Summa alumnus scores with smart hockey stick

Daan van der Steijn (23) from Deurne is turning the hockey world upside down. What began as a vocational training program for Entrepreneurial Furniture Maker/(Ship) Interior Construction at Summa is steadily growing into an entrepreneurial dream that will conquer the hockey world. Together with five fellow students, Daan designed an innovative hockey stick that grows with the child: the HockeyMate. A game-changer, according to the judges of the Student Company of the Year election in Amsterdam, where the team took home second prize on Wednesday.

This clever stick, aimed at young athletes aged six to twelve, promises to revolutionize the hockey world. While parents currently have to buy a new stick every year because their children outgrow it, the HockeyMate offers a sustainable and affordable solution. No extendable tricks, but smart attachments that can be adjusted to the user's height in minutes without tools. "The hockey stick is designed for children aged six to twelve. In the Netherlands alone, more than 84 children in this age group play hockey. Our invention will last a long time. After the age of twelve, position on the field becomes more important, leading users to make different choices about their hockey stick. Before that age, that's not an issue," explains Daan.

The invention is already attracting a lot of attention, and not just in the hockey world. "Many product developers are enthusiastic. It's not yet on the market, so we immediately applied for a patent. The solution was actually obvious, but that often happens with the most innovative inventions. We sometimes overthink things. But that's what makes this process so enjoyable. We put a lot of hours into it, but we do it all with a smile. Summa has proven to be a solid foundation throughout this entire production process. Technical insight, thinking in solutions, or inventing something that can actually be manufactured—I learned it all at Summa," Daan emphasizes.

A striking detail: none of the six inventors had ever played hockey. "We didn't even know the rules of the game. But maybe that's why we looked at it differently, objectively. We started with the problem, not with existing solutions. The stick, as we designed it, simply didn't exist yet," says Daan.

Over 500 teams from all over the Netherlands registered for the Student Company of the Year competition a year ago. Only five teams ultimately made it to the finals yesterday. Daan and his team were among them. Gold was just out of reach, winning silver. "Incredibly happy, but especially proud. We did it again," says Daan. "Our idea really made a difference, and that's perhaps the greatest recognition of all." Who knows? Perhaps not only will the stick grow with the child, but HockeyMate itself will become the standard in the hockey world.