The Best Sticks For Attackers
Scoring goals are both the hardest and the most fun things to do in hockey. Hockey is a fast paced, intense invasion game where goals can be scored from anywhere at anytime (in the D of course). The position that tends to get the most opportunities for this are attackers or forwards. Attackers spend a lot of their time in the D and usually get plenty opportunities to score goals, so if you’re reading this we’re guessing you are one of those players…. If so you’re in the right place for some expert advice on which hockey sticks would be best for you!
We’ve come up with some of the most common “types” of attackers we could think of… see if any of them sound like you!
The Big Hitter
Do you hit the ball a lot? If so a high carbon stick is definitely on the cards. The benefits of a high carbon stick is that you will have higher powered shots with less vibration, meaning you will be getting maximum power from your shooting. The downside to these sticks can be that your first touch could suffer slightly due to high carbon sticks being slightly more “rebounding”.
Here is a recommendation from us on a fantastic mid-bow stick.
We also have tutorial video’s such as our backhand walkthrough guide with Senior International Kerry-Ann Hastings. Click here
The Goal Poacher
There’s always one of the attackers who is always near the goalkeeper getting those scrappy goals! If deflections and flicking are more your style then you may wish to look at a slightly lower carbon stick but with a later bow. If you are the type of player who enjoys using their 3D skills and flicks the ball a lot then the late bow sticks will certainly help you with getting the ball in their air with ease. We would recommend taking a look at either the Grays GR7000 Jumbow or the Y1 LB90 as 2 sticks with a late bow but not super high carbon content. Meaning you get the 3D ease and not too much bounce to help with your first touch in the D.
The Specialist
For the flicking specialists out there that really pride themselves on their Penalty Corner skills such as drag flicking there are also specialist stick designs from numerous brands such as Adidas, Y1 and Grays. These sticks have specific concave designs very late on in the stick to make it as easy as possible to generate as much power through your drag flicks. You do need to bear in mind with sticks such as these it can be more difficult to control the ball due to their super late concave bows. Here is a list of sticks that have the specialist bows:
The Dribbler
If ball carrying and elimination is more your thing, then having a slightly straighter stick could be higher on your priority list. Hockey sticks used to be a lot straighter than they are nowadays. However every brand will have mid-bow sticks in their range and is still one of the most popular bows on the market. With a mid-bow stick comes brilliant consistency, both in dribbling and in hitting the ball. If ball carry is a big part of your game then a mid-bow stick will be a brilliant decision. Here are a selection of mid-bow sticks we would highly recommend:
Mercian Evolution CKF85 Mid Hockey Stick
Grays GX6000 Dynabow Hockey Stick
Gryphon Chrome Atomic Pro25 GXX3 Hockey Stick
Ultimately when it comes to picking a stick, we would always recommend coming in store to try out all the sticks in person, as it will give you 100% confidence you have got the right stick for you. We have our 200sqm hitting area here for you to do exactly that, but if you’re unable to reach us in store, we’re always a phone call away or you can message us on all social media accounts for some extra advice!
