Session Goal

Session Overview

Warm-Up (30 min) — Player-Led

Structured warm-up run by the players:

1. Jog — two lengths of the field, easy pace
2. Dynamic stretching — hip openers, high knees, leg swings, lateral shuffles, A-skips
3. Resistance band activations — glutes, hips, shoulders (standard pre-session protocol)
4. 70s Throwing — 10 driven throws of each shape: flat backhand, IO backhand, roll-curve backhand, flat forehand, IO forehand, roll-curve forehand, overheads. Every throw flat and fast. Not a casual throw-around.

Coaching cue to open the session:

Block A – Break Mark 1 (15 min)

Goal: Set the technical standard for breaking the force before it carries into the cutting drills. Three people is all you need — keep rotations tight and reps high.

A1 – Base (5 min)

Standard three-person pattern. Straight-up force. Thrower uses full pivots and genuine fakes to break the mark. Disc must pass through the receiver's catching window and travel at least 5m beyond.

• Watch for: half-pivots, wrist-only releases, marks that are passive. None of these are acceptable.

A2 – Development: Restricted Fakes (5 min)

Thrower may only pivot out once per side. Fake or throw — not both. Forces cleaner mechanics and eliminates disc dancing.

A3 – Development: Active Mark (5 min)

Mark actively contests release angles and adjusts force. Still no bids — pressure and realism only. Thrower must now commit the fake hard enough to genuinely move the marker.

Block B – 4 Lines (40 min)

Goal: Translate break-throw mechanics into cutting patterns. Two drills back to back — no stop between them. Keep the tempo from the first drill going straight into the second.

B1 – 4 Lines - Upline Cut (20 min)

Goal: The upline cut opens a break-side throwing lane — if the thrower reads it early and the mechanics are clean, it's an easy throw. If they're late, it closes.

Base (10 min): Standard four-lines upline. Cutter covers at least half the distance toward the sideline before planting and cutting upline. Throw is early — an around before the plant, or a leading pass into the upline lane. Both shapes are acceptable. Both must be early.

• Watch for: throwers who wait until the cutter is past them (window is already closing), cutters who barely threaten the sideline.

Development – Continuation to Deep (10 min): After the upline catch, receiver immediately throws deep to a cutting player. The original thrower becomes the deep cutter. Forces the habit of catching in motion and reading the continuation before the disc arrives.

B2 – 4 Lines - Away and Under (20 min)

Goal: The away threat must be genuine — it's the only thing that makes the under available. A cutter who doesn't commit away is giving the defender a free read.

Base (10 min): Standard four-lines pattern. Cutter goes away downfield first. If the deep isn't called, they turn and come diagonally under. Throw stays on the line — not infield.

• Watch for: away cuts that are token threats, throws that drift infield, cutters who drift across rather than running straight under.

Development – Give and Go Under (10 min): After the under catch, receiver immediately returns the disc to the original thrower at a slight inside angle, then goes deep for a continuation. Original thrower catches the return and leads the deep cutter.

Water Break (10 min)

Hydration. Coach reflection: are throwers reading early or reacting late? One observation to name before Block C.

Block C – Vert Stack - Breakside Under (30 min)

Goal: Apply the break-throw reads and cutter commitment from Blocks A–B into a live vertical stack context. The handler now has a real picture to read — mark, under, contested deep — and must decide correctly.

C1 – Base (15 min)

Handler has the disc on the open-side hash. Mark takes away the centering pass. Cutter makes a genuine open-side commitment of 2–3 hard steps, then converts to the breakside under into the back space. Deep option exists but has deep help.

Handler reads: under → deep (contested) → hold. Hold is a correct and rewarded decision.

• Watch for: cutters faking with only their upper body (feet must move), handlers throwing before the cutter has committed, handlers forcing when the window isn't there.

C2 – Development: Active Mark (15 min)

Mark becomes fully active — contesting release angles, not just position. The handler must now use a committed fake to move the marker before the window opens.

• The under window doesn't get easier. It gets narrower. The cutter's job doesn't change — the handler's does.

Block D – Vert Stack - Handler Flow and Continue (30 min)

Goal: String the possession beyond the under catch. The break-side under is not the end of the move — it is the trigger for two give-and-go exchanges across the pitch and a leading pass down the sideline. No defence. High reps, high tempo.

D1 – Base Pattern (12 min)

Handler A has the disc and throws to the Cutter on an under cut. From there:

1. Cutter catches and immediately swings to Handler B across the pitch — then cuts.
2. Handler B catches and gives back to the Cutter (give-and-go #1). Handler B cuts.
3. Cutter catches, turns, and gives to Handler C — then cuts upline.
4. Handler C delivers a leading pass down the sideline to the Cutter already running the lane.

Every touch is in stride. No stationary catches. The Cutter is the focal player throughout — they give-and-go twice and finish by receiving the leading pass.

Rotation: Cutter → Handler A → Handler B → Handler C → Cutter

D2 – Development: Live First Touch (18 min)

Run Vert Stack - Breakside Under as the preceding rep. The moment the under is caught, the Cutter immediately flows into the give-and-go pattern — no pause, no reset.

• This connects the two drills into a single continuous possession: breakside under → handler exchanges → sideline continue.
• The Cutter's under catch from Block C becomes the starting position of the give-and-go chain.

Water Break (10 min)

Hydration. Set the scrimmage condition before play starts. Keep it simple — one sentence.

Scrimmage – 5v5, Half Field (50 min)

5v5 on half the pitch. Compact enough that break-side reads come up every point.

Condition: If you choose to hold the disc and reset rather than force a closed break window, name the read aloud — "closed" — before resetting. No penalty for holding. Reward good decisions explicitly.

• This reinforces today's core: reading whether to throw is as important as the throw itself.

Coaching Focus:

• Are handlers reading the window or reacting to stall pressure?
• Are cutters committing their first move genuinely or telegraphing?
• Is the disc moving after the under catch, or is possession stagnating there?
• After the final point: "When did you know to hold? And when did you know to go?"

Coaching Notes

• The session arc is deliberate: mechanics (70s + Break Mark) → applied in isolation (4 Lines) → applied with defensive picture (Vert Stack Breakside Under) → strung into possession (Handler Flow and Continue) → live play. Do not compress the arc.
• Block B runs two drills without a break between them — that's intentional. The tempo from the upline drill carries straight into the away-and-under, and the rhythm is the same. Don't let them stop and chat between B1 and B2.
• Block C is the session's hardest read. The decision to hold is not intuitive for most players — they want to throw. Make holding feel like a win, not a failure. Call it out loudly and positively when you see it.
• Block D is deliberately no-defence in the base. Players are building a movement habit, not a decision. The decisions come in Block C and in the scrimmage. Keep D1 clean and high-rep before adding the live first touch in D2.
• With 8–12 players, Blocks C and D run one group live while others observe or queue. Keep the queue active — observers should be calling the reads aloud, not watching passively.
• Break intervals are generous — use them for one specific observation each time, not a coaching lecture. One thing. Say it once. Move on.
• Connections: Effective Force, Break Mark 1, 2 Second Window, Scanning, Power Position Channel, Move The Disc - Quick Ref, The Spread Stack - Core, Session - Disc Movement and Force Breaking