An Introduction to Hockey

The origins of hockey are largely based within the United Kingdom, with many of the first associations, clubs and leagues established here. These later influenced the introduction of teams across the globe, and hockey is now played in many countries across the world.

The name hockey is thought to have originated from the French word hocquet, which describes a crooked stick used to hit a small ball. It is a field sport played in teams against one another. Hockey is a winter sport and, in the UK, the season lasts from September until May.

Each player is equipped with a stick which they use to manoeuvre the ball across the floor of the pitch, past the goalkeeper and into the goal. It has many similarities to football, the main difference being the equipment used within the game. The aim of the game is therefore unsurprisingly to score as many goals as possible. The game of hockey has been adapted and moved to many different terrains, including ice rinks where the sport is called ice hockey, so this game of hockey is sometimes referred to as field hockey.