Hockey gained popularity in the US. Image Courtesy – http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com
Ice hockey has gained popularity in the US, according to recent studies. An interactive market research was performed by a company in Rochester, New York, at the end of 2013, consisting of 2,311 people from the United States, ranging in age from 18 to old age people. Hockey came in the 6th position in the list. Sports like Pro-Football, Baseball, College Football, Auto Racing, and Men’s Pro-Basketball were above Hockey in that list. The main reason is that people used to get a huge amount of fun and excitement from watching the game.
In comparison to American Football, Ice Hockey is very fast, and it requires continuous action and excitement during the game. Sometimes, it takes 15-20 minutes at a stretch for the players in action. The players of Ice hockey move at a very fast pace with ice-skating shoes, and use their sticks to shoot a vulcanised rubber puck into the opponent’s net. The puck is formed 3 inches in diameter and 1 inch in thickness. So, this is not so easy to hit a puck while moving in skating shoes.
American Football is a very fast and violent sport where players run at other players at full speed and tackle them to the ground. Often there are fights used to break out during the game due to the rough nature of the game. Fighting in American Football is sometimes done by players during the game as per the expectations of their fans. But, instead of that, it is the top-rated sport in the US.
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Ice hockey players usually start playing at a very young age. A kid of 4 years can start playing Ice Hockey, because the reason is that once you know how to skate, you can start learning how to play Hockey. The young group in the US are usually put into scheduled programs designed for ice hockey training at the age of eight, helping them to be introduced to fundamentals before entering competitive leagues. Like any other sport, basic training in hockey is very important.
Ice hockey is an expensive game because all the equipment and uniforms for it are matched with the environment and icy floor on which a player performs. Besides, to learn and perform it in a standard way, you have to hire a suitable coach for your child. So, finding a good coach suitable for your child has the same importance as managing equipment.
The role of a coach is not only to train your child in the game, but also to guide your child to perform his level best in a competition. Kids are diverse in their mentality, so finding a coach who will be capable of understanding your child’s nature and temperament and train them into the best performer is very important. Appointing a coach for your kid who is positive, enthusiastic, encouraging and patient to give proper physical, tactical and psychological training is probably the key factor.
One of the reasons is that hockey has risen on the popularity chart because of very few breaks during the total span of time, and players usually move constantly as they are used to standing on skates. Scoring a goal in ice hockey is an exciting view, like a football player scoring a goal. The fan groups in hockey are energising and crazy. Hockey fans are die-hard fans and are known to be the loudest fan base in any other sport.
