Things you may not know about Hockey
Hockey is a popular sport in schools throughout the United Kingdom with both top level players and amateurs a like improving their games skills by watching Hockey Drill Videos like those you can find at https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Hockey/.
Here are some facts that you may not have been aware of about this historical game:
- Modern day hockey has evolved from a game that grew out of Scotland in the early 19th Century called Shinty.
- Field hockey can be played both indoors and outdoors and is usually played on artificial grass. In the outdoor games there are ten players and a goalkeeper for each team. This differs for indoor hockey where there are four players and a goalkeeper for each team. Similar to how football team numbers differ from those indoors in five-a-side.
- Two referees monitor a match.
- If the ball enters the goal and has been hit from outside of the 16-yard semi-circle area, then the goal is disallowed.
- Unlike football there is no off-side rule in hockey.
- Field hockey was the third most watched sport in the London 2012 Olympics.
- It is a game that is played in 5 continents and over a hundred different countries with over three million players worldwide in total.
- You can score in a number of ways including from a field goal, penalty corner and a penalty stroke.
- Emma Watson and Kate Middleton are amongst a number of high profile celebrities that have played hockey.
- Field hockey is very different from ice hockey.
- Hockey is said to have the fastest swing of all club/racket based sports and can reach up to 103 miles per hour.
- Hockey dates back to 3000 years ago with the earliest version of the sport being played in ancient Greece.
- It is the second most played sport globally following behind football in the first spot.
- Women’s hockey first appeared in the Olympics in 1980 with Zimbabwe winning the first ever gold medal.
- Most gold medals have been won by India with them achieving a total of eight. Six of the gold medals were won in the consecutive period.
- The hockey field is a rectangular shape and is 100 yards by 60 yards or 91.4 metres by 55 metres.
- The first official hockey club opened in Blackheath, London in 1840.
- The game usually consists of four quarters each lasting fifteen minutes.
- The ball is made of a heavy-duty plastic and is around 7.3 centimetres in diameter.
