Hockey- A game of strategy and euphoria

The game of hockey is quite popular around the world. It is, in fact, the second-largest team sport, after soccer, that is played in over 100 countries. You can see the first glimpse of the sport in many of our schools and at an early stage too. In other countries, it is played amongst men and women in a sports club. This sport portrays a perfect blend of sporting and social orientation for anyone and everyone associated with it. It has been in existence for quite a while now and people enjoy it thoroughly. It is normally played on fields of grass or turf and in some cases (competitions), on an indoor stadium. Many people believe that Hockey is India’s National Game. Although it is not true, it might become the National Game in the future. Predominantly, Hockey is a game of a stick, which is carved out of a woodblock and a ball. The goal in the game is to pass the ball and cross through the opponent player’s goal point, landing within the net that covers it. Similarly, other players try to snatch the ball away from you so that they can score a goal. This game requires the team to work in harmony and in excellent coordination so as to score more goals and win the game.

The game involves 11 members on both sides. The sport is played on a stand pitch of dimensions 100 x 60 yards. The ball is usually about 23cm in circumference. The sticks that are used to play the game weigh something between 340 grams to 790 grams and their height is something between 28 inches to 39 inches. These sticks are not straight rather their heads are rounded in order to play keep the ball in possession as they play on the field.

Unlike Badminton, Hockey requires specialized protective gears in order to play. These include gloves, kickers, pads, helmet (for goalkeepers), shin guards and mouth guards (for outfield players) and full body armours.   

In terms of the rules of this game, it is quite similar to that of soccer. The only difference is when it comes to the medium. Here, you cannot use your legs to score a goal rather you need to use the stick to score a goal. The 11 members of a team include forwards, defenders, midfielders and a goalkeeper. The only exception is the goalkeeper since they can use both their hands and feet alongside their stick to stop the opposing team from scoring a goal.

As mentioned earlier, a standard field for hockey is of the dimensions of 100 yards by 60 yards. The field is approximately 5027 square meters in area and it is rectangular in shape. Sidelines are the long perimeter side and back lines are the short perimeter side. Goal lines are the area that falls between the goalposts. 

It would be more helpful if you get familiar with the jargon from the sport of Hockey. A few have been stated below: 

Advancing − Penalty laid on the player for hitting the ball with any part of the body.

Attacker − Anyone who is trying to score a goal is said to be an attacker. 

Back-line − Line that marks the width for the field is called as the back-line.

Center pass − Once any team scores a goal; a free hit occurs. It is called a center pass. Pass-back is another term used for this scenario.

Sounds interesting, right? But even though it is interesting; you need proper guidance to learn this sport. This is where Sports Management Centre steps in for you. We, at SMC, provide our children with the best-in-class guidance for various sports offered at our facility. Not only that; but we pride ourselves in the amazing environment and infrastructure of international standards that we provide our children with. Our efforts are paying off and we are happy to keep increasing our community. We hope to see your child enjoying this sport with us.    

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