POSITIONS IN FLOOR HOCKEY
Right Wing --- RW -- As the name indicates, a right wing plays forward on the right side of the rink. The right winger’s jobs in the offensive zone are to shoot, position themselves in front of the net to screen the goalie, forecheck, passing to an open player if no shooting opportunity exists. In the defensive zone, the right winger stays higher in the zone as an outlet pass for the defenseman and to cover the opposing left defenseman and cause turnovers.
Center --- C -- This player has the most responsibility on the rink as a forward. He plays generally in the middle of the rink and has greater offensive and defensive responsibilities than the wingers. He could be a scorer as well as a passer but typically is a better passer with hockey vision. His job is to carry the ball in transition from defense to offense, take faceoffs, roam the offensive zone to pass (or dish) the ball to his wingers for quality scoring chances. In the defensive zone, the center is responsible for backchecking in the slot and cover an opposing player in the area. The center is usually the third player back on defense after the two defensemen.
Left Wing --- LW -- The left winger plays the left side of the forward line. The left winger’s jobs in the offensive zone are to shoot, position themselves in front of the net to screen the goalie, forecheck, passing to an open player if no shooting opportunity exists. In the defensive zone, the left winger stays higher in the zone as an outlet pass for the defenseman and to cover the opposing right defenseman and cause turnovers.
Defense --- D -- The defenseman is one of two guys assigned to prevent the other team from scoring on your goalie. Responsibilities include clearing or passing the ball out of the defensive zone, keeping the area in front of the goalie free of opposing players so that the goalie can see an incoming shot, blocking shots, clearing rebounds and intercepting passes. In the offensive zone, the defensemen is typically positioned high in the zone to keep the ball from exiting the offensive zone and to make passes to forwards and defense partner in an effort to obtain a quality shot. Also, because the defensemen are the furthest from the net, they often have the hardest shot.
Goalie --- G -- The goalie is the guy behind everyone else with the funny looking mask whose job it is to stop the other team from scoring on your team. Not much else to say about the goalie except a couple of things. First, the goalie should not only try to save the shots from scoring but also direct rebounds to the corners of the rink or smother the ball so that there is no rebound for the offensive team. Second, goalies play either a butterfly style whereby they drop to their knees with them extended covering the lower portion of the net with the goalie paddle covering the five hole (the space between the feet) or a standup style of goal whereby the goalie usually stays on his feet relying on his feet and stick to stop shots to the lower portion of the net.
