Playing the position of sweep in field hockey is an art. You must orchestrate the defense into a diagonal line, watch the ball, and keep your eyes on the girl trying to cherry pick halfway down the field. All while keeping your cool when marking a girl who's making snarky comments about your team. This is an art form that very few have managed to master and earn a title amongst the team. Now, let Sammy Sweeper tell you how it’s done. Some quick background to help you understand the position of sweep; the sweep is like a goalie but without the pads. We start out in the circle at the beginning of the game and rarely cross the fifty yard line. We are the last level of defense before the goalie. You must be very good at these things to be a successful sweeper: stopping the ball, hitting up the field, and knowing when or when not to attack the ball because sometimes there is no one there to back you up other than the goalie. Orchestrating the defense is not as hard or easy as it sounds. One must be loud and good at speaking clear mouth guard gibberish. One must have the right …show more content…
Losing the ball is never good because then you must find it and by that point the ball could be at the fifty, then your twenty-five, and then you are screwed. If you ever lose the ball just look in the direction that everyone is running in, there is a 98% chance that that is a) where the ball is or b) the direction the ball is going in. When watching the ball, make sure to move up and down the field with the ball, you do not want to be at the twenty-five yard line when it is in the other team’s circle. A good rule of thumb is to stay in the center and sty seven to ten yards behind the closest defender. For example if the right back was the last defender in the diagonal and they are at the fifty yard line, you want to be in the middle of the field and about halfway between your twenty-five and the