Hockey E-Book

Jane Powell

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 226

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Crowood Sports Guides provide sound, practical advice that will make you a better player, whether you are learning the basic skills, discovering more advanced techniques or reviewing the fundamentals of your sport. Features in this book are: Information boxes containing Top Tips and Key Points for the coach and player; Sequence photographs and detailed diagrams in colour; An introduction to the history and rules of the game, and equipment; A thorough examination of the core skills of hockey (ball carrying, passing, shooting and defending skills); Tactical analysis of the attacking and defending principles of playing the game; Valuable advice on techniques, coaching, nutrition and the competitive structure within the sport. Aimed at those who play hockey at any level and age as well as their coaches. Gives sound practical advice and examines the core skills of hockey. Covers tactical analysis of the attacking and defending principles.Superbly illustrated with 130 sequence photographs and detailed diagrams in colour.Jane Powell is the Performance Coaching Manager of England Hockey. Another title in the highly successful Crowood Sports Guides series.

Leseprobe

CROWOOD SPORTS GUIDES

HOCKEY

SKILLS • TECHNIQUES • TACTICS

Jane Powell

Copyright

First published in 2009 by The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book edition first published in 2013

© The Crowood Press Ltd 2009

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

ISBN 978 1 84797 500 3

Disclaimer Please note that the author and the publisher of this e-book are not responsible, or liable, in any manner whatsoever, for any damage, or injury of any kind, that may result from practising, or applying, the techniques and methods and/or following the instructions described in this publication. Since the exercises and other physical activities described in this e-book may be too strenuous in nature for some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a doctor is consulted before undertaking such exercises and activities.

Acknowledgements The author and publishers would like to thank the following for their help in the production of this e-book: Jessica Brooker, JAB Photography, for the photographs (except where credited otherwise), and the GB Youth Squad for their practical demonstrations.

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

Part 1: Introduction to Hockey

1 The History of Hockey

2 Rules of the Game

3 Getting Started: Clothing, Equipment and Footwear

4 Playing the Game

5 Coaching and Coach Education

Part 2: Skills and Techniques

6 Moving with the Ball: Ball Carry

7 Moving the Ball

8 Evasion Skills

9 Defending Skills

10 Goal Shooting and Goal Scoring

11 Goalkeeping

Part 3: Tactics

12 Attacking Principles

13 Defending Principles

14 Set Pieces

Part 4: Fitness

15 Physical Fitness

16 Common Hockey Injuries

17 Nutrition

Glossary

Useful Addresses

Index

DEDICATION

To my friends Pip, Pete, Andrew and Ben Gardner, with thanks for their patience, fun and help in the writing of this book.

PREFACE

Hockey is a fun, fast and skilful team game. It is a stick and ball game with its origins dating back thousands of years. It is also an Olympic sport and as such is one of the few team sports in the Olympics. For the majority of people hockey is a family sport that can be played by young and old alike. It has moved over the centuries from a female sport played on grass to a mixed gender sport played on artificial turf pitch. Hockey is a game that has been played in a number of schools and is one of the invasion games that can be played as part of the National Curriculum.

Hockey can be traced back to the earliest civilizations of the world, but the modern game of field hockey was developed in the British Isles, and started around the mid-1800s as an alternative to football for cricketers who wanted to practise a winter sport. The game has developed greatly since when it was played with a rubber cube rather than a ball. The rules of hockey are very similar to the rules of football except that players must use sticks instead of their feet to play the ball, and in hockey there is no offside rule. Top level hockey is played almost exclusively on artificial grass or water-based pitches, which has made it a fast, energetic and exciting game to watch.

Although hockey will differ slightly in its set-up between the various countries where it is played, the core skills and tactical applications will be the same. A variation of the game is indoor hockey where most of the skills are transferable from the outdoor game; the only skill that is not allowed is the hit and long-handled sweep.

The aim of this book is to improve the ability in hockey of all readers, young or old, novice or expert. Through a series of chapters that are easy to read and understand, the sport of hockey is explained, and explanation is also given of the techniques and skills necessary to playing a game of hockey and competing at your chosen level. There is advice on training, nutrition and where to play to help you whether you play at club, regional or international level.

Ashley Jackson evading the oncoming Indian defender. GB v India, 6 March 2008, Olympic Qualifiers, Chile. (Photograph supplied by England Hockey, source unknown)

PART 1

INTRODUCTION TO HOCKEY

CHAPTER 1

THE HISTORY OF HOCKEY

Games with curved sticks and a ball have been played throughout history and in various regions of the world. In Egypt there are 4,000-year-old drawings of the game being played. Hurling dates back to before 1272BC, and there are illustrations from 500BC, in Ancient Greece. There were various hockey-like games played throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, and the word ‘hockey’ was recorded in the Galway Statutes of 1527.

The modern game of hockey grew from the game played in English public schools in the early nineteenth century. The first club was created in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London, but the modern rules grew out of a version of hockey played by members of Middlesex Cricket Clubs for winter sport.

The Hockey Association was founded in 1886 and the first match was held between England and Ireland on 16 March 1895 at Richmond Hockey Club. England finished as 5–0 victors. The International Rules Board was founded in 1900.

Hockey was played at the summer Olympics in 1908 and 1920. It was dropped from the games by the organizing committee in 1924, leading to the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de Hockey sur Gazon (the FIH) as an international governing body by seven continental European nations. Hockey was reinstated to the Olympic Games in 1928, and in 1970, men’s hockey was united under the FIH.

England Men in the early 1900s. (Photograph supplied by England Hockey, source unknown)

The game had been introduced to India by British servicemen, and the first clubs formed in Calcutta in 1885. The Beighton Cup and the Aga Khan tournament had commenced within ten years. Entering the Olympic Games in 1928, India won all five of its games without conceding a goal, and went on to win in 1932 until 1956, and then in 1964 and 1980. Pakistan won in 1960, 1968 and 1984.

In the early 1970s, artificial turf fields began to be used in competitions. The introduction of synthetic pitches to replace grass has completely changed most aspects of hockey. The game, as well as the material used to play, has taken a definitive turn, transforming the game, gaining mainly in speed. In order to take into account the specificities of this surface, new tactics and new techniques have been developed, often followed by the establishment of new rules to take account of these techniques. The switch to synthetic surfaces essentially ended Indian and Pakistani domination of the sport. Artificial turf is far more costly than grass, and too expensive for the two countries to introduce widely in comparison to the wealthier European countries. From the 1970s Australia, The Netherlands and Germany have dominated the sport at the Olympics.

Women do not seem to have played hockey widely before the modern era. Women’s hockey was first played at British universities and schools, and the first club, Moseley Ladies Hockey Club, was founded in 1887. The first national association was the Irish Ladies Hockey Union in 1894, and although rebuffed by the Hockey Association, Women’s hockey grew rapidly around the world. This led to the formation of the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) in 1927. Initially this did not include many continental European countries where women played as sections of Men’s Hockey Associations and were affiliated to the FIH. The IFWHA held conferences every three years, and the tournaments associated with these were the primary IFWHA competitions. These tournaments were non-competitive until 1975.

By the early 1970s there were 22 associations with women’s sections in the FIH and 36 associations in the IFWHA. Discussions were started about a common rule book. The FIH introduced competitive tournaments in 1974, forcing the acceptance of the principle of competitive hockey by the IFWHA in 1973. It took until 1982 for the two bodies to merge, but this allowed the introduction of women’s hockey to the Olympic Games from 1980 where, as in the men’s game, The Netherlands, Germany and Australia have been consistently strong.

The game of hockey is played widely across the world. In England it is a popular family orientated sport, played mainly in clubs by both men and women. The game is well liked in many schools, particularly in the independent sector and offers a lifetime of both sporting and social opportunities for players, officials and administrators alike.

Hockey, or field hockey as it is also known to differentiate it from ice hockey, is an eleven-a-side game played on a pitch 91.4m × 55m (100yd × 60yd) with a ball of 23cm (9in) circumference. Each player has a stick with a rounded head to play the ball with the ultimate aim of scoring goals by putting the ball in the other team’s goal. Sticks are about a metre long and weigh 340g–790g (12–28oz).

The rules of hockey are very similar to the rules of football except that players must use sticks instead of their feet to play the ball. There are eleven players on a team made up of a goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and attackers. The only player on the field who is allowed to use their feet and hands as well as their stick is the goalkeeper. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive explanation of the rules.

In England and the rest of the UK the season lasts from September until May.

The History of the Game in England

The origins of the game can be traced back to the earliest civilizations of the world, but the modern game of field hockey was developed in the British Isles. The modern game was started in England in the mid-1800s as an alternative to football for cricketers seeking a winter sport.

The first organized club was the Blackheath Football and Hockey Club, which dates back to at least 1861. Another London club, at Teddington, helped refine the game by introducing a number of the modern rules and concepts, including the introduction of a spherical ball, which replaced a rubber cube. Most importantly, they instituted the striking circle, which was incorporated into the rules of the newly-founded Hockey Association (men’s) in London in 1886. The All England Women’s Hockey Association was then founded in 1895, becoming the first women’s national sporting governing body.

The game spread throughout the British Empire, largely with the British army and this is one reason why India, Pakistan and Australia are so formidable, as all were once British colonies. Today, field hockey is played all over the world by a variety of countries and field hockey is currently recognized as the second largest team sport in the world, after football.

The International Game

The first men’s international match was held between England and Ireland on 16 March 1895 at Richmond Hockey Club, with England finishing as 5–0 victors. The women played their first official international match on 2 March 1896 when they travelled to Dublin to compete against Ireland. The Irish team won the match 2–0 with both goals coming in the first half.

Men’s field hockey first featured in the London Olympics of 1908 but the women’s game was not introduced to the Olympics until the Moscow Games of 1980. The highlight for the British game in modern times was an Olympic gold medal for the men in 1988 (Seoul, South Korea). It was the third time gold had been achieved; other successes came in 1908 (London) and 1920 (Antwerp). The British women’s team won a bronze medal at the 1992 games (Barcelona).

England Women in the early 1900s. (Photograph supplied by England Hockey, source unknown)

The Men’s World Cup was introduced in 1971. England’s best success to date in the World Cup came in 1986 when the men finished with a silver medal after losing 2–1 to Australia in the final, hosted on home soil at Willesden. The women won the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) tournament against Wales in 1975 (Edinburgh), the tournament that preceded the World Cup, which was introduced in 1979.

For many years the women played an annual international fixture at Wembley Stadium, regularly attracting over 50,000 spectators. The first international at Wembley was held in 1951 when England beat Ireland 6–1. March 1978 saw a record-breaking crowd of 65,000 packed into Wembley to watch England draw 2–2 with the USA.

Clubs representing England in Europe have also enjoyed success, most recently with Reading winning the 2003 Men’s European Club Championships in a nail-biting final where they came from 1–0 down to take the game to penalty strokes, emerging as eventual winners. Olton and West Warwickshire achieved a silver medal in the 2003 Women’s European Club Championships losing out to Den Bosch in the final.

Throughout the history of hockey, the main factor in shaping the game we know today came from experimenting with the rules. Hockey began as an eleven-a-side game, with two substitutes. In 1927, the need for two umpires was recognized, with each umpire looking after each half of the pitch. In 1949 the radius of the shooting circle became sixteen yards, although this was not introduced into the women’s game until nearly twenty years later. The penalty stroke as we know it today, replaced the penalty bully in 1963, followed shortly afterwards by the sideline hit replacing the sideline roll in.

One of the more interesting rules was the use of a hand. Up until 1983, the use of a hand was permitted. This was then abolished and applied to all players apart from the goalkeeper. Around the same time, umpires were given three cards to use as warnings and to serve suspensions (seeChapter 2).

Probably the most significant change and influence on today’s game occurred in 1992 – with significantly more impact in 2007 – when the rules changed to allow a team to remove a goalkeeper and play with eleven outfield players. Having an extra outfield player obviously gives a greater attacking advantage, but this has to be weighed up with the risk of having no goalkeeper, should the team concede a penalty corner, for example. This has not been used frequently in higher level games, but it is an exciting rule to watch out for in the future.

There have been changes other than in the rules that have influenced the game as we know it. We have already mentioned that changes in playing surface affected the game greatly. In 2007/08, the Euro Hockey League in its inaugural year tried and tested some interesting new rules and structures to the game. The greatest difference is the introduction of timed quarters. The teams were given two extra breaks to discuss tactics, formations and so on. This leads to an exciting change in the approach to the game, with tactics being changed more regularly as a team chased a goal, or tried to protect a positive scoreline.

The second most notable change, and probably the most exciting from the point of view of the spectator, was that of the seven-second penalty stroke, whereby a stroke is usually taken from a static position. The Euro League rules stated that the attacker would start on the 25yd line, and would have seven seconds to go one-on-one against the goalkeeper – similar to the rules of ice hockey. This proved to be a great success, and these rulings may be ones to look out for in the future. Many other competitions experiment with the rules, and report back to the FIH as to how the rulings worked. These trials may well see a whole new set of rules in the future. Who would have thought twenty years ago, for example, that hockey would ever discontinue the offside rule?

It is estimated that over three million people, on five continents, play field hockey. It is the second largest team sport after football in the world, and the largest mixed sport in England. Since 1992, with the introduction of rolling substitutes and squads of sixteen, the game has increased in intensity. International teams are now making between thirty and fifty substitutions per game. Defenders will stay on for longer periods of time but attackers and midfielders will play for 8–12 minutes and rotate, working at full speed and intensity. This substitution rule is one of the key reasons why the speed of the game has increased. Players have to be fitter and quicker to play the modern game.

The game has moved on rapidly with the change of playing surface, equipment and clothing.

CHAPTER 2

RULES OF THE GAME

The Pitch

Most hockey field dimensions were originally fixed using whole numbers of imperial measures and these are shown in parenthesis. It is the metric measurements that are the current official dimensions of the field of play as laid down by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in the Rules of Hockey 2008.

The game is played on a 91.4m × 55m (100 × 60yd) rectangular field. At each end there is a goal 2.14m (7ft) high and 3.66m (12ft) wide, and a semi-circle 14.63m (16yd) from the goal known as the shooting circle (or D or arc), with a dotted line 5m (5yds) from the semi-circle, as well as lines across the field 22.9m (25yd) from each endline and in the centre of the field. A spot, called the penalty spot, is placed 6.4m (7yd) from the centre of each goal.

A field hockey pitch with markings.

The Rules of Play

Newcomers to hockey will need an introduction to the concepts and terms that will be used later (see also the Glossary at the end of the book).

Some Major Hockey Concepts

Defending is the act of protecting or defending the goal from the opposition. Evading is the act of moving the ball away from the defenders to evade them and steal the ball. This can be by dribbling the ball or passing the ball. Pathways and channels are imaginary lines drawn in relation to the goal that the players are moving towards. Lines of defence usually run across the pitch and are staggered so that the player with the ball cannot beat all the opposition with one move or pass. Vision and scanning both require the player to look up whilst moving around the pitch, either with or without the ball. The other aspect of vision and scanning is the ability to see the opposition players and which direction they are moving around the pitch.

Some Important Hockey Terms

Ball carry and dribble. Both of these terms describe moving up the pitch with the ball in contact with and under control of the stick. The wing is an area of the pitch down the side, and a player there is ‘on the wing’. A winger is operating in the area down the side of the pitch.

Hockey is a fast, skilful and exciting team game. The teams are each made up of sixteen players, but the rules of the game permit only eleven to be on the field at any one time. One of the eleven must be a goalkeeper. No game of hockey can be played unless each team has a goalkeeper on the field throughout the game. Each team member has a position and each position has a role to play.

Roles of the Positions

Centre Forward (CF) is the player whose main role is to score goals.Right Inner (RI) and Left Inner (LI) play inside the two wings and support the CF, RW and LW to score goals.Right Wing (RW) and Left Wing (LW) give width in attack, cross the ball into the shooting area and score goals.Centre Half (CH) links the defence and attack; very much a central player, CH is used as a pivot in attack and a defender when the opposition have the ball.Right Half (RH) and Left Half (LH) mark the opposition wings, are wide attackers and back up the forwards in attack.Right Back (RB) and Left Back (LB) mark the CF and cover for the rest of the team in defence.Goalkeeper (GK) stops the opposition scoring. Substitutes can play any of the above positions and will rotate regularly throughout the game as there is no limit to the number of substitutions that can be used.

Marking Opposing Players

As an attacking team you are trying to get past your opponent and score a goal. Each team member will be responsible for trying to prevent the player on the opposition team playing in the same position from dribbling the ball, or passing the ball past them, and preventing them from scoring a goal.

Substitution

There are sixteen players but only eleven can play at any one time, which leaves five substitutes for each team. They are known as rolling substitutes because they can enter the field of play, be taken off the field and put back on again. Normally they will all play in the game: there are no restrictions; the coach or teacher can use each substitute player as often as required. This rolling substitution helps to keep hockey fast and exciting. In fact England senior teams are doing 40–50 substitutions each game. It is a high intensity game (seeChapter 15, Physical Fitness).

What Players Should Not Do

Hockey players are encouraged to be skilful. Good ball and stick skills are essential. Players are coached to move the ball in a variety of directions at speed. However, only the flat side of the stick can be used. Players must not use the rounded side of the stick.

It is an offence to propel the ball forward with any part of your body. It makes no difference if it is accidental or intentional: it is an offence and the umpire will blow the whistle.

It is also an offence to kick the ball or intentionally stop it with your foot. The only players who are allowed to kick the ball are the goalkeepers. As with the other offences, the umpire will blow the whistle immediately it happens.

It is an offence for any field player to play the ball with the stick at above shoulder height and if a player does so the umpire will blow the whistle and give a penalty to the other team. However, just like the kicking offence, the goalkeepers are allowed to play the ball with the stick at above shoulder height, as long as they do not endanger other players. Very often the goalkeeper will use a high stick to stop a shot on goal.

Stopping the Ball

As we have seen, it is an offence to kick the ball (with the exception of the goalkeepers) or use the rounded side of the stick. Every time this happens, the umpire will blow the whistle and award a penalty to the other team. A penalty could be a free-hit or a penalty corner or even a penalty stroke, depending on the circumstances and where on the field the incident took place. For example, if it was in the mid-field area, then it would be a free-hit; if it was a defender in the shooting circle, then it would be a penalty corner to the attack or, if it were an attacker in the shooting circle, then it would be a free-hit to the defence.

Dangerous Play

The rules of the game of hockey are also there to protect the players; they are very important because unless they are followed, play can be dangerous. Here are some rules that prevent dangerous play.

Players must not hit each other with their sticks.Players must not trip each other or threaten each other.Players must not intentionally bash or clash sticks.Players must not raise the ball dangerously at each other. Players must not play the ball with the stick at above shoulder height (except the goalkeepers).

Goalkeepers

Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to kick the ball. However, they must not kick it when they are standing outside the shooting circle.

Goalkeeper’s Equipment

A goalkeeper is allowed to wear protective equipment, which includes leg pads, kickers, hand protectors, body protector, elbow pads, shoulder pads and so on. In addition, a goalkeeper has a helmet that must be worm at all times, and a stick. There is more detail on goalkeeping equipment in Chapter 11.

The goalkeeper must not remove the helmet during the game unless he or she is taking a penalty stroke. Goalkeepers also wear a shirt of a different colour to the field players. This allows the players, the umpires and the spectators to see the goalkeepers clearly at all times. The shirt must be worn over the top of the protective equipment (that is, the body protector, shoulder pads and so on).

Goalkeeping equipment.

Scoring

There are three types of goal in hockey; they are:

a field goala penalty cornera penalty stroke.

Field Goal

A field goal is a goal scored from open, continuous play. Field goals may only be taken from the shooting circle, a roughly semi-circular area in front of the opponents’ goal. If a ball is hit from outside the shooting circle and goes into the goal, it does not count as a goal.

Penalty Corner

If a defending team breaks certain rules, the other team may be awarded a penalty corner. Often (but not always) penalty corners are awarded because a team breaks a rule while defending in their shooting circle.

To take a penalty corner, play is stopped to allow the teams to take their positions in attack and defence. One attacker stands with the ball on a designated spot on the backline. (This is the line that marks the shorter boundary of the field of play and on which the goal is placed.) This player will play (hit, push or drag) the ball to other attackers, waiting to take a shot at goal. The other attackers usually wait at the top of the shooting circle to receive the ball. But in any case, all attackers have to be outside the shooting circle until the penalty corner begins.

Up to five defenders (including the goalkeeper) position themselves behind the backline (either inside or outside of the goal) to defend against the penalty corner. The rest of the defenders must stay behind the centre-line until the ball is played (until the penalty corner is taken).

To actually take the penalty corner, the ball is hit, pushed or dragged to the attacker waiting to receive it. Before a shot on goal can be taken, the ball must first pass outside the shooting circle. Once this has happened the receiver usually hits, pushes or deflects it back into the shooting circle for the first shot at goal.