How to mark in ultimate frisbee: stall, angle and no around

To mark in ultimate frisbee, stand about an arm's length from the thrower and a half step to the break side, count the stall out loud at a steady pace, and move your feet to stop the around throw rather than jumping at fakes. The mark is the defender guarding the thrower. You won't get many blocks, but a steady mark makes every throw harder and pushes the disc toward the side your team is already guarding. The play below shows this against a vertical stack.

How to mark in ultimate frisbee

The stall is your count. You count out loud, one number a second, up to ten, and if the disc is still in the thrower's hand when you finish, it is a turnover. Both WFDF and USA Ultimate rules say you have to be within three metres (ten feet) of the thrower to count, and there must be at least a disc's width between you and the thrower's body. Keep the count even. If you count too fast, the thrower can call a fast count.

The angle comes from the force your team calls before the point (see how to force forehand in ultimate). On a forehand force you stand a half step to the thrower's backhand side, facing them, so the forehand is the easier throw. You are not trying to stop every throw, only to make one side easy and the other hard.

There are two break throws to think about. The around goes wide past your shoulder to the side your team isn't guarding, and nobody downfield is set up to stop it. The inside out goes through the gap between you and the thrower. It is harder to throw and slower to arrive, so your teammates have a better chance of reaching it. If you can only take away one, take away the around.

New markers often stand square and try to block everything, which leaves both sides half open, or they jump at a fake and the thrower steps around them. Moving your feet instead of reaching, and watching the thrower's hips and the disc rather than their head and shoulders, helps with both. A mark who holds the angle for a full count has done the job even if the disc gets out.

Step by step

The offence is in a vertical stack with O2 behind the disc as the dump. Your team is forcing forehand and the thrower is right handed.

O1 has the disc. D1 sets the mark an arm's length away and a half step to the backhand side, then starts counting as soon as they are set.

D1 keeps counting. O4 cuts under on the forehand side, which the mark is leaving open. D4 is already on that side, so D1 holds the angle rather than turning to help.

O1 pivots wide to the backhand side, looking for the around. D1 shuffles across in small steps, staying level with the disc, without crossing their feet or reaching.

O1 pivots back to the forehand. D1 slides back to the angle and stops there. Following the disc all the way across would open the backhand side again.

At stall six, O2 cuts up the backhand side for the dump and D2 goes with them. D1 keeps counting at the same pace and holds the angle.

At stall nine the forehand lane is guarded, the dump is covered and the break side is closed. Whatever O1 throws now is rushed, and a rushed throw is easier to defend.

To practise, use one thrower, one mark and a cutter on each side, at walking pace. The thrower fakes for a full count, the mark counts and shuffles, and only the cutter on the open side can catch. Swap roles every few reps, and add the rest of the team once the marks stop jumping at fakes.

The full play

You can take this playbook into your own account and change it for your team, for example switching the force if you play against a lot of left handed throwers, or moving the dump to where your opponents usually put it.

If you captain a rec team, you can also put your roster on Playspedia so everyone knows who is playing each week.