Contributed by Kathy Krajco of OperationDoubles.com.
The weakness in the Up-and-Back Formation is the hole in it. The drawings below show how your net player's position affects its size. When Team CD's net player moves forward (about 10 feet / 3 meters), Player B's shot angles double. The chasing distance from the 3rd to the 4th point doubles too. In other words, the size of the Hole in Team CD's formation doubles. And so do the opposition's chances of getting a winner through there.
The first drawing above shows your team (Team CD) in the Up-and-Back Formation's Defensive Mode; the second shows it in Offensive Mode. In Defensive Mode your aim is to plug the Hole, so Player D stands backed-off to the service line where he is in the best position to fend off shots to the Hole. In Offensive Mode your aim is to cut off the opposition's shots, so Player D stands full-forward in the normal net-playing position, where he is in the best position to score.
An up-player should momentarily back off whenever the opposing up-player might get the next shot. But the backed-off position is a no-parking zone otherwise known as "no man's land." That's because it's a terrible place to play the whole point from.
Here's why:
- In no-man's land you must hit up from about shoestring level on forcing shots.
- In no-man's land your perspectives are poor, because the net gets higher and the court gets narrower the farther back you stand.
So, back off only when an opposing net player might get the next shot. Then get back in close to the net again.
Related Articles From Operation Doubles
Check out these related articles for more doubles strategy and tactics from Operation Doubles:
The Three Basic Doubles Formations
Closing the Hole: Offensive and Defensive Modes
Kathy Krajco of Operation Doubles at www.OperationDoubles.com may be reached via email at kathy@...
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