Random Thoughts from College Nats

After watching the games this past weekend, I began to realize a few things...

Texas does some of the most basic warm-ups of any team out there, yet they have a very well-rounded team from the bottom to the top. The warm-up consisted of throwing around for 10-15 minutes, then lining up on either side of the endzone and extending their throws. The discs were on the sidelines (so they could work both flick and backhand), and the cutter was just inside. In the very center of the endzone there was a marker disc to cut to. Each line cut to that disc every time. The first cut was done about 10 times by each player and it brought them mostly horizontal to the sideline for a 5-10 yard gain. The second was done a similar number of times and was extended to the 15-20 yard length. The final cut was a 35-45 yard huck and seemed like it was only done about 5 times each. Basically, they focused on leading their receivers out to space on a number of different distances and every player was able to throw and catch the disc about 50 times in the drill. It was basic, yet I bet all of the guys had their legs and throws ready to go by the time it was done.

Colorado has ridiculously skilled team. Their warm-up was really pretty crazy. Both Colorado and Texas had a dynamic warm-up of high knees, shuffles, and gradual sprinting, but their drilling differed big time. Once CU was done warming up their traditional throws, blades, and hammers (about 20 minutes), they jumped right into a breakmark come-to drill. Typical come-to's start about 15-20 yards apart, but CU's was more in the 40-50 yard range. Each player probably threw 10-12 IO or "around" breaks before things got interesting... Once they were finished with the typical break throws, each player threw 10-12 hammers to receivers on the break side, and most throwers hit their receiver in stride somewhere around the 35 yard distance. That's not something I'm used to.. the whole team had accurate hammers, and proved they were willing to throw them in the game. I'm not surprised that no zone could stop this team.

CU's final drill utilized short flip passes. They were about 5 feet apart and ran through their lines flipping backhands to the right side, then switched to flipping them to the left, before turning into a flutter-flip. I'm not sure of the benefit of the flutter-flip, but they managed to get 15 in a row before they huddled up for the game. I suppose it's a concentration thing, and it might save them 2-3 discs a tournament. Maybe they think that it's worth practicing for those 2-3 discs to be saved by dialing in their concentration.

The most surprising thing I noticed was the limited use of the IO flick break. Mac had some nasty IO flick break hucks, but it didn't seem like that was how a lot of these teams moved their offense. The dump and swing was used very effectively on most teams, and it seemed like just about every team their had an almost mechanical drive to provide resets and swing opportunities for everyone with the disc. Because of the fundamental play by all seven on the line, nobody was really forced into generating disc movement with their breaks. It was impressive, but I still thought there were opportunities to break things open with fewer passes.

I guess a final thought I had relates to the ease at which some of the teams moved the disc. Watching players like Pebbles from CU, Tyler Conger from UVA, and Stephen Pressley from UT made me realize how important it is to move your ass once you throw the disc. Pressley generated more yards and resets from just "following his shot" (as they would call it in basketball) than he could've by always having to set up and make a cut to get the disc. If your team can be taught to be the first one to take a step after you throw, then the other team is forced to respect that. The defense ends up either standing back off the mark, bouncing back once a thrower releases, or just getting burned if they don't respect it. This can effectively open up quick resets and swings if the mark is bouncing back once you throw, allow for easy crossfield swings if the mark isn't up tight on a thrower, or allow for easy up-the-line scores if a mark is slow to react to a thrower that utilizes the "throw and go."

Totally worth it to add some of these things to your routine. Especially the "follow your shot" aspects of handling, it allows for great "pop-outs," up line cuts, and tired defenders.