Tula B - September 19th

Jerseys - $35 - Inian
Tournament Fee for Easterns - $15 - Sticks

Today we did a whole lot of zone.

3-3-1 Defence

We will run this with the cup forcing to one sideline.
On the sideline we will put on a trap.
Cup will allow open-side swing, but will not allow breaks or downfield throws.
Mids and deeps are always covering someone, but ready to switch (must always be useful).
Deep talks to mids. Mids talk to each other and to cup.

Zone offence

2 handlers, 2 wings (sort of handlers), 3 cutters.
Handlers must swing the disc quickly, getting it to the wings.
Wings stay close to the sidelines. Gain as many yards as possible, but make sure the handlers still have clear throws to you. Come back to the disc as it is swung. Look up-field, but quickly reset back to handlers.
Our goal is to move the disc back and forth across the field, tiring out the defenders, while also gaining yards.
3 Cutters need to anticipate swings and create holes in the defence. There's a lot of different cuts that are valuable, for example:
- Cut deep, taking the deep out of the play.
- Cut to the sideline (deep or short) when the disc is swung, giving the wings a continuation throw.
- Cut in towards the handlers looking for holes in the cup.
- If their mids cover our wings, cut to the gap that's created.
- Use your imagination.

1-3-2-1 Wall
Rabbit/Monster/other silly name (1) - harass whoever has the disc as much as possible. Mark hard no dump. This person has got to run like mad.
Wall (3) - these guys need to make sure nothing is thrown up field. Move as a unit. Slant to the sidelines, taking away the swing. Talk to the rabbit to let him know where the dump is.
Mids (2) - Trust your wall. Cover the greatest threats. Trust your deep.
Deep (1) - Play aggressively & help your mids. It's hard to huck against the wall.

Scrimmage
Our zone defence is clearly better than our zone offence, as black repeatedly shut down white using both zones and then scored.
White generally had good disc movement, but would get a little too excited and throw it away. If you're not sure, get the disc back to your handlers.
Remember to set up the offence before you pick up the disc.
White eventually got it together to score the last point by swinging the disc back and forth across the field, finding an open cutter, dump back to a handler, and then hitting another cutter for the score. It was so pretty it made me weep. That was how zone O is supposed to be played.

Zone. Know each role in the 3-3-1 and 1-3-2-1 zones. In the 1-3-2-1, the dark wall needs to move as a unit and as a line, not opening up gaps or sagging in the middle. Play your hucks more wisely - we turned way too many over due to high-risk throws up the sideline or across the field. As always, possession is the key, made possible by handlers providing a good dump-swing option, and cutters reading the dump-swing to allow for a quick up field pass.

Remember, all of the pain you go through in practice today directly translates into the amount of pain that your mark will experience when they try to keep up with you tomorrow. Cup, chase, and monster, no pain, no gain.

Let's get fired up.