Tuesday Tips: Crossfield Deep Throwing, Presented By Spin Ultimate

[ultiworld]

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Revolver catches a huck at the Pro Flight Finale. Photo: Rodney Chen – UltiPhotos.com[/caption]

This article is presented by Spin Ultimate; all opinions are those of the author. Please support the brands that make Ultiworld possible and shop at Spin Ultimate!

Long considered a dangerous – or even downright misguided – huck decision, crossfield deep throwing is becoming more and more prevalent in high level ultimate. With the disc arriving at the receiver at a difficult angle, hucking over a vertical stack with a big bend on the throw was traditionally more often the result of an execution error than an intentional strategic choice. But as throwing skill and accuracy improves and teams look for new ways to attack the deep space, these hucks are now in vogue.

Here we discuss two variants of the crossfield huck: the front side throw and the back side throw.

Front Side

This throw looks like any ordinary trap force deep shot, except that instead of being thrown flat out in front of a receiver streaking toward the endzone on the force side, it crosses from one side of the field to the other as a cutter peels off toward the breakside.

Take this first example below. It looks a little like a wayward throw at first, one that’s bumped by the wind and blown a little off course, and that the offense is fortunate to reel in.

Truck cross-field flick 1

Think again.

Despite being floaty (look at the speed of the receiver), it’s virtually impossible for the defender to make a play on this disc. Being put out to space on the break side also ensures a huge margin for error; even if this throw had gone an extra 10-15 yards, it wouldn’t have been too difficult for the receiver to reel in.

Here’s another example, almost a carbon copy of the first, but with even better execution. The defender has no chance.

Truck cross-field flick 2

It’s probably no coincidence that both throws are into the wind, which helps the disc to sit a little longer.

Of course, anything you can do, Mickle can do better, ripping this one at least 60 yards and hitting the receiver in stride.

Mickle cross-field backhand

Notice how Mickle pivots directly forwards here, making it easier to direct the disc across the field, rather than stepping out sideways and trying to do everything with his arm and wrist.

Back Side

Imagine the scenario. You’re picking the disc up on the sideline following a turnover on the break side, and you’re running a vertical stack. The mark is therefore straight up, and any cuts in your half of the field are going to require breaking the mark. Many teams will start this possession by looking to swing the disc to the middle of the field and work it up from there. However, there’s a sweet spot on the far side of the field, beyond the stack, which is an open side throw, and where downfield defenders aren’t aggressively covering. Here, a crossfield huck can be devastating to a defense.

Japan’s Buzz Bullets are famous for incorporating this throw as a staple of their offensive strategy. Here is is Masahiro Matsuno in action for Buzz against Ironside at WUCC 2014. Catch, immediately look diagonally across the field, and hit the weak side with his trademark lefty flick.

Matsuno lefty cross-field flick

Kurono does the same here, except he’s right-handed so the action is in the other direction across the field.

Kurono cross-field flick

Compare the two; one is very bladey (shorter throw), one flatter. The exact shape of the back side throw is dependent upon the available field space, speed and angle of cut, and the defensive positioning. But the similarities are key – that deep, break side space is no longer seen as simply an occasional option, it is definitely an intentional target.

This past college season, Whitman rode Alex Hardesty’s big D-line hucks to this space ((Along with contributions from many other stellar role players.)) all the way to the National finals. She would frequently abuse her marks by stepping through and bending her hucks across the field where her receivers’ defenders had no chance.

Alex Hardesty Whitman

Brute Squad also have found a lot of success looking to this space. While this example required a nice grab from the receiver, it is clear that when Amber Sinicrope saw Caitlin O’Connell with even just a couple steps of separation on the break side, the crossfield huck was a throw she was ready and looking to deliver.

O’Connell sky

This throw can be an especially great way to attack deep in the wind. The blustery conditions are obvious in this clip from Truck v Bravo, where Kolick throws the back side crossfield shot across the field. It’s not a pretty throw by any means, but there’s so much space that it really doesn’t matter. Easy catch and undefendable, even by someone as smart and athletic as Mickle, who was protecting the force side and was completely caught off guard by the huck back the other way.

Kolick cross-field lefty backhand

Bravo get in on the action too. Notice how bladey this throw is, angled so that the wind doesn’t hit the underside of the disc, making it a nice easier catch for Mickle.

Bravo cross-field flick

How about this one from Madison Club? While the commentator thought the throw was not for the intended receiver, I disagree. There’s no defense anywhere nearby; they are all cheating over to prevent the “easy” straight throw directly downfield. As such, Camp identifies and hits the open guy, leading to an easy goal on the other side of the field.

Madison crossfield deep shot

This throw even works against a zone, as demonstrated here by Magon Liu of Fury at the Pro Flight Finale, feinting to draws the deep defender to the force side before turning and firing back across the field.

Mags huck

Coaching Points

It is clear that the best in the game no longer see the crossfield huck as a taboo; it has become a viable approach to attack the deep space in an area that the defense has left open. But how do they recognize when it is a good decision vs. an ill-advised turnover that will leave a coach groaning?

The Men’s final at US Open saw a perfect demonstration of this skill by Goose Helton. Notice how his hips are aligned so he’s facing his target, diagonally across the field (i.e. pivoting diagonally backwards to the field). Notice the curve on the disc, holding it’s edge all the way. Notice how the receiver is initially cutting deep straight down the middle of the field, giving possible huck options to the thrower on both the force and break side, pushing his defender closer to the near side and therefore creating a much bigger space for Goose to shoot into. These are the details that make the cross-field huck a realistic option for your offense.

Goose cross-field flick

Remember those keys to execute this skill effectively:

• Pivot to face your target. For the front-side throw, this means pivoting forwards as much as possible (see Mickle’s backhand clip above). For the back-side throw, pivot diagonally backwards (see either of the Buzz clips, or the one with Goose).
• Shape the throw. It will need a definite outside-in curve in order to slow down and hold up for the receiver. The same flat huck you'd put up to an open receiver streaking toward the force side will be much more difficult to track down if it's moving away from the receiver on the break side. Just be wary of showing the underside of the disc to the wind; when throwing into the wind, deliberately angling the disc like this makes the wind act as a brake, slowing the disc down. When throwing downwind, you’ll want to aim high to slow the disc down.
• Cut straight. If you head toward a back cone too early, you’ll reduce the amount of width that the thrower has to work with. Instead, cut straight deep until the disc is thrown, then go fetch! By cutting directly downfield, you’ll also enable the thrower to put up either the more conventional “straight” deep throw or the cross-field… the marker can’t stop both.

As offenses improve, they are beginning to attack these spaces more and more frequently. How defenses will adapt, remains to be seen; in most games, just one or two of these crossfield shots need to be completed to force a defensive adjustment that leads to far easier throws becoming available. This was particularly the case in the Truck Stop v Johnny Bravo match up in the Pro Elite Challenge finals, where Truck’s D-line attacked the deep break space repeatedly in the first few points, then opened up a much shorter style for themselves the rest of the game.

By practicing these crossfield throws, you could start to exploit areas of the field that defenses have traditionally ignored – and make the rest of your offensive looks that much easier.

Originally published at: http://ultiworld.com/2016/09/13/tuesday-tips-crossfield-deep-throwing-presented-spin-ultimate/

[UnderUlti (Benji Heywood)]

Brummie, I’m not so sure I agree about the wind being a factor in the bladey-ness of these throws. Yes, getting the wind hitting the underside of the disc can be a risk, but so can having the wind hit the top side and push it down. Both are a potential problem, and both can be compensated for (as long as the wind is steady).

You also contend that an outside-in curve is necessary to make the disc slow down more, which I don’t agree with in general. If your point is that a disc with a little outside-in can then flatten out and sit at the end, then we’re on the same page, but there’s no way that those bladey ones are going to float longer, or be easier to track down, than a flat huck.

For me, the main reason a crossfield huck tends to be bladey is simply that it almost always has to go over or around people, very possibly straight over a crowded stack. It needs to go up and down quickly. Take a look at almost all the above clips and see people directly under the flight path.

There are at least three reasons why a crossfield huck can be a good idea:

• Surprise, if the defender doesn’t expect it, particularly a breakside huck
• Positioning when the disc is released - assuming the the defender is short on the open side, then the direction in which the receiver has the most separation is long on the break side. Sometimes this compensates for the added difficulty of the throw/read.
• Positioning with the disc in the air - if it curves over the defender, she cannot see both the disc and the receiver, and cannot take up the position she would like without risking a very definite foul (if you’re not looking where you’re going, and veer across into a receiver, you fouled them, no arguments). See here: https://understandingultimate.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/hucking-the-defenders-blind-spot/

The risks are fairly obvious -

• the point of reception is perhaps less far downfield and theoretically closer to a potential poach (though obviously throwers are able to get a good look at whether that is happening)
• Surprise - the receiver may not see it coming and get a late read on it
• Throwing and reading the disc - it’s always easier to throw and read when there is a wide angle between the cut and the throw, such that the cut intercepts the path of the throw. Narrowing that angle, as we often do when going crossfield (not so much the Buzz ones, which are very sharply crossfield, but the Truck ones at the top) makes all that much harder. The truck receiver can only catch that first one pretty much where he does catch it, which is great when the throw is perfect. But with a normal huck to space, the cutter could adjust their run if it is thrown short or long and still make a play at full sprint.

The choice comes down to the balance between how good your throwers are, and how tight the defence is - where the best percentages lie. Getting your receiver sufficiently free deep to hit a basic straight huck to a straight deep cut (in a different third) such that the receiver can come across to intercept the disc is always the highest percentage throw. If the defence is such that that rarely happens, and your throwers are excellent, then it makes sense to look for other options.

There are definitely times when the crossfield huck is the correct option, particularly if your team practices it. I’m not so sure it’s really taboo anyway - the ‘rule of thirds’ as I understand it is that EITHER the throw or the cut should cross from one third to another.

[sionscone (Sion "Brummie" Scone)]

Brummie, I’m not so sure I agree about the wind being a factor in the bladey-ness of these throws

It’s all context Benji. Look at the clips from the Truck v Bravo game and you can tell there’s a strong wind towards the camera (maybe diagonally left-right too; note tents in the background have been dropped to avoid being blown over)

You also contend that an outside-in curve is necessary to make the disc slow down more, which I don’t agree with in general

Again, context. If you throw the disc out in front of (or to the side of) someone and want them to catch up to it, then angling the throw is a great way to practice getting the disc to sit.

but there’s no way that those bladey ones are going to float longer, or be easier to track down, than a flat huck

If you’ve got a gusting wind, then angling the disc is a great way to prevent the disc from bouncing, making it much easier to read. I spent long enough playing in Loughborough to know how to deal with stormy winds

Hopefully you noticed that there’s a huge amount of variance in the clips. Some very bladey, some very flat; in fact, the two Buzz Bullets clips were picked for this reason.

For me, the main reason a crossfield huck tends to be bladey is simply that it almost always has to go over or around people, very possibly straight over a crowded stack. It needs to go up and down quickly. Take a look at almost all the above clips and see people directly under the flight path.

7 / 12 go over people other than the receiver and the person guarding them, and there’s a huge variety of shapes to these throws, from blades to flat.

There are at least three reasons why a crossfield huck can be a good idea

I think it’s more simple than this. Defences typically aim to take away the area underneath on the open side as a priority, which means if the cutter turns to go deep, the defender is typically on the open side underneath. Throwing to the opposite side diagonally (i.e. this kind of crossfield throw) means that the throw is further from the defender, and also allows the receiver to box out more easily.

Getting your receiver sufficiently free deep to hit a basic straight huck to a straight deep cut (in a different third) such that the receiver can come across to intercept the disc is always the highest percentage throw.

We’ll agree to disagree with this. But I think that the biggest factor when throwing crossfield is that the length of the throw compared to the length of the cut is different to the kind of straight throw you’re describing here; when coaching it, I try to get the thrower to throw earlier, and start with the cutter closer to make sure it’s all within range. Overthrowing this is rarely the issue.

I’m not so sure it’s really taboo anyway

Not my wording (editorial!) but the “taboo” refers to throwing over the stack rather than the idea of crossfield hucking

[UnderUlti (Benji Heywood)]

Hi mate,

I’m just not buying that thing about the wind and angled discs. It’s pretty windy here too, and my experience doesn’t bear out what you’re saying at all. I can’t think of any reason (from the point of view of the physics) why angling the disc would prevent it bouncing, and there are plenty of examples of angled discs that bounce - http://ultiworld.com/livewire/gif-sockeyes-trent-dillon-makes-amazing-second-effort-layout-catch/

On the other stuff - I think there’s a really interesting discussion to be had about some of these clips, but I’m not sure that for me that it’s meaningful to put them in the same category. There’s a huge difference between:

• Thrower on sideline, cutter in centre of field going deep, curving the disc over them to the break side
• Thrower on sideline, cutter on FAR sideline going deep, throwing across to their side of the field
• Thrower on sideline, cutter on SAME sideline going deep, throwing a break out into the space for the receiver to turn and chase
• Thrower on sideline, cutter going horizontally across the end zone, throwing over the crowd at what is otherwise a pretty easy angle (between cut and throw)
• Thrower on sideline at brick-mark distance from endzone, cutter going diagonally away from the thrower to the back corner and needing a difficult throw with good curve so that it doesn’t go straight over their head

All of these would count as crossfield hucks, but for me the stark difference is between throws where:

• the point of reception is behind the cutter (from the thrower’s point of view) such that a difficult throw is needed
• the point of reception makes a triangle with the thrower and cutter such that I can just put a throw in space

I agree with your point that you normally need some curve on a throw when the point of reception is behind the cutter - but I think that’s because you don’t want the disc to go over their head where they can’t read it, not because it will float more and certainly not because it is less affected by the wind when it’s angled.

Those throws are harder, but also harder to defend. I know you’re a big fan of them in general, and I’m less so, but regardless of our preferences for different styles I do think the interesting factor is the amount of angle between the cut and throw rather than whether or not it’s crossfield.