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Older than baseball, more ancient than basketball, even preceding ice hockey, the first evidence of people playing field hockey dates back to ancient Egypt! Four thousand year-old drawings discovered in a tomb at Beni-Hasen in Egypt’s Nile Valley illustrates people playing the game. And though it has undergone numerous changes and variations, field hockey has been played for centuries by many cultures, including the Greeks, Arabs, Romans, Persians, Aztecs and Ethiopians. As a modern sport, it is popular in India, Pakistan, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, parts of South America, Africa and Asia. In the United States, field hockey is played mostly by women, whereas men are active in the sport in other regions.

The game itself is usually played outdoors on either grass or artificial turf. The sticks are made of wood or fiberglass, and have a characteristic hook at the bottom. The catch with field hockey is that the player may only use the flat side of the stick to touch the ball. Therefore, in order to dribble the ball down the field, the stick must be rotated so that the rounded edge never touches the ball. That takes a lot of skill! And the 9.25 inch ball is super hard– ask any player who has been hit by one. Players generally wear mouth and shin guards, and the goal-keeper wears a face mask, pads, gloves and a helmet.

Each team consists of 11 players– usually 5 forwards, 3 halfbacks, 2 fullbacks and a goalie. There are two umpires, two scorekeepers, and sometimes two timekeepers. The game is played much like soccer or ice hockey, with the aim of the game being to score goals in the other team’s net. When the game begins, the player in the striker position must pass the ball back behind them to their team-mate in a maneuver called a pass back. The ball may be advanced by push-passing it, flicking it or driving it. When a player drives the ball, they whack it like a golf ball, but cannot swing the stick any higher than their hips, or else a penalty will be called. It is also against the rules to put your body between the person who has control of the ball and the ball. This offense is called obstruction, and requires that the defender use strategy, rather than bullying, to get the ball from their opponent.

If a game is tied, the players may extend into overtime; otherwise a flick-off may take place. This pits one player at a time against a goalie. If the player flicks the ball into the goal, then their team scores a point. They may only set the stick against the ball and flick it in– drives are not acceptable. A flick-off is an intense ending to a rough game, and it requires much concentration.

Field hockey, as we recognize it today, emerged in England in an official capacity in 1849, when the first men’s field hockey club, called Blackheath, was formed. Londoners soon created the Hockey Association in 1886, and the sport appeared in the Olympic games in 1920. And though many people in the U.S. associate the sport with women, women’s hockey did not have Olympic standing until 1980. In fact, field hockey was at first considered too dangerous for females to play until women adopted it as their own, quickly deeming it the sole team sport “socially appropriate” for females. Women in the United States took to field hockey with great enthusiasm, and several colleges had founded teams by the 1920’s. The British Army introduced field hockey to India in the 19th century, where some of the finest competitors play today. Look for field hockey when the Olympic Games are next played– you will be shocked by the ferocity of the game! Walk softly and carry a big stick.