Practice #4 (2/5)

Sunday practices will continue to be key to the team's development during the preseason, because it could be the only time we have a decent-sized field on which to play. To take full advantage of the space, we did extensive walk-throughs of the offense and we scrimmaged, opting to save some of the scheduled (but smaller) drills for Thursday night.

But before we got to the walk-throughs, Ken worked with the handlers while I worked with the cutters on the butterfly drill. The women who have played sports before and have a base of athleticism are mastering the cut, but a few less athletic players are having trouble keeping their speed while looking over their shoulder for the handler's pump-fake. I stressed the need for the cutters to aggressively attack the disc, especially on a windy day like Sunday, rather than tentively letting the disc come to them and catching it off to the side. Sure enough, they responed with improved technique, especially the newbie Veronica, and they cut down on the drops. By the end of the drill, they made our goal of 15 catches in a row.

The team's progress in the walk-through was slow but marked. After countless reps, the offense started to click. And though they seemed to forget some of cuts and throws during the scrimmage, it was clear that some of it stuck. We're going to have to find some time to continue to drill the offense, while moving on to other stuff like zone.

Throws continue to be a major problem. Very few players can consistently complete basic forehands and backhands.