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Have You Heard of Field Hockey?

 

“Are you nervous?” asks Emma’s mom. “A little bit. I’ve had a lot of fun at practice this week and I can’t wait to play with my friends! I just hope I don’t miss the ball.”

 

Emma, sitting in the back seat of her mom’s car, clutches her field hockey stick and imagines herself running down the field dribbling the ball. Her friends and teammates Rachel, running beside her, and Molly, running in front of her, calling “Go Emma! You have a flat and a through pass if you need them!”

 

“Emma…Emma!” calls her mom from the front of the car. “Sorry mom! I was just picturing the game in my head.” replied Emma. “Well that’s good because we are here. Are you ready?” asks Emma’s mom. Emma replies “Oh yea! I am so ready!”

 

There are many options when it comes to choosing a sport to play. There’s soccer, football, ice hockey, track, softball, baseball…and to introduce a new one, field hockey.

 

It doesn’t matter how old you are because you are never too young to start something new!


 

 

Field hockey is similar to ice hockey with the exception of some rules, equipment, and where it is played. It is also becoming increasingly popular among not only the upper level teams but also younger, beginner teams. The ultimate goal of the game is to work the ball down the field and get it in the goal. The team with the most goals wins!

 

Here is some equipment you would need:

  • Field hockey stick

  • Shin guards

  • Field hockey ball

  • Mouth guard

  • Cleats or sneakers

 

A field hockey stick is unique in which one side of the stick is flat and the other side of the stick is curved. One of the biggest rules in field hockey is that you can only use the flat side of the stick to touch the ball. This is not to say that field hockey is easy or hard, but if you want to challenge your hand eye coordination and mental game, field hockey is your kind of game!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The shin guards are used to protect your shin bones from the ball that is weighted pretty well. That is not supposed to frighten you though! The ball is weighted so that it travels well when you are moving it. If it barely weighed anything it would be challenging to maneuver.


 

The mouth guard is also there to protect your teeth in the rare case that that ball reaches your mouth if the ball is lifted too high. Mouth guards are pretty cool these days where some of them are flavored and some are so thin you don’t even notice it is there!

 

The type of shoes you would need depend on what you think is the most comfortable. Cleats are good for grass fields and sneakers are good for turf fields. Yet, whatever you decide will work for field hockey!

 

To introduce some of the rules, as mentioned before, you can only use the flat side of the stick. Therefore, the ball cannot touch the rounded part of your stick. Also, the ball cannot touch your feet, shins, or any other part of your body because it is dangerous and will be called a foul.

 

Another rule is that you cannot take your stick and hit it on a different persons stick in order to get the ball from them. That is called stick tackling or hacking.

 

Another important rule in field hockey is you cannot block your opponent out from getting the ball from you. As some of you may know, this can be done in soccer to prevent someone from taking the ball from you. Yet, if you do this in field hockey, the referee will call a block out foul and the other team will get the ball.

 

There are other rules in field hockey that you will learn through your coach and through playing the game with your teammates and your friends. Field hockey is a great opportunity to make lasting friendships and learn a sport that you could end up playing until you can’t play anymore.

 

 

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