Throwing While Marked, written by Chris Van Holmes

The most difficult skill in ultimate is throwing a complete pass while
covered by a marker. You have about 8 seconds (the average stall count)
to choose a receiver, fake the marker, and deliver the disc. To do all
this you must remain calm and get control of the situation.

As a general strategy, your goals as a thrower should change as the
stall count increases. Between "stall" and "six", you should look to
gain yardage or continue the flow of the offense. Above "six", you
should be looking for a sure pass close by that will reset the count.
Between nine and ten, you need to be delivering the sure pass that you
focused on for the past several seconds or be throwing a pass downfield
to an area where a teammate has a chance to catch it. Always be aware
of the count and DO NOT GET STALLED.

When delivering a pass, look for three things: an open throwing area,
an accelerating receiver, and non-closing separation between the
defender and cutter. One reason 'come-back' cuts are often defended is
because the thrower has a hard time determining the separation and
relative speed of O and D players. As the pass enters the throwing
area, it should be at a catchable height and speed, as well as
providing the receiver a choice of locations to catch it. A bullet pass
that intersects the receivers cut at a right angle has only one point
in time and space where it could be caught. As such it it rarely a good
pass.

When you recognize a throw you want to deliver, first decide if the
marker is hindering you. If not, deliver the pass. But if the marker is
in position and hampering your delivery you must first FACE THE MARKER.
This gives you a minimum of three throwing options: forehand, backhand,
and hammer. This is important because you need to force the marker to
respond to fakes to get him out of position.

The same kind of concept used in cutting, breakpoints, are involved
with your fakes. The object is to get the marker moving in one
direction while you are setting up to move the other way. Once the
marker falls behind, you control the situation. In order for fakes to
be effective, your pivots need to be clean, fast, and powerful. To
accomplish this you need to keep your steps short and be able to switch
grips quickly. As you pivot into a fake, your arm should be moving in a
natural throwing motion. When you push back the other way with your
just planted foot, the throwing motion should continue to completion.
This will hold the marker even as you move back in the other direction.
Allow the disc to roll into the other grip at the end of your 'arm
fake' and you are ready to throw to the other side in the blink of an
eye. You should only extend past the marker on a pivot when they are
out of position and you plan to deliver the pass. This step toward, and
past, the marker will seal them from the throw.

One of the best tools for beating the marker is to communicate with the
receiver. If you are starting with a dead disc, simple, disguised hand
signals are the best way to communicate. My favorite is the 'elbow
point' because everyone puts their hands on their hips anyway. It is
never noticed as a signal at all! A simple field map will let you call
out a player to a location. This will alert other players to clear that
space for a throwing area. A critical, non-verbal, way is to use your
fakes in conjunction with a receivers cut. If the receiver is breaking
into a throwing area while covered, fake to him while maintaining
eye-contact. Both the marker and the defender will react. A good
receiver will use your fake as a breakpoint and cut directly to an
alternate throwing area. Your fake on the marker will be effective for
two reasons: first, you know it is a fake and are already pushing off
to the other side, and second, markers are often aware of the activity
behind them through peripheral vision or hearingand will make an extra
effort if they detect the cutter.

Focus, fatigue, and skill are the three biggest factor in throwing
errors. Careful attention to your technique will allow you to complete
passes in difficult situations. This is crucial when fatigued. Remember
that if you are tired, so is your opponent. The one that is able to
remain focused on fundamentals will prevail. Casual throws that don't
have a history of practice are often turnovers. Don't use a throw that
you can't complete consistently (98+%) uncovered. One way to measure
your skill is to throw the same pass 20 or 30 times in a row. What is
your completion percentage? Probably not as high as you think!

One skill that is becoming more important is the ability to deliver a
pass to the dead zone. This ability takes away the strengths of force
defenses where the marker has one assignment. and downfield defenders
another. This is where strong pivoting, stepping past the marker and
high releases come into play. Strong pivoting forces the marker to
react until he's out of position and the previous dead-zone lays
exposed to a free throw. Stepping past the marker gets your release
point beyond his body and provides a free throw to anywhere on the
field. High releases use the fact that the disc is past the marker
before he can react.

(The following paragraph is due to Jim Parinella.)
Offensively, you want to remain calm when faced with an aggressive
marker. Keep the marker off your pivot foot. If you are being fouled,
try to get a throw off. Don't let them get away with hacking you and
getting a reset. Consider where you want to throw the pass, and what
you have to do to make the throw easy. The marker usually can't see
downfield, so they can be susceptible to fakes. Don't pivot and fake
wildly just for the sake of doing it. For me, I have a couple fakes
that are almost part of my throwing motion Almost everything that looks
like a fake is an attempt to throw the disc but the throw isn't there,
so I pull it back and try again. Anyway, when you practice your throws,
practice them as they would be thrown in a game, either off a pivot or
off a fake. In your team drills, incorporate a marker into some of
them, even if the marker just stands on one side of the thrower. And if
you're fouled, call it calmly, just say, "Foul" and throw the disc.