Hockey players must possess superior physical conditioning, good team spirit and amazing hand-eye coordination if they wish to compete at the international level.
Most communities and schools provide a variety of recreational and competitive opportunities to try field hockey. For more information on how to get involved, please visit http://www.fieldhockey.ca for a listing of Field Hockey Clubs in your area.
Hockey is played on natural, grass fields and synthetic “turf” surfaces. Two teams of eleven players each attempt to outscore their opponents by successfully shooting the ball into their opponent’s goal.
The team with the most goals at the end of the 70-minute match wins the game. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, an overtime period is played in which the first team to score, the ‘golden goal’, is declared the winner.
If at the end of overtime the teams are still tied, a penalty stoke play-off competition is played. Players from each team are awarded a series of penalty strokes against the opposing goalkeeper and the team with the most goals is the winner.
Players must be able to control, pass, push, hit and stop the ball while only using the flat face or edge of their stick.
Players are prohibited from touching the ball with the rounded side of the stick, their feet or any other part of their body. Only goalies, when defending their own circle, are permitted to use their stick, legs, feet, hands and body to stop the ball.
If a player violates a rule, they may be penalized with a free hit awarded to the opposition, a green card, a yellow card or a red card.
The term ‘hockey’ is thought to have originated from the French word ‘hocquet’ meaning shepard’s crook or “crooked” stick.
The first known hockey organizations were formed in Great Britain before it was carried to the four corners of the British Empire by soldiers and other workers.
A men’s field hockey competition has been contested at every Summer Olympic Games since 1920, with the women’s competition added at the 1980 Olympic Games.
Results for Field Hockey |
Typical Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Vertical Jump | (Explosive Power) | Medium |
| Sit and Reach | (Flexibility) | Medium |
| 800m Run | (Aerobic Fitness) | Medium |
| Partial Curl-Ups | (Muscular Endurance) | Low |
| 30m Sprint | (Speed) | High |
| Stork Stand | (Balance) | High |
| T-Drill | (Agility) | Low |
| Basketball Throw | (Strength) | High |
