BRIEF HISTORY OF HOCKEY
Hockey is a both team and field game played with hockey sticks and a ball. The game originated from the ancient Greeks, Romans and Persians as early as 514 BC. The rich people played their Hockey on horse backs known as “POLO”
In 1876, Modern Hockey clubs were formed. Ten years later, in1886 a well constituted modern Hockey Association was formed. In 1900, International Hockey Federation (IHF) was formed with standard rules and regulations. Nigeria Hockey Federation (NHF) was formed in 1962.
The basic skills
- The dribbling
- The tackling
- The drive / hitting
- The stopping
- The passing
- The scooping
- The flick
- The goal keeping
The nature of the game
The game is started by a centre pass. The formation on the field resembles that of football as the number of players is the same
The objective of the games is to get the ball by dribbling, passing, hitting etc into the striking circle from where it can be hit into the goal post of the opposing team to make a goal. Each team has eleven players one of them must be a goalkeeper. The duration of the match is 35minutes each, of two half times with ten minutes interval
Facilities and equipment
The facilities are:
- The hockey pitch
- The goal posts
- The side boards
- The back boards
- The nets
- The flag posts
- Knee caps
- Hockey balls
- Pad( for goalkeeper)
- Abdominal protector
- Glove (for goalkeeper)
- Kickers(for goalkeeper)
- Pair of boot and Hose
The rules and regulation
Some of the rules include
- A team should consist of 11 players 22 players play the game at a time
- A goal can only be scored from within the striking circle
- Player’s jerseys must be numbered front and back
- A player cannot take part in the game without hockey stick
- All players must remain in their own half of the pitch during the centre pass
- A player must not hit the ball with the rounded side of the stick
- A player must not raise any part of the stick above his/her shoulder
The officials in hockey
The officials are:
- Two umpires
- Time keepers
- The scorers
Assignment
- Write out four sentences on the nature of the game of hockey
(i)____________________________________________________
(ii)___________________________________________________
(iii)___________________________________________________
(iv)____________________________________________________
- How is the game started?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- List officials of the Hockey game
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See also