Is Hockey the most pointless school sport?

[GB72]

I played hockey at school as well as rugby and cricket. We also had options for tennis, squash, badminton and even golf but you the places were very limited and you had to have a handicap to take part. The one sport that was not played at my school was football.

I think that schools should have as diverse selection of sports as possible so as kids can find one that suits them. Actually, anything that encourages kids into sport and opens their eyes to the sports that are not on TV every 5 minutes is great.

 

[FairwayDodger]

So... is the OP suggesting that running round a pitch trying to put a ball in a net using sticks is more pointless than running round a pitch trying to put a ball in a net using your feet or running around a pitch trying to carry a strange shaped ball over the goal line?

Hmm.....

 

[vkurup]

So... is the OP suggesting that running round a pitch trying to put a ball in a net using sticks is more pointless than running round a pitch trying to put a ball in a net using your feet or running around a pitch trying to carry a strange shaped ball over the goal line?

Hmm.....

good point..
My view (besides others) was also to look at what games would you play while you are still in your 30s and beyond... I played cricket for my company till the body gave way. It is far more gentle sport (if you are a middle aged bloke)... you can also play footy. However even though I loved hockey, i cannot play it anymore due to my physical inability.

However, i take the point that it is about getting the kids out and getting them in team sports that is important...

 

[Lord Tyrion]

good point..
My view (besides others) was also to look at what games would you play while you are still in your 30s and beyond... I played cricket for my company till the body gave way. It is far more gentle sport (if you are a middle aged bloke)... you can also play footy. However even though I loved hockey, i cannot play it anymore due to my physical inability.

However, i take the point that it is about getting the kids out and getting them in team sports that is important...

Vets hockey is pretty popular in most areas. My old clubs had their lower two teams mixed with old blokes walking around and young kids on their way up doing the running. I'm with you, my knees gave way in my early 30's, but plenty of my old playing colleagues are still going, dropping through the teams as they get older and slower.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I believe Shinty is still very popular in the Highland Schools.
There seems to be a lot of pitches.

 

[sportsbob]

Why not???

http://www.lorettoschool.co.uk/golf-academy-1382.html

My old man went there!

Any sport that gets kids off their backsides and off their electronic devices serves a point. Hockey, as has been previously mentioned, is one of those sports that can be played mixed. Played for 25 years then realised that being over 6ft, it was not doing my back any good.

 

[pendodave]

My kids (male and female) play. I think it's fantastic. The game has been transformed by astro since I were a lad.

What's great is that , rather like cricket, the kids gently move up from the junior ranks into senior sides where they get a chance to meet a whole different bunch of adults and other youngsters. There's even the chance for fathers and sons/daughters to play in the same team which you don't tend to get in other winter sports.

There's a great club atmosphere, unlike pretty much any level of adult football I've come across. More like cricket or Rugby, but with both sexes and rather less threat of physical injury (vs rugby).

What's not to like ?

 

[richart]

When I played hockey at school which was not often, we played on the worse grass pitches you could imagine. Almost impossible to move the ball more than a few feet at a time, and nearly all the games finished 0-0. No wonder nobody wanted to play.

Played golf with a few hockey players, including Calum Giles, and they hit the ball miles with very short swings.

 

[vkurup]

When I played hockey at school which was not often, we played on the worse grass pitches you could imagine. Almost impossible to move the ball more than a few feet at a time, and nearly all the games finished 0-0. No wonder nobody wanted to play.

Played golf with a few hockey players, including Calum Giles, and they hit the ball miles with very short swings.

One of my regular PPs used to play national level juniors in India. When he started playing, he could hit any distance from 50 - 200y with a 5W and managing his swing. So we pressurised him to get a full set. After he got a bag, he could not figure what to do with 13 other clubs.. :rofl: