A View From the Side

A new monthly feature from Andy Jackson, our Coaching Guru. Please tune in to read the "Great Ones" words of wisdom.

 

 

A funnel or the Christmas tree, it’s all about positions!!!!

In days of old, hockey was played on the muddy green fields of England. In those days the Mauve were based in Honley and the attacking line was more funnel in formation – GK, 2 defenders, 3 midfield and 5 forwards. The advent of astro-turf was supposed to increase skill levels and creativity especially with the removal of offside. Therefore why is it that teams became more fixated with defence, with one outcome being the Christmas tree formation GK, 1, 4, 3, 2.

Hockey is after all an invasion game, with the only way of winning for the team to cross into the oppositions half and score. I know this is blindingly obvious but it often amazes me how we try and overly complicate what is simple game. Hockey is about speed of thought, speed of player and speed of ball. Playing a defensive formation seems to go against this basic principle. But some sides have obviously thrown caution to the wind and actually realised that attack is the best form of defence. Just look at the top two sides from Yorkshire Premier division for 05/06 season -

Now just look at our team goal scoring averages to the end December 06 (league games only): 

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Average	2.75	1.9	2.18	2.2	2.73	0.9	1.3

Now you might start to appreciate why we should “get something” when in the oppositions 23m and seek to convert 1:3 short corners won.

At the heart of Hallam’s success however was a realisation that regardless of the formation or positions two aspects must be present:-

1.	Defence is the first line of attack – the defence scan for the opportunities to get the ball forward quickly, taking the oppositions attack and midfield out of the game and creating an advantage for the forwards.
2.	Attack is the first line of defence – if they lose the ball the forwards must try and keep it in the opponent’s half, put pressure on the other team and try to steal the ball back. Forwards also seek the easy option (feet in the “D”) and look for rebounds.

So as we start the New Year lets try and rid ourselves of the Christmas tree mentality. Start to rediscover the joy of attacking hockey (playing with width and depth) and seek out those goals. An end of season average above 3 will only be acceptable, below the line is failure.

Perhaps with the line of if you want to understand more about positional roles and responsibilities then to see the attached.

Ciao Action