Stick Flex and Kids

[undercoverbrother]

Please accept my apology if this is in the wrong forum (mods please move if needed).


My daughter plays hockey, she is going into 1st year PeeWee. It will only be her 3rd full year of hockey. Her skating is pretty strong for her experience level, but her shot is still very weak.

In speaking to some people they say it is because her stick has too much flex and she needs a stiffer stick.

However, when speaking to others they say the stick needs to be flexible, even more so for a child than an adult.

I am hoping to pull on some of CP's experience to get another/further opinions.

Cheers

[BigFlameDog]

I am no help to you but I have basically the same issue with a first year Atom girl so I am going to piggy back.

Edit.....I meant Atom, did not care if she could shoot in Novice lol.

[Mass_nerder]

I don't necessarily have any specific knowledge as to recommended stick flexes for anyone, but the power in a wrist shot comes from the unloading of a flexed stick during the follow through as I understand it.
If your daughter isn't able to flex the stick, all the power from the shot would theoretically have to come from her, meaning the shot would be weaker.

[tvp2003]

These guys were featured on the Fan 960 last week: http://www.ravenhockey.com

Seem to have a good concept -- might be worth a look. Calgary company as well I believe.

EDIT: The concept is basically a shorter stick with only 20/30/40 flex so kids can actually shoot properly:

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

These guys were featured on the Fan 960 last week: http://www.ravenhockey.com

Seem to have a good concept -- might be worth a look. Calgary company as well I believe.

Yes, I heard the tail end of that, but forgot the name thanks I will look into that.


And they sell in Red Deer as well.

[darthma]

That's so raven

[Gallick]

Honestly, growing up I don't think I ever even looked at the flex of my sticks. I was never strong enough to get any whip out of a 70/80/90 stick. Wasn't until beer league as an adult that I was actually strong enough for the difference between an 80 flex and a 100 flex to matter, for example.

Pretty cool that they make 20/30/40 flex sticks for kids now; you definitely need to change your technique when you learn to utilize your stick flex and it will result in a harder shot, but as a div 5/6 level player it was never really that relevant to me.

[Northendzone]

i wonder if a bauer 30 flex is the same as a easton 30 as a ccm 30? my guess is not.

also cutting a stick even 2 inches, changes the flex.

back in my day we had wood sticks, that was the way it was and we liked it!!!!!

this link seems to have some good information http://hockeyreviewhq.com/hockey-res...o-choose-flex/ (note I found similar information on two otehr sites).

At this age, she would likely benefit from going to a camp that focuses on shooting. On our PEE-Wee team last year there were still a lot of kids who were trying to lift the puck, instead of shooting it at the end of the season.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

i wonder if a bauer 30 flex is the same as a easton 30 as a ccm 30? my guess is not.

also cutting a stick even 2 inches, changes the flex.

back in my day we had wood sticks, that was the way it was and we liked it!!!!!

this link seems to have some good information http://hockeyreviewhq.com/hockey-res...o-choose-flex/ (note I found similar information on two otehr sites).

At this age, she would likely benefit from going to a camp that focuses on shooting. On our PEE-Wee team last year there were still a lot of kids who were trying to lift the puck, instead of shooting it at the end of the season.

Yeah we are working on her shot in the basement and it will be a focus this years. She couldn't skate when she first stepped on the ice, so her focus has really been on that side, now she know she needs to improve her shot.


Thanks for the link.

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

These guys were featured on the Fan 960 last week: http://www.ravenhockey.com

Seem to have a good concept -- might be worth a look. Calgary company as well I believe.

EDIT: The concept is basically a shorter stick with only 20/30/40 flex so kids can actually shoot properly:

Yes, they are a Calgary company indeed.
Started in a basement, trying to make a stick for his son.

[puckedoff]

definitely check out raven hockey!

They sold out of their sticks in like 2 weeks last I had heard, hopefully they have new stock at this point or will have some in the future.

[Redlan]

I found that at the younger ages it was much more important to determine curve and lie before flex and mostly because those 2 will have immediate effects. My son would sometimes complain that his stick was too stiff to take a pass; it was more likely that the lie did not promote the reception because of how he skated. The same can be said of his shot. Once he figured those out it all started to come together plus the fact that he had the size and stength to utilize the flex in a senior stick.

[united]

Weight (in pounds) divided by two is a good rule of thumb for starters. Personal preference comes into play but likely not until the teenage years - a young person will not be able to tell the difference.

More important is length and lie. Find the length she is comfortable using, then find the corresponding lie angle that allows the blade to sit properly (neither toe or heel too up - flat), then find the flex noting flex increases as the stick is shortened.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Yes, I heard the tail end of that, but forgot the name thanks I will look into that.


And they sell in Red Deer as well.

Who sells them in Red Deer? A bunch of us hockey dads went and bought them in Calgary back in June during the Stampede Challenge. I was talking to another dad last night at practice who has bought his son a Raven stick. He went to the same place in Calgary to buy it.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Who sells them in Red Deer? A bunch of us hockey dads went and bought them in Calgary back in June during the Stampede Challenge. I was talking to another dad last night at practice who has bought his son a Raven stick. He went to the same place in Calgary to buy it.

do you really think I am going to tell you so "a bunch of....hockey dads" can buy them up.

Spoiler!

Spoiler!

http://www.gordssports.com/

currently they only have the 20 flex, I was just there. If you go there and see a 30 can you grab one for me? If you tell me waht you need and I see it I will grab one for you.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

I have a noodle armed kid so I looked for a light flex stick last year (reebok 35 flex..I think) and it seemed to help him (atom, mid-tier player). He definitely learned to load it and shoot with more jam than before. A couple cautions- he went from a poor shooter to average at best, so not miracles or anything, and I think part of it was a placebo effect. It takes him just as long or longer to get the shot off so he still flicks the puck sometimes too. But all in all, ripping a few = happy kid = happy dad.

I looked at the raven sticks last week after the fan960 spot. They were $100-$130 depending on size so I didn't by one on a whim, but if anyone has kids using them I'd like to hear about it.

To those who mentioned the right lie of the stick, do you have to get a custom stick for that to even be an option? I though kids sticks off the shelf were all the same.

[burn_baby_burn]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

do you really think I am going to tell you so "a bunch of....hockey dads" can buy them up.

Spoiler!

Spoiler!

http://www.gordssports.com/

currently they only have the 20 flex, I was just there. If you go there and see a 30 can you grab one for me? If you tell me waht you need and I see it I will grab one for you.

LOL! I'm actually set. Just curious who was selling them.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

LOL! I'm actually set. Just curious who was selling them.

Just keep that between you, me and the internet ok?