The History Behind the Interesting Game of Field Hockey
Field hockey is not a sport most of us are familiar with or know much about. Some believe that it’s the women’s version of ice hockey, and others might think that it’s just an excuse to have women run around in skirts and swing a stick at a ball.
However, these assumptions are both quite wrong. First off, both men and women play field hockey. Field hockey is played at levels that vary from high school all the way to the Summer Olympics. It has been an Olympic sport since the late 1920s. It’s more of a club sport, than a professional one, but it is played across the world in many different countries and continents. It is truly a team sport and one that requires a good amount of endurance and stamina.
Although there are many rules to field hockey, most of them are somewhat simple and differ from the rules of more commonly played American sports. There is no rule for excessive contact or any kind of ridiculous physical play because contact is not even allowed.
The way the hockey sticks are designed, left-handed athletes have trouble with this sport. The sticks have a flat side on the left and a round side on the right, and because players can only hit with the left side, it is nearly impossible for left-handed athletes to participate in field hockey.
Field hockey in America is fairly new. The modern version of the sport started in England during the mid-19th century. However, women didn’t start playing the sport until 1900 because it was considered to be too dangerous for them. The game reached America by the early 1920s, but it wasn’t until 1975 that the US field hockey team reached the Olympics. In 1984 at the Los Angeles Olympic games, the team won their first medal, a bronze. Even with the recent success in the sport, it still lacks the popularity that football, baseball, basketball, and soccer have attained. According to the USA field hockey website, there are nearly “19,000 players, coaches, officials and fans who are members of the USA field hockey program.”
Even though it’s a slowly growing sport in the U.S, field hockey has grown even slower here on the West Coast. The USA field hockey website shows all the official club teams across the country, 125 in all. However, 95 of these club teams come from the northeastern portion of the country. Many schools here in the Bay Area do not have field hockey teams, and so a majority of Berkeley High School’s games are played in places far away from the East Bay, as far away as San Jose.
On the outside looking in, the BHS field hockey team seems a little sluggish. With few remaining games left this season, the team has still yet to capture a victory. Their schedule has obviously not been a cakewalk, most likely because a good amount of the teams BHS plays are some of the best in Northern California. The team, however, has strong leadership from their two junior captains, Natalie Slama, and Hannah Long. They have impressed many people by helping to field a full team and a put out a strong effort week after week. Even though many schools and students don’t believe the sport is worth a try, the BHS field hockey team has worked hard to improve the game of field hockey.
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