Happy Friday! I hope you’re gearing up for a great hockey weekend — let’s get into this week’s Playbook.
It’s been a great week in the world of European football (soccer). In a sport we can often draw a lot of inspiration and ideas from, we saw one of the greatest matches of all time. The semi-final first leg of the UEFA Champions League saw Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5–4 — more of a hockey scoreline than a soccer one. It was a contest for the ages.
It made me reflect on the similarities and differences between our two sports, which use the same formations and a very similar field size and shape.
Of course, the big difference — and one of the reasons you now see a 5–4 scoreline far more often in hockey than in football — is the rule change in 1998, which saw the abolition of the offside rule.
This rule change upended the sport and forced teams to redesign the way they play.
So what did this redesign produce?
The biggest shift was the introduction of extreme attacking depth (or height).
With no offside rule, teams could now place attackers as high up the field as they wished in all phases of the game. This has many knock-on effects for how a team can play.
In modern hockey, in 2026, I think this concept is more important than ever — and still, you see some teams and players using it far better than others.
When a significant rule changes, there is huge opportunity for the teams and players who adapt fastest — and this was certainly the case in the late 1990s.
But today, I think using very high attacking depth is even more impactful due to the evolution of passing techniques since 1998.
We now have the sweep, which evolved alongside the move to smoother artificial turf — a technique that allows players to generate similar ball speed to a hit, but with more accuracy and disguise.
And then, of course, the aerial — which continues to develop — allowing access to all areas of the field through the air.
These techniques make it possible to connect play to high attackers far more consistently, unlocking the advantages needed to create and score more goals.
There is a long list, but I’ll summarise what I think are the major upsides:
More space in outletting and second-phase possession
If your forwards start extremely high up the field during outletting, they force the opposition defenders to drop deeper. Depending on their mentality, this will vary — but in all instances, it forces the opposition press to cover more space, opening up gaps for the team in possession to exploit.
This helps in both the initial and secondary phases of possession, giving you more space to progress the ball from circle to circle.
Faster attacking transitions, giving attackers more space in the circle
If your forwards are positioned higher — or making earlier, aggressive high leads — then when you win the ball and counter-attack, there are more options to get the ball into the circle quickly.
The earlier the ball enters the circle following a turnover, the more space will be available.
Attacking defenders from their blind spot
Watching highlights from the Hoofdklasse, this really stood out to me — how difficult it is for defenders when attackers are coming onto the ball from a starting position behind them.
Let’s look at this goal from Sander van de Putte:
It’s an incredible lead towards the ball — fast and aggressive — and importantly, it starts from the defender’s blind spot, making it almost impossible for them to react in time.
Leading back towards the ball from high starting positions is one of the most important movement patterns young forwards can learn.
Better starting positions for high-press turnovers
Finally, if a team wants to press with maximum aggression, having more players already positioned high up the field improves that process significantly.
As with any style of play, there is no magic bullet — every approach carries risk and can be exploited. Trade-offs are unavoidable.
Opposition defenders have more time and space to create
Leaving forwards higher up the field will often allow opposition defenders more time and space in possession. As I’ve written about before, fast crash balls are creating more and more chances at the top level. A free defensive player will often have the skill set to execute these dangerous passes.
Your forward line can become isolated and inactive
If your leads are poorly timed — or the opposition defends well — it can become difficult to connect with your high forwards consistently. This can leave you short defensively and without strong options in possession.
Simply using a lot of height is not enough. The timing of the leads back to the ball must be precise, and the passing quality from your defenders and midfielders needs to be high.
Each coach will have their own risk profile and preferences — and that’s part of what makes the game so interesting.
Personally, I have a high tolerance for risk and enjoy using a lot of forward depth. I’m comfortable with the trade-offs. Others will approach this very differently.
A point I think is important to acknowledge is the impact removing the offside rule has had on the sport.
It has made the game more dynamic, increased goal-scoring, and made it more exciting and watchable.
In my opinion, changes of this scale have not happened often enough since 1998.
The most popular sport in America, the NFL, adjusts its rules every year to improve the viewing experience. They change, revisit, and refine. They don’t always get it right — but they never stand still.
Understanding that sport is, ultimately, entertainment.
The FIH showed this mindset when they removed the offside rule. I hope they continue to embrace it and look for ways to improve the dynamism, excitement, and watchability of our sport.
Evolve or die.
It’s a law of nature — and I think it applies to sport as well.
Until next week,
Adam Falla
Co-Founder, Leap Hockey
Hi Adam,
It’s working!!!! Thanks for doing what you do. To Ross, too. Our girls are beginning to really apply their skills to the game & it was really evident this weekend. Everyone comments on their skills and I tell them it happens thanks to Leap & in our basement or messy toy room.
Just so grateful for this service that Leap provides as it makes field hockey much more fun for them!!