Marking

General tips:

• Keep your balance. Don't lean too far over one way or the other.
• If you have really long limbs, you probably want to crowd the thrower as much as possible.
• Otherwise, it helps to back off a step or two. This gives you a bit more time to react to the thrower. Instead of simply extending your limbs as far as possible, you should instead be shuffling your feet side-to-side.
• If you're tired, really concentrate on establishing a good mark. As tempting as it is, don't just stand there and catch your breath.
• Learn to count accurately.
• If your man has just caught a throw, especially a wide swing or a deep throw, you should look around to see if he has an immediate continuation throw. If so, you may want to head upfield a couple of yards and take away that throw before you establish the mark.
• When forcing line, it sometimes helps to shift over and take away the dump at high stall counts. The man who is covering the dump receiver can then take away the upfield cut.
• Don't raise your foot too high when attempting a footblock.
• Listen for the "no break!" and "Strike!" calls. "No break!" means that a guy is open on the break side. "Strike!" means either that (1) a guy is open for a score on the open side or (2) a guy is open on the open side at a high stall count.
• Know whether you marker is left- or right-handed (or ambidextrous).

When forcing righty-forehand:

• Watch for throwers who throw their forehands close to their body. You can sometimes get point blocks on them.
• Keep your hands low if your thrower likes inside-out forehands and low backhands, high if he likes high backhands and hammers. And if he has all of these throws, well, you're out of luck fella.
• If your man fakes a hammer, jump for it. He will be out of position just as long as you are.
• If you're marking a lefty, remember that you're actually trying to take away his *forehand*. This is important because it's really easy for him to throw a really quick lefty flick around you, so take an extra step to that side.

When forcing righty-backhand:

• Take a step back on the forehand side. Most good handlers can throw a breaking forehand very quickly.
• Your right hand (left if you're forcing a lefty backhand) should be high to take away the high backhand to the break side. You don't have to worry too much about a low backhand to the break side.