Advice when choosing a hockey stick
Lots of children like to play with sticks that are far too long, as it looks ‘cool’ to play with a senior stick. However, children also grow a great deal throughout the hockey season and ‘outgrow’ their stick.
The wrong size stick can negatively affect their skill development, e.g. the length and the mass of the stick head may not be in balance.
Advice in the past has been to buy a stick which meets the child’s hip bone from the ground, but all children vary in height and body proportions, so this may not be suitable for your child.
Some questions to consider ………….
- Does the stick feel comfortable?
- Is it pressing into your child’s stomach or do they have to bend too low which may damage their back?
- Can your child’s hands control the head of the stick when swinging to hit the ball or is the head of the stick dominating the hands?
- Children do not need expensive sticks, even if they try and persuade you the stick is better because it is more expense. This is not the case.
- An ideal stick for a junior would be one that has a “full size” (senior) head.
- A longer length junior hockey stick will not only last longer, it will encourage the child to play with the ball further away from them, developing dribbling control skills and enhancing their passing and shooting swing length.
Many websites and manufacturers of sticks publish guides. The guide below suggests the sticks would be slightly longer, but would also last longer – particularly as they grow so quickly!
|
Player Height (Ft & inches) |
Player Height (cm) |
Stick length (inches) |
|
Below 4 ft |
Below 122 cm |
30 inch |
|
4ft – 4ft 7in |
122 – 139.7 cm |
32 inch |
|
4ft ‘7in – 5ft |
139.7 – 152.4 cm |
34 inch |
|
5ft – 5ft 4in |
152.4 – 162.6 cm |
36 inch |
|
5ft 4in – 6ft 2in |
162.6 – 188 cm |
36.5 inch |
|
6ft 2in – 6ft 5in |
188 – 195.6 cm |
37.5 inch |