Positioning Vertical Stack as disc moves downfield by Brummie
Use this drill to teach your team to move downfield in vertical stack early and effectively in order to maintain flow
Setup
A handler, A, starts with the disc in the middle of the width of the field. All remaining players start in a stack, with the front player, H, no further than 8m from the disc, and the stack angled directly down the middle of the width of the field. The back player in the stack, B, should be no more than 12m from A.
Rotation
A > B > C > E > F > G > H
Step 01
- Set up in a vertical stack.
- B cuts away.
Step 02
- B turns underneath, and A throws them the disc Away to Open Under As soon as the disc is released, C begins to cut away while the rest of the stack (E, F, G & H) all push downfield, aiming to maintain good spacing between the disc and the front of the stack. This ensures that both sides of the field can be used.
Step 03
- C cuts away hard; this is a viable option in a game but for the purposes of this drill we will not throw to away cuts as the objective is to focus on correct stack positioning
- A runs away from their throw, aiming to rejoin the stack later.
Step 04
- B catches the disc. C turns under Away to Open Under A rejoins the stack as it moves downfield.
Step 06
- The process continues; B flares away from the disc & E cuts away.
Pre-requisite drills
Tips
Brummie says:
When first used, it is best to ask your players to only throw to the underneath cuts; this gives everyone practice running the shapes. As they get more comfortable, look to move on to ‘String’
Likewise, it’s best to start by throwing slowly and not running at 100% until everyone is comfortable with the movement. Progress to game speed as soon as people are comfortable with what is expected of them.
This drill is great for timing cuts and practicing repositioning the stack in response to disc movement. If you have lots of people at practice, start them in groups of 6 near one endzone and allow them to flow all the way down to the other end of the field; you can start the next group once one group gets to the halfway line.
Try to keep the disc in the centre third of the field. If you start to move the disc to the sideline, then be sure to check out ‘Positioning Vertical Stack as the Disc Swings’ and angle the stack accordingly