Great sport! (Hockey - General)

Member Name: B_O_M_B_A_

Product:	Hockey - General
Date:	25/07/08 (51 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast and easy to pick up

Disadvantages: Can get bad injuries and not as widely accepted as other sports

Background -

From a very young age I was always a very good sprinter, I won an AAA award at the age of 10 but I started to become slightly bored and wanted to play a game with more team involvement. At school we were introduced to numerous different games such as football, rugby, cricket and basketball which I enjoyed playing but never really got into. At the age of 12 I was introduced to field Hockey. Now many people have the idea that hockey is a 'Girly sport' and only softies play it, but I can assure you that unless you have been hit with a solid wooden stick, or in the head by a ball as hard as a cricket ball travelling at around 80mph in the head you have no idea how tough the game can be. I thoroughly enjoyed hockey and went from being the School Captain to County Captain which lead me on to playing for an adult team at the age of 15.

I did carry this on until university but at that point everyone seemed to only play for the social side and had not really a lot of interest in the game which disappointed me, I enjoyed the social side but I was mainly there for the game, after all its what I signed up for. Unfortunately I do not play hockey anymore but am hoping to start up again soon.

History -

The governing body is the 116 member International Hockey Federation (FIH). Field Hockey has been played at every Olympic Games since 1908 (except 1924). The modern field hockey sticks are J-shaped and constructed of a composite of wood, glass fibre or carbon fibre and have a curved hook at the playing end, a flat surface on the playing side and curved surface on the other and should come up to around the players waist.

Some 4000-year-old drawings in Egypt show a game resembling field hockey being played. Whilst the more modern field hockey appeared in the mid-18th century in England, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became firmly established. The first club was created in 1849 at Black heath and is now both India's and Pakistan's National game.

The Game -

The Game is played in two halves each 35 minutes in length. Like in most sports at half time the teams swap ends to ensure the game is fair and the winner is the team who score the most goals.

Each team consists of 11 players, 10 on field and one goalie, who isn't allowed to leave the shooting circle. The game is played on traditionally a grass pitch but is now more often played on Astroturf measuring 91.40 m × 55 m (100 × 60 yard) rectangular field. At each end of the pitch is a goal 2.14 m (7 feet) high and 3.66 m (12 feet) wide, and an approximately semi-circular area 14.63 m (16 yards) from the goal known as the shooting circle, this is the area you have to be within to shoot and if you score outside of this it is a 'Sixteen' to the other team, which pretty much means a goal kick although any member of the team is allowed to hit the ball out. This is due to the fact that the goal keeper is covered in a very large amount of padding and would find it very difficult to get a good swing at the ball, although they do occasionally if a small pass is required. There are three types of passes which are push (simply push the ball with the flat edge of the stick), a strike (hit the ball with the thick, curved end of the stick) or a flick (get the stick under the ball and get a small amount of lift)

Like football if the ball is knocked off the pitch at the goal end of the fields by a defender there is a long corner, which is very much like a corner in football but it is take from around 2 metres up the long side of the pitch. There are also short corners; these are given if a foul is committed within the shooting circle by the defending team. The ball is placed near the goal, about 2 metres further in than the shooting circle. Around 6 attacking players then stand at the top of the 'D' (shooting circle). At the same time around 5 defending players stand on the goal line inside the goal ready to run out.

The person pushing the corner out then does a push pass out to one of the attackers who stops it just outside the 'D' and then will try to push it just within the 'D' ready for another attacker to strike it from within the 'D' and score a goal. However it isn't always very easy because as soon as the ball is pushed out the defenders are allowed to run out. The person who runs to the striker is called 'one', whilst number 'two' runs just behind them to prevent anyone running around the back. There are also push in's which are very much like throw ins, members of the other team have to be 5 metres away.

If time runs out extra time of 20 minutes a half is played and then if no one wins during that period it goes to a penalty shoot out. 5 players have to either push or flick the ball at the goalie from around 3 metres.

Fouls -

There are various fouls that can be committed and here is a list of the main ones. It is usually down to other referees discretion as to whether he thinks a foul has been committed.

Lifting the ball dangerously (the ball rises above waist height)
Swinging your stick dangerously
Touching the ball with your feet
Hitting the ball with the reverse side of your stick (curved side)
Picking up the ball

Kit -

Team coloured polo neck
Shorts
Socks
Shin pads, usually longer than football shin pads, they usually cover your ankles)
Hockey Stick
Hockey glove for left hand (For when you do a reverse stop)
Mouth Guard

Overall - I love them game of hockey and anyone that gives it a chance will enjoy it too. You can pick up hockey sticks for around £20 although if you are taking the game seriously they can reach around £200 for an exceptional one which aims to reduce vibration up the stick when you strike it. There are local clubs dotted all around the UK and there are clubs for all levels and ages. The game is fast paced and if suitable for boys and girls alike, there are just as many mixed teams as there are single sex teams.

I hope this has been a good insight into the world of hockey.

Summary: Great fun!