Something New: Ho-eee!
Semester break has just arrived in Philippines and are you ready for another adventure? Most of us young at heart tend to sit down the couch and watch TV all the time with popcorn on our laps. We tend to get lazy whenever vacation arises. I would personally suggest that you would get up and engage in sports. This would not only kill the boredom experienced by most, but it would also generate a sense of fun and laughter being able to exercise making yourself physically fit in the process. What are you waiting for? Prepare your masks, your clubs, a pair of roller blades, two goals or rings and a puck for we are to enter the world of HOCKEY.
Hockey is a game adapted from two distinct versions according to the place of the game. These are on ice and on the field. These two versions differ from each other but more or less have the same set of rules to follow. In differentiating both, ice hockey is played with two teams of six and on ice skates. The playing area is then called a rink. This type of hockey could either be played indoors or outdoors depending on the preferences of the players and depending on the climate of place also. Field hockey, on the other hand, is played with two teams of eleven players each. In both types, hooked wooden sticks are used to propel or accelerate an object to the opponent’s goal. In ice hockey, the object propelled is a disk-shaped hard rubber puck while in field hockey is a leather covered ball. By its name alone, one could decipher that ice hockey is played on ice while field hockey on any surface other than ice as long as you have the needed materials, then you are set to go.
The objective of the game is similar to that of soccer. Instead of kicking a ball, you have to propel a puck or ball into the opponent’s goal using stick or clubs.
No one is sure of how hockey started. There are many stories of hockey starting here and there but there is no definite place as to where it originated. Some say that hockey was played in the ancient times by Greeks and other by Egyptians and still others by Romans. One could not possibly say so, for there have been no evidence of such. The odds are equal and each of these presumptions has a chance of originating hockey. But for now further investigations have been made.
The name hockey was thought to have originated from the French word “hoquet,” meaning shepherd’s crook, and is adapted in English. The use of the word became familiar to most and has made bookmarks on books. Still, some insist of another origin of such. It is said to originate when British explorers in 1740 found a group of Indians playing such a game in St. Lawrence Valley of Canada. They described such as “Ho-eee,” because in the game every time a player clubbed the ball, they would say “Ho-eee!”
Although little is known of the history of the said game, it still emerged to be one of the games mists played by some countries in the world. It is even shown in sports channels in TV. Furthermore, it further developed leagues that up to now are still active and continue to support hockey and entertain viewers of such a fascinating game. One of the most popular leagues is the NHL or National Hockey League. In this league, different states of the United States of America battle it out as to who will garner gold and be announced as champions. Some may lose and some may be victorious but in the long run, they will be going home bringing honor to their state.
That is why; I must suggest this game among Filipino people. We are always fed up of playing basketball, volleyball and sepak takraw. Why not try a new sport for once. In this manner, one could see other talents a pinoy could do. Who knows, we might be better than those playing international. There is no harm in trying. It’s better to try than doing nothing at all. At the end of this all, who knows, hockey will be a major sport in the Philippines. Stand up and swing every blow in the world of hockey.