Post-Tournament Musings

[Jeff Brandle]

Good morning Package,

Here's a few thoughts about this weekend:

First off, I am thoroughly impressed with our performance as a team this weekend. We played hard, ran hard, got huge, and best of all, had a blast doing it.

I'm just gonna list all the things I have to say in bullet form, so as to expedite this process (I'm sleepy)

Offense

Pre-tourney emphasis: Easy and Open throws and HARD cuts

• Put up a lot of points against solid teams.
• Decision making still needs a bit of work, we really need to focus on making the 100% throw every single time.
• Honestly, all I saw this weekend were hard cuts. Everyone put in work on this one, made me smile.
• Cuts off the break-side swing need to be more consistent. We would get dump-swings off, but the far-side wing or popper wouldn't be there to keep the flow. If we have that, there can be a sweet up-line pass or a quick dish back to a handler to keep the cup running. This is really important and we're going to focus on this in practice.
• We were kinda plagued by drops, need to focus on catching the disc before looking upfield.

Defense

Pre-tourney emphasis: Staying on the right side of the man and running hard

• Everyone did an excellent job utilizing our plethora of zones. You guys adapted quickly and came out strong both days.
• Our deep-deep guys did an awesome job, but our sidelines need to be better at calling out runners to the deep-deep. We got screwed a few times by the offense getting behind the deeps.
• Our rabbit marks still need to work on not getting broken. Getting too close to the man was giving the thrower easy break opportunities. Take a step off of him and completely cut off the option. You need to be dynamic on the mark, if he looks to the break side or makes a move, jump back and PREVENT him from throwing it there. When he moves back to go for an inside, you bounce right back in there.
• Far break-side wings in the wall need to improve on cutting off the upline pass after a swing. Too often our wings were going for the D on the swing pass and leaving an easy&open throw upline. Upline passes on the break side are what can kill zones and send us running. ONLY commit to the swing pass if you have upwards of a 95% chance of getting it. Your job is to stall them and get them to swing it back to the force side for the trap. If our rabbit is hustling, he can force them to do just that.
• The middle of our wall was doing pretty well, but need to make sure they're staying close enough to each-other that nothing can get through. Several passes through the middle got off and really hurt us. I'm gonna talk more about this tomorrow.

Miscellaneous

• Sidelines need to be a little more active. I know some of those teams had numbers and it can get intimidating, but sideline talk is essential to our success.
• I thought we made pretty fair calls this weekend, but there were a few times I saw the other team pushing off to make cuts - yeah that's a foul. You can call that. It stops play, you get to catch up, and the stall stays where it is.
• Guys (and girls), if you have to change direction or speed at all because of another player, you can call a pick (as long as you're relatively close to them). This includes if you run into a player on your own team. Pick calls can be a time for the defense to catch their breath, catch up to their guys, and set up.
• Hey! Breaks are a big deal! If we break a team, that's cause for a fuckin' celebration! Every time we get a break I want people to get LOUD. It's a huge fuckin' momentum shift, and having the whole team in on it keeps us rollin'!
• This might be a little contradictory,but in terms of our team skill, it's necessary. I want our sophomores (and freshman that have the throws *no offense*) to take more shots upfield. I want you to try to break people (only if you're throwing to someone open). Take that wide-open huck! Taking shots in game situation makes you practice your throws at game-speed, which we really don't do that often. Tournaments are the fastest way to learn this game, and you need to practice every part of your game when you're on the field. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with dumping it after getting the disc, but take 3 seconds and look downfield.

Alright, that's all I have for you. Nice work Package, really nice work.

Drivers, way to get everyone around safely. It got pretty choppy in there, way to power through.

If you read all the way to the bottom, text me the word "blueberry"