Fall Practice #1

Okay it's not really the first fall practice at all, it's the third, but it was my first real practice as a coach. The first was for returners only which I think is a great idea. It would be amazing if everyone joined a club team, played summer league, and threw in the off season but that just isn't the case. By the end of this practice, the returners were looking sharp and ready to teach. It's easy to neglect the young returners and assume that the older one's know what they're doing so this was a good reminder that everyone needs attention. NOTE: EVERYONE NEEDS ATTENTION

I wasn't able to make the second practice when the rookies were first allowed to come out. We left for regionals early so we could hang out in Scottsdale. Something like 60+ girls were there, and Tambler already taught them the stack and the force. Today there were only about 40 girls but the rookies were looking pretty promising. We split them into three groups and had them rotate through stations:

1. Tambler was in charge of the throwing station. It was similar to one we used last year where you'd step out as far as you can and to throw super low under someone's arm. In this drill there was no one's arm there as an upper limit to your throw but you were still encouraged to throw as low as possible. For returners that means trying to throw below the top of the cone. For the rookies that just means trying to step out a bit. I like this exercise and am definitely going to use it next quarter.
2. Gina was in charge of the cutting drill. The girls ran from cone to cone (a V shape) to get a feel for what a cut is and how to change direction. There was an in cut setup and a deep cut setup with a returner to throw to each. I was facing the opposite direction of that drill but I suspect a bunch of people (returners and rookies alike) were making banananana cuts. Basically, if on the team then you probably make banana cuts so work on it :-). Mmm muscle memory. NOTE: TRAIN THE HARD CHANGE OF DIRECTION
3. I headed up the Go-To drill. This is the standard "go and git it" drill. Offense is supposed to use their body to get a good position, make the catch, and hold onto it under pressure. Defense is supposed to do whatever it takes (use your W.I.T.s) and show the offense what happens if you don't keep running to catch the frisbee. We haven't mentioned anything about fouls, and I didn't say a word when a few of the rookies "used their previous sports experience" to get the disc. That's a dang good sign. We haven't been a lay out heavy team (but will probably need to be if we want to compete with elite teams) and I saw three people get lay out D's today, only one of which had ultimate experience (Jane 'Austen' 'The Bomb' Griffin. I pity anyone who has to play against her or Ferris this season). I rotated through a few returners for throwers instead of sticking with just one. A couple of them looked surprised to be chosen to throw in a drill. One of those mentioned that it was a running joke on the team that she wasn't a good thrower. She actually thinks she's a bad thrower when her throws actually look pretty good! You have to have confidence if you're going to throw... and everyone has to throw. "Ya gots to son!" - Bobble. NOTE: BUILD CONFIDENCE

There were two more things to do before we ended for the day. The first was the 10 passes game. Your team has to complete 10 passes in a row to score a point. Make it, take it. It was played 4 on 4 rather than the usual 3 on 3. I think 3 on 3 is perfect. 4 on 4 seemed to leave on pair just standing around being ineffective when the goal of the drill is to keep moving and find open space. I'm glad I'm figuring these things out before it's up to me to run practice.

The last part of practice was the scrimmage. There were enough for two fields with subs. It was free subbing but you were supposed to make sure there were 3 returners on the line. 3 really isn't enough. If there was a way to go 5-2 it'd be great, but there just aren't enough returners and the kiddies would get bored if they were off the field for too long. It isn't easy learning how to cut in a stack when all the returners are handling. No one is actually showing you where or how to go. At one point I decided to put myself in the scrimmage to see if I could do anything to help. Being as there was no stack, I decided that I was going to be a "stack manager" and corralled everyone into their positions after the pull. After they cut from the back of the stack I would remind them of where to go (back into the stack right behind me, the handler in the stack). That and reminding them when it was their turn to cut was all most of them needed to get going. Next step, teaching them to make a real cut instead of just running straight in so the returners can play legit D.

Coach Meeko for the first time. Berry exciting.