Hockey stick advice - daughter playing at county level.. :-)
Discussion
A quick one really - looking for advice from experienced players about what stick to get for my 12 year old daughter who is moving up from school to county and needs some decent kit - stick & shin pads.
Looking around there's just so many different features - carbon etc. what will she need and guidance on supplier/price please??
Looking around there's just so many different features - carbon etc. what will she need and guidance on supplier/price please??
Ranger 6 said:
A quick one really - looking for advice from experienced players about what stick to get for my 12 year old daughter who is moving up from school to county and needs some decent kit - stick & shin pads.
Looking around there's just so many different features - carbon etc. what will she need and guidance on supplier/price please??
It bores down to 5 things:Looking around there's just so many different features - carbon etc. what will she need and guidance on supplier/price please??
Stick/pads/boots/mouth guard/glove
Stick
Its been a while since I got a new stick, last one being Mercian Great Black as I had a habit of managing to find a way to destroy normal sticks when undercutting/reverse shots at keepers, I looked for the following when looking:
Slight flex in the stick to make receiving the pass easier.
Hardest compound I could find, as playing Kent Premier league meant I still had oafs that lie to stick tackle and was getting pissed when shards of stick getting lost most games.
Well balanced.
Most of all I wanted a stick that gave me no reverberations when taking a shot, gave me control when drag flicking or choosing a corner to place a shot.
I was winger/striker, so the stick choice is slightly different then when I was a defender, but when I was a defender I had TK Aluminium (banned in every country now) and that was a heavy beast that gave me a lot more in tackles against opponents.
The above is a little bit about what I like in a stick, what position is she playing? This will matter... Also get yourself to a large dedicated hockey shop, the larger ones have a test area for sticks to be tried out, the staff are usually Ex players or current players and they can assist you more than I can.
Wood/Carbon/Composite doesnt really matter that much its what the user gets along with.
Mercian/Grays/TK were my favourites.
[Shin pads]
Purely the choice of the wearer... I played in a vicious league so upgraded the old foam style to wrap around fibreglass/composite with ankle protection, main difference being mine was a sock format so didnt move.
Grays/Mercian do good models.
[mouth guard]
Get to dentist to get one made, shock doctor mouth guards are ok, but the generic ones make me gag... get a mouth guard.
[shoes]
Generally get the proper hockey astro turf boots, they usually have more armour around the ankle and sides of the feet then football astroturf, so it hurts less when being hit in the feet by the ball/stick.
No preference Dita was very good back in 2009/2010
[glove]
I had a glove for my left hand as that spent time on the floor and gave me protection against shots/hits and was comfortable... I had one like this as I had been hit before and bloody hurt:
http://www.directhockey.co.uk/Product.aspx?Categor...
[bag]
personal choice, I prefer 1 large bag then a stick and a wash bag...
http://www.directhockey.co.uk/Product.aspx?Categor...
Was big enough for a 3 day tour too.
Try and see if you have local places that are hockey (not sports shops) dedicated, they do exist:
http://www.gilmoursports.com/index.php?route=commo...
http://www.directhockey.co.uk/index.aspx
Maybe make the trip to one and get some more up-to-date advice.
What county does your daughter play? Mine plays U13 so they might have played together for against each other? Or if she just starting in the JAC scheme?
As the other poster said the stick will depend on what position she plays. If she plays up front she will need a lighter one for more nimble stick work or if in defence then something heavier. I'm a fan of TK. This is a very good stick for a forward/midfielder.
http://www.gilmoursports.com/Hockey-Sticks/Junior-...
As the other poster said the stick will depend on what position she plays. If she plays up front she will need a lighter one for more nimble stick work or if in defence then something heavier. I'm a fan of TK. This is a very good stick for a forward/midfielder.
http://www.gilmoursports.com/Hockey-Sticks/Junior-...
I forgot to mention getting a lighter stick... Always something I overlook as I used to play rugby at the same time so it was not something I needed to remember.
Anyways... get yourself to a hockey shop and have a play.
Prices are however much you want to pay... I only took it up once in College rather than younger so I didnt out grow my equipment except when hitting the gym at 18 onwards... So only you can tell how much you want to pay compared to how quickly it will need replacing.
For that level unless you want stupid expensive, I would look at the following:
£50 or so for the stick
£30-40 shoes (last season is still on sale)
£15-25 shinpads
£15-25 glove
??? mouth guard
??? bag (which ever is the pretty one)
Obviously when I was majorly into hockey, I was working in london, so thought nothing of blowing £100+ (a lot more) on the great black, same again on a backup stick, lots on gloves and shin pads.
However at that level its not necessary... Yet.
Anyways... get yourself to a hockey shop and have a play.
Prices are however much you want to pay... I only took it up once in College rather than younger so I didnt out grow my equipment except when hitting the gym at 18 onwards... So only you can tell how much you want to pay compared to how quickly it will need replacing.
For that level unless you want stupid expensive, I would look at the following:
£50 or so for the stick
£30-40 shoes (last season is still on sale)
£15-25 shinpads
£15-25 glove
??? mouth guard
??? bag (which ever is the pretty one)
Obviously when I was majorly into hockey, I was working in london, so thought nothing of blowing £100+ (a lot more) on the great black, same again on a backup stick, lots on gloves and shin pads.
However at that level its not necessary... Yet.
Berkshire are a good county. If she is going in September she is going into the JAC stage which isn't county quite yet! She has been invited by her school or club as a promising player. I'm not sure if you are aware of the setup. But they go into JAC for 5-6 sessions then about half the JAC group go through to the JDC stage. After several more sessions another 50% are cut and what remains is the County squad and then they play other counties in a league. This all takes about 9 months.
This process is likley to be much more serious than other hockey she has played. The coaching and the setup are very well run but it is generally very strict and not as "fun" as school or club hockey. The are looking for talented and committed players as the whole system has been setup as a "single system" to find the England/GB players of the future. Several of the girls didn't last the first week as they expected a bit of a giggle with their friends and doing hard fitness session came as a bit of a shock!
To progress she will need to be talented but that's not all. She has to get noticed for her attitute. So running to the end of each drill, be the first to volunteer to demonstrate drills and just be generally keen, ask questions and enjoying it. They are being assessed at each session and coaches are taking notes so they will notice if girls are talking to their mates when the coach is talking etc.
As I say the coaching is very good so even if she doesn't make it through she will improve emormously by the end.
Forgot to mention gumshields. Google OPRO, they are very good and they visit schools to do fittings so you might find they visit hers, if not you can do it by post. You can get some very cool colours so I'm sure she'll like them.
This process is likley to be much more serious than other hockey she has played. The coaching and the setup are very well run but it is generally very strict and not as "fun" as school or club hockey. The are looking for talented and committed players as the whole system has been setup as a "single system" to find the England/GB players of the future. Several of the girls didn't last the first week as they expected a bit of a giggle with their friends and doing hard fitness session came as a bit of a shock!
To progress she will need to be talented but that's not all. She has to get noticed for her attitute. So running to the end of each drill, be the first to volunteer to demonstrate drills and just be generally keen, ask questions and enjoying it. They are being assessed at each session and coaches are taking notes so they will notice if girls are talking to their mates when the coach is talking etc.
As I say the coaching is very good so even if she doesn't make it through she will improve emormously by the end.
Forgot to mention gumshields. Google OPRO, they are very good and they visit schools to do fittings so you might find they visit hers, if not you can do it by post. You can get some very cool colours so I'm sure she'll like them.
Du1point8 said:
For that level unless you want stupid expensive, I would look at the following:
£50 or so for the stick
£30-40 shoes (last season is still on sale)
£15-25 shinpads
£15-25 glove
??? mouth guard
??? bag (which ever is the pretty one)
.
Agree with this.£50 or so for the stick
£30-40 shoes (last season is still on sale)
£15-25 shinpads
£15-25 glove
??? mouth guard
??? bag (which ever is the pretty one)
.
£50 plus will get a very good junior stick. Don't go for less than £30 as they will vibrate when they hit it and there is nothing more painful for a 12 year old girl when it is cold
£30 for new shoes would be good, £15-20 shinpads.
Wouldn't bother with a glove. It will restrict their hand movements and at that age they don't get low enough in defence for it to be an issue
Mouth guard-don't buy anything other than fitted. OPRO about £45
Bag-£10 will do but can spend £35 on a big one (you can buy her a good one if she gets through!)
[quote=Du1point8]
Hardest compound I could find, as playing Kent Premier league meant I still had oafs that lie to stick tackle and was getting pissed when shards of stick getting lost most games.
Well balanced.
I’m intrigued!! What club do you play for Du1point8? I have played Kent leagues for many years, have we meet on the pitch??
Hardest compound I could find, as playing Kent Premier league meant I still had oafs that lie to stick tackle and was getting pissed when shards of stick getting lost most games.
Well balanced.
I’m intrigued!! What club do you play for Du1point8? I have played Kent leagues for many years, have we meet on the pitch??
clumsen said:
Du1point8 said:
Hardest compound I could find, as playing Kent Premier league meant I still had oafs that lie to stick tackle and was getting pissed when shards of stick getting lost most games.
Well balanced.
I’m intrigued!! What club do you play for Du1point8? I have played Kent leagues for many years, have we meet on the pitch??
Well balanced.
I’m intrigued!! What club do you play for Du1point8? I have played Kent leagues for many years, have we meet on the pitch??
HSBC own the huge ground in Beckenham.
Du1point8 said:
I was HSBC then I moved (club politics and not fun travelling all over kent when club is in London) to addiscomb for a season or 2...
HSBC own the huge ground in Beckenham.
I know it very well, use to play for BBHC and now for Bromley and Beckenham HC just round the corner from HSBC.HSBC own the huge ground in Beckenham.
Small world, no doubt we have played against each other at some point!!
clumsen said:
Du1point8 said:
I was HSBC then I moved (club politics and not fun travelling all over kent when club is in London) to addiscomb for a season or 2...
HSBC own the huge ground in Beckenham.
I know it very well, use to play for BBHC and now for Bromley and Beckenham HC just round the corner from HSBC.HSBC own the huge ground in Beckenham.
Small world, no doubt we have played against each other at some point!!
I believe you took some of the HSBC women in when they were looking for a club just a few years ago when HSBC decided to drop them.
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