formations and strategies
Ultimate is a very structured game. There are several types of formations that teams use to efficiently work the disk up the field on offense or force turns on defense. Here are three of the most common formations in Ultimate: the vertical and horizontal stacks, used when the defense is running man-to-man coverage, and the zone offense, used when the defense comes out in a zone formation.
vertical stack
If the defense is playing man, one of the most common offensive formations used is called the vertical stack. The objective is for the offense to form a vertical line in the middle of the field in order to open up the sides of the field for cuts.
One player on defense will stand on one side of the mark and block one of the open sides of the field, an act called forcing. If the thrower is right-handed, as can usually be assumed, then the mark seen in the diagram to the right is putting a forehand or flick force on the thrower because he is forcing him to throw a flick pass by blocking passes he would normally throw with a backhand. Because the mark is effectively making passes on the thrower's backhand side very difficult, the rest of the defense lines up on the force side of the offensive player they are guarding.
With regards to the actual stack itself, there is a very specific order in which the offensive players cut to get open: the player furthest from the disk (the back of the stack) cuts first, the second furthest goes second, the third goes next, and so on. Every time the player in the back of the stack cuts, the rest of the stacks moves up the field so the next player to go cuts from the same position. If a player cuts and does not get the disk, he clears out back into the front of the stack and cycles through again until it is his turn once more. There is also a handler that stays about even with the thrower in case he cannot make an upfield pass and needs to dump the disk in order to reset the stall count.
One player on defense will stand on one side of the mark and block one of the open sides of the field, an act called forcing. If the thrower is right-handed, as can usually be assumed, then the mark seen in the diagram to the right is putting a forehand or flick force on the thrower because he is forcing him to throw a flick pass by blocking passes he would normally throw with a backhand. Because the mark is effectively making passes on the thrower's backhand side very difficult, the rest of the defense lines up on the force side of the offensive player they are guarding.
With regards to the actual stack itself, there is a very specific order in which the offensive players cut to get open: the player furthest from the disk (the back of the stack) cuts first, the second furthest goes second, the third goes next, and so on. Every time the player in the back of the stack cuts, the rest of the stacks moves up the field so the next player to go cuts from the same position. If a player cuts and does not get the disk, he clears out back into the front of the stack and cycles through again until it is his turn once more. There is also a handler that stays about even with the thrower in case he cannot make an upfield pass and needs to dump the disk in order to reset the stall count.
horizontal stack
The horizontal stack is another common offense used when the defense is playing man. The objective is for four offensive players to form a horizontal line across the width of the field so as to open up space for cuts in front of and behind the stack. There is also a third handler in a horizontal stack.
Just like in the vertical stack, there is a very specific flow to the horizontal stack that keeps it running smoothly. Cutters in the stack are numbered one through four, from left to right. The middle two cutters make their cuts first, clearing to the sides if they do not get the disk. Once the middle two cutters have gone and are clearing to the sides, the outside cutters move to the middle of the field and make their own cuts, creating a cyclical motion.
The defense is still forcing forehand in this example, but because the horizontal stack opens up much more of the field than the vertical stack does, the break side of the field is less of a factor for the offense.
Just like in the vertical stack, there is a very specific flow to the horizontal stack that keeps it running smoothly. Cutters in the stack are numbered one through four, from left to right. The middle two cutters make their cuts first, clearing to the sides if they do not get the disk. Once the middle two cutters have gone and are clearing to the sides, the outside cutters move to the middle of the field and make their own cuts, creating a cyclical motion.
The defense is still forcing forehand in this example, but because the horizontal stack opens up much more of the field than the vertical stack does, the break side of the field is less of a factor for the offense.
zone
Zone is a style of defense that focuses on covering space instead of covering a specific player. The objective of a zone defense is to put a lot of pressure on the thrower by taking away almost all upfield throws. If the defense can force the handlers to make tons of throws without gaining many yards and possibly force some risky throws, then the zone is doing its job. Zone is normally thrown when it is windy, as over-the-cup throws that could be made in normal conditions are much harder if not impossible to complete.
The main aspect of the zone defense is the cup, which is normally a group of three defenders surrounding the thrower. The second level of defense in a zone is the hammer stops, who try to make sure that the handlers don't get the disk to the poppers upfield. After that there are the short and deep deeps, who are more stationary and are used more to discourage deep throws and provide a last line of defense if the cup and hammer stops are beaten.
On offense there are three handlers who try to move the disk from side to side and make dump cuts to reset the stall count. The handlers try to make passes through or around the cup to the poppers. One the disk makes it past the cup, the poppers and spreaders usually break away and complete many short passes to each other to advance up the field and score.
The main aspect of the zone defense is the cup, which is normally a group of three defenders surrounding the thrower. The second level of defense in a zone is the hammer stops, who try to make sure that the handlers don't get the disk to the poppers upfield. After that there are the short and deep deeps, who are more stationary and are used more to discourage deep throws and provide a last line of defense if the cup and hammer stops are beaten.
On offense there are three handlers who try to move the disk from side to side and make dump cuts to reset the stall count. The handlers try to make passes through or around the cup to the poppers. One the disk makes it past the cup, the poppers and spreaders usually break away and complete many short passes to each other to advance up the field and score.