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If you're switching to something other than the shift holder, I'd recommend the XS holder. The Bauer holders are soft and you're likely to see play in them if you're on the ice as much as you say. The new XS holders are really nice and you'll have the benefit of being able to use Step instead of the garbage that Bauer makes. You're going to have to drill new holes anyway, but the XS are the way to go if you're going to switch.

In addition to the above - hockey isn’t golf in that you have your hands in the exact same position for different shots and have time to approach the ball. Ideally you want to be able to get your shots off from a variety of hand/body positions as the play unfolds dynamically. TLDR: Whoever fed you the hold at the balance point idea, fed you nonsense.

The real question is, why are you using so many different curves? Maybe I'm old school, but if I pick a curve, I stick with it for an extended period of time. I just did this going from a 92 to a 28. I don't want to be changing back and forth between the two because I feel like I maximize learning and perfecting the curve I'm using. I won't change curves, usually, for an entire season or more if it's working. Just seems like you're spending time readjusting to the stick each time your switch. To each their own, but I am curious to as why you switch between so many.

About 25 years ago, someone told me that the point along the shaft where you can balance a stick is also where to place your bottom hand for a slap shot. I tried it out and it was true (at the time). Just now, I located the balance point on my two-piece stick and found that it was quite lower than where I would put my hand for a slap shot, which I suppose means that this stick is relatively bottom-heavy, i.e., the weight is biased toward the blade. Then I checked again with an OPS and for that one, the balance point and bottom hand spot were fairly close--the balance point was maybe just a touch lower than where I'd go for a slap shot. So what does this mean? Is this balance point thing I heard complete BS? Wood sticks and composite sticks have completely different weight distributions, right? I'm just posting this picture of an Easton aluminum for aesthetics.

Sounds more coincidental than by design. A heavier blade would change the balance point without changing the flex profile, a more tapered hosel would move the flex point down and the balance point in the opposite direction. As an aside, my dad was a HS baseball coach when I was a kid and always had equipment catalogs. I remember when the Easton shafts showed up in those, I thought they were so cool.

Not to be a downer but it is harder than it looks and if you have only skated a few times and have zero hockey experience you would be more help off the ice. You need to have some skating abilities just to get around the ice and you can't really help with drills if you don't know how to play. You need to be pretty stable on your skates with little kids. If one takes you out by accident it might not only be you that gets hurt. If you have some skating abilities you would be more stable on your skates and less likely to go down. As a coach I wouldn't want you in the locker room because of the liabilities. If you haven't gone through the system with background checks then being in the locker room can be sketchy. All it takes is one parent to make a comment because the misunderstood what a kid said. You also have to think about what the other kids might say to your kids about your abilities. Even at that age they can be rough. And last, you have to think about the other parents, they are worse than the kids. My suggestion, enjoy learning the game and being able to watch and focus on your kids. Start taking lessons and go to stick & puck with your kids. You might even consider taking lessons and try playing.

Nice! Have fun. And don't try to kill yourself out there. The first pickup I ever played in the guy who runs it said to not even go down very much. Just get used to the skates, the shuffle, the angles, and having people firing pucks at you. I might even ask them if they could try to take shots from a distance and not try to deke you out of your jock for your first go. But whatever you feel comfortable with. Consider bringing a second water bottle - you may need it! Have fun 😄

My only caveat to being on the ice, make sure you can be safe. Kids that age get behind you, slide on the ice, etc. You need to be on alert and able to protect yourself (and don't want to fall on the kids!). I have been playing my whole life and 10 minutes into my first mite practice I was helping a kid and he lost his balance and went down so fast I couldn't react. His stick came up and got me right above the eye. Not bad, but bloody which freaked him out and a fraction of an inch from my eye.