Historians have found indications that some structure of the game of field hockey was played by ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Greeks thousands of years before the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. Later, the Romans influenced the upbringing of the sport during their political and social dominance of present-day Europe. Connections to field hockey include the German game of Kolbe; the Dutch game of Het Kolven, which is an ascendant of ice hockey; and the French game of Hocquet, which many historians believe contributed the name "hockey" to the lexicon of sport. Other historians have connected hockey to the Irish game of hurling, the oldest "organized" game to use a stick and ball. Along with hurling, the Scottish game of shinty and the Welsh game of bandy all used sticks similar in size and shape with limited rules, which led to dangerous and rough games The first Hockey Association was formed in 1875, with governing rules established 11 years later. When members of the Hockey Association established these rules, the door opened for hockey expansion. International field hockey contests were played by men as early as 1895.
Field hockey in the United States is played mostly by girls and women, perhaps because of the game's introduction in 1901 by an English woman, Constance Applebee. Applebee came from England to study at Harvard Summer School. From Harvard, she went to Vassar and then started field hockey at Wellesley, Smith, Radcliffe, Mount Holyoke, and Bryn Mawr Colleges. In 1920, a U.S. women's team traveled to Great Britain to compete internationally for the first time. In 1992, the game had grown so popular with women that the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA) was founded in
Philadelphia. In 1930, the Field Hockey Association of America was formed as the governing body for men. Although men's field hockey in the United States takes a backseat to the women's game in total participants and overall opportunity in the scholastic and collegiate scene, participation by both genders has significantly grown from the influences of foreign players and teachers who have traveled to the United States and helped to sponsor community programs and camps for youth and adults. Numerous amateur leagues and tournaments have become available in many areas of the United States. The Field Hockey Association of America merged with the USFHA in the early 1990s.
Today field hockey has men's and women's Junior (under 21 years of age) World events, club championships, indoor hockey championships, European championships, Asian Games, Pan- American Games, African Games, Champion's Trophies, an Inter- Continental Cup tournament for qualification in the prestigious World Cup, and the pre-Olympic Qualifier tournament for the Olympic Games. Nearly 200,000 girls/boys and women/men have played or
currently participate in field hockey in the United States, while millions more participate in nearly 90 countries.
Field hockey is a swift and skill-based game that gives enjoyment to players of any age level. The game can be modified to satisfy local conditions or different age groups, but throughout this book, the conventional game of outdoor field hockey is described unless stated otherwise.
The aim of hockey is to move the hockey ball up the field and hit or push the ball into the opposing goal cage by using only hockey sticks. Players may hit the ball using only the flat side and edge of the hockey stick, and only the goalkeepers are permitted to use their hands or feet to control or move the hockey ball while protecting their team's goal within the shooting circle, an area with a 16-yard maximum depth from the goalposts. A regulation game has two 35-minute playing periods, and each goal scored counts as one point when the ball has been propelled completely into the goal
cage. At halftime intermission, teams change ends of the field. In some tournament events, if the score is a draw after regulation, the teams play two 15-minute overtime periods.
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