Away to Break Under by Brummie
This pattern is a staple in ultimate, and worth practicing. Often referred to as a ‘V’ cut due to the sharp change of direction.
Setup:
A handler, A, starts with the disc in the middle of the field, marked by D1. A cutter, B, stands 10m downfield, facing A.
Rotation:
D1 > A > B
Step 1
- D1 checks the disc in, and B then cuts away for 5-10m
Pre-Requisite Drills:
Tips:
Brummie says:
The angles are important with V cuts; if A cuts laterally towards the sideline, then B must throw much further and into a much wider space. This is a difficult throw. If A cuts directly at B, then they will come close to the stack and make it difficult to adjust to any throw that is not thrown perfectly. By cutting at a 45 degree angle, A still makes a lot of yards but is able to adjust if the throw is poor due to having additional width on the cut.
Sprint all the way through the catch, rather than slowing down to catch. While catching at speed is a more difficult than when standing still, it is an important skill to learn in order to prevent defenders from running past and getting a block.
Add a defender to provide a realistic mark; this is shown as a faded block on the diagrams.
A should make it clear if the disc is not coming; a clearly visible fake (or audible) signals that the long throw is not coming and B should cut underneath; this also ensures that B is looking at the thrower.
Mario O’Brien says:
My pet peeves about this drill are about when people start to play the drill rather than keeping it game-like. Ensure that you cut hard & throw for yards. In games, you don’t stare down the break lane, make a series of fakes and then throw the loopy around break for no gain
For a more game-like drill that will push your limits, try Break to a Point instead.
Caroline Ma says:
Since the thrower can choose whether or not to throw the inside or around throw, this drill is great for practicing the mark trying to shut down those options.
The mark should start inside and as the stall count increases, begin to move more around.
There is also a great chance to those waiting to talk to the mark with phrases like “cutter is inside, still inside, now moving around, around” to give the marker information.
Prompt participants to be clear on what they want to cover. Good throwers are capable of breaking the mark. A win could be the longer the thrower holds onto the disc, or it could be just covering the inside shot to begin with.