For field hockey umpires, by field hockey umpires
The ball doesn’t leave the circle after being injected on the penalty corner. The umpire allows play to continue and the shot to be taken, but calls the free hit once it has entered the goal. …
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Another big decision on a goal in this game as the clock is ticking down. The turning moment here is the diving deflection from the top of the circle, and the question is whether that player had three …
After a turnover, the intercepted (now) defender breaks play down with a failed tackle from behind. The umpire indicates she’s going to come back to the breakdown by continuing to signal the …
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The second warning whistle of the game comes from this clear and unnecessary breakdown stick obstruction, 5’ after the first warning whistle of the game. On the ensuing free hit, the umpire …
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A free hit is taken just inside the 23m area. It travels towards the circle and hits the edge of the circle line, which constitutes inside the circle. A free hit is given for the defence, taken where …
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This aerial is mistrapped but the opposition wasn’t 5 metres. Advantage didn’t accrue so the whistle was blown a little on the later side by the trailing umpire. Knowing your responsibilities is …
When an attacker breaks away via the through pass, the goalkeeper leaves his circle and plays the ball away legally with his stick. Given that goalkeepers are a bigger, more heavily-equipped player, …
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After a clean tackle, the defender’s stick gets knocked out of his hands by the dispossessed attacker’s leg coming through. This is a great time for a quick whistle to reward the skill and maintain …
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Here’s an alternate view on the trapped ball and how long to wait until calling the bully when the trap has occurred unintentionally. One approach is to jump quickly on the obstruction as soon …
This scenario shows the difficulty in balancing the need for flow and penalizing players who breach the rules. A free hit is awarded to the attack 1-2m outside the circle and inside the 5m dotted …
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There are a couple of little nigglies shown by the players here. The controlling umpire double-tweets to get a pause in the play in order to talk to the players, keeping her voice calm. The supporting …
Not every free push taken away from the spot of the foul requires intervention in indoor. However, when the team in possession gains an unfair advantage by cutting out non-fouling defenders as happens …
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A defender moves early into tackling position and makes a block tackle from a stationary position. As she’s deflecting the ball out of bounds, the attacker is unable to adjust her running path and …
When the play is in the deep far side of your circle, “flashing” a few metres inside the circle towards the penalty spot is an effective and relatively safe way to get yourself a better view of the …
A defender plays the ball off her foot on a missed trap and after the whistle has sounded, pushes the ball well away from the spot of the foul. The two exacerbating factors are the obviousness of the …
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The umpire here gets caught supporting too high and then watching the turnover with planted feet rather than getting on her bike immediately. Often when we realize we’ve made a mistake we get caught …
As an overeager attacker attempts to reach a rebound, he puts his hand on the goalkeeper and pushes him to the ground. A quick whistle helps to avert any “afters” or complaints from either team. …
Two separate elements can be highlighted in this passage of play. First, after the ball is rolled in from the ball patrol on a 9m free push, the defender puts the ball into play without making a …
On the attempted tackle, the defender comes through the back of the receiver in an uncontrolled manner. Although the attacker may have gone down a little too easily, the defender didn’t try to step …
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An aerial ball is sent to a space occupied by an opposing player. A teammate of the passer starts behind the initial receiver and begins to close. At this level, is it a disadvantage for a receiver to …
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After playing a quick self-pass, the ball carrier meets a defender and passes the ball over the oncoming defender’s reverse stick. Although his path is blocked by the defender’s body, the ball has …
A ball off the post rebounds (extremely slowly) into the goal. However, because the ball had not been touched by an attacker inside the circle, the correct award is a 23m restart. To …
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After a ball is turned over in the midfield on an aerial interception, the receiver feeds a terrific through ball into space and gets clattered from behind by a dangerous and physical tackle. …
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An attempted aerial pass is called for danger on the way up as a defender was able to close within 5m and had to take legitimate evasive action from the ball. The free hit is awarded where the danger …
After the umpire gets caught a little close to the play on this penalty corner rebound, she makes an excellent adjustment and moves 5m off the end line in order to give herself a broader view of a …
The ball is stopped by the goalkeeper splayed on the ground and rests against his kicker. The attacker makes no effort to bring the ball away and traps the ball there, other hand raised to demand the …
A ball is raised into the circle off a reverse sweep hit, rising dangerously past one defender and heading for a set of opposing players where the defender is marking very tightly. Either for the …
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A midfield pass is played off the back stick and called only for danger when the receiver tries to deflect it on dangerously into her marking defender. Watch for the speed of the swing and the lack of …
A defender attempts to cut out the aerial but can only do so legally by intercepting outside the 5m zone that the attacker was occupying. To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T …
A danger area for correctly identifying and deciding to intervene on breakdown play is when the play is closer to one umpire but is moving away from them such that they are unsighted from the call. In …
The aerial ball is missed by the initial defender and as the ball bounces into the space behind her, it appears it could be safely contested by the next set of two opposing players and play allowed to …
After committing the foul, the GBR player clearly hits the ball away from the spot of the foul. Green card is awarded. To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T Green, FHU3T Green …
A green card, the first of the game, is awarded for this tackle attempted from a risky position which breaks down the play. To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T Green, FHU3T …
The aerial ball is sent to an attacker downfield who has a defender behind her. This is right on the line where players were in safe positions, and had the ball been sent just a little more shallowly, …
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When the ball is cleared off the end line by a defender, the umpire deems it unintentional, and the attacking team requests their video referral. When you examine the travel of the ball, the body …
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Be very careful about the timing of your interventions when you’re not the controlling umpire. Sometimes you can be not focused on the ball enough and lose the fact that the play is underway and an …
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An aerial ball is outlet from the left sideline on the diagonal into the middle of the pitch. From the side angle, it appears that the AUS player infringes within 5m of the NED player standing …
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After a couple of free hits are awarded around the circle, the attacker fails to move the ball 5m before carrying the ball into the circle. To access this content, you must purchase FHU3T …
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This collision on the penalty corner is worth examining, for a variety of reasons. For context, there was a significant incident at last year’s Pro League Finals during the semi-final between these …
Two distinct issues are shown in this clip. The defender dribbles himself into pressure on the left side-board and tries to drill the ball at and potentially over one of the pressing attacker’s …
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In fiery, physical matchups where tempers can really get out of control, player management is a crucial part of both your skillset and your #thirdteam match plan. Adam Kearns shows some of his …
A melee in front of the goalkeeper goes on for several seconds, where one attacker, two field defenders and the goalkeeper jockey for the ball. Eventually, the attacker gets his stick on the ball but …
A ball sent into the circle deflects high off a defender’s stick, striking the next attacker in the arm, where the umpire is unsighted. Rather than attempting to play on from a poor angle, the …
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A rare angle on an aerial ball shows us the defender encroaching towards the potential receiving area of the pass where the passer’s teammate is waiting as the initial receiver. This is closer to the …
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A yellow card is shown after a long advantage was played. Note the communication between the two umpires as the trail confirms over the radio they should as a team come back for the card. The trail …
A jab tackle is sent off the end line, and in the view of the umpire, intentionally. Cues to look for in this situation include the body shape of the defender, who is facing directly off the pitch, …
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A yellow card is given for this tackle, which in real-time appears to be a legitimate attempt on the ball. However, on replay, the stick narrowly misses the ball and goes under the receiver’s foot. …
This tackle shows the fine line between a well-executed block and tackling illegally with body contact. The defender is tracking body-to-body and is able to get his stick completely flat and cleanly …
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The ball carrier dribbles towards the left sideboards and as he comes into contact, moves his stick to trap the ball against the boards, actively preventing the defender from playing it. This is a …
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On a sweep shot like this it can be difficult to see a back stick as there is no telltale spray or looping ball trajectory as indicators. Here, the best sign is the toe of the stick. When we don’t …
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