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Catching
Catching is an underrated skill in ultimate.
Some very experienced players are lazy and display poor catching techniques,
and this is reflected in frequent drops. A good catcher makes difficult catches
look easy and impossible catches look gettable. It is often said that if you
get a hand to a disc you should catch it. More correctly, if the disc is thrown
to you, you should make your best attempt to catch it. Desperation wins games.
On the other hand, poor catching can often lose games.
Using two hands is essential for catches from
just below the knees to just above the top of the head and at least a foot
either side of the body. There are a few different styles of catching, used
under different circumstances. Most straightforward catches will use the pancake
style, while harder passes, particularly those when the receiver is running
at speed may use the crocodile style. Only catches that are too high or two
low to be caught safely with palms facing each other should be caught with
both hands on the rim.
Whenever possible, catches should be attempted
two-handed, with the palms facing each other. The pancake style is close to
the body, with hands at right angles to each other. The receiver should attempt
to get their body behind the direction of travel of the disc. It has the advantage
that if the catch is mistimed, there is a good chance that the disc will hit
the body of the receiver and still be caught between the hands. This is the
style that should be used for the majority of throws as it is least prone
to error.
The crocodile style is out in front of the body
with arms almost parallel, and often with some of the impact being absorbed
by the fore-arms. As for the pancake catch, the receiver should attempt to
get their body behind the disc. The reason in this case is to get the arms
in line with the direction of travel of the disc. The main use for this type
of catch is when the disc is travelling at speed relative to the receiver.
The forearms provide a longer area to decelerate the disc over, and hard throws
are less likely to be dropped. The disadvantage is that because the arms are
roughly parallel, the disc has a tendency to flip out sideways if the arms
do not move directly up and down towards each other.
Catches with both hands on the rim are risky
and rarely necessary. They should only be used if the disc is well above the
head or the around ankles, and in the latter case only when it is not possible
or reasonable to dive or slide to catch it. The disc should be caught with
both hands on the leading edge, one hand on either side of the disc. The reason
rim catches are risky is that they have a tendency to spin out of the hands
sideways, a tendency which is stopped by catching the disc on top and bottom.
Often, it is necessary to layout in order to
get near enough to the disc to attempt a catch or to get away from striving
defenders. The style should be either a "crocodile" catch or a rim catch,
preferably the former. Two-handed layout catches may well be more difficult
than one-handed because it is harder to cushion the impact with the ground.
This impact often dislodges the disc, and is called a ground strip. To avoid
being ground stripped, the catcher should try to keep the arms from hitting
the ground, and use the rest of the body to take the impact. This is one time
when a rim catch has the advantage, because once the disc is in the hands,
it is much harder to dislodge.
 A
one-handed catch should be attempted anywhere where it is difficult or impossible
to catch with two hands. Having to stretch a bit or avoiding falling on the
ground is not an excuse for catching one-handed. Catches around the ankles,
well above the head, or far to either side must necessarily be caught with
one hand. When the disc is skied above receivers and defenders heads in the
air it is usually most advantageous to contest it with one hand. If the disc
is above the elbow, it should be caught thumb down, otherwise thumb up: experience
will show the difference.
One-handed catches are attempted on the rim of the disc, but should preferably
NOT be on the leading edge. The "sweet spot" for catching is to one side of
the most leading point on the edge, depending on the direction of spin. This
is because both angular and linear momentum must be absorbed by the catch.
Experimentation will help most in understanding this.
One-handed layouts are easier on the body than
two-handed layouts, since there is more flexibility in the position that the
receiver can land in. The fingers will be underneath the disc with the thumb
on top. A tight grip is needed once the disc is caught to avoid being ground
stripped. As for the two-handed layout, the receiver should try to keep the
arm with the disc, or at least the elbow, off the ground.
As mentioned above, contested catches are much
harder to make than uncontested catches. The receiver has to actually catch
the disc, while the defender usually only has to get a finger to the disc
to make the D. As a result, the defender can often be in a slightly worse
position and still be able get the block. For example, a defender can jump
from behind and often get a hand in on the disc, although they would never
be able to catch it from there. To avoid this, the receiver can try and occupy
the position that the defender wants to be in while still preventing the defender
from getting the best position for catching (and note that they are not necessarily
the same).
Lastly, be aware of the rules, and what constitutes a foul or a strip. If
you have the disc in your possession, and it is knocked out, either by the
defender knocking the disc or any part of your body, that is a strip, and
you retain possession of the disc if the strip is not contested. If you do
not have possession of the disc, but you are prevented from making a play
on it by the defender hitting your body, that is a foul. If the foul was in
the act of catching, you get possession of the disc. Otherwise it goes back
to the thrower. Also, remember that while most fouls are against the defense,
you can just as easily commit a foul as receiver. You only have the rights
to the space which you occupy, and directly above you, and contact with people
outside that space can be called as a foul. Read the rules for more elaboration,
and only call fouls which are actually fouls.
References
[1] Tom Brennan and Jonathan Potts http://www.afda.com/skills/
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