Sorry I haven't posted in a while guys...I'm not a big fan of blogs....
ANYWAY, I'm really liking what I've read these past couple weeks, keep up the posts, and thank you Niji for the comments....
Just a laundry list of things from recent practices I would like to improve on:
-Feeling better (being sick SUUUUCKS)
-Playing tighter on my man when playing downfield D - I'm becoming afraid of letting my man go deep so sometimes I let him stay a couple steps in but then can't recover when the cutter makes an in cut (The plus side is that I haven't gotten beat deep in a few weeks). Suggestions?
-More wrist action on my throws, especially my flick - Like Sean said, during warmups and drills I can pretty much make the throws, but the scrimmage rolls around and my flick becomes very arm-y. I guess all I can about that is to think minimal body movement and play all that I can in scrimmages so I get the game-situation experience. Thoughts?
-Having the courage to lay out more - I have some opportunities in scrimmages to lay out on D, but rarely take them...I guess I just need to make myself do it/still be drunk for Sunday morning practice to lay out whenever.
Keep it real,
Fabio
This blog will be a great way for our class to express our ideas, suggestions, and perhaps frustrations with the game that we play in the years to come, as we strive to improve ourselves and others on the team.
bro's, we def need a recap of the alumni game. some serious business went down on that pleasant morning.
ReplyDeletebut slightly more seriously, when positioning on D you should set up, at most, one step behind your man. anything more than that and it will be nearly impossible to contest an in-cut, and your man will think you're scared of covering him. but when you do decide to force your man in, stand a half step behind your man, and make sure your body is in the path of his desired deep cut. it's much easier to make up one step than three. then you'll be facing the thrower and most of the other cutters. use this view to predict the flow, his cut, and boom, you've got a good shot at a D while still preventing an easy deep cut.
man defense is a mind game. give your man too much space, and he becomes confident in his match-up. but if you play tight and physical, your man will have to think about his cut. you'll be better positioned while displaying confidence and forcing your man to work. In a word: Dictate.
in other news, i really like what i've seen from you guys this year. all ya'll have stepped it up and are beginning the famous sophomore bump. keep working hard!
oh hai zach
ReplyDeleteYour Flick: It's a mind game. Practice correct forms in as many ways as possible, here are a few.
->Think about it when you aren't playing.
->When you have a disc in your hands, but aren't throwing, get your flick grip on and just move the disc back and forth with your wrist.
->When you are practicing your throws, experiment with the relationship between arm and flick usage.
->Also when practicing throws, try to mentally place yourself in a real game situation (ex: a quick short strike throw) and throw the appropriate throw. Even have your partner make a strike cut.
- Wrist Action
ReplyDeleteAs far as wrist actions in scrimmage go, try to create more realistic throwing situations when you are just "throwing around" or warming up. Put pressure on yourself and imagine, as vividly as you can, who you are throwing to, what cut they are making, where you are on the field, who is on you, where the defense is, etc etc etc. The more specific, the better.
- Defense
I totally agree with Zach: Defense is a mind game. You have to play your cards right. Sometimes, you should force you man out. It's okay to bait your man deep and get the D on a huck. Basically, if you play your cutter the same way, then he can just keep making the same cuts and thus you are fucked. Make him do different things. As Zach says, absolutely, the key is to get in the way of your cutter.
- As the former Jam player explains it, imagine there is a line across your body (for instance, when you are facing your man square on, your shoulders or hips). If you let your man cross that line (for example, he steps past you, or makes you turn your hips/shoulders) you lose. Sometimes you need to take steps back so that you avoid this, but that's okay, so long as you preserve that line. You can also (side)step into his way, basically making him bump off of your chest and forcing him to turn the other way.
- Just as an observation from watching the Buzz Bullets play, and building on the "making the cutter do different things" idea:
Sometimes you should play defense in a sneaky way. For instance, you're on a guy in a vert stack and the disc is on the force-side sideline. You know your guy is going to make a cut on the force side. What I've seen Buzz players do is play seemingly poachy off of their man (2.5ish steps off their man on the force side, and a step or half a step back). They bait the in-cut to the force side, but instead of getting sucked in towards the cutter, they make a straight run to where they know the cut is going to end up. The cutter will appear to be open, Until the last second at which the D and O basically cross paths and the Buzz D payer will lay out through the inside of cutter to get the D. This is quite hard to execute but I think it's a valuable way of playing as well.
(For example, watch the upfield cutting/defense from around 4:12 in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bcrh-fR3XJk )