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A few thoughts on ultimate practice sessions
Throws
Why practice throws? Well, throws are the bread and butter of any ultimate player. You can run like the wind, but if you cant catch or throw, you are of no use to anybody.
As with any physical activity its all muscle memory. No perfect throw is going to magically materialize on game day unless you had practiced that same throw a thousand times. Good luck doesn’t happen to people who don’t deserve good luck.
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There have been many studies that have tried to figure out how the position of the goal (be it a football goal, basketball rim, a team mate for a pass) is received from the eyes, processed by the brain and finally executed by the hand. All I can say is don’t think of them as different entities, they must act as one, they must all be in perfect sync in real time. You cannot theoretically figure that out, it needs to be imprinted in your nerve paths, you have to earn it, earn it by doing the same action a thousand times until it comes out instinctively.
Have you noticed that the best way for you to hit a target, is to not think about the target, nor measure the different parameters going into hitting the target, just let instinct take over. What we call instinct though, is just practice under a different name.
For this part of the practice you need to have a clear cut plan, know your weaknesses, decide which throw you want to perfect, and practice them every time you get onto the field. The team need not set rules – each person should grab a partner and do their own thing.
Let this be the first thing after warm up – 2 people per disc, every practice, before every game. Try out different throws, goof off, see if you can do an 8 with the disc, work the disc into tight corners, hit an X, do a blind pass, reverse throw, back pass, what ever comes to your mind, but do it a thousand times, until you are confident about that throw, and then, file it away to be summoned at game time.
Drills
The first team activity should always be drills. There are be drills for everything. Work on them as if your life depended on them for teams will live and die by how successfully they run their drills. If you cannot get off a pass to your teammate in the controlled environment of a drill, good luck getting it together on game day.
The drill master should lay down the purpose of the drill to the T and every person should concentrate on each and every aspect of the same, no creativity, no winging it, no jogging, no improvisation, every movement, every aspect of the drill should be sharp and focussed.
If it needs to be a chest high straight pass, thats what every throw should be, if you are required to cut sharply before receiving the disk, that is what should happen every time you have to receive the disk, if you jog now, you will jog game day, if you throw an errant pass now, most likely your throw in the game is going to be errant, so concentrate on every aspect of the drill.
Be serious, respect your teammates by giving it your all, don’t drop the disc, and constantly evaluate your mistakes and rectify them. Perfection is what we want here.
A drill does multiple things. It builds on the muscle memory from the throws, it helps simulate game situations, it helps build coordination among the teammates and teaches you the basics of moving around in the field.
Maintain the highest discipline during a drill, no drops, no improvisation, just follow the rules. If you cannot get off 20 repetitions as a team, how can you score a goal? Everybody needs to be on the same page, you are only as strong as your weakest link. Help each other out, willingly take help, this builds the team, you might have the best individual players, but if you cannot play together, it will come to nothing..
Let’s analyze a simple W drill. First element is a cut, if you teach yourself to make a semi circle as a cut, that is what you will get used to, and you will never be able to shake your defender off.
Accelerate, make a sharp cut, that’s the only way you are going to get the disc in the game. Once you cut, get to the right position, and catch the disc with two hands, one hand is lazy, if you catch the disc with one hand in the drill you will get used to doing that and that decreases the probability of you safely catching the disc in the game.
The person throwing the disc can throw it wide and the person catching it can still catch it, but what happens after that, the high percentage five feet dump pass now becomes a low percentage 10 yard throw.
You can throw the disc over a persons head and he or she can still catch it, dive, pick it inches from the ground, but with a defender with him the probability of that catch being completed reduces sharply, the pass has to be in the catching zone, and the person has to be able to catch it in his stride, not wait for the disc nor dive.
Remember, diving looks good, but it essentially means something went wrong before that, if you had to dive then the throw wasn’t right. Once you get rid of the disc, sprint back to the stack, if you jog now then you will do the same in the game, clogging up passing lanes without even knowing it. Bad habits can be picked up easily – I am tired today, its just a drill, I will do it in the game, everybody are doing the same, but once it becomes a habit, your game will degrade without you even knowing it.
Fitness
Its great if you can make every throw in the book, and some out of the book too, but if you cant get to the disc what use is that. You have to get fit, you need to be able to keep up with the pack and you do that by running and strengthening.
Again, the team is only as strong as its weakest link. Everybody should have their own personal workout and there should also be a team running / strengthening session once a week. Build the core, build your abs, use a complete body workout. Work on short sprints work on long distance running, do weight training, do yoga remember a little bit of everything will go into making you the best ultimate player you can be.
Strategy
What are we but monkeys with a plate if we don’t use our brains. A general once said, in a battle if you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn’t plan your mission properly.
Try out different ideas, the internet is rife with what different teams have tried out. Be creative, be adventurous, practice and try out 2 man cups, 3 man cup, other zone defenses, try horizontal stacks, scripted plays, position plays, try anything that might give you an advantage in the real game. Trust me, the pleasure when you successfully execute something you have strategized, planned and practiced is immeasurable.
Come up with trick plays, do something new every time, surprise your opponents, its more fun and you will have a better team that way.
Play
There is no substitute to actual game time, nothing beats being in the thick of action. The game is what brings everything together. Mix up your roles in the game, try defending different players each time, simulate game situations like an universal point.
Try your hand at different sports too. You would be surprised how much ultimate improves your other sports and vice versa. Play ultimate 3 on 3, play 5 on 5, play 10 on 10, play in a basketball court, play indoor, play on a regular soccer field. Play soccer rules with your disc, play disc golf, play drinking games with the disc, but play, because that is the most fun you can have.
