Scrimmage vs. Barrio on Saturday

Short notice, but Barrio's coming up on Saturday. We'll scrimmage them after our Saturday morning practice.

So: Practice 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Scrimmage 1 - 2 p.m.

It'll all be at Thorpe — North softball field is the 1st choice, then the muddy soccer field.

Sweet!

Here comes the rain again

Practice was rained out today. That's a bummer because the weather seems to have been against us nearly every practice. Of course we can't choose the weather conditions we play tournaments in. So the unholy wind, cold, and/or wet conditions will be good for us or something. But like eating our veggies when we were five, it still ain't fun.
It's also a bummer being rained out because we only have one practice a week while the very fun and excellent Flagstaff League (FUEL) is in season. While each practice is important it feels like our one a weeks are even more so and even more of a bummer when it rains us out. But we have track workouts on Tuesday at 4:30pm at the NAU track to look forward too.
Just three weeks from the Flagstaff tournament and I can't wait to line up with my HumpFreeze squad.

Wednesday May 20 practice

We had: Andy, Shakey, Ian, Shimoni, Mason, Nockels, Lawrence, James, Aaron, Jake (hurt, left), Jee, Bala, Jasmine, Allie (hurt), Flaimy (hurt)

We did: warmup, throws, mark drill, huck-tos, sideline dump drill, scrimmage

This was our best practice yet. Sloppy conditions, but we had the most numbers and the most intense scrimmage we've had all year. 

The mark drill was our usual triangle with one marker. I saw a few too many high-release and low-percentage throws trying to get the break off ... Remember, this drill is about making solid throws for breaks if you can, and taking the easy, open option if you can't. 

The huck-to drill was BRUTAL. But I really liked it; we'll definitely do it again. I guess it's not a real huck per se, just an out throw to space to a cutter. It could be as short as a 15- to 20-yard throw. But both players have to keep moving, keep focusing on the catch and the throw. Like Bala said, this play is nearly impossible to stop in a game situation. You cut in, get the disc, dump it, and immediately cut deep. No way your defender can keep up. Booyah. 

Sideline dump drill. We split into two groups, and the groups did slightly different variations of the drill. But the fundamental theory is the same: you're trapped on the sideline with the disc and you're trying to dump  it. For upline dump cuts, you must throw the disc to space: out in front of your dump. Otherwise, the defender will eat up your dump throw. Also of note: the dump receiver has to cut hard to get open, just like a cutter from the stack. You can't just sit and wait and expect a perfect throw, you've got to get open by cutting hard. 

Like we said before, the scrimmage was very intense. We had 5s, a much closer simulation to a real game than we've had in a few weeks. We played a game to 3, followed by a game to 7. Both went to universe point. We saw some great things by both teams (taking advantage of defensive miscues, HOT endzone D, patience near the end zone, dumps and swings, solid marks), but also some things to work on (decision-making, communication, making easy catches, throwing into poaches, giving up breaks). Overall, a great, great scrimmage. Good adjustments by both teams, and good focus and intensity. 

We also changed up our practice schedule to accommodate the start of the league. Look for it in a future post.

Saturday May 16 practice

We had: Andy x 2, Eric, Ryan, Nockels, Jee, Allie, Cricket, Taydro, Jasmine, Brittany (left)

We did: warmup, throws, 20-10s, in & out huck drill, scrimmage. 

I don't like doing 20-10s, but damn they're good practice. The thrower is constantly throwing to space, and the runner has to constantly focus and make good catches and throws. The quick stuff — throwing and going — is really good practice. I saw some pairs way too far apart. Remember, you should never be more than 15 yards from your thrower in this drill. 

We worked on timing of our cuts with the in & out huck drill. Also, quick movement: the initial thrower doesn't just watch the throw, he or she sprints up to the in cutter to get the disc back. Then the cutter going deep should be open on a deep cut. A couple times, the deep cutter took off too early and was too deep by the time the thrower was ready to throw. Also, this deep cut was often too angled. We're trying to cut almost directly out, not out at a 45-degree angle. But other than that, we had some really good connections. 

The scrimmage went well, once we figured out our cone situation. Cricket had some badass hucks — having our girls huck can completely change our game. Nice job everyone.

Wednesday May 13 practice

There: Allie, Jee, Flaimy, Erin (late)

Andy, Shakey, Mason, Shimoni, James, Jake, Eric, Nockels (late)

We did: warmup, quick-throws, quick throws + running, cut drill, endzone O off stoppage, endzone fast break, scrimmage

I'm digging the quick-throw drills. I like the idea: Catch, turn, throw, all as fast as you can without rushing. Good drill, and good warmup. The cut drill is kinda boring and repetitive, but it simulates the Ho stack SO WELL that we have to keep doing it. Some famous baseball player once said, "Baseball should be called 'Adjustments.'" For some reason that quote reminds me of this drill. You learn from what you did last time, and use it to your advantage the next time. If you get burned deep last time, don't let it happen the next time. etc.

Endzone O was a little hairy. Both teams had trouble scoring. We could chalk it up to amazing defense, but the real story was that we made bad decisions and poor execution. Of course, we don't have an Official Endzone Strategy yet, much less any Set Plays. So our struggles weren't unexpected. Some things we can do better next time, both from a stopped disc, and on the fly: 

1) Get the disc off the line. From the corner cone, we spent too much time looking for cuts that weren't there and not enough time looking for our dump & swing.

2) Communicate. Sure, the defense knows our names, too, but if I call "ALLIE!" then everyone knows it's her cut, and things can develop from there. If there's no call, no one cuts or everyone cuts and it can get sloppy. Let's look to make a call. 

3) Try to break, but make a good decision. It's really hard to stop a good break throw for a score. We had some really nice one-throw scores in this drill, which are great for the offense. But some of the attempted breaks should not have been thrown. Low percentage.  

Oh yeah: on defense: Nice job holding the mark. Could communicate more, too ("Strike!" "Up!) and "No Break!" calls especially). 

The scrimmage was pretty one-sided, but nice job on both teams fighting through. We won't always play evenly matched games. When we're playing a crummy team, we have to stay focused and play up to our level, not down to theirs. And when we're getting blown out (yes, it will happen), it's up to us to keep the competitive mentality and focus on one point at a time. 

Sweet. League starts soon. We gotta talk about that. 

Saturday May 9 practice

There: Andy x 2, Ian, Shimoni, Jee, Jaffe, Kristine.

We did: warmup, quick throws, quick run & throws, huck-tos, scrimmage

We learned: Shimoni LOVES to quick throw drill. It can be very effective: You catch the disc, turn and throw it quickly. The idea is not to hold it too long, so the defense can't get set. Practicing that quick movement will help us in games. Of course, it's possible to rush things. We don't want push passes or swilly throws. We're staying controlled with these throws; we're trying to cut down on "transition time" from catching to throwing. So you catch the disc, control it, change grip, turn, step out, get low, throw. All in less than a second. 

Then we added running to the drill. So you throw, run toward your throw, catch it, turn, throw, follow your throw, etc. Same idea, but there's running involved. There's a lot more going on now, and I noticed everyone was rushing a bit. Being quick is good, but being accurate is more important. 

The huck-tos worked (again) on quick movement, and catching and throwing when tired. It got a little hairy with the wind. Next time we do this drill, I want everyone to focus on running full sprint, both in and out. 

Te 3x3 scrimmage put our drills into play. The quick throws and quick cuts were key. 3x3 is basically a full-time fast break. It's impossible to clog, so you can run pretty much wherever you want. both teams did well at employing the quick stuff. 

Wednesday, May 6 practice: DEFENSE!

There: Andy x 2, Shakes, Jee, Allie, Kristine, Ian, Lawrence, Bala, Rosi (hurt), Mohini (baby), Eric, Erin Young

We did: Warmup, throwing, mark drill, go-tos, in-or-out cut drill, sideline dump drill

We learned: The go-tos are all about explosiveness, on O and D. It's hard to make up that step on D, but if the cutter slows down at all, you're right there to D it. On O: quick movement. Can't slow down, especially when cutting in. The thrower: try to throw the disc where the cutter is most likely to catch it. If the defender is on one arm, throw it to the other arm. 

The cut drill went great, and we'll definitely do it again. It's the closest cutting simulation to a game situation. You can cut in or out, break side or force side, and the defender has to try to shut you down. Tips for offense: Take what they give you. The best thing you can do is get away from your defender. Watch your defender's hips. Once they turn one way, go the other. Running directly at defenders can put them on their heels, making it easier to separate yourself. Tips for defenders: Watch the cutter's hips. Stay close — don't let them have a free cut. Use your body. Stay on your toes.

The sideline dump drill worked on dumping and dump defense. On O, it's crucial to throw these throws to space. Whether it's up the line or back, a defender will always be close. So throw it where only your teammate can catch it. Same cutting principles apply to cutting for a dump: Get your defender on the heels, watch for the hips to commit, and bust. On D, communicating is key. "Strike!" calls can help if you're beat upline. Try to shut down one option, and be ready to get in a good position to stop the swing.