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After
Your First Week
 Now
that you've got your first week of Ultimate under your belt and you've been
completely and utterly swamped with people trying to help, let's talk about
what the hell they have been saying to you. Ultimate has more phrases than
a millipede has legs.
Every player has 10 seconds to throw the disc.
If your check (i.e. the player defending you when you have the disc) is not
counting, please remind them to count out loud to 10; often newer players
forget. If someone is counting too fast you may call fast count; at this point
they must go back 2 in the stall count. If they continue to count too fast
and you call it again within the same stall count, the play stops and the
count goes back to 0.
If any player on the field impedes the progress
of a defensive player trying to check their offensive counterpart, the defensive
player should call pick very loudly so play does not continue. If play continues
and the disc is turned over, the turnover. The defensive player must be within
10 feet (3 meters) of their check to call a pick.
Only one defensive player may be within 10 feet
of the thrower unless another offensive player is within a 10 foot radius
of the thrower.
Fouls are the result of physical contact between
opposing players. A catching foul may be called when there is contact between
opposing players in the process of attempting a catch, interception, or knock
down. A certain amount of incidental contact during or immediately after the
catching attempt is often unavoidable and is not a foul. If a player contacts
an opponent before the disc arrives and thereby interferes with that opponent's
attempt to make a play on the disc, that player has committed a foul. If a
player's attempt to make a play on the disc causes significant impact with
a legitimately positioned stationary opponent, before or after the disc arrives,
it is considered "harmful endangerment" and is a foul.
If
a catching foul occurs and is uncontested, the player fouled gains possession
at the point of the infraction. If the call is disputed, the disc goes back
to the thrower. If an uncontested foul occurs in the end zone, the player
fouled gains possession at the closest point on the goal line to the infraction.
Throwing fouls are when the thrower's passing motion is impeded by a moving
marker prior to releasing the disc. If the marker is stationary the thrower
may not step into them to complete a pass.
A defensive player may not knock the disc from
the hands of an offensive player.
The offensive player may not drag their pivot
foot or run with the disc. A player who is running and catching must try to
stop as quickly as possible (3 steps maximum) prior to throwing to a teammate.
These are the most common rules. If someone is constantly breaking a rule,
it may not be because they are unspirited; it may be because they don't know
the rules.
I see it every time I watch newer players play
Ultimate. They are on offense running down the field and a turnover occurs.
It takes a second or two for them to realize that, "Hey, my team doesn't have
the disc anymore," and by this time their check has run into the endzone and
is wide open for a few seconds.
Ultimate is a very high paced game and turnovers occur quite frequently. If
you see the disc hit the ground, you should immediately find your check because
he is going to try and roast you like you have never been roasted before.
The instinct to become a defensive player is not natural. You are going one
way, in control of everything, and then all of the sudden all the control
is taken away from your team and given to your opponents. But there is something
you can do about this. Get the disc back by playing some incredibly gnarly,
layout, in your face D.
Transition defense may also get some help form the marker. Your team should
have picked a direction to force the disc in the event that you would wind
up on defense. If the person who is, or will be marking the disc, sees someone
wide open down field, he should put on what is called a "Straight Up Force"
for a few stall counts in order for that open person's check to catch up to
him. By playing a straight up force, the marker is trying to prevent the thrower
from hucking the disc a long distance. The marker should try to get back to
the original force direction before too long or he will get broken, thus giving
all the advantage back to the offense.
More experienced players: You should be reading the play as it moves down
field and if you see a potential turnover situation you should be preparing
yourself to play defense before the disc even comes close to hitting the ground.
This way you will be prepared to shut down the huck if someone on your team
gets roasted by quick transition. This does not mean "don't have faith in
your teammates". You may be surprised how your team can come out of an adverse
situation. As an experienced player you should have two or three strategies
planned out for many different eventualities. If the pass is caught by a teammate
you may find yourself wide open because your defender thought there would
be a turnover. [1]
This is probably one of the most misunderstood
phrases in the game for new players. I will try to clarify it for you. The
field has an imaginary line that originates at the disc and runs from end
zone to end zone, parallel to the sideline. Got it!? All your stuff and your
teammates' stuff and your water bottles and lawn chairs and umbrellas and
your coolers full of beer and ... your ... this is the "Home" side. The other
side is the "Away" side. At the beginning of each point your team should decide
which way it is going to force your opponents to throw.
For this example say you are forcing the thrower "Home". This means that you
are making a commitment to your teammates that you will not let the thrower
throw to the "Away" or "Closed" side of the field. You should position yourself
so that your body and arms are in a plane (not wrapping around the thrower
as this is a foul) and you are at anywhere from a 45 to 90 degree angle to
the thrower. (If you are at 90 degrees you would be facing directly "Home.")
From this position you should be light enough on your feet that if the thrower
tries to step around your force (either forward or backward) you can move
quickly to shut down the new angle the thrower establishes. Maintaining a
force is critical as your teammates are depending on you to make the thrower
throw in one particular direction. While you are forcing "Home" your teammates
are trying not to let their checks get open on the "Home" of "Open" side of
the field. The figure below illustrates the "Home" force.
Reverse everything for an "Away" force.
Common phrases you’ll here on the ultimate field
are:
"Don't get broken"
"Nothing Out"
"No I/O" or "No Inside/Out."
"No step around"
All of these translate to HOLD THE FORCE. Have I made it painfully obvious
yet that holding the force is probably the most important concept in defense?
References
[1] Mich's Guide to Ultimate (Vancouver Ultimate
League) http://www.vul.bc.ca/ [2] Ian "Scott" Scotland Issue 34, November
1996, Page 11 British Ultimate Federation (BUF) Newsletter Ultimatum
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