Field hockey is a stick-and-ball sport played close to the ground. The injury profile reflects the stick-and-ball patterns plus the running-and-cutting demands of any field invasion sport.

One. Concussion. Mechanisms include head-to-stick contact, head-to-ball, and head-to-ground. CDC HEADS UP applies. Same-day removal, written clearance, six-step return.

Two. Eye injuries. Stick and ball contact at face height produces eye-injury patterns similar to lacrosse. Protective eyewear is increasingly common; some leagues require ASTM-certified eyewear similar to girls’ lacrosse standards. Worth asking about your program’s policy.

Three. Dental injuries. Mouthguards required by USA Field Hockey for most levels. Boil-and-bite is the floor; custom is better.

Four. Hand and finger injuries. Stick-to-hand contact during defensive play. Salter-Harris and fingertip injuries in adolescent players.

Five. Knee and ankle injuries. Cutting, dribbling at speed, sudden changes of direction. ACL injuries in female athletes at rates similar to soccer. Neuromuscular warm-up programs reduce ACL incidence; few field-hockey programs adopt them.

Six. Heat illness. Outdoor sport in late summer and fall heat. NATA acclimatization, hydration, WBGT thresholds.

Seven. Turf-related issues. Field hockey is increasingly played on water-based turf at competitive levels. Surface heat, slip risk, and turf abrasion considerations.

What parents should ask before signing up.

“What is the eye-protection policy?”

“What is the mouthguard policy?”

“What is the concussion protocol?”

“Do you run pre-practice neuromuscular warm-up for ACL prevention?”

“What is the heat policy?”

A program with answers is one that has done the work.

The honest read. Field hockey is one of the higher concussion-and-eye-injury risk girls’ sports per published epidemiology. The protective gear standards have improved over the past decade. Programs that follow the published standards produce safer athletes. The ACL-prevention work is the highest-leverage program-level safety move most programs have not yet adopted.