Top Countries in Hockey

According to the FIH ( International Hockey Federation), in August 2016 the top five men's and women's hockey teams were:

Men's                                                                                                      Women's

1. Australia                                                                                    1. The Netherlands
2. Argentina                                                                                   2. England
3. The Netherlands                                                                        3. Argentina
4. Germany                                                                                    4. Australia
5. Holland                                                                                      5. New Zealand

In the women's category since 2000 it has always been Argentina and The Netherlands battling for the top spot. For the men's since 2002 it has always been between Australia and Germany. However new competition is always approaching, England for the women and the Netherlands and Argentina for the men's.  India is at the top of the men's Olympic medal table with 11 Olympic medals, Germany also have 11 and are in 2nd while Pakistan are 3rd with 8 medals. For the women the Netherlands are at the top with 8 Olympic medals, Australia are 2nd with 3 and Germany are 3rd also with 3. Some of the best hockey players ever in the history of field hockey have come from these countries. To name a few, Luciana Aymar from Argentina, Jamie Dwyer  from Australia and Dhyan Chand from India.

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Jamie Dwyer



Luciana Aymar

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29356515@N00/4797765968

However one thing I have always wondered, being a supporter of field hockey, why are these certain countries such good hockey players? Do they have any historical or geographical benefits? Or is it just thanks to their hard work and effort of themselves and also their coaching staff.

Some may say the Great Britain and India had some historical advantages. This is because the game was first properly played in Great Britain and soon spread to India due to the British Army. This was in the 19th Century. They were one of the few first countries to properly have played the game and so they are very developed when it comes to the game of hockey. However the game has now spread across the world and many new countries are coming out on top.

Another area noticed when looking at the world leaders in hockey over the years were many came

from the Southern Hemisphere for example Australia, Argentina, India, Pakistan, New Zealand. These countries have also produced some of the world's best hockey coaches. Do Southern Hemisphere countries have any advantage over the Northern Hemisphere? This also seen as the case in some other sports for example rugby with the leading team of New Zealand followed by Australia. However after looking in to it, today there is no geographical, historical or any advantages. It just comes down to the work put in. These countries are the leading countries due to their mental attitudes, their tactical awareness and knowledge of the game they are playing, their nutrition and training. That is why they are leading yet at the same time that is why the leader is always changing, because new, hardworking and strong teams are coming through all the times and putting pressure on the leaders. This not only adds competition for the various teams but also excitement for us as viewers and sports fans, in this case hockey fans.

Thank you very much for reading and I hope you all enjoyed my post.

Hockey Equipment and Clothes

As promised, this week I have chosen to talk about the equipment used in the game of field of hockey as well as the clothes the players wear.

Equipment

Every player in hockey is equipped with a stick, a gum shield, shin guards and a glove which is optional. If a player does not have these pieces of equipment they cannot take part in the game.

Hockey sticks

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An average hockey stick is usually around 90 cm in length. In the beginning of hockey sticks were made from hickory, ash or mulberry wood. The top of the stick, known as the shaft, was hand crafted by skilled craftsmen. However since 1992 hockey sticks have been manufactured from a combination of fibreglass, aramid fiber and carbon fiber. Different amounts of each are put in according to certain characteristics needed in the stick. For example the flexibility of the stick, the strength of the stick and other qualities. Popular hockey stick brands include Osaka, Gryphon, Grays, Kookaburra, Dita and Adidas.

Gum shield, Shin guards and Gloves

All of these are used as protection in the game of hockey. The gum shield can also be called a mouth-guard. It is used to protect the players mouth particularly the teeth. Gum-shields are typically made from acrylic. They can either be bought pre packed in sports shops or specifically moulded to the shape of your mouth by certain manufacturers. In order to mould the pre packed gum-shields to fit your mouth, it must be boiled in water to soften it and then cut according to your mouth size.

Shin guards are worn to protect the players shins. These are important to prevent the players shins from getting hit by the hockey ball. Due to the fast pace of the game, it is very often that players need protection here.  Lastly the glove is worn the protect the players fingers. In todays game of hockey, many people have the ability to raise the ball and throw them over long distances with much power. This is why the gloves are needed, in order to protect the people trying to stop these balls. The level of padding in each glove differs in order to facilitate the needs of different players. It is often the case that defensive players wear gloves with more padding to protect themselves from the powerful shots of the attackers. Meanwhile some players may only wear the gloves in order to keep their hands warm during the winter months. Gloves can be worn on either one hand or both hands, whichever is the personal preference of the player. A player may even decide not to wear a glove at all, it is up to them.

Hockey gear

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Traditionally in men's hockey, the players wear a jersey and shorts whereas women wear a jersey and a skort. The jersey worn is either representing the school they are playing for, their club or their country, one of the greatest honours of any athlete.

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 The goalkeeper however has completely different gear. They wear the most padding as they are the most exposed player in the whole game. It is their job o protect the goal. This involves saving shots from the attackers, shots that are of incredibly high pace. It is estimated that the ball travels at around 150 kph. The equipment that they wear includes chest padding, foot padding called kickers, padded shorts, hand padding, a helmet, leg guards, neck guard and a crotch pad ( optional).

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed my post.





The Rules of Hockey

For this weeks post, seeing as I have already talked about the history of hockey and the pitches themselves, it only seemed right that I would now talk about the rules of hockey.

The Basics

The main aim of the game of hockey is to get the ball into the goal, however there are basic rules that we need to follow in order to allow this to happen.

• 

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  Each team consists of 11 players, including the goalkeeper
• The game is split into two halves of time, usually around 35 minutes.
• In hockey you can make as many substitutions as you like. This is called ' rolling substitutions'.
• The aim is to score more goals then the opposing team, to do this the ball must cross the goal line of the goal.
• All goals only count if the shot was taken from inside the striking circle.
• The ball can only be moved using the flat part of the hockey stick. If the other side is used a free is given against the team due to 'back stick'.
• The ball can also not be picked up using your hands or kicked by your feet. If it hits the foot at anytime it is a free the other way.
• If the ball goes out along the pitch anywhere, it is a free to the team that did not hit it out. 
• If this happens in the attacking 25 then a free is taken along the 25 yard line. This is called a long corner.
• When a free is taken, the defending players must be 5 yards in distance away from the person taking the free.
• No rough contact for example pushing, tripping or shoving is allowed in the game of hockey. If the referee sees this this then a free can be given to the other team.
• When a player is making a tackle they must make contact with the ball, not the stick. If they make contact with the stick, this is a stick tackle and a free will be awarded to the other team. 
• You can also not block a person from getting the ball using your body. This is known as obstruction.         

These are the basic rules of hockey that any beginner would need to know. As the level of hockey increases you will be introduced to more rules of the game.



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• When in the striking circle, if a shot on goal is taken inside the circle, hits off a defenders stick and goes in, this counts as a goal. It is called an own goal. However if the shot is taken from outside the circle and hits off the defenders stick, it does not count.
• If the ball is raised in the circle and it is considered dangerous then a free will be awarded to the team that didn't raise the ball.
• If a player is fouled anywhere in the circle they may be offered either a stroke or a short corner. A stroke is taken from the penalty spot while short corners are a little more complicated.
• If any offense is made by a player there are a number of circumstances. They may get a warning from the referee, a green card, a yellow card or a red card. 
• A  green card means the player is off for two minutes, a yellow is five minutes and a red card is off the rest of the game. If a player receives two green cards they equal a yellow card.

Short Corners

Video courtesy of Field hockey tube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvXPRqThXMHUhVz08dtyAgw

A short corner may be awarded to the attacking team for a number of reasons. These include if the ball hits a foot in the circle, if a defending player hits the ball out deliberately over the end line or if a foul is committed in the circle. 

• A short corner consists of 5 or sometimes more attacking players lined up around the outline of the circle, while there are 4 defenders along with the goalkeeper in the goal.
•  An attacking player called the pusher, pushes the ball out from to push spot to a player at the top of the circle.
•  This player is called the stopper or the trapper. They stop the ball in order to allow the next player known as the hitter to hit the ball at the goal.
• There is also players and the left and the right to whom the hitter can also pass to.
• Meanwhile the 4 defenders run out after the ball has been pushed in order to prevent a goal from being scored.
• If a defender runs too early, they have 'broken the line' and they are sent to the halfway line.
• Also when the stopper is stopping the ball, it must be stopped outside of the circle and pushed in for it to count.

Short corners are the best opportunity for an attacking team to score. It can also be quite dangerous for the defending teams. In order to provide them some protection defenders wear short corners masks to protect there faces.

I hope you enjoyed this post and have learned a little bit more about how the game of hockey works. In my next post I will be talking more about the equipment used in hockey by the players.

Thank you for reading.






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Hockey Pitches

For this weeks post I have decided to talk about hockey pitches as it is important to know the surface on which hockey is played on.




© Copyright Duncan Gray and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Hockey matches used to be played on natural turf surfaces for example turf however nowadays they are played on artificial turf surfaces.This change was made in the 1970's when the International  Hockey Federation made it mandatory for all important matches to be played on artificial turf surfaces. These include any national and international matches. These changes were said to have been made by the FIH in order to allow the ball to move easier and therefore helping the flow of hockey matches.

There are two main types of pitches on which hockey is play: a sand based pitch and a water based pitch. The sand based pitch is the cheaper option however the water based pitch is the widely more preferred option. This is because it is regularly watered by sprinklers hidden underneath the surface of the pitch. This prevents the pitch from being too dry. It also wets the turf and has shorter fibers which allow the ball to move faster. The water based pitch allows the game of hockey to be played at a faster pace and usually high quality. However the constant watering of the pitch adds to the high cost of water based pitches. For elite competitions, such as the World Cup and the Olympic games, a water based pitch is mandatory. Researchers are currently looking for a new kind of surface to play hockey on as the high levels of water used is not sustainable for future generations.

                  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6S7h90YvJCwNLArZzg_DIQ

 TigerTurf Asia Pacific - Synthetic Sports Turf Specialists

A hockey pitch is rectangular in shape. It must be 100 yards ( 91 m) in length and 60 yards ( 55 m) in width. The length of the pitch is marked by a sideline which runs from end to end, while the width is marked by an end-line/ a baseline which runs from side to side. These markings are always done in white. On a hockey pitch there are also three lines which run from side to side of the pitch. On of these is the halfway line which marks the halfway point of the pitch. The other two are the 23 yard lines at either end. There is one at each end of the pitch .Finally there are two penalty circles at each end of the pitch. These are also known as the 'D' because of its D shape. This marks the area from where the players can shoot from. Inside each circle or 'D', there is a goal. The goal consists of two standing posts that are joined together at the top by a crossbar and are attached together at the bottom by a backboard. Lastly there is also a small white circle inside each 'D' found just in front of the goal. This is the penalty spot where a penalty stroke is taken from. 

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I hope that this all made sense to you and I hope that you enjoyed reading my post. The next one will be out very shortly.
Thank you for reading

The Origins of Hockey

The Origins of Hockey

For my first post I thought it would only be right to talk about the history of hockey, to see where it all began and how it has grown and expanded over the years. I, being a hockey player myself have always wondered this and so I decided to find out.

Even though they are drawings found in caves of men playing a simpler version of hockey which date back 4,000 years, the game of field hockey that we know today was only modernized in the 1700's in England.  The game was introduced to primary school children and soon became a popular sport. In fact the first professional hockey club was founded in England in 1849. It was Blackheath hockey club in London. However, like any sport, many changes were made to the game of hockey over the years before it was the game it was today. For example another hockey club called Teddington changed the shape of the ball from a rough cube to the spherical ball we all know today. They also introduced the striking circle, now know as 'the D' where we shoot from in order to score goals. Over the years as the British Empire began to grow, so did the game of field hockey.



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The first ever international hockey match took place in 1895 with Wales versus Ireland. In the end Ireland won 3-0. Field hockey was first introduced for men in the 1908 Olympics in London. However at the time there were only three team: England of course along with Ireland and Scotland. The game was dropped in 1924 but later permanently made apart of the Olympics in 1928 in Amsterdam. However it wasn't until further down the road that women's hockey came out and made part of the Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980.

Uploaded on 23 Aug 2010

From Leni Riefenstahl's "Olympia: Festival of Beauty

Today hockey is the second largest team sport in the world and it is played in over 100 countries. It is the third most popular sport in the world and approximately 2 billion people in the world today play field hockey. The governing body of international hockey, the International Hockey Federation, known as the FIH, is still the same group that was made in France all those years back in 1924. However a few things have changed. Back then its original members included France, Belgium, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary and        Switzerland. Today the FIH has 112 members.  

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the origins of field hockey and are looking forward to my next post on my blog: The Geography of Hockey.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time....




Hi everyone


My name is Emily and this is my Blog. I have made this Blog to talk about the geography of hockey. On this Blog I will be talking about hockey from all aspects, where it came from, where it is today and different facts about the sport itself.




I hope you enjoy it.