The Breakout Part 2: Planning

By Graham Arnold
Part 2/3

Every respectable team walks the field before a tournament. Walking the field properly is a necessity in formulating an effective breakout/game plan. This being said, many teams do not walk the field properly. It is obvious that naming the bunkers and checking out the lanes/angles are important parts of walking the field, but that is only half the process. When a field layout is released the first thing to do is print out a copy and spend a small chunk of time studying it and naming the bunkers. A ruler is a helpful tool to draw out potential lanes and check important angles. But sadly there is only so much that can be achieved from a two dimensional map, the next step is walking the field as a team. Identify the important bunkers on the field. Every bunker has a purpose. Some are designed to lock off the snake; others can have cross-field shots that stop the advance of the other team. Whatever the job may be identify which bunkers are crucial and which are useless. Start to design a game plan that stops your opponents from occupying these bunkers, and figure out how to fill those bunkers as well.

Now that the bunkers have been identified and a game plan has begun to form, a standard breakout is easy to design. Design your breakout to satisfy two conditions. 1. Make the important primary bunkers safely. 2. Stop your opponent from making the important bunkers alive. Once a solid, standard breakout has been designed, start to make variations to serve various purposes. To be successful your team must have a variety of breakouts. If you execute the same breakout in every point/game a smart opposing team will adjust to counter your breakout. Don’t rely on a single breakout to be effective for an entire tournament. Putting all your eggs in one basket will allow the opposition to easily counter your game plan, subsequently, for lack of a better term, catching you with your pants down. In the fast paced flow of the RaceTo format changing up your breakout can be a great advantage. Confusing your opponent with an arsenal of effective breakouts will cause turmoil in their pits as they try to adapt to you. Do not be caught in a game of catch up with your opponent. Force them to adjust to your game plans. You do not have to make 50 different game plans, but simple changes to your standard breakout can go a long way. Also keep a few specialized breakouts in your back pocket for a rainy day. A defensive game plan can be useful when you are up on points and need to run out the clock. In addition, an X play can usually catch your opponents off guard and allow you to lock off a certain side of the field. With the likes of Alex Borromeo, Max Winderbaum and Brandon Olsen as snake players, a snake-off-break breakout is usually included in the DBS Kidz arsenal as well. Taking the snake off the break can help you win a quick point and establish the dominance against the other team that can turn a game around. With important bunkers identified, a standard breakout, and variations planned, you are now equipped with a myriad of tools to beat your opponent even before the buzzer sounds.