Hockey coaches in East London

The Benefits of Playing Hockey

Hockey is a sport that will not only benefit your body and mind, but it will also give your social life a boost. When it comes to physical fitness, hockey is one of the most intensive forms of cardio you can do. A normal hockey athlete will run around 10 kilometres during a high paced match, luckily you won’t notice this while playing as your mind will be occupied with the ball and your game plan.

This increased cardiovascular activity will not only increase your movement and mobility, but it will also have positive effects on your overall health by increasing blood flow, improving your heart’s rest rate and consequently reducing your blood pressure. Regular playing will improve your metabolic rate, which means you’ll better manage your weight, while also improving muscle strength and bone density.

Hockey is also incredibly beneficial to the mind. You’ll be required to make quick decisions while the action is in full swing and developing this new skills will make your brain healthier and more nimble. The competition and physical activity will also lead to better sleeping as proven in so many scientific studies. Exercise helps with the regulation of serotonin and it is therefore good to combat anxiety, stress and depression at large.

Lastly, hockey is a team sport and will not only teach you how a team can stick together, but you will most probably make new friends and find people on the field with the same interests as you.

If these benefits were enough to get you excited about starting you can find ‘hockey lessons near me’ right here on Superprof.

The Basics of Hockey

With 11 players per team, hockey is a game about speed, precision and agility. It is impossible to explain all the rules in one page, but we’ll attempt to give you a summary so that you can grasp the basic concepts around what makes this game so exciting.

Hockey is similar to soccer, but it uses a smaller ball and each player is equipped with a stick. You are only allowed to hit the ball with the stick and the ball is not allowed to touch any part of your body. The team with the most scored goals wins. Like any sport, there are quite a number of rules to protect players and ensure the game is fair. You want to stick to those rules as breaking them might lead to you being sent off the field.

Obstruction is a fairly common sports term in almost any contact sport. In field hockey, obstruction is where a player blocks the opposition with their body or stick from getting the ball. You also need to keep the ball in the hockey court as per other games and missing the goalposts, making errors in the shooting zone (the area where goals are scored) or playing dangerously will all lead to penalties or handing over possession of the ball.

You can search the internet for a field hockey tutorial on almost any error, foul or rule.   

Basic Hockey Terms

To run out onto the field for your first training session can be a bit frightening, especially if you have never played hockey or don’t know the various terms they use. Everyone was once a beginner and you should not worry too much about that, but if you want to feel more at ease you can learn terms like some of the following core hockey terms:

- Dribble: Running while you are controlling the ball, gently moving it left and right

- Dangerous play:  Players can get quite aggressive in hockey, and you can image the dangers involved in using that hard ball and sticks. Rules around dangerous play protects the players and one example of dangerous play is lifting the ball higher than the knee when you hit it hard.

- Flick: This is lifting the ball off the ground intentionally to do a long pass to someone that’s far away from you, or to score a goal.

- Scoop: Using the head of your stick to gently lift the ball up and potentially over another player’s stick.

- Offensive position: These players are usually on the frontline. They are attackers, strikers, and assist players who focus on scoring goals.

- Defensive players: These are the players that defend and stop the opposition from breaking through and scoring goals.  

Gear-up For Your Field Hockey Tutorial

If you are brand new at hockey you’ll need a stick and a ball to get started. This way you can train on your own or do some ball handling exercises like the ones you can find online. Shin guards, mouth guards and cleats or hockey shoes are required if you will play against other players as this will protect you from injury, but if you are just learning on your own with a private hockey tutor, they won’t be required.

A field hockey tutorial with a hockey tutor will be a much easier way to get started than trying to figure it all out on your own. They will do a skills assessment to see what you can do and create a customised programme with exercises in preparation for the next training session.

A hockey tutor is perfect for teaching beginners how to:

- Hold the stick correctly

- The right stance for playing and moving the balance on the fore or backfoot when handling the ball

- Hitting, flicking, scooping or pushing the ball

- Work on agility and ball skills

- Explain rules and objectives around certain moves

- Start to work on game strategy and positions suitable for the player

It’s never been easier to find your own hockey tutor than what it is with Superprof. A search for ‘hockey lessons near me’ will bring up a variety of coaches and tutors with different skills, comparable rates and experience. Most of them will offer the first class for free and you can also chat to them about doing bigger groups if you have a couple of friends interested in joining the club.

Ready to flick, dribble and scoop your way onto the hockey field? Find the best tutor for you, right here on Superprof.