What offense should we run?
"What offense should we run?" is the second most popular ultimate frisbee question I hear (behind "how do I make the team I'm trying out for?"). Well, the answer depends. There is no one best offense, the best offense for you is the one that best fits your players' skills and instincts. Teams often make the mistake of picking an offense first and their players second, and I believe it should be the other way around. This talk will review the fundamental differences, strengths, and weaknesses of big-picture offenses, how to teach the purpose of each offense, and how to identify your team's core skills and comfort levels so as to pick the best one.
About the Speaker
Alex (aka Dutchy) has been playing or coaching ultimate for >30 years. He has played on teams such as Death or Glory, Jam, and Revolver and coached teams including Cal, Revolver, Scandal, the DC Breeze, and USA Men’s and World Games teams. He has coached each of Open, Mixed, and Women’s teams to gold medals. Alex lives in Washington, D.C. and has two kids just entering ultimate frisbee age. He still enjoys goaltimate, beach, and great-grand-masters ultimate (body willing).
Coaching the Fire: How to Harness Intensity Without Getting Burned
Description
We all want athletes who want to win. But sometimes that competitive fire expresses itself in ways that are counterproductive to team success. What do you do when hot tempers threaten to derail your gameplans? In this talk, Melissa will share a few stories from her coaching career about working with intense, passionate players. You'll get ideas for how to help your athletes navigate away from frustration and bickering and toward team success. This is for any coach who wants to help their athletes understand themselves and each other better, navigate high-emotion moments, and keep their competitive drive focused like a laser instead of burning out of control.
About the Speaker
Melissa Witmer is the founder of The Ultimate Athlete Project, on a mission to grow and improve the sport of ultimate—one player and one coach at a time. She holds master’s degrees in both Chemistry and Kinesiology from the University of Illinois and is a certified coach through the Institute for Equity-Centered Coaching.
Melissa takes a holistic approach to the game, developing not just athleticism and technical skills, but also mentality, game IQ, and the ability to be a great teammate. Her coaching and playing journey has taken her to 42 countries around the world. She currently serves as assistant coach for Davenport University in Michigan and for Philadelphia AMP.
Coaching Brains to High Performance with Ben Van Heuvelen
Every aspect of coaching can benefit from an understanding of how brains work — their super powers, their limitations, the ways they learn, and the conditions they need for optimal performance. In this talk, I’ll propose a very general model for understanding the brains of athletes, and then explore the concrete implications for practice design, game planning, in-game coaching, team chemistry, player development, and troubleshooting.
Ben Van Heuvelen (BVH) is a long time coach including stints with PoNY and now Flipside. BVH has also been a National Team coach as recently as the World Championships in 2024 where he coached the gold medal winning men's team!