Ringette? How is That Hockey?

Cut the head off a long ice hockey stick.  Replace the ball or a puck with a big rubber donut, or "ring", and you have what you need to play ringette or floor hockey.

If you want to keep track, at this point you may want to start drawing a family tree of hockey.
ORIGINAL HOCKEY,  i.e. "field" hockey, is the Adam & Eve.  The variation of Ice Hockey branched off the tree in Canada, but it wasn't until 1875 that the modern rules for the game were transcribed.

Jump to 1963, in Ontario, for the invention of Ringette.  Ringette was designed as ice hockey for figure skaters.  It has since evolved into Gym Ringette and Inline Ringette.

At its core, it is another branch of hockey, still true to the spirit and joy of the original version.
It resembles broomball, which is yet another story.












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Roller/Inline Hockey - A Plastic Puck

If you don't know the origins of the hockey puck, it is a slice of the center of a field hockey ball.  On ice a puck glides and a ball rolls.  Take a ball on ice and it rolls.  Take it on grass and it still rolls.

Take a puck off ice and it sits there, waiting to be struck with a stick.

The version of hockey closest to ice hockey is roller or inline hockey.  The use of a plastic, instead of a rubber puck, and the hard flat surface that allows participants to speed around on wheels make this a fast game.  The rules and sticks make it more like ice hockey.
Field hockey players find this variation quite attractive.

Brij Singh, a long time field hockey and indoor hockey player shares his attraction to roller hockey (and floor hockey):

"I am naturally an ice hockey player. I adore the game, but never got involved. Roller hockey began as a opportunity to create friends and play a game similar to the one I love. Soon, I began to make more advanced teams, and started to branch out into other forms of media to learn. Through a series of YouTube videos, I came upon floorball, which spiked my interest into this unique and creative hybrid of hockey and team handball. Both roller hockey and floorball spike my interest due to the social, informal nature of these unique games, along with the competitive scene of National Teams and World Cups."

Take off the skates and shorten the stick and what sport do you have?
Indoor hockey. How many roller hockey players have discovered the origin of their game?
They might have as much fun as Brij Singh, as he crosses over and back between the various types of his ball and stick games.


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Bloody Hurling and Camogie, Our Irish Cousins

Once you get over the obvious, find the sticks the women above use to play Camogie, the womens' variation of mens' Hurling. I am informed that most camogie players also play field hockey,  who knew?  Camogie sticks, known as camogs, are more or less the length of field hockey sticks, with a wide flat head,not quite so large as used to pull pizza out of an oven.

My Irish cousins play these free wheeling sports, hurling and camogie, and there is good cause to wear helmets. Though relatively rare the sport is romantically seen as a cross between a drunken brawl and a riot.  In fact, it is another lively variation of ORIGINAL HOCKEY, safe enough to wear no shin pads  or gloves. The introduction of helmets is a modern innovation.  This is not such a bad idea, as unlike most other versions of hockey, Hurling does not discourage high sticks.  Hurling is a thrilling variation of hockey, filled to overflowing with energy.

Invented in Ireland, MADE IN AMERICA.  Hurling has a healthy following in the United States.  As  suggested in previous posts, field hockey players and hurling players would find the other sport quite familiar.  There is a special quality that gives field hockey and hurling a special flavor.  Those curious to have a taste might be surprised  by the number of active Hurling Clubs in the USA.

Let's imagine you already know how to play, but live where no club exists.
Here is a model of how to create a club.
(It is a valid model for starting a field hockey club at the same time).



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The Poetry of Hockey Captured

More in the powerful series of clips
promoting Indian Field Hockey.


Click each the image to watch the 30 second spot.


Feel the POWER.

Play THE Sport 








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Camanachd,How the Scots Spell Hockey

Camanachd (also known as Shinty) has been played in the Highlands of Scotland for over 2000 years. It's a game of the stick and ball variety with ties to Irish Hurling, Ice Hockey, and Golf, and bearing more than a few similarities to Field Hockey (ORIGINAL HOCKEY). 


Shinty is played in the USA, primarily Seattle, Portland, and Berkeley.


Two suggestions: Find someone who plays shinty and politely inquire if you may try Camanachd.  It is an exhilarating rush to play! 

Make sure you bring a few extra field hockey sticks, so the guys wielding their "camans" can heft a much lighter field hockey stick and take a test drive of our sport.

In earlier classic shinty games, player wore kilts. It only makes sense.  






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Floor Ball, Organized Floor Hockey

In almost every gym class in North America, the instructor drags out a sack of plastic headed stocks and a wiffle ball.

The kids go nuts because it's time for floor hockey.  The activity is a blast.  It's fun and fast and non stop.  It is another descendant of Original Hockey.

A more organized version of this popular cardio-pumper is
called FLOOR BALL.

It takes the best elements from INDOOR HOCKEY merged with
ICE HOCKEY.













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A Powerful Indian Hockey Promo

What we have here is the sort of image we must present to the North American public.

This represents the intensity of focus, the spirit of hockey.  It presents in a flash, the way a star player is presented, the same core feeling of every focused player who picks up a stick.




THIS IS A VIDEO. CLICK ON THIS IMAGE. When it enlarges, click again and the video will start it's very short.

Look! No Goggles.

Aside the obvious lack of those precious goggles you may note something quite interesting.

Look at which hand is on the top of the stick of both players.  It looks like folks were smart even back then, not just about goggles.

Bei Kuo: Hitting a Ball Made of Apricot Root

The Daur people are descendants of the rowdy Khitan nomads who founded the Liao Dynasty in the tenth century. Like fellow ex-banes of China the Mongols, Daurs excel at riding, shooting and wrestling. They also play bei kuo, a version of field hockey.
Using meter-long oak sticks and a ball made of apricot root, the Daurs never bothered with shooting goals. The object is to smack the apricot-root ball over the other team’s boundary line, 50 meters apart.
For the Daur, any festival day is an excuse for an extended game of bei kuo. Young and old alike are encouraged to take part, provided they understand the risks. The preferred method of playing bei kuo is at night, with the ball dipped in oil and set aflame. Bei kuo is still popular among the Daur, who continue to play without pads or asbestos vests.

View the above text appears in it's original form by clicking here.

Fun with a Stick and a Ball

Just yesterday I was musing with Tej Singh about the great variety of amazing sports and games that are related to Original Hockey.

Any game with "HOCKEY" in the name is a direct descendant:

floor hockey, ice hockey, roller hockey, street hockey, sand hockey,

table hockey, air hockey, box hockey, gym hockey, and probably more.  Can you think of others?

Here are a few others: rinkball, inline hockey, foot hockey, broomball, ringette, floor ball.

Underwater hockey is a popular variant for those who can hold their breath. 

Bandy, shinty, and hurling are all cousins of original hockey.

The thing is, each and every one of these games is a blast to play!!!!
Why, because at their core, they satisfy the physical desire we all have for fun with a stick and a ball!  

Not to be forgotten is the dangerous game of FIRE BALL!

New Turf Shoes

2013 Dita Turf Shoes - Play on your feet, not on your butt

Boys Indoor Hockey

Boys Encouraged to play in own division at the 2013 National Indoor Tournament

Click above for link.

USA Field Hockey has opened up a BOYS division during the 2013 National Indoor Tournament, March 1-3. Registration is open to U14, U17 and U21 boys of all skill levels.

Don’t have a team?  Don’t worry! Everyone registers online INDIVIDUALLY. After you register we will then be assigned a team based on age and your region. Teams will consist of 10-12 boys (maximum of 12).