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Team Marking
by Charlie Reznikoff
When marking, face to face, one-on-one with your opponent, you are more closed off from the game around you than at any other moment in Ultimate. This leads some markers to try for too much, going for every block. Others miss opportunities to help their teammates by adhering too closely to the force. Effective marking requires a balance between these extremes. One trick to achieving this balance (and knowing when to take a risk on the mark) is glancing over your shoulder at the oncoming cuts. A quick look behind you helps you not to bite on fakes. You can prioritize which throws to take away. You'll have the opportunity to help a roasted teammate. And you're much more likely to get a block.
A common example of this occurs after a deep pass is caught near the end zone. The defender, just taken deep, is often frantic, frustrated, and wants to get the defense personally. He may mark wildly, lunging for every fake. In doing so he makes end zone defense impossible for his teammates, and makes a goal more likely. Conversely, some defenders will mark conservatively, doing only what was agreed-upon before the point. Yet in this scenario, cutters commonly have a step on their defenders and conservative marking nearly guarantees a score. A well-timed strike of the mark would save the goal.
In Ultimate, finding the cutters and adjusting the mark accordingly gives the defense a huge advantage. Ideally the mark is not a one-on-one match up, but team defense, like a zone, requiring communication and vision.
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 |
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