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Tips & Insights
by Peri Kurshan
When the disc is dead, always check behind your back to see where the first threats are and position yourself to take those away most effectively. It's the one chance you have to see what's about to happen behind you before you set up your mark—use it!
I try to think of my arms and legs separately as a 'two-pronged' defense. Think of your arms as being on a separate vertical plane from your legs, so that the thrower has to get through 2 vertical planes of extremities rather than just one. Stand in marking form, with your arms outstretched, then step your break side leg slightly back. Now when you are marking, it is psychologically harder for the thrower to throw under your arm because they can't tell where your leg is (they know it's farther back than your arm).
Vary your distance from the thrower. If you are always in the same place the thrower has 10 seconds to plan out a way to break your mark. I like to start out marking closer, and then as the count gets higher I move slightly backwards, and eventually stand up straighter. This minimizes the chances that I'll foul the thrower on a high stall count, changes the way in which they have to throw in order to break me midway through the stall count, and standing up taller puts me in better position to stop Hail Mary hucks on stall 9.
As a mark, you can't take away everything. Study your thrower. Try to mark up on the same person over and over again, figure out what they like to do best, and then take that away. Force them to throw something they are slightly less comfortable with. Hopefully that throw will be less well-calibrated and less expected from their teammates and result in a few miscues.
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Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 |
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