stronger hand

[BERGY17 0]

WHICH HAND IS STRONGER THE TOP OR THE BOTTOM CAUSE LOTS OF PEOPLE SAY TOP FOR FLEX AND STUFF BUT I SAY BOTTOM CAUSE IT IS THE ACCURACY AND STICKHANDLING?

[BobEP 0]

Go easy on the Caps Lock bud. It's all personal preference really.

[Vapor 0]

I always learned, dominate hand goes on the top of the stick, so if you do everythign righty, you are a lefty.

[Dan_The_Man_16 0]

I've always heard that it's just what ever is comfortable. Thats why kids should get a straight stick first so they can change if they want.

[stix04 0]

so if you do everythign righty, you are a lefty.

you'd think that, but I do everything righty and for some reason I'm righty, same with my dad, only he does everything lefty and hes a lefty, so i guess its PP.

[Fedorov91 0]

I'm pretty sure your top hand is dominant like Vapor said. I write right handed and I shoot left but I know there's people who write right handed and shoot righty so go figure. If you think about it, when you stickhandle your top hand it doing most of the work and your bottom hand is just kind of "supporting" it.

[MDE3 0]

When you are working in situations where you can only have one hand on the stick, it is best to have your strongest hand up there, which is usually also your most coordinated. It was taught that way to us up in Canada, and if you check rosters at the minor hockey levels, you may still find a predominence of "lefties" on teams of Canadian born players....the reverse tends to be true down here.

It's Canada's best kept hockey secret..and why Canada has dominated the USA in hockey over the years (with one notable exception) (we fibbed years ago)

[cameltaur 0]

I'm a natural lefty and i shoot left...I agree that it is totally PP.

[BERGY17 0]

but is the bottom hand not the stronger one because of stickhandlinh and shoting

when ou shoot is it not the wrist of the bottom?????

[seanmccann 3]

I think the bottom one because you lean into your shot with your bottom hand and flex the stick with the bottom hand.

[Chadd 916]

It's both hands working together to produce the shot. If you only try to push with the bottom hand you will lose a lot of power by not using the top hand.

It's best to have your most dexterous hand on top but there are exceptions to every rule.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

I think the bottom one because you lean into your shot with your bottom hand and flex the stick with the bottom hand.

You pull with the top, push with the bottom.

An argument can be made that it is harder to pull than to push, especially when you have your weight helping the bottom hand...

[MDE3 0]

It's ambiguous for a lot of people as to which hand is dominant when they are young...some like my own son was pretty much ambidextrous(as a baby) with only a slight tendency to use his left a little more. When he started school he learned to write left handed, but after the third grade he switched to writing right handed due to peer pressure...people would now consider him "right handed" from the way he writes and plays golf, but his strongest side is still his left arm by far (watching him arm wrestle)..so he ended up being a right hand shot.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I always learned, dominate hand goes on the top of the stick, so if you do everythign righty, you are a lefty.

I believe in the same theory than you Vapor on that point...

[LetsGoWings13 0]

i heard when you have your dominant hand on top it is better for stickhandling and vision and when you have your dominant hand on the bottom it is better for shooting who knows maybe it is all crap lol

[beaucoup_fish 0]

I think it can be said that dominant hand goes on top for MOST people, but not all. Like others have shown, there are exceptions to the rule...I have buddies that are right-handed and shoot right as well...

[chippa13 1844]

Research has shown that it has to do with how old you are when you first skate with a stick in your hand. The younger you are when you start, the more the tendency is that your top hand will be the dominant hand. Stats have shown that approx. 70% of Canadians a left handed shots while approx. 70% of Americans are right handed shots.

[MDE3 0]

Although the age to hand relationship is probably accurate, it may not be the reason why this is true....I think kids in Canada are more likely taught to do this and probably have access to more formal coaching of some kind earlier than kids in the USA.....From my own coaching experience, most parents have already purchsed the sticks when they bring their kids to their first hockey experince, many(parents) with no background in the sport. If the local instructor does not know better..then this initial stick selection will often remain. With no exposure to the sport it is quite normal to assume that a right handed child would shoot from the right side, a la golf, tennis, or baseball.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

I agree with MDE3 on this one. I've sold equipment to 5-year olds and their parents ALWAYS pick out a RH stick. I put it back and give them a neutral. And most of the time the kid ends up more comfortable with the left on top.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

That's ridiculous to buy a RH or LH stick when the kid is starting to play.

[chippa13 1844]

Although the age to hand relationship is probably accurate, it may not be the reason why this is true....I think kids in Canada are more likely taught to do this and probably have access to more formal coaching of some kind earlier than kids in the USA.....From my own coaching experience, most parents have already purchsed the sticks when they bring their kids to their first hockey experince, many(parents) with no background in the sport. If the local instructor does not know better..then this initial stick selection will often remain. With no exposure to the sport it is quite normal to assume that a right handed child would shoot from the right side, a la golf, tennis, or baseball.

We can even try a little survey here to prove the point. I'll bet that most people who are naturally right handed for writing, throwing etc who started hockey young will be left handed for hockey and those who started older will tend to be right handed for hockey.

[MDE3 0]

That's ridiculous to buy a RH or LH stick when the kid is starting to play.

The problem is many unwitting parents do not go to an LHS to make their first equipment purchase...but a large general sports store or major department store..and most of these places will not have any junior "straight blades", nor anyone on the floor with any real hockey knowledge to help.

Kovy....your reaction is more typical of someone from Canada....as you were probably taught this as a fundamental piece of hockey lore from a young age, either from an older brother, a parent, or someone close, with significant hockey exposure.....the same awareness level is not necessarily true where hockey is not a major "subculture".