E R I N C O N N O R S

FIELD HOCKEY

INTRO

• Growth of Field Hockey in the US• Products – the different brands in the market and

what are the most popular • Market Leaders • A coach’s perspective • Purchasing equipment • Player Information • Top Teams – Collegiate, Club • Different associations of influence

FIELD HOCKEY GROWTH SINCE 2006

2011- 20,000 membership milestone2012 – 6.8% positive increase in membership, biggest jump in the U12 and U19 membership as well as umpire and coach memberships

Disney Showcase-Originated 2007 with 56 teams-2011 –144 teams and over 2,500 athletes -2012 –176 teams and over 2,700 athletes

Current Membership estimated – 23,000

PRODUCTS

• Sticks• Shin guards (Either hard or soft)• Goggles or Masks• Goalie• Accessories• Gloves• Grips• Stick Bags • Ball• Mouth guards

STICK BRANDS ALREADY IN THE SPACE

• Adidas• Brine• Cranbarry• Dita• Edge• Grays• Gryphon• Harrow• JDH• Kookaburra

• Malik• Mazon• Mercian • Obo• Princess • Slazenger• Stx• TK• Voodoo

SURVEY

• I created a survey online polling current players and coaches asking about their current skill level, perceptions on different pieces of equipment, and equipment purchasing information.

• I reached out to different teams and ask them to complete the survey some of the collegiate teams include Fairfield, Colgate, SUNY New Paltz, Skidmore, and Wake Forest. Additionally the survey was sent out to my twitter account followers (9,580 followers) @F_hockeyprobs

• The survey has 162 respondents which includes152 Players and 10 Coaches

STICKS – PIE CHART

AdidasBrineCranbarry

Dita

Edge

Grays

GryphonHarrow

KookaburraMalikMercian

OBO

PrincessSlazenger

STX

TK

Voodoo

Player Perceptions - Top Sticks

AdidasBrineCranbarryDitaEdgeGrays GryphonHarrowJDHKookaburraMalikMazonMercianOBOPrincessSlazengerSTXTKVoodoo

Survey total: 161 Respondents

SHIN GUARDS

Adidas

Brine

CranbarryDita

GraysGryphonHarrow

KookaburraPenguin

STK

TK

Under Armor

Shin guards

AdidasBrineCranbarryDitaGraysGryphonHarrowKookaburraPenguinSTKTKUnder Armor

GOGGLES

Bangerz

BrineCas-cadeDe-Beer

GraysHar-row

Slazenger

STX

TK

Goggles

BangerzBrineCascadeDeBeerGraysHarrowSlazengerSTXTK

FACEMASKS

• Used while defending penalty corners

GOALIE

• Market Leader – OBO • Equipment Needed• Helmet• Neck protector• Chest protector• Elbow Pads• Hands• Groin• Pants (padded)• Sticks• Leg guards• Kickers

ACCESSORIES

• Grips (Style – Chamois, Core, Towel) • Karakal• Gryphon• TK• Ritual

• Balls• Kookaburra• Longstreth• Gryphon

• Stick Bags• STX• Gryphon• Adidas• Ritual• Harrow• OBO

ACCESSORIES CONT. -GLOVES

Additional Brands – Slazenger, Nike, Adidas, Mizuno, Mazon

Brine; 4DeBeer; 1

Dita; 8

Grays; 10

Gryphon; 11

Harrow; 3Mercian; 5

STX; 6

TK; 26

Under Armor; 2

BrineDeBeerDitaGraysGryphonHarrowMercianSTXTKUnder Armor

MARKET LEADERSTop selling brands at Longstreth• Sticks – TK• Goalie – OBO• Field Equipment – Kwik Goal• Mask/Face – STX• Balls – TK• Bags – TK

• Dicks top stick brands• Brine• Dita• Grays• Gryphon• Stx

COACH PERSPECTIVE – JOACHIM CIVICO

• Stick – relatively flexible. I go with historic preference, which is Gryphon, but don't mind trying new ones. The edge sticks are packed with power and i really like them. They are more affordable too.• Shin guards – No preference, uses TK• Turf – Uses Adidas (not the FH ones) likes a light

shoe with protection • Mouth guard – Ideally dentist fitted • Ball – Kookaburra, no other ball compares

PURCHASING STICKS – COACH PERSPECTIVE

• Defense – Look for power• Forward – Recommends a more shaved head to allow

for more 3d skills and a reinforced backhand zone. Close to a low bow of 25mm if possible

• Gets his information on purchasing sticks from watching the world cup and seeing what the top players are using

• Top Brands? TK, Gryphon, Dita• Now seeing a lot of grays in the world cup

• Bottom Brands – STX and Harrow , not making any impact on the world market in his opinion

PURCHASING STICKS

LONGSTRETH – 2013 PRODUCTS

• 16,300 Sticks Sold• 8,100 Pieces of Goalie Equipment Sold• 1,000 Pieces of Field Equipment Sold• 6,100 Face Goggles/Masks Sold• 105,000 Balls Sold• 6,700 Bags Sold

WHERE PLAYERS GET THEIR INFO

The 24 respondents that skipped the question responded saying that they primarily get their information from coaches

UNMET PRODUCT NEEDS?

• After surveying coaches they agreed that the market has all of the products necessary

TOP COLLEGIATE TEAMS

1. Maryland 2. Syracuse3. North Carolina4. Connecticut5. Duke6. Old Dominion7. Virginia8. Princeton9. Penn State10.Massachusetts

11.Boston College12.Stanford13.Wake Forest14.Delaware15.Louisville16.New Hampshire17.Northwestern18.American19.Iowa20.Michigan State

U19 NATIONAL CLUB RANKINGS

1. WC Eagles, Pa2. Nook Hockey, PA3. Spirit of USA, N.J.4. Jersey Intensity Field Hockey, N.J.5. Xcalibur Field Hockey Club, pa6. Focus Field Hockey, Va.7. Rampage, Va.8. Aim Field Hockey, M.O.9. Windy City Field Hockey, I.L.10.Key State Field Hockey Club, Pa.

ASSOCIATIONS WITH THE GREATEST INFLUENCE

• USA Field Hockey • Longstreth

CLOSING• In conclusion I think that the stick market for Field Hockey is

pretty saturated. Most players don’t deviate from their favorite brands and coaches at the higher level of play only suggest/allow their players to use certain brands. Although, companies like STX and Brine primarily sell their product to players new to the game and at a lower price so that market would be the best opportunity to start. However Field Hockey does require other equipment and because of the growth of Field Hockey in the US over the last 6 years I believe that producing equipment like shin guards, goggles, face masks, gloves, etc. is something that schutt could begin to do. Most players do not have a specific brand that they always use for these products but a style that they prefer.