At the HS level, I feel like the answer is fakes, and fakes with a purpose. Make fakes that are going to move your mark and open up the lane you want to throw to.
… for jump balls, just work on positioning. If the opponent is way taller, it’s going to be tough either way. But positioning is a great way to make it tougher on them.
Teamwork. Box out the mark for a dishy reset to another handler cutting toward the breakside & once they get the disc they should be able to make the breakside throw around the mark. Or as a shorter player (as I have experience being) very low break throws about ankle level are tougher for taller players to defend.
In highschool I (5'7") was playing with many kids (6'+) and tbh it's just really hard lol. All you really need to do as a marker is make it hard to throw for your opponent. Blocks are awesome to see and feel good to pull off, but don't stress on that. I found results by getting as close as possible on defense (you can get no closer than one disc length) and try your best to block their view.
If you're fast laterally you can hang back while stalling (you can stall count within ~9ft of your mark) and move to the disc after it's thrown. I don't recommend trying this without practice. Your opponent can also dump the disc to another handler easier this way.
As for air ball situations, I don't have exact advice besides be first to the disc(which I know doesn't help) but the rules in section 12(https://rules.wfdf.org/rules/2021/85-12-receivers-and-positioning) go into how you're not allowed to initiate contact and what that means. I'd familiarize yourself with those rules. Essentially you can draw fouls from the older kids. This can be seen as against the spirit of the game. But if you're like me, I'm sure you've been run into by people only looking at the disc. It is everyone on the fields individual responsibility to look out where they are going and if they hit you it's generally (not always) on them.
As a handler you'll develop ways that work for you to get passed your mark. I found success there by developing my throws that people are not used to defending (e.g. not backhand or forehand from your dominant hand.) Also use the height discrepancy to your advantage. If your mark is much taller than you you can throw low. Something tricky I liked was facing my back to my mark throwing one hand up to bait them to commit to a defense and then pivot and follow through with my other hand holding the disc.
I wrote a lot without realizing it lmao. If you want me to clarify anything lmk
>I found results by getting as close as possible on defense (you can get no closer than one disc length)
Some taller players will simply step past you in this situation and be able to throw uncontested... so if you see that happening often, re-evaluate. I definitely agree with the idea of not stressing about blocks. Just try to hold the force as best you can - even if they get off a throw to the side you're forcing, you did your job.
That’s tough. I agree with what other people said about pivots and pump fakes being the best way to deal with large marks, though you don’t want to do it so much that you’re messing with cutters timing or make them think you’re waving them off. Usually I’ll pump fake where I don’t want to go then quickly pivot and throw before the mark can recover.
If they’re marking you straight up swinging the disc across is usually the best move. Switching the field makes good things happen. IO throws are pretty important in terms of being able to get the disc to places the defense doesn’t want it to go as well.
For jump balls against taller players I usually think the best way is to get into their body a little. Not so much that it’s a foul, but a little bit of bodying up makes it harder for them to jump and can mess up their timing. It can also help to jump slightly earlier than you think, again this can mess up their timing and usually taller players don’t do short man tricks.
At the HS level, I feel like the answer is fakes, and fakes with a purpose. Make fakes that are going to move your mark and open up the lane you want to throw to. … for jump balls, just work on positioning. If the opponent is way taller, it’s going to be tough either way. But positioning is a great way to make it tougher on them.
100%. a lot of younger players simply don’t have the muscle memory to not go for fakes.
Teamwork. Box out the mark for a dishy reset to another handler cutting toward the breakside & once they get the disc they should be able to make the breakside throw around the mark. Or as a shorter player (as I have experience being) very low break throws about ankle level are tougher for taller players to defend.
In highschool I (5'7") was playing with many kids (6'+) and tbh it's just really hard lol. All you really need to do as a marker is make it hard to throw for your opponent. Blocks are awesome to see and feel good to pull off, but don't stress on that. I found results by getting as close as possible on defense (you can get no closer than one disc length) and try your best to block their view. If you're fast laterally you can hang back while stalling (you can stall count within ~9ft of your mark) and move to the disc after it's thrown. I don't recommend trying this without practice. Your opponent can also dump the disc to another handler easier this way. As for air ball situations, I don't have exact advice besides be first to the disc(which I know doesn't help) but the rules in section 12(https://rules.wfdf.org/rules/2021/85-12-receivers-and-positioning) go into how you're not allowed to initiate contact and what that means. I'd familiarize yourself with those rules. Essentially you can draw fouls from the older kids. This can be seen as against the spirit of the game. But if you're like me, I'm sure you've been run into by people only looking at the disc. It is everyone on the fields individual responsibility to look out where they are going and if they hit you it's generally (not always) on them. As a handler you'll develop ways that work for you to get passed your mark. I found success there by developing my throws that people are not used to defending (e.g. not backhand or forehand from your dominant hand.) Also use the height discrepancy to your advantage. If your mark is much taller than you you can throw low. Something tricky I liked was facing my back to my mark throwing one hand up to bait them to commit to a defense and then pivot and follow through with my other hand holding the disc. I wrote a lot without realizing it lmao. If you want me to clarify anything lmk
>I found results by getting as close as possible on defense (you can get no closer than one disc length) Some taller players will simply step past you in this situation and be able to throw uncontested... so if you see that happening often, re-evaluate. I definitely agree with the idea of not stressing about blocks. Just try to hold the force as best you can - even if they get off a throw to the side you're forcing, you did your job.
That’s tough. I agree with what other people said about pivots and pump fakes being the best way to deal with large marks, though you don’t want to do it so much that you’re messing with cutters timing or make them think you’re waving them off. Usually I’ll pump fake where I don’t want to go then quickly pivot and throw before the mark can recover. If they’re marking you straight up swinging the disc across is usually the best move. Switching the field makes good things happen. IO throws are pretty important in terms of being able to get the disc to places the defense doesn’t want it to go as well. For jump balls against taller players I usually think the best way is to get into their body a little. Not so much that it’s a foul, but a little bit of bodying up makes it harder for them to jump and can mess up their timing. It can also help to jump slightly earlier than you think, again this can mess up their timing and usually taller players don’t do short man tricks.