#ultiworld

Throwing Form: Jimmy Mickle (Forehands)

Another great article that puts what we know into practice. You know what the offense wants, and you’ve calculated (whether consciously or not) the threat of each option - how do you use that information to play shutdown defense?

This guy does it. Matty Farrell uses the mark and the shape of the rest of the field to determine where to place his body in relation to his check. Cutters are deadliest given large spaces to work with, so we want to compress the field; give them less space to work with and we can minimize their effectiveness.

We can use the field information to go one of two ways - shut down your person, or bait a block. Be smart when you’re making this decision. Baiting is inherently risky, but ultimately more rewarding; however, failing to generate a turnover can mean disaster - especially if your check is a designated thrower or playmaker. On the flip-side, if your entire defense can play just 10 seconds of shut-down defense at a time, your certainly going to give yourselves chances for a turnover.

A fantastic article. This step is what opened up the game for me and made me realize I loved defense.

Take a new player. They just learned what a stack is, and how to cut for a thrower - now put them on defense. They’re still processing what they just learned for offense, so they haven’t had much time to learn anything besides what a force is. So they’re standing on the open side, and understand that they should prevent their person from getting the disc. Simple - stay tight to your check, and stay on the right side. If you don’t have a good idea of where your cutter will go, you have to play a reactionary defense.

The problem with reactive defense: try to play ‘honest’ defense (try to cover both in and out) against someone who is at least your speed, and you will not be able to shut your person down.

This is why ISOs are effective, and why the pro leagues are so offensively focused. With a big open space, it’s a nightmare to cover someone one-on-one.

Now back to our rookie. They’re playing reactive defense, and they just got beat deep 4 points in a row. They’re seeing a pattern. So, they make the choice to take a few steps downfield, to give a little buffer in case their check makes another deep cut. the deep cut comes, and our rookie has an extra second to react. The deep is covered, the cutter turns, and they receive the under.

There’s your first step. Make an educated guess as to what your person wants to do, and position yourself to get an edge over them. Now you’re dictating what your cutter’s options are. YOU are in control on defense.