Mental games to build your field sense
How many achievements have you unlocked?
In the comments of "How do I improve my field sense?", Travis N. suggested a post on "concrete/specific ways that players can be working on improving their field sense while playing".
Here's the list I came up with (with thanks to Travis for his suggestions).
Some are phrased more like "achievements" that you can unlock. Others feel more like games you play with yourself—aim for a new high score each time. I haven't bothered to separate these two types or make up the scoring system for each "game". You can also just think of this as an (incomplete) list of some subtler things smart players do.
These aren't things you should necessarily be *consciously thinking about when playing a serious game*, but challenges you can set yourself when playing with the intention of developing.
Give them a try! Here's my Frisbee IQ checklist:
As a pass thrower:
throw the disc on as low a stall count as possible
see how many options you can consider by stall [X] (say, consider 3 options by stall 4)
figure out who you're throwing the next pass to before you've caught the disc
watch something out of the corner of your eye instead of staring right at it
throw the disc and cut immediately
Throw a no-look pass or look off a defender
Throw a pass that takes advantage of what your cutter knows but their defender doesn't know
Encourage the receiver to move forward to gain more yards
How long did it take you to recognize someone was poaching?
On defense:
get as far from your assignment as possible without giving up a completion to them
switch assignments with a teammate as many times as possible
keep track of someone else's person along with your own
look downfield while you're marking
temporarily adjust your mark based on the open player you see downfield
spend as much time as possible backpedaling
As a pass catcher:
Make a defender pay for trying to stay further away from you
tell your teammates to cut (because of an opportunity you see for them, not just b/c they're at the back of the stack!)
start playing offense while a pass thrown by the other team is still in the air, b/c you can see it'll be a turnover
successfully notice when your defender isn't noticing you
play with a smart thrower, and invite them to throw passes at your back if you're open but not looking for the disc
Milk the disc for a few extra yards before catching it
(related) Run backwards downfield to get a few extra yards on an open pass while keeping eye contact with your thrower (as Anna Thompson does here — somehow I've never used this clip in an article yet)
Use a fake hand signal that confuses the defense but not your thrower
cut when it's "not your turn" because you see you have the best opportunity
Alternatively, don't cut when it is your turn because someone else has the better opportunity
Run through a disc extra hard, because you know the defense is right behind you.
Don’t run through the disc, because you know there’s no defense right behind you.
Tell someone not to throw to you when you can see they're thinking about it but you can also see the defense is getting too close to you
When the thrower looks at you, point out to them someone who's more open than you
(If assigned to be a “cutter”) Stay in the dump space when you recognize your team doesn’t need more players downfield at this particular moment
Use a hand signal to tell the thrower where to throw you open
On offense or defense:
count the number of times you make eye contact with a teammate (If offense, only counts when neither of you have the disc.)
know who every throw is going to before it's released
notice who's open before the thrower does
point at things (how many times did you point—for a reason—on one point?)
talk (how many times did you communicate w/ teammates on one point?)
use knowledge of tendencies — adjust your position based on something you know about the thrower's skill
on offense, cut for a throw that *that particular thrower* is best at, but wouldn't necessarily be where you cut for a different thrower
How often do you know what someone on the other team is thinking?
maintain a conversation with someone in the middle of the game
In general, just try to notice more things
Updated (2024-02-02):
Here are more ideas that came to mind or were suggested to me after I posted the article:
Force yourself to play at 75% speed to simulate being an older/slower/injured version of yourself (a lot of people report improving field sense after suffering an injury)
Know what the stall count is at all times (no matter who you’re guarding/where you are on the field). Play differently based on what the stall count is.
[2024-02-09]:
Notice you have another defender helping you and change the way you’re playing defense based on the help you have available.
As always, if you have ideas for making this list better, leave a comment or send me an email.
I just want to say I've read this a few times and it keeps being helpful. I'm sharing it with my team and others. Thanks LT!