The 3-3-3-1, three flat lines and a striker
Field hockey · Formation · 11 of your players
The Dutch structure: nine outfielders in three lines of three with one striker above them, so nobody is ever more than about ten metres from two teammates.
Opens on a field hockey pitch with the shape already drawn. Free, no signup.
Three lines of three, and one striker
Eleven players in four lines, defending the goal at the top of the picture: a goalkeeper, three backs, three midfielders, three attacking midfielders and a striker. The lines sit roughly ten metres apart, and that spacing is the whole idea — every player in a line has a short pass to the two beside them and two more into the line ahead, so the ball moves without anybody having to hit it hard.
The width grows as you climb the pitch. The backs stay narrow, about inside the width of the circle, because the centre back is a covering player before they are a passer. The midfield three stretch to within ten metres of each sideline and sit just inside your own 23. The attacking three go wider still, and the striker plays alone above them near the halfway line.
The games it suits
Pick it when you want the ball and your squad can pass while being closed down. Against a side that presses in pairs there is always a spare receiver beside whoever is being pressed, and against a back four your three attacking midfielders can occupy their two centre backs plus a full back.
Where it hurts is the turnover. With one striker and both wide attacking midfielders committed, losing the ball leaves three backs facing a front three, and the centre midfielder is the only player positioned to read it. It also asks a lone striker to press two defenders, which nobody can do — a midfielder has to join or the press is decoration.
Coaching it
- Ten metres, not fifteen. Drag one line wider and animate a build-up. Every extra metre turns a push into a hit, and a hit is what the opposition intercept.
- The spare receiver. Draw the ball into a pressed midfielder, then draw the pass out to the teammate beside them before the press arrives. Players trust the shape once they have seen the escape twice.
- Who screens for the striker. Mark the centre midfielder and the centre attacking midfielder and swap which one steps up. Settle it on the diagram rather than at 3-0.
Load this template, pull the two or three players your side sets differently, then draw the third-man run you keep asking for and press play.
Also known as
- formation
- dutch
- possession
- lines of three
Shapes to look at next
3-4-3
Formation · 11 players
Three at the back, four across midfield stretched to both sidelines and a front three. Attacking by default: the wide midfielders give you five in the front line whenever you have the ball.
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4-3-3
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Field hockey’s workhorse shape: a back four, three through the middle and a front three holding the width. Drawn defending the goal at the top, with the forwards up on the halfway line.
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5-3-2
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Five across the back with three in midfield and two forwards. The extra defender covers the width of the pitch and lets the outside backs join the attack one at a time.
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Full press (2-3-3-2)
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Pressing high in the opposition half: two on the circle edge forcing the outlet, three behind them, three across midfield and two holding. Ten outfield players — a full press leaves the keeper in your own half, off screen.
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Penalty corner attack
Set piece · 10 players
The injector on the backline 10 m from the post, with the trapper, striker, both slips and both post runners lined up on the edge of the shooting circle — every attacker but the injector has to start outside the circle, and these do. Ten outfield players; the keeper is back in your own half, off screen.
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Penalty corner defence
Set piece · 18 players
The legal defensive set: goalkeeper plus four defenders on the goal line ready to break, and the remaining six beyond the 23 m line where the rules require them. Shown against a full attacking penalty-corner set-up.
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Put the 3-3-3-1 on a pitch
It opens with the shape already drawn. Move the players your team does differently, drag the runs, and send your squad a link that animates.
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