Rising English hockey players are benefiting from using new Nike sticks as the sports giant establishes itself in the British hockey market.
Former Loughborough students’ Rory Penrose and Beth Alexander, who made their debuts for England late last year, are both using the Nike Laser Elite as the brand’s hockey ambassadors.
Penrose is playing with the Nike Laser Elite for this season after using the Shadow Elite and wanted more of a bow.
He said: “I’m a drag flicker and also I play centre back, so with how big overheads are in the game now, having a bigger bow helps me get under the ball a bit more and I can get a couple of extra metres under my aerials.
“It’s nice when you’re being full press and you need to get the ball to players higher up.”
Penrose has moved to Germany this season, having signed with Harvestehuder THC and says using the stick has given him added confidence in a number of areas.
He said: “I definitely feel like at the point of release I’m just getting more speed through the ball and also I feel like I’ve got more feel if it’s stuck into the stick a bit more. It means I can really just rotate and rip through the ball.
“When you’ve got a stick that you like and you know that you can perform well with and you can train well with it gives you extra confidence.
“You feel like you have control of the field and it’s super helpful when direct flicking.”
Meanwhile Alexander, who will play with East Grinstead this season, first played with the Laser Elite when she debuted for England at the FIH Pro League last November.
“I like a light stick which the Laser Elite is at 525 grams,” she said. “This allows me to have quite like a light stick ball carry. It’s got a really low bow, which means that I can use it for aerials and 3D skills.
“It’s also got quite a thick reverse edge and I like that for the reverse stick pass or shot.
“The stick has got quite a high amount of carbon in it just to strengthen stability around the ball and hitting. But that doesn’t really add to the weight, which I like. “
Alexander, who captained Loughborough Students for three seasons, added that the stick balance suits her game.
“Sometimes when you get a really high carbon stick, they feel really heavy. But this has got a nice balance between being a high level carbon stick, but also not being too heavy.”
Matt Ramshaw, of Holcombe and England, has also been confirmed as a Nike ambassador.
Nike first showcased the sticks at the Paris Olympic Games, with Dutch gold medalist Duco Telgenkamp and German captain Christopher Ruhr both premiering as the brand’s leading player ambassadors in the sport.
