If you want to get better at Ultimate and improve your skills, we recommend that you try out some of these awesome Ultimate Frisbee drills. You can do some of the drills all by yourself, while, for others, you might need a partner or two. But no matter how many people are involved, the most important thing is that, in order to get better, these Ultimate Frisbee drills should be done right. And remember that the more you practice, the better you become. You know how the word goes: “practice makes perfect”.

 

Our Comprehensive List Of Ultimate Frisbee Drills:

1. Warm Up Drills

You will be doing a lot of running, sprinting, jumping, turning, twisting, lateral movements and more during an ultimate Frisbee match. This puts lots of strain on your body. To avoid injury or accumulating too much fatigue, we encourage you to warm up first. Don’t skip this step, just warm up every time and you will reap the benefits. The following are some effective drills for warming up:

– Squats: Stand straight with your legs slightly apart. While looking forward, begin lowering your body by pushing your glutes (aka your buttocks) outwards. Do this until your hips are parallel to the ground. Stand back up. Rinse and repeat a few times to get the blood flowing to your leg muscles. This drill will help prepare for the strenuous ultimate Frisbee game ahead.

– Torso Rotations: With your hands stretched out horizontally in front of you, twist or turn your upper body to the opposite side. Do this slowly and in a gradual manner. It will help improve your core strength and it’s useful for throwing the Frisbee disc easier.

– Jumping Jacks: Stand upright with your feet together and the arms against the body. Make a high jump while spreading out both the legs and arms. It’s a full body warm-up getting your “engine” ready.

– Arm Circes: Stand upright facing forward. Stretch your hands out while ensuring they are horizontal to the ground. Start rotating them slowly without using too much force.

– Leg Swings: Find a sturdy and stable pole, post, or any other object. Bend your upper body and hold onto the support. Stretch your legs out in both directions at an angle of 90 degrees. Do the same with the other leg.

NB: The above warming and stretching exercises should be done before any ultimate Frisbee match to prepare your whole body for the dynamic game ahead.

 

2. Ultimate Frisbee Catching Drills

– Right And Left: Find a friend and maintain a distance of 15 meters (50 feet) between the two of you. Throw the Frisbee in an alternating pattern and catch it using one hand only. In the next throw, you will catch it with the other hand. Do this repeatedly trying not to drop it or use two hands.

– Run And Catch: For this drill, you need to find a friend or two and stand about 10 meters (30 feet) from each other. Ask a friend to throw the Frisbee at you while you are running then do the same to him/her. This drill helps to improve your versatility, agility, and ability to catch the disc while in motion.

– Jump And Catch: working with a friend, ask him to throw the disc high in the air and aim to catch it with both feet in the air. Do the same to your partner. It is essential to maintain the right posture and ensure you land the right way. This minimizes the impact on your ankles or knees and prevents injury. This type of play will gradually improve your jump power and it will make a difference in the future ultimate Frisbee matches that you play.

– One-Handed Catch: working with a partner ask him/her to throw the disc and you try to catch it using one hand only. In a previous exercise, you were supposed to maintain the distance from your partner. In this one, however, you have to vary the height, distance, and speed. If confident enough, you can also try switching from the right to the left hand and vice versa.

– Two-Hand Catch: For this exercise, you need a partner again. The catcher aims at grasping the Frisbee with two hands. You can do this standing in the same spot or while running or jumping. Vary these scenarios because during an ultimate Frisbee game you will need to master all of these types of catches.

 

3. Ultimate Frisbee Throwing Drills

– The Right Hold: Practice holding the Frisbee correctly. You should do it like this. Place your thumb on the top surface of the disc, the index finger along the edge, and the three remaining fingers underneath it. Maintain a firm grip but ensure your hand and wrist is flexible.

– Imaginary Throws: With a disc on your hand and holding it as recommended, practice throwing the Frisbee without actually releasing it. You should have an imaginary target and always ensure your hand and wrist is not stiff. This will help make your wrist joint more flexible and accustomed to the specific throwing move. Do series of reps for each hand. It helps create the mind-body connection.

– Accurate Throws Drill: Find two cones and place them a few meters apart. Practice throwing the disc between the spaces. You may start while closer then you increase the distance. Alternatively, you may begin with a wider space in between then decrease it as you become better. This will make you aim your disc throws much better during the ultimate frisbee games ahead.

– The “Piggy in the Middle”: you need one disc, three cones, and three players for this drill. The thrower and catcher stand about 10 meters (30 feet) apart while the “piggy” stands in between. The thrower and catcher are supposed to pass the disc to each other without it being caught and without them moving. They do this by using different throwing techniques including outside-in throws, inside-out throws, and faking.

– Short Throw Drill: Set a target or find a partner and throw the disc within a short distance. Ensure it lands exactly where you have marked. This is an accuracy drill.

– Long Throws Drill: Extend the distance and now practice throwing the Frisbee farther using more effort. Make sure it does not fly too high or too low. Too high and it will be affected by the wind. Too low and it may easily be intercepted or your partner will drop it.

 

4. Defensive Ultimate Frisbee Drills:

– Three Player Drill: Three players are required for this drill. One will be the thrower, the other catcher, and the last one defender. The defender will try to intercept the disc as the thrower and catcher throw it to each other. After a complete throw, you switch roles: the catcher will become the defender, the defender the thrower, and the thrower the catcher. This rotation will go on to the end of the drill.

– One-on-One Drill: Three people are needed in this play and two lines will be created – an offensive and a defensive line. The thrower will stand between the lines while the defender stands on one and the offender on the other. The thrower tosses the Frisbee to the offender while the defender tries to get it.

– The Three-Man Weave: Three players stand next to each other in a horizontal line. One player throws the disc to the next and then runs behind him to the other end. The player who now has the disc throws it to the next payer, runs behind him, and joins the first one. This weave pattern carries on to the end of the drill.

– Mirror Drill: Two people are needed for this exercise and they will be facing each other. The offender will stand between two cones placed 5 meters apart. The offense will move from side to side and also make fake moves to try and get away from the defender. In case the defender stops him, the roles are reversed.

 

5. Offensive Drills For Ultimate Frisbee

– Sidestepping: you can do it on your own or with a friend. Practice making a sudden step to the right or left to get your opponent off guard. This fake move helps you to avoid contact and confuse the defender.

– Cut & Clear: This drill requires at least eight players, 4 discs and 3 cones. The cones are placed about 10 meters apart. The players form two stacks behind the two end cones and face each other. A player from one stack runs heading towards the central cone and on reaching it suddenly changes the direction and cuts the other way to receive a disc thrown at him. He then passes it back to next player and heads back to the original starting point. This drill focuses on cutting in and faking.

– Kill Drill: Two players stand while maintaining a distance of 10 meters (30 feet). The thrower is always stationary whereas the catcher is always running back and forth while throwing, catching, sidestepping, and cutting in. After 10 successful passes, the players switch position.

– Swing Drill: it requires several players, cones, and discs. There will be the first stack of players, another one behind, and the last one. Players in the first stack will have discs and will pass to them to the members of the same stack. However, a member of the second stack will cut in to receive the disc.

 

Summing Up

This was a very comprehensive list of Ultimate Frisbee drills. And practicing those drills might be exhausting. Nonetheless, you do know that practice makes perfect, and the more you grind at something, the better you get at it. So it’s up to you to practice those drills to improve at ultimate Frisbee.

You can practice these drills using the standard 175 gram frisbee disc, or alternativelly a heavier disc to train your wrist strength. You can pick one that suits you best here.

In addition to this, remember that there might be some areas where you feel weaker. Isolate that issue (for instance you are not a great long distance thrower) and then from the list above pick and focus on the drills that will help you get better at that aspect of your game. If you follow those drills you will see a definite improvement in your ultimate Frisbee performance. Try them out!