FHO 101: The history, rules, and logistics of field hockey

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon. You decide to head down to Class of 1952 Field to watch the Princeton field hockey team take on Columbia. All's well and good...but what are the rules of field hockey anyway? What does it mean when the ref blows his whistle or when someone lifts his or her stick too high? Here's a little Field Hockey 101 to help you out.

Evidence exists of games that were played with a ball and stick, though not our modern version of field hockey, dates back over 4000 years to civilizations in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, as well as that of the Aztecs. The version to which we are accustomed did not appear until the 19th century in England, eventually leading to the development of the Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) in 1924. America formed the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA) in 1922, after Constance Applebee brought the sport to US soil in 1902.

So now you have a little background. But those rules are still so foreign!

Let's start with the basics. Two halves are played in a game, with 35 minutes per half in collegiate and international play. There are 11 players per side, including the goalkeeper. The pitch, or field, is 100 yards long and 60 yards wide, with a center line and 25-yard lines on each side of the field. Additionally, a striking circle is marked 16 yards out from each goal post. The ball must be passed or dribbled on the field with the flat side of the stick (don't even think about hitting the ball with the rounded side). A goal is scored when an attacker strikes the ball into the goal from within the striking circle. Players may not use their body or their stick to shield a ball: every player must have a chance to get to the ball.

Ready to step it up a little? Let's talk fouls. A player may not shield or obstruct the ball from an opponent with the body or stick, interfere in the game without a stick. She may not play the ball in a dangerous way, raise the stick dangerously, stop or deflect the ball with any part of her body, play the ball with the rounded side of the stick, use the foot or leg to support the stick in order to resist an opponent, advance the ball by any means other than with the stick, charge, hit, shove or trip an opponent, or hit, hook, hold or interfere with an opponent's stick.

If you should foul a member of the opposing team, they may receive a free hit to be taken at the spot where the foul occurs. In a free hit, no player from the opposing team may be within five yards of the ball when it is hit, and the striker must push or hit it. The striker may not replay the ball until another teammate has touched it. However, should you have committed your infraction while within the shooting circle, we enter a whole other playing field . . . that of the penalty corner.

A team also receives a penalty corner when a defender intentionally breaches the rule outside of the circle but within the 25-yard line, or when there is an intentional hit by a defender over the goal line from any part of the field. In a penalty corner, the ball is placed on the goal line at least ten yards from the nearest post. One player hits the ball to a teammate just outside the striking circle line. A shot on goal may be attempted once the ball is played back into the striking circle. Up until it is taken, all the attackers must be outside the circle, and on defense only five defenders at most may be behind the goal line.

Should a defender commit any breach of rules in the circle or an unintentional breach thereby preventing a sure goal, the team against which the infraction was committed receives a penalty shot. A penalty stroke is a one-on-one confrontation between an offensive player standing seven yards out from the goal and the goalkeeper on the goal line.

All other players on the field must stand behind the 25-yard line. The offensive player may push, scoop or flick the ball from the location of the penalty shot, and the goalie must stand with both feet on the goal line, not moving either foot until the ball has been played.

Additional penalties can be incurred: if the attacking team plays the ball over the backline, the defense receives a free hit taken 16 yards from the spot where the ball crossed the backline, known as a 16-yard hit; a push-in or hit-in may be given to the opposition if a ball is hit wholly over the sideline.

So now you know the basics. Keep these in mind, and the mayhem in front of you will slowly begin to coalesce into a game with a long history and one that altogether makes some sense. If all else fails, grab your big foam finger, some body paint, and just cheer your head off. The enthusiasm will always be appreciated.