Biodata
Friday, October 10, 2008
Name : Mohd Sharulrizam bin Abd Rahim
Matrix No. : B020610115
Courses : 3 BENE
Sections : 1
Groups : 1
Cutting
Friday, July 25, 2008
Watch what is happening in front of you. If someone else is cutting, don’t cut. Look behind you. If someone else is cutting, don’t cut. If the coast is clear, go for it.
Of course, if everyone does this and sees that no one is cutting, they will all cut at once. If you think you have the best opportunity, keep going. If a teammate has a better cut, pull out.
Avoid the herd instinct. Cutting is like buying stocks: if you can figure out what will happen next before anyone else does, you’ve got it made.
Watch what is happening. If you see someone else cut, evaluate their chances of getting the disc. If you think they won’t get it, stay put and wait for them to clear out.
If you think they will get the disc, cut to where they will want to throw. Time the cut so you are open after they have caught the disc and are ready to throw. If you can predict the future, no one, not your teammates, not the defence- no one -will get in your way.
Where to Cut: Five Good Cuts to Make
1) Simple, Short Cuts
Run at your defender, fake one way, then run the other way.
This will usually work if you do three things. First, fake hard. Take a hard step in the fake direction. Step like you are going to run so hard that way that the defender is going to look silly if they don’t catch up.
Second, turn hard. After you plant that foot on the fake, use all of your muscles to tear yourself in the opposite direction.
Third, run fast. Run as fast as you can in a straight line to a spot where the thrower can easily hit you. If you don’t get the disc, run as fast as you can to the back of the stack.
This works best if you fake to the break-force side then run to the open side.
Catching
Good Catching Habits
1)Use two hands. Get your hands on either side of the disc and smack them together like a trap.
2)Keep your eyes on the disc. (Keep your eyes open.) See how it is spinning and get a sense of its speed. Watch it come into your hands. Watch your hands squeeze it.
3)Think positive. As the disc comes to you, visualize yourself catching it. Feel confident.
4)Come to the disc. Keep running towards the disc until it is in your hands. Otherwise the defence will jump in front of you and steal it.
3)Think positive. As the disc comes to you, visualize yourself catching it. Feel confident.
4)Come to the disc. Keep running towards the disc until it is in your hands. Otherwise the defence will jump in front of you and steal it.
Catching Hammers
Hammers are a special case because they fly upside down and in a looping path. The way to get good at catching hammers is to practice catching hammers. Catch high loopy ones, low straight ones, wild ones, short ones, long ones… When you can anticipate where a hammer is going, you will have a better chance of catching it.
Hammers are a special case because they fly upside down and in a looping path. The way to get good at catching hammers is to practice catching hammers. Catch high loopy ones, low straight ones, wild ones, short ones, long ones… When you can anticipate where a hammer is going, you will have a better chance of catching it.
When catching upside down throws, adjust your hand to the position of the disc. If you have to use one hand, put it out palm-up. When the disc floats onto your palm, lock your thumb down over the rim.
This does not apply to situations where the disc is above your head. It is much easier to catch high throws with your palm facing down.
Reading the Disc
When someone puts up a high and/or long throw, catching it requires the receiver to figure out where the disc is going. This is called reading the disc.
If you see a huck or a floating hammer, run to where you think the disc is going. Where it goes depends on the velocity of the disc, its angle in the air, and what type of throw it is.
The first thing to read is the velocity of the disc. This will give you a general idea of where the disc is going. You will know if you have to sprint or can go at a more leisurely pace.
While you are running, take a look at the angle of the disc. If it is angled, then run to the side that it is dipping towards. The disc will curve most severely when it is angled at 45 degrees. Steeper than this, and the disc will slice towards the ground without too much of a curve. Flatter than this, and the curve will be influenced by the direction of the disc’s spin.
When someone puts up a high and/or long throw, catching it requires the receiver to figure out where the disc is going. This is called reading the disc.
If you see a huck or a floating hammer, run to where you think the disc is going. Where it goes depends on the velocity of the disc, its angle in the air, and what type of throw it is.
The first thing to read is the velocity of the disc. This will give you a general idea of where the disc is going. You will know if you have to sprint or can go at a more leisurely pace.
While you are running, take a look at the angle of the disc. If it is angled, then run to the side that it is dipping towards. The disc will curve most severely when it is angled at 45 degrees. Steeper than this, and the disc will slice towards the ground without too much of a curve. Flatter than this, and the curve will be influenced by the direction of the disc’s spin.
Because forehands and backhands spin in opposite directions, the next thing you should know is the type of throw. Forehands curve to the right as they slow. Backhands curve to the left. These curves are obvious at the end of flat throws, but have little effect on angled throws.
Catching High Throws (Skying)
When you have figured out where the disc is going, go there. Going straight to the disc’s destination is quicker than getting underneath the disc and following its path. Allowing the disc to come to you gives you time to gather yourself for the jump.
When you have figured out where the disc is going, go there. Going straight to the disc’s destination is quicker than getting underneath the disc and following its path. Allowing the disc to come to you gives you time to gather yourself for the jump.
Try to time it so you can jump up and catch the disc as soon as possible. This means jumping as high as you can. You can jump highest with a slow run-up. When you are about five metres from where you will jump, slow down. Wait for the disc to approach, then jog to your launch pad and jump.
Offence
I’ve caught the disc- now what?
First, take a deep breath. You have at least ten seconds, so relax. Plant your pivot foot and get a good grip on the disc. If you are being forced to your left, get ready to throw a backhand. If you are forced right, hold the disc in a forehand grip. (Lefties, switch the rights and lefts around.) Look up the field and wait for a teammate to get open. Only throw when you think you will be able to make a catchable throw. If the stall count gets up to six, yell for help or call a timeout. If something goes wrong, don’t worry; you can always get it back on defence.
What is a pivot foot?
Maintaining a pivot foot means one of your feet has to stay rooted to one spot. You can pivot around that foot as much as you like, but it has to stay there like it was stuck in a leg-hold trap. Righties, use your left foot for a pivot; lefties, use your right foot. Read the section on throws to find out why.
What should I do when my team has the disc?
When a teammate has the disc, you should either be trying to get open for a pass (cutting) or staying out of the way. Most of the time, you will be staying out of the way. This is because there are seven people on your team and only one of you should cut at a time. You have to watch the disc and try to anticipate where your teammates will be running. If you see a chance to get open for a pass, go for it. Run as fast as you can until you either catch the disc or get the feeling you aren’t going to get passed to. If it looks like the thrower isn’t going to pass to you (they are looking the other way or telling you to get lost) run as fast as you can away from the thrower. This is called “clearing out”. It allows someone else to cut in.
Defences
Stay with your mark and don’t let them catch the disc. Go wherever they go and also try to keep an eye on the person with the disc. If a flying disc comes near you, try to catch it or knock it down. If your check catches the disc, put the force on them. That’s it.
When you are starting out, you can get away with pretty much anything. Drop all the passes you want- nobody’s going to care (too much). But there is one thing you must do: stay with your mark.
Run. If they are running away from you, focus on their back and run. If they faked you out and are going the other way, run after them. If your team turned it over and now your mark is gone, go get them. Don’t give up, that’s all your teammates ask of you.
You could jump around and try to get in their way… but that would just tire you out. They would probably just fake you out and throw around you. Instead, cut your losses and try to force them to throw to only one side of the field. This is called “forcing the thrower”.
Do this by standing slightly in front of and to one side of the thrower. Hold your hands out down low. Sure, this makes it easy for them to throw to the other side- but that’s the plan. Before the point began, everyone on your team agreed to force the throwers to a chosen side of the field. Since everyone on defence knows where the throws will be going, they know where the offence will want to run. If everybody sticks to the plan, defence is much easier.
The force is perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects of defence. So what is the force? In short, it's a designated area of the field that you are letting your opponents throw to. Examine the diagram below and then read on.
First off, your team (on defence) must designate a "home" and "away" side, usually home is where you placed your bags and water.Next, before you pull to the receiving team, your team will decide if you will force the opponents "home" or "away". In this example, the defense is forcing to the "home" side, so the "open" side is any part of the field to the right of the offensive player.
The crucial aspect of the force is the person marking the player with the disc. In the diagram above, the player is being forced to the "Open" side, this is shown by player 1 who is standing to the left of player 1. Things that are not obvious from this picture are that the defending player should have their arms and hands spread out to cover as much space as possible, therby making it more difficult to throw to the "Break" side (called "breaking" the force).
The next important ingredient to the force are the other defenders marking the rest of the players. Because you know where the player is being "forced" to throw, defenders can place themselves in this area to make it harder for offensive players to cut. In general, all defenders should be positioned in the "Open side" in between their opponent and the disc, the only exception is with the last defender (deepest or closest to the endzone), who should play a bit behind their opponent to cover any long throws.
Here are some of the forces your team could use and their purpose:
- Force Middle: This force requires dividing the field into two equal sides (left and right). When the disc is on the right side you force left, when the disc is on the left side you force right. In the cases where the disc is in the middle, like off a pull, your team should just make a default force to avoid any confusions. Lastly, it's imperative that you call out the direction you are forcing every time you mark up. It's better to force the wrong way and have your teammates know, so always yell out the force. Forcing middle is a good way to confuse the offence, and can be very effective against vertical offence. On the other hand, forcing middle against a horizontal offence is usually not the wisest choice.
- Force Line (Trap): Forcing in the direction of the line is usually done when the disc is near the sideline, although you can treat it as a reverse force middle and force sideline at all times. Forcing sideline is especially useful when the offence is near the endzone and close to the sideline. Often, teams will neglect the dump and swing approach and will try to throw into the small opening.
- Force to a Particular Side: This is the most basic idea, as was discussed initially, force one direction so your defence can control the offensive flow.
- Force Wind: Forcing wind is similar to forcing to one side, except you force the team to make the "harder" throw. That is, if the wind is blowing hard left to right, the defence can make it harder for the offence to throw by forcing them in the direction of the wind (left). The direction you chose to force is really dependant on the type of wind, sometimes throwing into the wind is easier, so it's not a golden rule to force into the wind.
- Trap For One: Trapping is another word for forcing sideline when the disc is near the sideline. So, Trapping for One implies you force sideline until they get the throw off, and then you switch back to your original force. Trapping for One is often used in zones where you want to push the offence to the weak side (the side where the wind is blowing strongest). In a zone, this equates to giving the handlers the free throw to the weak side, and then switching the force and putting on a trap once the disc is on the sideline of the weak side.
- Force (Straight) Up: Forcing up, or straight up, means you don't force to the flick or backhand side but stand perpedendicular to the sideline. This should cut off the hucks and force teams to make more modest gains by throwing shorter passes. Since the handler will have both sides to throw to it will be easier for the offensive cutters to get open, so the defence must adjust by "fronting" their checks. In most cases, forcing straight up is done on the first few passes to stop any huck plays, or in situations where the wind is blowing very strong.
How close can I stand to the thrower when I am forcing them?
Since ultimate is a non-contact sport, when you are forcing the thrower you have to give them some space. How much space? A flat disc should be able to fit between your bodies. This is known as a “disc space”.
How long is the thrower allowed to hold the disc?
In order to keep the game moving, the thrower is only allowed to hold the disc for ten seconds. However, somebody on defence has to be there to count these ten seconds out loud. If no one is counting, then the thrower can have the disc all day. If your mark has the disc, put the force on them and start counting. Say “Stall one…stall two…stall three…” up to stall ten. There should be a second between each stall. If you get up to ten and they still have the disc then yell “Down” and the disc now belongs to your team.
How to Prevent Your Mark from Getting the Disc
1) Know where your mark is. If you don’t, they’re probably gone.
2) Stand on your toes. Keep your feet moving. If your mark gets the jump on you, they’re halfway to being open. 3) Know where the force is. This will tell you where your mark is likely to cut.
4) Know where the disc is. This will tell you where the throw will be coming from.
5) Stay between your mark and the disc. Because you don’t want to turn your back on your mark, you’ll have to backpedal or stay right beside them. The thrower will think twice if you’re in the way. (See #6 for the exception.)
6) If your mark is last in the stack, stand behind him. This allows you to get the jump on any huck plays.
7) When outnumbered, mark the person closest to your endzone. If there has been a quick turnover or the other team has hucked it, your defence will often be outnumbered. You have to decide which person to mark.
It doesn’t matter who you were marking before. Ignore the person with the disc- they aren’t going anywhere. Go get the person who is closest to your endzone, they are the greatest threat.
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