Should Field Hockey Players Wear Head Protection?

Why head protection matters in field hockey

Field hockey is often described as a non-contact sport. In practice, that does not mean players are protected from head impacts. The speed of the ball, the use of sticks, close physical contests, deflections, falls, and accidental collisions all create situations in which the brain can be exposed to meaningful force ^{[1, 3, 4]}.

That is why the right answer is yes: field hockey players should wear head protection.

But this is also where the conversation needs to become more precise. Not all head protection is designed to protect the brain. Some products are designed mainly to reduce cuts, abrasions, or visible injury to the head and face. Brain protection is different. It should be designed around the forces most associated with concussion and sub-concussive brain injury, especially rotational force transmission ^{[2, 5, 6]}.

For players, parents, coaches, schools, and clubs, that distinction matters. The question is not simply whether something is worn on the head. The more important question is what that product is actually designed to do.

What coaches see in the real game: Sarah Bertram’s perspective

Sarah Bertram, Head of the Talent Academy at Durham University, offers an important perspective that reflects what hockey looks like in real life, not just in theory. She describes field hockey as a fast-paced sport and explains that, even though it is technically described as non-contact, contact still happens in games and training through balls, sticks, and body contact ^[1].

Sarah also explains that she has seen multiple head injuries as a coach, including players being struck in the forehead by the ball. In two cases, the impact split the head open. Her point is not simply that hockey can cause visible injury. It is that players should think about protecting their brain as routinely as they think about protecting their shins or teeth ^[1].

That practical coaching view aligns with published field hockey research from South Africa. A 2023 paper in the South African Journal of Sports Medicine described field hockey as carrying a high risk for sports-related concussion because of the speed and intensity of the sport, the rules of play, field surfaces, and equipment composition ^[4].

Head protection vs brain protection: why the distinction matters

Head protection and brain protection are not the same thing.

Traditional field hockey protective equipment is essential, but it is designed mainly to prevent external injury. Mouthguards protect teeth. Shin pads protect the lower legs. Gloves help protect the hands and fingers. Short-corner face masks help protect the face from fractures and surface trauma ^[2]. Face masks are not designed to reduce rotational acceleration, protect brain tissue, or reduce concussion and sub-concussion risk ^[2].

That distinction matters because concussion is a brain injury, not just a scalp or facial injury. Public concussion guidance in New Zealand and Australia also frames concussion as something that must be recognised, managed properly, and treated seriously before return to school, work, or sport ^{[7, 8, 9]}. Hockey New Zealand’s concussion policy states that no hockey player should return on the day of a suspected or confirmed concussion and notes that concussion can interfere with learning in the classroom ^[7].The Australian Sports Commission similarly states that concussion guidance should support a safe return to education, work, and sport, particularly in youth and community settings ^[9].

So when parents or players ask whether field hockey players should wear head protection, the deeper question is this: Is the product designed only to cushion the outside of the head, or is it designed to help reduce the rotational forces transmitted to the brain?

For field hockey players, the most important comparison is not simply how much padding a product appears to have, but what type of protection it is actually designed to provide.

Aaron’s story: how one hockey head injury affected school, sport and confidence

Aaron’s story shows why this issue cannot be treated as theoretical.

Andrew Brompton explains that Aaron was hit on the head by a hockey ball and suffered severe concussion symptoms for more than 12 months. He missed a great deal of school and was unable to sit his GCSE exams as a result ^[10].

That is an important reminder that the consequences of a hockey head impact do not stop when the game ends. The effects can carry into education, confidence, family life, and a player’s willingness to return to a sport they love.

Aaron’s dad also explains that Aaron was apprehensive about coming back to hockey after the injury. His family looked at the available options and chose Rezon Halos® brain protection. He says wearing the headband gave Aaron, and them as parents, more confidence that he was safer returning to the game ^[10]. He also goes further than that: even for players who have not yet had an injury, he recommends wearing protection to help prevent serious injury ^[10].

That perspective is powerful because it reflects the reality many families face. By the time a parent begins searching seriously for better protection, the cost of head injury may already have become very real.

Why it is not just one big hit that matters

When people think about brain injury in sport, they often imagine one dramatic collision. But brain health in sport is not only about a single visible incident.

Repeated small-force head impacts matter too.

Sub-concussive injuries expose the brain to repeated rotational forces, even where no concussion is diagnosed ^{[11, 12]}. The concern is not only acute injury, but also cumulative exposure over time ^{[11, 12]}. Rotational force is a central biomechanical driver of brain injury in both concussive and sub-concussive impacts ^{[5, 6]}.

That is one reason why public concussion frameworks increasingly emphasise not just return-to-play decisions, but also return to education and normal daily function. Hockey New Zealand states that concussion can affect a player’s ability to learn in the classroom ^[7]. The Australian Sports Commission similarly says concussion management should extend through to a safe return to education, work, and sport ^[9]. In the United States, USA Field Hockey encourages coaches, umpires, players, and parents to familiarise themselves with concussion symptoms and treatment ^[3].

For hockey, that means protection should not be thought of only in terms of avoiding one catastrophic event. It should also be thought of in terms of reducing repeated exposure to the kinds of forces that can affect the brain over time.

What players, parents and coaches should take from this

Field hockey players should wear head protection.

But the most useful way to think about that decision is not to ask whether any padded product is better than nothing. The better question is whether the protection being worn is actually designed to help protect the brain.

For players, that means thinking beyond comfort or appearance alone. For parents, it means not waiting until after an injury to start taking brain protection seriously. For coaches and schools, it means recognising that a sport can be described as non-contact in its rules while still exposing players to meaningful head-impact risk in practice ^{[1, 3, 4]}.

If the concern is concussion, sub-concussion, and long-term brain health, then the strongest practical choice is protection designed to reduce rotational force transmission.

That is why Rezon Halos® is the strongest brain-protection option for field hockey players ^{[5, 6]}.