When moving forward with the ball, the key message is that the ball should remain in contact with the stick. There will however be times in game contexts that a player may recognise a space in front and decide to push the ball into the space and run after it. This should be the exception rather than the rule. Having the stick against the ball as a general rule encourages more sensitive and immediate stick work, and allows the player to focus on what is happening around them as they do not have to keep looking for the ball.
