Planet Hockey Features
COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Who can challenge Australia?
The nine other men’s and women’s teams competing at the sixth hockey competition at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games have a mammoth task on their hands.
For the men’s teams the challenge is to wrest the trophy from the unbeaten Kookaburras, while only India, in 2002, has ever managed to stop the Hockeyroos
...
AFRICA
Lots of potential, but no-where to play
“If you build it, they will come,” Erwin Handura utters the famous mis-quote as he explains that Namibian hockey, particularly indoor hockey, is full
of potential, it purely lacks facilities and funding.
...
USA Field Hockey
USA women ‘mesh together’ at Indoor Hockey World Cup
They came into the cauldron of the Max-Schmeling-Halle as the lowest ranked team. They had an average age of just 20 - the lowest in the tournament. They
had the least caps – an average of seven, compared to the tournament average of 14. In Madison Orobono, they had the youngest player at the event ...
WALKING HOCKEY
Walking to Hockey Success
Fast-paced, speedy, high energy – all words that you associate with hockey. But for some people, these descriptors make hockey an intimidating activity
in which they feel they can take no part.
“In October 2016 one of our ladies team members came to me and said that she was finding my hockey ...
THE COACH
The Coach shares his wisdom
Coaches and hockey lovers were in for a treat when they logged onto the Hockey Today Coaching Clinic for the inaugural online series of hockey seminars.
The keynote speech was delivered by one of the greatest hockey coaches of all time, former Australia head coach Ric Charlesworth.
...
OCEANIA
Watch out Auckland, the Netherlands are coming
The Netherlands are rebuilding. After a silver medal at Rio 2016, a match in which they will have considered themselves to have lost gold rather than to
have won silver, the world number one side are now pushing themselves to reach new heights of dazzling brilliance. Two players at the heart of
Dutch ...
EUROPE
Doing it the ‘German Way”
Jami Mülders has been the head coach of the German women’s team since 2012 and in that time he has been rebuilding Die Danas in a mould and model that
is very much player-centric. In the early stages of his tenure, sceptics saw his approach as too ...
EUROPE
Final Four Battle for Europe’s Top Spot
Europe’s best club sides are closing in on the title of 2017 EHL KO16 Club Champions. After a weekend of scintillating action at Eindhoven, Netherlands,
over the Easter weekend, the 16 clubs who hailed from Netherlands, France, Poland, Germany, Belgium, England and Ireland were reduced to a final four.
The matches that ...
Stick/Equipment Reviews
STICK REVIEW
Dita Black Kat
Hitting – 2/5
Dita’s Black Cat has a power index of 11. I was rather intrigued by this. For me it was 2 out of 5. The Dita didn’t quite have the power I was expecting
it to have. The ...
STICK REVIEW
Adidas W24 Compo 1
Hitting (4/5)
Hitting with the Adidas W24 compo 1 was great. I felt like there was a lot of power in the hit and didn’t vibrate through the handle a lot. This stick
does have a slight bend in the shaft, which means if you normally use a straight bow (like me) then you need ...
Travel & Lifestyle
Riding The Namib Desert
Want to try something unique, then how about doing a horse ride through the Namib Desert.
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Columnists Corner
Lauren Penny Colum
Dealing With Disappointment In Sport
By Lauren Penny
The countdown to the Olympics has begun.
It is a time that people look forward to because we get the chance to watch the world’s best athletes compete in sports that we don’t always get the
...
Peter Langford Colum
Reducing Hamstring Injuries
ONE SIMPLE EXERCISE THAT CAN CUT YOUR RISK OF HAMSTRING INJURY IN HALF
Our resident exercise specialist, physiotherapist Peter Langford offers advice on prevention and cure of the hockey players’ curse – hamstring injuries.
Hamstring injuries are a common complaint for athletes. They can ...
Peter Langford Colum
Taking the pain out of DOMS
By Peter Langford
It’s two days after that tough match and you are still feeling the effects. In this issue, fitness and exercise guru Peter Langford offers advice on understanding
and overcoming DOMS.
We all know about training for sport. Athletes work hard to gain fitness and improve their performance. But one area where a lot of ...
Lauren Penny Column
Winning the Mind Games
By Lauren Penny
Five ways to turn frustration into better performances
Sports coach and former international Lauren Penny helps you take control of your emotions
How do you feel when an umpire makes several bad decisions in a game?
What about when your team mate doesn’t pass you the ball even though you’re open and possession is turned over again?
How about ...
Events/Tournaments
Commonwealth Games
Comm Games Update
The XXI Commonwealth Games has produced some shock results as well as confirmed some of the pre-tournament predictions. Wales women’s spirited 3-2 win
over India was one such surprise as was India’s own 2-1 win over world number two team England.
In the men’s ...
EHL
Dutch clubs make it three from four in weekend of thrilling hockey
In a weekend of high tempo hockey action, which saw much criticism of a new scoring system, four teams have confirmed their places in the blue riband event
of club hockey, the EHL Final4. The teams who will be competing in Rotterdam on 26 May are: Dutch clubs HC Bloemendaal and HC Rotterdam, along with
...
Commonwealth Games
Hockey’s Talent Takes Centre Stage at the Gold Coast Games
In just over a month, the best sportspeople from across the Commonwealth will be descending upon the Gold Coast for the 21st Commonwealth Games. Over
a two-week period, 23 sports will be on show to the world, with athletes from as far afield as Rwanda, Guyana, Monserrat and Tuvalu travelling to Australia
to ...
Indoor World Cup
Joy for Austria and Germany at the Indoor World Cup
Dramatic, exciting, thrilling, the “best indoor hockey event ever” – the superlatives and praise just keeping coming for the Fifth Indoor Hockey World
Cup. The five-day hockey extravaganza took place at the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin, a massive sports complex that had been modified, branded
and prepared to meet the demands of a hockey ...
News
Apr 10 2018
Day two of the men’s hockey competition at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games saw 15 goals scored over two matches as England beat Malaysia 7-0 and
... Read more!
Apr 06 2018
The opening day of play in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games women’s hockey event saw Wales, New Zealand, England and Australia pick up their first
... Read more!
Apr 03 2018
HC Rotterdam and HC Bloemendaal stormed through to the EHL FINAL4, joining fellow Dutch side SV Kampong and the ... Read more!
Apr 03 2018
Herakles and SV Kampong will meet in the FINAL4 of the Euro Hockey League following another enthralling day of action at the KO16 in ... Read more!
Apr 01 2018
HC Rotterdam produced an amazing late comeback to delight a capacity home crowd of over 6,400 as they recovered from 4-0 down to beat Mannheimer HC
... Read more!
Mar 29 2018
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) today announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), with Thierry Weil set to join the organisation
in ... Read more!
Mar 27 2018
Reports are emerging from the South American hockey heartland, Argentina, that all is not well with the national teams. Accusations of lies, betrayal and
disrespect ... Read more!
Mar 22 2018
Pakistan men’s hockey team has been in the wilderness for a few years now. Failure to qualify for either the 2014 World Cup or the 2016 Olympics had ... Read more!
Mar 22 2018
Colin Batch made it very clear that he is taking nothing for granted as his team prepare to defend their title at ... Read more!
Mar 11 2018
It is probably the most high quality and exciting men’s hockey event that doesn’t end in qualification for a major event, but the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
... Read more!
Mar 08 2018
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup nears its exciting conclusion as the teams play off to decide who will contest the medal positions. In the opening match
... Read more!
Oct 31 2017
England have announced their 18-woman squad that will travel to New Zealand to contest the Sentinel Homes Hockey World League Final.
The ... Read more!
