Noob. Helps on wristshots and slapshots?

[Sean_Casto]

My friend is a goalie who just started playing again and managed to trick me into playing and liking it. lol I have been playing deck hockey now for about 2 months. I play mostly defense (close to net, going where goalie tells me to). I have gotten better with puck control in passing and receiving passes, however their is still one problem:

I cant seem to lift the dang thing more then 4 inches off the ground.

My friend bought me a Bauer Endure 2 for my birthday and when I stand it on its tip (shaft most vertical), the tip comes to just above my forehead. I know its supposed to be to about my mouth, but I would rather not cut it.

So my question is, is it just something that I am doing? I am not all that tall, but its all relative to the stick. If I do need to chop the top a bit, can I chop a composite halo stick?

I really want to get good at this. I don't play sports and I would really like to be able to say I can play at least one. Any help? lol

PS: I have learned a good deal of info so far from this site, Thank you.

[RichardGraham]

Hi Sean,

You will soon get some great advice from the experts, but for now, yes, your stick is way too long. Catch will argue that this is an impossibility, but we are talking hockey here.

When you're standing in regular shoes, your stick should come to about your nose. While a longer stick will help a defenseman deflect shots and make poke checks, it's apparent from your post that the length of your stick is hampering your ability to handle the puck.

Experts?

[MotherPucker21]

hey Sean,

Your stick is way too tall. As Richard said, on plain shoes rule of thumb says stick should come to your nose. While on skates, it should come to your chin/mouth area. Some people Like longer sticks, especially defenseman, but yours is taller than you and thats just awful.

To answer your other question, yes, you can cut a composite stick. Just make sure its done neatly with a chop saw or a clean ahcksaw job, You dont want to botch it and have ur sticks weave pulling apart. And a nice even cut and adding a end plug will help to reduce the chance of your stick breaking. I once cut a bauer Vapor XXX and it lasted for a long time. But I dont have much experience with the composite sticks, as Im partial to wooden.

As far as your slap shot and wrist shot goes. Practice makes perfect. I'm going to say the length of your stick is having a lot do with it at this present moment. If your stick is that long it has to be next to impossible to shift your weight correctly/smoothly while keeping your stick in the ideal postion/form. Because it seems your stick is probably about 5-6 inches too long for you.

Best of luck, and enjoy the game!!

[thompson1ner]

As already stated, get that stick cut it's way to big. remember less is best, you dont want to cut to much because you can't add the stick back (well you could get a butt end but they suck in my opinion)

anyway cut a little bit off, try it out, if you like leave it, if not then cut a little more, etc...do that until you get the right length for YOU.


as for your wrist shop, it's weird i just saw these videos for the first time yesterday but here are clips of Alex Kovalev who has the best wrist shot in all of hockey so watch these videos for some tips

go to http://www.warriorhockey.com/WarriorHockey.html and on the bottom left you will see a bunch of links, click on Warrior TV, then watch clips 1 & 2!

[Sean_Casto]

10-4 guys, thnx for the help. Would it be okay to use a fast spinning table saw to do the trick?

[MotherPucker21]

i would say yes. I had a carpenter buddy of mine cut my composite stick with a table saw and it held up fine, and i didnt even put the end cap.

As stated above though, cut a lil bit, test it out, see how it feels. If it still feels long, take a little more off. You dont want to take a huge chunk off from the beginning becuase you cant put it back. And I agreed, using butt ends to add length if its too short sucks.

another thing, for your slap shot...its kinda like golf. its not how hard you swing all the time, but its the transfer of your body weight and how you connect. I know people that barely bring their stick back that have the hardest slapshots. its all in the technique.

[Megadeth1850]

I can do wristshot's pretty well, just practice. I can't do slapshots that well. They go pretty fast and hard, but won't go in the air. Also i just got my Warrior Dolomite and there wasn't a plug at the top and it is hollow. Can i order a plug from hockeymonkey.com.

[thompson1ner]

Megadeth - you'd probably pay more for shipping then what it's actually worth, you can get them at any pro shop at an ice rink

[MDE3]

The "normal" stick length on skates would be to your chin...so in shoes..to your nose is about right(if you plan on using the same stick for roller hockey or ice hockey as well [ie. on skates]..otherwise chop it to the chin length or lower)....How tall are you? Some forwards I know had sticks to mid chest only..while on skates..their priority was always puck control and rapid movement with the blade. A longer stick can give you more leverage..if you are big/strong enough to use it..ie a harder shot. Defensive players typically use a longer stick for purposes of reach and a more effective "poke check"..so to some degree it depends on what is most important for your game.

The energy in any shot comes from creating acceleration in the blade of the stick..ie always insure that the blade movement is increasing in speed throughout the shot motion. This pins the ball or the puck to the blade during the shot motion

If you are relatively small, then not only is the length of the stick an issue, but also the flex. What generates great amounts of acceleration is the stick undergoing compression during the downswing where the center of the stick "bows" compared to the ends. This is further amplified as the stick contacts the playing surface....as long as it doesn't contact it too vertically. Then when it releases all that stored energy it creates the desired acceleration of the blade/ball/puck.

Too much vertical component right before contact, will cause deceleration of the blade as it impacts the floor..and all that effort will be wasted..not to mention breaking your stick prematurely, and the ball or puck will never have much velocity or lift. Lift is actually created by the position (angle) of the blade at the point where the ball or puck flies off the face. As long as the acceleration of the blade is maintained right to the point of release...the direction and loft are controlled by the wrists which in turn control the face of the blade. Too long a stick commonly results in too much vertical component as the blade hits the playing surface often prematurely and too far behind the ball or puck.

In addition too long a stick will result in a funny "lie"..the angle at which the blade rests on the playing surface when holding it at your normal playing position. If the heel and or toe is hitting the floor/ice first, then the blade will tend to twist in the hands..losing directional control as well as the desired acceleration. Too stiff a stick will result in little compression..and thus reduced acceleration. Sticks are made with different lies and flexes as well as lengths.

The easiest way to learn the "slap shot" is to take much shorter back swings, and make sure you are "accelerating" through the ball or puck during contact. To learn this start your down swing slower and make sure it accelerates through the ball/puck..gradually increase the swing length as you gain feel and confidence in the result. You really never have to take your trailng arm past parrellel to the floor or ice to generate max power..going beyond this is usually counterproductive..both in terms of power and time of release....It is often more important to get the shot away accurately than to worry about the velocity so much..in order to take advantage of the moment. Sometimes you may want to wrap some tape around the shaft at the lower grip area, to prevent the stick from rotating inadvertently while shooting.

[Sean_Casto]

Thnx bud, yea, I'm roughly 5'7 so im rather short for the game. I am going to chop my stick to my nose sunday. I will see how that works on monday and wednesday and again make minor adjusments acording to the desired effect. Thnx guys, this really helps.

[LiChiefs13]

hey thompson1ner..those were some great videos ( from warrior tv) any way i can download them?

[Megadeth1850]

I got my stick for $105 shipped. It's like 6 inches taller then me or maybe like 4 inches taller then me. I'm going to cut it next time i go to the rink.