Shooting with the wrong hand?

[gxc999 7]

I'm just getting back into playing again, for the first time in years. I've always shot lefty and am generally right handed. I stick-handle and pass fine and my back hander is great, but my wristers are and have always been somewhat fluttery and often inaccurate. Does this sound like I might be shooting with the wrong hand?

[DCott 0]

you should be shooting with both hands...

but for real, try turning your wrist over in your follow-through. Do most of your shots go high or to the left?

[ramensandwich 1]

if you stickhandle and pass well, then i'm fairly confident you're shooting with the correct hand. at any rate, you've invested this much time into getting proficient lefthanded, so why switch? just work on your technique.

turn your wrists over when you shoot, to get the puck to lay flat.

keep low with your knees bent throughout the shot, to prevent it from going too high.

as for accuracy, make sure you are flexing the stick and letting it propel the puck, rather than trying to do it all with your upper body. remember to point at the target. keep up the work!

[gxc999 7]

I do shoot much better when I'm wearing shoes or in bare feet, which is how I was practicing my shots in recent months. Could it just be because I've not played any actual hockey in so long and shooting while skating is going to require me a ton of practice?

PS, I love this forum and really, really appreciate everyones help.

[TBLfan 25]

I can shoot hard left handed or right handed but I can't puckhandle left handle very well... I play right handed, for that reason alone.

When I was a goalie, I shot lefty and did so very well. I think that may be the reason why I can't puckhandle left handed, puckhandling as a goalie is completely different.

IMO, go with whichever is easiest to puckhandle. The shot and the puckhandling can certainly get better with practice but you're going to puckhandle more than you shoot... The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, might as well take that line.

[gxc999 7]

I can shoot hard left handed or right handed but I can't puckhandle left handle very well... I play right handed, for that reason alone.

When I was a goalie, I shot lefty and did so very well. I think that may be the reason why I can't puckhandle left handed, puckhandling as a goalie is completely different.

IMO, go with whichever is easiest to puckhandle. The shot and the puckhandling can certainly get better with practice but you're going to puckhandle more than you shoot... The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, might as well take that line.

Right, makes sense to me. I can puck-handle with my right arm (left stick) alone a-ok but can't do so at all lefty (on a right stick). I guess I'm going to have to practice shooting more while skating, maybe I'll buy some outdoor rollerblades.

[TBLfan 25]

Since I change patterns a lot I know a little something about fluttering pucks and adjusting to stop that. Work on your follow-through, that's where you're going to stop the fluttering.

[gxc999 7]

Me too, I have 4 diff. patterns on my 7 sticks...

Would only working with 1 pattern exclusively help too?

[Chadd 916]

I do shoot much better when I'm wearing shoes or in bare feet, which is how I was practicing my shots in recent months. Could it just be because I've not played any actual hockey in so long and shooting while skating is going to require me a ton of practice?

PS, I love this forum and really, really appreciate everyones help.

Sounds like you're using your legs much more when you aren't on the ice. You have much more stability in street shoes than on skates and you need to work on generating the power on your shots from the legs up. It may be called a wrist shot, but the power doesn't really come from there. Even standing in inline skates is going to have a positive impact.

The other thing to look into is your sticks. A stick that is the proper lie and length in street shoes is not going to be the proper lie length once you lace up your skates. Check the wear when shooting in shoes then retape and check the wear when shooting on the ice.

Me too, I have 4 diff. patterns on my 7 sticks...

Would only working with 1 pattern exclusively help too?

Absolutely it will make a difference, especially if they have different lies.

[TBLfan 25]

If you're having trouble controlling the flutters, I'd definitely stick with one pattern. I like being able to adjust to different curves, gives me more options when buying sticks.

BUT even with not having the unsolved fluttering issue, I am trying to limit my patterns... My issue is backhand accuracy.

Chadd has a couple great points with the lie and the stability. Also, are you bending your knees when you're in street shoes? On the ice?

[gxc999 7]

I'm going to work on bending my knees when shooting and skating better. I'm also going to pick up some outdoor blades tomorrow or the next day. I think what Chadd said is exactly right, I lack the stability on skates I have in street shoes. I think I'm going to stick with my TPS sticks and the Perry curve they all have for a while.

Edit: I went skating again and figured out my shooting problem. I wasn't bending enough and my left shoulder was too high. It immediately got much better once I made the alterations. Thanks for all the help, guys!