college marking
so i had the chance to watch a fair amount of college ultimate this past sunday. i strictly watched elimination games starting with the men's quarters through the semis and finals. as an expert in winning college nationals, i'm sure there are thousands of people out there desperately seeking my opinion. this post won't be about how the black tide 1996 version would have waltzed through the tourney running backwards and playing upside-down only throws, however true it may be.
the biggest observation i saw was on the mark. i was already focusing in on this because a teammate had commented the week prior about how that was the biggest thing he noticed in the transition from strong college player to bottom-of-the-roster condor player. i guess the thing is that disc skills make all the difference. he noted that in college he was always close to getting handblocks, while when he first got to club he wasn't even in the neighborhood.
from watching this weekend, it seems like the college mark basically requires you to be tight to the thrower and try to limit his pivoting. i would guess that club players are skilled enough to step around or through this mark. of the games i watched, i saw a number of good blocks by upfield defenders called back because of a foolish foul on the mark. at the same time, i saw the few strong handlers on each team throwing behind the mark at will, and frequently getting the free throw while they did it.
i guess this mark is probably particularly effective against weak or panicky throwers, and against this person it will give you a good chance of a turnover (not only will the thrower make a bad throw, they're probably not experienced enough to call the foul). however, the top defenders on each team, who are probably guarding the top throwers on the other team, should figure out how to take a 1/2 step off the mark and move his feet and hands a little better. it'd probably help the team in the long run.
separately, but maybe related, i saw a number of fouls go uncontested by the marker, and even a number of other upfield fouls on defenders went uncontested. so maybe this is just guys going as hard as they can and when they're on the mark they are a little more physical than even they realize is allowed.
the biggest observation i saw was on the mark. i was already focusing in on this because a teammate had commented the week prior about how that was the biggest thing he noticed in the transition from strong college player to bottom-of-the-roster condor player. i guess the thing is that disc skills make all the difference. he noted that in college he was always close to getting handblocks, while when he first got to club he wasn't even in the neighborhood.
from watching this weekend, it seems like the college mark basically requires you to be tight to the thrower and try to limit his pivoting. i would guess that club players are skilled enough to step around or through this mark. of the games i watched, i saw a number of good blocks by upfield defenders called back because of a foolish foul on the mark. at the same time, i saw the few strong handlers on each team throwing behind the mark at will, and frequently getting the free throw while they did it.
i guess this mark is probably particularly effective against weak or panicky throwers, and against this person it will give you a good chance of a turnover (not only will the thrower make a bad throw, they're probably not experienced enough to call the foul). however, the top defenders on each team, who are probably guarding the top throwers on the other team, should figure out how to take a 1/2 step off the mark and move his feet and hands a little better. it'd probably help the team in the long run.
separately, but maybe related, i saw a number of fouls go uncontested by the marker, and even a number of other upfield fouls on defenders went uncontested. so maybe this is just guys going as hard as they can and when they're on the mark they are a little more physical than even they realize is allowed.
posted by greg at
4:36 PM
2 Comments:
I agree that marking farther off is beneficial if you're trying to prevent a throw to a particular spot on the field (marking flick or backhand). Do you think that a close and agressive mark (not causing fouls or being spazzy) would be effective for a different defensive strategy; such as trying to cause bad throws (unstable or inaccurate), or only allowing short or long throws?
By
Anonymous, at 1/30/2006 5:57 PM
you bring up some good points, and i think it is tough to say that there is only one way to mark. i think that the mark you describe (being tight but not fouling) will be quite unsuccessful at the club level, as club throwers (and i guess i'm mainly referring to strong throwers on high-level teams...the guys i guard) will generally throw through this and get the foul.
my point as part of this post was that these tight marks, at least on the few throwers that were making the offenses work, seemed to be hurting their team. there are some general things that players can do to help improve their mark, and maybe i'll put that in another post.
By
greg, at 1/31/2006 8:30 AM
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