This is a zone defense. There are 4 positions: 3 people in the cup, 1 mid-mid, 2 wings, and 1 deep. This defense only works when there are poor weather conditions with either lots or wind, or lots of rain.
Cup:
There are 3 people in the cup each in one of the following positions. Only one person is allowed to be within 10 feet of the pivot foot of the person with the disc.
- Mark: He puts on an incredibly hard force and counts the stall. He absolutely must keep the force at all cost preventing any and all swing throws.
- Mid: Covers up field 10 feet away from the handler, generally he is straight up field from the mark, but may shift one way or another depending on communication from the mid-mid.
- Swing: Covers everything from an arm’s length from the mid as far into the swing territory as he can. He is not taking away the swing throw (if he does he will leave gaps in the cup…and no one likes a leaky cup) he is simply assisting with the incredibly hard 3-man force
Basic Cup:
The Force:
- When you are guarding the person with the disk, establish the direction you will allow them to throw by orienting your body to stop them from throwing in one direction, leaving the other direction open.
- Forcing home means you are forcing them to only throw it to the home side, not allowing any throws up field to the away side. Forcing away is the opposite.
- There are a few different ways to force that change depending on various situations
Hard Mark:
The standard mark that should be used almost always. The objective is the cut off any and all throws to one side of the field. Stay mainly on your man’s hip, orienting your body perpendicular to his, and move your feet with him as he pivots. Avoid bending at the waist because it is easy to make you overcommit if you do.
Straight Up Mark:
Switch momentarily to a straight up mark when one of the opposing cutters is open deep or someone yells “NO HUCK,” or “Straight Up.” Stand directly in front of your person about 3 feet away from them and cut off any deep throws. A good huck requires a small windup, and that will give you time to interfere.
No Strike:
When a dump cutter makes a good scorch cut, frequently the defender who got beat will yell “NO STRIKE.” When you hear this you momentarily (1-2 stalls max) switch to a straight up force giving up everything backfield and to the side, but not allowing the dangerous up field throw.
Guarding a Cutter:
- If the handler is forcing a particular direction, be between the person you are marking and the open/vulnerable side of the field. For example, if the handler is forcing home, you need to be on the home side of your man.
- Also notice where you are on the field in relation to the disk. If you are marking the person furthest away from the disk, stay a little behind him to help cover deep. If you are on the person closest to the disk, stay more in front of him so he doesn’t get open as easily. If he cuts deep and you can’t keep up with him, call for help
This is a man defense that sends three “gunners” who sprint down the field to cut off the first throw, guard the other team’s three handlers, and put on immediate pressure. A second wave of three runs down and guards three of their cutters, while our final player picks up their cutter that is the deepest at the time (he is a safe guard deep). It shows like a clam which helps disguise the fact that it is a man, confusing offenses. The number one key is getting all 7 players on a man as fast as possible and avoiding miscommunication by leaving one of them open while two of our guys mark one of theirs.
The clam is a complex communication-based man defense. It is commonly referred to as a “junkie” offense, and if not played correctly it certainly is junk. It is a combination of a man and a zone. Think of it like a man defense with an incredible quantity of switches going on constantly at almost every position: thus the need for great field communication. The defense is, by design, situational in nature, however, there are patterns and recurring themes to watch for. The basic clam is a 3-3-1.
Front 3:
Priorities for the front three are slowing down the disc, stopping scorch cuts, and most importantly keeping a hard force. One of the three must be on the mark, while the other two guard the 2 handlers closest to the disc very tightly. The front three constantly switch positions with each other, or change who they are guarding as handlers rotate out (as in the H-flow) or change sides (with a scorch cut or huge dump cut) etc.
The middle three all have very different responsibilities and must be discussed separately.
Strong Side:
This position is played with your butt to the sideline facing the entire field. Visibility is at a maximum and he can communicate best in this position. The main responsibility is to keep the disc in the middle of the field by guarding the furthest outside cutter on the force side. Must not allow anything up the sideline behind his back!
Weak Side:
Usually played by a taller player. He has the challenge of balancing his defense between two cutters (see image). He must decide which cutter is the most dangerous at any given time and take that away. He must balance helping in the middle when the mid gets sucked in, helping deep when two people are sent deep at the same time and making sure the disc doesn’t get around him to the outside when it is swung (just like strong side mid).
Mid Mid:
Arguably the most difficult position, he must keep his head on a swivel at all times. He can’t have his back to anyone (yet is in the middle of the field) and thus must rely heavily on communication from the sidelines, the deep, and the weak side mid. Simply put he must cut off all the cutters coming up the middle, follow the correct distance, pass them on to the front three and get back to the middle to cut off the most dangerous throwing lane in a timely manner.
Deep:
The deep is the man who keeps it all together. He is the communications master as he can see the whole field and can observe it for long periods of time. He sees the offense develop and passes on what he sees to the mids. Obviously he cannot allow anyone to get too far behind him, yet must be close enough to help with the cross field floating hammer in the “short-deep” area. His positioning is critical not only in being able to get a D on both of those areas, but to discourage throws and force everything underneath. A good deep makes handlers think two and three times before hucking the disc down the field.
