USA Ultimate

The Huddle, Issue #5: Dump Adjustments

• Challenge Your Rhythm & Your Roles
  
  
  
  • Three thoughts.
    
    First, this is just the way high pressure games are. As the stakes increase, the defense ratchets up and the offense needs to ratchet up accordingly. How do you do this? Be mentally strong. The best path to this kind of mental fortitude is playing in and winning these games. The second best path (and the one reserved for those not on championship teams) is practicing all out. You play how you practice, so if you challenge yourself and your teammates every practice, you gameday performance will be correspondingly superior.
    
    The first technical adjustment is to change rhythm. Are you a dump-on-6 team? Start throwing some of your resets on 1, 2, 3 in the stall count. Good defensive teams and players run a clock in their heads. If your team is predictable about when it throws its resets, you are effectively telling the defenders when you are gong to cut. You don't have to throw but a few off-rhythm passes to get an edge on the defense. Throw a couple swings on stalling 2 and then your fake on stalling 2 gets the defender biting and guessing.
    
    The second adjustment is to bring your bigs into the handler set on stalling 7 or 8 for an emergency reset. Instead of throwing to a dancing and scrambling handler, have your bigs continue their cuts down into the hole for a two or three yard flip to reset the stall count. Then the big hits the handler with the swing on stalling 1 or 2 (see above). Both Sockeye (CK and MC) and Furious (Lugs and MG) use this technique consistently and effectively.
     
  • LOU BURRUSS
• Challenge Your Rhythm & Your Roles
  
  
  
  • My first impression of this situation would be to not over-react. There have been close calls, and one turn on handler cuts. If you are getting close to, or are already at the half, this is a pretty good tally to have, and I wouldn't make major changes.
    
    Some small things to consider:
    • If the other team is counting the stall quickly (most likely the case), the thrower should make the fast-count call as he turns to the dump, or earlier.
    • A typical adjustment would be for the throwers to look to the dumps earlier. However, since the downfield flow is "good," if you start trying to get a short reset at 5 instead of 6, you'll end up throwing more throws per point, as dumps will be thrown instead of downfield cuts that show up from stall 5 to 6. Typically, more throws is not a good thing, and may or may not be balanced by an increased completion percentage.
    • If you have some other offensive set, give it a try for a point or two to keep the defense from continuing to zero in on your primary set.
    
    If this sequence of events has happened in the first few points of the game, and it has entered the team's psyche, then you should start thinking about making major changes:
    • If you don't have an alternative offensive set, think about getting a couple players who work well together to run a dominator or trimanator for a set number of throws or to a call where you enter your normal offensive set.
    • If the defense is overplaying one or more aspects of your scheme, change the position/timing so your players will have another option. For example, if a team is camping on the inside-out break to the front of the stack, have that cutter fake to the break side, and then go back to the open side.
    • Emphasize looking for and hitting the first open receiver, even if it is outside of your offensive set. The overall goal being to keep the disc moving, and prevent the defense from settling into whatever set the have worked out.
    
     
  • JEFF EASTHAM-ANDERSON
• A Prescribed Rotation
  
  
  
  • In this situation, it seems that it would be best to prescribe some movement, team-wide, which will give the thrower some better options than "turn to the dump." Expressing some coordinated movement where all players (or at least those around the disc) have certain responsibilities will help clear up confusion and provide purpose to people's movement.
    
    On a previous team I played for, we had very specific dump rotations, and we ran a specific rotation for the first half and then switched that movement at halftime. The movement typically involved at least 2 people around the disc and was designed to give the thrower two complementary, simple looks.
    
    In the example, the upfield movement is good so you have to be careful of doing something which may interrupt that movement. To this end, it may be more beneficial to encourage the reset receivers to really focus on getting setup earlier. If the thrower feels the dump presence waiting, he will be more inclined to turn earlier, and give the receiver more time to work. Too frequently an incompleted dump pass is put on the thrower, but there are many things the receiver can do to make the thrower more comfortable: give more space to throw to, or position the defender in a bad place. Sometimes this is as simple as having dump cutters focus on getting into position earlier.
    
    I think these adjustments would be especially valuable for a begining team. A more experienced team would have a more organic process where the thrower and cutter are in tune with one another and have more freedom to ad-lib good movement. Specific rotations and direct instructions ("Get set up earlier," or, "Give the thrower more space") will help get an inexperienced team on the same page quicker.
     
  • GREG HUSAK
• Kinetic & Potential Energy
  
  
  
  • I believe that good chemistry between handlers can affect the game more than at any other position. Having two or three experienced handlers that really know each other is such an advantage because they likely have withstood defensive pressure like this before and they likely have talked about it and figured out, between them, how to deal with it. Because they can predict what the other is going to do, they don't panic when the stall count gets higher and they can reset the disc accordingly.
    
    The next best thing to good chemistry is having a dump system and running it continuously at practice. Drilling over and over at practice simulates chemistry by making cuts and throws predictable. When the pressure mounts and novel situations present themselves, like the unusually stifling defense here, handlers can rely on the cuts they know are coming. It sounds so simple, but on the fields it's a very difficult thing to do.
    
    In my experience, when handlers run into trouble moving the disc it is because the dump system and chemistry induce different results. The system might tell you "cut upfield" whereas chemistry tells you "cut downfield." It seems like the turnover that happened in this situation resulted from this type of miscommunication. Since that is the only turnover between the handlers so far I would pull them aside to make sure they get back on the same page. Handlers deserve a lot of discretion to decide how to make adjustments to particular situations like this one. They often see important things that other players don't and should be free to take advantage of what they see. However, its important to keep a close eye on them, as system-wide or personnel adjustments may be necessary.
    
    At the college level, where a couple of main handlers will play a large portion of the points, you have to consider fatigue from playing against such tight defense when deciding whether to make a halftime adjustment. You will need these handlers to play well at the end of games. To keep them from getting gassed, adjustments can be made to the dump system to minimize cutting. For example, the dump could focus on finding a good position early in the stall count so when the thrower turns to dump he is already in position. Then the dump can stand still and let the thrower initiate his cut by throwing the disc to space to one side. This way the handler-dump only has to make one cut to get the reset.
     
  • RYAN MORGAN
• Trial & Evaluation
  
  
  
  • If this is in the middle of an elimination game, and we're going to make an effective adjustment, it needs to be simple. It sounds like the defence is playing particularly tight around the disc, and putting enough pressure downfield to force us to take bad looks. If this is the case, these are probably the things I would try early on:
    
    • Look for the reset earlier in the count.
    • Run give-and-go's more often.
    • Pull any handler off the field that's particularly struggling, or move them downfield to a cutter position.
    • Put a quick/dependable defensive handler onto the O-team.
    • Give a big green light to our best hucker and tell the receivers to give them options.
    
    At half-time, I would evaluate which of these strategies is working and go into more depth with the team about how exactly we're going to modify our gameplan to execute these successful options.
     
  • JONATHAN POTTS
• Three Scenarios
  
  
  
  • When this happens I need to assess what about our reset isn't working before I change anything. Generally, there are a few problems that are typical of this sort of situation.
    
    The dump is not working hard enough. This is actually not the most likely explanation, but it does happen. This typically results from lack of readiness—the dump fails to get to position in a timely matter, or relies on the thrower to thread the needle rather than actually getting open. Handlers can become lazy getting to the dump position, so I would encourage handlers to throw and go, whether that go is a cut or just getting to the dump position. This always makes life more difficult for defenders and allows the offense to set the tone. If anyone is confused about this, watch Gwen Ambler move after she throws and you'll see what I am talking about.
    
    The dump is working too hard. This is quite common and something I see very often in the college and elite women's game. The dump will either start cutting before the thrower is ready, be indecisive in their cuts, or stick with a bad cut too long before clearing. These all result in movement I like to call "dancing," and on the ultimate field dancing is bad. A dump needs to be patient (wait for the thrower to signal readiness with vocal or body communication), decisive (make 0-2 jukes and a strong cut), and realistic (if they aren't open get the heck out—we typically have the front of the stack ready as a bailout dump option if the first dump is not available). Dancing often results from tenacious face-guarding defense, which can be dismantled better by the dump standing stationary and the thrower, unbeknownst to the defender, putting the disc into space, rather than the extra movement on the dump's part. It is important for the dump to just chill out and not get frustrated.
    
    The thrower is being tentative. I see this quite often and I spend a good deal of time working with my college and youth teams on this skill. People always say that if you can throw a dump, you're good to go. But this is a little harder than it sounds. New players are particularly prone to intimidation by an active and physical mark. To combat this, at any level, a thrower needs to communicate with their dump—say her name and turn your entire body toward her, step toward where you want to deliver the pass and, as Michael Baccarini taught us, deal the cards (snap your wrist to get snap on a short throw).
    
    I think that most reset problems stem from one of these three scenarios, as well as the problem of dumps being stagnant and being unwilling to go upfield. But to me, you have two equally good options as a dump—either up-the-line or back—and you better be able to take advantage of both, particularly against aggressive defenders.
     
  • MIRANDA ROTH
• Anticipating The Throw
  
  
  
  • One of the attributes of teams that do well at Nationals and other high-level tournaments is their handler defense. Many teams can do a pretty good job at containing handlers (e.g. getting the mark on to stop upfield break throws, adjusting to stop give-go's, preventing up-the-line cuts). However, I think there are only a few teams that have the personnel and strategy to consistently pressure and generate D's on handler resets—this includes pressure on both the thrower who may or may not be a handler, and on the actual handler who makes the reset.
    
    I think that knowing which of these buckets your opponent falls into is important to include in any pre-game scouting report. Especially if your team is coming off of a game where handler resets were easy, it is easy for offenses to get too comfortable, so knowing beforehand allows the team to do some pre-game prep. Some useful drills to do are ones that emphasize decisive handler motion and on throwing against tough marks.
    
    From a team strategy perspective, there are a few adjustments I would make once the game gets going and it is clear that reset cuts are getting heavy pressure. The first is to calmly acknowledge that it is a little more difficult to complete reset passes, and that we can make it much easier for ourselves if we focus on three things:
    
    1. As a thrower, look a little bit earlier. Give yourself more time so that things are less rushed.
    
    2. Assuming that as a team you are already used to doing this, remind the thrower to fake and pivot. This makes the offense less easy to predict.
    
    3. If you are responsible for making the reset cut, focus on anticipating the throw coming. It may have been easy in the last game to just wait until the thrower looked at you before moving, but now you have to take more initiative. Take a look upfield to see what the thrower sees and check in with your internal stall count. You know your teammates, so keep an eye out for signs that they are about to turn to you. That tenth of a second you gain by anticipating will go a long way.
    
    From a individual perspective, one of the things I really like to think about as a handler against teams with tough handler defense is "winning with your legs, not your throws". This reminds me to focus on being aggressive with my legs to drive my defender so that I can put myself in good positions to make easy throws.
     
  • NANCY SUN
• Movement, Movement, Movement
  
  
  
  • The best way to attack a team that is playing good shut-down defense is to keep the disc moving, and moving quickly. This is not a novel concept by any means, but it's rare that a team actually hits the first open pass consistently. Throwers tend to get antsy if you're not gaining yardage and instead of looking to get rid of the frisbee, will instead hold it looking for something upfiled. Every defense loves to play against a team that holds the disc. It allows the mark to be more aggressive, and lets the downfield defenders lock down on their men (because they know where the disc will be coming from when a throw goes up).
    
    So the basic strategy is to hit the first open pass you see. If you're not used to playing this way it can be quite an adjustment&you're not looking for the ideal pass, but you're making the first high percentage pass no matter where it is. It may seem like you're moving the disc just for the sake of moving it, and you're really not getting anywhere. In fact, that may well be the case for the first number of passes of a point. The key is to generate movement from the handlers and cutters, and to bounce the disc around as quickly as possible without being frantic. Throw and go. If there's not an obvious open cut when you receive a pass, pitch it right back to the thrower and cut again.
    
    Moving the disc starts with the handlers—they need to get the ball rolling, and the downfield cutters fill in the gaps when they see a swing pass go up, or when a handler gets an up-line pass.
    
    It's all about movement—with the disc and with cuts. Don't hold the disc as a thrower, and don't stand around as a handler. The one caution is to make sure you don't rush your throws&catch the disc, find the open man, make a good throw, then get going again. The last thing you want to do is turf a 5 yard pass because you rushed it, or drop an easy pass because you were focused on the next pass instead of making sure of the catch.
     
  • CHRIS TALARICO
• Addressing Your Weakness
  
  
  
  • A good offense should be able to reset against even a very good defense. If we're having trouble resetting, chances are that we're suffering from a problem of our own making: either A. The design of our reset protocol is flawed; or B. We're executing it poorly. †
    
    A. There are many effective ways to reset a disc, but any effective way will probably have these elements:
    • The reset cutters give the thrower at least two options, simultaneously or in close succession, such that the marker must leave at least one throw open.
    • The resets begin their cuts early in the stall count (by stall 5—probably earlier), such that the thrower can pivot at least a couple of times, if need be, before throwing.
    • The reset cutters are positioned such that they are threatening two viable cutting spaces.
    • There is a "safety valve" cutter—often times a downfield cutter (rather than a handler)—who is looking to move towards unoccupied space (often an inside-out/breakmark passing lane) on a high stall.
    • The primary reset's goal is not only to get ten more seconds, but also to win vertical and/or lateral yards.
    
    B.Several common execution problems:
    • When reset cutters are covered, the thrower just watches them, instead of pivoting and faking to them (thereby moving the mark along with him).
    • Well-guarded reset cutters "dance" in the lane, thinking that the team is depending on them to get the disc. In reality, they are taking up space that a secondary reset or "safety valve" cutter might otherwise use to get open.
    • The reset cutters haven't sprinted into position or aren't in ideal position to start a cut when the thrower needs it.
    • The reset cutters are taking nonaggressive angles, failing to get their bodies between the defender and the space the disc will be thrown to.
    
    
    N.B. All of these execution problems are also likely symptoms of player fatigue and/or inadequate physical conditioning.
    
    In our hypothetical elimination game, we need to ask what the single biggest reason is that they're able to defend our resets well. ("Single biggest," I say, because not even the most coachable player can implement more than one big change at once). Are our handlers too fatigued to get into position early? Maybe then we should seek opportunities to rest them; or we can assign someone on each sideline to talk to them throughout each point to remind them to get into position; or if they're defensive handlers, we make sure they're matched up on easier opponents.
    
    Whatever the solution, if it's an in-game adjustment, it has to address the weakness that they're most taking advantage of, and we have to choose only one thing to address.
    
    † There is a third possibility, which is that we're executing a very good strategy pretty darn well, but the defense has tailored a specific strategy to us, which is causing our miscues. The hypotheticals here get a little bit too confusing to go into much detail. As a general principle, though, I'll say that we need to adjust our strategy, and our adjustment, since it's in-game, needs to be significant yet very very simple.
     
  • BEN VAN HEUVELEN