USA Ultimate

The Huddle, Issue #20: The Comeback

You're down 11-7, game to 15. Your defense needs to score four times to tie the game up. How do you manage a comeback? How do you call lines? What do you tell yourself and your players?

 

What's a successful attitude and approach in this situation? We asked our authors to think back on their own successful (or unsuccessful) comeback stories and help us set a game plan for recovering for an early deficit.

 

• Short, Aggresive Risks
  
  
  
  • As a coach, I feel it is necessary to take some risks defensively and call a few different defensive looks that may create enough confusion and lead to a quick turnover by the offense. If you have been playing man the entire game, try a little zone. If you have been forcing one way the entire time, try some middle or straight up. At that point, you must try something different to get the other team out of their comfort zone because clearly, they are comfortable right now in the driver's seat.
    
    As a player, I say it is all about games to 3. Forget about the big score and know that you have to start dominating games to 3. If you win the next game 3-0, the score is now 11-10. If you go 3-1, the score is now 12-10—totally winable. If you think that you have to win a game to 5 or four, that suddenly becomes a much higher mountain to climb.
    
    Calling lines will depend on what defenses you decide to run. Although it would be ideal to put a lot of defense out on the field every defensive point, it may be more intelligent to go with smart defenders with some offensive talent as your D line must score or it is game over. Therefore, there is going to have to be a healthy mix of D line players and O line players who can play smart D and help you score efficiently once you get the D.
     
  • LINDSEY HACK
• One At A Time
  
  
  
  • One thing I remember an old teammate saying was that "there are no four-pointers in Ultimate." What he meant was that you're not going to bridge the gap in one play, so you have to stay with the gameplan and keep doing the things that your team needs to do to play their best.
    
    The first key is to make sure that your offense is going to score every time they receive, because the worst thing for the team would be to add another break, which only lengthens the odds of a comeback while also being demoralizing. Also, if they are scoring without giving up even a turnover the other team will start feeling some pressure.
    
    Defensively you're going to have to ratchet up the intensity a bit. One mistake I think is to get away from playing zone or junk because you are afraid of matchups or want to force the other team. After many losses I have thought to myself that we didn't mix up the defense enough in the second half of the game and while our defensive intensity was strong, we didn't do enough to keep the other team's offense on their toes. If your gameplan includes mixing up defenses, you need to keep with that plan even when you are down late in the game.
    
    As for subbing, I think you want to stay with your team's plan, maybe trying to give your stars an extra point or two. Of course, this depends on the situation. If you're a college team and it's early in the season there is no more valuable time to see what the younger players are made of than to put them into the fire. Even if they don't pull it off, the experience they get will be helpful come sectionals or regionals, much more valuable than burning out your stars but winning the game only to get slaughtered in the next round of the tourney. However, if it is potentially the last game of your season then you may tighten up the rotation a bit. However, I think teams feed off the energy of having everyone in the game and the successful teams I have been on have played all their players, even in championship games.
     
  • GREG HUSAK
• Change A Losing Strategy
  
  
  
  • First and farmost, attitude is everything. If you don't actually have 7 players who believe you can actually win, then this isnt worth reading and the rest of your game isn't worth playing.
    
    Most teams I have played on, in this situation, would try and load the Defensive line with the top defenders. However, your goal isn't just to stop the offense and gain possession, but to actually catch the disc in the endzone. So loading your defensive unit with pure defenders might not be the best way to make the comeback a reality. Instead, I would put a majority of the top defenders on, but also 2-3 of the smart offensive players (most likely handlers). In club, players are more experienced, more versatile, and more confident, so this doesn't apply quite as much, but for college, this seems to be an important component.
    
    The main justification for placing a average defender, but good offensive player, on at a crucial point of the game is that having the normal defensive unit doesn't seem to have been working so changing things up is a necessity, let alone, scoring now has more weighting on the d line than before. The oppositions O team is probably playing loose and in their element having a substantial lead late in the game, so putting some breaks on the board is necessary to make them tighten up and lose some confidence. Also, having 2 solid offensive handlers step onto the D line will give some patience and set the pace upon getting the disc. The D-team may be feeling the pressure to put breaks up which will cause the Defensive O to not play their game. Placing some offensive players changes the psychology, mentality, and attitude of the line and can help get them out of the rut they may previously have been in.
    
    Overall, you have to change a losing strategy. Whether it be on offense or defense, you always have to adapt to help make the team play to their potential.
     
  • BRETT MATZUKA
• Execute Your Changes
  
  
  
  • If you are behind because the team has something you can't handle (a few players or a defense) you are not behind, you are getting beaten. Change it up. Play a different D, run the counter play, even if you have to invent it. Maybe the risk means you go down 13-7 and later people whisper about how you got blown out. But if you can't get the score to 11-9 or 12-10 so what?
    
    There is no all-the-time rule for who to play and what to say. Depends on the game, the time of year, and the opponent. But, do your team's top playersdeserve the opportunity to climb out of a hole they probably dug? Or is now as good a time as any to find out who else can get it done? Is the change a prayer or include some combinations you have practiced once in a while?
    
    What are the one or two technical things everyone needs to do to close the gap? Stop their tall recievers from going deep? Slow down the give and go? It's fun to see if you can make those changes and execute. Maybe not the script as you would have written it, butthe kind of opportunity you and your team should love once its there, whatever happens. Or did you really think you were going to win everygame 15-7?
     
  • TED MUNTER
• Two Scenarios For A 2nd Half Comeback
  
  
  
  • Scenario #1. Your opponent has a short roster. In the first half they got breaks early. But they are starting to look tired and predictable in their offense. You have identified their play-makers. Your D line has already generated some grueling points for their O line. Meanwhile your team has legs, intensity, they just can't cash in with breaks. In this scenario I'd turn up the defensive intensity with a straight up mark, specific match ups, and hard physical D. Take the other team's key players out of their preferred game: make their thrower go deep, make their deep cutter throw, face guard the handler. Disrupt their initial play with a straight up mark, poaching off the dump handler, forcing into the stack, transition junk, or whatever. Above all, they should never get a one-pass-goal. Also unleash the team freak in the huddle, get everyone jacked, and let a frenzy loose on the field. Avoid stoppages of play and long discussions. After the turn, empower your key throwers to take deep shots. If you don't get the goal, you at least have reset their offense against your smothering D. Bottom line: against a tiring team, disrupt the initial play then fall into smothering physical defense with quick transition.
    
    Scenario #2. Your opponent is in rhythm and looking good. They show no signs of letting up. The match ups are not in your favor. Your defense is frustrated. Here you zone. Many teams don't rely on zones in big moments, and that is unfortunate. If you know and trust two zones, you can change momentum in such a game. Start with your strongest zone. If your opponent takes a time out to discuss their offense, switch your zone. Throw in a point of intense man D after a few points of zone. Never let them regain their rhythm. Up to this point your D line has not had many offensive possessions. They've watched your opponents score at will. Commonly your D line will fritter away break opportunities with impatience. I'd emphasize to the team playing within itself and within the team's offense. Challenge your team to out-think your opponent. Bottom line: against a team in rhythm, switch up your defenses and play methodical offense after a turn.
    
    What not to do? Cheat. Often a second half deficit means travel calls, excessive fouling-and-contesting, doubling-teaming zones, etc. At times this is incidental to ratcheting up the intensity. Cheating shows the team's lack of actual strategy. In any case (and I've been on teams like this), bad calls usually result in poor focus and lower energy for your own team. Against good teams, bad calls will allow them to slow the game down, rest, think, and reset their offense. Making key travel calls might get you some wins. But it will prevent you from learning how to actually stop the throw, and you will not grow as a player. My objection to cheating is not only moral. It's practical. It usually does not work.
     
  • CHARLIE REZNIKOFF
• Countering & Changing Defenses
  
  
  
  • While I have not been personally very successful in this situation, other teams have been successful at times against my teams so I can tell you what it seems like they did. You must call tight lines—having players in the games that can create Ds and capitalize on them is imperative. Now is not the time to give players a chance to show their stuff for the first time—use people that are tried and true on D and O. This may mean that these players are playing a lot, but thems the breaks—they ought to be in good enough shape to hang tough through this time. In terms of strategy, it might be time to change something up. If your D has been creating Ds but you just haven't been able to score, you may think about switching to focusing on either fast-breaking or settling down. If your D has not been creating Ds, you might consider trying a new D.
    
    In the 2008 Women's Final, which was probably the best comeback to ever occur in ultimate, Fury changed their D sometime around halftime or right after the second half started. It was windy and we run a two handler crashing from behind zone offense. They switched to guarding our crashing handler almost like a box-and-1 with a huge cup around them. This flustered our handlers and we were unable to adapt, opening the door for a huge and devastating comeback by them. I'm guessing that they just took it point by point or broke the points into games to three. Oftentimes teams can be successful just focusing on shorter goals rather than thinking, "we have to score 10 times to be back in this game." On an individual level, it is important not to focus too much on yourself and take too much of the responsibility of catching up, even if you are playing a lot at this crucial time.
     
  • MIRANDA ROTH
• Successful Attitudes
  
  
  
  • The opportunity to be successful in the face of difficult odds is created long before you've been put in to that situation. It is an attitude that is built in practices, team meetings, and work-outs from the beginning of the season. The focus needs to be on what you and your team have control over in any given moment. Things that you do not have control over include the score of the game—those scores are now part of the past and we are unable to have any affect on it. What we do have control over are:
    
    Our Decisions. Continuing to make the right decisions on the field. This includes each individual being responsible for the parts of the game that we have designated. The mark is responsible for taking away the break side of the field—they are not responsible for getting a handblock on a throw to the open side. That D is the responsibility of the downfield defenders. Similarly, on offense when we get the disc we need to continue to move the disc to the next open receiver in our offense trusting that the team will make the plays, not the individual.
    
    Our Effort. At any given moment we have control of how we exert ourselves on the field. We need to be giving 100% effort throughout a point—cutting, defending, marking and then after the point we can put someone else on the field that can match that effort.
    
    Our Intensity. This is the level of "arousal" that each individual has. How quickly we process and react to stimulus. Each player has an optimal intensity level for peak performance and it is each players' responsibility to identify their optimal level and how they get there.
    
    Our Attitude. Bringing a positive attitude that lifts up our teammates and motivates them further. This will be particularly present from a loud and supportive sideline. Our sidelines will high five and lift up our teammates regardless of whether we score a point or if we get scored on.
    
    The mnemonic I use for these controllables is "IDEA" or Pai "DEIA."
    
    What I would tell my players is a combination of the above—that, ultimately, it doesn't matter if we win or lose the game but it does matter that we focus on what we have control over for each and every moment of the remainder of the game. That everyone will play a role whether your on the field or on the sideline and that when we come back and win it will be a team effort and a team victory.
     
  • KYLE WEISBROD