Positions in Hockey

Hockey, also known as field hockey, is a team sport, wherein the objective of each team is to score points over their opponents by guiding the ball into their goal. Like any other team sport, even hockey requires proper coordination between the players. And when it comes to coordination in this sport, it is important to possess the basic knowledge about the different field hockey positions - and their role in the game.

There are no specific positions, and a single player may have multiple roles depending on the circumstances that prevail. For instance, a player who plays as a defender may have to double up as a midfielder during the teams attack or a player playing as the midfielder may have to fall back and play as a defender during the opposition's counter-attack.

What are the Positions in Field Hockey?

The positions determine as to which part of the field the player is supposed to play on, and what are the key responsibilities he is supposed to handle. Basically, there are 11 player positions in field hockey, and each of these have a specific role assigned to them. These include:

• Goalkeeper
• Right half
• Right back
• Left back
• Left half
• Inner right
• Center half
• Inner left
• Right wing
• Center forward
• Left wing

These field hockey positions are categorized into three groups - the attacking positions, midfield positions and the defending positions.

Goalkeeper: One of the most important field hockey position, the goalkeeper is assigned the responsibility of guarding the goal. In order to do this, he can either use the hockey stick, the glove or even his entire body and block the shots attempted at the goal. After he has blocked the shot successfully, he can use his feet to clear the ball off the sidelines. Considering that hockey is a very fast game, all these things tend to happen very fast. That being said, the player playing as the goalkeeper has to be quite agile, and should have the ability to coordinate withe the fellow players playing in the defense line.

Defenders: In most of the cases, the teams field four players as a part of the team's defense - the right half, right back, left back and the left half. Defense being one of the most crucial aspect of the game, the players playing in this position need to be agile, and more importantly have a good coordination with the goalkeeper. A single goal can cost the team the match, and hence these players can't afford to do any mistakes. Defenders generally stress on man-to-man marking method, and hence having four players in the defense line is considered to be a significant advantage.

Midfielders: As far as midfield is concerned, three players are fielded in this region - the inner right, inner left and the center half. These players need to have an exceptional stamina, as they are expected to play in both the halves of the field. During the teams attack, they are expected to be in the opponents half, teaming up with the attackers to form attacking strategies, and during the teams defense, they are expected to fall back, and help the defense in defending the goal.

Attackers: Generally, teams prefer fielding three players in the attacking position - the right wing, left wing and the center forward. A player playing in any of these positions needs to have a good coordination with the fellow attackers, as well as the midfielders. According to the new set of rules and regulations, there is no offside in the game, and this itself works as an advantage for the attackers, as they can take a strategic position in the opponents D area, waiting for the fellow players to create scoring opportunities.

Other than these positions, there are specialist positions like the penalty corner specialists to take penalty corners, and sweepers to clear the ball in the D area. As a player, you also need to be well versed with various field hockey formations. Among the various formations in field hockey, 3-3-4, 2-4-4 and 3-4-3 are the most popular. Having the basic Knowledge of player positions and formations in hockey is important as these aspects of the game play a crucial role when it comes to the formulation of winning strategies of hockey.