Offensive Drills for Ultimate Frisbee

Ultimate Frisbee is a combination of football and soccer in which a flying disc is passed between teammates down a field. A player cannot take another step once the Frisbee is in his possession, and he must pass it to another teammate to try to advance it down field. The team that gets the disc past its goal line scores, and the other team then takes possession. There are numerous drills that can improve an ultimate Frisbee player's offensive skills.

Practice Passing

One of the most basic and simple drills in Ultimate Frisbee is to position several players along the field and have them practice quickly passing the Frisbee back and forth to each other. Quick and accurate throwing is one of the most important offensive skills in the game, as a bad throw will often be intercepted by the other team. Once passes are completed consistently, add a defender to try to get the disc away while it is in flight.

Getting Open

Players without the Frisbee are free to move about the field in any manner they wish, and as a result the players without the disc are exerting the most effort since they are trying to get away from a defender so they are in position to catch the disc if it is thrown to them. Speed and good footwork are important for getting open in Ultimate Frisbee, so one common drill is to have one player with the disc and another player running down field with a defender trying to stay with her. The teammate must outmaneuver the defender to get open so the thrower can get the disc to her.

Catch Practice

Catch practice is another drill that can be utilized with three players; two will be on offense and one on defense. This time, the defensive player stays with the passing player to try and prevent a pass from being completed. The passer, without taking a step, has to get a good throw off to the receiver, and the receiver has to then catch the Frisbee. This drill is useful since it trains two offensive tactics at once while getting players used to having defensemen in their face.

Quick Advancement

To employ a quick advancement drill, have three or four players start on one end of the field. On a whistle, the players without the disc run forward, and the passer immediately pitches the Frisbee to one of them. That passer then runs down field to be in position to catch. The new player with the Frisbee immediately passes to another player, and as each short pass is completed the players move further toward the opposite goal line. Once the goal is scored, they immediately continue in the opposite direction. This encourages stamina, teamwork, passing accuracy and effective catching.