Useful Glossary of Hockey Terms

BASELINE - these are the lines that the goals sit on, if the ball goes over this line it will either be a 16 year hit to the defence or a long corner or a short corner to the attackers

SIDE-LINE - these are the lines on the side of the pitch, if the ball goes off this, the opposite team to who last touched the ball gets the ball to restart the game.

D - this is the d shape around the goal, this is where the keeper can kick the ball, they can come out of this D and use their stick, to score the ball must be touched by an attacker in the D

5 YARD DOTTED LINE AROUND THE D - this was introduced to give player an understanding of 5 yards from the D for free hits around the D

25 YARD LINE - this is the line between the baseline and the half way line. This is where long corners are taken from, in line with where the ball went out over the baseline

HALF WAY LINE - this is the half way point of the pitch, where the game starts from and restarts after a goal, it is also where players go when they are not defending a short corner

HALF COURT PRESS - this means that all players defending the ball drop to the half way line, so the furthest forward player (normally striker) will be around the half way line, this is to compact the game allowing the opposition to have the ball in their own half and making it hard for them to break you down as a team

¾ COURT PRESS - this means that all players defending the ball drop to just past the 25 year line, so between half way and 25 yard line, again striker is normally the furthest forward. This is to allow the opposition to have the ball in their last third, and defenders to carry the ball but they are engaged and tackled when they try to come through the middle of the pitch

FULL PRESS - this is where the defending team set up around the oppositions 25 yard line, and the furthest forward player is 5 yards away from the opposition player with the ball and normally a W press is applied, where most passes are cut out for the opposition and it’s hard for them to break down

STEP UP - this means you need to move further up the pitch, so if you are free and not marking someone could say step up on the player in front of you

RIGHT/LEFT SHOULDER DROP - this is a call normally from a player behind you (defender or a goal keeper) the call means that you need to check over your shoulder and drop to pick up a player that isn’t been marked. If player just says right shoulder without the drop they are saying you’re in a good position just be aware the player is behind you on your right side.

DROP 2 YARDS - simply means you need to drop back to 2 yards to pick up a player or be in a better position, the number could change depending how far the player behind you wants you to drop

GET THEIR HEAD DOWN - this is a call that is normally shouted and followed with no foul, this call means you need to get close to the player with the ball about a metre off and just mirror without tackling, so they slow the ball up and the player head goes down to focus on the ball rather than where passes are.

MIRROR - this means that you get a metre away from the player with the ball and have your stick close to the floor and mirror where they have the ball without diving in to tackle, this slows the opposition up and makes them make the decision rather than react to your tackle

JAB TACKLE - this is a type tackle where you turn your stick in your hand so the face is facing up (known as a pan frying grip) and then jab at the ball to disrupt the player on the ball

POSTING UP - this is when you come towards the ball when receiving a pass and then carry the ball forward and away from the defender normally on an arch

CREATING 2 V 1 - this is where you single out a defender and drive at that defender with a team mate to create two players against 1

HIDING BEHIND PLAYERS - this is when you are standing behind a defender and not making yourself available for a pass from the player on the ball

LEAD RUNNING - this is where you run before the ball has been passed, this is normally a forward diagonal run that shows where you want the ball to be played or is to draw a defender with you to create space

FREE HIT - this is the term used when a foul or when you restart the game from the ball going out of play, if a free hit is given from the 25 year line to the base line in the attacking half the ball cannot go directly into the D it has to travel 5 yards before it can go in

16 YARD HIT - this is when the ball has gone over the baseline and an attacking player touched it last, 16 year hit is the distance from the baseline to where you take the free hit from in line with where the ball went out

LONG CORNER - this is given when the ball has gone out over the baseline and a defender touched it last, the free hit is taken from the 25 yard line, in line with where the ball went out

SHORT CORNER - is when a foul has been committed in the D, of in the attacking 25 yard to baseline, a short corner will be awarded, to defend a corner 4 defenders and a keeper will be in the goal, to attack there will be one injector and as many attacking players as you want at the top of the D.

• Note that if a defender breaks out before the ball has been played they will be sent to the half way line and the corner will be defended with one less player

• If an attacker enters the D before the ball has been played the injector is sent to the half way line

• The first shot on a short corner, if the attacker is hitting, needs to be back board height, if a further deflection or if the attacker is flicking or drag flicking then this can be higher than the backboard height

THROWING AN AERIAL - this is where the ball is thrown over players heads, the umpire will blow if they think that this is dangerous, which is normally if a player is too close to you when you through the ball

RECEIVING AN AERIAL - this is where you are the receiver of the aerial, a foul will be called if the ball is played into a crowd of players (2 or more), this will then be the defenders ball, a foul could be called against a defender if the ball is played to an attacker in space and the defender runs in to make it a crowd, different umpires will understand this in different ways so just listen to the call from the umpire

5 YARDS - this is the distance you should be from the opposition when a free hit is been taken, either a 16 yard hit, long corner or a free hit around the pitch. If you are not 5 yards just put your hand up and do not try to tackle as this should be a yellow card

STICK BLOCK - this is a foul, and I then the person on the ball prevents the tackler from getting to the ball by blocking the tacklers stick with their own

STICK TACKLE - this is a foul and is when a tackler hits the oppositions player stick before they make contact with the ball

CROSSING/OBSTRUCTION - this is a foul and it is when a player on your team runs in front and across you when you’re carrying the ball, this is call crossing and it is due to the fact the crossing player obstructs the tackler from getting to the ball

BACKING IN - this is a foul and is when you have the ball and you move backwards towards the defender, without moving side to side.

HAND ON BACK - this is also a foul and is one most umpires pick up on, this is when you are chasing back normally and you try and tackle with one hand and the other hand is on the oppositions back, even if you don’t push the player this is normally blown as a foul

DANGEROUS PLAY/BALL ABOVE THE KNEE - if when you make a pass, flick or hitting/shooting and the ball hits the opposition or is close to the opposition it will be deemed as dangerous and will be blown as a foul

3RD PARTY - only 2 players are allowed to touch the ball at one time. If a third player interferes, it is considered as a third-party obstruction and the possession of the ball would go to the team who only had one player involved in the third party. This also relates to when a player who runs in front or blocks an opponent to stop them legitimately attempting to play the ball is obstructing. This is 3rd party or shadow obstruction and also applies if an attacker runs across or blocks defenders when a penalty corner is being taken.