Ultimate Frisbee: “May the force be with you”

Gold (thrower) breaks the mark at Chennai Heat 2013.

“Forcing is a strategic attempt, by the defense, to force the thrower to throw the disc into an area of the defense’s choosing or to pressure the thrower into making an error.” –Ultimate Rob

One of the most basic defensive principles is the ‘force’. Forcing is a vital foundation on which team defenses are built and run. Without a disc mark, it is not even possible to play defense! I wish more teams stressed on the importance of marking to their rookies.

It’s certainly amongst the first things I’d teach new players, making sure they understand the value of learning the skill early and why its high on the priority list. “If nothing else – do this right and you’ll be contributing to the team right-away.”

I am in no way trying to underplay the importance of throwing/ catching or learning those skills early. New players, even as they are in the process of learning to throw and catch can start contributing in a significant way, much earlier, by setting up a solid mark and maintaining a force while on defense.

Learn more:

- Beginners: A simple 101 defense tutorial. Extremely simple explanation of a force.

- Intermediate / advanced: Here’s a great video by RiseUp Ultimate on marking technique. (triangle marking scheme)

Food for thought: Why doesn’t your team allocate time at EVERY session to practice marking?