In the
diagram at right, there is a cup of three chasers designated by the dotted line. The
Right Point (RP) is marking the disc (O), and the Axis (AX) and Left Point (LP) make up
the remainder of the cup.So what is a zone defence? Zone defences are characterised by one or more players on the defensive team not marking a player on the opposing team, but an area. By this definition, any defence that is not entirely man-to-man, including poaching, would be regarded as a zone. This is not strictly what we want.
When we say "zone defence", we usually mean that there is a "cup" of chasers near the thrower at all times, and this is what distinguishes zone from other sorts of non-man-to-man defences.
Zone defences are mostly used when weather conditions are less favourable for passing, for example when it is windy or rainy. They are also effective against an offence with few strong throwers. A zone usually forces many more passes to gain the same amount of ground and relies on the offence making a weak or reckless throw in that period.
Instead of trying to block passes altogether, a zone tries to block all of the easy and ground-gaining passing lanes. The zone allows passes backwards and sometimes sideways because they do little harm to the defence. The zone also allows throws over the top, such as hammers, high backhands and scoobers, because these throws are generally high risk and have a good chance of being dropped or intercepted.
One advantage a zone brings is that in the event of a turnover the opponents will usually find it difficult to mark up quickly, as they have not had a player marking them individually up to that point. This can lead to easy scores, as there will often be a number of people free to be thrown to.
There is no such thing as a "standard" zone. Different countries, and even different teams have different ideas as to what is standard. But if you were to say to someone "Let's play a zone", the one they would be most likely to think of is a three-man static cup zone, described in brief below.
In the
diagram at right, there is a cup of three chasers designated by the dotted line. The
Right Point (RP) is marking the disc (O), and the Axis (AX) and Left Point (LP) make up
the remainder of the cup.
The cup is close enough together that passes through the cup should be quite difficult to make. Obviously the AX and LP must be at least 3m from the disc to avoid a double team.
The other four defenders are in a diamond at the back, each marking an area of the field. The Left Wing (LW) and Right Wing (RW) each have an entire side of the field to mark. The Deep (DP) will cover any offensive players going deep on any side of the field, and the Middle (MD) tries to cover players looking for short passes through or over the cup.
The important thing for the defenders behind is to make sure they are covering somebody. Marking the area is less important than marking the offensive players in or around that area.
The specific roles of the defenders, what happens after a pass is made, and communication will be discussed in later articles.