Do You Speek the Language

So, with Nationals complete we're back to my basic articles. We'll start with a simple one.

Pictured Above: Torontula open team. The Canadian University season starts in the next few weeks. Front two are Scotty Nichols (left) and Alex Scheider (right).

We've all been there. Early on in your career you hear, "When the cup's on you and the stall is high take the dump and swing or just huck it". For a new person to the sport there's probably 5 words in that last sentence that make no sense at all. Many words that we invent in any field, including ultimate, are used to express a set of ideas quickly, but for every team the playbook should include definitions so that everyone is on the same page.

For the sake of new players I'll list some words here. Note that ultimate lingo is similar to regional dialects, and this ultimate lingo is that of Toronto. Hopefully, we're not giving away any secrets.

Huck = Big throw downfield. Similar to the hail mary throw in football, but not a risky last chance play.
Dump = A throw at stall 5 or higher in which a small throw is made to reset the stall count.
Cup = One part of the zone where a group of players surround the disc (one player is tight on the disc, the remaining players are 10 feet away).
Close = A request for the marker to change their mark from a line to straight up.
Trap = Put a force on the disc such that the disc can only go up or down the line.
Break = The disc could or has travelled to a place opposite to the direction a team was forcing the disc.
Zone = A type of defense in which people play more of an area as opposed to a man.
Junk = A loose defenese in which players are not really playing man, but it isn't zone.
Clam = A defense against the top of the stack in which both the break and open side cuts are covered by players.
Hospital Pass = When the disc sits up high in the air so lots of people can get in the play. Danger!
Force = Where a mark is forcing the throw to go.
Home = Sideline where your team puts your bags.
Away = Sideline opposite to home.
Layout = Diving through the air to catch a disc.
Skied = Someone jumping and catching the disc above you.
Swill = A throw which is garbage. In many cases the throw has no spin.
Gack = A catch that you should have caught, but dropped nonetheless.
Trigger Finger = Someone who tends to throw anything.
Pull = The start of each point ha one team pull the disc to the other team (football's kickoff).
Corall = The person who catches the pull.
Brick = The penalty yardage the other team gets for a pull that goes out of bounds.

If you have any more that I should add to the list, just pass them on.

Also, take a look at some of the words at Wikipedia.

PJ