Essential Tips For Hockey Tryout

The tryout season is here! While it is too stressful for the young players it is a crucial milestone which they need to pass before being selected to go ahead with their interest. With hockey season across the corner, the young players need to buckle up and make the best of the opportunity, says a member of the best hockey team in India.

While the process is both exciting and unnerving, the players need to put their best foot forward to prove their mettle and make their presence felt to make it to the top hockey team. Since the tryouts usually begin with the new academic year, the players need to manage a lot on their plate successfully says a board member of India’s Hockey League.

To make you better equipped with the hockey tryout challenge, here are some handy tips to ensure that you both perform and learn well along with casual fun to it:

• It is not going to be the end of your hockey career

Note that even if you don’t make it to the team you are aspiring to, this is not the end of the world. There is no need to freak out; there are other teams as well which need players like you so strive for these. Failures always remind about the scope of improvement that you have.

• Do not sulk

Needless to say, give your best. Get on the field and give your best shot. Believe that hard work pays. Do not indulge in dissecting every irrelevant detail once you are done with your session. What is done is done, stay positive and prepared for the result, iterates an eminent member of the best hockey team in India.

• Stay prepared

It is better not to add any unnecessary anxieties to the week which is scheduled for tryout. Just double-check your timings for the tryout and look into your packing. Make sure that all the equipment’s you need to take along are packed.

For more details please check www.delhi-waveriders.in/.

A Parent’s Guide To Hockey For Their Kids

Struggling to find the perfect fit of a sport for your kid? Give field hockey a shot and both you and your child will be adopting not a sport but a lifestyle you will be proud of. If like me, safety is your concern being a parent of a lively and outgoing child, field hockey is your best bet. It is a non-contact sport where risks of hitting the ball or being hit by another player is minimal. Being a tactical skill, players will focus on game play and building technique rather than showing off their strength.

Or, if you are looking for a game to improve your kid’s health and social skills, this sport again beats others. Being a team sport kids bond up really well and constant activity keeps them fit and mentally agile, says players of hockey leagues in India. Well the benefits of it are immense and out of the scope of this particular blog. Here we will discuss what you would want to know first as you choose hockey for your kid.

Safety and equipment

Before your child can say turf, the first thing you would want to ensure is that he is braced up with proper safety equipment and gear, advices a Indian hockey player and coach. Well, for mums, nothing comes before protection so let’s start with the essentials. You would want to invest in a good quality mouth guard. They protect your child from mouth injuries by falling face first and also they are a must. If you will go for cheaper versions, they are uncomfortable to wear and may compromise safety. Next you need a shin guard and some nice cleats. Cleats in particular are a fashion statement. 

So children may tend to overlook protection and quality. Well, the blend of both is pretty costly, and not advised for growing kids. Your job would be to keep them firm on quality footwear. If he is not the goalie, there is no other protection required. Just buy him a good stick and he is good to go! 

For more info please check www.delhi-waveriders.in/.

Delhi Waveriders: Hockey Team’s Winning Story

The India’s Hockey League (HIL) was inaugurated during the year 2013 and has been recorded as the latest development in the sport of Hockey since history. The fascinating concept of a city-based franchise system like we saw during the IPL has proved to be quite a success, even in Hockey. Each city franchise featured players from different parts of the world who played alongside some of our best domestic players.
 

It would have been a crazy idea when it was first put forward. Who would’ve thought that the Delhi Waveriders led by Sardar Singh would emerge as such a successful hockey team? They were runners-up to Ranchi Rhinos in the first edition of HIL, while they bagged the title the following year.
AK Bansal, who was the team’s coach during the first season of HIL, says the success of his team owes to the flexibility and openness of all the players. They all learnt to adjust with each other, no matter how different they were culturally. Delhi’s hockey team consisted of big names from abroad like Jason Wilson and Matthew Gohdes from Australia, Mujtaba from Denmark, and Simon Childs from New Zealand among others. They played alongside some of our best players from within the country.
 

In the championship-winning year (2014), skipper Sardar Singh emerged as the disciplined midfielder, while Rupinder Pal Singh, Kiwi Steve Edwards and Aussie Tristan White playing on the defense side contributed to the team’s strong point. They collectively led Delhi Waveriders to win during the second edition of Hockey India League.
 

All in all, it was a great year for the Sardar-led team who choked the life out of their opponents by executing their strategy well. HIL might have changed the way Hockey is played around the world, thus bringing our national sport to get the attention it deserves.

How To Handle The Stick In Hockey

What’s the thing with stick handling in hockey? Read on to know more.
 

One of the most crucial stick handling basics is to keep your head up. After all, you can’t know what might happen while you are busy looking at the puck- your callousness might serve as a blessing in disguise for the opponent and he might get away with a shot or two, says a hockey player from the hockey team of India. You are likely to lose scores at the hands of the opponent you didn’t know was near you that ways.

 

The second tip that might come across as a game-saver is not to hold the stick too tightly, or as they put it in hockey-terms – use soft hands. Handle it gently so that you don’t tighten your grip. Think of it as an egg, and handle it carefully enough so as not to break the shell.
 

The next thing that ought to be taken into consideration, says a member of Hockey League in India, is the length of the stick. The shorter your stick, the easier it would be for you to pull across a shot, and the better it would be. On the ice, your stick should come up close to chin, and of the ice, a stick close till nose would be good enough.
 

Stick handling is not as easy as it may look like on the boundary. While practicing stick handling, try to reach out as far as possible on both the sides with the puck. This will help you maneuver the other players around and take over the game.
 

Stick handling is one thing that requires a great deal of commandment. That’s the first thing that should be on the cards in case you are planning to take up on the field.

Woman On The Field!

For many sports and woman are still are a distant and unrealized phenomenon. The chauvinistic universe which still does not admit and are sticking hard to the orthodox notions often create problems to the gateway for females for any contact with the outside world. It is almost derogatory how women are almost considered meek and fragile to make it to the top ladder for a long lasting career in sports and men, on the other paradigm are encouraged vehemently to pursue their career in sports. In such case Delhi franchise in hockey and other sports would have all been a man’s world.

 

If it would have been a generalized notion, there is no chance that woman would have been able to even step foot on the ground and the athlete world would have been a barren land with no female sport enthusiast or a member of hockey team of India. All accolades to the sensibilities of those who actively encouraged woman to come to the forefront and establish themselves on the pedestal in the sports world. Ours is a world where enthusiasm for sports parallels that to a firm belief in one’s faith and religion. Yes religion is the word! Sport is a religion in many parts of the world today and women are active participants in these and have qualified for an essential position in these.
 

However the road to success has not been easy. Several sacrifices and challenges have gone in the making of heroic figures like Mary Kom in boxing and Mamta Kharab, the ‘golden girl’ in women hockey team of India amongst others. But many a time owing to this pressure their nutritional requirement takes a back seat and health is compensated with, which results in several health problems like:
 

-Light headedness on the field.
 

-Losing weight irrationally, especially in those who are undernourished.
 

-Irregular monthly cycle and an early menopause.
 

-Delay or stunted growth in many young athletes.

Maintaining Balance Between Studies And Game

The biggest challenge in a young player’s life is to strike a balance between academics and sports. While sports are a passion for them, basic academic education cannot be sacrificed with. And both these activities call for dedication and time. To quench your passion you must sacrifice your time and physical comforts, but basic education gives you the cognitive skill and social standing that is imperative in life. So creating a balance between the two worlds becomes important.
 

Hockey team champs give some advice to budding players to manage and overcome such hurdles.

 

•    On a foremost note, a fixed schedule is the something common between all sportsmen, irrespective of the game they follow and this is something that will help you balance your studies as well. Plan your month in advance and try to stick to it. It will define your game and help you incorporate other activities including studies as well.
 

•    Small achievable goals on an everyday basis are far more feasible than hoping to do the impossible. After the game you have limited time and physical stamina but even a small achievement like completing one chapter each day will keep you motivated.
 

•    Learn to overcome distractions. A player of hockey team Delhi says, ‘the problem with players is they have to live a life of a hermit, with little time to spare’. Thus, whenever you are doing something you don’t necessarily like --such as studies-- then distractions aren’t hard to come by. Social media, smart phones and gadgets are a sheer waste of time that could be invested elsewhere.
 

•    Learn to say no. there are times when practice session is all about fun. The coach is not free and your friends are interested in something cool and interesting. But ask yourself, will it help your game or your grades? So, learn to say no when you see precious time being eaten up for nothing.
 

•    Use up the time that is wasted in commutation. While mom drops you to school or sports complex you can easily spend your time revising what you learnt last night.
 

•    And finally, don’t forget to take care of your nutrition. A balanced and healthy diet will help your game tremendously and improve stamina and concentration level as well.

Master Wrist Shot

The wrist shot is in fact one of the most effective shots in field hockey. Being one of the precise shots it is released fairly quickly owing to the speed and force with which it is hit. This is the shot which a player must engage into learning if he intends to make a place in big and popular hockey teams. True that it is not that as quick as a slap shot is but with proper techniques and with the strength of your upper body, wrist shot can count and pass for one of the most powerful shots.
 

Basics
 

Ensure that you have a proper grip over the stick and learn to have a proper hockey stance as all the professionals in various hockey league India are versed with. To add power to your wrist shot move your lower hand halfway and position the body at a 45-degree angle in regard to the net. Bring your stick behind and place it in the middle of the blade and rotate the wrist to ensure that the blade is tilted over the puck. Shift your weight on your back leg then.

Initiate a sweeping action while you transfer your weight towards the front foot and rotate your body forward. When the stick blade crosses your body, transfer your weight on the stick while pushing it forward with your lower hand and backward with the hand on the top. The stick will be released as it will reach your front foot. In the action make sure that your shoulders are square to the net. If you are a keen observer, you will see this technique several times when the hockey teams are in the ground.
 

At the time of this release of the puck, the wrist turns putting the puck in action when the blade turns out. Once the puck is released, set the target by pointing the toe of the stick. In addition to this the height of your shot depends on the magnitude by which you rotate the stick.
And just this! Happy sweating!