I.

History of Hockey

Today we are familiar with several of hockey forms, including field hockey,

ice hockey, roller hockey and indoor hockey. The most popular one is ice hockey,
especially in Canada. Regardless of the forms, hockey is a team sport in which two
teams play against each other by controlling a ball or a puck trying to get it into the
opponent’s goal. All players use hockey sticks during a game.

It is impossible to claim the exact time of the birth of hockey. We will probably
never know for sure, but there are records of people participating in this kind of
game about 4000 years ago. Since ball-stick games are as old as our civilization, the
earliest origins may be from China, Persia or Egypt. Archeologists discovered that an
early form of the ball-and-stick game was played in Greece the 5th century BC. At
the time when Europeans sailed across the Atlantic and started settling North
America, they discovered that Native Indian people had their games which were
precursors of lacrosse. Furthermore, some museums today showcase evidence that

hockey was played by Aztecs centuries before Columbus even discovered the New
World.

“Games played with curved sticks and ball can be traced all the way back to the
Ancient Egypt and Greece, but the earliest example of a modern version of Hockey
first originated in middle ages. The modern version of the game which is played on
Ice, grass, and fields of various surface types was solidified in the 19th century when
first governing organizations and international competitions were formed .”

The name “hockey” is thought to be derived from the French hoquet meaning
“ shepherd’s stave”, however, there are a couple of suppositions of which none have
been evidenced. The second supposition derives from the use of cork bangs, called
stoppers, in place of wooden balls to play the game. These objects came from
barrels containing hock ale, also known as hocky. Still, though, the origin of
“hockey” remains unclear.

J. G. Creighton was the Canadian from Halifax, Nova Scotia who created

the first set of rules of ice hockey about 140 years ago. Upon arriving in Montreal, he
presented hockey sticks and skates which were patented by Nova Scotia company
in 1866. The skates featured rounded blades held onto boots by metal clamps, which
had not been seen ever before. The very first game of ice hockey played in Canada
was in 1875 at Victoria Skating Rink, in which the new rules were implemented. Just
a couple of years later, Mr. Creighton’s rules were revised at McGill University in
Montreal. Eventually, it was decided that the game would be held indoors for the first
time, due to the belief that ice hockey had to be played on ponds only. Otherwise,
people could get badly hurt. Creighton handled the issue by creating a flat and
circular piece of wood, that is the first hockey puck. It provided players with better
control over a ball, and it decreased the chance of injuring spectators during a game.

Ice hockey is Canada’s national winter sport. The country undoubtedly

contributed to this sport more than any other so we could say this their tendency to
regard ice hockey as their national sport is entirely justified. The national hockey
league of North America, called NHL is the highest level for men’s hockey and thus
the most popular. In Russia and the most of Europe, the highest league is called
Kontinental Hockey League. The formal governing body of International ice hockey is
the International Ice Hockey Federation.

The modern game was formed in the middle of 19th century by British soldiers
stationed in Canada. During the next 30 years, many leagues and amateur clubs
were organized in Canada. By the beginning of the 20th century, ice hockey spread
to England and the rest of European countries. Today, the sport is highly popular in
Eastern Europe and North America.

Soft hockey has been played in the ancient period by different nations and
under different names. It is known that over the last five hundred years the sport has
been widely played in India and in rural areas of undeveloped parts of the world
where the lack of proper infrastructure eliminates the probability for playing field
hockey. In the past, villagers were mixing the bamboo and homemade rubber to
make softballs. One of the reasons the sport enjoyed such a popularity was that it
didn’t require many players and the equipment for the game was very simple. One of
the more advantageous sides of softball was smaller chances of sustaining injuries,
compared to other similar games. The game was played by pushing the ball instead
of hitting it, to avoid sending the ball out of the field and into bushes and ponds,
which would lead to a longer recovering from the ball. Over the last couple of
centuries, the sport has been modified and developed into other separate sports like
croquet, lacrosse, shinty, field hockey, etc. According to sources, the countries
which mostly contributed to the development of hockey were Great Britain and
France, where field hockey remains to be a popular summer sport. During cold, harsh
winters in Europe, it was not uncommon to see young athletes play the version of
this sport on ice. In the 17th century, the game started becoming popular in Holland
and then later on it started to take hold in England as well.

“Games played with curved sticks and ball can be traced all the way back to the
Ancient Egypt and Greece, but the earliest example of a modern version of Hockey
first originated in middle ages. The modern version of the game which is played on
Ice, grass, and fields of various surface types was solidified in the 19th century when
first governing organizations and international competitions were formed.”

The first Olympic Hockey Competition for men took place in London in

1908 where all of the United Kingdom countries were competing separately. Another
two countries which participated as well were Germany and France. However, after
London Olympics, the game was dropped from 1912 games held in Stockholm due to
the preferences of other ‘optional sports’ by the host country. Several years later, in
1920, the ice hockey reappeared in Antwerp but was again neglected in Paris in
1924, despite the formation of the International Hockey Federation that same year.
Ultimately, hockey was granted re-entry in Amsterdam in 1928 and has been on the
program ever since. As for the women’s hockey, the first time it was included in the
Olympic program was in Moscow in 1980.

Since the Olympics held in Sydney (2000), men athletes have competed in 12-
team tournaments and women in a 10-team one.

Another hockey sport, which was played for the first time in the city of Kent,
England at the beginning of the 20th century, is called “ roller skate hockey”. Apart
from several European countries, the sport presently enjoys popularity in South
America, Angola, and Mozambique. The International Federation of roller skate
hockey was created in 1924. The sport may be played on roller skates or roller
blades. Two teams comprise of six players each, so it closely resembles ice hockey.
However, it is played on asphalt or an indoor skating rink with a ball. The minimum
size of the playing area is minimally set to be 65 x 35 feet while the maximum size is
100 x 200 feet. Same as indoor hockey, the game starts with a face-off after a coin is
tossed. The players’ positions are a goalie, two forwards, center and two defenders.
All players wear matching jerseys, as well as a face mask, shin guards, hockey
gloves and helmets with a chin strap. They may also use a mouthpiece, but it is
optional.
 Indoor hockey is very similar to field hockey but only adapted for indoor play.
However, the same playing style can be applied outdoors if the surface is flat, hard
and asphalted. Each team is created out of six players, and the game has two
periods of 20 minutes. One of the rules of the game is that the ball must only be
pushed and not hit with the stick. Additionally, the ball may just rise from the surface
while attempting to score a goal from the striking circle. The game starts with a
lateral pass from the team which loses a toss-up.

II. How to Play the Hockey

Hockey is a team sport played on a large surface of ice. Players

wear ice skates with sharp blades that glide smoothly along the ice
surface. Sticks in hand, player’s battle to put the puck past the goalie
into the opposing teams’ net.
 Each team has anywhere from 12 to 30+ players with at least one
designated goalie. Players are designated as either defensive or
offensive players. Each team has three forwards on the ice, a center,
right wing and left wing, two defensive players and a goalie. That is

unless a team is shorthanded because of a penalty.

Middle Circle:

Where face-offs are taken at the start of each period and after a goal is
scored.

Centre Line:

The red-dotted line in the middle of the rink.

Blue Lines:

Lines that create each teams zone. The space between the blue lines, in
the center, is called the ‘neutral zone’. If a player crosses the blue line
into the opposing teams zone before the puck, the referee will call offside
and play will be stopped.

Blue Line Dots:

Mainly for offside, puck out of bounds and penalty face-offs.

Zone circles:

Where face-offs take place after the goalie freezes the puck, an icing call,
puck out of bounds, penalties, etc.

 EQUIPMENT HEAD to TOE

 Helmet and Mask – To protect your head!

 Mouth Guard – To protect those pearly whites!
 Neck Guard – To protect your neck and throat
 Shoulder Pads – To protect your shoulders and chest
 Elbow Pads – To protect you elbows from the hard ice!
 Gloves – Padded gloves to protect your wrists and fingers
 Hockey Pants – Padded pants to protect your upper legs and bum
 Jock/Jill – A very important piece of equipment, protects your groin
area.
 Garter Belt – Used to hold up your socks
 Shin Pads – Protect your knees and shins
 Socks – Covers your shin pads
 Skates – Protects your feet and gets you around on the ice!
 Stick – A left or right-handed stick used to stickhandle, pass and shoot
the puck.

 PENALTIES

 Minor Penalties
When any player, except the goalie, is ruled off the ice for two
or four minutes after illegal contact with another player or any other
misconduct (a player sits off if a goalie is penalized). If the
shorthanded team is scored on, the penalized player is allowed back
on the ice.

 Major Penalties
Five minute majors are given after fights. If a goal is scored
against the shorthanded team, the play must remain in the penalty
box.

 Penalty Shot
Awarded to a player if they are illegally contacted while on a
breakaway or during a legitimate chance to score. A player starts at
center ice with the puck, skates toward the net and tries to put it
past the goalie into the net.
  Misconduct Penalties
Occur when a player is overly aggressive toward the opposing
team. A player can also be given a misconduct penalty if they attack
the referee verbally or physically.

 TYPES OF PENALTIES
o Boarding - When a player hits another player violently against the
boards

o Charging - Lining a player up from a distance and then hitting them

o Cross-Checking – Hitting another player with two hands on your stick,

using the stick as a weapon

o Delayed Penalty - When a team purposely tries to run the clock, by

holding the puck or intentionally shooting it out of bounds

o Elbowing – Hitting another player bluntly with an elbow

o Hand Pass – When a player uses a hand to pass the puck to a

teammate

o High Sticking – When a player’s stick strikes an opposing player above

their shoulders

o Hitting from behind - When a player hits another player illegally from
behind

o Holding – When a player illegally holds an opposing player

o Hooking – When a player hooks their stick around an opposing player

o Interference – When a player illegally contacts a play that does not

have possession of the puck. Also called when a player interferes with
the opposing goalie

o Slashing – When a player uses their stick to hit an opposing player

o Spearing – Hitting an opponent illegally with the players stick or body

o Tripping – When a player intentionally trips an opposing player

 RULES OF HOCKEY
Hockey is a game that is played around the world by many countries.
Some of the top hockey playing nations includes India, Pakistan, New
Zealand, Netherlands and Great Britain. The pinnacle of the sport comes in
the form of the Olympics where it has been one of the top attended sports
since its reinstating in 1928.

 Object of the Game

The object of hockey is to hit a ball with a stick into a goal. Every time
the ball goes into the goal then a point is awarded to that team. The team with
the most goals at the end of the game is awarded the winner. In the event of
both teams scoring the same amount of goals then a draw is called.

 Players & Equipment

Each team consist of 11 players. It’s split up into 1 goalkeeper and 10
outfield players. The outfield players will consist of defenders, midfielders and
attackers. The amount of each position will vary deepening on the formation
that the team adopts. It’s not massively uncommon for a team to have no
goalkeeper at the end of game if they are trying to push for a win or a losing
the match.

The pitch is 100 yards long and 60 yards wide. It has three lines running
across the width of the pitch which are two 25 yard lines and a half way line
to signify to players the certain sections of the pitch. At each end the pitch
will include a goal which is 4 yards wide. Around the goal is a 16 yard line
which is the only sections on the pitch that players are permitted to shoot
from. A goal scored outside the 16 yard line will not be awarded and the ball
turned over.

A hard ball is used in hockey along with each player having a wooden
stick. Only the flat side of the stick can be sued and a foul will be called for
any player using the back. The stick can be turned around in the players to hit
the ball both ways. For protection players wear shin pads and gum shields.
Goal keepers wear a lot more padding due to ball flying in their direction more
often. A face mask, helmet, padded gloves, chest pad and leg guards are all
part of the attire for a goalkeeper. Some players do wear eye and face masks
as well.

 Scoring
A goal is scored when a player hits the ball in between the goal posts
and over the line from within the 16 yard area. The ball must be struck with
the players stick and any use of the body will be called as an infringement.

Goals can be scored from penalty corners which are awarded when a
foul is committed in the 16 yard area. From a penalty corner the defending
team all line up on their goal line. The attacking team must all be outside the
16 yard area when one player hits the ball to them from 10 yards either side of
the goal line. As the ball is played back a team mate stops the ball before
another strikes at goal.
  Winning the Game
The game is decided by the team with the most goals at the end of the
game. Each game lasts for two 35 minute halves with a 5 minute rest in
between. In the event of the scores being the same at the end of the 70
minutes then the game will end in a draw.

 Rules of Field Hockey

 Each team is made up of 11 players and 6 substitutes.
 Every player has a hockey stick of which they can only use one side of
the stick to hit the ball.
 A gaol is scored when the ball is successfully hit into the opponent’s
goal from within the 16 yard area.
 The ball must be passed or dribbled using the stick and no other body
part is allowed to intentionally come into contact with the ball.
 A foul or infringement is called when a player:
o Purposely tries to hit the ball off another player with the intent of
causing harm to that player.
o Intentionally uses a body part to assist in moving or stopping the
ball.
o Hits the ball with the rounded side of their hockey stick.
o Raise their stick above waist height.
o Hit their stick off their opponents to interfere with play.