Wing wing wing

Playing the wing position in zone is my absolute favorite position on D. There is a great deal of freedom in what the wing can do, and you can cause a lot of chaos for the offense if you play wing well.

The basic instruction given to most people is: "Stay on your sideline and cover the defender coming down the line." That's okay - yes, please do protect your sideline when the disc is swinging to your side of the field, but there's no need to stay there all the time. That's both predictable and a waste of defensive resources.

Think about it - zone inherently forces the offense into a slower, (usually) more conservative pace. It's also often played in poor weather conditions which makes throws and catches harder. The options handlers are looking for are therefore close and high-percentage passes. Which means, if the disc is near your sideline, then your line is a threat, but if the disc is on the far sideline, it's going to either be a big cross-field hammer (risky), or at least 2 passes to get to your sideline. In either case, you'll have time to get back to your sideline, or it's the low-percentage throw that your team is trying to bait.

So how does this work in practice? Well, any time the disc is far from your sideline, collapse to the middle of the field and help out the short deep. When the disc starts swinging towards your sideline, find the sideline threat and run to cover her. Be unpredictable. Take a popper sometimes, take away the swing handler at other times. Hide behind the cup and bait throws. Pressure the easy options and make them think twice about throwing.

Furthermore, you've got a great view of the field, which means you can talk your head off to the short deep, to the cup, and of course to the deep. Tell them where the threats are, tell them how you can help out, and make sure you never ever leave a woman deep without getting confirmation from your deep defender. Communicate with your teammates both so that they understand what you're leaving open, and also so they can capitalize on the advantages of your defensive positioning.