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What To Look For In A New Stick
By:
Mike Gempeler
RMHS & USJDP Director
Mike
is a 15-year hockey school veteran who is the founder/director
of Rocky Mountain Hockey Schools and the U.S. Jr. Development
Program, as well as founder/creator of CamperReg, Camp Management
Technologies, Inc. and Hockey Editor for RINK magazine. He has
spent time as a youth hockey coach, private powerskating instructor,
private stickhandling coach, youth hockey director, and youth
hockey association consultant.
Mike is also a Senior Consultant and Founding Partner with Global
Sports Management & Consulting, Inc., a worldwide sports consulting
business that focuses on the development and management of youth
and adult sports programs. Among the services GSMC provides is tournament
direction, rink and pro shop management, youth association management
and development, turn-key operations, charity events, and coaching/motivational
seminars.
So
it’s time for a new stick. Not an easy task in today’s
market. There are all types of sticks, from plain old wood sticks
to the new high tech one-piece sticks. Along with that, you have
hundreds of curves, different lengths, weights, flexes, and models
as well. Plus, now that the big four stick manufacturers, CCM,
Bauer, Easton and Louisville, have all had successful one-piece
stick launches, it makes it more difficult than ever to make the
correct decision, not to mention the correct financial decision
as well.
First, and most importantly, which way should you shoot, right or
left? There is an alarming trend in the hockey industry to have a
player shoot right because they are right-handed. This is incorrect!
If you are right-handed, you should shoot left because then your
dominant hand, your right one, is on top of the stick in the control
position, while your left would be lower on the shaft in the power
position. The top hand, being the control hand, is obviously where
you want the dominant hand. This is the opposite of the situation
in golf, where the bottom hand on the club is the control hand and
the top is the power hand.
Now let’s discuss the stick itself. It’s size, shape,
weight, feel and, most importantly, construction are all important
factors to consider when selecting a stick. Today, the makeup of
a stick ranges from wood to composite materials, to hybrids in between.
While some players still like the consistent, lightweight feel of
a 100% wood stick, the trend is obviously steering towards the high
tech, composite, one-piece sticks of the future. These sticks are
even lighter in weight and are much more durable, providing a consistent
feel for a longer period of time. The other benefit of the new materials
is that the composite sticks have a consistent feel from stick to
stick, meaning each stick has the same flex points and stiffness
as the next, unlike their wood counterparts, which can vary depending
on the wood used in each particular stick. Of course, we all know
the downside to the amazing new one-piece sticks: the price! However,
as a parent once told me after my inquiry about the necessity of
an 8-year-old to have a $150 stick, “yes, it does cost a lot,
but it will last him all season.”
Sticks also come in junior and adult sizes. The difference will
be in the weight, height, flex, and size. Now, what we mean by
size is simple: the diameter of the stick. The reason for this
is obvious: a child’s hands are much smaller than adult hands, and therefore
need a much narrower stick to get their hands around. Now, along
with this narrower grip, the stick will also, due to its narrower
width, have a lighter flex and weight. These are both very important
to the lighter, smaller, younger player. The other obvious difference
in these lighter junior sticks will be a much shorter shaft height.
It makes no sense to make a junior stick 60” tall when the
player is only 48” himself!
Along with the makeup of a stick, these options also come with different
patterns, curves, blades and flexes. The appropriate amount of flex
should be based on your age, skill, weight, and technique. For instance,
if you are a beginning player, it makes more sense for you to have
a shaft with a lighter flex to make up for your lack of technique,
than a heavy, stiff flex more useful to blueline bombers than a novice
player. Also, if you are a 110-pound woman, it makes no sense for
you to have an extra-stiff flex as you simply will not have the body
weight to flex it. Shooting is all about knee bend and technique
and each person is different. Joe Sakic and Brett Hull both have
softer flexes in their sticks because they shoot wrist/snap shops
and like a lot of whip. It all depends on what your style and preferences
are.
One problem that is more and more prevalent these days is the
amount of illegal curves that are readily available in any hockey
shop. Most people, especially kids, believe the bigger the curve
the better. This is not true. A curve does not make the stickhandler,
the hands do. Take a look at Eric Lindros; he has as straight
a stick as there is in the game, yet can still handle the puck
extremely well. Why? Because of his skill, not the curve. Some
manufacturers even make, and sell, curves that are blatantly
illegal. This is not good. It does the player an injustice, gives
them an illegal curve that could cost their team a penalty in
a game, and creates a misperception in the hockey community that
a bigger curve is better. Kids especially are caught up in the
ideal and it is not good for their skill development. Let them
learn with a smaller curve, and as they grow older and develop
an affinity towards a particular curve, whether that is a toe curve
or a heel curve, small or big, let them have as many legal options
as possible. You can’t play with an illegal curve, so why buy
one…or sell one?!
A question many of you may have relating to sticks and curves
of the past is a lie. The lie of a stick is the height a stick
raises off the ice when the blade is held flat on the ice surface
itself. A shaft with a lower lie, 3 or 4, is closer to the ice
for a more compact skater, while a higher lie, 5 or 6, is taller
for a more upright skater. While these may have been a determining
factor in the past, the lie of a stick has become somewhat obsolete
as stick and blade manufacturers produce products that are exact
replicas of a professional player’s personal pattern, as
opposed to generic products with lies. So when you are buying
a Mark Messier stick or blade, you are buying the pattern and
lie that Messier uses.
Now that you have waded through all this information on sticks
and blades and have made your purchase, there are a few more
things you need to know. First of all, where to cut it: a stick
should be cut around or below the chin while the player is on
skates. Most players cut their stick off high so they can “grow into it”.
This is not a good idea, as it hinders their puck controlling abilities,
shot, and skating skills. It is better to have a shorter stick that
will bring the hands closer to the puck, force them to bend their
knees while skating and create more force in their shot. Lastly,
the grip: don’t make it too big and long. This will only add
weight to the stick and make it harder to hold.
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