The most important throw in ultimate.

The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection.

-Johanne Wolfgang von Goethe

So far, almost every post I've made has had to do with defense.  I figured that I would change it up with today's post.  As I've written previously, I believe that offenses at the non-elite club level turn the disc over in about 65% of their offensive possessions.  This statistic is purely of my own making.  If you feel that it is different (especially if you have stats), I invite you to share your information and thoughts.  I also believe that only about 10% of the turnovers could be categorized as Ds.  The remaining 55% of the offensive turnovers are unforced or slightly forced errors by the offense (mainly throwaways and drops).

The fact that 55% of the offensive possessions end due to unforced errors is sad.  It's very sad.  I don't mean to suggest that no thrower or receiver should ever make a mistake.  We're all only human.  However, making the occasional mistake is a far cry from making a mistake more than half of the time.  

Even Self-Satisfied Horse takes offensive mistakes seriously.

Now, I understand that 55% does not refer to any one player, it refers to the offense as a whole. 

And perhaps, some will suggest that the individuals making up an offense are each only making the occasional mistake with the aggregate of those mistakes being the 55%.  But, I disagree.

Having 55% of your offensive possessions end due to unforced errors is NOT a simple aggregate of rare individual mistakes.  It instead reflects a pervasive disregard for throwing limitations, an incoherent offensive strategy, and tactics that are either lazy or fundamentally poor.

My solution to the 55%, the most important throw in ultimate, the savior of championship caliber college and elite club teams is: the dump.  The dump or reset does not refer to a specific type of throw.  It can be a backhand, forehand, hammer, scoober, push pass, chicken wing, pizza toss, etc.

The dump or reset refers to the purpose of the throw, which is to re-initiate the offense from an offensively advantageous position on the field.  I define an offensively advantageous position to be in the middle third of the field (aka not near either sideline) with the disc in the hands of a handler.

Only an idiot would impose a fine for the making the most important throw in ultimate.

Why is the dump so important?

The answer to this question goes back to the 55% of offensive possessions that end with an unforced error.  I believe that disproportionate number of these unforced errors come from: non-handlers (aka people who are uncomfortable making throws under pressure), throws made under pressure close to the sidelines, and throws made to avoid being stalled.  In short, unforced errors come from throws made by non-ideal throwers in non-ideal circumstances.

These non-ideal throwers can make great throws.  And great throws can come under pressure from near the sidelines and to avoid being stalled.  However, just because great throws can come in these spots doesn't mean that we should attempt throws from these spots.  

These spots (when the disc is in the hands of non-handlers, or when the thrower is under pressure near the sideline, or when the stall count is high) are situations where the offense needs to prioritize safety over taking a chance on a non-dump throw.  As we've seen taking a chance on a non-dump throw in these spots is a big reason for the high number of unforced errors that plague offenses at this level. The safe throw in these spots is the dump or reset.

Why is the dump safe?

The dump is safe because: 

1. It gets the disc back in the hands of the person whose disc control your team trusts the most, the handler.  All things being equal, the offense would rather have the disc in the handler's hands than anyone else's.

2. It gets the disc back into the middle third of the field.  From this position, the handler is able to use the entire field for his next throw and receivers are able to target any area of the field for their cuts.  The trouble with keeping the disc near the sideline is that the sideline acts as an extra defender, cutting down on the available target area for receivers to cut into.

3. It resets the stall count.  This allows everything to settle down.

But, why is the dump the most important throw in ultimate?

Well, if you haven't been moved by the above arguments for utilizing the dump, then consider this: the dump is a high percentage throw that allows the offense to maintain its advantage over the defense by changing the point of attack.  Given the first principle of defense posts where I talked about how the defense's job is basically to keep the disc in one place so that it can gain an advantage over the offense; it logically follows that by simply moving the disc, the offense can gain an advantage over the defense.  And because the dump is the highest percentage way for the offense to move the disc, the dump is the most important throw in ultimate.