You don't *have* to walk the disc to the front of the endzone

What to do after an endzone turnover

[Thanks to Travis Norsen for suggesting this post a long time ago. I finally found enough examples to feel like it was worth posting.]

You don't *have* to walk the disc to the front of the endzone after a turnover by the opposition that lands in the endzone you're defending. If it's to your advantage, you can establish a pivot foot immediately and throw a pass, instead. And it often *is* to your advantage. Too many players ignore (or are ignorant of) the fact they have two options in this situation.

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The Rules

Let's review the rules. Here's USAU:

11.A. If a turnover results in a team gaining possession in the end zone that they are defending, the player in possession must immediately either:

11.A.1. establish a pivot at the spot of the disc (to fake a throw or pause after gaining possession commits the player to put the disc into play at that spot); or

11.A.2. carry the disc directly to the closest point on the goal line and put it into play at that spot. If this option is chosen, the player taking possession must put the disc into play at the goal line. [[The player may carry the disc at any speed, constant or variable, while not unreasonably delaying.]] Failure to do so is a travel. [[The player must put the disc into play either at the spot of the disc or on the goal line, not in between.]]

The WFDF rules are essentially the same. Now let's look at a few examples:

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Example 1

Here's a play I noticed in Chicago Machine's 2023 Nationals Highlights video:

The defender (#66 Jordan Kerr, I believe) intercepts a pass, and his momentum takes him a few yards into the endzone. He jogs back to the goal line, but the time it takes him to get there gives the defense an important moment to catch up.

Here's what the defense looked like after Kerr caught the interception and slowed his momentum (white just caught the interception, black is now on defense):

But by the time he gets back to the goal line, the defense has gotten much closer to the target he wants to throw to:

By the time Kerr’s pass is caught that receiver’s defender is close enough to immediately set a mark.

I have sympathy for Kerr here, because he caught the disc. He has to decide immediately whether to head to the front of the endzone or stay put—the rules tell us that "to pause after gaining possession commits the player to put the disc into play at that spot".

If the disc is on the ground, it's much easier to make this decision—you can scan the field while you approach the disc. When you get to the disc, you either pick it up and throw it, or bring it to the front of the end zone. But Kerr, having caught the disc, couldn't stop to read the defense without committing to play the disc from that spot.

Kerr brings the disc to the front of the endzone. Presumably, his reasoning is something like "gaining yards is important". But upon reaching the line, he immediately throws a backwards pass and the disc ends up as far back in the endzone as it started! Ironically, if the goal was to gain yards, he could've achieved it more effectively by stopping immediately—the defense was so out of position that he could've thrown the disc forward instead of backwards. If he’d gotten the disc to the center of the field more quickly, a continuation pass downfield may have been more open as well.

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Example 2

Here's a second example from a 2024 PUL game between Raleigh Radiance vs. DC Shadow:

Tyler Smith walks to the disc after a DC turnover (Raleigh doesn't like fast breaks as much as I do, apparently). As they pick up the disc, they had an opportunity to throw an immediate centering pass. At the moment the disc is picked up, the other handler's defender isn't even looking at them:

The DC defender assumes (correctly) they don’t have to be playing defense right now

There isn't a huge benefit to be gained here, but note that (1) the result of the play was a first-throw turnover and (2) there was a noticeable crosswind in this game, and this centering pass would've gotten Raleigh to the "high side" of the field (i.e. the side the wind is coming from), making downfield progress a bit easier.

The screenshot highlights how defenses are often not paying attention because of what they expect the offense to do. Whenever a defender assumes they know what you're about to do, you should at least consider invalidating those assumptions.

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How to do it

I've made some of these points above, but let's take a moment to fully cover how to handle these situations.

Option 1: the disc is on the ground in the endzone after a turnover:

1. Start heading for the disc, as quickly as reasonably possible.

2. While you're running to the disc, scan the field for any teammates available for an immediate pass. Do this while you're running, not after you get to the disc! The good news is, the disc won't move once it's stopped on the ground, so you don't need to stare at it the whole time you're jogging towards it.

3. If your teammates aren't as alert as you are, you may need to talk to them as you run: "hey, [X], be ready!" or "hey, [X], you're open!" or "hey, [X], come help!". (Even better: discuss this beforehand and practice enough that your teammates build these good instincts, too.)

4. If you get to the disc and you have an open receiver, pick up the disc and throw it immediately.

5. If you don't have any options for an immediate pass, bring the disc to the goal line. But do it because you've decided it's your best option, not because you've ignorantly assumed it's your best option. To be prepared, read the defense as you're moving to the goal line—don't wait until you get there to start thinking.
   
   And remember: you don’t have to walk. Rule 11.A.2 allows you to move at “any speed”—jogging or running gives the defense less time to set up (and your teammates can learn to expect this and take advantage of it!).

If someone else is picking the disc up, you should get ready to catch a pass from them. Find a spot where you're open. Try communicating with the disc-grabber if possible: "Hey [X], I'm open, pick it up and throw it!". (Honestly, I find this frequently doesn't work too well. The best strategy in the long-term is to discuss this strategy beforehand with your teammates on the sideline.)

Option 2: you catch an interception in the endzone:

A caught D is trickier because you can't read the defense before deciding whether to stop or not. If possible, I start reading the defense while I'm slowing my momentum (assuming I caught the disc while running). In the best case scenario, by the time I've slowed my momentum I've already decided whether it's in my best interest to play the disc immediately or not.

If this isn't an option, I'd suggest playing the disc immediately if you've caught it within ~5 yards of the goal line. As the Chicago Machine example shows us, starting play quickly is usually more beneficial than gaining 3-5 immediate yards walk to the goal line.

Deep in the endzone, it's scarier to stop and set a pivot without knowing what your options are. So I'd say bring the disc to the goal line if you're catching a D towards the back of the endzone.

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Getting an unmarked throw

One other little benefit of this strategy: immediately setting your pivot foot in the endzone can be a clever way to generate an un-marked huck. When the disc is on the ground in the endzone, the defense often waits at the goal line. Picking up the disc and hucking it immediately can be very effective as you’re completely unmarked—and since you’re winding up a huge backhand, it doesn’t matter you’re starting 5 yards deeper than if you’d walked to the front of the endzone.

I think I’ve seen a video example of this (Brodie Smith maybe?) but couldn’t find it. If you’ve got a link, please let me know—I’ll update the article and give you credit.

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A positive example

If you're still not convinced, I found one more example where a player does pick up the disc and throw it immediately.

At Windmill 2024, TOKAY SuperTeam's Tom Tulett picks up a turnover in the endzone and flips it forward to a teammate instead of walking it to the line himself:

Again, are SuperTeam getting some huge benefit out of this? No. But Tulett’s dedication to staying aware of his options will make a difference when the defense does slip up. (And if I someday find an example where it makes an even bigger difference than any of the examples above, I'll update the article.)

If you're looking for a team to learn some tricks from, there’s hardly a better choice than SuperTeam—handle endzone turnovers they way they do!

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Update [2024-10-25]:

Here’s another good example of Boston Brute Squad’s Caitlyn Lee. Samiya Ismail also does a great job staying engaged and calling for the pass. Very similar to the Jordan Kerr example in that (a) they were only a few steps deep in the endzone and (b) it’s a deep shot with one defensive player making the play with two offensive players present (leaving the defender’s teammate open for an immediate pass:

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Update [2024-11-14]:

Here’s San Francisco Fury’s Dena Elimelech not walking the disc to the front of the end zone in the 2024 US national championship game: