There are so many team sports boasting a great global fan base, but there’s something about hockey that makes it distinctive among the rest. Be it on ice or not, there’s no doubt hockey is one of the most interesting sports out there. You can even check out FanDuel’s Blog to know how fun the game is.
Aside from being a non-violent sport, it’s also among the most skill-based sports in the world. Handling a stick to drive the ball around a turf requires a high level of coordination, especially that players are constantly moving throughout the game.
What Makes Grass Hockey Exciting?
The players can control the pacing of the game on a certain level. With great hits and aggression, the game can speed off and down. The athletes are the true masters of the game, making it much more enjoyable to watch.
What is a Shoot-out?
There are also specific phases in the game that make it exciting. One of these moments is the shoot-out.
Generally, a shoot-out is a determiner of the winning team in drawn grass hockey matches. It’s a tie-breaker routine where a player from a team will play head-to-head with the goaltender of the opposite team. In simplest terms, it’s precisely like a penalty shot.
For every shoot-out session, there is a set number of members playing for each side. Of course, the team that has secured the most goals, given that all of the named players have their chances already, will win the game in the end.
A tied game is pretty unusual, but with equally competitive teams competing against each other, a tie-breaker can be necessary.
The cumulative goal total from each group will be counted in the initial rounds. In the second part of the shoot-out, a sudden death round format will be followed where any goal obtained can end the match if the opposing team blew the net in the same round.
Basic Rules of a Shoot-out
There are specific and fixed shoot-out rules that make the tie-breaker method absolute.
Basically, five players from each team will alternately get a one-on-one shoot-out against a goalie from the other team. The shoot-out rules and procedures are defined below.
- If the shoot-out competition is needed after the end of a match, the initial shoot-out should occur within four minutes of the end of the scheduled length of the game.
- The corresponding Team Managers shall render five players to alternately take shots and one player to serve as the goaltender. Take note that the player called as defender can also be designated to do a shoot-out. Substitutions or replacements are not allowed during the shoot-out competition other than as defined below.
- A player who is currently serving a disciplinary suspension by the Technical Delegate during the shoot-out competition or has been permanently suspended through a red card in the game, heading to the shoot-out competition, can’t play in the shoot-out competition.
- A player who has been temporarily suspended (yellow card) or warned (green card) could participate in the shoot-out competition even if the term of their suspension wasn’t completed at the end of the match.
- The goal to be used will be specified by the Technical Delegate.
- The Technical Delegate will also set out the method of timing shoot-outs considering the need to control time accurately and the facilities available.
- A coin will be tossed, and the winner of the toss has the opportunity to decide whether to do or defend the initial shoot-out.
- Only the people listed on the Match Report, except for any player who has received a red card during the match, have access to the field of play on the outside of the 23 meters range dedicated for the shoot-out. They must be at least 10 meters away from the point where the ball is set.
- A player doing or defending a shoot-out is allowed to enter the 23-meter area.
- The goalkeeper or the defending player of the team carrying out a shoot-out shall stay on the back-line outside the circle.
- Players taking and defending shoot-outs at the same time are granted an adequate amount of time to remove their protective equipment and take their shoot-out. They are also given reasonable time to wear their protective equipment when it’s time to defend shoot-outs.
- Five players from each side shall alternately take a shoot-out against the defending player of the opponent, delivering ten total shoot-outs.
Biggest Grass Hockey Event
Football has the National Football League (NFL), and basketball has National Basketball Association (NBA). Meanwhile, one of the world’s biggest professional field hockey leagues is Fédération Internationale de Hockey’s (FIH) World Cup.
FIH’s World Cup is where the best national field hockey teams worldwide meet to compete against each other. It’s an annual global league that extends the most celebrated victory among hockey elites next to the Olympics.
For the record, hockey legends are made in this league. Field hockey spectators are anticipating this event every four years. From the year 2018, the competition has extended the total playing teams to 16, so many are looking forward to the thrilling quarter finals and classification matches.
Final Thoughts
Compared to other team sports like basketball and football, field hockey is inferior when it comes to patronage. However, it’s as exciting and competitive as the leading sports leagues in the world.
