Defensive Communication (the sounds of silence)

The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

-George Bernard Shaw

Everybody's talking at me.  I don't hear a word they're saying.

-Harry Nilsson

The ultimate field can be a lonely place, especially if you are a defender.  Unlike offensive communication, which is characterized by excessive eye contact between throwers and receivers, defense is communication cannot be non-verbal.  Often, a defender cannot afford to take his eye off his mark without blowing his assignment.  And even when a defender is positioned in such a way as to have a view of a teammate as well as the receiver, it is unlikely that the pair of defenders will have time to exchange meaningful glances.

This does not mean, however, that defenders should give up on communication.  On the contrary, verbal communication is arguably the defense's greatest advantage.  What I mean by this is that the offense needs to worry about giving away information to the defense through verbal communication.  If a thrower were to yell "go long" 3 seconds before every huck, the offense would lose it's main advantage: the element of surprise.  The defense has no such worry as defense is, by definition, responding to the offense.  Even if the thrower hears a defender scream switch as his man goes deep, the thrower doesn't necessarily gain any advantage unless the switch doesn't happen and the thrower wouldn't have noticed the deep cut without the "switch" call.

We can agree, therefore, that communication for a defense can be at worst a neutral and at best a significant advantage.  Defenders literally have nothing to lose by talking.  So, why then can we hear a pin drop most of the time we are playing defense? 

Self-conscious Pin hates quiet defenses when he's trying to drop.

1. Defenders aren't paying attention to what the offense is trying to do.

2. Defenders are paying attention to what the offense is trying to do, but they don't know how to communicate what is happening to other defenders.

3. Defenders are paying attention and know how to communicate, but are embarrassed to do so because others may not know what to do or because they fear that yelling on the field makes them look aggressive/foolish.

Let's sort out these reasons.  

1. This can be solved by paying attention and getting more experience playing with teammates who are also paying attention.  It is also solved by understanding what your particular defensive strategy does and doesn't do. Truthfully, most of the defensive silence comes from a defense not knowing exactly what it is trying to do.  People are correctly reticent when they don't know what is going on.

2. This is a serious problem.  It is useless for captains and team leaders to scream about "needing to communicate" without giving defenders the vocabulary to do so.  We use these different calls to even out the information concentrations in the defense.  The marking defender knows a great deal more about what the thrower is doing than the field defenders do, so he communicates details of the thrower's actions to the field defenders.  The field defenders know a great deal more about the shape of what the receivers are trying to do than the marking defender, so they communicate the details of the receivers actions to the marking defender.

Marking Defender Calls to Field Defenders

-"Up": The most basic and arguably most important call is "up".  "Up" should be screamed by every defender or bench player who sees a throw released by a thrower.  The "up" call needs to be repeated with emphasis until all field defenders react to the call.  Obviously, it is most important for the defender on the targeted receiver to react.  Often, especially on deep throws, this requires repeating the "up" call as well as repeating the defender's name so that he gets the message.  The "up" call is so important because field defenders cannot always see the disc.  They are often blind as to what is going on apart from their receiver's movements.  This call allows them to stay in contact with the play while staying in contact with their receiver.

-Piggybacking on the "up" call are several calls that can be made to help a defender whose back is to the disc after the up cal is made.  These calls are details about the throw that the defender would know if he could see the throw himself.  Calling out things like "floating", "right", "left", "directly over head", "turn for it", etc. can all be useful to the defender who cannot see the disc.  To know exactly which call to make, you must be able to put yourself in the position of the tracking defender and call out which details you would need to make the play if you were in his position.  We make these calls because there are times on hucks when a defender must concentrate on sprinting with the receiver and cannot look for the disc without giving up an easy score.

Field Defender Calls to Other Field Defenders

-"Switch": the "switch" call is used when field defenders trade receivers or trade defensive areas during the run of play.  The key to getting the most out of the "switch" call is to make it early and make sure that the defender you want to switch assignments with understands that you are talking to him.

Some men need a little help with the switch.

-"Help": the "help" call is the nightmare version of the "switch" call.  A field defender makes the "help" call when he has no chance to make the play that he is sure is coming.  The "help" call is basically telling the other field defenders to abandon ship and make a play if they can.  As such, it should be used sparingly in spots where the field defender is clearly beat and his receiver is going to gain serious yardage or score.

-"In" or "I'll take the in" paired with "Out" or "I'll take the out": this pair of calls are made before play starts.  The "in" portion is made by a defender or two defenders at the front of the stack.  The "out" portion is made by a defender or two defenders at the back of the stack.  These calls are premeditated "switches".  The field defenders in the stack know that the front defender or two front defenders will play the in-cut or in-cuts and that the back defender or two defenders will play the deep cut or deep cuts.

Field Defender Calls to Marking Defenders

-"No forehand" or "No backhand": These are two calls that are especially useful to defenders marking the thrower.  These calls are made to communicate to the marking defender to which side he should shade his mark and get active with his hands.  The marking defender cannot see the cuts that are coming from behind him, but the field defenders can.  This communication from field defenders to marking defenders is the most difficult, but can also be the most beneficial.  These calls are used when something in the field defensive plan has gone wrong and the field defenders need a couple seconds to play catch up.

-"No big": This call is used to communicate that the field defenders are especially vulnerable to a huck and that the marker should step back from the thrower and make himself as wide as possible.

This man is trying to prevent the ocean's big forehand huck.

3. If you are genuinely embarrassed about communicating on defense, get a new sport.  Honestly, ultimate is difficult enough without you acting the part of the blushing bride.