Ultimate frisbee marking drill for three players

An ultimate frisbee marking drill needs only three players and one disc. One player throws, one marks and one receives about 15 yards away. The mark sets the force and counts the stall, the thrower pivots and fakes before throwing, and after each throw everyone moves on one role by following the disc. It trains the mark, the pivot and catching in a few minutes, so it works well as a warm up before a game or at the start of practice.

What the ultimate frisbee marking drill trains

The mark's job is the same as in a game: stand a disc's width off the thrower on the side your team is taking away, count at a steady pace, and move your feet to stop the around throw. In a game the downfield defenders cover the open side, so the mark doesn't need to stop everything. In the drill there is nobody downfield, which makes it easy to see whether the mark is holding the angle or reaching for every fake. Where to stand and why the around matters most are covered in how to mark in ultimate frisbee.

The thrower gets something just as useful: practice pivoting against a real mark. A long pivot to the break side, a fake, and a step back to the open side is the movement a handler needs under a count. The thrower isn't trying to beat the stall, only to throw cleanly before the count gets high, to the side the mark is giving.

Following the disc keeps the drill moving. The thrower runs after their own throw and arrives to mark the receiver, so every rep also practises getting to the mark quickly and setting up before counting.

Step by step

The drill is shown for a right handed thrower and a forehand force. A starts with the disc, B marks and C receives.

B sets up a disc's width from A, a half step to the backhand side, and starts counting. A pivots wide to the backhand side to show the around, and B shuffles across in small steps to take it away.

A pivots back to the forehand side. B steps back to the forehand angle rather than following the disc all the way across, and keeps the same count.

A throws the forehand past B to C and runs after the disc. B moves into A's old spot and becomes the receiver.

A arrives, sets the mark and starts counting. C is facing the other way, so C's backhand side is on the opposite side of the field from A's; check it before you set up. C pivots, throws the forehand to B and follows the throw.

C now marks B, and A has moved to the receiving spot. Each player has thrown, marked and received once. Keep it going for a few minutes, then call a backhand force and run it again.

Start at walking pace, with the thrower faking for most of the count before throwing, so the mark has time to think about feet and angle. Keep the throws short and flat; the point is the mark and the pivot, not distance. Once the marks stop jumping at fakes, speed it up so the new mark has to arrive and set up before the first number. With four players, put a receiver on each side of the thrower and let only the one on the open side catch, which makes the mark's angle matter more.

The full play

You can take this playbook into your own account and change it for your team, for example moving the receiver further away for longer throws or starting with a backhand force.

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