10 Reasons Why Field Hockey Is Such A Great Sport

What defines a sport being great? Some would say money or sponsorships, some would say number of spectators, some would say participation level, but in my opinion I say the combination of enjoyment and challenge.

In this post I wanted to clarify why I think hockey is the best sport in the world and why I chose it over other sports.

Let us know below in the comments if you agree or if you can think of any other reasons to add.

10 Reasons Why Hockey Is A Great Sport

1. Fast paced & dangerous

With the addition of new rules like the self pass, this has helped to improve the speed of the game allowing for less time for teams to setup and better flow of the game. The advantage rule is also a great way to ensure play continues without stopping the game unnecessarily. Don’t forget too how fast the ball can travel.

According to ESPN Sports science and an article featured in USA Field Hockey member’s magazine here is a comparison of swing speeds in different sports:

• Table Tennis stroke – 22 mph
• Ice Hockey Slap Shot – 60 mph
• Cricket Stroke – 67 mph
• Tennis serve – 75 mph
• Baseball swing – 76 mph
• Golf drive – 100 mph
• Men’s Field Hockey hit – 103 mph

With the ball travelling at high speeds it also adds an element of danger which is exciting and gets the adrenaline pumping.

2. Physical toughness

Hockey is one of the most physically demanding sports on the body. Players cover greater distances over a shorter period of time compared to most other team sports.

Hockey players are required to be fit, fast, strong, powerful, agile and perform many sprints throughout the game, often with little time to recover between each. Add this to the fact that the synthetic astroturf that hockey is played on is not as forgiving as other surfaces.

3. High skill level

Hockey is one of the most skilled based games. Most other sports only have a ball but using a stick requires a higher level of skill and co-ordination. Think of some of the technical skills required such as hitting the ball, the tomahawk, overhead, push, slap, flick, dragflick, 3D skills, eliminating a player, dribbling with the ball, trapping the ball, etc. It’s great to watch and feels even better as a player when you execute these correctly.

4. Great Banter

I don’t know about you but most of my closest friends are people that I’ve met through hockey. Many people play for years because of the people they’ve met, who are like minded and of course there’s always great banter.

Not only are most of the people great but hockey being a team sport there are so many other benefits that you don’t get in individual sports. There is something about working together with others to achieve a common goal.

5. Part of the Olympics

The Olympic Games is the greatest sporting event in the world. What more do I need to say?

For me the London 2012 Olympics was mind-blowing, getting to rub shoulders with some of the most elite sportsmen & sportswomen with 18k+ fans cheering on the hockey teams. With so many people from different sports and so many countries around the world it’s not something that every sport gets to experience.

6. Passion

What other sport has such a high participation rate while not being known as a professional or high paid sport? It is the 3rd most popular sport in the world, only behind soccer and cricket (both of which are professional). Many people flock to others sports for the money, but true hockey fans stick with the sport out of pure passion and love for the game. Or maybe insanity?

7. A sport for all 

Hockey caters for every age, sizes and sex. It is one of the few sports where males and females can play in mixed teams and with a range of different abilities. Some club teams may have players as young as 14 years old playing alongside a 50 year old masters player; what a great way to learn from those with more experience.

8. Scoring is an art

Apart from the bad defensive mistakes, scoring is not as easy to come by compared to some other sports. The goal box is relatively small and the goalkeeper has plenty of padding to get in the way and close down shots. You cannot score from outside of the D which makes goal scoring more precise and adds to the challenge of the game.

9. No offside rule

Some sports like football/soccer still use the offside rule but hockey has moved on from which I believe makes the game quicker and better for more deliberate passing. You can also use this to manipulate the ball and the defenders into positional area’s which can help to setup the next attack.

10. Card system

In hockey you are less likely to get a red card or a ban unless you commit a seriously bad foul such as hitting the opposition. The green and yellow card systems helps to calm players down by forcing them to leave the pitch for 2-10 mins. This also helps give the umpires more respect compared to some other sports.

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