The more I think about Magic strategy the more I think about Ultimate strategy

I'm pretty sure at least half of this makes sense, but it is 520am and the oxy is mostly worn off, so bear with me.

There are two things you need to do if you want to play well. One is to do what you're supposed to do according to your offense or defense. The other is to do what the other team doesn't want you to do.

I might know exactly what I want to do as a middle handler in a zone offense, but that is only half the battle. I need to know exactly what the cup doesn't want me to do as a middle handler in a zone offense. Often times you will be doing the textbook definition of your position and not getting anywhere. That is because you are doing the textbook definition of your position and the defense is built to stop that. You need to find a way to do whatever the defense is built to stop.

As a quick example, against a force-based defense that is playing man-on-man, simply throwing to the open side will often times not result in a point. The defense wants you to do that; it is designed for you to do that. You need to break them. No, not with a break-mark throw. Those are difficult. A dump -> swing is a safe version of a breakmark throw that accomplishes the same thing. You open up the field and, if your stack is paying attention, get a deep look.

As always, in moderation. Exclusively trying to break a mark or force their handlers deep is asking for trouble.

BONUS PRO TIP -- Think about what your offense or defense is trying to do. Think about why it is trying to do that. Think about how your team's scheme interacts with your opponents. Think about how each one of your actions helps or hinders that scheme. You have strengths as a player, but this is a team game. Your job is to fit into an offense or defense.

PS: Spellcheck didn't alert me of any misspelled words. I bet I'd go all E.Herbst on the Verbal portion of the SATs right now.

EDIT: God dammit I think I used the wrong bear.