Defensive running lines to stop the right side baseline attack in field hockey

1. Defensive running lines to
stop the baseline attack
Derek Pappas

2. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Defender behind the ball
carrier
• When the defender is behind the right side ball
carrier by 1-2 steps what is the best angle to choose
in order to close down the ball carrier?
• This is an important defensive pattern
• Good teams such as the Netherlands women or the
German men can run/pass the ball down the right
corner channel and then run the ball along the
baseline and pass back for a shot or get a foot for a
short corner

3. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Prioritizing defensive running
lines
Green: high priority: make tackle, mark, or close space down
Yellow: medium priority: cover space, block passing lane
Red: low priority: likely to be bypassed by a ball carrier or a pass

4. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Recognition and prioritization
• Players in the defense must recognize their next
responsibility to the team defense
• Defenders must prioritize their next movement/action in
defense based on stopping the following:
• shot
• circle penetration
• bypass dribble
• danger pass (a pass which bypasses the defense or
results in a scoring opportunity)

5. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Positioning
• One national team for 20+ years has talked about getting
bodies in the right position on the field at the right time.

6. Al Pacino's Inch By Inch speech from Any Given Sunday
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game
life or football
the margin for error is so small.
I mean
one half step too late or to early
you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.

7. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
The direction the outside
defender runs is important
Running
angle
wrong
ball carrier
bypasses
defender
Running
angle
wrong
ball carrier
given space
by the defender
Running
angle
correct
ball carrier
slowly closed
down by the
defender

8. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Moving as a team to defend
Close down the ball carrier (player 1)
Second tackler on the ball carrier (player 2 delays to block pass)
Mark the receivers in dangerous positions (players 3, 4, 5)
4
3
2
1
5

9. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
The direction the outside
defender runs is important
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5

10. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view actual 1
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5

11. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view actual 2
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5
6

12. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view actual 3
12
4
3
1
2
3
3
5
6

13. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view actual 4
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5
6

14. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view ideal 1
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5

15. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view ideal 2
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5

16. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view ideal 2
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5
6

17. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view ideal 3
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5
6

18. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view ideal 3
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5
6

19. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view ideal 4
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5
6

20. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Top view ideal 5
1
2
4
3
1
2
3
3
5
6

21. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
What actually happened
Three defenders went the wrong way.
The result a foot in the circle, PC, and goal.
4
3
2
1
5

22. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
What should have happened
4
3
2
1
5

23. NED (orange) has already
turned the corner.
ITA can’t stop the hit and will be
in the danger zone if they try to.
ITA is as fast as NED.
ITA (blue) is running the wrong
angle

24. NED (orange)
goes around the corner.
ITA (blue) could be behind the
yellow circle if they ran a different
line.

25. NED (orange)
goes around the corner.
Remember ITA (blue) number 3.
That player ran out of the circle
instead of moving to mark Van Ass
so ITA 2 can move to the baseline
and block the ball carrier
Van
Ass
ITA 2 can’t move to the baseline
until ITA 3 arrives to mark Van Ass.
But ITA 3 goes the wrong direction.
And ITA 2 is stuck in no man’s land
3
21

28. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Make the tackle outside of
the circle
• Why give the lane to the defender?
• The back pass should be covered by another
defender switching to Van Ass.
• Two hands on the stick to facilitate rapidly
changing the tackling grip
• get down to the baseline BEFORE the ball carrier
and block their path like the AUS/GER defenders

30. Use two hands.
Change the
tackling grip
quickly

32. Derek E. Pappas Copyright © 2015
Use the correct tackling grip
on the baseline
• Once the ball is inside of the circle the defender
has to protect their feet and stop the ball carrier
• Don’t let the ball carrier into the circle

33. Why is the stick
facing up?