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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New Play for Horizontal Offence – Isolation

I have just posted a new horizontal play that covers isolation of lane cutters.

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.

Check out the flash play here.

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.

Getting “The Break” – Part 3: How to Prevent Getting Broken

This is the third article in a series of posts looking at “The Break”. In Part 1 we covered the concept of “the break” point – scoring after your team has made the play to get a d-block or interception. In Part 2 we took a look at some tactics your team can use to get the break. Here in Part 3 we’re going to look at the flip side – what can you do to avoid getting broken?

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Getting “The Break” – Part 2: How to Get It!

This post is a follow-up on Getting “The Break” Part 1. In Part 1 we covered the concept of “the break” point – scoring after your team has made the play to get a d-block or interception. In this post we’ll take a look at what your team can do to first get the break and then capitalize on it with a score.

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New Drill – the Box.

We have just published a new drill called “the box”, an effective drill to practice throwing, cutting, and overall conditioning.  This one requires a full team and is very easy to teach, but is very hard to master.  An advanced team should aim to complete at least 10 consecutive throws.

Check out the new play here.

Getting “The Break” – Part 1: Understanding the Concept

One of the fundamental concepts when it comes to strategy in Ultimate is the idea of “the break”. This isn’t the same thing as making a break-force throw, instead what we’re talking about here is getting “the break” in the back-and-forth process of trading points with a team.

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New Flash Play – Straight up Break Force

We’re happy to annouce the first new flash play in a while.  We’ve watched the polls and noticed there’s a bit more interest and need for drills, so we’ve created a drill called “straight up – break force drill”.  It’s one of our favourite drills as it works the core skills of a player and is accessible to all skill levels.

Check out the new drills page here

Ultimatehandbook Flash Player Upgrade

As part of the first series of updates to the Ultimatehandbook, we have created a new flash player to illustrate plays, strategies and drills. New plays will be coming in the next coming weeks but we are going to open up the plays to the community. So, if you know how to use Flash, and would like to contribute plays, please e-mail me andre.liem@hotmail.com for the flash source file and I will send it your way. We only request that any plays created are contributed back to our site so we can build the Ultimatehandbook into a rich community for Ultimate Frisbee players. Come back in a few weeks to see some new fresh plays.

Coaching Tip: Use Your Cones More

In this first article of a new series of posts, we’ll take a look at a coaching tip that will yield some immediate results and lay the ground work for later success. This tip is particularly helpful to any captain or coach leading a team of new players, or a new team with experienced players who haven’t played together before.

It’s a pretty simple rule of thumb, nothing earth shattering and not hugely complex, a very simple phrase that you can repeat to yourself any time you are planning a drill: “Use your cones more”
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