In the beginning there was no such thing as ‘forcing.’ Poor defensive players were stuck with the task of chasing their sprightly offensive counterparts around the field like rabid dogs, with little to indicate where the throw might go and only the slightest hope of getting to it. Needless to say, offensive players loved this state of affairs. They cantered around in circles, getting the disc at will, laughing at their frothing defenders, and throwing wherever they pleased.
The day the mark was invented, everything changed. Suddenly the downfield defenders knew with certainty where the disc would go, and they could position themselves accordingly. They knew the cutter now had only a few viable lanes open to them, and they stood gleefully in their way. Offensive players were baffled. They had to adjust their game to this new defensive threat. They had lost their illustrious advantage. A great wail of mourning arose from the offensive world.
But there is hope, gentle readers. The offense can regain its former glory. That which in the olden days made the defense equal is also its own undoing.

With the advent of the mark has come certain dependency on it. Downfield defenders cheat to the force side of the field and block throwing lanes without risking much of anything. The clogged lanes make the offense look confused and inept as the thrower gets stalled on their own goal line.

If, that is, the mark can hold. If it can’t, the entire defense finds itself horrendously out of position, and offense waltzes its way into the end zone with even greater ease than in former times. Modern defense, the Great Usurper, hinges entirely on the mark.

And marks, in the immortal words of Euripides, were made to be broken. Anyone who wants to maker himself instantly indispensable to his team has only to cultivate a crippling break mark throw.

There are two major schools of thought on the generalities of breaking the mark. One says that continuous pivoting is the key: if your mark can never get used to where you are, the theory goes, they’ll never be able to stop you big forehand-around. And this is true; the only flaw, however, is that in performing your rapid pirouettes, you’re at least 50% likely to find yourself out of position to make the necessary throw when the break-side cut is wide open. The opposite school, to which I subscribe, holds that you’re better off lulling your mark into flat footed complacency by not pivoting at all. This way, you have the freedom to survey the field, find the open cut, and make one big move around your mark. Sadly, this method has disadvantages of its own. In the first place, it’s a gamble. If your big move isn’t big enough at stall 8, you’re in real trouble count-wise and are quite likely to find yourself on the sideline a whole lot more than you’d like. In the second place, the defender often has enough time to read your eyes, which makes a hand block a little too likely for some. The argument about whether or not a stall is worse than a hand block is still on going; I’ll let you know what happens.

There are some aspects of breaking the mark that are useful no matter which of the above directions you take. Greater extension on your throws, for example, never hurts. The ability to throw from a wide, wide variety of body positions is invaluable (in the next issue: the Kama Sutra of throwing). Also, having a ‘move’ is almost necessary. One fake, or series of fakes, that you perfect can make breaking the mark a very simple thing. These moves usually involve a head-and-shoulders fake (The Shimmy) or a wide-eyed big throw fake. Either way, the move draws the mark out of position and thus makes him vulnerable to your savvy throw. And all that’s left for you to do after you’ve dusted your mark with your savvy throw is to stroll down the field, always ready for the dump, of course, and raise your arms when your team scores. Be sure to take plenty of credit. And remember to pour a little out on the sideline for the offense of yesteryear.

— Derek Gottlieb

Derek is an avid player and starving writer living in Minneapolis.