German Offense – In the endzone

While vertical and horizontal offense are the primary styles of strategies teams have adopted, there is still the “mythical” German offense that you hear about.  It was a lot more common to hear people talk about German offense a few years ago but we thought it would be interesting to post an article about how your team could use this strategy to confuse opponents. That being said, this article is just our interpretation of what German offense can look like.

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Horizontal – Break Force Funnel

The Break Force Funnel is a simple horizontal play that is initiated by a handler on the open side making a break force cut.   This play can be effective for teams that have strong throwing abilities as it requires each player throwing a potential break force throw.  The main focuses of this play are the initial break force cut by the handler, the flooding out of the lane cutters, and quick passes.

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Tips for Improving Your Huck

We’ve had a few questions lingering in the UltimateHandbook Discussion Forum that have turned into a great topic to write about here in the main blog. You can check out the original thread here: a Hucking Question. The two main questions that emerged were:

1. What are the most common mistakes when people huck?
2. Any technical tips to help improve my hucks?

jake60 offered up a checklist of how he approaches backhand hucks, thinking of the ankle, knee, waist/hips, shoulder, elbow and wrist. This is a similar approach I’ve taken when trying to teach new players how to throw any throw, and it’s also helpful to break down your own throwing as you get more advanced. So to help everyone out, here are a few tips for hucking the disc.

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Offence – Horizontal Flood Out

This play, the  Horizontal Flood Out, demonstrates how easy it is to create space on the field if players work together.  This play is very accessible to all skill levels but it should be used in rotation as the defence can catch on to this one quite easily.

The general idea behind the horizontal flood out is to have one pair of lane cutters cut deep (6 and 7).  In this play, the lane cutters on the open side are cutting deep.  When the two lane cutters are half way down their cut the inside cutter (5) from the other pair should cut to the open side.  With the amount of open space available, the inside cutter (5)  should be able to get open even with a defender marking this side.   Once this lane cutter receives the disc, the other inside cutter (6) that struck deep should reverse cut back in.  This reverse cut should be easy if the defender is covering the deep throw.   Following the 2nd inner lane cutter receiving the disc, the opposite lane cutter (4) cuts up field right away to receive a break force throw.  Although this is a break force throw, lane cutter (6) should could have a second or two when the defending mark is not there.   The last step involves lane cutter (7) striking to the endzone on the breakside.
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Offence – L Stack Isolation Part 2

Following the first article on the L Stack this article looks at the flow of this offence in more detail.  As stated before, the L stack is a flowing offence that is best suited for advanced teams where any player can be a lane cutter or handler.  That being said, it doesn’t mean that every player needs to be equally good at lane cutting or handling, but the gist of it is that if you watch any top level team you’ll notice every player can huck, break the force, cut, dump and get open.

The L Stack can form the long “l” on any side of the force, the demonstration below shows the stack forming on the open side.   By forming on the open side, the handler must make a break force throw to the first lane cutter who should have a lot of room to cut.   From the first break it will be very hard for the defence to adjust, unless they are already practicing a high degree of poaching.  The animation below shows the perfect scenario where the first break, leads to an easy second break pass up the field.  Following this, the stack adjusts back into the L formation still leaving the defence in no position to cover an end zone goal.  These passes must be run at a very fast pace such that the defenders are scrambling to reorganize and keep the force away.
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Offence – L Stack Isolation

The L Stack is a newer type of offensive strategy that has being used sparingly by few teams.   It’s very uncommon to see an L Stack for beginner teams and is best suited for experienced teams with a speed advantage.  A L Stack is exactly what it sounds like, a stack that is shaped like a L.  There are many ways to create a L Stack and this example below is just one way of using the strategy

The formation consists of 2-3 handlers back and then a stack of players that are slightly slanted and isolated from one side of the field.  The L Stack gives lane cutters and handlers a lot of space to cut on the field.  It’s almost like a vertical stack but with much more emphasis on having the cutting player isolated on one side.  The demonstration below shows a typical vertical stack turning into a L stack.
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Horizontal Isolation

This is a very generic play that is meant for teams that have an athletic advantage over their opponents. The general premise behind this play is to isolate lane cutters to one on one battles with their defenders. By using the room a horizontal setup can provide, it should be easier for your lane cutters to get open. The major challenge with this play is keeping the remaining defenders busy so they do not poach. The best way to deal with poaching players is to make the play very dynamic, and allow other lane cutter “fake cuts” to become real viable options if their defenders do not cover them.

As you can see, this type of play could lead to a quick score because once the isolated lane cutter gets the disc, it leaves the other lane cutter in an isolated position to run deep. This play is best for teams with highly athletic lane cutters, primarily the two involved as they must be able to get open very quickly and deal with potential poaching.

Key Points:

1. Disc should initiate from the center handler
2. Other laner cutters must make real cuts to keep the defensive players from poaching.
3. Every cut from the isolated lane cutter is a viable option. If the player gets open on the first cut deep, the handler should throw it.
4. The focus of this play is on one on one battles. The advantage is always with the cutting player.

Crossfield Hucking – Horizontal Drill

CrossField Hucking (Flash Illustration)

Horizontal Repositioning

After you have completed a pass up-field to a lane cutter, you now face the situation where you have to reposition your players. In the horizontal setup, you want to keep 3 handlers back, and 4 lane cutters spread downfield. When your first pass goes up, the lane cutter who makes the catch essentially becomes a handler. It is the job of the original handlers to reposition themselves by having one of them slide downfield to join the lane cutters. People often ask how do you know which handler moves downfield? It’s a complete judgment call that should be based on a few factors: who is in the best position to shift downfield, and how can we most easily restore our original starting setup (3 handlers, 4 lane cutters, everyone spread across the field)? This is part of the dynamic nature of horizontal O and it’s what not only makes it effective, but also fun.

Repositioning (Flash Illustration)

Horizontal Lane Cutting

This is a very basic demonstration of how lane cutters can set up and initiate their cuts in a horizontal offense. For this part, ignore the handlers and pay particular attention to the positioning and the movement of the lane cutters.
This is a very basic demonstration of how lane cutters can set up and initiate their cuts in a horizontal offense. For this part, ignore the handlers and pay particular attention to the positioning and the movement of the lane cutters.

Lane Cutting (Flash Illustration)