offensive strategy - the receiver, part 2

In the last post, we talked about how important it is for a receiver to not only have good hands, but also to be clutch. Pressure can mess things up pretty quickly. But even that isn't enough! Here's an equally crucial responsibility - the receiver is actually the one who should direct the play. Not the handler. The receiver.

Why not the handler? Because if he calls out a play (e.g. "CUT LEFT!") the defense can easily react - they know the play! They're facing the handler, for the most part (this is VERY true in Thursday Frisbee - lots of zone and very little man coverage), and so if he even points or nods his head or moves his eyes in a certain direction, it's too easy for the defense to read it and beat the play.

Therefore, every receiver needs to be aware of this responsibility. Since the defense is typically zone, the defenders have their backs to the receivers! (The only exception to this is the deep safety. He's really the stopgap.) So the receiver is the one who will make the cut (left, right, in, or deep, or some combination of those) and must make the handler aware of his move before he gets into the open territory. There are several ways to go about this.

1. Preplanning. This is where at some point in the game the receiver/handler duo make an agreement of what sort of cut should take place before either player actually has the disc. It's similar to calling a play in the football huddle. Remember how the handler can't call the play? If you pre-plan, it's totally possible to pull off a fake by calling the opposite of that play (e.g. "CUT LEFT!" - the defense cuts left; the receiver cuts right.). It can be confusing though, and unless practiced extensively, should be avoided. Not all defenders will bite on an outright "playfaker" call, and some might even cut to the right with your receiver.

2. Speed. The receiver immediately goes deep, regardless of defense position. This may catch the defense while they're still trying to set up their zone, and makes for a one-on-one jump-ball situation between the receiver and the deep safety. If the pass is placed correctly, the receiver will have total position advantage and the deep safety won't even have a chance at making a D!

3. Dump. The receiver positions himself at a 45 degree angle about 5-6 yards behind the handler. If the handler can't find a decent shot (and in TF, he probably will make a pass anyway), this is an extremely safe, low-risk option pass that changes handlers and creates a new receiver with a new position that the defense now needs to account for. Mixes it up a bit.

4. Swing. This is a variation of the dump in which the dump doesn't look downfield, but immediately passes to a (hopefully) open receiver on the opposite side of the field. So if the initial handler was on the left, the dump would be more in the middle and would /swing/ it immediately to the receiver on the right, who now has a whole different look at the field. This forces the defense to reset their position. Where they were defending the left side, now they have to defend the right. It's at these times of resetting the defense that at some point a receiver will hopefully get open, and the disc will advance downfield.

Yeah, receivers definitely have a lot to them. There should be at least one more part to this. :)