Indoor Ultimate Strategies
sticky
1. $15-Pay Tom if you plan on playing.
2. Shoes: Wear something that grips to the surface of the hard-court. indoor soccer cleats and basketball shoes are perfect
3. Leggings: I recommend wearing compression leggings- court burns can be significantly worse than turf burns.
4. White and a dark shirt
5. Should I wear gloves? You should never, ever wear gloves when playing ultimate.
Defense:
1. Force Backhand. It is significantly harder for the offense to throw over-the-top blades and hammers.
2. A zone that uses a cup. It only takes one over the top throw/break to open the field for the offense. Therefore, it is typical to see 1-2-2 or 1-3-1 zone.
3. Bodychecking (Example) within the first couple seconds is more common in indoor play than outdoor play. If you feel like a player/team is abusing the rules or otherwise being an asshat, there is no harm in calling a foul.
Offense:
1. Isolation plays are a mainstay at most indoor ultimate tournaments (2-3 handles, 1 cutter, and 1-2 players endzone)
2. It is more common to see horizontal stack than a vertical stack (one shitty cut can clog and leave a defender in the open lane)
3. You have limited time with the disc- no need for unnecessary fakes and grip switching.
4. Over the top throws (blades/hammers/scoobers) are particularly useful; expect to catch a variety of throws.
5. Substitutions: Indoor ultimate does a number on your knees- You might not feel the pain until the next day, so take frequent breaks.
The patented SPU Dump Drill can be used effectively albeit several changes:
1. The timing of the dump must occur earlier. The typical stall count in an indoor tournament is seven seconds. The dump must be initiated no later than stall four or five.
2. Cutters, this is very important! Keep your defender(s) occupied. This is accomplished by making hard cuts and clearing. When the thrower looks to the dump, this is your signal to clear out of the area and prevent a ‘poacher’ from disrupting the dump.
3. Give-and-go passes open the field, reset the stall count, and frustrate defenses.
Here is a video of an indoor ultimate tournament:
