UpDog Game Strategies | Single Jump Frizgility with Loot

Loot doesn’t do a tunnel properly. He jumps on and runs atop of it. I could teach him to do one, but he can run atop a long tunnel for the entire length of it and I always thought it would be a cool bit of schtick for the show circuit, and outside of Frizgility we have no need to run a tunnel. And given that Frizgility is a highly competitive and pattern focused game, I’ve decided to place our focus on other games.

I think many disc dog freestylers, especially old schoolers and noobs are not overly interested in Frizgility because they don’t have the agility skills and/or don’t want to train and proof the agility skills. Some of us are not interested in creating a pattern with our dogs. But most all discdoggers have trained their dog to do an agility jump, or could very simply train this skill and the multi-tasking required to do something like a jump with a disc available is a terrific skill to have installed on your disc dog.

Play to Your Dog’s Strong Direction

Loot is a Counter Clock Dog. He strongly prefers the counter clock direction (right to left). This directional preference has great bearing on games and freestyle transitions and routine building.

After the catch Loot will, reliably, turn to his left. I want to use this directional preference to my advantage. If I run him clockwise, the standard direction for a right handed thrower, he will make the catch and peel off afterwards. This will waste time, and in the case of games that require multiple discs, will likely result in discs being far away from the handler.

So I am playing Loot to the counter clock direction. Notice that after he makes the catch he turns quickly and efficiently back to me. This is why you want to run to your dog’s preferred direction or his strong flank.

Work Inside the Proper Jump

There is a clockwise jump and a counter clock jump. If you are standing on the starting line looking at the jump, the jump that turns left is counter clock and the jump that turns right is clock.

Park yourself to the inside of the proper jump, cheating towards the center of the field, and work from there. This will create a tight circular pattern around you and a good approach angle for the jump.

Throw to 9.5 Yards

This is also extremely important when you are running Frizgility on a single jump. Every yard counts.

You want to be as efficient as possible. Every yard farther means more distance for the dog to cover and more speed by the dog. The more speed the dog has at the catch the further the outrun after catch. More outrun means more yards that must be covered by the dog.

Contract the Flank – Throw Further than 12 o clock – Create a Shape

Treat the jump and release angle as a Go Around. Drag the dog across the field like you are contracting the flank. Deliver your 9.5 yard toss slightly further than 12 o clock to the outside of the field.

You want to create a slight interception (a shape) to keep the dog running on flank and in motion. If you throw out at 12 o clock (a line) without the contraction of the flank and that slight interception, the dog will run WAAAAY out after the catch as Loot did in our last throw.

That poor placement cost us another 15 points and made me play it safe for the Sweet Spot and our 10 point bonus.

Use the Law of Resonant Spins

All of the throws but one in this round were Sidearm tosses. Sidearm throws are visible to the dog on the counter clock flank. The Law of Resonant Spins says that the disc should spin in the same direction the dog is moving. If it does, the dog will see the release. If it doesn’t the throw will be blind.

Loot physically could not see the one backhand I threw come out of my hands. It was a blind toss. When I started the throw he was 4 yards behind the throwing line. He didn’t see the disc or have confirmation that I was throwing it until he hit the throwing line. An early read of the throw sets the team up for success. Contrast the visibility of the Backhand with that of the Sidearm.

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