Managing formations

Formations describe how player positions are distributed on the pitch. They include the game variant, number of outfield players and available positions.

Choose a suitable default formation for teams. Coaches can choose another available formation during match preparation when needed. Only published formations are available for teams and matches, including for administrators. Drafts remain visible in formation administration and can only be selected after publication.

Dutch and English coaching guidance has been prepared for outdoor 4-3-3, 3-4-3 and 4-4-2 and indoor 2-1-2, including position duties and sources. These texts are editable administrator drafts. Use them as practical starting points and adapt the agreements to the team. Each source note identifies the principles it supports and the tactical interpretation chosen by doHockey.

Consistent position names

Choose new positions from doHockey’s 19 fixed base positions. For a central forward pair, Left centre forward and Right centre forward are available. Their Dutch and English names are filled automatically and remain fixed; a standard position cannot receive a custom name. The same rule is checked when saving. Standard names are applied directly on Save, without an additional confirmation.

The four existing formations share the same Dutch and English position names. Voorstopper and Laatste remain distinct positions: Centre back (marking) and Sweeper (covering) in English. The deeper midfielder in 3-4-3 is Controlerende middenvelder / Defensive midfielder, with a different responsibility from the marking centre back in 4-3-3.

Spits is Centre forward in English. For a forward pair, use Linksvoor/Rechtsvoor / Left/Right forward, without prescribing a permanent wing role. Existing custom positions outside the base set may be retained unchanged or deliberately converted to a base position. New freeform custom positions are not available. Read the research and naming decisions for the evidence and distinctions.

Editing and use

Lines and order and the lists under Coaching guidance start expanded. Click a heading to collapse or expand its section. The entire heading is clickable; its arrow points right when collapsed and down when expanded. With a keyboard, use Enter or Space. The lists under Coaching guidance work the same way.

When editing a formation, Order appears beside each line name. Lower numbers appear earlier in the overview. For example, use 1 for Attack, 2 for Midfield, 3 for Defence and 4 for Goalkeeper. Click Update to save the order. Positions on the pitch drawing stay in place.

Click the duplicate icon (two overlapping sheets) beside a formation to create an independent copy. It is named copy of [original name] and receives Draft status. Positions and settings are copied. Use the pencil to edit and publish the copy. The original formation is retained.

The editor has three sections: Basics, Layout and Coaching guidance. Basics contains Name and description and Game settings. English appears first as the main language, with Dutch alongside as a translation. On mobile, English appears above Dutch. Enter a name and description in at least one language; existing formations with Dutch text only remain editable. For each standard position, Label (NL) and Label (EN) come from the selected base position and are readonly. Under Lines and order, Dutch and English line names remain editable. Existing translations in other languages are preserved when saving.

Choose a base position under Add position. If it is already present, the existing position is selected. Existing standard position keys stay unchanged. A formation containing an unresolved custom position can only be copied after that position has been converted to the base set; it is never silently omitted from the copy.

Add line creates an additional line. In a formation without lines, existing positions are placed in the first new line. Select a position and choose its Line. New positions join the selected position’s line, or otherwise the first available line.

X and Y coordinates are percentages of the pitch between 0 and 100. Manual input accepts precise values, including decimals. Dragging still uses a 5% grid; saved values between grid points are preserved. You can also drag a position. Maximum substitutes can be 0; an empty field means no limit was specified.

Add formation and the pencil open a separate page. Save, Cancel and Back to formations appear at the top. Saving returns you to the overview. A saving error retains entered text. You can also open or reload an edit page directly.

On the pitch drawing, the position name/key appears below each number, followed by EN and NL. A dash means the translation is missing. Long text is shortened on small screens; select the position to see the full text in the input fields.

Bilingual coaching guidance

Open Coaching guidance to edit the longer explanation. Choose Dutch or English; switching language or section preserves unsaved input. You can save an incomplete draft. Language indicators count authored text only; missing English is never filled with Dutch.

Describe the formation, suitable situations, strengths, considerations, coaching tips and play with and without the ball. Add, remove and reorder list items. Choose a position to enter its formation-specific responsibility in both languages. The fixed position name remains unchanged.

Under Sources, add the title, publisher, link, precise location and optionally the actual access date. Explain in each language which choice or claim the source supports. Keep original source titles and distinguish source evidence from your own tactical interpretation. Links use HTTP or HTTPS.

If you remove a position that already has duty text, that text stays visible. Resolve the reference deliberately before saving. A saving error or a concurrent change by another administrator retains your input. Keep that text when comparing your work with the latest version.

A duplicate receives independent copies of guidance, duties and sources and starts without published coaching guidance. Formation status (Draft or Published) determines whether teams can select the formation. Public or Not public separately indicates whether coaching guidance is publicly visible. A published formation can have no public guidance; public guidance does not make a draft formation available for teams. If public visibility cannot be verified, the list shows Public: unknown. This does not change either status.

Making coaching guidance public

Save stores your draft. Guidance already visible on the site and in the portal stays intact. After saving, reopen the formation and choose Make public under Public coaching guidance. Both languages, all position duties and source notes must be complete. Save any unsaved edits first; publication uses the saved version.

A publication captures the explanation, position names and matching pitch diagram together. Later draft or layout edits leave the existing publication intact. After review, deliberately replace it with Update public version. The panel shows the published version and whether newer saved changes exist. Refresh publication status first if another administrator has changed it concurrently.

Withdraw publication removes the explanation from public viewing and retains the draft. The site and portal retrieve current publications when opened, made visible again or refreshed; an already open page receives no immediate push update. When no publication exists, old example text is not used as fallback.

In a team’s formation selector, Guidance opens the published version with its own pitch diagram and duties. A notice identifies any difference from the current layout; published duties are not attached to a changed drawing.

Team previews

In the team’s Formations tab, a small pitch preview shows the selected formation’s positions and updates immediately when you change the selection. Each outdoor and indoor formation has its own preview; on narrow screens, it appears below the selector.

Formation administration groups formations under Published and Draft, with counts for each. Published formations are further grouped under Outdoor and Indoor, each with a count. Duplicated formations appear under Draft.

On desktop, My Teams shows a compact formation block below the profile chart, with name, variant, player count and pitch preview. Click it to open the team.