Field Hockey Basics

I started playing field hockey in 5th grade and now love the game.  Growing up my mom always came to the games but always ended up so confused when I wanted to talk to her about it afterwards.  So for all you parents out there that are wishing to know what your daughter is doing, or even the girls that maybe want to start playing, here are the basics about field hockey.

The Field

The field is 100 yards long and 60 yards wide.  Every 25 yards from the endline, there is a line across.  So there is a 25 yard line, a 50 yard line, a 75 yard line, and the 100 yard line(also the endline).  At each endline, there is a goal that is 7 feet high and 12 feet wide.  From the goal, there is a 16 yard semicircle, which can be know as the shooting circle, as the only way to score is to get the ball inside the goal being hit somewhere inside that circle.  Around the shooting circle, there is a dotted semicircle about 5 yards from the shooting circle.  7 feet from the goal inside the shooting circle, is the penalty spot or stroke mark.

Positions

There are 11 players on the field for one team during a game, including the goalie.  The number of players in each position varies on the team, but these are the main positions.

Front Line

These are the players that play more offense than defense.  They tend to play more up towards the other team’s goal and tend to score most of the points.

Midfield

These players play mostly the middle or the whole field.  They are the connection between the front line and the defense.  Their job is to back up the front line and help them carry the ball up the field, as well as get back and help the defense keep it out of their end of the field.

Defense

These players normally stay back near their goal during play.  Their job is to keep the ball out of the circle and to get the ball up to the midfield and the front line to carry to the other goal to score.

Goalie

This player’s job is easy.  Keep the ball out of the goal.

General Rules

• The ball is hit with the flat side of the stick.
• The stick cannot be swung to high (normally no higher than the waist).
• The ball is not allowed to go too high in the air, especially when players are close by (hard to tell what is too high, based on the referee’s sight).
• No real pushing or shoving, tripping, hitting other players.
• Ball cannot hit feet.
• Team can only score if ball is hit inside shooting circle.
• Players must not attack from behind the player.

Free Hits

Free hits are taken by a team when an offense has been made by the other team outside the scoring circle.  Opponents must be 5 yards away from the person taking the hit and the ball cannot be raised at all when the hit is being taken. Since 2009, players taking the free hit may also hit the ball to themselves.

Penalty Corners

Penalty corners are awarded to a team when the other team has made an offense inside the shooting circle.  During this only 4 players of the defending team(not including the goalie) may stay back, while the rest go to the 50 yard line.  On the whistle, the players back defend, while the players at the 50 yard line rush back to help defend.  For the attacking team, one player hits the ball in from the endline to the offense the lines up on the shooting circle.  The ball must be hit outside the shooting circle before it can be taken into the circle.

Penalty Strokes

Penalty strokes are taken when a player from the defending team deliberately makes an offence to stop a goal inside the shooting circle.  During this, a single player from the attacking team goes up against the goalie from the stroke line.  The goalkeeper must start with their feet on the line and cannot move until the whistle.  On the whistle, the attacking player pushes or flicks the ball at the goal.  They are not allowed to hit the ball more than once and are only allowed two steps for the push or flick.  If the shot is saved by the goalie, the defending team then gets a free hit from the dotted semicircle.

"Before the home run...
before the layup...
before the slap shot...

there was a ball and a stick."