USA Ultimate

The Huddle, Issue #26: The Dump-Denying Mark

In an effort to attack offenses when the disc is on the sideline, many teams use a 'rotated' mark to take away the reset. As the mark shifts to cut off the 45-degree angle backwards, the reset defenders shift to take away the upfield reset cut, effectively bracketing the thrower's 'safe' options.

 

As an offensive player, what do you look for to break this defensive strategy? As a coach, how do you prepare to play against this defensive scheme?

 

• Be Unpredictable
  
  
  
  • 1. Face the mark. This classic piece of throwing technology dates back to the dawn of modern Ultimate when Windy City and NYNY ruled. The uneducated thrower looks upfield at the stack and they position their body to reflect this. When they want to throw a dump they have to turn 270 degrees, which is incredibly slow. (Or turn their back to the field, which is incredibly dumb.) By facing the mark, you shorten the turn to 180 degrees. If you want to throw open side, you merely step out and away from the mark for an easy release.
    
    2. Play off rhythm. All good defenders depend on the rhythm of the game and the offense to anticipate the action and the deny-dump mark is no exception. The marker is relying on you turning to the dump at a predictible point in the stall count (usually 5 to 7.) If you throw the dump on stalling 3 sometimes, they aren't ready.
    
    3. Play fast. This is similar to playing off rhythm, but is a team strategy rather than an individual one. The deny-dump mark is dependent on the mark establishing. If you are releasing on stalling 1 or 2, they can't ever set up. It's only if you hold the disc up around 6, 7 or 8 that you'll get in trouble.
    
    4. Develop arounds. Get your around throws quick and confident. The better they are, the better the marker has to be to take them away. Typically, the deny-dump mark relies on catching you by surprise and if you are quick and confident, you have beaten them before they realize they have to take you seriously.
     
  • LOU BURRUSS
• Move As Early As Possible
  
  
  
  • In framing this discussion, I think it is important to note that some teams have a static approach to shifting the mark, while others are more dynamic. In the static case, the mark starts off taking away more of the reset look only on the sideline, while giving up more of an angle downfield. In the dynamic case, the marker starts off with a conventional angle, but rotates with the marker when they turn to hit the dump.
    
    With that said, whatever strategy you choose to adopt to combat this mark, your task will generally be easier if the thrower and cutters are actively looking to move the disc off the sideline as early as possible. Instead of waiting for a lane cut to develop, realize that your primary goal is to get the disc out of a situation where the defense has an advantage (they have the sideline to help them, and they have a cohesive defensive strategy to take advantage of this position).
    
    A static change in the marker's position on the sideline generally means that everybody but the thrower needs to adjust their strategy. The downfield players need to realize that their defenders are not getting as much help from the mark as they used to, and need to be in a position to take advantage. For example, players in a stack, especially the one closest to the thrower, need to generate more opportunities for the thrower. If the mark shifts a great deal, the person at the front of the stack can basically cut as if they were a dump, and preferentially try and receive the disc on the break side.
    
    A dynamic change, where the marker is actively denying the thrower's main target, be it downfield or to a reset, means the thrower will need to create and be ready to capitalize on different opportunities as they are presented. The main weakness of an active mark is the relative inability of the mark to tell where the real threat is located. For example, if a cut to the break side is a little tight, the thrower can move the mark and create a larger window by faking a throw to the dump.
     
  • JEFF EASTHAM-ANDERSON
• Three Looks
  
  
  
  • Nothing earth-shattering here, but first and most important: the easiest way to get out of this situation is to avoid it. A good offense recognizes what the D is playing early (see the zone, see the clam, see everything). An anti-reset mark can be set up by the defense several throws ahead. A person sits in the lane, leaving the handler on the sideline open. It's an obvious throw. The first way to avoid this is to have that receiver (the person who would be trapped) move towards the thrower. Often it is better to all but hand the disc to this person, avoiding the longer throw and the trap. Even better, the receiver can circle behind — resetting the count while moving upfield.
    
    The second way to avoid this is to break the mark before you have to. When the defense drops the person in the lane, don't be tempted — work the disc the other way.
    
    Sometimes, you just can't avoid going into the trap. In this case, I recommend shortening the count in your mind. If you like to look reset or swing at 6, then you are now thinking of doing it by 3. This often will help you get the disc off prior to the mark getting set. A side note — it's important that the other players recognize that you are doing this — you need them to be looking for the throws quickly. This doesn't mean that you should panic. I've coached teams to think of this situation as "three looks."
    
    Look 1 — you receive the disc and you start to turn — looking upfield and back to the middle. Your first look is back into the field, away from the trap sideline. Your priority is to gain yards, but avoid the trap.
    
    Look 2 — you continue to turn — looking almost straight up field (close or far).
    
    Look 3 — you look back into the same place as look 1. You basically have bounced your turn off of the sideline. Always looking upfield.
     
  • ADAM GOFF
• Moving Without The Frisbee
  
  
  
  • Rotating the mark is a very effective strategy in forcing teams into difficult situations. This strategy works especially well in windy conditions or against teams that primarily run a vertical stack. I am sure that other authors will talk about the mechanics of the thrower in this situation but the one thing that I want to emphasize in this situation is the role of the cutter (normally a handler) who is in the dump position.
    
    When a mark rotates 45 degrees to take away the backfield dump, the window for a flat forehand in the inside lane is opened. As a thrower, this is great but only half of the battle. In order to take advantage of this window, the dump cutter must actively become aware of this newly opened window. There are two cuts that I would recommend to take advantage of this window.
    
    The traditional dump cut — cut upfield, stop and become open for a dump in the backfield is exactly what the defense wants you to do. To take advantage of the inside lane, the traditional cut should be modified by driving an additional 3-5 yards farther upfield so that you are coming out of your break in the newly opened IO window. This will allow an easy flat throw along the IO lane.
    
    The second cut is equally effective and my personal favorite. Again, this cut relies on the dump cutter realizing that they are in a "no-dump" situation. The cutter begins the cut by going for the up-line (or post, 02, power position cut) at full speed. Once the dump cutter reaches the IO window, stop on a dime. Your defender will normally be out of position for 1-2 seconds allowing an easy flat throw along the IO lane.
     
  • JACOB GOLDSTEIN
• Take Advantage Of The Given Space
  
  
  
  • Rotating the mark can be a very effective strategy against teams that effectively use the reset to work the disc upfield when the initial cut isn't open. This defense works best when it has the element of surprise behind it. However, like many defenses, if offenses recognize that this strategy is being used they can develop a plan to counter it.
    
    The easiest thing to think about is what the defense gives up when they implement this strategy. The obvious thing is the inside-out throw that gets the disc off the line. Having an upfield cutter make a move back to the middle of the field after making a hard cut to the line will frequently be an easy way to take advantage. Another option is to shift the stack closer to the sideline so that there is more space to the inside-out side of the stack for the thrower to use and for cutters to cut.
    
    If a team is determined to get the disc to the reset, one adjustment to make is to have the reset wait for a thrower-initiated throw. This keeps the throwing space more open for the thrower, giving larger room for error. If the reset moves early and winds up behind the disc on that sideline there is very little space for the thrower.
    
    Finally, when that mark moves around, there is really no pressure on the upfield huck. A patient thrower should be able to use this to get off an uncontested huck if he has the confidence to wait until late in the count.
     
  • GREG HUSAK
• Rotate 90 °
  
  
  
  • The anti-reset mark can effectively make the backfield dump a very difficult throw. Here are a few ways to prevent this defense from making your life as a thrower difficult.
    
    First of all, the D is most effective on a high stall count when you are running out of time and options (and many teams will only shift their marks to take away the dump once the stall count gets high). Looking to your resetter very early lessens the chance that the anti-reset mark will be set in the first place. In a similar vein, faking and pivoting early and aggressively will make it less likely that your mark can tell when you're actually looking for the reset.
    
    If you do find yourself with an anti-reset mark and a dump that's covered up the line, there's a simple trick that you can use to make your remaining options seem much less daunting: turn your back to the sideline and then mentally rotate the field 90 degrees so that you now imagine your endzone of attack to be in the direction you are facing. The mark will now be a regular angled, force one-way mark, and the person at the front of the stack is now standing in the open side lane.
    
    Chances are their defender may not have adjusted to the mark opening up your options to hit that front of the stack player. Make sure your reset handler and their defender stay out of the way, preferably by staying back for the dump so that the mark continues to force the same way. The front of the stack player is now in a good position to either make a cut on what is now the open side, or even better, simply wait for you to put a pass out straight in front of you for them to run onto. From the perspective of what the real field actually looks like, this pass will be a cross-field pass into the middle of the field. With a little bit of float on that throw, you can put it out in front of your target such that they run onto it with momentum towards the break side of the field, and their mark trailing them on the open side- great opportunity to a continuation yardage cut on the break side!
     
  • PERI KURSHAN
• Transition From The Grabled Mess
  
  
  
  • The anti-reset mark is very effective at putting throwers in an uncomfortable position. You've been working it up the line effectively, dumping when needed, but generally marching up the field. Now, the defense has shifted, and you either have to make a tough break backwards or hope that your resets can break free up the line. The sideline, as the 8th defender, limits your options. Typically in these situations there is a flood of players close to you, as cutters come in for the bail or defenders sag a bit into the lane.
    
    I find it helpful in these situations to make a 90 degree turn and pretend I have a normal force mark moving horizontally, not vertically. Now, instead of looking at a garbled mess and a shrunken open side, I am looking at 40 yards with both an open side and a break opportunity. More times than not, there is chaos in the new open side but a decent throw available to the new break side — either an IO to someone coming into the middle of the field, or an angled throw (think hammer or blade) to a cutter whose defender is sagging in. Not only do these throws beat the anti-mark, they also often lean to additional yardage up the break side.
     
  • ADAM SIGELMAN
• Cut & Clear
  
  
  
  • When we're facing a "rotated" mark paired with good up-line dump defense, we have to do a few things to win.
    
    First, we have to cut and clear decisively. The defensive tactic succeeds if it forces the handlers to "dance," clogging the reset lane and creating uncertainty for the thrower. Even if the handlers have nowhere to run but towards the defense, they must run. Often times, the defense isn't as strong as it looks and the handler can swim past the up-line defender, or the thrower can shimmy to open up the around-break throw.
    
    Even if the defense holds, the decisive handler movement will still expose a soft spot: the inside-out lane. There are a few ways to exploit it.
    
    
    1. A handler who makes a hard up-line cut can button-hook back towards the inside-out lane.
    2. A cutter -- either the first person in a vertical stack, or a far-side cutter in a horizontal stack) can step into the i/o lane. If their defender has rotated to take away the i/o, then often a cutter can make a hard juke and get open straight to the sideline.
    3. Regardless of who makes the cut, the thrower can increase his odds exponentially by pivoting aggressively. In this case, that means pivoting to get his hips past the marker's hips. By using his body to seal the marker, the thrower creates a clean throwing path to the inside lane — either the marker must concede it, or he must foul, resulting in a free throw and a new 10 seconds.
    
    I hasten to add that I think this is a very good defensive strategy, worth adding to a team's arsenal. Any time you can make a team resort to its second or third option, your defense is succeeding.
     
  • BEN VAN HEUVELEN