women could barely crack the top half. The results echo Finland 2004: strong in Open, solid in Mixed, lower in Womens.

Where can our women's teams improve the most? Fitness? Tactics? Regular competition? Talent recruited into the sport? Playing less mixed ultimate (is this dominated by men?), or something else?

How do women's teams compare to open teams in other countries?
Japan - Women are better, judging from Perth and Worlds 2004
New Zealand - Women are better, judging from Aussie Nats 2006 and Perth
UK - comparable
US - comparable, judging from UPA Champs and Worlds 2004
Canada - ditto

Any lessons to be learnt from the Kiwis and the Japanese?

Observations from Clubs - new tactics

I think the Buzz Bullets set the standard. I heard second-hand of their zone-to-man transitions on set counts, ie only transition when the count gets high. Transitioning in advantageous situations seems like a positive evolution from what I have used the last few years - transitioning after a predetermined number of passes.

Now that I think about it, some of my teams from years and years ago would transition on someone's call. I wonder why we drifted away from that? Maybe because we were trying to implement the non-audibled transition, after 4 passes, for example. And that devolved into a vocalised 4 pass transition.

The approach of the Buzz Bullets strikes me as more valuable.

The Bullets were also very threatening with their skills: sharp hucks, quick disc movement, agile pivoting, lurking poachers. They never looked like losing, despite their height mismatches against many teams.

Observations from Clubs - fresh legs

Here is the first in a series of observations from Clubs in Perth...

Fresh legs are critical. Day 3 saw a three team round robin between Thong, Fakulti and Chilly.

The games that day looked like this:

• Fakulti played Chilly (first game of the day for both): close two-point game to Fakulti
• Thong played Fakulti (Thong's first game, Fakulti's second): Thong win by six.
• Chilly played Thong (Chilly coming off a five hour rest, Thong coming off the middle of the day game vs Fakulti): Chilly by 14.

So the first match had a close result (both teams rested), and the other two wins went to the rested team. I'd be interested to see if this pattern was replicated elsewhere.

Also, Subzero had a relatively small rotation. They were seeded 1st and came 4th (bear in mind seedings only have limited accuracy). After losing narrowly to SubZero, a Clapham player advised us to run them around, due to their small rotation.

Photos of grips

Here are some photos of forehand grips.

I am only looking at forehands here because they are harder to learn, less intuitive (ask any non-ultimate player to throw a disc, and they will generally throw a backhand, not a forehand), and there is more variation in them, among Ultimate players.

Most players should use a power grip. (Scroll down to 3.2). I am certain about this.

Power grips

Jeff Cruikshank, Furious George, thrower extraordinaire. I recommend having your your ring finger and pinky fingers straight, and supporting the outside of the disc, like Jeff does.

Miranda has the pinky and ring fingers bent.

Tom Rogacki, Chilly, who has huge hands

A Kiwi

Tarrant

Mad Dog

Hybrid grips

Meg Campbell, Ishtar

Rachel

Split finger/Beginner's grip

Still looking for good examples...