Very Best Games - Grass Hockey

Name of Game	Grass Hockey a.k.a. Polo Hockey, Pillo Polo, or Spongee Polo
Type	athletic
Age Range	5-adult
Number of Players	6-14
Playing Environments	grass field, indoor gym
Shared Equipment	one lightweight rubber ball around 8" diameter
Individual Equipment	one stick
Summary	Players use lightweight, soft-ended, flexible sticks to whack the ball around the field and try to score a goal. Grass Hockey has the running and intensity of soccer, with the sticks taking the abuse instead of the players' legs. It's basically soccer with a stick.
Rules	Use soccer rules throughout, except for the following: Nothing but the stick can touch the ball, and if the ball is kicked, the other team gets an indirect hit from the location of the foul. If a ball goes over a sideline, it is hit in, not thrown. The goalie cannot grab or kick the ball, only hit it.
Comments	This is arguably the perfect game: great exercise develops skills that translate well to soccer, ice hockey, and field hockey rewards both finesse and power exceptionally safe intrinsically funny small children can play with adults safely and effectively Players should be reminded to keep their sticks below the waist. A full force whack in the face is usually just briefly painful and not injurious, but unpleasant enough to be worth some watchfulness.