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~History of Field Hockey~
The game of field hockey is a game played by many all over the world. It's one of the oldest sports in history and the "second largest team sport in the world" according to www.dreamhost.com/fieldhockey. It is a sport which requires a person to have a lot of skill, speed, and endurance - an overall athlete. Here in the United States it is a sport played predominately by women. An English woman named Constance Applebee introduced the sport to the US in 1901. However, before having been brought to the United States, the sport was quite popular over in Europe for thousands of years already with men. Exactly when and where the sport originated from is not known but drawings that are thought to be 4,000 years old have been found in the Beni-Hasen tomb in the Nile Valley in Egypt depicting men playing the sport (www.usfieldhockey.com).

Field hockey was originally thought to be too dangerous for woman to participate in but eventually spread quite quickly amongst the English women. The sport soon became known as "the only team sport considered proper for women"(www.usfieldhockey.com). An English woman named Constance Applebee introduced field hockey to the United States in 1901. She had come to the US to take a summer course at Harvard and while here she was shocked at the games that American women played for exercise. She gathered up some sticks and a ball and demonstrated the popular English sport of field hockey to her classmates. One of her classmates, Harriet Ballintine, was head of athletics at Vassar and asked her to teach the sport there.

Excitement about field hockey spread quickly and soon a number of other women's schools took up the sport. By the 1920s it had spread to public universities as well. In 1922 the United States Field Hockey Association was founded to help promote the sport and create more enthusiasm for it . Women's field hockey continued it's popular and successful spread in the United States. At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games the United States captured the bronze medal. From there the US would appear at the Olympics in 1988 in Seoul and at Atlanta in 1996. The women's team also continued to qualify for the FIH (International Hockey Federation) World Cup after the first one in 1975 and even came away with a bronze medal at the one in Dublin in 1994.

Men's field hockey started in the United States in 1928 with a game between the Westchester Field Hockey Club and the Germantown Cricket Club. The Field Hockey Association of America was formed and, "in 1930, the FHAA became the fourteenth member of FIH"(www.usfieldhockey.com) . The U.S. men's team competed in their first Olympic games in 1932 at Los Angeles where they captured the bronze in a three-team tournament. From there they went on to participate in the 1936, 1948, 1956, 1984 and 1996 games.

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Constance Applebee

~Women's National Team~
The National Team is the ultimate goal for a woman field hockey player. Using three different search engines - google, altavista, and yahoo the only website that seemed to hold the best information on the Women's national team was the U.S. Field Hockey Association website. You can find out that after a woman makes the National Team she can compete in the Olympics and be known as the best of the best in the United States. She travels all over the world and can compete in many different types of tournaments such as the World Cup, The Pan American games, and the Champion's Trophy. The women's National Team competes against the best teams the world has to offer such as Australia, New Zealand, and Pakistan. The following is a graph showing their record from the past 2001 season. The record wasn't wonderful, but considering their competition, they didn't do half bad and held their own.
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Pie Chart of U.S. Women's National Team 2001 Season Record



~Men's National Team~
Men's field hockey is conducted rather differently in the United States. A little boy is not given the opportunity to be able to participate in field hockey at a young age nor is he given the opportunity to play in high school in many states. Southern California is one of the only places that male field hockey teams can be found. To support this argument, a search was done at www.groups.google.com where just the subject "field hockey" was typed in. A good number of articles came up. Several articles can be found where male field hockey players talk about the lack of recognition they acquire. Many want to know "When will US boys ever get to find out that real men in many places in the world play field hockey?". That quote comes from someone who wrote in by the name of Tom Hughes. In the article, Hughes goes on to talk about why can't NBC broadcast other sports like field hockey to broaden kids and other people's perspectives on different sports instead of the same old ones. There was even an article from a 17-year old boy named Robin Beck who played high school field hockey in New Mexico. He hit the nail on the head when he said, "I must totally agree that the US men are some of the most couragous players. In a country where popular sports are such a big part of our culture, these men are doing what they love and not just trying to make money".

Making the National Team is as much of a goal for a man as it is for a woman but since there are fewer men playing it is a slightly easier goal to attain for a man. The men's National Team is able to qualify for the same tournaments as the woman's giving them the opportunity to travel all over the world as well. However their record, as seen below in the graph, shows the fact that they struggle slightly. Considering the fact that they play the men's teams that have been around since the game started, the record really isn't all that bad.

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Pie Chart of U.S. Men's National Team 2001 Season Record



~Final Difference~
There is one more point to be made about the difference between field hockey for men and woman in the United States. Below is a graph depicting the home state's of the men's and woman's teams.
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Graph of the Home States of the Athletes on Both the Men's and Woman's National Teams


As can be seen by the graph, most of the men on the men's National Team come from California. Actually, about 50% of the team comes from California compared to the woman's team who has woman from all along the East coast and Pennsylvania. As said before, the only place you really see male field hockey teams in high school and beyond is California. The home states of the men on the National Team pretty much prove that. The rosters of both teams can be found on the U.S. Field Hockey Association website. For the men's roster click hereand for the women's roster click here.

~General Info of Field Hockey~
Field hockey is played on a rectangular field, which is divided with a center line and a 25 yard line contained in each half of the field. Then there is a semi-circle drawn out about 16 yards from each goal post. A goal can only be scored from within the semi-circle. The game is played on grass as well as artificial turf, known as astro.The two teams consist of 11 players each, 10 players and 1 goaltender. All the players are subjected to touch the ball by only using their sticks. The goalies on the other hand are allowed to use any part of the body to catch a shot. Many fouls are penalized in the same manner, usually by giving the opposing team a free hit from the infraction. Different typed of infractions are Advancing the ball, Dangerous use of the stick, and hooking(an opponents stick). Advancing the ball with your hand is using your body or foor to stop the ball, which only allowed by the goalie. Dangerous use of the stick includes raising your stick above your shoulder, which can lead to a dangerous play. To find out about more of the rules/infractions click here
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~Equipment~
The two major equipments of the game: the ball and stick. The ball that was originally used was called a "cricket" ball, but now a days the ball used is combined with a PVC outer or perhaps a PVC cover. The measurement of the ball is around 9 inches, and has a weight of 5 and 1/2 ounces. The practice ball differs in texture to the game ball, which has dimples or intentations found on it. Field hockey sticks can range from size to 36-38 inches long, and can weigh up to 28 ounces. On the left side of the stick the striking surface is flat, while the back side is curved. All hockey sticks are made directly from wood, but such materials as fiberglass, kevlar, carbon, and dyneema can be added. As for the shape of the stick there are three types: shorti, midi, and hook. To find out more about the equipment click here


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Created by Theresa Castellone and Christina Dimauro