How to play frisbee with me

This is my style, what's yours?

May 13, 2024

Here's how I like to play frisbee.

But first—a few stray thoughts on why I wrote this post:

There's at least four people on my summer league team who read this blog. I'd like to make the most of our summer, so it seems worth it to let my friends know what I like to do on the field! (There are also a few blog readers who I'll play against in summer league—enjoy the detailed scouting report!)
For readers who don't play with me: an article like this might help you think about your game. Do you do these things? Do you want to be able to? Do you know what unique skills/throws each of your teammates have?
More generally, it just feels like an interesting topic to talk about. Do those of you who play on club teams already have a document like this to share with your teammates? If not, why not? It feels like an obvious way to build chemistry quickly.
I've been thinking lately about frisbee styles, after a conversation with a friend about this famous r/ultimate comment. In basketball, players often have incredibly different styles—Steph Curry, Luka Dončić, and De'Aaron Fox are all point guards but play with very different styles,as discussed in lots of detail in this recent Ringer article: The Field Guide to Modern NBA Point Guards.

It's fun to watch people who play frisbee with their own unique style (this is probably also my favorite part of watching Callahan videos every spring). There aren't enough frisbee players, in my opinion, who have their own, identifiable style.
Writing this article, I can't help thinking of the recent popularity (relatively speaking) of 'date-me docs' (see paywalled NY Times story here, for example). To a nerdy boy like me, they're refreshing in a way, in their straightforwardness: here's who I am, I want to find someone who's right for me. I guess I'm doing the same thing here: here's how I have fun playing frisbee, won't you have fun playing with me? Why shouldn't I just explain exactly what I'm looking for on the frisbee field?

In my opinion, the benefit of uniqueness is that defenders can't play against me the way they play against everyone else. Their instincts aren't as useful as they usually are. The downside is that my teammates often don't know how to make the most of the skills I want to use on the field. Hopefully this document helps interested teammates learn how to make the most of our chemistry.

I won't describe everything about my playing style here—I'll focus on areas where I've felt teammates are often not looking for the same opportunities I'm looking for.

With that introduction out of the way, here's how I play frisbee—and how to play frisbee with me.

"Lefty lead pass"

I really liked this recent Hive Ultimate video because it showcases one of my favorite passes:

In the video—which highlights Steffen Döscher, another player who has a unique style—they call it a "lefty lead pass". The dump cutter cuts (more or less) straight up the field and the thrower throws a high IO lefty backhand to the open space on the far side of a faceguarding defender.

I love throwing this pass—it's so much fun. I love unusual angles and I can't help but enjoying bamboozling defenders who think faceguarding is a good idea. I'd love to throw this pass every single time I'm on the field. But people rarely cut for it (I assume because not many other people have this throw).

This is often a "thrower initiated" cut. Use your eye contact and body positioning to show me that you're ready for the pass. But you might not actually start cutting until I've started to release the throw. I'll put it to a spot that only you can reach, and the faceguarding defender won't have time to figure out where the disc is & catch up.

I don't really think of this as a "dump" throw—I'm more than happy to throw it quite early in the stall count. It can especially be effective if you swing the disc to me and then give-and-go straight up the field. Some defenders will get caught disc-watching and I can throw the IO lead pass back to you as soon as I catch the disc.

'Return to sender' give-and-go

Another favorite connection of mine is what I'll call the "return to sender give-and-go" (does it already have another name?). It's exemplified by this clip from Dylan Freechild's Callahan video:

Here's how it works: you throw a dump pass to me, and upon catching it, I immediately pass it back to you and cut upline to get the disc back from you.

I find this is another pass that it's difficult to get teammates ready for—people are so used to thinking that after throwing a dump pass, they should move out of the play and make space for someone else. But defenders expect that too, and we can take advantage of their expectations by playing the disc right back into the space it left.

I also like using this move against a cup zone. From the trap side, the disc gets dumped to me in the middle of the field. With the three players in the cup running towards me, I can use their momentum against them by sending the disc right back in the direction they're running away from, and then following it myself.

Against person defense, this move works well in combination with the "lefty lead pass" (above). Throw the dump/swing, and then:

If the defense starts disc-watching (or generally playing lazy defense), I'll hit you with the IO lead pass.
If the defense has been burned by the lead pass already, fake a run up the field and then stop so I can hit you with the return-to-sender.

Against a zone

As mentioned, I like to give-and-go as a handler against a zone. If you're the "popper" downfield, instead of thinking about how to get open for me now (i.e. when I have the disc standing still in the middle of the field), think about finding a spot where you'll be open (and I have an angle to throw to you) once I catch the give-and-go pass.

I'm relatively confident throwing over the top of a zone, either with a righty blade flick or a lefty upside-down pass. I think sometimes downfield players in a zone offense think they need to "make cuts", but often—especially when the handlers can throw over the top—all you really need to do is slide into an open space. Look for spots with no defenders in them, and mosey over towards that spot. I'll hit you with the over the top pass. (Often when the disc swings, the entire defense will take a few steps towards the disc. That's often a good moment for you to take a few steps in the other direction into a now-empty space.)

Lefty scoober, lefty hammer

One of the most unique things about my game is that I mostly throw upside throws with my "off hand" (i.e. my left hand). I'll use my lefty scoober to reach the break side against a defense that forces righty forehand. I'll use the lefty hammer against a righty-backhand force, or to throw over a zone.

With my lefty backhand and lefty scoober, I have a pretty strong ability to access the breakside, so don't be afraid of cutting that way.

Give-and-go / stall zero dump

If it isn't obvious already, I'm a big fan of give-and-gos! So if you catch a pass from me, don't always immediately turn upfield—sometimes our offense's best option is for you to pass it right back to me as I'm running.

Felix may have been exaggerating when he suggested this was the "most effective move in ultimate", but I believe it's at least an important part of a great offense.

The first paragraph in this section was written from the perspective of me being the give-and-goer, but I'm an equal opportunity give-and-go-er. If you give-and-go, I'm perfectly happy to be the one throwing the stall zero dump pass back to you. If you throw the disc and run, I will reward you.

Throw me open...or let me throw you open

It's hard to find teammates who are ready for me to throw a space throw—and also hard to find teammates who will throw me open to space. This Jack Williams video breaks down throwing to space:

When I'm being faceguarded, I want to let you (as a thrower) take the lead role in our little dance. Throw me a pass somewhere that my defender can't reach as easily as I can. They can't react in time if they don't know when the disc is released.

I'm pretty good at "playing dumb" as a receiver being faceguarded—even after you release the pass, I'll continue to stand around looking bored for a beat. I'll accelerate at the last moment, so the defender has no chance at all to catch up.

In general, throwers aren't audacious enough when throwing to me. Put it out there, and I'll go get it. I like to make plays that require me to run fast and jump high (at least for a few more years!). Let's find out exactly where the line is for "too audacious", instead of always remaining squarely on the safe side of it.

I often use hand signals to show you (the thrower) that I know where the open space is. Me pointing at the empty grass to my right side is telling you "throw it out there, I'm ready to accelerate in that direction".

In Jack's video above, he puts his hands on his knees as a signal to the thrower that the thrower should take the lead. I think this can be a useful signal, but it's most useful in exactly the situation shown—when he really doesn't need to run anywhere to catch the pass. In general, it's useful to use a little hand signal or head nod to get on the same page.

If you want to hide the signal from the defense, it's often possible to do so with a smaller signal, by keeping your hand on the side of your body that's opposite from your defender, and/or by only signaling immediately after we've made eye contact.

When I'm the one with the disc, I like to throw space throws when I can. But I often don't know whether the receiver is also seeing the same opportunity. If you use that hand signal as a cutter, I'll know you're seeing what I'm seeing, and I'll be much more comfortable putting it out there. Maybe once we have a few successful connections like this, we can graduate to not using a signal.

Trust your cuts, I like to look off the defense

I'm a big believer that looking off the defense is an important skill when throwing the disc.

Eye contact between the thrower and receiver can be important, but sometimes it's also important to not make too much eye contact—in order to not give away our plans to the defense.

I find that looking off the defense can work extremely well when we trust each other, and trust ourselves. Trust yourself—your own cutting ability and awareness. If you think you've found a good spot, trust that instinct, even if I'm not looking at you. And trust me—I'll find you with a pass even if I'm not staring you down.

A specific example of a frequent situation where our trust can elevate our game more than our eye contact is when I need to throw you a dump pass. Some people like to say that the dump cutter shouldn't "activate" (i.e. start their cut) until the thrower has turned and made eye contact with them. I think that's goofy—it just gives the whole plan away to the defense.

If it's time to get open in the dump space, just start your cut. I promise I am paying attention to you out of the corner of my eye, and I'll hit you with the half-pivot swing pass the moment you get open.

Back of stack shenanigans

I don't love the overly predictable, always-cut-from-the-back vertical stack. But I understand why certain teams default to it (especially in summer league). From a 'theoretical' standpoint, I don't like predictable offense. And from a pragmatic, on-the-field standpoint, I also don't like having to work extra hard to get open when I'm at the back of the stack facing off against a super attentive defender.

One of my favorite ways to add a little spice to a predictable stack is to sometimes let the next-to-last cutter go first. Often they can get open much easier, as their defender isn't expecting them to cut immediately.

Imagine you and I are the two deepest cutters at the back of the stack. Instead of always letting the player in back cut first, a moment of eye contact can be all we need to let whoever has the better opportunity cut first. I'll nod at you if I think it makes sense for you to cut, or I'll give a subtle point at myself to show that I like my opportunity (and you can do the same! let's read the defense together). Don’t assume I always want to cut first from the back of the stack. Look to make eye contact every time.

In general, I like to do relatively "weird" stuff at the back of the stack just so the defense can't key on the two "normal" options (i.e. under cut and deep cut). For example:

I may cut deep on stall zero without really trying to get open, just so the 2nd cutter will get into their action quickly. I'll be ready to cut back under to catch the continuation pass from them.
I'll cut to the breakside on stall zero. Again, it'll give the second cutter an opportunity to get into their action quickly, but also could become a viable cut if my defender doesn't guard it closely.

Quick disc movement

I'm generally a big fan of moving the disc quickly. When the disc moves, the defense is forced to continually respond, and that's when breakdowns happen. I'm quite content to throw a pass on stall zero or stall one. I get no joy out of holding the disc any longer than necessary. I challenge myself to get better and better at being ready to throw as soon as possible after a catch.

For you as a cutter, that means you'll often want to start cutting before I've even caught the disc. It doesn't take long for me to catch, turn (if necessary), scan the field and make a decision. Start those cuts extra early and our offense will flow beautifully.

When I'm cutting, I'll try to time my cut based on how quickly you're looking to throw. If you also try to be ready to throw as soon as possible, you can expect me to start cutting early so I'm there when you turn around. If I notice you prefer to take your time, I'll start my cuts later, too.

Fast breaks

I've explained before that I really love fast breaks. Fast breaks need one person to pick up the disc and one person (or more) who gets open. So if you see me heading towards the disc, work on getting open. I'm not looking to throw any difficult passes, I'm happy to simply get the disc moving. I'll often pick the disc up and immediately throw a short pass into a give-and-go.

I've gotten pretty good at communicating with people that I want them to be ready for the give-and-go (when the disc hits the ground I'll say something like "stay here, get open, I'll pass it to you!"). But it's even better when I don't have to remind you and you're looking for it from the moment the disc hits the ground (or before the disc even hits the ground, if you see I'm about to catch a D!).

Clear out, don't check out — I have a quick release

I've noticed a few times that I've thrown passes to people just as they look away and start clearing out. Maybe it happens to everyone else just as much—it's not like I have data on this. But possibly it happens to me more than other people because while most people are throwing forehands to the open side, I'm throwing lefty backhands with a smaller, quicker throwing motion. I can go from "not looking like I'm going to throw it" to "the pass is already out of my hands" quicker than most.

So, don't fully look away from me when you start to think the pass isn't coming. Start to clear out, but keep an eye on me with the disc. It may save us from a costly turnover if I release a pass just as you start to turn away.

Defense

Relatively speaking, I don't have much to say about defense. I'm always trying to play defense in a way that makes things hard for the other team as a whole—I won't just be trying to completely shut down the player I'm guarding.

I'm always happy to bracket with you, so look for opportunities to make eye contact with me to set it up.

Catching the pull

I like to catch the pull and start working the disc up the field quickly before the defense arrives, usually using give-and-gos. I'd rather gain free yards without defensive pressure than prioritize "getting into our offense" (which again, will often be predictable). If you're catching the pull, I'll look to give it back to you on the give-and-go after your centering pass from me. If I catch the pull, look to do the same for me.

What I'm working on: hucks

I'm not the best at deep throws, but I really want to keep getting better at them. I really appreciate if you cut deep for me, especially in low-stakes situations (at pickup, if we're already up by a couple goals at summer league, etc). I feel more comfortable throwing backhand hucks than forehand, though I want to get reps doing both.

Because I highly value quick disc movement, I usually only look to huck early in the stall count. If you're cutting deep for me, it's the perfect time to cut before the thrower catches it. If I catch the disc, look up, and see you already sprinting deep, there's a good chance I'll put it out there for you. If not, I'll look to keep the disc moving immediately (and we can always try again next time I'm about to catch a pass).

That's all I've got for now. I'll update the post if I think of more ideas worth adding to the list in the future.

Some Flow

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