Thursday, August 26, 2010

An Introduction to the Game of Hockey

Author: Barney Garcia


Twenty two players-eleven on each side-struggling with one ball to keep it under their control in which game can you discover this situation?

Well, I know 99% answers will be football. Sorry, I meant Hockey. This is also a game that in most part follows the same rules as football, only here the ball is played with the stick and not the feet of the players. The rest is almost same you find 11 players in each team that includes a Goalkeeper, Defenders, Midfielders and Attackers. In hockey, the goalkeeper is the only player on the field who is allowed to use the feet and hands as well as the stick.

Today, hockey is played all over the world. But there are not too many countries in the world where hockey is hugely popular. England is among those few countries where hockey is played with great enthusiasm. This is only natural as the British Empire is the birth place of modern hockey. Though the genesis of hockey may be traced back in a few ancient civilizations of the world, it was not until mid 1800's that this game was revived and added with modern features in England. At first hockey kicked off as an alternative to football to keep the cricketers busy during the season of winter. Still in England, the hockey season continues from September to May.

Here are some interesting facts about this age old game:

-Just like the cricket, hockey spread like wildfire all through the British Empire and the colonies took up the game with the patronization from their colonial masters. This explains why the countries like India, Pakistan and Australia (one time British colonies) occupy respectable places in the world hockey map.

-Today, field hockey is played all over the world by a number of countries and this makes hockey the second largest team sport in the world, after football.

-The first Men's international Hockey match was held between England and Ireland on March 1895 at Richmond Hockey Club. England team emerged as the winner making a 5-0 score.

-The first official women's international hockey match took place in Dublin on 2nd March 1896. This time also there were two traditional contenders England on one side and Ireland on the other. But this time luck was with the opposite side with the Emerald Isle winning the match by 2-0 score.

-Men's hockey was first introduced in the London Olympics in the year, 1908. But it took seventy two more years to include the women's hockey in the Olympics; women's game was introduced to the Olympics as late as in1980.



Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/an-introduction-to-the-game-of-hockey-78203.html


About the Author

Jason Uvios writes about on An Introduction to the Game of Hockey to visit :- hockey, hockey equipment

Grab The Bookmarketer For Your Site

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Hockey Tough: A Winning Mental Game


No hockey player can reach his full potential without mastering the mental side of the sport. Hockey Tough provides players and coaches proven methods for mastering the mental side of the game. Author Saul Miller shares the psychological training and emotional management techniques he has successfully taught individual hockey players and teams for over 20 years.


Grab The Bookmarketer For Your Site

Monday, June 14, 2010

20 Best Hockey Goals




Grab The Bookmarketer For Your Site

Stanley Cup Finals - Old School Makes an Appearance

The Stanley Cup Finals are winding to an end as we wait to see whether Chicago can close the deal or whether Philadelphia can make one more comeback. What is undisputed, however, is an old school style of play has been brought back to the Finals, a refreshing bit of snarl in the form of Chris Pronger.

I'll start off with a disclaimer. I am a huge fan of the Los Angeles Kings. [I'll wait while you stop snickering!] As such, I fully enjoyed living up to my obligation of despising Pronger when he was on the Anaheim Ducks. Even so, one can't help but love his presence and play in the Stanley Cup Finals this year. I would even go so far as to say he is the hands down MVP whether the Flyers win or not.

The great thing about Pronger is he is a throwback player. He's perfect for the Flyers with their rough and tumble image. He reminds you of Scott Stevens and other defensemen who hit forwards both physically and mentally. The ability of he and Matt Carle to shut down the Toews-Kane line for four games has made this a serious when perhaps it otherwise could have been a sweep.

Perhaps even better is his public persona. You don't get mind numbing clichés from Pronger. No, you get quotes from a guy who doesn't care about the public relations game at all. He'll play the mental game with the Blackhawks players, but not with the press. It is a breath of fresh air to say the least!

Will Pronger's success reintroduce the old ways to hockey again? It's unlikely. The league has worked to hard to get that stuff out of the game, which is unfortunate. Perhaps one Chicago newspaper put it perfectly. They listed the reasons to hate Pronger, but finished up by writing that the Blackhawks should sign him if ever became available.

Ah, the perfect hockey player. You love him on your team, but hate him on others.

Boris Opach is with TheAngryBlade.com - a blog covering hockey and the NHL.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Boris_Opach



Grab The Bookmarketer For Your Site

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Welcome To My Hockey Blog

Welcome to My Hockey Blog. Although this blog about hockey is still relatively new you can be assured that over the coming weeks and months it will become your #1 resource for hockey. As part of My Big List Of Blogs there is a lot of room for growth, so if you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment or send me an email.


Grab The Bookmarketer For Your Site