Visualization and Analysis of Spatial Characteristics of Attacks in Field Hockey

In field hockey players are only allowed to move the ball with the flattened side of a right-handed stick, and consequently it is easier for players to move the ball or retain ball possession on the right side of a player's body. This study investigated the characteristics of ball possession, passing, and attacking behaviour of world-class teams using association rule mining techniques and a visualization technique based on the ISOPAR method. We analysed the women's preliminary round matches of Pool A of the 2008 Olympic Games. The results reveal a) that teams tend to carry the ball on the right side of the pitch, and b) that ball possession that resulted in goal shots were more likely to be neutral or left side, although left sided plays were less frequent overall.