Catching Basics

Before even throwing, ultimate players need to know how to catch—if you are unable to catch a disc, you cannot begin to play the game. It is the most fundamental skill in the sport and yet, very few players continue to actively practice catching once they have moved on to other aspects of the sport.

There are two main ways to catch a frisbee: the clap catch  (AKA pancake catch, alligator catch) and the claw catch (AKA crab catch, lobster catch). Rowan McDonnell from Excel Ultimate has an excellent video covering the basics.

As shown in Rowan's video, clap catching is the most secure method of catching the disc for two main reasons:

• Having two hands come together gives a larger vertical margin of error for catching when compared with claw catching where your margin of error is roughly the size of your palm

• Clap catching often allows you to use your body as a backboard for your catches so even when you mistime your catch and the disc passes between your hands, you are likely to get a second chance if you position your body directly in the disc’s flight path and it hits your torso or arms

Clap catching also has the added benefit of being the easiest catching method to transition into a throwing grip from–your hands are already on opposite sides of the disc, which allows them to more easily work in tandem to position the disc comfortably in your dominant hand. Whereas when you claw-catch you will either have only one hand on the Frisbee or both hands on the same side, requiring slightly more work to grip the disc properly for throwing. 

With these advantages, players looking to minimize catching errors should always clap-catch when possible.

At first, most players will catch by using only their arms. However, players should very soon after begin using their feet to position their body in front of the disc to securely catch discs that aren't thrown directly at them. Felix Shardlow from Hive Ultimate demonstrates and explains this concept in his video below

This method applies to every type of throw, including curving throws and over-the-top throws. There’s a tendency, specifically with over-the-tops, for players to try and catch the disc above their heads even when there are no nearby defenders.

This is not to say that ultimate players don’t need to know how to claw-catch. There are certain situations where claw-catching is required:

• When a disc is too far to clap-catch comfortably even with active repositioning

• When you have a close defender and need some extra reach to get to the disc before they do

• When laying out—clap-catching while diving has an increased chance of shoulder injury due the motion of getting a hand under the disc often causing one to land on their lowered shoulder

Mastering both types of catches is necessary for every ultimate player but knowing when to use each one intuitively to minimize drops requires a lot of practice and experience.