The sport of field hockey is in a period of rapid transformation. The implementation of the self-start rule in 2010 spearheaded the games evolution from a controlled, structured game to a faster, more free flowing game with increased reliance on the technical and tactical intuition of players.
In the past, on a blown whistle, a pass had to be made from a dead ball restart; once the ball was in play another player on the field had to touch it before the restart player could make a second attempt. Now, the restart player can make a self-pass, roughly a meter touch on the ball, and then make a second movement on it. The opposition cannot have a defensive impact on the ball carrier until they have given a distance of five meters. A quick restart in a small-crowded space has the potential to burn opponents.
Experimentation and competition to optimize the new rule has changed the face of the game. Literally, the top level athletes in today's game are fitter, more agile, and more skilled than their predessors. But that is a likely evolution considering that the game is faster, and more continuous and free flowing. Physically, it demands that athlete's possess a strong aerobic fitness base, high end speed repeatibility, quick handwork and footwork, and a powerful acceleration.
Intellectually, it demands that athlete's possess a more intuitive, anticipatory understanding of space optimization and player balance. More than ever, if you are reactive or play with hesitation, you won't survive. A proactive demeanor is necessary for success; however too much proactivity in the form of rigid structure, could prove debilitating in optimizing the creative, free-flow of the game. Finding a balance between optimizing the game's unpredictability and safe-guarding against an opponents ability to optimize it, is where the true difficulty lies.
A successful team will have adaptability within its structure. Players will have the freedom to innovate without putting the structure itself at risk. If innovation is key to succes in today's game, then it seems that the sport will keep pace with this path of evolution; specifically in terms of ways to tactically and technically optimize structures and styles of play.
Success depends on being up to speed with how the game is, and will be, transforming.
In the past, on a blown whistle, a pass had to be made from a dead ball restart; once the ball was in play another player on the field had to touch it before the restart player could make a second attempt. Now, the restart player can make a self-pass, roughly a meter touch on the ball, and then make a second movement on it. The opposition cannot have a defensive impact on the ball carrier until they have given a distance of five meters. A quick restart in a small-crowded space has the potential to burn opponents.
Experimentation and competition to optimize the new rule has changed the face of the game. Literally, the top level athletes in today's game are fitter, more agile, and more skilled than their predessors. But that is a likely evolution considering that the game is faster, and more continuous and free flowing. Physically, it demands that athlete's possess a strong aerobic fitness base, high end speed repeatibility, quick handwork and footwork, and a powerful acceleration.
Intellectually, it demands that athlete's possess a more intuitive, anticipatory understanding of space optimization and player balance. More than ever, if you are reactive or play with hesitation, you won't survive. A proactive demeanor is necessary for success; however too much proactivity in the form of rigid structure, could prove debilitating in optimizing the creative, free-flow of the game. Finding a balance between optimizing the game's unpredictability and safe-guarding against an opponents ability to optimize it, is where the true difficulty lies.
A successful team will have adaptability within its structure. Players will have the freedom to innovate without putting the structure itself at risk. If innovation is key to succes in today's game, then it seems that the sport will keep pace with this path of evolution; specifically in terms of ways to tactically and technically optimize structures and styles of play.
Success depends on being up to speed with how the game is, and will be, transforming.
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