From Attackman of the Year to All-Star midfielder: Inside Grant Ament’s position switch
By Zach Carey | Jul 13, 2024
In 2021, Grant Ament was the PLL’s Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year.
In 2024, he’s an All-Star starter at midfield.
The transition from his natural position has been a fascinating development for the reigning champion Utah Archers over the last two seasons.
After missing time due to a hamstring injury early in the 2023 season, Ament started his first game at midfield against the Redwoods in Fairfield last July. As he played hurt for the majority of the regular season, he flip-flopped from midfield to attack and from attack to midfield depending on the health of the Utah offense and the team’s offensive game plan.
Eventually, once he was getting healthy late in the summer, he put up 17 points in the final five games of the season. That included an 11-point outburst in the Archers’ two-game run to a title – when he played both playoff games at attack.
Entering 2024, it seemed logical that the fully healthy Ament would reclaim his spot at X for the Archers.
Instead, Ament opened the season at midfield with Matt Moore, Connor Fields and Mac O’Keefe starting down low.
It was a move to keep the Fields-O’Keefe duo – who finished third and eighth in points in 2023, respectively – together at attack while ensuring that the club had a strong dodging presence on the right side in Moore.
Importantly, rather than rotating Moore and Ament and playing with matchups as much, the staff decided that those two would own their respective positions in 2024.
For Ament, that’s meant he’s been able to hone in on his position change full-time.
“Understanding that that was my role coming out of training camp and then being able to practice that every week has been really helpful,” he said. “[Each week] last year I was like ‘Am I playing attack? Am I playing midfield?’ I found myself not being able to get into as much of a flow.”
Through five games, the complete switch to midfield has paid off. Ament’s 16 points (9G, 7A) rank second on the team and second among all midfielders.
“He’s risen to the challenge and exceeded it,” Utah head coach Chris Bates said. “Everyone around him is happy to see him be successful because of how hard he’s worked. He’s just been dominant.”
A major component of Ament’s success in 2024 has been his health, which he’s prioritized after last year’s injury-plagued campaign.
“I’ve just done a lot of focusing on the soft tissue injuries as well as my conditioning levels,” he said. “When I’m healthy, I’m confident in myself that especially if there’s a short stick on me, I don’t think there are a lot of short sticks that can run with me and then stay with me in changing direction.”
Hand in hand with being 100% physically has been a laser focus on adapting to the nuances of the midfield position. Dodging against short sticks far more often and playing in different areas of the field have led to adjustments in his game.
At times, Ament has embraced contact when taking short sticks one-on-one before using his explosion to create separation. In a league where SSDMs and defenders in general often aim to win by outmuscling their opponents, he creates problems because he can separate at will.
Ament has also embraced dodging in open space up top. A particularly effective three-step same-hand split dodge which he perfected this offseason has left defenders in the dust. Built off of the two-step split that Paul Rabil and Kyle Harrison spammed, the three-step suits Ament's jitterbug style.
“You go through your two-step footwork, bring your hands over like you’re going to split to the opposite [hand] and then you kind of reject that,” Ament explained. “I started doing it a little bit last year. … Having the ability to do a one-step [jab], a two-step, and then a three-step I think allows me to keep defenders jumping and on their toes and not really being able to predict what my next move is going to be.”
Because defenders are already worried about Ament’s explosiveness when changing direction in a typical two-step right-to-left or left-to-right split dodge, that extra jab step and move back to his same hand is nasty.
The combination of his elite speed and shiftiness with a tactician’s approach to the game has meant Ament’s switch to midfield has yielded impressively positive returns.
“He’s as effective against long sticks as he is against short sticks,” Bates said. “And I think he’s recognized that his game is that much more multidimensional because he can attack from different areas of the field and he’s increased his range on his shot.”
Ament’s 1.8 goals-per-game mark this season far exceeds his career average of one per contest. He even has more goals (nine) than assists (seven) in five games. For a player renowned for his feeding ability, that’s rare.
“Probably never [before] in my career,” he responded with a laugh. “At the same time, it’s good for me to expand my game in a lot of ways. Being able to shoot from a little bit further out and, if I want to have longevity in my career, being able to do some of those other things like being able to operate from all areas of the field are going to be super helpful for me in the long run.”
Despite registering a career-low 26 touches per game, Ament has been more efficient than ever this season. His 3.2 points-per-game mark in 2024 rivals his 3.4 points-per-game average when he was a full-time attackman for the first three years of his career.
Even after his strong start to his total switch to midfield, he’s dialed in on how he can continue to expand his game out of the box.
“I look at it as a lot of green grass ahead,” Ament said. “Now it’s about watching the first five games over again, resetting and figuring out where teams are going to start scouting me differently to limit my production and trying to predict that. And then, ‘OK I’ve gotten really good at these things, what more can I add to my arsenal?’”
The Archers currently lead the Western Conference at the All-Star break. That’s partially due to what a nightmare Ament has been for opposing defenses. He’s become a must-pole at midfield which, alongside Tom Schreiber, is quite the headache for defensive coordinators.
His move to midfield is a testament to his commitment to winning and his diligence as a student of the game. It’s rare that a player who’s been the best in the world at his position switches to something new and unfamiliar. But Ament accepted it for the betterment of the club and has already established himself as one of the best midfielders on the planet in just a couple of months.
