My son and I drove 90mins each way and 160miles to visit UZI and it was well worth it !
My son needed a new bat and even though he is only 12 he knows what he wants. He had saved a decent amount of money from birthday and Christmas and wanted a bat that was a bit "special" compared to the off the shelf offerings of the big companies. He was quite set on a Salix pod, H4L, Hawk etc. The main problem was finding somewhere that had a good selection of top end junior bats so that he could compare them especially the pick up as when he tried some teammates bats he commented on how they felt too heavy. I had called quite a few stores in an ever growing radius of the West Midlands but none had the selection of UZI.
I had exchanged a few emails with Asad with him telling me what he had in stock and on arriving we were not disappointed. His sons looked after us really well explaining everything about the various bats and talking with my son to understand what type of player he his, what shots he plays, what he likes in a bat and a good look at his current bat (GN destroyer). After about 40mins we were down to 4 bats, all in size 6, Salix Pod, Newberry Kudos SPS, Chase Volante R11 and M&H CK22 based on pick up, we then started with the mallet to find the size and position of the sweet spot. The Chase and M&H were then ruled out, the Chase due to sweet spot (it just didn't ping like the others) and the M&H as it just felt a bit too big compared to the Salix and Newberry. I thought it would be the Salix as this was always the favourite but no, the Newberry won out. My son just liked the pick up and feel, the sweet spot was bigger and had amazing ping.
I would like to thank everyone at UZI for the amazing customer service we received, the time they took with my son and the vast range of high quality junior equipment that they have in stock. So we left with the Newberry bat, 2 pairs of Newberry gloves (a pair for my other son) and a couple of pairs of trousers. I would recommend anyone to go to UZI sports, even if they have too travel, especially for junior equipment.
I know most people will say that a mid range GM junior bat would work just as well for a 12 year old but he had saved his money and confidence is such a big thing at that age so spending a bit more on good gear works especially when everyone he plays with and against at district also has the top gear.
BIG thanks to Uzi Sports
cheers
Steve
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Topic: First visit to UZI (Read 7788 times)