The most important thing when playing offence is to recognise and react to whatever the defence is doing. The defence has the advantage in that they can dictate the terms. The offence must therefore be able to think on its feet.

Recognise
When coming up against a defence, the first thing to ask is what style of defence it is. Our style of offence is to determine whether or not they are playing man defence. If not, then we immediately set up a dump (axis) and swing (point) with the other players downfield, regardless of what the defence is. At the start of a point, we determine whether it is man by having the Deep set up on one end of the line and running across field on the pull to see if their defender follows.

Dump & Swing
The backbone of any zone offence is the dump and swing. Most defences openly allow this because it is seen as a low threat, and they can’t stop us from doing everything. The dump & swing maintains possession and should be turned to whenever the thrower is in trouble. It is a wise thing to do, if only to keep the defence moving around.

Analyse
The next thing to ask is what variety of zone it is, because small changes can have a large impact on how effective the offence is. It is usually possible to work out what sort of defence is being played after a couple of cross-field passes. If the zone defence looks unfamiliar it is worthwhile to do this, even if it cuts down the options further up field for a few seconds.

Lateral Throws
The usual approach to zone defences is to take what they are offering. They allow lateral throws in general, so throw around the cup. Once you are outside the cup, you have a few seconds in which there is the possibility of an easy up field throw. After that, the cup will be marking again, so swing it back across field in the other direction. This of course is highly simplified and much harder in practice, especially against an unfamiliar zone, but the principle is there.

Breakouts
When the zone is broken, with a throw over or through the cup, it is important to capitalise on that gain by keeping the disc moving. A tactic which is often used is to “run the disc” around, which means that the offence keeps sprinting and passing the disc to try to stop the defence from catching and setting up. Moving the disc around a lot initially will tire out the defence and make it easier to find gaps and run the disc.

Assassination
If a member of the dump/swing is marked man-on to take them out of the offence, they should go behind the thrower to the break side and the offence should switch to two-handler offence. Dumping when necessary until a throw can be made over the cup. Eventually, a throw over the top should be possible, since there are now three defenders covering four receivers up field.