Clear (CLR)

What counts as a clear

A clear is the team's attempt to move the ball from its defensive end into its offensive end after gaining possession there, usually after a save, a ground ball, or a turnover. It is a team stat with a result. A successful clear gets the ball across the midline with possession kept. A failed clear loses the ball before that: a bad pass, a strip, a step out of bounds, or a violation on the way up the field.

A clear starts every time your team gains possession in its own end, so a team that never records failed clears is not clearing perfectly, it is only recording the successes. Clearing percentage, successful clears divided by attempts, is one of the quietest numbers that decides close games, because every failed clear is a possession handed back inside your own half.

How SquadProfile records it

Tap Clear, then Successful or Failed. There is no player to pick, because the clear belongs to the team. If a clear fails on a turnover, record the turnover for the player who lost the ball as well, and the caused turnover for the opponent if you track them. The app records only your side: your failed clear is not recorded as the opponent's successful ride, so record their ride result yourself if you track them. The app keeps clear attempts, successes, and the percentage in the team's stats.

Common mistakes

• Recording only successful clears. The percentage is meaningless without the failures.
• Calling a clear successful because the ball crossed midfield and was lost on the next pass. The team has to keep possession.
• Recording a clear on a possession that started in the offensive end. A clear starts with possession in your own end.

Where it shows up

Clears do not have a column on the public leaderboards or box scores. They appear in the app, in the team's game and season stats, as attempts, successes, and a clearing percentage.

Related stats

• Ride: the other team's attempt to stop your clear.
• Turnover: how most failed clears end.
• Save and ground ball: how most clears begin.