Defender as forward and vice versa

I am experiencing a double moral at the moment. While I am trying to figure out better names for the positions on the floorball court, I am still going with the hockey/football ones: defenders and forwards. But I really do not like it. A lot of the time, I honestly have a problem not calling the guys playing highest up on the court defenders. And a similar problem not calling the guys playing closest to our goal forwards.

The reason to this behavior is pretty simple and straight forward: to me, the players usually known as forwards (in the rest of this text referred to as forwards with me feeling bad about my double moral) are more often rather your most important defenders. And the players usually known as defenders, are more often rather your most important forwards.

The forwards who sometimes are at least equally important as defenders
Isaac Rosén, Manuel Maurer, Joel Rüegger, Claudio Laely

These guys are obviously wonderful to have on your team. Not only do they create scoring chances by actually winning balls themselves because of second-to-none hand eye coordination, stealing balls without being whistled for hitting the opponent’s stick. They also make sure to pressure ball carriers, giving them bad angles to work with, and at the same time setting the mental tone for a game. It is about a mentality saying to your own team: ”We are in the driver’s seat, the others are going to have a long night”. It is also about a body language telling the players in the opponents team that they will be put under constant pressure this game. These players are capable of quickly establishing a psychological plus-situation towards the opponent line they are facing in just minutes. I guess these guys will do all of this extreme hard work, because at least twice a game they will be sent on a breakaway from someone playing closer to their own net. More often and not, counter attacks they themselves indirectly created, by steering someone down a narrow path with the ball, ending up with a coughed up ball further down the court.

Isaac Rosén is for me a perfect example of someone who turns the decision making for a coach a bit upside down. Knowing that Isaac is on your roster, it almost forces you to play an aggressive defense system. Ten years in a row, Isaac has been a defensive force in the top leagues of Sweden and Switzerland, despite being the player closest to the opponent’s goal almost all the time. And despite being described by many as an opportunistic guy with an almost too offensive mindset. I guess it must have been a tricky thing for Mullsjö AIS head coach Mikael Hill, as Isaac returned back to Sweden. Keep on playing a pretty low 2-1-2, or at least send one line flying higher up?

The defenders who sometimes are at least equally important as attackers
Simon Stucki, Tatu Väänänen, Martin Östholm, Kevin Berry

A defender with good hands, a clever head and an above average shot will be a crucial part for any talented forward line’s success. So many times, I have seen talented forwards fail because of limited support from the back court. And so many times, I have seen average forwards blossom because of brilliant passes from behind, giving them situations on the court where a decent shot will have a more than decent chance of finding the net. Credit should go where credit is due. Sometimes, we still underestimate the influence on the game from a skilled playmaker-defender.

It is rather the balance between risk and reward that determines whether a playmaking defender will be of good use for the team or not. Too me, it is rarely about flashy plays. It is more about finding a way to make sure that opponents have to move out of their wanted defense positions, and then setting a teammate up in a better position, after someone had to compensate seconds earlier. These moves rarely have a high risk, but are really beautiful to a floorball brain.

The way Martin Östholm plays in Pixbo Wallenstam is probably the best offensive package from the back court. Östholm masters all forehand shooting techniques, and is also a very speedy guy. If someone tries to steer him to one side, he is always able to beat players using his quick feet.

The way Kevin Berry is used in Malans is probably the best example to describe how a ”defender” can be set up for good shooting positions. With his highly developed understanding of the game, he is well suited to decide when to push forward or not, when Malans are pushing forward without possession. He knows when to join the rush while his linemates are in possession. In both cases, he joins in as the fourth player, giving him lots of chances to use his lethal slapshot.

And hey - you have nothing to do one afternoon? Count the number of powerplay goals Simon Stucki has been involved with during the last 10 years in Langnau. Or sum up the number of second assists Tatu Väänänen will have this year, after hitting someone legally and then feeding a Wiler center in the middle, who seconds later will give another teammate an empty net. That is physical art, and I would seriously want floorball to start considering second assists. It somehow hurts seeing players not being awarded a point after being the source for a beautiful counter attack goal.

If I would have included non-active players, another genius guy with a Swiss connection would be Mathias ”Bult” Larsson, and my assistant coach Esa Jussila. Both could quarterback teams and give their fellow players a better chance of scoring goals, because of their offensive capabilities. Actually ”Bult” Larsson won the SSL-scoring league a couple of years ago, playing a defender. Doing that with an one assist system is quite an accomplishment.

By the way, it is not a coincidence, that the last national team squad for the Swiss men’s team only had ”Torhüter” and ”Feldspieler” when we nominated the team to the EFT in Brünn. It is expected from me, that all of our players play defense and offense. But in lack of better words, I now and then end up in the defender- and forward-trap, when I need to categorize players for certain plays. Maybe someone can suggest something better? Suggestions sent do hc.yekcohinussiws@nossnaj.divad with the purpose of replacing the medieval expressions of defenders and forwards are very welcome. I guarantee some kind of price to the author of the suggestions I will end up using.

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_{David Jansson}

The Author:
David Jansson (1980) has been the Coach of the Swiss National team since June 2015. Already as a 17-year old, he debuted in the SSL (Swedish highest division) and between years 1995-2005 he had played for 3 different clubs  - Jönköpings, Älvstranden and Pixbo. His coaching career includes two years as head coach of the swiss club Floorball Köniz (2009-2011) as well as four years by Pixbo Wallenstam. He had also worked as the sports teacher at the floorball gymnasium in Gothenburg. He lives in Kloten.