Once you have taught the team the basics of ultimate (throwing, catching, marking and creating space on offense), then you want to try and reinforce good habits. One good way to do this is with modified scrimmages that emphasize certain skills or strategies.
+ Ten throws to a point
Divide the group into two teams (numbers don’t really matter – can have 12 v 12), and then tell them that there are no boundaries, no endzones, and that their job is to get ten consecutive throws. Have the team on offense count each successful pass out loud (gets them used to calling “up” calls, or “turn” calls, or the stall count, or “foul” or “pick” while they are playing). Usually play to three points.
Stall count is as normal, to ten (As they get better, you can start it at five). Turnovers happen as normal (dropped pass, pass that hits the ground, intercepted or blocked pass) except that there is no out of bounds.
Once a team “scores” they put it back into play and start again. This last part trains the kids to get back on defense quickly. Alternatively, you can start with a pull after each point (have the team going on offense walk about thirty or forty yards away) – this is a little less grueling as far as the running goes. But, the pull does force the kids to get down on defense quickly – the receiving team can start to get some short easy throws before the defense sets up. Handing the disk to someone is illegal, but a two foot pass is fine.
Don’t give them any strategy to start with, and see if they figure out how to “win” at this game. It will be chaotic at first – look like one big dustball moving around the field with lots and lots of turnovers.
Eventually the kids with more athletic experience should figure out that a) they have ten seconds to throw the disk, and that they should catch their breath and make a good throw to a receiver that they make eye contact with, b) that they want to clear a space for someone to make a cut into – if they cluster around the disk, they’ll never get ten throws, c) it doesn’t matter which direction it goes, as long as they maintain possession, and d) if they can break away from the mob, it is very easy to do give and goes to get the ten throws. All of these points apply to normal ultimate.
+ Small Field Scrimmages
Four on four, or three on three. This gets everyone involved, emphasizes the short game, and is much more dynamic as far as cutting and clearing. Use cones to set the fields up across the width of the normal field, so that they are forty yards long, about 20 yards wide, and with the small field endzones starting on the sideline and going another 10 yards.
+ Five possessions in front of the end zone
Each team has five chances to score. Offense starts with the disc in the middle of the field, 10 yards out of the endzone. You can also start each possession on the sideline to get them to work it back to the middle of the field, or even throw the disc out to start the possession so that it is more dynamic.
Keep score, and first team to 5 or 10 or 15 (gauge how they are doing), “wins.” This is designed to encourage the team to be patient in the red zone, and to come up with creative ways to score points. there are some end zone plays on the skills and drills site. Young players end up having everyone cutting at once in the end zone – help them see that they really only need one good cut to score.