So the hockey season is upon us again, i went to the first pre-season training session on tuesday, i missed the fitness part as i think that may have killed me there and then. The session was tough going as the session was been led by the first team coach which meant some of the things we were doing i had never thought about or let alone would think about using them in the game. Such as flick the ball out your stick and running with it, i never knew you could carry the ball in this way, i would love to try this out in lover league hockey.
Also the new rules are coming in which essentially allows any player to take a free hit to themselves which means on the side line especially the player can just drop the ball and hit off and drive straight away, this will speed the game up no end as a more agile team will take advantage of it.
The rules in detail:
13.1 Location of a free hit:
a) a free hit is taken close to where the offence occurred
‘Close to’ means within playing distance of where the offence occurred and with no significant advantage gained.
The location from which a free hit is taken must be more precise inside the 23m area.
b) a free hit awarded within 5M of the circle to the attack is taken at the nearest point 5m from the circle
c) a free hit awarded outside the circle to the defence within 15m of the back-line is taken up to 15m from the back-line in line with the location of the offence, parallel to the side-line
d) a free hit awarded inside the circle to the defence is taken anywhere inside the circle or up to 15m from the back-line in line with the location of the offence, parallel to the side-line.
13.2 Procedures for taking a free hit, centre pass and putting the ball back into play after it has been outside the field:
a) the ball must be stationary
b) opponents must be at least 5m from the ball
If an opponent is within 5m of the ball, they must not interfere with the taking of the free hit or must not play or attempt to play the ball. If this player is not playing the ball, attempting to play the ball or influencing play, the free hit need not be delayed.
c) when a free hit is awarded to the attack within the 23m area, all players other than the player taking the free hit must be at least 5m from the ball
d) the ball is moved using a push or hit
e) the ball must not be raised intentionally directly from the free hit
f) if the player taking the free hit is the next player to play the ball, the actions of taking the free hit and of next playing the ball must be two separate actions
g) before another player of the team which took the free hit is allowed to play the ball, the ball must move at least 1m
The ball does not have to move 1m before the player taking the free hit may play the ball again.
h) from a free hit awarded to the attack within the 23m area, the ball must not be played into the circle until it has travelled at least 5m or has been touched by a player of either team other than the player taking the free hit.
Cant wait for the new season, if i keep up my fitness hope to no longer reside in the 6th and perhaps the 5ths or even 4ths would be nice 
