Offense
The name of the game when playing offense is possession. If you don’t have the disc you can’t score. Put simply, the idea is to work the disc up the field towards the endzone you are attacking in the safest possible way. The best way to do this is to make sure that every throw is completed, and the best way to do this is to make sure that you do everything right individually. Choose sensible throws. Make safe catches. Cut into space. The list goes on.
If you want to be a great player, do everything in your power to make sure your team retains possession. Get that right and everything else should fall into place.
Catching (normal)
Poor: Player makes no attempt to catch two handed. They are unaware that this will make their catching more reliable. They will use one hand at all times, regardless of playing conditions, weather or if they are in a game or practice.
Okay: Player is able to catch the disc most of the time. They use two hands for easier catches, but otherwise they tend to simply catch one handed.
Good: Player catches the disc two handed as much as possible. If the disc is higher or lower than the ideal position in the mid-section, player may use one hand. The player begins to position their body prior to the catch in order to make it easier to use two hands. For example, they put their body behind the disc as they catch.
Great: Player catches two handed at every possible opportunity. They are constantly aware that they need to manoeuvre their body in order to make the use of two hands easier. They put their body behind the disc when they are catching it, and they jump if they need to in order to make a mid-section pancake catch possible.
Catching (high in the air)
Poor: player knows that what comes up, must come down. They will be waiting in roughly the right spot to catch the disc when it does so. They will probably catch the disc (as long as there are no defensive players anywhere nearby). They do not attack the disc. They do not jump to receive the disc. After all, it will come to them. Won’t it?
Okay: this team mate will try and get themselves into the best possible spot to receive the disc as soon as possible. This is called ‘reading the disc’. They will probably just reach up and grab it one handed when it comes down.
Good: As the disc comes down, this player jumps up. They realise that another player might be trying to make a defensive play on the disc, and therefore know that they need to catch the disc as high in the air as possible.
Great: Although this player knows that getting into the right place is important, they are also aware that another player might be closing in to try and make a defensive play on the disc. They therefore position themselves between the disc and any defensive players. This is called ‘boxing out’. They catch the disc as soon as they possibly can, which they do by jumping to catch the disc at the top of their reach.
Attacking the disc
Poor: this player makes no effort to attack the disc. They assume that as they are standing still, so will everybody else. They are unaware that there is a defensive team trying to intercept or D the disc.
Okay: this player will make a gentle effort to attack the disc. They will run towards the disc, although they will probably slow down when catching it. They have a tendency to wait in the endzone for the disc to come to them, rather than stepping out of the endzone in order to make a catch sooner.
Good: this player will catch the disc on the run without slowing down. Obviously this makes the catch harder, but they appreciate that unless they get to the disc before the defender they aren’t going to catch much anyway. Yet because they’ve practised this before it doesn’t faze them in a game.
Great: always catches the disc on the run, even if this means they need to leave the endzone. Fine, in fact, they don’t even think twice. Keeping possession is the name of the game for ‘great’ players. This style of play is quite aggressive. It is characterised by the idea that “this is my disc, if you want it, you’ll have to come and get it”. If a player is on their shoulder they might even think about laying out to catch the disc, although this really is difficult and needs to be practised before games. They practice attacking the disc with hands high, hands low, out to one side and straight in front. When it comes to that crunch moment in a crucial game they are able to make a safe, aggressive catch without thinking about it.
Throws
Poor: Barely able to get the disc from A to B. They might spin the disc, but only because that’s just what happens and not because they realise it will make their throw better. Their throw wobbles in flight and barely gets to where it is meant to be going.
Okay: This throw will get there, but it won’t be pretty. It might be a bit high, a bit low or a bit hard. This player probably doesn’t think about these variables however, after all, if it gets there then job done. Right?
Good: This player will put spin on their disc, aim for the centre of the receiver’s body and will keep the throw nice and flat. Simple as that.
Great: All of the above, but this player also thinks about what the receiver likes and dislikes catching. They won’t throw a high disc to a short receiver, or a bullet pass to a beginner when the situation doesn’t demand it. In fact, they might even take some of the spin off the throw in order to make it even easier to catch. They will also start thinking about putting a bit of outside/in or inside/out on their throws to make them even easier to catch. A ‘great’ thrower thinks about their throws more than the other types of players.
Throw selection
Poor: Has no idea that there are some throws that you do when you’re messing around in the park with friends and some that you use in games. They’ll throw whatever they feel like. They’re usually looked off by teammates who don’t trust their judgement.
Okay: There are two boxes. One (the larger one) is all the throws you can do. The other (the smaller one) is all the ones you use in a game. This player knows the difference. You won’t catch them throwing a no look forehand in the dying seconds of a big game.
Good: Wind and other weather conditions come into play for this player. They know what they can throw in the wind and what they can’t. They think about their throws – they’ll throw a nice low pass in high winds, rather than a high disc that will fly away with little encouragement. They won’t make it unnecessarily hard for the receiver, and for that reason people love to play with them.
Great: Not only does this player think about wind and weather conditions, but they also think about who they are throwing too. Few of us are lucky enough to have teammates who can catch anything, so they won’t throw a hammer at a new player who struggles to catch inverted discs, nor will they make a player read a curling huck if they know that it isn’t one of their strengths. Finally, and I’ve no idea why I’ve left this to last, they never throw a high disc to a short player. It’s just common sense, isn’t it?
Pivoting
Poor: Never pivots. Ever.
Okay: Pivots only when throwing the disc. They might take half a step in the right direction. However they are easily read by a defender and tend to get point blocked a lot.
Good: Uses good pivots to distance themselves from the marker. They will use fake pivots in order to unsettle the defender.
Great: Not only uses good pivots to distance themselves from the marker, but also pre-empts the flow of play to fake-pivot in order to create an opening to throw. They think about what they want to throw and make space for themselves, thereby making their throws more successful. They don’t just pivot in one direction, but have learnt to throw from pivoting in all directions.
Cutting
Poor: Stands where they are, expecting the disc to come to them. They do not realise that there are defensive players around them, and often get beaten to the disc.
Okay: Runs into space, but they don’t attempt to lose the defender without any sort of fake, and therefore often get beaten to the disc when they fail to attack the disc.
Good: Starts the cut by faking to lose the defender, sprints into space and attacks the disc to make sure the defender has no opportunity to get an interception.
Great: As above, but also angles their body to make sure the defender has to work twice as hard in order to get some sort of interception.
Poor, Okay, Goo...
