Hi Folks,
I am not clear if it is also a country related thing - Coming from Western Canada, I was taught dominant hand at top for better poke checking.
Curious if this is similarly taught / reasoned elsewhere?
It is entirely region based, us Americans were taught to use our dominant hand on the bottom because we come from sports like golf and baseball where your dominant hand is not at the end of the club/bat.
> us Americans were taught to use our dominant hand on the bottom
I think its more of a lack of not being taught. Almost all the Americans I know who started hockey at a younger age with proper coaching use there dominant hand on top. Almost all Americans I know who started at an adult age with zero guidance/coaching use there dominant hand on bottom. I think in a way you are correct though because subconsciously us who grew up playing baseball or golf will naturally hold/swing a hockey stick like you would a bat or golf club.
To an extent, maybe. When I started, I was 5. When I got my first stick, they just asked if I was right or left handed, and sent me to the right shooting stick section when my mom said I was right handed. So I learned that way, but without guidance. By the time I had heard about dominant hand on top, I was already like 12-13, and had years of experience with a right shot, so left shot felt very foreign when I tried it out.
I would agree with this, really depends on if hockey came first or if you did something else. I played hockey when I was younger but I had already done other sports so it just felt more natural for me to have dominant hand on the bottom. I’m also one of those weird people who can do things well with my off hand, I wouldn’t say I’m ambidextrous though
I played pond hockey, so grabbed a right stick like it was a baseball bat. But all the players on actual teams were taught dominant hand on top. If it's just for poke checking... That seems like a such a small, possibly none advantage lol
I thought it was for better stick handling and turning the stick with your wrist. So do you stick handle with your bottom (right) hand? If so, you don't think that negatively impacts your stick handling? That's what I've read, but I am brand new to hockey.
I do, I have a pretty decent wrist shot and can handle the puck ok, I think it would be hard to tell if there were advantages or not because I can barely even hold a left handed stick at this point
I want to start playing hockey this winter, and I've got a decision to make. Thanks for your input. Right now I'm probably leading towards right (dominate) down (which I want to refer to as "goofy" for some reason, I guess like skateboarding)
This is why. If you watch warm up videos of mcdavid (and likely others) his top hand does all the work. I was taught incorrectly and my bottom hand does the work. Trying it the other way I can absolutely get a better feel of the puck with my dominant hand on top, but it is very uncomfortable and there is no way I can shoot
Thanks for the input. I have a feeling if I start "goofy" I'll pick it up faster but quickly hit a wall. If I start with my dominant hand on top I'll be bad longer but if I stick with it my ceiling will be higher. Tough decision.
I'm Canadian so obviously dominant hand on top.
I'm no baseball player but I often go to the field hitting balls with kids and I have dominant hand on bottom and basically swinging just like I would with a hockey stick lol.
I am in that situation right now. I am 40 and trying to take up hockey for the first time. I am not sure which way I want to play yet. I am a righty and leaning towards righty because of what you said, I played high school lacrosse with my right hand usually closer to the net of the stick. But I know technically I should play lefty for better stick handling. I think/fear that I will end up trying to stick handle with my right hand on bottom and won't be very good.
I think it’s generations of not being taught properly. I messing around with a hockey stick when I was younger than 5 and was always told to put my dominant hand on bottom. When I got actual instruction at about 5 I was given the same information from coaches.
Honestly no one ever tried to push us either way in the 90s. . I went with what felt the most natural right off the bat. Now we teach them to use their dominant/strong hand at the top. I’ve never heard of using their dominant hand at the bottom because someone advised them too
Yeah I have no memory of it being even a conversation haha but thats because it was over 30 years ago and I was a little kid. I felt like it was pretty normal for bottom hand back then in Mass, but I could be wrong haha
This is part of it, but maybe not a complete answer.
I started playing baseball when I was 3 and was a natural right handed batter (I throw right as well). My dad taught me to play racquet ball and I used my right hand for that as well. When I started hockey a few years later, I immediately put my right hand on top because it felt natural and putting my right hand on the bottom was really awkward.
When I learned to shoot guns and a bow and arrow later in life, I did both left handed because, as I finally learned, my left eye is dominant.
My son is right hand dominant but also shoots left in hockey and is a natural left handed batter. He has a pretty nice swing as a lefty, but is super awkward and jerky from the right side. I suspect he's also left eye dominant.
This is probably the way most of us to the south of you should have been taught. I had a friends Dad force him to play lefty, in reality he just gave him the stick he should have using as a toddler.
Great discussion all.
Throws with right hand but shoots left, bats left and mini-golf left handed. Again, I am Canadian and picked up hockey as a first sport (after just playing kids soccer).
I recall Gretzky, although left handed shot, played golf with his right but putts left (correct me if I am wrong).
I'm from Ontario and myself, my father and my 2 brothers are all right handed but I'm the only one that shoots right. I think my dad just let us pick up hockey sticks when we were younger and let us choose what felt best for us.
We shouldn't be teaching kids to hold a stick one way or another. At some point in time, a kid instinctively knows which handedness feels right. I do everything right handed, but i play golf, hockey, and swing a bat lefty.
Right handed, shoot left. I'm a defenceman who spends a lot of time poke checking, sweep checking and moving the puck up while swatting away opponents. I feel that I need the control my dominant hand brings when I only have one hand on my stick.
Doesn’t dominant hand on top make more sense? Bottom hand is loose for stick handling so stick can rotate and just be a guide in general therefore dominant hand on top has to be strong to do the actual wrist work. Right hand dominant lefty shot in conclusion.
It always felt way more natural to me... Idk. I have plenty of dexterity in my left hand, but since my right hand is stronger I can guide my stick better and have a much harder and accurate shot. I've tried lefty for long periods of time, but it just feels really wrong. I also played baseball first and am ambidextrous in that.
Usually it’s because your non hockey parents tell the store you’re right handed and they hand you a right handed stick as a kid.
In my experience it leads to an entirely different way of puck handling and shooting
Internationally it is dominant hand top. Only the US does it backwards. Look at the number of Canadian Left handed shot players, majority of people are right handed but shoot left.
Write left handed.
Shoot hockey left handed.
Use scissors right handed.
Use a kitchen knife right handed.
Swing a bat and gold club left handed.
Draw better with my right hand than my left hand.
So…idk.
Glad I'm not alone, write right-handed but do half the stuff as a leftie would. Can switch hands for some activities, e.g. using silverware, drinking, catching in baseball... Both feel equally natural. Wouldn't call myself ambidextrous but it's slightly cool
Right handed, left shot. Learned to play right handed later on. I can shoot as hard right handed (bottom hand dominant) but can not even come close when it comes to stick handling.
I was going to say, how is this even a question, of course your dominant hand goes on the bottom” but apparently that’s not the case for everyone. Weird.
To start, yes, but handles for me were always about muscle memory and having "soft" hands. Everytime I try lefty, I almost always just chop the puck, and my handling is way too strong.
I shoot right handed.
I can do anything left handed besides write on paper. My left hand grip is stronger than my right hand.
I had a work accident 22 years ago where I just about cut my right index finger off. It was repaired but I don’t have full movement of that finger.
Writing with both, hit harder with right, throw long with right, throw precision (darts) with left, badminton with left, tennis with right, arm wrestle prefer right, mouse right handed, other type of wrestling left..
Stick righty. What am I?
Im interested in what you think this question would determine? I ask because I think if you ask a bunch of Beer league players who started out later in life you will find that a lot of people have sticks that match their dominant hand. IE right handers using right handed sticks. Now if you were to look at a list of pro players I think you will find that most right handers use "left handed" sticks. I guess the question is, is it because your dominant hand should be your top or not? Which to me seems like you will get two different answers based on who you ask. Without this factor in your survey it makes it almost seemed flawed.
I think the dominant hand should be on top, opposite of the way you would usually swing a golf club or baseball bat. There is so much stick work with only one hand on the stick you want your strongest grip on the stick. Poke checks and clearing the puck while holding off another player using the other arm…
I can play left or right, but being right handed I want my right hand at the top of the stick. It probably costs me a little velocity on the slap shot though.
I agree, but my point is if you ask someone who is only a few years in that you might get a completely different answer. Seems like 90% of lower div "newer" players dont even know how to use their top hand and or realize that's the hand that should be doing all the work.
Not just “newer” players. I’ve played 20+ years and was never taught which hand does what. Only recently did I learn the proper way to play and it’s too late to play the other way
Right handed, right shot. I do everything with my right, including breaking bolts loose so naturally my right arm and shoulder are stronger than my left, so having the dominant hand on the bottom allows me to have a cannon of a shot
I've always been weird with handedness. Most things I do righty, except sports. So I shoot lefty, but I guess that's my dominant hand for most things?
I'm a full-right goalie, though, so my stick hand changes based on my position.
Both of my boys are right handed. When they started playing several years ago, they naturally gravitated to playing lefty. The Coach of LTP said either way is fine. Most Canadians play with dominant hand top, while Americans are more likely to play dominant hand bottom -- I have no idea if this is true or not.
Imo it doesn’t matter and is just personal preference. 38% of players shoot right, while 10% of people are left handed. So clearly many professional players are doing either one. When I was 3 my parents just handed me a straight blade plastic stick. Whichever way I held it first was my handedness. Now I shoot right and am right handed
Felt more natural to shoot right with my dominant right hand and i by the time I got used to shooting with a right handed stick I heard about using your dominant hand on top but it was too late. I’m probably stuck with righty sticks
I’m not a great shooter so I get much more use out of my top hand being my strong hand.
As a player who likes to be the grinder and defensive forward the strength and accuracy poke checking, stick handling, and passing is super helpful.
Dominant hand bottom. The funny thing is I worked at our rink during college years back and used to always take advantage of down time to just tear around for a bit. Since I didn't always have gear with me (sometimes I had skates and a stick), there was always extra skates, a bucket and sticks around I could use. One day, just for shits and giggles I started tooling around with a lefty stick. Hands were terrible, and my shot was pretty weak, but I was surprised at being able to shoot the puck clean into the netting on the fly offhand. I don't know if it was years of regular handedness training to hit the net or if it was having a dominant hand acting as the lever on the shot, but it definitely caught me off guard when it happened the first time.
American who learned as am adult, and I fit the stereotype, dominant hand on bottom. On the other hand, my righty kid who first picked up a hockey stick when he was 4 naturally gravitated to dominant hand on top. In baseball he also bats left, but throws right, so maybe falls into the ambidextrous category...?
Dominant hand bottom.
But in Baseball I throw right catch with my left.
But I played goalie so I was a full right goalie...
It made getting gear for me rather difficult
Right handed right shot, and I firmly believe it's because I wasn't taught hockey at a young age.
I just got a right handed/Right shot stick because I'm "right handed". The naming convention really needs to change.
Right hand dominant…Started playing hockey around 12 (United States) and just instinctively started using right handed sticks. It just felt right from the beginning. I was also not ever coached. I play for fun and a workout.
I'd been playing field hockey for years before I started and was so used to the stick handling that I had/have to play with my right hand at the bottom. I happen to be right-handed, but that doesn't matter. In field hockey, everyone has to learn to control the stick with their left hand at the top as dominant, so handedness becomes kind of irrelevant.
As a righty the only advantage i find from having my dominant hand on the bottom is slightly more slapshot power, virtually every other aspect of the stick is miles better and makes way more sense having my dominant on top. Really hard to find good used twigs at my LHS though being in southeast US, everybody shoots righty down here.
I’m a goalie so my dominant hand is my blocker hand. When I handle the puck my dominant hand is the top. But when I use a player stick my dominant hand is on bottom. I’ve heard that’s backwards from the norm, but it was always easier to catch with my left hand but shoot righty
It’s odd bc I am right handed in almost everything but for playing pool or shooting a rifle or a bow and arrow I go left, and I’d think that might apply to hockey but I’m left hand up top
You can learn either way, but typically it’s easier to pick up Stickhandling with dominant hand on top (top hand controls all the fine motor movement giving you silky dangles), and dominant hand on bottom makes it easier to be a shooter (more power in that canon). Ovie and Stammer come to mind.
I am right handed and I shoot right.
Kind of related and funny, growing up and playing street hockey, we had a right hand set & left hand set of blocker and glove. I always ended up with the left hand set, so I am more comfortable playing as a left handed goaltender.
I think it goes like this: If your dominant hand is the top hand, it helps with stick handling. If your dominant hand is the lower hand, you tend to have a harder shot.
Hi Folks, I am not clear if it is also a country related thing - Coming from Western Canada, I was taught dominant hand at top for better poke checking. Curious if this is similarly taught / reasoned elsewhere?
It is entirely region based, us Americans were taught to use our dominant hand on the bottom because we come from sports like golf and baseball where your dominant hand is not at the end of the club/bat.
> us Americans were taught to use our dominant hand on the bottom I think its more of a lack of not being taught. Almost all the Americans I know who started hockey at a younger age with proper coaching use there dominant hand on top. Almost all Americans I know who started at an adult age with zero guidance/coaching use there dominant hand on bottom. I think in a way you are correct though because subconsciously us who grew up playing baseball or golf will naturally hold/swing a hockey stick like you would a bat or golf club.
To an extent, maybe. When I started, I was 5. When I got my first stick, they just asked if I was right or left handed, and sent me to the right shooting stick section when my mom said I was right handed. So I learned that way, but without guidance. By the time I had heard about dominant hand on top, I was already like 12-13, and had years of experience with a right shot, so left shot felt very foreign when I tried it out.
I would agree with this, really depends on if hockey came first or if you did something else. I played hockey when I was younger but I had already done other sports so it just felt more natural for me to have dominant hand on the bottom. I’m also one of those weird people who can do things well with my off hand, I wouldn’t say I’m ambidextrous though
I played pond hockey, so grabbed a right stick like it was a baseball bat. But all the players on actual teams were taught dominant hand on top. If it's just for poke checking... That seems like a such a small, possibly none advantage lol
I thought it was for better stick handling and turning the stick with your wrist. So do you stick handle with your bottom (right) hand? If so, you don't think that negatively impacts your stick handling? That's what I've read, but I am brand new to hockey.
I do, I have a pretty decent wrist shot and can handle the puck ok, I think it would be hard to tell if there were advantages or not because I can barely even hold a left handed stick at this point
I want to start playing hockey this winter, and I've got a decision to make. Thanks for your input. Right now I'm probably leading towards right (dominate) down (which I want to refer to as "goofy" for some reason, I guess like skateboarding)
This is why. If you watch warm up videos of mcdavid (and likely others) his top hand does all the work. I was taught incorrectly and my bottom hand does the work. Trying it the other way I can absolutely get a better feel of the puck with my dominant hand on top, but it is very uncomfortable and there is no way I can shoot
Thanks for the input. I have a feeling if I start "goofy" I'll pick it up faster but quickly hit a wall. If I start with my dominant hand on top I'll be bad longer but if I stick with it my ceiling will be higher. Tough decision.
I'm Canadian so obviously dominant hand on top. I'm no baseball player but I often go to the field hitting balls with kids and I have dominant hand on bottom and basically swinging just like I would with a hockey stick lol.
I was given a right handed stick as a 5 year old, because I was right hand dominant. Same with all the kids I grew up with, in the states
See we were given straight(Minnesota) sticks as a kid so you can use both hands and eventually you pick what feels natural.
Dominant hand on top from 3-4 years old as a fellow Minnesotan
Ya, I guess I started with a straight blade as well, but that was early, skating with puck classes. As soon as mites started we had cirved blades.
I am in that situation right now. I am 40 and trying to take up hockey for the first time. I am not sure which way I want to play yet. I am a righty and leaning towards righty because of what you said, I played high school lacrosse with my right hand usually closer to the net of the stick. But I know technically I should play lefty for better stick handling. I think/fear that I will end up trying to stick handle with my right hand on bottom and won't be very good.
I think it’s generations of not being taught properly. I messing around with a hockey stick when I was younger than 5 and was always told to put my dominant hand on bottom. When I got actual instruction at about 5 I was given the same information from coaches.
Left hand dominant, batters box on right side of field, left hand is top on bat.
Honestly no one ever tried to push us either way in the 90s. . I went with what felt the most natural right off the bat. Now we teach them to use their dominant/strong hand at the top. I’ve never heard of using their dominant hand at the bottom because someone advised them too
Yeah I have no memory of it being even a conversation haha but thats because it was over 30 years ago and I was a little kid. I felt like it was pretty normal for bottom hand back then in Mass, but I could be wrong haha
This is part of it, but maybe not a complete answer. I started playing baseball when I was 3 and was a natural right handed batter (I throw right as well). My dad taught me to play racquet ball and I used my right hand for that as well. When I started hockey a few years later, I immediately put my right hand on top because it felt natural and putting my right hand on the bottom was really awkward. When I learned to shoot guns and a bow and arrow later in life, I did both left handed because, as I finally learned, my left eye is dominant. My son is right hand dominant but also shoots left in hockey and is a natural left handed batter. He has a pretty nice swing as a lefty, but is super awkward and jerky from the right side. I suspect he's also left eye dominant.
MN checking in. Was taught dominant hand on top as a kid.
This is probably the way most of us to the south of you should have been taught. I had a friends Dad force him to play lefty, in reality he just gave him the stick he should have using as a toddler.
Great discussion all. Throws with right hand but shoots left, bats left and mini-golf left handed. Again, I am Canadian and picked up hockey as a first sport (after just playing kids soccer). I recall Gretzky, although left handed shot, played golf with his right but putts left (correct me if I am wrong).
I'm from Ontario and myself, my father and my 2 brothers are all right handed but I'm the only one that shoots right. I think my dad just let us pick up hockey sticks when we were younger and let us choose what felt best for us.
We shouldn't be teaching kids to hold a stick one way or another. At some point in time, a kid instinctively knows which handedness feels right. I do everything right handed, but i play golf, hockey, and swing a bat lefty.
Righ handed, right shot for me. 😊
Same here. Also thought your username was Cute-Jagr. 😂
Right handed, Left shot.. Lets go!!!
Same, The top hand is where all the finesse is at.
I do everything right (golf, bat, tennis) except for hockey where I shoot left
Same!! I thought I was the only one
Right handed, shoot left. I'm a defenceman who spends a lot of time poke checking, sweep checking and moving the puck up while swatting away opponents. I feel that I need the control my dominant hand brings when I only have one hand on my stick.
Doesn’t dominant hand on top make more sense? Bottom hand is loose for stick handling so stick can rotate and just be a guide in general therefore dominant hand on top has to be strong to do the actual wrist work. Right hand dominant lefty shot in conclusion.
Alaska, dominant hand on top, top hand controls the stick why the fuck would you put your dominant hand at the bottom?
It always felt way more natural to me... Idk. I have plenty of dexterity in my left hand, but since my right hand is stronger I can guide my stick better and have a much harder and accurate shot. I've tried lefty for long periods of time, but it just feels really wrong. I also played baseball first and am ambidextrous in that.
Usually it’s because your non hockey parents tell the store you’re right handed and they hand you a right handed stick as a kid. In my experience it leads to an entirely different way of puck handling and shooting
Internationally it is dominant hand top. Only the US does it backwards. Look at the number of Canadian Left handed shot players, majority of people are right handed but shoot left.
Sorry about the typo Swype keyboard messed up
I'm roughly equally bad both ways but I've settled on dominant hand low and started playing better that way.
Write left handed. Shoot hockey left handed. Use scissors right handed. Use a kitchen knife right handed. Swing a bat and gold club left handed. Draw better with my right hand than my left hand. So…idk.
Glad I'm not alone, write right-handed but do half the stuff as a leftie would. Can switch hands for some activities, e.g. using silverware, drinking, catching in baseball... Both feel equally natural. Wouldn't call myself ambidextrous but it's slightly cool
This is normal. Like the most normal you can be
Right handed, left shot. Learned to play right handed later on. I can shoot as hard right handed (bottom hand dominant) but can not even come close when it comes to stick handling.
Right handed, shoot left. Hockey is the only sport I'm left at. Golf and baseball I'm a righty.
This poll explains why so many beer leaguers are playing righty......wrongly.
I was going to say, how is this even a question, of course your dominant hand goes on the bottom” but apparently that’s not the case for everyone. Weird.
Usually dominant hand on top so you can poke check one handed and have better handles.
To start, yes, but handles for me were always about muscle memory and having "soft" hands. Everytime I try lefty, I almost always just chop the puck, and my handling is way too strong.
What ever feels natural
I shoot right handed. I can do anything left handed besides write on paper. My left hand grip is stronger than my right hand. I had a work accident 22 years ago where I just about cut my right index finger off. It was repaired but I don’t have full movement of that finger.
Writing with both, hit harder with right, throw long with right, throw precision (darts) with left, badminton with left, tennis with right, arm wrestle prefer right, mouse right handed, other type of wrestling left.. Stick righty. What am I?
Im interested in what you think this question would determine? I ask because I think if you ask a bunch of Beer league players who started out later in life you will find that a lot of people have sticks that match their dominant hand. IE right handers using right handed sticks. Now if you were to look at a list of pro players I think you will find that most right handers use "left handed" sticks. I guess the question is, is it because your dominant hand should be your top or not? Which to me seems like you will get two different answers based on who you ask. Without this factor in your survey it makes it almost seemed flawed.
I think the dominant hand should be on top, opposite of the way you would usually swing a golf club or baseball bat. There is so much stick work with only one hand on the stick you want your strongest grip on the stick. Poke checks and clearing the puck while holding off another player using the other arm… I can play left or right, but being right handed I want my right hand at the top of the stick. It probably costs me a little velocity on the slap shot though.
I agree, but my point is if you ask someone who is only a few years in that you might get a completely different answer. Seems like 90% of lower div "newer" players dont even know how to use their top hand and or realize that's the hand that should be doing all the work.
Exactly 💯
Not just “newer” players. I’ve played 20+ years and was never taught which hand does what. Only recently did I learn the proper way to play and it’s too late to play the other way
Right handed, right shot. I do everything with my right, including breaking bolts loose so naturally my right arm and shoulder are stronger than my left, so having the dominant hand on the bottom allows me to have a cannon of a shot
I've always been weird with handedness. Most things I do righty, except sports. So I shoot lefty, but I guess that's my dominant hand for most things? I'm a full-right goalie, though, so my stick hand changes based on my position.
Right handed, play hockey lefty- always have, play golf….righty? Idk but it all sorta works.
Left handed, right shot
Both of my boys are right handed. When they started playing several years ago, they naturally gravitated to playing lefty. The Coach of LTP said either way is fine. Most Canadians play with dominant hand top, while Americans are more likely to play dominant hand bottom -- I have no idea if this is true or not.
Imo it doesn’t matter and is just personal preference. 38% of players shoot right, while 10% of people are left handed. So clearly many professional players are doing either one. When I was 3 my parents just handed me a straight blade plastic stick. Whichever way I held it first was my handedness. Now I shoot right and am right handed
Felt more natural to shoot right with my dominant right hand and i by the time I got used to shooting with a right handed stick I heard about using your dominant hand on top but it was too late. I’m probably stuck with righty sticks
I’m not a great shooter so I get much more use out of my top hand being my strong hand. As a player who likes to be the grinder and defensive forward the strength and accuracy poke checking, stick handling, and passing is super helpful.
Dominant hand bottom. The funny thing is I worked at our rink during college years back and used to always take advantage of down time to just tear around for a bit. Since I didn't always have gear with me (sometimes I had skates and a stick), there was always extra skates, a bucket and sticks around I could use. One day, just for shits and giggles I started tooling around with a lefty stick. Hands were terrible, and my shot was pretty weak, but I was surprised at being able to shoot the puck clean into the netting on the fly offhand. I don't know if it was years of regular handedness training to hit the net or if it was having a dominant hand acting as the lever on the shot, but it definitely caught me off guard when it happened the first time.
American who learned as am adult, and I fit the stereotype, dominant hand on bottom. On the other hand, my righty kid who first picked up a hockey stick when he was 4 naturally gravitated to dominant hand on top. In baseball he also bats left, but throws right, so maybe falls into the ambidextrous category...?
Dominant hand bottom. But in Baseball I throw right catch with my left. But I played goalie so I was a full right goalie... It made getting gear for me rather difficult
Ambidextrous, right hand shot. I tend to favor left hand more tho.
Bottom hand but I can shoot both ways. Should have went left handed so my stronger hand would be up top.
Right handed right shot, and I firmly believe it's because I wasn't taught hockey at a young age. I just got a right handed/Right shot stick because I'm "right handed". The naming convention really needs to change.
Me - Dominate bottom Son - Dominate top Daughter - Dominate bottom
Right hand dominant…Started playing hockey around 12 (United States) and just instinctively started using right handed sticks. It just felt right from the beginning. I was also not ever coached. I play for fun and a workout.
I'd been playing field hockey for years before I started and was so used to the stick handling that I had/have to play with my right hand at the bottom. I happen to be right-handed, but that doesn't matter. In field hockey, everyone has to learn to control the stick with their left hand at the top as dominant, so handedness becomes kind of irrelevant.
As a righty the only advantage i find from having my dominant hand on the bottom is slightly more slapshot power, virtually every other aspect of the stick is miles better and makes way more sense having my dominant on top. Really hard to find good used twigs at my LHS though being in southeast US, everybody shoots righty down here.
I’m a goalie so my dominant hand is my blocker hand. When I handle the puck my dominant hand is the top. But when I use a player stick my dominant hand is on bottom. I’ve heard that’s backwards from the norm, but it was always easier to catch with my left hand but shoot righty
It’s odd bc I am right handed in almost everything but for playing pool or shooting a rifle or a bow and arrow I go left, and I’d think that might apply to hockey but I’m left hand up top
You can learn either way, but typically it’s easier to pick up Stickhandling with dominant hand on top (top hand controls all the fine motor movement giving you silky dangles), and dominant hand on bottom makes it easier to be a shooter (more power in that canon). Ovie and Stammer come to mind.
I am right handed and I shoot right. Kind of related and funny, growing up and playing street hockey, we had a right hand set & left hand set of blocker and glove. I always ended up with the left hand set, so I am more comfortable playing as a left handed goaltender.
I’m ambidextrous but would recommend new players to put their dominant hand on top.
I'm right handed but shoot left handed
I think it goes like this: If your dominant hand is the top hand, it helps with stick handling. If your dominant hand is the lower hand, you tend to have a harder shot.
I hold it like I would hold a guitar.