DarrenBarefoot.com

This has always baffled me too.

Although I was never a hockey superstar, I was an exception: right-handed defenseman that shoots (and bats and golfs)right.

My dad (also right-handed), shoots and golfs left, bats right and also played defense. Go figure.

One thing I think Yahoo Answers overlooked: When shooting, the hand on the middle of the stick is what generates most of the power, which could explain why some instinctively prefer that to be their dominant hand.

Haha. Good explanation. Thanks for researching this, I noticed a huge majority of lefties when looking up the habs’ lineup end of last season and wasn’t sure why that was.

Strange though, some guys from my neighborhood made it to junior and a couple from school to the NHL and yet I’ve never heard of someone switching or playing “inverted” so I wonder when this started, they can’t possibly be changing sides late in their careers so it must be a somewhat recent trend, maybe in hockey clinics for the young ones? There weren’t a lot of those when I was around people starting out.

I’d be in for the pool.

If you have to stretch to make a shot, you end up with your right hand on top of the stick. So, if you’re right handed, you should shoot left. Also, shooting left makes it easier to aim for the goalie’s naturally weaker side (in most cases). At least, that is the story and advice handed down in my family. (My great-grandfather played for the Habs, but I only played road hockey.)

Derek Reply:
November 6th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Your G grandfather was Billy — would like to chat with you — Putting together a book on Bruins – he played Bruins 26-27 season

I’ve always wondered about the prevalence of lefties too.

If only 8-15% of people are left-handed, then by the logic of the dominant hand, that same percentage should shoot right.

Maybe it more to do with left/right brain and a neuro-cognitive aspects of the sport.

Perhaps “dominant” is misleading because the stick is a two-handed instrument, something like a sledge, implying a certain degree of symmetry.

If you look at guitar or violin players, or even golfers, lefties are quite rare, suggesting that dominance DOES factor in.

I play right-handed guitar, shoot right in hockey, switch-hit in baseball. In baseball I’ll go left if I face a tough pitcher and just wanna make contact, but right if I really want to smack it.

I guess I still don’t get it.

Curious topic.

Bob

You don’t know how long I’ve waited for someone to explain what “shoots left” means… :D Maybe I should try it the other way round.

the theory with “foot” is my favorite :)I think it’s the most possible…but some people (for example me) can shoot both hand…I’ve played for 3 weeks and I don’t know – left or right…when I shoot left it’s more comfortable…but when I shoot right it’s stronger:)

How come there are no hockey switch-shooters, like baseball switch-hitters ?

I think hockey switch-shooters are much more important than baseball switch-hitters. Most backhand shots at the goalie are so weak that 95% of them could be stopped by an eight year old.

Switch-shooters would almost never have to make a backhand shot, unless they were in a scuffle or a traffic jam at the front of the net.

This subject just came up last week when I finally asked a friend who was an all American in the WCHA and played for the St. Louis Blues and also coaches hockey. We all grew up in northern Minnesota. I saw that the majority of all the hockey players(better players as well) shot left handed. Made no difference if they were a forward, defenseman or Goalie. A goalie who has his catching glove on the left hand, handles and shoots the puck left handed. These days kids are starting hockey and mom or dad takes them shopping for equipment. Immediately the parents picks up a right handed stick since their kid is right handed. This is entirely wrong. I shot right handed when I played and my brother constantly tried to get me to shoot left. it just did not feel right.
so I asked my friend how do you determine which way to shoot the puck for beginners. He worked with kids on this subject. He tested them two ways. The first was he had them pick up a snow shovel(southern Calif kids go to Step 2) and see which hand went lower and which hand was at the handle of the shovel. Hence if the left hand was lower on the shovel, chances are this kid would shoot left handed. Another way to check is to see where you place your hands when sweeping a broom(not curling but a house broom) so hockey moms don’t just give your kid a right handed stick.

Before I started to play hockey I played many years of tennis. I am a lefty which means my two-handed back hand has my left hand at the end of the racket and my right hand below or at the throat of the racket, so it felt best for me to stickhandle and shoot “right” when I began to play hockey.
I also can bat both left and right and play golf left or right, but for some reason, it doesn’t feel comfortable to play hockey lefty.

The shovel and broom thing seems perfect for determining a left or right shot. I’m a lefty for everything, but when it comes to hockey I’ve always shot right. It’s because I need my dominant hand for stick-handling and for times when I can only hold the stick with one hand. I can shoot straighter and with more power with a left-handed shot, but I can’t stick-handle to save my life. Kind of a double edged sword. Andrea Coutu mentioned that her great-grandfather played for the Habs. Crazy, he was banned from the NHL for life for attacking a referee. That sucks.

Clarkson Reply:
January 25th, 2010 at 8:56 am

No, that rules. Don’t forget it.

I think what Beth says has lots of merit. I’m right handed but left eye dominant. I throw and write with my right hand but bat right, shoot right, kick right, play guitar left handed, and dribble a basketball with my left-hand. I think eye-dominance determines what way a person shoots in hockey. Left eye dominant people shoot right and vice versa. It makes perfect sense.

Lefty vs. Righty. Your dominant hand should be on the top of the stick. This is encouraged in hockey circles all over the world. Right handed people should use a left curve stick. This allows you supreme control while stickhandling and the times when only one hand is needed on the stick. This also allows you to shoot off the correct foot. Pivot and balance is superior off your dominant leg. Taking a slap shot correctly will leave your dominant leg / foot carrying the load. Stickhandling with your dead hand on top of the stick is as effective as writing with the wrong hand. A coach can spot this a mile away. It is frustrating as hell to see a superb skater playing with the wrong stick at a young age—-because there is a point of no return. These kids will be weeded out by age 12. Can it be overcome ? Yes. Time, effort, and relentless scrimmage / practice against better players. far better to catch it when a kid is 5.
How do you hold a broom ? A Shovel ? A rifle ? A Gaff on a boat ?
Yes—you answered correctly—strong hand on the top end of each device.

This answer comes with 45 years of hockey experience. I will go a step further. The single greatest thing you can do to mess up a young kid starting out in hockey is to give him the incorrect stick curve. Most NHLers (70%) shoot left because they are right handed. There are many left handed NHLers—-they shoot right. There is also scientific research that has proven that many NHLers are ambidextrious (15%)….

Hockey at 30 Reply:
December 20th, 2008 at 1:55 pm

Quick notes on using left handed stick. It seems like I can then utilize my right leg better — kicking the puck to my forehand. I’m way better with my backhand now playing left, scored in my first game with a wrist shot and a backhand, and I am now 90% sold that i did the right thing, going to a left handed stick after years of playing hockey. i also think i see the ice better as my right shoulder is farther back — no idea. the nice thing is it had nothing to do with my skating ability, which is better than most at my age. glad i didn’t have to re-learn that. :)

HelmetHead Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm

With all due respect to Matt Hooper, you’re full of crap. “Your dominant hand should be on the top of the stick.” Wrong. There is no “should” involved here. It’s a personal preference. Look at how many people bat left and throw right in the major leagues. My two sons and I all play hockey. My youngest son and I are naturally left handed. My older son is right handed. We all shoot right in hockey. No one of us was told to shoot a certain way, we’re all just comfortable the way we are. In response to your “tests,” I hold a rifle with my right hand on the handle, a shovel with my right hand on top, a broom with my left hand on top, and a gaff with my left hand on top. There’s no rule. Every person just needs to figure out what’s most comfortable for himself. All you need to do is hand a kid two sticks, one left and one right, and ask him which one feels normal. A four-year-old will already have a preference and can tell you which one feels right. Telling someone to shoot left because he or she is right-handed is as arbitrary and dumb as telling him or her to shoot right. It’s a very personal thing and there’s no rule. Let kids figure it out on their own.

HelmetHead Reply:
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:19 pm

Thinking about this more and how absurd Mr. Hoopers comments are. Do you think Mario Lemiuex and Gordie Howe had to struggle to overcome being given the “wrong” stick? The facts are that shooting left and being right-handed are predominantly an Ontario-Quebec phenomenon, and that’s why there’s such a prevalence in the NHL. Western Canadians, Americans, and Europeans tend to shoot right at a much higher rate (think Kurri, Ovechkin, Sundin, Selanne, Alfredsson, etc.). Many people have tried to figure out the “why” of it and have failed. It’s just a quirk of personal preference. Nothing more, nothing less.

I disagree with the tripod assessment in learning to skate because I am left footed exclusively (“goofy”), and right hand dominant although I can throw ok lefty.

I am left handed at hockey, useless righty, hit baseball lefty, eventually switch, and exclusively played golf right handed (to a professional level).

In golf Phil Mickelson is right handed but plays lefty golf, although unlike myself, he can beat most people shooting the other way too.

I think the most likely reason for right handed players shooting lefty in the americas has to do with the position of goalie. In North America children play baseball first before hockey usually, and when you are right handed you catch with your left hand. When you would first try playing goalie, you naturally will want to hold your stick in the right hand because it wouldn’t make sense to swap glove hands.

I’m a sports development officer in Scotland and have played hockey since I was 8 or 9. I can see valid points for the tri-pod theory for dominant footing when shooting (to test dominant foot ask the player to stand with both feet together and gentle push them on the chest, their strong foot will step back to keep their balance) and also for the dominant handedness. I do hold brooms, shovels & rifles with my dominant (right) hand at the top so to speak yet play hockey as a righty with the dominant hand lower down as is the most common case in Europe.

I also agree that the theory for shooting in a particular way is whatever FEELS more natural but can see an argument for shooting a certain way to have an advantage over the goalie.

Something I have come across at work is how to coach shinty (Scottish Highlands sport, similar to the Irish game of Hurling) where players are always instructed to hold their sticks with the dominant hand at the top for greater control and the secondary hand lower down in the middle of the shaft.

Thanks for the posts everyone and in advance for replies.

I had a question about this.

I’m 29yrs old, been playing regularly since middle school, and I play at least twice a week. I’d like to improve my stickhandling. I’m right eyed/right handed.
Do you think it’s too late for me to switch from right to left handed stick? I wonder if I would get better faster with a left handed stick than practicing with right handed stick. Would it be worth it? Anyone do this at my age?

Hi, i don’t know what the reason is but ive noticed that alot of righties play lefty, a few of my friends do it and it seems to me that everybody does. maybe playing lefty makes you better, i dont know. i am a “lefty” but i do many things righty as well. i write, bat, golf, and throw lefty. but, i play guitar and goaltender righty. im also right footed when playing soccer but im goofy footed when skateboarding. i dont understand it. i think that you just get used to whatever u started out doing things as. the first time i picked up a guitar i held it righty, and luckily im a righy with that because it would be a pain to find a lefty guitar.

PS trying the behind-the-back stretch, my LEFT goes way up, can hardly reach my right up at all, so I’ve got it wrong–Brad’s correct, in that the muscle in my right prevents me from stretching it up, but so why does my left want to open the jar? Okay, and try this, for stairs without thinking about it, I naturally use left on the first step to go up and right to go down. Are these habits? or do they have to do with brain-ed-ness and shooting the puck? Oh, wait, I’d only be able to shoot a puck left, but I’d hit a golf ball right–is that inconsistent or what? I can’t get my head around doing either one the other way, but aren’t they so similar? (it’s a mystery). These aren’t habits I have built, I don’t play either sport, but trying it for a minute or a game, I’m stuck this way. Forget about “changing.” Maybe it’s nature that our brains simply come with variations towards such tasks. Cool question, though not important.