BananaCut

Every player in this sport always strives to make him or herself a better player. So, how does a player become better? The greatest players in our sport aren’t known for having trick throws, a signature move or some other unnatural characteristic that sets them apart. They’re known for doing the basics better than everybody else. So, what are the basics?

This was posted on RSD but got lost in the spam. Edited and produced by Freshman Kevin Minderhout. Stay tuned for Stanford Invite and Centex videos.

The following are excerpts from emails that the coaches on my club team have sent to us about how to play good, fundamental defense.

Yeah, yeah, throwing and catching. Fundamentals aside, here, let's talk about one step up--the dump. Absolutely essential as a building block for any offensive strategy (even if you Huck and Hope, you're going to make some dump-like passes to set that up at some point).

...Johnny Bravo is ready to boil over in 2008. Last year's Finals berth was another step in the process for the Boulder crew, whose recent nationals record has included four Quarterfinal appearances..., and a Semi's barnburner with eventual champ Seattle Sockeye in 2006.

The funny thing is half the people teaching ultimate teach people to pivot as if it is central to being a good thrower. And the other half that don’t stress pivoting, aren’t stressing not pivoting… they’re just ignoring it.

Take a second and visualize yourself on the mark. The thrower takes a big step to the backhand side, pretty clear windup, she puts her head down...

...and then throws a convincing fake before pivoting back over to the forehand side.

My question: how were you attempting to stop the huck?

The forehand grip--I realize now that it was probably a little confusing without at least some pictures to aid. Rather than just inserting pictures, I went one step farther and did the video. So, hope you enjoy!

The first weekend of the UPA College Series is in the books, and Florida and Arizona have taken their first step toward Boulder, while Ohio State and Pennsylvania have built some momentum toward picking off two more of the sixteen spots. The second weekend offers an extravaganza of events from east to west.