Winger (sport)
Encyclopedia
In certain sports, such as football
, field hockey
, ice hockey
, handball
, rugby union
, lacrosse
and rugby league
, the term winger is the name of a position. It refers to positions on the extreme left and right sides of the pitch (the "wings"). In American football
and Canadian football
, the analogous position is the wide receiver
. Wingers often try to use pace to exploit extra space available on the flanks that can be made available by their team-mates dominating the centre ground. They must be wary however of not crossing the touchline and going out of play. In sports where the main method of scoring involves attacking a small goal (by whatever name) in the centre of the field, a common tactic is to cross the ball to a central team-mate.
in a wide position. Wingers are usually players of great pace or dribbling
ability so as to provide cut-backs or crosses from which strikers can score. Their main function is to support attack from the wings. Wingers do lots of high-speed running from defense to attack.
, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flank
ing the centre
forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink. Nowadays, there are different types of wing men in the game—out-and-out goal scorers, checkers who disrupt the opponents and forwards who work along the boards and in the corners. This position is typically just called "Wing", often preceded by the side on which the player normally skates (Left Wing or Right Wing).
are two wing positions: left wing and right wing. In a typical team, these positions are occupied by fast and relatively small players. One of their main jobs in a game are fast attacks.
There are two wings in a rugby league team, numbered 2 and 5.. There are two wings in a rugby union team, numbered 11 and 14.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
, ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, the term winger is the name of a position. It refers to positions on the extreme left and right sides of the pitch (the "wings"). In American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and Canadian football
Canadian football
Canadian football is a form of gridiron football played exclusively in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed prolate spheroid ball into the opposing team's scoring area...
, the analogous position is the wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
. Wingers often try to use pace to exploit extra space available on the flanks that can be made available by their team-mates dominating the centre ground. They must be wary however of not crossing the touchline and going out of play. In sports where the main method of scoring involves attacking a small goal (by whatever name) in the centre of the field, a common tactic is to cross the ball to a central team-mate.
Association football
In football, a winger is an attacking midfielderMidfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
in a wide position. Wingers are usually players of great pace or dribbling
Dribbling
In sports, dribbling refers to the maneuvering of a ball around a defender through short skillful taps or kicks with either the legs , hands , stick or swimming strokes...
ability so as to provide cut-backs or crosses from which strikers can score. Their main function is to support attack from the wings. Wingers do lots of high-speed running from defense to attack.
Ice hockey
"Winger", in ice hockeyIce hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flank
Flank
Flank may refer to:* Flank, the side of either a horse or a military unit*Flanking maneuver in military tactics* Flank , the waveform edge formed when a signal goes high or low...
ing the centre
Centre (ice hockey)
The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...
forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink. Nowadays, there are different types of wing men in the game—out-and-out goal scorers, checkers who disrupt the opponents and forwards who work along the boards and in the corners. This position is typically just called "Wing", often preceded by the side on which the player normally skates (Left Wing or Right Wing).
Handball
In HandballTeam handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
are two wing positions: left wing and right wing. In a typical team, these positions are occupied by fast and relatively small players. One of their main jobs in a game are fast attacks.
Rugby league and rugby union
Wingers or wings play on either the extreme left or the extreme right. They are usually the fastest players on the field and score the most tries. Wingers often fall back with the fullback to take kicks from the opposition.There are two wings in a rugby league team, numbered 2 and 5.. There are two wings in a rugby union team, numbered 11 and 14.
See also
- Association football positions
- Rugby league positionsRugby league positionsA rugby league football team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Players are divided into two general categories: "forwards" and "backs"....
- Rugby union positionsRugby union positionsIn the game rugby union, there are fifteen players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs . Depending upon the competition, there may be up to eight replacement players. Early games consisted primarily of forwards that attacked plus a handful of "tends" that played back in defence...