Analysis of Ball Possession and Shooting Frequency in the Men's Indoor Hockey Matches at the 2023 SEA Games

Abstract

Ball possession in field/indoor hockey is a team's ability to protect the ball from opponents, an aspect that is often overlooked along with its correlation to securing a victory. Meanwhile, shooting frequency refers to the total number of shots—both on-target and off-target—executed by a team toward the opponent's goal, which is also linked to a team's winning outcome in a match. This study aims to determine the impact and level of ball possession and shooting frequency on victory in the 2023 Sea Games men's hockey tournament. This study employed a descriptive quantitative research design conducted through observational analysis of match video documents. The research instrument included a personal computer (PC) setup utilized for match video observation. The population of this study comprised the men's indoor hockey matches at the 2023 Sea Games, with a sample consisting of 8 match videos from the men's category sourced from the Thailand Hockey Association's official YouTube channel. The findings indicated that teams with higher ball possession secured victories in approximately 62.5% of the matches, while 37.5% of the winning teams had lower ball possession. Regarding shooting frequency, teams that won with a higher frequency of shots accounted for 87.5%, whereas only 12.5% won the match with a lower shooting frequency. This study concludes that a higher shooting frequency correlates with a greater winning probability, provided that the shots are precisely directed on-target.