Winning The Knock-In

Now that the summer season is starting to get underway, I find myself obsessing over strategy more and more. Unless your club or team has a full-time coach, it can be difficult to coax strategy lessons out of your pro or team members. A typical conversation may play out like this:

Novice: “What’s the plan for this knock-in?”
Pro: “I want you over there [points with mallet]. When you’re over there, try to get open.”
Novice: “OK, why do you want me over there?”
Pro: “So I can hit it to you!”

From there, we’re left to imagine what the overall strategy for the play may or may not be. I thought it would be helpful to write a few articles about basic strategy to take the guesswork out of it. With these basics in mind, you should be able to determine what your team needs of you in common situations, without having to ask. This will make your pro’s job a lot easier, will make the game even more fun, and may net you a few extra trophies this season!

Let’s start with the knock-in. I want to start with this situation because in low-goal polo your opponents will likely have only a single knock-in strategy, making proper positioning for the play a snap. In other words, learning the proper strategy for this play is not difficult and has a high payout — it can set the tone for the chukker or even the game. Blowing through your opponents’ defense, or conversely, presenting a solid and consistent defense of your own during the knock-in can be a major psychological victory for your team, which can continue to pay dividends throughout the entire game.

The knock-in starts from the end line, on either side of the goal posts. Typically the Number 4 (offense) will hit the ball in, with the opposing Number 1 (defense) challenging him. The Number 2s mark each other, as do the Number 3s, leaving the opposing Number 4 (defense) to mark the Number 1 (offense). Take a look at the image below for a visual.

A successful knock-in can set the tone for the entire game.

Offense

Typically the 4 (offense) will hit the ball toward the boards in the knock-in. This gives his team a chance to get open, helps protect his offside from hooks, and prevents a potential turnover in mid-field. However, if the 3 (offense) can beat his man, the 4 (offense) may consider a pass to 3 rather than going to the boards. In this way he can circumvent the defense’s positioning and potentially even get a breakaway to goal. This only works if the 3 (defense) is caught napping or is severely over-matched by his opponent. In most cases though, so long as the defense is observant, this is not a good play as it can result in a turnover right in front of the goal. Taking the ball toward the boards is almost always the safer play.

The 4 (offense) will usually take two hits. The first hit, toward the sideboards, is designed to achieve two things. First, the 4 (offense) wants to draw in the opposing 1 (defense) in as close as possible. In this way he ensures that the 1 (defense) can’t assist his team mates when the ball is passed. Second, this first small hit is many times uncontested. I’m not exactly sure why this happens, but I suspect it’s because in practice this first hit is kind of a “gimme” and players get in the habit of letting the offense have the uncontested hit. Regardless of the reason, the 4 (offense) will usually try to start the knock-in with a tap toward the boards to gain some momentum and eat up a few extra yards on the way toward his goal. This first hit should be just far enough so the 4 has time to look up and pass to his teammates, but not so long as to give the 1 (defense) a play on the ball.

Meanwhile, the 3 (offense) should be doing his best to get open in the middle of the field, about 30 yards from the end line. The 3 (offense) should try to stay near the middle of the field to give his team mates (1 and 2) room to maneuver. This sets him up as a kind of saftey for the 4 (offense). The 4 (offense) will pass it to him if he can’t make a pass to the 2 (offense) or the 1 (offense).

Similarly, the 2 (offense) will be doing his best to get open near the sideboards. The 2 (offense) and 3 (offense) should be near parallel to each other but at least 20-40 yards apart. They should remain apart until one of them has possession of the ball, once that happens the player without the ball can fall in behind as a backup.

The 1 (offense) should be between the 2 (offense) and 3 (offense) and around 10-20 yards ahead of them. His goal is to beat the opposing Number 4 (defense) as early as possible in order to be open to receive a pass. Typically the 4 (offense) won’t pass directly to the 1 (offense) unless he absolutely must. A long pass from the 4 (offense) to the 1 (offense) has a high chance of being turned over to the opposing team.

Defense

Notice that the Number 1 (defense) is well over toward the sideboards. This is because the 4 (offense) will typically hit toward the sideboards first to prevent a turnover in mid-field, in front of his own goal. In other words, the 4 (offense) is going to try to get the ball as far away from his goal as possible while still ensuring that he maintains possession of the ball. The 1 predicts this and positions himself so that he can easily meet the line of the ball and perhaps take possession before the 4 (offense) can hit again. If he can harry the 4 (offense) enough to force him to make a long pass from the end line, rather than taking the ball toward the sideboards first, then the 1 (defense) has done his job. He has increased the likelihood that the offense will turn the ball over to his team by forcing them to hit a long pass, which is inherently inaccurate.

However, the 4 (offense) isn’t likely to opt for a long pass unless he knows that the 1 (defense) will take possession of the ball if he doesn’t. This means that when he knocks-in for the first time, he will almost certainly attempt a short tap toward the sidelines. He will continue to do this at each knock-in until or unless the opposing 1 (defense) rushes the ball and takes it from him, or threatens to, at least once. Therefore, as the 1 (defense) your goal is to attempt to take the ball from the 4 (offense) before he can pass it. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to do this in reality, but the threat can be all it takes to force the 4 (offense) into passing prematurely, which can be almost as good. If the 1 (defense) attempts to take possession but can’t, then he will need to immediately turn his horse and mark the 4 (offense) in order to at least take him out of the rest of the play.

It’s important that the Number 3 (defense) pays attention. If the 3 (defense) doesn’t properly mark his man, the 4 (offense) may hit there instead of taking the ball to the boards, upsetting the defensive strategy and potentially gaining a breakaway. The closer the 3 (defense) can stay to his counterpart, the less likely it will be that the 4 (offense) will be able to pass there. And if the pass does come, he will be in prime position to push the 3 (offense) out of the play and take possession for himself.

The 2 (defense) and 4 (defense) will do much the same thing. Their goal is to prevent their man from receiving a pass, simple as that.

Obviously these positions will need to be moved around sometimes to accomodate the team’s strengths and weaknesses, but this general strategy serves as a template for most variations on the knock-in that I’ve seen. Once you understand what the opposing team hopes to accomplish in the short-term, you can better situate yourself to prevent him from achieving his long-term aim (scoring a goal). Good luck!