Thursday, March 28, 2024

Rupert Barker

Rupert Barker is a former premier league player with University of Edinburgh and has player coached at several clubs across the south of England. He is currently Wallingford 1s player-coach and founder of Hockey21, bringing hockey into the 21st century by creating hockey computer games.

Should cards turn yellow when air turns blue?

We need to refrain from bad language in our beautiful sport and prevent it claiming a permanent foothold No one likes to hear foul language...

Why isn’t there more protective equipment in world hockey?

Ruling out the backhand in mid-level and junior hockey may not be the way to make it safer, says our columnist Safety must, of course,...

Hockey stick development through the ages: 1980s and finding strength

We take a look at how the stick has developed over the last four decades to cater for the way we now play the...

3D skills in hockey will only get more dynamic in modern game

Rupert Barker looks at the progression of 3D skills in the modern game and how it will develop in our sport Kwan Browne is recalling...

How racket sports can improve your hockey

In sport we are constantly told to practice, usually at the sport we are competing in. But there are also transferrable skills from other...

Is Red Lions’ aerial attack changing hockey?

With Belgium adding Olympic gold to world and European titles, RUPERT BARKER asks whether the Red Lions' game will change hockey in 2022 There is...

The stick block pandemic: a grass roots issue yet to be eradicated

Stick blocking, fencing, and shielding are all terms for a pandemic that has spread throughout the hockey world rapidly and is now endemic within the game, but how do...

When goalkeepers slide and forwards go to ground, controversy follows

Robert Black, the Old Georgians and Scotland over-45’s goalkeeper, has seen an “extreme shift over the last three years” in the umpiring of keepers’...