Some of you are getting this twice because some of you are not on the Buzz list and I wanted to make sure everyone got this.

Last night was a good practice. I really like the fact that everyone was running really hard!

A few points I would like to run by everyone. We all know how nice the wind is at lake Benson so ------>

The zone defense:

The Cup:

The cup's job is to stop the disc from going up the middle of the field. The disc should never go between any of the three players in the cup. Around the cup is ok, a dump is also ok, unless we are doing a side line trap. More on that later. The middle person in the cup should be directing the other two while looking behind them to see where the poppers are coming from in an attempt to stop the throw up the middle. The short deep is also doing this at the same time, while he/she directs the cup also. The cup will function the same no matter what position the disc is on the field, unless a trap has been called. The cup should move as a unit. The cups on the ends need to make absolutely sure that they do not "overplay". If that cup person "overplays", then the handler has an opportunity to throw the disc up the middle of the field. The cups on the ends need to depend on the wings to stop the disc from advancing up the sideline and maintain "cup integrity" and stop the disc from moving up the middle.

The Wings:

The sole job of the wings is to stop the disc from going up the sideline under any circumstance. They should not worry about the middle of the field, unless there is no one coming up the side line. The long deep should be directing the wings at all times. You should really be facing the sideline or the middle of the field and cutting off any passes that might come up the side line. If the popper goes into the middle, then the wing should notify the cup, specifically the middle cup or short deep, that some one has popped into the middle. The wing can not worry about the middle of the field. They need to trust the cup to contain that. Along these lines the other position that the wing should not worry about is the third handler on offense (as long as that handler is not coming way way up the sideline and at that point there are only two handlers). The point of the zone defense is to make the offense make a bunch of passes, get impatient and make a bad throw (more on our zone offense later.) As the disc reaches the end zone area, the responsibility of the wings shifts a little. They are responsible for the sideline side of the end zones. Both of the deeps will shift to a right and left format and are guarding the middle portion of the field.

The Deeps:

The long deep is the general. They direct everyone else on the field. They stop all deep throws and guide tell the wings and short deeps where the poppers are coming from. They really must talk the most to the wings and short deep, because at times, the wing might be called into a deep protection and the short deep shifted into a wing position. If the long deep is not communicating with everyone on the field, it is difficult for the zone defense to function as a single unit.

The middle deep is really a fourth person in the cup. They are responsible for the poppers coming into the middle of the field and for assisting the long deep (at the long deep's request).

As the disc moves in to the red zone, the deeps should be in a right and left side orientation and stopping any throws that might come into the middle of the field.

The Trapping cup:

The trapping cup is one of the most effective cups there is. In this scenario, there is one person in the cup that is marking all the time, until the disc reaches the side line. At this time, the middle cup becomes the marker, the other two cups split with one stopping any dump throw and one stopping the down the line throw. We need to be careful at this time to make sure that we don't double team. Also at this time, the short deep stops the throw up the middle and over the top and the wing on the trap side stops the throw around the cup (a deep throw on the trap side). The wing on the opposite side shifts toward the middle of the field and also stops the over the top throw and the throw that can come around the back of the cup. The wing on the opposite can not totally abandon their post. They need to be "field aware" on where the poppers are going and not allow an up the sideline pass.

A small point on man offense:

One thing as a team that we do really poorly is keep the force. When you come to the line for point, it is your responsibility and your alone to find out what the force is. Don't expect for some one to tell you. Complain and moan until someone on the line makes this call. This needs to be made on every single point. Now that you know what the force is, do it. JUST DO IT. Period. This is critical. Your teammates are depending on you keeping this force because it tells them which side of the field to be on with respect to the person they are cutting.

When you are guarding some one man, you should be between them and the disc. This means that you should be on the force side and closer to the thrower than they are. This applies to everyone on the field except for the last person back. We need to be making switches in this case. If the last person in the stacks person cuts to the disc then one of the other defenders closer up the field should make a switch and shut that down. If we can do this effectively it will cut down on the open side throws that are available and force the offense to make a harder throw. Let's be aware of where we are on the field and help each other at. This is not seven games of 1 on 1. Help each other out.

Zone Offense:

There is one point that needs to be stressed more than anything in zone offense. That is PATIENCE. No across the field throws, no bad decisions, just a nice slow game of throw and catch.

The Handlers:

There are three handlers. Their job is to get the disc to the poppers and break down the cup and wings. The disc should always be moving to keep the cup moving. The pivot handler (the one in the middle) should have the disc for the least amount of time. They should look for a popper for a split second and hit them if possible or immediately hit the other side handler. If the disc stops at the pivot position, it gives the cup to much time to reset. The handlers must use their pivot handlers. There should not be a throw from one handler on one side to the other handler on the other side. This throw has to many chances of being screwed up. This should be a LAST resort!!

The poppers:

The poppers are hitting the holes that come available from the swing of the disc by the handlers. Their cuts must be timed with the swings of the handlers. The poppers are really doing quite abit of running in and out. At times, the poppers will switch the with deeps to help spread the field. As soon as the a popper hits the hole and a handler throws the disc to a popper, a deep should be coming in hard to get the next throw. The popper should be looking for these deeps. As a deep comes in to get this pass, the other popper can be going long and thus creating a type of rotation. From this point there can be a give and go up the field or a handler will call for a "reset" and the popper or deep dumps to handler and everything just starts over.

The deeps:

The deeps job is to keep the long deep out of the area, and if the wind should die, allow a HANDLER to make a long throw down the field. This long throw is should be a pass that you have a 95% chance of completing the pass. As a team, we are really poor about making a correct decision here. When the deeps see that a popper is about to get a disc they should be thinking I am next and an extremely hard cut to receive the next pass.

Having said (typed) all of this, there is one main thing that we as a team need to overcome. I am guilty of this as much as everyone else. The decisions that we make on the field when we have the disc should be good ones. We need to make passes that we are 90% sure that we will complete. Forcing the disc into an area is unnecessary and deflates everyone. If we can play a very very controlled offensive game, at our pace, then we have a very good chance of beating any team we play. We just make to many poor decisions as a team and turn the disc over. There was a lot of this going on last night. Some more than others. Everyone needs to be self policed in this matter. If we can eliminate most of the turnovers it will do wonders for our offense. Now I am not talking about a good decision and a botched throw. Those are going to happen. We just need to be really aware of what our individual abilites are and below just below them at tournaments. In practice it is ok to play above them, that is why they call it practice. This is really important in the red zone. Don't worry about having to throw the dump. It gives the stack a chance to reset and sets up for a good swing pass to open up the field. Also along these lines, we really to be field aware so that we do not get trapped on the sideline. A break mark throw is invaluable, no matter how short it is. This puts all of our offense on the open side of the disc and we should be able to advance the disc a very good ways up the field in a short amount of time.

When you are making passes to your team mates, make your throw so that it is out in front of the cutter in the direction of the cut. And for the cutters, run through the disc. We will be playing teams that have a lot of speed. They can't run through you to get to the disc but they sure can run around you. This is also something that we tend to do regularly. We MUST run to the disc. I would much rather see some one running hard to the disc and drop it, than to have a defender come in and hit the disc, or much worse, catch it in front of you.

Let me know what all of you think about this and feel free to offer up opinions.

Mattman