Progressing in Ultimate

One of the more interesting threads on the OCUA forums this winter started with a seemingly innocent question about how to progress in ultimate. A wide variety of players chimed in with their opinion, ranging from the best male player in Ottawa (IMO - John Haig), to veterans who have been playing since the 1980s, to yours truly. The resulting tips and suggestions are summarized below. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that a less informative, but much more amusing reply was posted by my idol Mr. SOTG (aka Marko, Conan, etc.) in the OUHA forums.

1. Play more ultimate – A no brainer? Obviously playing everyday would be dangerous, but as Allen Iverson never said "practice makes perfect".

2. Play on better teams – This tip was offered by a few veterans, and proved a tad controversial. In Ottawa, unless you're connected, your chances of picking up on a high tier league team are about as good as my chances of receiving a Christmas card from OUHA's Rigid (I'll get to that story eventually). The original poster took exception to the advice, and is one of the people behind the new "intermediate development team" I'm trying out for next week.

3. Watch high quality ultimate – A Stu Ginn tip that has really helped me. My best game this winter came after watching an elite match immediately prior to mine. Stu says you should watch the players who play your position, and then try to imitate them. I'd also recommend any Ultivillage DVDs, or youtube if you're cheap ;-)

4. Hit the gym – Although there is plenty of workout advice on the OCUA forums lately, I'd still recommend the Zip Tips for specific exercises. Hammering out some interval runs and fartlecks is also advisable.

5. Push yourself – This was my big contribution to the original thread. Playing outside of your comfort zone is a great way to learn new skills. If you're a crappy defender, cover the best cutter on the other team. After you get your ass burned a few times, you'll adjust your defensive positioning and strategy accordingly. Feel uncomfortable handling? Volunteer to handle every chance you get until it's second nature.

6. Ask better players for feedback – Probably the most common advice given to the original poster was to ask for feedback on his game by teammates and veterans. It's amazing how better players can pick up on weaknesses in your game, and how brutally honest and helpful they are in telling you how to improve those weaknesses. In terms of players to ask for advice, in my experience, captains, coaches on competitive teams and league coordinators provide the best specific advice.

7. Go to clinics – No, not the walk in type…unless you have a problem that requires that type of attention…but I digress. OCUA puts on loads of clinics over the course of the year, and I'll personally guarantee that you'll learn something new at every one you attend. My only complaint is that there aren't specific throwing, cutting, defending clinics, since I usually experience overload with the amount of material they cover. However, that's probably just me being slow…

8. Attend competitive tryouts – For the record, I'm not trying out for BigFish with expectations of wowing the coaches and making the team after two years of playing ultimate. I'm following the advice of posters who say that going to tryouts is a good way to learn drills, make contacts, and conduct gap analysis between your game and comp players' games.

9. Drink with competitive players – Ok, so that wasn't in the initial thread, but it's a funny piece of advice offered by Mr. SOTG that actually works. It works since it helps with so many of the other tips. Competitive players have connections on high-tier league teams, they'll happily give you feedback on your game, they can tell you all about tryouts, and some of them will even share their workouts with you.

10. Set goals every game – Granted, this is a Zip Tip, but it's one worth considering. Josh Zipperstein used to set goals every game (i.e. the guy I'm marking won't score on me), every tournament (i.e. no drops), and every year (i.e. win a national championship). If you watch any Brown game (there's one on youtube from 2004), you'll quickly see that Josh must have been doing something right. Although it's hard to dominate at ultimate, Zip was a powerful force. Goals lead to achievement.

C'est toute me amis. Consider these 10 tips a summary of OCUA's collective wisdom, plus a little dose of Nurplism to boot. Until next time, happy hucking!