Make: Kuka Model: Chromium Shape: XL 24 Bow: Extra Low – 24.5mm, 200mm from head Carbon: 95% Toray Super Carbon Price: £180
Features:
The superb extra-low bow combined with a very well-balanced shaft allows players to have the edge on 3D, scoop and tomahawk skills, no matter which position you play. The XL24 features high carbon making it super stiff for high velocity shots. There is Touch compound that helps to keep the ball under control at the head contact point. This is the premium 95% carbon stick, but it is also available with lower carbon to allow access to all levels of players.
THP Verdict:
If you like stiff feel sticks, then the Kuka is certainly one you should consider. The touch is good, it’s great to dribble with and the slap and hit are solid. It is also much easier to use than some of the premium offerings so is appropriate for players of all standards and positions.
In our regular anything goes Q&A, we speak to players and coaches on topics ranging from temptations, influences, fashion sense and match teas. This week: GB EDP and Hampstead & Westminster goalkeeper Miriam Pritchard
At home
What was your earliest ambition? I wanted to be a chef that was in charge of all the puddings! Hockey wise, I remember telling someone in the primary school playground that I wanted to go to the Olympics.
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In an interview published on the FIH website, chief executive Thierry Weil says world hockey “will work on the future Stars Awards with the global hockey community”after India won all eight categories in 2021 awards
If, in an Olympic year, the Gold medallists don’t win any Award and another nation gets all of them, it is clear that this won’t come across well! Therefore, I of course do understand the disappointment and also, to some extent, the anger, especially of the teams concerned. At the same time, I want to congratulate the winners.
They were all nominated by an expert committee – made of FIH, FIH Athletes Committee and high performance representatives – and therefore were as much entitled as the others to win! And both Indian teams had a fantastic performance at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. I assume that the natural joy which they should rightly feel by winning such an Award may have been altered by all this, and that is not nice either.
Do you think the current voting process is right?
I’m not sure if there is any ideal process, to be honest. But this process – as long as it is implemented by everybody – should work. It is very similar to what is applied successfully by other organisations. It gives the chance to major hockey stakeholders – teams, players, coaches, fans and media – to cast a vote for the most important yearly awards in global hockey, while a higher weight is given to national team coaches and captains.
Was it a new process this time?
No, it was pretty much the same as last time. There were two differences. Firstly, we made it compulsory for the National Associations that their votes should come from their national team coaches and captains; I believe that everybody will agree that this was the right thing to do in order to increase the technical legitimacy of the vote. Secondly, the voting process for the coaches was the same as the one for the athletes this time (while the FIH Coach of the Year Award was determined by an FIH panel previously).
India’s stopper was in inspired form against Team GB in Tokyo PIC: Reuters
Was this vote transparent enough? Shouldn’t you publish the individual votes, at least for the National Associations and media?
Before the vote, we explained in detail the voting process as well as the weight given to the various voting groups. And after the vote, we published all results, from every voting group and for all nominees. Revealing who voted for whom is a question which we should have a look at. Will it bring something or not, I can’t tell at this stage. But we should not exclude any option before examining them.
Is it really a good idea to have fans voting for an Award which is meant to define the best athletes and coaches from a technical perspective?
Our overall strategy at FIH is to put athletes and fans at the centre of everything we do. So, it is essential to give fans an option to express their views. If in this regard the current process is the right one or not, is something we will need to analyse of course. But clearly we need to involve the fans one way or the other.
After all, thanks to this vote, we will have the opportunity to engage with almost 300,000 fans. This is not only good for India – where most of these fans are coming from – but for the growth of our sport overall and therefore the whole hockey community! Also, as we’ve mentioned on the day of the vote, all winning athletes have topped the standings in each of the three voting groups (National Associations / Fans and Players / Media). In other words, even if fans wouldn’t have voted, the winning athletes would have been the same.
Carlos Retegui congratulates Alyson Annan as Netherlands won gold PIC: Eurosport UK
How do you explain that almost half of the National Associations (NAs) did not take the opportunity to vote?
I have to admit that I have no answer to this yet. Maybe we haven’t been clear enough? But we did send reminders to the NAs before the end of the vote. And I have personally contacted several members of the hockey community to warn them about this situation, and I know they were active. But still, many National Associations did not cast their vote. Clearly this had by far the biggest impact on the results. If you set up a jury but half of this jury doesn’t vote, how can you expect that people will unanimously accept the results? In our analysis, we will have to establish why this situation happened.
Will the process remain the same in the future?
I can’t answer this question before we do a thorough analysis. But I can tell you that we will work on the future Stars Awards with the global hockey community. We will engage with many stakeholders to come up with a process which receives the support of most, and then go with it for next year. These Awards are here to promote hockey, athletes and coaches. It isn’t good for anybody if they lead to controversy. I’ve already engaged with a few and will continue to do so. We will most likely create a Task Force to look at this. And I’m absolutely convinced that we will find a compromise which will ensure that the global hockey community celebrates these Awards in the future.
In the third part of a special series on junior hockey coaching, TODD WILLIAMS says importance of technical development through drills can’t be underestimated
If you’ve happened to read my last couple of columns, you may have noticed some references to the way England Hockey expects the game to be coached.
Make: Gryphon Model: Tour XXI Shape: Pro 25 Bow: Low – 25mm, 250mm from head Carbon: 100% Carbon Quotient Price: c. £300
Features:
The GXXI TOUR Series is a result of years of development to achieve the ultimate level of power and balance for a hockey stick. Designed with superior stiffness to bring the highest quality ball speed and a responsive touch for elite players looking for a crisp feel in their hands.
The composition of the stick creates a lightweight feel with a high balance point for intuitive stick control. Made with Kraibon® Technology which produces a smooth and durable internal construction. The 6K Carbon Fibre provides a slick finish for this elite level stick.
THP Verdict:
The 21st Generation gryphon tour is a top of the range stick for high level players all over the park. It is hard to find a weakness in this stick, it’s just a matter of considering which is the best shape for you and you can check out our shape guide to find out.
In our exclusive video series, Heidi Wells, England over-50s Masters player and chartered physiotherapist, talks about the importance of Sports Body Conditioning, as she discusses and explains the importance of our body core and the muscle groups that make up this key body area.
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The men’s Premier Division saw Old Georgians, Hampstead & Westminster and Surbiton maintain their 100 per cent records in contrasting styles on Sunday.
University of Exeter came close to ending their run of 11 matches without a win before H&W turned the tide to come from 3-1 down and prevail 4-3 at home.
After former Exeter student Matt Ramshaw had opened the scoring, the west country side rallied with three goals before the Londoners’ comeback, a double from Matt Guise-Brown and Rupert Shipperley at the death sealing the points.
Surbiton maintained their winning start – three from three – with a late show against University of Durham.
Last week saw Oxted produce a last quarter turnaround to beat Durham. A week on and Surbiton scored three in the last 14 minutes through Rob Farrington, Ben Park and Luke Taylor.
Old Georgians racked up a sizzling 7-0 win over East Grinstead, the Surrey side making it 16 goals from three games thus far and staying top on goal difference.
EG endured a tough afternoon, their plight made worse by being forced to put an outfield player in goal following an accidental injury to goalkeeper Sam Lloyd, who was motionless on the ground for around a minute before being helped off the field and taken to hospital. Sam Ward netted four times.
Meanwhile, Beeston rallied three times to finish 3-3 with Brooklands MU, summer signing Kai Aichinger scoring with three minutes left to give the Bees their first point of the season.
Oxted’s good start to the season came undone at home to Wimbledon as a Duncan Scott hat-trick contributed to a 6-0 victory for the south Londoners.
Surbiton let slip a win as Buckingham scored late PIC: Graeme Wilcockson
Hampstead & Westminster women are also on a roll in the Vitality Premier Division, racking up their fourth win from four and the only team with an unblemished record.
Lucy Hyams’ first strike of the season from a 17th minute corner on Saturday was enough to see Hampstead record the win and stay at the top of the table.
Behind them, three teams are on six points with East Grinstead now second in the table after beating Beeston 2-1 with goals from Chloe Palmer and Ellie Rayer.
Wimbledon beat Swansea 4-1 on the road, while a late Buckingham goal from Jo Day gave Buckingham a share of the points at Surbiton in a 2-2 draw.
Make: Y1 Model: Olympic Ltd X Shape: LB Bow: Dynamic Bow – 24.5 mm, 200mm from head Carbon: 95% premium grade Carbon Price: c. £260
Features:
Designed with a slightly thinned head profile allowing you to get under the ball more easily. It has the Y1 Dynamic Bow for the perfect slingshot action when drag flicking. As used by Belgium international drag flicker and top goal-scorer in the Dutch Hoofdklasse, Alex Hendrickx.
The 2021/22 LTD LB X is manufactured with specially enhanced Swedish Carbon to increase the power of the stick to a level above the usual 90/100% carbon sticks, whilst allowing the stick to retain an incredibly soft touch.
THP Verdict:
The stiff feel, look, shape and profile of this stick all make it ideal for the flair player. If you’re a forward who likes taking on defenders and using 3D skills before sending the ball rifling into the top corner, then this may well be the stick for you.
Shirley McCay’s late winner sealed Pegasus a hard fought 2-1 victory over Catholic Institute which saw the Belfast side move a point clear at the top of the women’s EYHL standings.
It was the defining moment of a thrilling encounter at Queen’s between the sides who entered the weekend level at the top. Lucy McKee gave Pegs a first half lead before Naomi Carroll equalised in the second half prior to McCay’s winner.
It means the Ulster side now lead the table by a single point from UCD, Old Alex and Pembroke after five rounds of matches.
Gillian Pinder settled the Sandymount derby with the only goal for Pembroke against Railway Union, a virtuoso solo goal. She intercepted inside her own half and raced forward before banging home her shot in a 1-0 success.
Deirdre Duke scored her first of the season as she makes her way back from injury, netting from a penalty corner for Old Alex in their 1-0 win against Muckross.
UCD were the big winners with Hannah McLoughlin scoring a quarter of goals to lift her personal total to eight from five games as they eased by Cork Harlequins 9-0. It was locked at 0-0 until a couple of minutes before half-time but two goals in a minute changed the complexion of the tie.
Loreto, meanwhile, continued their quietly impressive form as they beat Belfast Harlequins 4-1 with Aoife Taaffe on the mark twice. It made it four games unbeaten for the Beaufort side.
The EYHL now goes on hiatus until Oct 30, with next weekend featuring the Irish Senior Cup fixtures and the following week seeing the Irish women in action in the World Cup qualifiers in Pisa.
Three Rock Rovers’ Ben Johnson tackles Corinthian’s Ian Stewart PIC: Adrian Boehm
There were comebacks galore in the men’s EY Hockey League as Annadale and UCD both salvaged unlikely draws from seemingly hopeless positions against Monkstown and YMCA, respectively.
Dale come from 3-0 down to draw with Monkstown, their fourth share of the spoils from five games this season as their lengthy wait for a three-pointer goes on.
Town looked to be cruising with Davy Carson, Rory Nichols and David Nolan putting them clear. Dale, though, scored three times in the last 20 minutes as Town suffered a glut of sin-binnings with Owen McElhinney netting either side of a mazy Allen Lyons dribble and finish.
UCD were another to come back from the dead, trailing YMCA 2-0 and 3-1 before recording their first point of the season in a 3-3 outcome.
Glenanne’s run of form rolls on after a 3-1 victory over Banbridge has them five points clear with Shane O’Donoghue making it nine goals in five games with a brace.
Shannon Boucher and Chris Curry traded goals in the first four minutes and it was an even contest until Gavin Gibney and O’Donoghue struck in the second half
Three Rock Rovers are second thanks to a 4-1 success against Corinthian in the Dublin 16 derby with Ross Canning scoring twice. It was tighter than the scoreline suggests with Rovers netting their last two goals in the last four minutes.
Rovers are second while Lisnagarvey eased away from Pembroke in the second half 3-0 to sit in third. After a scoreless first half, James Lorimer’s corner and efforts from Ollie Kidd and Ben Nelson saw Garvey race clear.
The SW13 100 ELB Hockey Stick is designed in conjunction with GB Olympian Sam Ward. The SW13 has the features of the Brabo Traditional Carbon 100 Original hockey stick, but in Extra Low Bow.
The 100% high modulus carbon fibres give the stick maximum stiffness and a lot of power. With this stick you generate a lot of ball speed in an easy and coordinated way. This makes the stick widely applicable at any position in the field.
THP Verdict:
This is real all-rounders stick with a truly unique feel. Whatever part of the pitch you play in then this stick can do a job for you. It will take a little to get used to its feel and profile, but once you have it represents great value at this price point.
