Over a third of a century of writing about scholastic field hockey, I have gained a great appreciation of perhaps the most hazardous and thankless job on a hockey pitch.
That job is one which requires you to sprint off your goal line to a location about 15 yards up the pitch and react to what the opponents are doing on their corner attack play. The ball, which is made of hard plastic, can sometimes come at you at more than 60 miles an hour, or can be made to dance around the perimeter of the striking circle like a housefly.
The corner flyer is the “alpha dog” of the corner defense unit, and, as such, can make life difficult for the opposition without the same kind of protection afforded goalkeepers (modern masks and gauntlets notwithstanding).
Flyers tend to be more impactful in the scholastic game, where the opposing routines are a little less sophisticated and tend to unfold a little slower than on water-based turf. They are impactful on teams whose penalty corner defense units have been extremely good over the years, such as with the programs of Edgewater South River (Md.) and Summit Oak Knoll (N.J.), which have been consistently excellent over the years in defending corners.
Individually, I first got a sense of the commitment and sacrifice of the corner flyer watching the game in the capital region of New Jersey. One of the more outstanding flyers I saw was Stephanie Harvilla, out of Hightstown Peddie School (N.J.). She was uncanny in her ability to sniff out what defenses were doing, and was one of the most fearless people in the business.
I also really like what Julia Reinprecht did as a corner flyer for the U.S. senior women’s national team during her international career, which had 154 international appearances. The former Princeton star was a constant thorn in the side of opposing corner attack units, even with corner inserts getting to the top of the circle in less than a second and a half.
Which brings us to yesterday’s tripleheader in PIAA District 3. There was some amazing defense propogated by the corner defense units. I particularly liked what West Perry attacking midfielder Jordan Byers did in their win over Boiling Springs, as well as what Northern York’s Olivia Anderson did during a losing effort aganst Warwick. Both were outstanding not only on corner defense, but both managed goals during these championship games.
In these last weeks of the 2024 domestic field hockey season, keep an eye on corner flyers. They will play an enormous role in the outcomes of games, taking pressure off goalkeepers and keeping clean sheets for their teams.
