State of CSUN 2012

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Jimmy Donnellon

A Look Back to 2011

CSUN had an exciting year in 2011. Here are the highlights of Ultimate Frisbee in Colorado Springs.

  • Started Indoor pickup at Fountain Valley School every Tuesday Night throughout the winter
  • Partnership with Breakmark to offer merchandise during the “offseason”
  • Springs team wins GRASS Savage
  • Both CC men’s and women’s teams represent the Springs at College Nationals in Boulder
  • Successful clinics to prepare summer league participants for the season
  • Record numbers of participants for Summer league – over 180 participants
  • Successful BBQ and hat game
  • Blues Clues captained by Clint Wehling wins CSUN Summer League Tournament
  • Swingline wins Spring Thaw & Lungbuster, travels to San Francisco, finishes 2nd at Sectionals and 3rd at Regionals
  • Spring Loaded is formed; competes at Cow Patty, Sectionals, Regionals and Fright Flight - Break seed at both Sectionals and Regionals
  • Fall league continues into its 2nd year
  • Midas Touch captained by Dan Hood wins Fall League

Thank you all who participated in all the events and happenings in 2011!

Looking Forward to 2012

Here is what we look to accomplish for 2012

  • Continued relationship with FVS – Indoor Pickup still every Tuesday throughout the winter
  • CSUN is excited to announce the 2012 High School Spring League
  • Individual schools to submit teams to compete across the city and prepare for State
  • Clinics at interested schools
  • Team advisors/captains needed
  • Coaches clinic held at Bear Creek Park March 3rd
  • Women's Skills and Rules Clinic in March
  • Summer League Registration opens April 1st
  • CC continue to build on last year and look to return to College Nationals – again in Boulder
  • CSUN is looking into running Spring Thaw in May
  • Summer League clinics on two Saturdays in May
  • Summer League First Game Wednesday, May 30th
  • Woodland Park will host some clinics and a hat tournament in June
  • US Open at Air Force Academy - Huge Event
  • Summer League Tournament Saturday August 11th
  • Fall League begins August 25th
  • Spring Loaded and Swingline both look to be back – still discussing formats.
  • Other possible projects:
  • UCCS team – volunteer captains needed
  • Indoor tournament in the Springs
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Ultimate Frisbee Rules – Transitioning to League

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon

Ultimate Frisbee RulesMost people start playing Ultimate Frisbee with friends, a church group or joining a random group playing a pickup game. Usually these games are pretty raw and follow the simple rules of the game; kickoff, throw and catch the disc, if a drop occurs, it’s a turnover and eventually someone will catch it past the goal line for a score, then kickoff again. These games are fun yet can be very chaotic with no limit of the amount of players on the field, concept of boundaries or standard of physicality. So transitioning from the pickup level of play and deciding to join a formal league or team takes courage. First off, there’s the level of intensity. Yes, people take this game seriously. I’ve always said that if there’s a game people play recreationally, someone has taken it to the competitive level – there are yo-yo competitions. Watch ESPN when the Spelling Bee is on and you’ll get what I mean. Secondly, the rules are different and enforced. This is the real reason I’m writing this too.

Here are my five rules every player needs to know when transitioning to “competitive” Ultimate (yes there are more and this is not the official wording):

  1. You can’t drop the pull/kickoff. You can’t even touch the disc before it hits the ground. Usually leagues are “nice” when it happens your first time but it’s still embarrassing.
  2. If the disc is turned over in the end zone, you can bring it to the front line (straight to the line, don’t go to the middle). And if the disc goes out of bounds in the end zone – bring it to the cone.
  3. You have to establish a pivot foot and keep it in place – this isn’t the NBA, there are travel calls in Ultimate Frisbee even if you just slide your foot on the throw. Come to a stop as quickly as you can after catching the disc and no more dancing around when you have the disc in your hands.
  4. If you hit or get hit by someone when trying to catch the disc, most times it’s a foul – you call it. Simply put, if the player disagrees then they contest your call and it’s a do-over. If they agree with you then they say ‘no contest’ and you get the disc.
  5. Also unlike the NBA, picks are illegal in Ultimate Frisbee. A pick in Ultimate is when you are following an offense player within 10 feet and you have to change your speed or direction because your path is impeded by another player, offensive or defensive. When this happens, yell “PICK”. I won’t get into what then happens with continuation of play or turnovers but everyone needs to stop and then you either catch up or the offensive player comes back to you. Also when you hear “PICK”, try to stop.

Runner’s up: college football rules of one foot in/out of bounds calls, stoppage on injury calls, timeouts, pulls that go out of bounds, best perspective, and catching the disc before a line, running past and then resetting at the line.

For all the rules and the exact wording visit the USA Ultimate site

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Ultimate Frisbee Terms

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon

Now that the weather is getting better, we'll have a lot of new players come out to pickup and league. For them, the ultimate frisbee culture is almost a foreign country with its own traditions, customs, rituals and even language. For those of you who I'm talking about here is a list of ultimate terms to get you immersed. For you experienced players here are some terms that some newer players may need explained.

The list is from a Quora question posted in Oct. 2010 but also as a lot of the terms were taken from Disc Ace's list of terms. There were a few who responded. Visit the question and response here. If you don't want to click through, here is the response:

First Reponse (Steve Smith)Backhand
The backhand is the standard throw for ultimate players. This throw has the players fingers curled under the disc with the thumb on top. The arm is extended and brought across the left side of the body.

Bid
A bid is a failed attempt to catch or block the disc.

Bomb
When one team breaks up an advancing teams offense and throws the disc to nobody on the opposite side of the field they call that a bomb. This tactic is used to reset the teams offense and clear out of your own endzone.

Bookends
When a defensive player effectively defends the disc and scores on the ensuing possession they call it bookends.

Brick
A brick is a pull untouched by the receiving team that lands out of bounds.

Blade
A blade is a forehand throw that is thrown high in the air and falls hard and fast to the left side.

Callahan point
(UPA rules) A Callahan point occurs when an opposing team has their pass intercepted in their own end zone. This causes the intercepting team to earn a point.

Chilly
Players use the word "chilly" to remind a thrower to stay calm and patient with the disc, in hopes that they do not rush a throw.

D
Defense or Defend

Corkscrew
A corkscrew is a reverse hammer (see hammer).

Cut
A cut is a critical part of a route by a receiver.

Disc in
When you say "disc in," you signal to the opposing team that the disc is coming into play.

Dump
A dump is a throw to a person who is usually used as a safety valve. Normally someone that is standing close or even behind the thrower for an easy outlet.

Foot Block
You call a block a "foot block" whenever the foot is used to block a pass immediately after it releases the players hand.

Force
A force is any tactic used by the defending team to force the thrower into a specific type of throw, or force them to throw to a specific area of the field.

Forehand / Flick
Thrower leads with middle finger, arm never crosses the body and at the extension of the arm, the player flicks the wrist to throw the disc.

Hack
A hack is a foul.

Hammer
A forehand grip that is thrown over the head. This throw results in the disc flying upside down before tailing off at the end of its flight.

Handler
The handler is the person with the disc.

Hospital Throw
A hospital throw stays in the air for a long time which allows multiple players to pursue the disc at the same time and thus increases their chances for injury.

Huck
A huck is any throw that extends at least half the distance of the field in an attempt to reach a downfield receiver.

Layout
A layout is a diving catch or diving to defend the disc.

Mark
Similar to a force, but the defender is attempting to block all possible throws by moving arms and legs to get in the way of the throw. Contact is not allowed.

O
Offense

Pick
A pick is a defensive tactic where you step in front of the disc and either catch or knock it down.

Pull
A long throw that starts play and initiates the opposing teams possession is called a pull. This is used in a similar way to the kickoff in football

Scurvy
One of the ultimate embarrassments for a defender is to get scurvy. It is the act of faking out the defender so bad that they believe the disc has been released.

Sky
When a player grabs or defends the disc at a much higher point on the field than the other players you call it a sky.

Stack
A stack is an offensive strategy that lines up offensive players one behind the other as they each break a separate way in an attempt to get open.

Swing
Throwing the disc across field usually to reset the stall count or open up a different side of the field, a "swing" throw is not necessarily intended to move the disc closer to the goal line.

Stall count
The defensive player counts up to ten, and if the handler has not thrown the disc before he counts to ten then it results in a turn.

Swill
Swill is a bad throw, usually one that does not have a lot of spin. It's not likely to be caught without great effort from a receiver.

Taco
A disc that is warped is called a taco. If it happens during game play, the disc is either straightened or replaced.

Turn
Short for turnover, a "turn" alerts players that the disc will be going the other way.

Up
Defenders shout "up" once the disc has been released to alert other defenders.

Ultimate is a good game. Hard to find a good team though.

Jason Yun responds and adds his own:

A few revisions to Steve's mostly correct answers:

A bid doesn't necessarily have to be failed; it generally refers to any significant effort to catch or block the disc, usually when laying out.

Blades can be any throw, not just forehand--it simply refers to a throw where the disc flies down with its length perpendicular to the ground, usually at a high speed.

The mark refers to either the act of covering the person with the disc (often preventing that person from throwing in one direction) or the person covering the disc him/herself.
A pick in ultimate is not a defensive play, but rather similar to the play in basketball: getting in a defender's way so that that defender cannot follow his or her man in a straight line. This is a violation in ultimate, and the picked defender can stop play and catch up by calling "pick!"
Swill is a term used to refer to bad throws, but it's most often used to refer to very floaty throws that allow time for defenders to catch up and make plays on the disc as well.

---

And some other potentially helpful terms or phrases for those new to pick-up ultimate:

Man across, gender across, or across, when called on the line before the pull, indicates that you should cover the person across from you on the other team (e.g. if you're the second person from the left, you cover the second person from the left on the opposite line).

Alternatively, defensive assignments are sometimes counted. When assigned this way, players on defense simply count from 1-7 to indicate which player they're covering--1 referring to the person on the opposite line on the very left, 7 referring to the person on the opposite line on the very right.

Break side and open side refer to two opposite sides of the field. Generally on defense, you want to force the offense to throw to only one side of the field, so that defenders only need to worry about their defensive assignments getting open in one direction. The side that the offense is "allowed" to throw to is called the open side, whereas the side that the mark is trying to prevent throws to is called the break side.

No break is a call directed at the person marking the player with the disc. This indicates that an offensive player is very open on the break side or that the handler is trying to throw to the break side, and to combat this, the mark should shift over and devote more attention to taking away break side throws.

No big or no huck is also directed at the mark, indicating that an offensive player is cutting deep or open deep. The mark should react by making it extra difficult for the handler to throw long throws--this is often achieved by shifting into a straight-up stance (facing them directly, instead of taking away one side) and moving back a step.

Bill Mill adds

Away
The long side of the field opposite the side with your team's stuff on it

Home
The long side of the field with your team's stuff on it

Both of these relate to the force, as in "force home" and "force away" meaning force towards the side of the field with your bags and towards the opposite side, respectively.

IO
Short for "inside out", this is a throw that starts across your body and curves back towards the center.

OI
Short for "outside in", this is a throw that starts away from your body and curves back towards the receiver.

Strike
A "strike" call by a defender alerts the person marking the thrower that an opponent has gotten open on the open side. The marker may respond by briefly switching his force to prevent the open player from receiving the disc.

Finally Adam Schwartz ends with a link that does not work.

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Ultimate Frisbee: Three Important Offensive Drills

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon


Yes, I’m talking about practice! Drills may not be always fun or the most glamorous part of any sport but you cannot deny their importance to skill development. There are a lot of drills in Ultimate for defense and offense. The most effective drills are those that most mimic the actually game and are designed to break down parts of the game and in turn perfecting the whole. It’s like those days in the gym when you work out a muscle group, work out each muscle group and in the end your entire body is stronger. It’s the same in all sports, for example a basketball team will work hours on dribbling, free throws or passes (chest and bounce) so that those skills will translate to the full game. (You get it) Lastly though, you really have to focus, be intense and even enjoy yourself during a drill to really make it effective.

So the three, maybe most important drills for offense are (besides throwing a ridiculous amount) the dump drill, the huck drill and the come to drill. I say these three are maybe the most important because when you break down the offensive game, these scenarios happen more than any other and if your team is efficient at completing the dump, the huck and the come to then you will be hard to beat. These drills force you to perfect your throws, catching ability (on in and out throws) and helps in developing knowledge of your teammates. There are many variations of these drills: email me or comment below if you have any or need any.

There are other skills that are needed on the offensive side game that are also essential, such as cutting to get open, flow, field spacing etc. Let’s work on perfecting each aspect of our game, are we not always being testing and growing in our abilities. That’s why we love to play!

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Ultimate Frisbee: Favorite Team Cheers

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon

ultimate frisbee cheersIf you have been to any tournament or even spirited league games, you know how important cheers are in Ultimate. Cheers can be entertaining but must be able to motivate your team when done right. They can be sung, yells, danced, and even quiet. Some follow a team manta, like “Play hard”, sometimes they make no sense at all.

I have no idea where they started from and have been passed on like nomads passing stories around the fireplace. Every team has cheers unique to them. My favorites are really the ones my teammates have come up with through the years like a rendition of ICP’s Chicken Huntin’, singing part of a song from the original Karate Kid and our own dance while singing our version of “Dayman” from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Swingline Cheer It's cheesy and most of my teammates will hate that I brought this back but I share this as an example to motivate you to do what ever to build team unity and spirit.

I will warn that most cheers involve language not appropriate for children.

Here a few of my favorites (all these are with the team gathered in a circle). I also like when the team has a disc in the center all grabbing the disc with the same hand.
1. From my time at MSU and I’ve only heard a few times in CO: Team chants “We’re going to huck, bid, pillage and burn: We’re going to huck, bid, pillage and burn EAT THE BABY”

2. El Camino: Chant “El Camino, El, El Camino; the front is looks like a car, the back looks like a truck; the front is where you drive, the back is where you EL CAMINO (Repeat)”

3. The Spelled Out Series

a. Teamwork: One players says “Give me an O”, team “O”, Player “Give me an R”, team “R”, Player “Give me a G”, Team “G”, Player “Give me a Y”, team “Y”. Player “What’s that spell?” Team “Teamwork, Teamwork, Teamwork”!
b. Defense: One players says “Give me an C”, team “C”, Player “Give me an O”, team “O”, Player “Give me a N”, Team “N”, Player “Give me a D”, team “D”, Player “Give me an O”, team “O”, Player “Give me a M”, Team “M”. Player “What’s that spell?” Team “Defense, Defense, Defense”!
c. Do this one at half time when you’re team is down: One players says “Give me an A”, team “A”, Player “Give me an N”, team “N”, Player “Give me an A”, Team “A”, Player “Give me a L”, team “L”. Player “What’s that spell?” Team “We’re coming from behind, We’re coming from behind, We’re coming from behind”!

4. Another version is one player repeats multiple times “Give me an O” with the team responding “O” getting faster until the player says “What’s that spell?” Team: “Ohhhhhhhhh”.

There are plenty others not listed here and I’d like to have you share your favorite below. But get out there and make up your own and have fun with it.

COMMENTS

Tony Gioia: An emerging favorite of mine, performed by the legendary Mr. Polacek, is to misspell words and confuse your team as to what exactly you're trying to spell.

But my all time personal favorite has to be Chicken Huntin' (with credit due to those gifted lyricists of the Insane Clown Posse):

(with increasing intensity)
Bumps, Cuts, Layouts and Throws
Bumps, Cuts, Layouts and Throws
BUMPS, CUTS, LAYOUTS AND THROWS
Leader:  You're sittin' front row at the (insert team name) show!  So WHO'S GOIN' CHICKEN HUNTIN'?
Team:  WE'S GOIN' CHICKEN HUNTIN'!
Leader:  WHO'S GOIN' CHICKEN HUNTIN'?
Team:  WE'S GOIN' CHICKEN HUNTIN'!
Leader:  WHO'S GOIN' CHICKEN HUNTIN'?
Team:  WE'S GOIN' CHICKEN HUNTIN'!
Now dominate this (insert four syllable adjective/adjective phrase) game!

Steven Holzapfel: Do you remember when you were young, and you came downstairs on Sunday morning in your FAVORITE pajamas. You went into the kitchen to pour yourself a bowl of your FAVORITE sugary cereal. You got a SPOON and some MILK, and went into the living room to watch your FAVORITE Sunday morning cartoon. But who was in your FAVORITE chair, but your little brother. WHAT DID YOU DO?

Nathan Woolridge:
Caller: What's the largest river in Africa?
Team: De Nile
Caller: How do the dog in the yard?
Team: Da Fence
Caller: How do you make babies while camping?
Team: F****** in tents
Everyone: Denial, Defense, F****** Intense!!! (3 times)

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Ultimate Frisbee Strategy: Stall Count

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon

Ultimate Frisbee Stall CountCount to 10; 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10.

As if you didn't know this but in Ultimate 10 seconds is how long you have to control the disc and get rid of it before it is considered a turnover (Technically a stall is called if the disc remains in the thrower's hand when the "T" in ten is said). Note: do not as a marker say "nine... stall" because it's not.

I remind you of this or inform you of this information because the two biggest mistakes players commit with the disc, especially beginners are due to the mismanagement of their 10 seconds and include:
1.) Players catch the disc, see someone ahead of them and throw the disc at one or before a count is placed on them.
2.) Look downfield, waiting until eight for something to develop and then in the last second make a poor decision, forcing the disc to a teammate.

Basically this comes down to making a decision too quickly without even having the option to weigh your options. Most turnovers in a game happen because the thrower thinks they have an opportunity but misjudge, miscalculate or mistime their throw. In the first instance, a player is acting too quickly without having the time to properly adjust to the field. In the second, the ticking down of their stall count hurries the thrower into a decision with the fear of time running out.

A football quarterback has an average of 3-5 seconds to make a decision so with that comparison ten seconds is plenty of time to assess the situation and allow for your teammates to give you openings (more on getting open in the future).

Technique for management of your 10 seconds:

  • Give yourself 1-3 seconds to choose a target who has the best chance to get open.
  • 1-2 second to assess if you can complete the pass, offer fakes and then throw.
  • If not, then choose one player, without changing after, who you will allow 2-4 seconds to get open.
  • Don't switch players after choosing one. Jumping back in forth as the stall count rises will just add to your confusion.
  • If still no one is giving you an option; punt.

Remember, you are the quarterback when you have the disc; it is your job to simply complete the next pass.

Leave it all on the field!

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Ultimate Frisbee Skills | Fakes

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon

When playing football, the best way for playaction to work is if the quarterback sells the fake and gets the safety or cornerbacks to bite, allowing for his receiver to have just the step they need to get the reception.

Watch here for a great example of how a good fake can open up the field for a completion.

The idea of the fake is the same for ultimate Frisbee and when you have the disc, you are the quarterback. It is your job to complete the next pass.

There are a few reasons in Frisbee to throw fakes:
• Get your marker to bite so you can get the throw you want off.
• Get the defense to over pursue allowing for your receiver to cut to the open space.
• Get a poucher out of the lane.
• Freeze the defense.
• Simply to keep your marker off balance.
• To see what the defense will do; testing if your receiver has space to catch the pass.

There are also many ways to throw a fake. One of my favorites is to pump a hammer over your markers head. This forces them to stretch upward while you stretch around him. If done correctly you can even confuse your marker to think you have thrown the hammer because the fake is done above his head where they cannot see the disc.

No matter the reason or your way of throwing a fake the most important thing is to be like a quarterback and really sell the fake. Defenses will know if you are in a position to throw so practice your fakes with the same motion you would normally throw a disc. This is also how the best pitchers confuse batters with different off-speed balls; they have the same motion for a fastball as they do a change-up, etc.

Even beginners can keep more experienced players guessing when some good fakes are thrown. For beginners too; learn a good flick fake even if you don’t have one. You could fool them to think you do.

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Ultimate Frisbee Skills: Gaining Distance on your Forehand

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon

Nothing is more disappointing when you have a deep receiver ahead of his man and one of three things happen; you do not have a long forehand throw so you look him off, you attempt the throw and it’s d’ed because you threw it short, or it’s completed short of the goal line and the receiver now has to make a pressure throw so close to a score. You see other players, even smaller than yourself, throw the length of the field and you never think you could be able to have such a long throw.

When I introduced to competitive ultimate, I was in awe of the throws of the more experienced players. I remember seeing some players catch a pull and immediately throw for a score. Wow, I thought. I wanted to be able to do that. Well, just this past year, I had one of those awe moments from myself. I was at a tournament in Fort Collins, Co. The opposing team just scored. I received the pull seven yards into my own end zone. I looked up and saw a player breaking away from his defender; I decided to make the throw to him, right off the pull… It was completed for a score! Wow, I did that.

There are a few tips I have for anyone who has the desire as I did to increase the distance on their forehand. First, you have to have the desire and with the desire must come the commitment to work. I would spend hours hucking back-and-forth with a teammate. You have to be willing to do the work.

Ultimate Frisbee Throw

To get more distance I also gained more torque by applying the same rules that golfers and baseball pitchers follow. Have you ever tried to hit a golf ball or thrown a ball standing flatfooted, only using your arms? It’s impossible to get distance or power. In golf as in baseball and ultimate, power comes first from your core, legs and the mechanics of your body. Every time you throw focus on how your hips and legs are involved in your throw. Never throw standing straight up.  Work on planting your pivot foot and using your legs and hips to lead your arm through your motion.

Next, you need work on your grip. The distance of your throw relies heavily on the spin of the disc. Improving the strength in your grip will make for greater spin on the disc and therefore allowing the disc to fly farther through the air.

Work up your strength and mechanics first and then work on accuracy. As you throw you will gain more confidence and understanding of your own ability. You will know when it is in your ability to go for the deep strike or hold off. Remember, it is the next completion is most important and the team that does not turn the disc over; wins.

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Tim Morrill’s New Article in Skyd Mag

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon

On to the Next One by Tim Morrill

Ultimate Frisbee Fitness

2010 Club Championships. Photo: Tim Morrill Photography..www.timmorrill.wordpress.com

Fire. Mental Toughness. Strength. Speed. Agility. Quickness. Power. Do you excel in all of these components? How are you going to be better than those guys who do? If you want to be above the competition you have to “Jam” harder than the competition. You have to put in the work in the off-season. The off-season is the time when gains are made. Train harder than the competition, but more importantly, train smarter than the competition. To become a champion, you need a plan.

Full Article

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Ultimate According to JJ: Analyzing Statistics and Probabilities of Disc Control

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Jimmy Donnellon

This point was brought up in a discussion between attempting the home run strike versus the option of working the disc up the field.

These same statistics are used on Basketball, soccer, etc where ball-exchange is required to move towards the score. Best described this way:

There is an inherent risk with every pass; every time a disc exchange occurs from one O player to another. If you have to complete ten 15 yard passes to go 50 yards overall; or one 50 yard pass – which has the highest return value.

Now that depends on a few things, the two situations are:
1. What percentage do you assign to each 15 yard pass – let’s say 90% just for the sake of argument?
2. And what percentage do you assign to the 50 yard pass – let’s say 60% for the sake of argument? I think I will make 6 out of 10 passes that I decide to throw that are about 50 yards long. Doesn’t sound like a percentage anyone can live with; does it?!?
So, what are the chances of your team going 50 yards? Well this is easy with #2, it is 60% - we have already said, we will complete that pass 6 out of 10 times. What about #1; well that is easy also if you know probabilities and mathematics: 35%! Surprised? Ok – you can plug in any numbers. I would guess that I might make 6 out of 10 50 yard throws that I decide to throw. In our come-to drill, we often got closer to 96% completion (without defenders). But let’s assume, for the sake of a number that is 6% better, a 96% completion rate. Is the long game still the better gamble to go 50 yards? Answer: short game, with a 96% completion rate, we will now go 50 yards 66% of the time. So now the short game has a better expected outcome. Look at the difference between a 90% completion rate and a 96% completion rate – 35% vs 66% over 10 throws!

So there IS a break-even point. This is why national level teams must stress having 95% or better completion rate within the area of the come-to drill. You have to be > 95% inside 20 yards. Making decisions and owning the throw you decide on. Outside of 20 yards, you need tools to maximize your output there. These are isolation and separation and then putting the pass out in front of your receiver. This helps increase whatever the percentage is for > 20 yard passes. It is simple math.

Now, don’t forget about other intangibles, such as:
i. If I turn the disc over in my half of the field versus at the far end in their endzone – the risks of their travelling the distance of the field and scoring is much less if they have to go 70 yards. And then the trade-off of the percentage of the time that they turn it back over and give you the short field! This tends to add a few percentage points to the long throw and take a few away from the short game! This is called playing the field-position game in the NFL.

Think about it like poker. You are supposed to calculate EV (Expected Value) of every bet based on odds of many things that you must place probabilities on; e.g. the chance that they have a winning hand, or are on a draw. Pot Odds vs bet you are being asked to make. And so on. Anyone is sadly mistaken if they think this cannot be applied to all aspects of everything – yes – even disc control in Ultimate.

Now with that said and that you now understand the importance of disc control; I taught, above all else on offense, throwing skills and the skill of giving you the tools to increase your completion rate.

By Jeff Jones
(edited and complied by Jimmy Donnellon)

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