Games
When training a few times a week it's good to vary the types and setup of games you play instead of just setting up a regular sized pitch and playing normal Ultimate. This section provides some suggestions on variations, some useful and some not so useful!
Download pdf of GamesSmall
Pitch
Wide Pitch
Narrow Pitch
Minimum Passes
Hot Box
Walking Ultimate
One way to vary your game is to change the size of the pitch so as to encourage the development of different aspects of play. If you make the pitch significantly smaller, similar in size to an indoor pitch, but play 7-a-side then short safe passes are encouraged.
This way of training is great for encouraging safe consistent play and also for practicing tight close defence as there is less room for your man to get free. Therefore the passes have to be more accurate and need to be made when the player you are trying to pass to is not as open as you may like. If you play with this pitch set up regularly you will find that you team play on a normal size pitch is improved and the "huck", which may have been a primary option, now takes a back seat to the safer option of the short pass.
As with a small pitch this aims to encourage a certain style of play. Swing passes in games are very useful and this pitch setup helps develop your disc skills in this area. The disc is less likely to go out of the sideline and also you are less likely to get into a situation where you get trapped on the line making it easier to swing the disc back into the middle. For the defence players it improves the chase defense where your player gets away from you towards the line and you have to chase them down. (Good for layout D practice!). To stop the huck you should set a minimum amount of passes before the score pass can be made.
This pitch setup encourages the need to break the force as there is less room to swing the disc passes need to be made upfield. The defence should mark straight up so the shorter swing pass is available but the more difficult but more necessary up field pass is made even more difficult. This setup is great practice for you handling skills. You are also more likely to get trapped on the line so if getting the disc away from the line is something your team has problems with then this is the setup for you. For the defence it's a good chance to practice point blocking!
This can be used in any pitch setup and encourages players to make safe throws. Even if the short pass is made just to make up the amount of throws you have made it is still a useful exercise as it practices making the short pass. If you set a minimum of 20 passes then you will get into a good habit of keeping hold of the disc and not turning over. If a turnover occurs but you get the disc back you have to start from zero again. On variation on this is great for Freshers and that is to add in a rule where everyone on your team has to make a pass and a catch before you can score.
This can be played whenever you like and is a fun alternative to "normal" Ultimate, however it is not good to play all the time as it gets you out of important habits picked up when playing Ultimate, like staying on the pitch! The pitch setup is completely different, instead of the normal endzone you have two boxes set up as far apart from each other as you like. They can be as small or large as you want but about 5m square is about right. There are no sidelines in Hotbox so you can go as far away as the field size will allow. The final difference is optional as you may not always want to do it this way. That is that inside the box there is full contact so you can remove offensive players from the box. This is not always recommended and often a rule that is not used. Without it, it is still a fun variation to Ultimate.
This is a good laugh but almost useless in relation to improving your game. Ideal though for an end of year practice. The rules are simple. You have to walk, all the time! Walk your fake and then walk your cut and walk (not chase) the disc down! Layout (or fall down!) if necessary.
