Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The One.

Almost nothing is as deflating as the high stall count turnover. Here's one common scenario: a mediocre thrower has possession of the disc.  The stall count gets to 6.  He doesn't turn and look for the dump.  The stall count gets to 7.  The dump cut is now smothered by the field defenders.  The thrower looks uncertainly out at the stack.  Players in the stack look at each other.  Stall 10.  

This scenario isn't exactly what happens on every high stall count turnover, but it has the one feature that almost all high stall count turnovers share: uncertainty.  The thrower knows he is in trouble, but he doesn't know who to look for in order to get out of it.  The receivers know the thrower is in trouble, but they don't know who is supposed to go get the disc.  In short, the offense has ground to a grotesque halt.  Everybody is flatfooted.  The disc is still.  The defense has won.

My solution to this particular turnover is for the offense to name "The 1" before they signal readiness to receive the pull. "The 1" ("el uno", "il primero", etc.) is a fixer (kinda like George Clooney in Michael Clayton.  When the offense goes horribly wrong, he must come and fix it. The presence of "the 1" on the field eliminates any uncertainty.  As soon as anybody feels they are in trouble, they square up to "the 1" and prepare to throw to him as soon as he gets himself open.

Obviously, not every player can be "the 1".  Being "el uno" means that you have to be able to get open whenever you feel like it.  If you can, then you are eligible to be "il primero".  It also means that you've got to have good hands.  Throwers tend to panic when they are in trouble in high stall counts.  This panic causes them to make some pretty lol throws.  Being "the 1" also means that you cannot cut deep after "stall 2".  You have to be able to come back and get the disc by "stall 7".

I think that naming "the 1" before the point begins (assuming whoever is named has the skills required) is a simple way to cut down on those pesky turnovers.

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