Which way to shoot for young begginer?

[92hatchattack 0]

Hey guys, I have a quick question for you all.

My 3 1/2 year old over the past few days has seemed to grow and intrest in playing with his plastic hockey stick and ball. Unfortunatly it was crappy and is breaking. We are going to go get him a youth stick and cut it down to size. The plastic stick he had did not have a curved blade, and he seemed to switch back and forth and back and forth on which side he shot (pushed) the ball his.... maybe even favoring shooting left...(right hand at the butt of the stick)

My question is, in hockey, is their an advantage to either shooting right, or shooting left? If you had a choice to teach your child to shoot one way or the other, what and why would you teach them to shoot that certain way? Does which way you shoot have anything at all to do with being right handed or left handed???

Thanks in advance guys!!!

---Joe

[Stampede#11 0]

I was told that the thinking was to always have your "strongest" hand on top, but I guess at 3 1/2 he may not have a strongest hand yet. So if your child is writting, then which ever hand he writes with should be on the butt end of the stick.

I don't think there would an advantage to shooting either way & mechanics should be the same.

In the UK most players shoot right, but this is becuase in school sports most of the equipment provided is RH, so that's what people learn with for cricket, field hockey etc etc. So in the UK LH players seem to have a bit of an advantage as Goalies and Dmen are so used to playing against RH shooters. I don't think this is the same in the US where more players seems to be LH when I watch game son TV.

[92hatchattack 0]

Yeah, im just a little confussed. I by no means am a hockey player, but when i played in the street as a kid, i would hold the butt end of the stick with my left hand. ({thats considered a right handed shot though right?) ... but i am right handed. That to this day its just the way i feel more comfortable holding the stick.

[Jarick 5]

From what I understand, if you give the kid a stick with a flat blade, whichever way (s)he wants to hold it. It seems more common to put the "dominant" hand on top for better control of stickhandling though.

[fatwabbit 93]

what i did was something that was recommended on this board. Have your kid stand directly in front of you, and hand them the stick. Whichever hand they recieve it with, thats the hand that goes on top.

Its about being comfortable with it when you play the game... no point stressing that they are holding it wrongly or anything. I'm right handed, but left footed (for soccer).

[chk hrd 164]

IMHO, a flat blade stick is still the best thing, if you can find one. I prefer to lay the stick on the ground and ask the kid to pick it up. That is usually the way they feel most comfortable. But let them play awhile with it they may try it opposite handed and like it better. Give them about a week and you will know which hand of stick to buy.

[holiar 0]

Joe the best advice I can give you and it still doesnt answer you question is this. Let him tell you.. And it wont be verbally. Get him a straight stick and let him play. Eventually he will gravitate to one side or the other.

I am part of a learn to play league for 5-8 yr olds. Even some of the older kids have no idea what handed they are. We have parents buying composite sticks for these kids and they are out there playing with them backwards. Makes me shake my head. My kid plays with a cheap wood stick and it is just fine. The biggest thing we find even in the kids that know what hand they like to play with is holding the stick correctly. At this point of the season most of the kids got it down. But we still have a few that we have to work with.

At 3 yrs old work on the mechanics of stick handling and holding the stick either way he is holding it. He might not get comfortable with either side till next year, who know. And even with a curve and a youth weight puk very few of the kids have the strength to loft the puck even with a curve. So what does a curve even matter?? At that age its more of a thing to satisfy our parental needs than the kids needs. Suks but its true.

[92hatchattack 0]

Well we just got back from the sports authority... I picked up a cheap stick for him for $13. Its a youth stick, and i quickly cut about 10" off it with a sawzall and taped up the butt. It a really nice size for him now.

The blade is curved to the left, so i think that makes it a left handed shot right? This is the way i observed him being slightly more comfortable holding the stick with his flat blade.

I really wanted to get a flat stick for hime, but the sports authority didn't have any, which i found really strange being that they mostly carry the low end stuff. Even the little 24" sticks they had all had a curve in the blade.... weird. And the two sticks i had with flat blades had a shaft made out of hollow plastic.... and while he doesnt know which way to hold the stick, he's got slashing down pretty good.... and they are bending. LOL

The way i see it though, is that he's just having fun,.. he just wants to hit the ball around, and has no real concept of what the curve is for..... therefore i dont think the curve being in the blade is going to influence which way he chooses to hold the stick. If i see his habits change or develop, i can always buy another cheap stick. Its weird.. He seems to like to hold ther butt with his left hand.. and he hold its correctly when he does this, but seems to have a stronger shot on the backhand... lol. I think ive come to terms with the fact that ive read into it too far, and it doesnt matter at this point. He will figure it out for himself.

[gxc999 7]

From what I understand, if you give the kid a stick with a flat blade, whichever way (s)he wants to hold it. It seems more common to put the "dominant" hand on top for better control of stickhandling though.

That's what I did and thought was par for the course. I don't know of any other way. Everyone has to keep in mind the top hand features the wrist that is clearly dominant. The lower wrist tends to be very secondary in comparison. I see a lot of people who throw right handed shoot right and some of them never look comfortable stick-handling and I think I know why.

[92hatchattack 0]

^^^ Thats intresting. Im right handed and feel totaly uncomfortable shooting left. Maybe thats why i stink. LOL.

[sdcopp 1]

my 3 1/2 yr old has a flat stick and though she usually shoots lefty, she still does a bit of changing back and forth. As everyone else has said, let the kid decide, and if they want to learn both ways then encourage both ways.

[Jarick 5]

We discussed this before, but one thing I noticed when growing up (20 years ago), almost none of the kids were playing left handed. And a tiny selection of left handed sticks. Nowadays, most of the kids are left handed. And a pretty even selection of sticks.

It makes sense, since so many people are right hand dominant. But once you've started one way, you're pretty much committed.

[92hatchattack 0]

im still trying to get this straigh... if you put your left hand at the butt of the stick, you are considered to have a right hand shot with a right handed stick... right??? or do i have this backwards???

[holiar 0]

You have it correct. Its not what hand is at the top, it what side our your body you shoot off of. Right side = right handed stick

Ray

[sdcopp 1]

whichever side of your body the blade is on when you're holding the stick with both hands is which hand is being referred to. left hand on top means the blade is on the right hand side, thus right hand shot.

[92hatchattack 0]

Cool, thanks guys.. I hope my son gets into hockey. I love watching it and loved playing th the street when i was a kid. Once day, when i work normal hours i too hope that i can join a beer league or something.

But i an orginized sport like hockey would be great for him in the future. He will learn a little discipline, and its something motivating to keep him out of trouble. Of course, thats if he wishes to play. Not going to be one of those parents who force their kids to do something they dont like.

[Zamboni 6]

Well, 3 years old is kind of late to be starting your boy in hockey but we'll let that slide :)

I've heard that young kids, 2-3 should be handed a stick (outside) and told to spin around. Supposedly they will spin in the direction of the dominant, stronger side they will be most comfortable shooting on.

[BigDipper 0]

I always noticed generally americans shoot right more often than canadians do. Here's my theory. Take a straight blade stick and drop it on the ground. Depending on what hand your son uses to pick up the stick more often than not that will be the way he shoots. A lot of people might say to shoot right because you throw right, write with your right, golf right whatever, but my thoery always was that's how a "young" player determines his shot. I think your son will figure it out on his own.

[Maka 0]

The reason I shoot right even though my dominant hand is my right is one simple word: baseball. I held a bat before I held a hockey stick, and consequently was always used to having my left hand at the base with my right hand on top.When I picked up a hockey stick for the first time, it felt like I was holding a baseball bat pointed at the ground, so I just took the hand grip I learned previously and went with it.

[Rustyhole 1]

The reason I shoot right even though my dominant hand is my right is one simple word: baseball.

That's how my dad taught me when I was a kid, just ask how they would hold a baseball bat! More kids at a young age are familiar with baseball than hockey. Even in Canada ;)

[mrusse01 0]

I think it's around 65% of NHLers shoot left. There was a thread on why the left wing lock defensive technique is 'left wing' as oppposed to right, and it had to do with the fact that there are more LH players than RH.

Right handed is more popular in the USA, LH is much more popular in Europe. Back in the 70s virutally all the USSR players would be LH (or so I read).

Seems to me to make sense to have dominant hand on top of the stick because often you are fighting for the puck/controlling the puck with just that one hand on the stick, a factor that makes hockey unique from golf or baseball.

You can probably generate more power with your dominant hand on the bottom, but I would think most people have somewhat similar strength between their two arms, it is mainly the dexterity that you lack in your weak side. Think about writing with your weak hand...it's not that you aren't strong enough to do it, it's just that side doesn't have the co-ordination to function as well.

[ktang 34]

The reason I shoot right even though my dominant hand is my right is one simple word: baseball.

That's how my dad taught me when I was a kid, just ask how they would hold a baseball bat! More kids at a young age are familiar with baseball than hockey. Even in Canada ;)

When I was growing up (in Canada) we all seemed to bat left-handed, because we were dominant right handers that started playing hockey first. And, now I think there are a lot more Canadian left-handed golfers proportionally, too.

[rubberduckie 0]

A lot of my friends shoot left in hockey and golf right handed. I have noticed quite the shift from a very right hand dominant stick selection, to almost left hand dominant now.

Kids that young though, if we want to get pseudo scientific, might have a semi dominant hand, but their brains are still very maliable. They will quickly be able to pick up whatever curve you give them. THat being said you should still try to give them whatever they feel most comfortable with.

[-brady2 0]

Well, 3 years old is kind of late to be starting your boy in hockey but we'll let that slide :)

I've heard that young kids, 2-3 should be handed a stick (outside) and told to spin around. Supposedly they will spin in the direction of the dominant, stronger side they will be most comfortable shooting on.

lol, 3 years old is kind of late? are you kidding me?a few kids i know who went high up in the dub draft didnt start untill they were 5 or 6

[ean 0]

Cool, thanks guys.. I hope my son gets into hockey. I love watching it and loved playing th the street when i was a kid. Once day, when i work normal hours i too hope that i can join a beer league or something.

But i an orginized sport like hockey would be great for him in the future. He will learn a little discipline, and its something motivating to keep him out of trouble. Of course, thats if he wishes to play. Not going to be one of those parents who force their kids to do something they dont like.

Sounds like son is lucky to have a dad who wants to get him involved in a great sport. If I can make a suggestion, it's that before you get him all involved with the puck and stick and all that jazz, make sure he learns to skate well!