Put your best foot forward: which hockey shoes should you wear on an artificial grass pitch?

So, you’ve had your new hockey pitch installed and, quite rightly, you’re keen to ensure it stands the test of time. After all, having invested significantly in a new sports facility, the next step is ensuring as many people as possible can enjoy it for years to come.

Your hockey pitch maintenance regime is, of course, crucial. But one strand of this maintenance routine that can be easily forgotten is preventative maintenance – or, more specifically, ensuring players wear the correct footwear before they even set foot on your pristine hockey surface.

So what are the best types of hockey shoes to be worn on artificial grass?

As a rule of thumb, hockey players should wear flat or dimple sole hockey shoes when they play the sport on an artificial surface. Any footwear with studs or blades is likely to damage the pitch, so is a big no-go for hockey players.

For those looking to invest in a new pair of hockey shoes, there is a wider range available, with brands and styles to suit most budgets. Hockey shoes will generally be trainer-like in their appearance, with the added benefit of ankle support and dimples on the outer sole for that all-important traction.

Which types of boots shouldn’t be worn on a hockey pitch?

People will often ask whether football boots can be worn on an artificial hockey surface, but the important thing to remember is that metal studs or blades are generally designed for wet or muddy natural grass pitches. Wearing them on an artificial hockey pitch will increase the risk of a rolled ankle or stress on the knees, as well as damaging the playing surface.

Plastic studded boots are also common on many 3G pitches, but that doesn’t mean to say they’re right for an artificial hockey pitch. Whether a water-based pitch, or a sand-dressed one, hockey pitches will tend to have a shorter pile height than those used for football and rugby, and this makes them much less suitable to studded boots or shoes.

If you’ve got all the gear but need the perfect pitch to play on, why not take a closer look at our range of artificial grass for hockey pitches? Or to find out about the considerations schools should make when investing in a new pitch, download Future goals: a look at the changing face of school hockey facilities.