A PRIMER ON FIELD HOCKEY POSITIONS
By Al Mattei
Founder, TopOfTheCircle.com
There are only 11 players on a field hockey team, but there are many positions that can be filled, depending on a team's formation and team philosophy. In the modern game, positions are pretty well meaningless, but there are certain characteristics players must have in order to be reasonably competent on the field.
For the purposes of our scouting reports, here are the 20 positions we use in order to project players for the next level of field hockey. While we note how good players are in specialties like corner flyer, poster, inserter/injector, and striker, it will be up to coaches to gauge how well they will do in these situations.
FULL FORWARD (FF): Borrowed from Australian Rules Football, this is a player who works apart from the attack line. The full forward is stationed in the scoring circle to lend support to the forwards by cutting towards or away from a potential attack, drawing defenders to create openings for the rest of the attack line.
CHERRY PICKER (CP): A player who works off what the sweeper does, not necessarily cutting herself off from the forward line, but tries to speed away towards goal if the defense makes a mistake or if a through pass makes it through the defensive wall.
LEFT WING (LW): Often is the player who is required to turn the corner on the left side, she must have feet quick enough to get around on the ball and also needs to be an excellent receiver inside the circle, since many crosses from the right side are means for that area of the field.
LEFT INNER (LI): A vertical attacker who must not only work well with her right inner, but is often the team's most important player on crosses, since the left inner will be closer to goal than the left winger.
CENTER FORWARD (CF): Needs to have an extremely hard shot and a near-mystical ability to score. Also needs the ability to "scoot" 15 yards at a time to spots where the ball is, or where the ball is going to be.
RIGHT INNER (RI): A vertical attacker who needs to work well with the left inner. Ball-carrying ability in traffic is essential: skill is paramount especially in the circle.
RIGHT WING (RW): Blazing speed is essential, as well as the ability to send the ball into the circle. Good strong crosses are this player's forte, along with the occasional foray towards goal.
POINT FORWARD (PF): A forward who either hangs back off the line, or a midfielder who joins the attack, depending on the team's needs. Often is the skilled player who carries the ball behind the attack and sends it to a forward, or the attacker who comes in late on a fast break, with no opposing defender accounting for the extra player.
LEFT LINK (LL): An excellent ball-striker who can bottle up an attack on the opposing team's strong side.
LEFT MIDFIELD (LM): A quick covering player who can bottle up an attack on the opposing team's strong side.
CENTER MIDFIELD (CM): An intelligent, rangy player whose knack for making good decisions as to whom to pass the ball to on the forward line. Also must tackle back on defense.
RIGHT MIDFIELD (RM): A quick ball-carrier who can generate attacks from the right side of the field through her ball skills.
RIGHT LINK (RL): An excellent ball-striker who can generate attacks from the right side of the field through her hitting.
UPPER FULLBACK (UF): A demanding position which requires excellent passing and defense, as well as withstanding the pressure of the opposition up the middle.
LEFT FULLBACK (LB): Usually the best defender on the field, who must cover the opposing team's most dangerous winger as well as break up forays into the circle.
CENTER FULLBACK (CB): A strong player who breaks up plays into the circle and must always come up with that key steal or interception inside the circle without giving up a corner.
RIGHT FULLBACK (RB): A quick player, almost with the same qualifications of a midfielder, who is responsible for clearing the ball out of danger, preferably building the attack towards the midfield. Also needs the most consistent ball strike to avoid turning the ball over deep in its territory.
SWEEPER (SW): Depending on the system, this player can have the gift of strength or speed, but preferably has both. Clears the ball out of danger as the last line of defense.
KICKING BACK (KB): When the goalkeeper is pulled for a helmeted field player with a distinctively-colored jersey, this player must be aggressive with tremendous speed and skill. Must improvise how to stop the ball without the requisite goalkeeping equipment, and must work with teammates to cut down open shots.
GOALKEEPER (GK): Of course, the goalkeeper must be a proven shot-stopper. However, many of the best are also good athletes, acting as second sweepers to stop scoring chances before they even materialize.