Field Hockey

There are many different topics that are covered in the book Pretty Little Liars, but one topic that interests me in the book is field hockey. I love playing field hockey and so does one of the main characters, Spencer Hastings, in Pretty Little Liars. She works hard at it by practicing it everyday. Field hockey is a team sport in which one tries to score in the opposing net by using a hockey stick. It is played all around the world by men and women. There are many international tournaments that host field hockey games. Some of which include the Olympic Games and the Hockey World Cups.  The professional name for the sport is hockey. During the winter, hockey is played indoors due to the weather conditions. With this, the rules change a little because the field is smaller being only 40 m X 20 m, and the shooting circle is only 9 m.

History
This sport originated from a game called hurling, but in the early 19th century, the game started to grow from English public schools. It was first played at British universities and schools, but it soon became popular around the world and is now the third most popular sport in the world- first is football and second is cricket.
Rules
- The ball is not allowed to touch one's foot
- If the ball is hit higher than one's knee, then it is a penalty
- The objective of the game is to score in the opposing net
- Each team may have one goalie that is covered in protective gear
- Each team may have 11 players on the field at a time
- Each team is allowed to substitute
- You can only hit the ball on the flat part of the hockey stick

To learn more about field hockey click here:
http://www.fieldhockeywest.org/docs/2009FIHRules.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_hockey