During the 1980s and the early part of the 90s Hockey in Australia had a broad base of support and people playing the sport across the country.
These people came from all walks of life, but now for some reason the game in this country – a country that is considered by many to be leader in the game – is now only played by a very exclusive group.
It has in effect become a sport run by the elite for the elite. This must end and must end now otherwise the game in Australia will disappear into irrelevance.
We have to take the game back into schools, we have to broaden the base and we have to get more people interested in the game and more young people interested in playing the game. In this paper I am going to explore some ways that we can use to achieve that.
During the 1980s and early part of the 1990s when I went to primary school you would regularly play hockey as part of the Physical Education classes. It was part of the school sports programs in both the private and public schools systems and there were always inter-school competitions.
From around the mid to late part of the nineties the sport seem to disappear – at first from the public school sector where it is now non-existent, and later in the private system.
The governing bodies who run the game in Australia have failed to put the effort into producing a game and the resources to go with it that are simple for schools and teachers to implement who in most cases have never played the game.
The governing bodies have failed to come up with a modified format of the game, which is easy, cheap and safe to play in schools while keeping the basic integrity of the full game in place.
So how do we change this? How do we take the game back into schools?
The first step is to develop a modified version of the game that is tailored to school and actually works, a game that doesn’t necessary need a full hockey field or a hockey turf to play it.
Therefore I am proposing a new modified game call X8s Hockey, this game while based on the full game only requires a maximum of eight players per team on the field at any one time, and each team is only allowed a maximum of two interchange players on the side lines. It also removes the feet rule from the game other than in the attacking and defensive circles, and takes away the dangerous penalty corner.
We have reduced the games to a total of two eight-minute halves with a four-minute half-time break, meaning that games can be over and done with in a maximum of 20 minutes. All of this will make it more appealing to schools, and the game much more straightforward hopefully to teach, while still keeping the basic integrity in place.
Action needs to be taken. I urge Hockey Australia, the state bodies and the hockey community to have this debate.
Jerome Buck
Roar Rookie
Good point but modified versions of the game will only ever been used at early junior level, and they will be used as a transition between Hook in2 Hockey and 11 a side hockey.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
Thanks -- I'm a casual observer only -- good to hear that kids are involved, and even better if it leads them to the full form of the game. More generally, and speaking as someone with virtually no sporting ability, but who participated in lots of sports, I know that modified forms are there to help the weaker participants like myself. However, I worry that they hold back the good players who are ready for the real thing, and don't really help people like myself who are never going to make the run-on side at any level.
Jerome Buck
Roar Rookie
DJW, fees are a big problem, but clubs here do need to take more responsibility, they need to find ways to reduce costs, etc through sponsorship etc, which will help to bring fees down, and stop passing the blame up the line. How is it possible for allot of country cubs in WA and other parts of the country to keep there fee's down but not for the city clubs.
Jerome Buck
Roar Rookie
Professor you almost sound like someone who has been for many years close to the game. I think Kookaburra 8's which is now in Hockey in New South Wales is going very well, so to say Modified hockey doesn't work, is incorrect.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
I think modified forms of the game are unsatisfactory for those boys and girls who have the skills for the real game. Others are not going to play it anyway, and modified forms will have minimal effect on developing their ball skills, team ethos, or physical education. It's the same with all sports -- maybe t-ball gets kids interested in baseball or softball, but I tend to think it gets them more interested in t-ball. Hockey was popular in Australia well before the 1980s and 1990s, and it was played hard at public schools and high schools, with the best players heavily involved with hockey at grade or representative level on weekends. For many (like Brian Booth) it was cricket in summer, hockey in winter. For others, such as the Chappells, it was cricket in summer, baseball in winter. Any of Australia's major cities have very large populations that have their origins on the sub-continent: India and Pakistan. These countries have traditionally been hockey powerhouses, so I suppose it would be interesting to see if these kids are participating -- if not, why not?
DJW
Guest
Your comment about the cost is bang on. Not sure if parents also perceive it as a dangerous sport. My fees for an male adult on turf this season are $600 + $8-10 a week. I think a hook into hockey or under 11s are like $200+ . Seems very expensive. I think a large part of this go's too Hockeywa. I would be interested to see how it compares to AFL, soccer, rugby etc at the same age. Then this the cost of stick, shin pads, shoes, mouthguard. Some of the traditional strong country areas are also struggling with numbers.
Jerome Buck
Roar Rookie
Oh Glen trust me it has its own ugly parent problems, just less of it is visible unless you know where to look. In terms of club participation, I believe that number to be slightly inflated by about 20%, I believe allot of clubs tend to how do I put this not exactly tell the true picture of the situation because they want to be seen to be bigger than there rivals, or equal to the rivals. As far as the game in schools I am sorry to say I have been to Melbourne, Sydney as well as spent time in other parts of the country coaching the sport of hockey which I am passion about, and it has dried up in schools and is becoming in most cases and elite game in elite schools. As for a modified version this is the way forward Hockey Australia all ready know that, as do there state bodies and they are working now on formats that will work such as Hockey 5's and J Ball etc.
Glen
Guest
Jerome, hockey has changed substantially since the 90's. I like the discussion you are starting, but; Participation is down in most sports. I feel club participation is the best indicator of participation and hockey has over 117,000 adult registered members in Australia. Compared to Rugby Union at 57,000 or Rugby League at 130,000 (ausplay participation data 2016) hockey,with a very low profile, is doing well. We do need more boys playing in order to remain competitive as the game grows internationally. The 'elite' you are talking about is due to rising costs, but this would be more noticeable in Perth. As a PE teacher, I believe a modified game or playing in school curriculum will make little difference to participation. The curriculum at my current school includes Volleyball and Badminton - but no one plays these sports in any great numbers. Availability of fields, reduced costs, strong clubs and schools participating in weekend sport seem to make the difference. Hockey is a truly international game, an Olympic game, a game you can play as you get older, it has a strong fraternity at all centres across Australia, and seems not to have the ugly parents that I see present in League.
Jerome Buck
Roar Rookie
A point I missed in this article that I just want to add to, is we also need to find ways to drive the cost of playing the game down, clubs and associations need to become more pro-active in this fees space, looking and innovative ways to bring the costs of playing hockey down. Some clubs all ready are doing this, but I say some, the majority just ring there hands and pass the blame up the line, and that needs to change.