USA Ultimate

Kinetic & Potential Energy

by Ryan Morgan

I believe that good chemistry between handlers can affect the game more than at any other position. Having two or three experienced handlers that really know each other is such an advantage because they likely have withstood defensive pressure like this before and they likely have talked about it and figured out, between them, how to deal with it. Because they can predict what the other is going to do, they don't panic when the stall count gets higher and they can reset the disc accordingly. 

The next best thing to good chemistry is having a dump system and running it continuously at practice. Drilling over and over at practice simulates chemistry by making cuts and throws predictable. When the pressure mounts and novel situations present themselves, like the unusually stifling defense here, handlers can rely on the cuts they know are coming. It sounds so simple, but on the fields it's a very difficult thing to do. 

In my experience, when handlers run into trouble moving the disc it is because the dump system and chemistry induce different results. The system might tell you "cut upfield" whereas chemistry tells you "cut downfield." It seems like the turnover that happened in this situation resulted from this type of miscommunication. Since that is the only turnover between the handlers so far I would pull them aside to make sure they get back on the same page. Handlers deserve a lot of discretion to decide how to make adjustments to particular situations like this one. They often see important things that other players don't and should be free to take advantage of what they see. However, its important to keep a close eye on them, as system-wide or personnel adjustments may be necessary. 

At the college level, where a couple of main handlers will play a large portion of the points, you have to consider fatigue from playing against such tight defense when deciding whether to make a halftime adjustment. You will need these handlers to play well at the end of games. To keep them from getting gassed, adjustments can be made to the dump system to minimize cutting. For example, the dump could focus on finding a good position early in the stall count so when the thrower turns to dump he is already in position. Then the dump can stand still and let the thrower initiate his cut by throwing the disc to space to one side. This way the handler-dump only has to make one cut to get the reset.