If you want to learn to play ice hockey, one of the most important things to master is how to properly hold a hockey stick.
Without being able to hold the stick correctly, you will not be able to play the game properly. If you have never held a hockey stick before, you might be unsure where to start.
Holding a hockey stick properly helps you to aim better and focus on improving your technique.
Holding the stick the wrong way can harm your hockey playing, so how should you be holding it?
This article will explain how to hold a hockey stick to make sure that your performance on the ice will not be affected.
You can find out more below to make sure that you are holding the hockey stick correctly.
Which Hand Is Your Dominant Hand?
The first thing that you need to do when finding out how to hold a hockey stick is to be aware of which hand is your dominant one.
Your dominant hand will determine how you hold the stick, where you position your hands, and what stick you need to use.
You need to make sure that you will be comfortable with the way that you are holding the stick to play properly.
Once you know what your dominant hand is, you can then find the perfect hockey stick for you. If you are left-handed, you will need to use a stick with a blade that is curved to the right.
If you are left-handed, the blade of your hockey stick will need to be curved to the right.
After you have chosen the right hockey stick, you will then need to learn how to hold it correctly.
You need to make sure that you hold the stick correctly as you will be controlling the puck, so holding the stick the right way will increase the amount of control that you have when playing.
Without control, you will find it more difficult to play hockey properly.
Which Hand Is Positioned Nearest The Top?
To hold the hockey stick correctly, your dominant hand should be positioned nearest the top end of the hockey stick.
This helps to increase the control that you have over the stick, develop your skills, and make sure that you increase the amount of control that you have over the puck.
Lots of people think that it should be your dominant hand that is positioned furthest from the top of the hockey stick as this is your shooting hand.
This would make sense as you would want your most powerful hand to shoot to score a goal, but having your non-dominant hand at the top of the hockey stick doesn’t improve your playing.
When your non-dominant hand is at the top of your hockey stick, it is responsible for control over the puck.
Your non-dominant hand will not be able to do this as well as your dominant hand, which is why your dominant hand must be positioned at the top of the hockey stick.
When you are shooting in hockey, the power that is used to shoot comes from your body. You are leaning into the stick, which is why your dominant hand doesn't have to be at the bottom of the stick.
Although some power is coming from your hand, your body is leaning into the stick to create more force to shoot, so it isn’t all from your non-dominant hand.
Correctly Positioning Your Top Hand
To correctly position your top hand on the stick, it should be over the top of the hockey stick. Some people grab the stick from underneath, which is wrong as this prevents your hand from performing certain movements.
The top of the hockey stick should be sat between your index finger and your thumb for better wrist control when you are controlling the puck (You might also want to check out How To Measure A Hockey Stick).
The end of the stick shouldn’t come out of your hand any more than an inch, so if it does, you are holding your stick wrong.
There is a chance that if the bottom of your stick has more than an inch coming out of your hand that it is the wrong size, so you will need to look at purchasing a shorter stick as you do not want one that is too long.
Correctly Positioning Your Bottom Hand
The non-dominant hand will be at the bottom of the stick and it needs to be positioned correctly to make sure that your grip is secure.
Your bottom hand will often move during a hockey game as it depends on the situation, so you will find that it will not remain in one place throughout the game.
To hold the stick in a neutral position, hold your hockey stick up in the air with your dominant hand.
Place your dominant hand at the top of the hockey stick and put your elbow next to it so that your forearm is pointing downward.
Where your hand stops along the stick is where it will be placed in the neutral position.
How Do You Perfect Your Grip?
To perfect your grip, it takes practice to become familiar with the right way to hold a hockey stick.
It is recommended that you regularly train to make sure that you get used to the way that you hold a stick so you can become familiar with the roles that each hand does.
Practicing will make it easier and it will begin to become more familiar to you.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, the right way to hold a hockey stick is to place your dominant hand at the top of the hockey stick and your bottom hand below it.
This is to make sure that your dominant hand controls the puck as your bottom hand would not be able to do.
As your body helps to generate power to shoot during a game, the lack of strength in your non-dominant hand will not affect how you shoot.
It is important to remember that practice makes perfect when you are learning how to hold a hockey stick as the more practice you have, the easier it will become.