Effectiveness of grips at minimizing vibrations during field hockey hits

Abstract

An experiment was carried out in order to determine the frequencies experienced in two locations on the stick during two different field hockey hits, the push and the strike. The results from these experiments showed that the top hand during a hit experiences a higher resonant frequency. During the push the top hand experienced an average resonant frequency of 349.1 Hz, compared to the lower hand which experienced an average resonant frequency of 43.95 Hz. During the strike the top hand experienced an average resonant frequency of 197.8 Hz, compared to the lower hand which experienced an average resonant frequency of 24.41 Hz. A second experiment was carried out in order to determine how effective the grip was at dissipating frequencies. The results determined that the grip is most effective over the frequencies of 117 Hz-470 Hz. Both an old and new grip were tested. The new grip was slightly more effective over the frequencies of 117 Hz - 235 Hz, and similar over the frequencies 250 Hz - 470 Hz. From these experiments it was concluded that field hockey grips are most needed and effective on the shaft of the field hockey stick.