Look Closer

"There are a lot of great players in Chicago and on Machine that you can learn from. If you think that Machine is only marginally better than the 2nd teams in Chicago, than you need to watch Machine play more."  - Walden, 2013

When Walden told me this, I had no idea what he was talking about.  This was March 2013, I was coming off an up and down club season playing with Haymaker, I had stumbled onto the Wildfire roster, and I thought I had a pretty good grasp on Ultimate.  Haymaker had played Machine twice that season, once at sectionals and once at regionals.  Both games had been pretty close at half, something like 6-8, then Machine had steamrolled us in the 2nd half.  The rhetoric from the Haymaker leadership was that we just had to play a little better, clean up some execution errors and bad decisions, have a few things go our way, then we'd steal a W over them.  So my mentality at that point was that we were right in there, just a few lucky plays away from the big win.

In retrospect, obviously this was insane.  The final scores of those two games were 11-6 and 15-7.  The games weren't even remotely close and Machine was blowing us out with the bottom of their roster while our top 7 were struggling to string together swing passes.  When I would watch Machine play I would notice the big plays and athleticism, but I struggled to see past that.  It is now exceedingly clear that I was looking, but not seeing.  I needed to look closer and figure out what Walden meant.

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A bunch of us went to watch when NexGen rolled into town to play Machine in 2012.  The game wasn't that close, NexGen was walking all over Machine.  To my untrained eye, Machine looked slow and bad.  I felt like they couldn't hang with the quickness on the NexGen roster, and they didn't look like they had many "great players that I could learn from".

Obviously this was false then as it is now.  Machine had (and has) many great players who should be learned from.  The problem was my understanding of the game was shallow.  I was overlooking a ton of nuances in the game in front of me.  Things that make great players great that are practically invisible if you aren't looking.

It's difficult to watch a game of ultimate and get anywhere close to a full picture of the abilities of each player.  There's a ton of things going on in an ultimate game, and it's basically impossible to track all 14 players in detail without the aid of video replay.  Also, the sample size of one game of ultimate is small and the number of different kinds of things a player will do in a game will vary a lot, so this adds to the "translation barrier" that exists between a spectator and how they view players.

To illustrate my point that greatness is hidden in the nuances, I'm going to take two random stills from that NexGen game and discuss what each of the 7 players on the field is doing.

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Machine is in Blue.  NexGen is in Red.  This is a Machine O point in the 2nd half.  As you can see by the score, the game isn't that close.  Machine has been knocked down and is fighting to stay in this game.  What's happening right now?  Machine is on offense and is in flow.

George

George just threw a centering swing pass to Trevor.  He is driving upfield towards the space he sees deep and so he can be in a good spot to make other cuts.  He is working to create a momentum advantage over his defender and create threats downfield.  He is also clearing the open side lane.

Trevor

Trevor just caught a swing pass from George.  He secures the disc in a good position and looks downfield for developing options.  He is balanced and ready to throw.  He is looking for ways to attack the defense.

Dane

Dane is in a good spot to be the first reset.  He is sprinting to his wide side reset position so that he can be an available option for Trevor if nothing develops downfield.  He is also currently open and available if Trevor wants to throw a quick centering pass.

TK

TK is on the sideline on the break side.  He has just seen the centering pass be completed and is pushing downfield to be in a more threatening position.  His defender is pretty deep of him, so he is currently available for quick break to the sideline.  But his defender has this fairly well covered, so the threat from this is pretty low.  The swing pass was floaty, so TK has essentially lost his momentum advantage, so he sees that he needs to push back downfield to regain it and threaten.

AJ

AJ threw a quick centering pass to George and is now cleared fully to the near sideline.  He has his eyes on the development of the play and is looking for any opportunities or to fill when needed.  Eventually, his defender peels off to help on George's deep cut (which he has just started, see above), and AJ gets a free under.

Bob

It may not be obvious from the screen shot above, but Machine actually started this possession running a vert stack.  Things got pretty messy in-flow, and have transitioned to more of a horizontal look.  Bob was setting the stack, and is essentially what remains of the stack.  He is about 12 yards downfield of the disc, ready to make a continuation move when needed or the opportunity arises.  He eventually fills into the backfield towards the near sideline.

Geoff

Geoff is clearing to the far sideline.  He makes a good clear and represents the threat of a breakside option for Trevor, which forces his defender to chase him in.  This makes a ton of space for TK, who is looking to challenge his defender and regain his momentum advantage.

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This is a Machine D point in the 2nd half.  Nexgen is running a horizontal set and continuations have been slowed by Machine's pressure.  Nick Lance just caught an incut and has the disc on the near sideline, he has held it for a few counts while NexGen pushed downfield.  What is going on right now?

BMW

BMW is marking Nick Lance.  He is pretty aggressive here, trying to be close and put pressure on.  He is taking more of a trap mark, since he's closer to the sideline and because Nick has looked towards his center reset.  He is using his feet and he is very active.

Goose

Goose is guarding Dylan Freechild.  Goose is currently one of two "on" defenders in this screenshot.  Dylan Freechild is trying to get open in the upline space.  Goose just sprinted downfield to get to his spot and defend this space, and now he is fighting to defend the moves Dylan just made.  Goose knows that Dylan is very quick, and has given him a bit more cushion to help him not get beat, but Goose is now in a bad spot and is fighting to make up ground.  The angles he needs to take are very critical here if he wants to contain the damage.

 Andy

Andy has just sprinted hard to defend a straight away deep cut from CAH.  He is keeping himself in a good spot to defend any under cut that might follow, and Camden has chosen to turn over his left shoulder and clear to the break space.  Andy keeps his position and stays close.

Kennedy

Kennedy is the other defender who is currently "on".  Jacob Janin has pushed downfield and is now attacking the open side under space.  Nick Lance is not currently looking at him, but if Kennedy does not sprint hard to defend and stay in a good outside shoulder position, Jacob will get the disc.

Kolb

Kolb is defending Tommy Lamar, the 2nd reset.  Tommy is pushing downfield and watching Dylan make a move.  Kolb wants Tommy to continue downfield, and wants to stand in the way of the around swing, so he is trying to corral Tommy in that direction.  This would take away the 2nd option if the 1st reset is well defended.

Walden

Walden is defending Philip Haas, who is currently the far side cutter.  Philip is not an imminent threat to get the disc, but could receive a continuation pass.  Walden has his head up and is triangulating for the disc, so that he can help if needed but still see Philip.  Walden is trying to take away as much space as possible while still being sure to defend Philip.

Stephan

Stephan is sagging way off in the lane.  His man is currently not in the live space, so Stephan is taking away space with his positioning.  His head is up so he can see both the disc and his man, and his hips are angled so that he can contest the space that his man will likely attack, the deep space.

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There is a massive amount of information embedded within a single point of a single game of high level ultimate.  All of the things that players are doing in the stills above are things that can be better understood and improved.  The game has tremendous depth.  If you don't see it, look closer.