Ultimate Frisbee Basics

Marc UmenoJune 2nd, 2008

Contents

• Rules• Individual Offense– Throwing– Cutting

• Team Offense• Individual Defense– Marking– Guarding Man

• Team Defense

10 Simple Rules• The Field -- A rectangular shape with endzones at each end. A regulation field is 70 yards by 40 yards, with

endzones 25 yards deep. • Initiate Play -- Each point begins with both teams lining up on the front of their respective endzone line. The

defense throws ("pulls") the disc to the offense. A regulation game has seven players per team. • Scoring -- Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense's endzone, the offense scores a point. Play is

initiated after each score. • Movement of the Disc -- The disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate.

Players may not run with the disc. The person with the disc ("thrower") has ten seconds to throw the disc. The defender guarding the thrower ("marker") counts out the stall count.

• Change of possession -- When a pass in not completed (e.g. out of bounds, drop, block, interception), the defense immediately takes possession of the disc and becomes the offense.

• Substitutions -- Players not in the game may replace players in the game after a score and during an injury timeout.

• Non-contact -- No physical contact is allowed between players. Picks and screens are also prohibited. A foul occurs when contact is made.

• Fouls -- When a player initiates contact on another player a foul occurs. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.

• Self-Refereeing -- Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes. • Spirit of the Game -- Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at

the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.

Throwing Basics• Be careful to make good throws

– You have 10 seconds, don’t panic!– Once the disc hits the ground, it’s over to the other team– Look up the field and wait for a teammate to get open– Only throw when you think you will be able to make a catchable throw

• Be aware of the force (right-handed, reverse for lefty)– If you are being forced to your left, get ready to throw a backhand. If you are

forced right, hold the disc in a forehand grip.• Throw to open space

– Receiver is running, so let them go to the disc • Pivot Foot:

– One rule of ultimate is that you have to maintain a “pivot foot” while you are holding the disc.

– One foot that must remain in contact with the same piece of ground the entire time you are holding the disc.

Throwing - Backhand

Grips

Throwing - Backhand• Stance (Right-handed, reverse for lefty):

– Stand sideways with right hip pointed at target.– Your toes, knees, and chest perpendicular to target– Hold the disc at about waist level.

• Cock your wrist – Bend your wrist so that the disc is as close as possible to the inside of your

lower arm. Hold the disc so that it is flat. (Parallel with the ground.)• During the throw, your wrist will go from the cocked position to the

released position. In the released position, your wrist is bent so that the back of your hand is as close as possible to the outside of your lower arm.

• This movement of the hand from cocked to released is called “snapping your wrist”. It is what makes the disc spin.

• Example:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOMtYnNUEzE

Throwing - Forehand

Grips

Throwing - Forehand• Stance (Right-handed, reverse for lefty):

– Stand facing target, with your feet hip-width apart & half-step forward with your right foot. – Hold the disc out to your right side – keep elbow close to right side with lower arm and disc

horizontal.

• Prepare to throw:– Hold disc out to right side with elbow bent, about six inches from your body. – Move arm back so that the disc is slightly behind you, feeling slight stretch in your shoulder. – Bend your wrist backwards into cocked position but keep your forearm and the disc

horizontal.

• Release:– To throw, bring your elbow forwards first and your hand will follow close behind.– Bring the disc straight forwards, keeping it flat. As your hand comes forwards, snap your

wrist and release the disc.– As you bend your wrist forward, open your hand and let the disc fly to the receiver. You

should feel the disc fling off your middle finger.• Example:http://www.cogandrew.com/videopapers/ultimate/throwing/VPs/Forehand/video/video2.htm

Cutting – Basics• When a teammate has the disc, you should either be trying to get open for a

pass (cutting) or staying out of the way. • Most of the time, you will be staying out of the way.

– This is because there are six people on your team without the disc and only one of you should cut at a time.

– You have to watch the disc and try to anticipate where your teammates will be running.

• If you see a chance to get open for a pass, go for it. – Run as fast as you can until you either catch the disc or get the feeling you aren’t

going to get passed to. • If the disc is thrown to you keep running, don’t stop – “Go To It!”

– Stopping and waiting for the disc allows your defender to catch up to you– This is the #1 mistake that inexperienced receivers make

• If it looks like the thrower isn’t going to pass to you (they are looking the other way or telling you to get lost) run as fast as you can away from the thrower. – This is called “clearing out”. It allows someone else to cut in.

Cutting within an Offense• Primary cuts

– First cuts that occur off a stopped disc or the first cut in a called play. – The primary cutter should move into a “sweet spot” where the cutter could actively

threaten two throwing areas. – The primary cutter then should then utilize a fake or a juke to force the defender to

commit and then proceed into the open space. – Example of this type of cut is when a cutter makes a hard fake towards the end zone

before changing direction and coming back toward the thrower.

• Continuation cuts – Cuts that come from motion within the flow of the offense.– The most important aspect of continuation cuts is timing, where you should be cutting

just as a teammate is catching a disc and will need to make the next throw

• Clearing cuts – The clearing cutter actively moves her defender out of the way of the teammates’

cutting lanes, thus opening up room for a teammate to move through the cutting area

Team Offense - Positions• Handler:

– 3 players designated as Handlers– First people to get disc off pulls and stopped plays– Short throws to other handlers or medium throws to cutters– Also may throw hucks to Deeps

• Cutter– 2 players designated as Cutters– Work in the middle of the field– Generally attempt to get open with underneath cuts (towards the handlers) and

then make passes to Deeps• Deep

– 2 players designated as Deeps– Try to stretch the defense with deep cuts towards endzone and catch hucks from

long throwers– Get in position with continuing cuts to catch throws from Cutters

Team Offense – Vertical Stack• The Vertical Stack Offense is the most basic one in ultimate (there are others)

– Team stands in a line facing the thrower about fifteen yards away from the disc and stretches away from the thrower.

– The stack is usually parallel with the sidelines and in line with the disc. – However, if the disc is near the sidelines, the stack will be angled diagonally across the

field to give room to make cuts to the open (non-Force) side• Players take turns cutting one at a time from the stack into open spaces

– Cutting to the open side is often the easiest space for thrower to reach – Break side cuts can also work, either by a thrower getting past the Force or by making a

lateral throw across the field first (called a swing) and then throwing to the break side cutter

– It is extremely important for cutters to quickly run out of the open area if they do not receive the disk (clearing out)

– If clear outs do not happen, defenders can easily guard the open space• As the disc is advanced up the field, the stack needs to move up the field as

well, maintaining good spacing from the throwers

Vertical Stack Diagram

Defense – Marking the Thrower• When the person you are guarding has the disc, you need to try to prevent them from

throwing to open receivers, so run to run up to them and start forcing and begin the Stall Count.

• The thrower has ten seconds to get rid of the disc– Say “Stall one…stall two…stall three…” up to stall ten (one second per stall count). – As soon as you say the “t” in “ten” and they still have the disc, yell “Stall!” and the disc now

belongs to your team. • As team, we try to force them to throw to only one side of the field. This is called “forcing

the thrower”.– Do this by standing slightly in front of and to one side of the thrower. Hold your hands out down

low and be in an athletic position ready to react.– This makes it easy for them to throw to the open side - that’s the plan. – Before the point began, everyone on your team agreed to force the throwers to a chosen side of

the field. – Since everyone on defense knows where the throws will be going, they know where the offence

will want to run. If everybody sticks to the plan, defense is much easier. • Since ultimate is a non-contact sport, when you are forcing the thrower you have to give

them some space (one disc)

Marking Diagram

Defense – Guarding the Receiver• Stay with your mark and don’t let them catch the disc.

– Go wherever they go and also try to keep an eye on the person with the disc. – If a flying disc comes near you, try to catch it or knock it down. – Run. If he is running away from you, focus on his back and run. If he faked you out and are

going the other way, run after him. If your team turned it over and now your mark is gone, go run to get him.

• Know where your mark is. If you don’t, they’re probably gone. • Stand on your toes. Keep your feet moving. If your mark gets the jump on you, they’re halfway to

being open.• Know where the force is. This will tell you where your mark is likely to cut.• Know where the disc is. This will tell you where the throw will be coming from.• Stay between your mark and the disc if not last defender back. • If your mark is last in the stack, stand behind him. This allows you to get the jump on any huck

(deep throw) plays.• When outnumbered, mark the person closest to your endzone. If there has been a quick turnover

or the other team has hucked it, your defense will often be outnumbered. You have to decide which person to mark.

• It doesn’t matter who you were marking before. Ignore the person with the disc- they aren’t going anywhere. Go get the person who is closest to your endzone, they are the greatest threat.

Team Defense - Forcing• Forcing defense objective is to limit the area that a defense needs to cover• Force Side is a designated area of the field that you are letting your opponents throw to.

– We usually call one side “Home” (where your team’s stuff and substitutes are located) or “Away” (the opposite side to home)

• Most crucial aspect of the force is the person marking the player with the disc– Thrower should be forced to the "Open" side, making it more difficult to throw to the

"Break" side (called "breaking" the force). • The next important ingredient to the force are the other defenders marking the rest of the

players. – Because you know where the player is being "forced" to throw, defenders can place

themselves in this area to make it harder for offensive players to cut. – In general, all defenders should be positioned in the "Open side" in between their opponent

and the disc, the only exception is with the last defender (deepest or closest to the endzone), who should play a bit behind their opponent to cover any long throws.

• Force Sideline (Trapping): Forcing in the direction of the line is usually done when the disc is near the sideline. – Trap For One: Trapping is another word for forcing sideline when the disc is near the

sideline. So, Trapping for One implies you force sideline until they get the throw off, and then you switch back to your original force.

Other Resources• http://www.bofh.com/other/ultimate/ultimate.html• http://www.ultimatehandbook.com• http://openultimate.com/• Example of an ultimate game:

– Seattle Sockeye vs. Japan’s Buzz Bulletshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft2xYagC7as– 2007 College Championships – Wisconsin vs. Coloradohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZvWpVHrx58