Sunday, March 8, 2009

Throwing while tired





Throwing when you're tired is obviously really important. Long points where you're constantly changing direction at full speed on either side of the disc make moving it once it's in your hands a bit trickier than, say, tossing back and forth on the Lawn. 

In a game situation, the most important aspects of making sure that your throws are as sharp as they were on the first point Saturday lie in making smart choices rather than which throw you actually make: since quick disc motion gives cutters a much bigger margin of error (more on this soon) and dump throws are very high percentage, you're probably doing yourself and your team a favor if you spend more time looking for quick disc movement rather than a big gain. Everyone knows the feeling of frustration that comes from seeing a sloppy throw (usually a break attempt or a huck to someone who's not all that open) get turned over just after an intense effort to get a turn or work the disc the length of a field, and not forcing the issue upfield becomes critical when everyone is tired. 

Fatigue, though, shouldn't completely alter the offensive gameplan: if what you do is make 15-yard throws to open in-cuts, that shouldn't change. The problem, though, is that it often gets sloppier because remaining mechanically sound takes energy, which is already at a premium. For example, the first thing to go for people when they're tired is stepping out and bending at the knees rather than the waist, and standing straight up often leads to unbalanced or turfed throws.  When you're tired, you have to make sure carry out the fundamentals that make for accuracy and consistency. 

The concept of muscle memory makes a lot of sense to me, and we've all heard it said a lot that practicing your throws while tired goes a long way toward solidifying good habits for when the feeling strikes in a game. While throwing after a recent workout, I started to see throwing while tired as a progression, with certain throws and their accompanying fundamentals as predecessors to others. I think the following could be a useful checklist for practicing your throws while tired, whether after a workout or before a game late in a day or tournament.
  1. Accuracy. Obviously, even a well-thrown disc won't do your team any good if it's to the wrong spot. When you're tired, throwing accurately often means taking some heat off and, at first, just guiding them to the spot. From there, look to throw with more spin and build up to the various speeds at which you're typically comfortable releasing the disc. 
  2. Throw quickly. Once you're accurate and throwing at normal speed, work on pivoting and faking and actually releasing the disc at game speed. It's important to make sure you're on target first, since a lot of errant throws come from trying to move quickly but without much focus.
  3. Throw from different release points. Now that you've built back up to accurate throws that are released and fly at game speed, work on the various release points that you would normally use in a game.
My basic point in wanting to get this out there is to stress the idea that throwing is a pretty layered process, and that when there's something making it more difficult than usual, it helps to start from the beginning and build up to the point where it's easy. Now that I've typed this entry out, I'm thinking that this kind of approach should definitely made when other elements (wind, anybody?) are altering your throws relative to how they come out when you're most comfortable. Also, what I listed above is really just what I think makes most sense as far as getting on top of things, but maybe others would order them differently or add other building blocks?
 
One last thing: now that you've read this, if you want the Clifnotes, peep Zip's Tips March 17 and 18, 2003:
  • March 17: during a long point or a long game your body tends to get physically tired. people yelling at you and pushing you on or telling yourself to keep working are both good ways to keep your physical output high. a much more difficult aspect of fatigue is to keep your mental game on point. some keys to achieving this and also playing well when you are mentally tired:  1)only take higher percentage throw options. your receiver is probably tired as well and he may not be able to let out a long huck. also, even the best of the best don't have as good throws when they are tired-- instead, they just have a very good sense of which throws they still have.
  • March 18: throw when fatigued: after a hard track workout or practice make sure to pencil in 10 more minutes of practice time. throw thirty forehands and thirty backhands and focus on making them good. it is not often that you get a chance to throw when you are very tired and it is extremely important to be able to maintain your throws late in a tournament. 
And with that, I'm out. Goodbye, Spring Break. 


No comments: