Uncoupled thoughts from camp today:

Middle cutting in a flat stack, and the inevitable question: why doesn’t our flat stack work? Often, I think the goals for the middle cutters start with “get the disc.” And where is the easiest place to get it? On the live side, coming towards the disc. The biggest problem is that this doesn’t meaningfully change the angles of defense for the other defenders on cutters. Their readjustments and vision are almost exactly the same. We’ve been discussing sending that first cutter, as often as possible, to the break side, or scorching across the field on a flat cut, so that the angle for defenders is changed and their readjustments are more difficult, allowing a better chance for continuation. This means we need to stop telling young middle cutters to get the disc, and start telling them to get the disc in the best position possible. And that is a lot to think about right off the bat, but I’d wager that the yardage gained on the next cut after the live side initial move is, absent a massive mismatch in speed or height or skill downfield, minimal.

I believe, and I am pretty sure Idaho does as well, that defensive fundamentals are going to change the game. I think this is most evident right now in zone D. Camp today was a long series of zone drills, and we avoided (wherever possible) teaching how a certain position should play in a certain system. This teaches a technique, but not a general and fundamental skill. We focused on seeing the field, especially behind us. We focused on communication lines, and how to respond (move, don’t check!). We focused on how to take risks, and where and when they can be useful, and how to communicate their need quickly and effectively. We focused on baiting and closing off angles to convince an offensive player that the 2 v. 1 they are looking at…it really isn’t for them, and they should check out some other part of the field (for as long as it takes for help to rotate over).

These are the kind of fundamentals that I (we, I believe) think go into the great zones, and do not change between teams; similar to the fundamentals that all great offenses share. And are equally important. The Buzz Bullet zone, and the seek-and-destroy of the old Squid teams, and the diamond that Rhino and Furious use, all are more dependent on a subset of fundamentals than on how they might be drawn onto a whiteboard.

Today’s chalktalk was a great experience. My most important thought of the day is that the questions we are taking in Colombia are incredibly precise, seeking, and get right to the heart of the matter. We haven´t heard, “What is the best _______?” Instead we are hearing, “Why do you do this, against this, in this situation, and how do I know how to choose between these options?” It has made for lively and engaging discussions.

A personal note: I was asked today for an honest opinion of a team, and I promised it to the player, though I asked for the weekend to make a judgement. I’ve been incredibly lucky to experience so much in this game (NOTE: I’ve been living and thinking in Spanish for several days, so I think I might be writing some pretty clunky phrases, for which I apologize). I feel like I owe it to my hosts, and to my experience (the product of some hard work and a lot of luck) to give an honest answer when it is asked for. I also feel like that is the kind of answer that might just go on my headstone. My mother has frequently warned me that one of my personality flaws is that I sometimes think what I do is the right thing, even when I know it is not the smart thing. Not that I think my honest opinion, in this case, is going to get me in trouble here, but I do think that frequent inability to exchange discretion and valor is, as it has before, not going to ingratiate me to many people. Even those people for whom my opinion might actually be valuable (that particular sentence just caused about 200 of my former teammates to roll their eyes).

For those that take an interest in ECC, big things are on the horizon, I hope.