Styles of Defense - Poachy

I see a few different types of person defense in my head. These can each be used at any point during play, and switched between within even the same possession.

Shutdown
Poachy
Baiting
Help
Lazy

This post will examine the poachy style of defense and how to execute it. Let me start by saying that I think a poachy style of defense is best used VERY sparingly. At the elite club level, you will absolutely get burned if you are poaching more than a few seconds here and there. Poaching can also be dangerous if done poorly or by someone with poor field awareness, so please be careful if trying this out. Always be mindful of the field, your body, and other players' bodies. 

Your job in this style of defense is to generate blocks or junk up a space by jumping into a lane or space that a thrower expected to be wide open. I think the most natural first iteration of poaching doesn't generally generate blocks but prevents throws upfield by doing the following. Imagine that you have just covered an open-side under cut and your mark is clearing/cutting back to the stack. Your mark is not a threat so you can stay in the lane and force the thrower to turn to look at their dump.

A key difference between poachy and help (post still to come) styles lies in when you leave your mark. When attempting to poach, you are leaving your mark preemptively to try to get a block or prevent a throw. When attempting to help, you are leaving your mark after a throw has gone up and you realize you may be able to make a play or make the offender's job harder by being there. 

Here are a few example situations in which a poaching style is likely to work.
The above example when your mark isn't a threat.
You are marking someone (not currently a threat) in the vert stack and someone else is cutting down either the open or breakside lane and you see that you can jump in front of them and intercept the disc. This example is most likely to cause injuries if you just run or bid sideways out of the stack/deadspace. Don't do this. Look around and make sure you can make the play safely first.
You are hidden from the thrower's view.

The biggest factor, in my experience, in determining success at this style of defense is your mark not currently being a threat. This state can change on a dime. Offenses everywhere stress the importance of recognizing when you are poached and what to do in that situation. So you must stay aware of your mark's threat level and this is why it is best used sparingly. If you do it too much, your mark will take advantage and your risk will no longer be worth it. You must be able to recognize your mark's threat level accurately to successfully poach (assuming a competent opponent).

Examples:
From the 2016 World Games Final between USA and Japan. Alan Kolick jumps into this space that he sees is open and that someone is cutting into and then finds the disc. The thrower had no chance of seeing this. This demonstrates an incredibly high field awareness and game IQ to realize in that split second that the space is open, the cut is open, his mark is not a threat, the thrower can't see him, and that he can beat the opponent to the spot safely.
https://gfycat.com/QueasyCapitalBlesbok