The rise of the Hockey Generation.
There is a very good chance that this time 2 years ago you were glued to your TV set as the Team GB Olympics squad covered themselves in glory in Rio by bringing home a record number of golds surpassing the amount won at the previous home event in London. One of those golds was won by a the fantastic Womens Hockey team whose heroic ensured a brilliant win and a win in a penalty shootout. Hopefully you’ve been inspired to maybe take up this excellent game. You ‘d be joining a sport with a heritage that goes back even as far as ancient Egypt. Just ask the Egyptologists that uncovered a famous stone depiction of a game between two players holding what certainly appear to be hockey sticks. If it was good enough for the Pharaohs, then it must be great! One thing you might want to do is look up some Hockey Drill Videos like the ones you’ll find at https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Hockey/. Before that though we’ll give you a few basic pointers in what to do to get you started.
- Holding the stick in the upper. Its fair to say I think that you need to get this bit nailed down otherwise the game is going to be a struggle. The Hockey stick is your weapon and wand. You can do great magic with it or you can crash and burn. There are two basic positions that you need to be aware of. First off there is the grip required of the stick. This should be with both hands when in possession of the ball. A double handed grip is required with no gap between the hands. If you are looking to take a shot or need to give it a whack up field, then you need the higher position grip at the top of the neck. This gives you the chance to swing with power, don’t worry about people around you they need to keep out of your way. Timing is everything and you need to swing right through the ball making sure that the real meat of the stick faces the ball. Too high and it’ll scuff along the floor which is embarrassing. Too low and you could lift it.
- Holding the stick in the lower positions. Again, take up the grip with no gaps between your hands. This time we’re lower and nearer the face of the stick. Its called the choke grip. You’ll need that strong grip because you can soon lose control of the stick and the face will flap about and you could foul. It’s the perfect way to run with the ball, knock it on or play a short pass.
That’s enough to get you started, the club will give you some points, go along and have a go.
