Children of the Corn, one of the premier local ultimate tournaments, will kick off its fourth year on Saturday, October 10th in Lincoln.

Always a fun tournament, Lincoln has UNL's own Cornfed to thank for organizing the event. Tournament games will be played at two locations: Whittier Fields (23rd & W St.) and at the luxurious Fleming Fields (29th & Leighton Ave) in Lincoln.

This year, there are 16 teams from several states, including Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, and Kansas.

You can find out more about Children of the Corn at:  http://www.unl.edu/cornfed/cotc/index.html

Additional information concerning teams, pools, and game times can be found at: http://www.upa.org/scores/tourn.cgi?div=18&id=6659

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In BSG vol.2, I discussed the Cut/Catch/Dump strategy for new players who aren’t yet confident in their throws. The first part of this strategy is cutting; if you don’t make a good cut, you’ll never get the disc and won’t get the chance to catch/dump.

There are lots of ways to make a terrible cut, and essentially only one way to make a really good cut. Here are some of the mistakes to avoid when cutting:

No Dancing
Almost every single new player I’ve ever seen does this (yours truly included, once upon a time), and it’s the exact opposite of what you should do. Instead of making a decisive, hard cut, a player will make about one hundred tiny little cuts right in the middle of the field, waiting for the handler to see you and throw your way. It looks like you’re dancing instead of cutting.

This is the worst thing a cutter can do; not only have you made it exceptionally easy for your defender to guard you, you’re clogging up the middle of the field, effectively preventing anyone else on your team from making a cut.

No Curved Cuts
This one is actually pretty self explanatory, as a “curved cut” is an oxymoron. This throw is extremely difficult to make. For one thing, the handler really has no idea where the cutter is going to end up. Remember, handlers don’t throw to people; they throw to area on the field where a cutter is going to be.

Predicting the arc of this curve is hard enough, but if the throw is actually made, the flight of the disc is almost parallel to the cutter’s path. That’s a tough catch to make for anyone.

No Horizontal Cuts
A horizontal cut is the easiest cut to defend; that throw is desperately hard to make for the handler, and it’s probably going to be tough for the receiver, too. If you make a horizontal cut, you’re not going to get the disc, and you’re more than likely clogging up the cutting lanes for everyone else.

A Good Cut
Although there are many ways to make a bad cut, every good cut looks about the same: A hard, straight line, likely preceded by a good fake. There are a couple of basic cuts you can employ to significantly improve the value that you bring to your team as well as garner more touches for yourself.

One is a simple straight cut. Another one is the upline cut. Upline cuts are often employed near a sideline, and if you get a step on your defender, they can help your team speed past a defense by generating better upfield opportunities. An upline cut looks about like this, with the cutter actually cutting away from the handler instead of towards him. Often, two handlers will play this give-and-go game with each other.

Juke! Juke For Your Life!
The difference between a terrible cut and a great cut, being covered and being open, is minimal. However, the players that figure out those minimal differences are the ones that get the disc and help their team.

One of the major components of a good cut is the fake. Think about it: Your defender is watching you, waiting for you to make a move. If you cut without faking, the defender’s job is easy—all she has to do is chase you, and chances are she’ll be right in your back pocket, preventing you from getting the throw.

On the other hand, a player who throws in fakes during most cuts will have her defender always on her toes. The defender can never fully commit to chasing you if she’s worried that you’ll cut in two steps and then bolt in the opposite direction, for example.

A good fake is one where you make your defender think you’re going in one direction and then end up going in another direction. The most difficult players to guard are the ones that employ fakes liberally.

One of the LUDA commissioners, who shall remain anonymous (let’s call him S. Frohn—no wait, that’s too obvious—let’s call him Scott F.), is a master at shaking defenders. What he’ll do is either cut in to the disc or out for a long throw, and he’ll really sell it by taking 2-4 full-speed strides. Then, he’ll cut back suddenly in the opposite direction, but by that time, the defender has committed to pursuing him in the original direction he was headed and ends up way out of position; OR…he’ll do a little double move (slowing down for a split second before accelerating again) while making that first cut, leaving you two steps behind; OR…he’ll cut hard one way, then the other, then cut back in the original direction, forcing you to bite on one of the fakes or else get burned; OR…

…you get the drift. He’s hard to predict, and that makes him difficult to guard. It’s quite annoying to cover him, really.

If you add in a good fake, your cuts should look something like this:

Run All The Way Through The Disc
One more thing: A major reason why bad cutters get D’ed all the time is that once the disc is in the air, they slow down and wait for it to land safely in their hands. Thus, no matter how precise the throw, that inevitably allows a defender to catch up to you and pick off the throw.

You have to keep running full tilt all the way through the disc—you can never slow down and wait for it. Essentially, instead of waiting for the disc to come to you, you need to propel yourself on a collision course with the disc, and when that collision happens, that’s when the catch happens.

If you endeavor to develop good cutting habits, you’ll find yourself getting many more touches in every game. Furthermore--and most importantly--you will become an indispensable asset to your team.

LUDA is proud to welcome guest blogger Tim Hoarty. In addition to being instrumental in Omaha's Rigor Mortis and SOUL (Omaha's summer league), Hoarty organizes the annual Battle In The Bluffs tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa every August. Because most of us LUDA folks were busy playing with Fire At The Circus at BitB instead of tracking the event as a whole, we asked him to break down the tourney for us.

Although we had aimed to attract more teams this year, we held strong at 9 teams for the second year. A lot of young tournaments die off, and I believe that with the work we've put in over the last two years Battle in the Bluffs has a strong foundation. The date of the tournament may change in the future to attract more teams, possibly on a weekend with no competing tournaments and earlier in the summer.

I thought things ran smoothly, although I realized this year that if the tournament gets any bigger I will not be able to run it alone. I received a lot of help from my teammates and friends of Nebraska Ultimate, including volunteers picking up fruit and water for the teams, transportation of tournament necessities, setting up and taking down the fields and Frisbee central area.

We really appreciate the generosity and hospitality of Diane and Rachael Green. For the second straight year they have allowed ultimate players to camp and swim at their house in Iowa, which is 15 minutes from the fields and a place that I have effectively used as home base for Battle in the Bluffs. Dennis Hopp is also an invaluable asset to our tournament, bringing his large tent and massage therapy for all players and spectators.

Council Bluffs Parks and Recreation treated us well again this year, and we had a great water setup and lined fields, which are two perks that I think may help draw teams back in the future. The party was a success, held at the Spillway Grill and Bar. Pulled pork and free cold beer are also two things I will not sacrifice - necessities of a successful tournament!

I was also happy with the way the storm on Sunday was handled. We played for as long as we could, and when we had to suspend play due to lightning concerns, everyone dealt with the inconvenience positively, and luckily we were able to get back underway within about 20-25 minutes and finish all games before the real storm rolled in.

Thoughts on different teams:

Rigor Mortis performed well, losing 15-12 in the finals to archnemesis Gnarwhal from Des Moines, IA. Rigor Mortis and Gnarwhal have an interesting history, going back to last year's Battle in the Bluffs I when Gnarhwal defeated Rigor in an epic 17-15 comeback victory. Rigor will most likely see Gnarwhal again next weekend at Cooler Classic in Milwaukee, which will be the third time in four weekends for the two teams. Gnarwhal had a few close games, but as expected returned to the finals and this time won, finishing 6-0.

Silage, UNL's alumni team, played well, as did Fire at the Circus, Lincoln's club open team. The depth at the club level in Nebraska is rising as there are now three legitimate club teams - Rigor Mortis, FatC, and Silage.

FatC had arguably its best tournament to date, defeating Cornfed but losing a heartbreaker to Stud Muffins to be eliminated from contention. FatC is now undeniably prepared to play against anyone in the region, and not a team to underestimate.

Cornfed played well, scoring plenty of points although it finished with a losing record. They played tough opponents all weekend, and lost several players to Silage and the other Nebraska teams.

Minor Offense, Nebraska's youngest team, got several new players' feet wet and was able to beat Atticus Flick, a new team from Kansas City, Kansas. Omaha Club was unable to knock off the higher seeds but held strong against the lower seeds, finishing around middle of the pack. Stud Muffins, from the Twin Cities, had a good first tournament together, reaching the Semifinals before falling.

-Tim Hoarty

Editor's note: BitB is a well-run tournament and is increasingly fun due to the many local and regional rivalries that play out all tournament long. If you have a team located anywhere within driving distance of Council Bluffs, you won't regret submitting a bid for next year.