Every ultimate frisbee team I’ve ever played on has structured its offense around 3 handlers, 2 middles and 2 longs. Sometimes it works well. But often it results in a lot of handlers standing around the disc getting in the way, the middles not knowing what to do and the longs being too deep and complaining about it not being sent long enough.

Plus it’s really hard to explain to beginners what each position is supposed to do – other than spouting something about achieving `flow’ from handler to middle to long. Many social/beginner games that I’ve played in have degenerated into one or two of the more experienced players (the handlers) making whatever cuts they feel like all the time and telling all the beginners not to clog, hardly inclusive of the entire team – but I digress.

Here, for your reading pleasure, I present the 1-3-3 offense which aims to reduce the number of people around the disc, get everyone involved in the offense and gain large yardage at low risk.

As shown in the below figure, the offensive team is divided into 3 groups – a single dump and two groups of 3. In a mixed 4-3 team a good structure might be 1(male)-3(women)-3(men).

The group of 3 which has the disc (let’s say the women) essentially play a three person weave or similar to advance the disc amongst themselves. Timing cuts and avoiding double cutting is a lot easier when there are only two `eligible receivers’ to choose from. Try playing some 3-on-3 at the beach and you’ll see what I mean! The only downside is that it’s pretty tiring to do that much cutting.

But nevermind, that’s what the three men are for. While the 3 women have been playing an iso the 3 men have been standing in a stack out of the way – preferably near a sideline to open up the field but not invite deep defenders to poach in. If the women start getting tired, or the play breaks down we move to the next figure – a dump!

Many offenses revolve around the dump-swing play. Once the dump gets the disc the aim is to have a 15-30 metre crossfield throw to another handler to reset the disc near the opposite sideline and have another go from a different angle. In my experience the swing pass is a difficult throw to achieve, particularly in windy conditions. It also seems a waste to have a handler, who is typically one of the team’s better throwers, throwing low yardage gain but moderate risk passes across the field.

So instead this offense treats the dump as an opportunity to bring in a new offensive group. The 3 women make their way into the stack for a rest, and the 3 men get their chance to play an isolation play. But, as shown in the next diagram, there is opportunity for a high yardage gain in cut off the dump, or even a deep put to the endzone if the defense lets the dump have an up the line cut (or if the dump fails and the thrower has to huck it on stall 9).

In the next diagram the disc has been dumped backwards.

Note that the previous thrower immediately runs towards the stack, but there is no immediate swing cut. Rather, the male cutters provide back in cuts for (hopefully) large yardage gains. It would be expected that the dump would hold onto the disc for a while, say to stall 4 or 5, rather than trying to get a swing off on stall 0 or 1. But that’s fine, the player who is the dump is likely to be a reliable thrower and comfortable under pressure. The initial deepness of the two receivers and the wide open field may allow an inside-out break force throw to get the disc away from the line and some yardage if it is trapped, rather than the typical outside-in swing pass.

And so, the progression has run full circle. We now have the three men playing a three man weave and the three women in the stack, the same as the first diagram but with the roles reversed. What happens next? Well, hopefully some yardage has been gained, but we rinse and repeat. Once the three men get tired or the weave breaks down, the dump gets the disc again and throws it to the women cutting out of the stack.

So, why try this offense?

Firstly, it gets everyone on the team involved in the offense. It’s almost impossible to look off a player in 3-on-3 ultimate. By assigning two groups of 3 it is much more difficult for a player (ie beginner) to be looked off and overcut. The person with the disc only has three people to throw it to – the other two people in their group and the dump.

Secondly, it reduces the number of people cutting at once and gives a clear indication of when it is your turn to cut. If someone in your group has the disc you should be cutting, otherwise you should be in the stack resting until the disc is dumped.

Thirdly, it dramatically reduces the number of people near the disc at any one time. There is only one dump, and little opportunity for anyone else to be lazy and fall behind the disc – they are needed downfield!

Next post on this topic will be about adapting 1-3-3 offense to playing against a zone.

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