Why do right-handed people become left-shooting hockey players?
by Quisp on Mar 30, 2011 2:38 PM PDT
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PrintLeft-Handed Shots in Hockey (and of course they got the story wrong) - Behind The Net
There was a piece in the San Jose Mercury News yesterday on left-handed shots in hockey. Some insight:
"Left-shot players far outnumber their right-shot counterparts. That disparity is especially seen among defensemen. "You can't help but notice," said Jason Demers, a right-shot Sharks defenseman. "But I have no idea why. Nobody knows for sure, but it's weird." It gets even weirder. Canadian and European hockey players tend to be left shot while more Americans are right shot. "I wish I had a good reason for why that is," said Mike Mountain, director of sticks and blades at Van Nuys-based Easton Sports. "But the reason there are more left-shot players in the NHL is because there are more from Canada and international markets than from the U.S.""
Except...It's not true. [...] Europeans are much more likely to be left-handed shots than Canadians and Americans - who each shoot left in the same proportion. [...] [D]efensemen are no more or less likely to shoot left-handed than centers: [...] I have noticed that among players who picked up the game in the US later in life, there are many more right-handed shots - most likely because right-handed people play right-handed in golf and baseball. But if you start playing hockey when [you're little], it's most likely that your coach will put a left-handed stick in your hands and you'll learn to play that way.
I am right-handed and a left-shot. I catch (a baseball, for instance) with my left hand. I throw with my right. It always made sense to me to shoot left because my strong hand (right) held the top of the stick, leaving (for example) my left hand to catch pucks or annoy people or whatever else it needed to do. I don't remember making a conscious decision to shoot this way or that way; I just picked up a stick and that was the way I did it. I probably didn't even know there was a left or right at the time.
If I had to guess, I would guess that the reason some right-handed people become right-shots is that parents buy them their equipment and just assume the kid shoots right because he's right handed. And some become right-shots because their brothers or sisters are right shots and they steal/borrow/inherit their sticks. And of course there used to be a strong prejudice against left-handedness (it being a sign of the devil and all), which caused a lot of parents to force their children to be right-handed despite their natural inclination. I wouldn't be surprised if that influenced parents as well.
This is a half-baked theory if ever there was one. Feel free to chime in.
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I’m right handed and am a right handed shot. To shoot left just feels so awkward and weak, for me it makes more sense having the power from your strong hand control the shot.
You’re right Quisp. I’m left-handed and shoot right, because I get all the finesse and control from my left hand on top (whoa, we’re talking about hockey, right?) for stick-handling and poke checks and leave my dumb strong hand (right) for easy stuff like powering shots.
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.
I’m left-handed
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.
I’m right-handed and a left-shot (R/L) so I know that the following makes no sense:
It always made sense to me to shoot left because my strong hand (right) held the top of the stick, leaving (for example) my right hand to catch pucks or whatever else it needed to do.A left-shot’s free hand is his left hand cuz the right hand is always holding the stick.
We’re the big hockey family in our neighborhood (and I coach it) so whenever kids come around to play and they’ve never held a stick, I give ‘em the Broom Test. Tell the kid s/he needs to sweep a little bit, and hold out a broom out to them basically as if you are pointing it at them. Generally they will grab the broom with their strong hand. Then watch them as they sweep; the motion is just like hockey. You can tell with which hand on top of the broom they feel most comfortable. If they switch hands because it feels more natural then they’re a R/R or a L/L; if they don’t switch, they’re a R/L or a L/R. The latter two are what normal people are. If you’re a R/R or L/L then you’re a freak and not in a good way.
it's a typo -- i meant my other right hand, i.e. my left hand. i will correct it, so your comment will appear to be insane
Wait till this year.
You also have to consider the "footed-ness"
I’ve played sports all my life: baseball, basketball, and roller hockey in college. Right-handed but my dominant foot is my left. That means when I do a lay-up (no, I can’t dunk, lol) off of one foot, I’m taking off with my left. In hockey, when you take a slap-shot, your follow through ends up on one leg. For me, that’s left just like in basketball. I’m also stronger on my skates going left, where most of my body weight is leaning that way.
I wonder if it has something to do with what sport the person gets to play first between hockey and baseball/golf. Growing up in Quebec, hockey was the 1st thing we played and most of the kids were right-handed/left-shooters. Maybe it’s because the hockey stick was 1st used to keep balance as we learned how to skate? Not sure.
Then a few summers later, we all tried baseball and golf and mostly sucked at it because we were just going from the hockey motion and well… just not a good use of the stronger right arm.
Of course, there are exceptions (Lemieux), but most of us were lefties.
i've never played hockey
but whenever i skate, i always imagine myself as a right shot, and i’m right handed. of course, it’s tough to verify the effectiveness with my never having played a game, but that’s my story FWIW.
I don’t get why some people say you are weird or a freak for using a right or left-handed stick, I think it is just personal preference.
I started playing at a very young age and have used a right-handed stick and am right-handed. I get more power on my shots because my stronger hand is the one really pushing the puck when shooting, passing, etc(just like IanRees said in the first post here). I feel comfortable with my left hand guiding things from being on top.
However, my dad(who actually started playing later than me) is right-handed but shoots left. He likes having his stronger hand on top to guide things and feels more control that way.
It’s really just personal preference on what you want to use and what feels more comfortable. Obviously if you start one way as a kid it is unlikely that you will change as you get older so that could play in to it, but if your parents give you a righty stick and you don’t like it, you will try a left-handed instead. Just my 2 cents
One has to be better than the other, but as pointed out advantages from both sides.
Just like you can hit it really really hard, but if its not on net, it doesn’t matter how hard you hit it.
It never even occurred to me you could go either way, just like baseball, I figured right had a right shooting stick.
Hmm, I’m right handed and play golf and swing a baseball bat right-handed. I’d probably swing a hockey stick that way too. But I do a few things left-handed: shoot a rifle, fish, and play pool (plus I skateboard / surf goofy-footed). Shooting just seems logical with my dominant right hand doing the aiming while my feeble left hand just has to pull the trigger. God knows why holding a fishing rod or pool cue “backwards” feels right to me, though.
left handed shot
While living in LA, and being a long time Kings season ticket holder, I was told about a novice hockey league starting in LA. When I went to the Kings practice rink in Culver City the man running it told me if I was right handed to get a left handed stick. Reason he gave was same as one person’s answer. That is the top hand controls your stick and if I have a left handed stick then the top hand is my strong right hand. It worked fine and when I tried to switch back a few seasons later I could not handle at all a right handed stick . Mickey
Always more comfy with my strong hand (right) lower on the stick. Perhaps because I shoot off my left foot. But truly never though much about it. I suppose after watching games it just how I envisioned shooting.
I suppose this type of reasoning may explain why I am such a shitty scorer …
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by USHA#17 on Mar 30, 2011 10:00 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Always more comfy with my strong hand (right) lower on the stick
That’s what he said…
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by angelofdeath on Mar 30, 2011 11:13 PM PDT up reply actions
someone needs to actually do a study
On right-shooting hockey players. Because I would imagine the difference between a R/R (right handed/ right shooting) and a L/R player has alot to do with the style of shooter. I bet there are way fewer L/R NHLers than R/Rs.
another right hander that shoots left
I can’t remember how it began way back when I picked up my first stick, but I do remember a friend who was drafted by the blackhawks telling me once that the power comes from your top hand snapping back and your accuracy comes from your lower hand guiding the sticks follow-through. So I concentrated on that and it helped quite a bit.
Right everything.
Right hander, right shot … and right handed clubs. I’m a better then decent golfer, and although I’ve played beer-league ice hockey now for 20 years, I’ve been playing golf for 30, so for me the natural instinct certainly came from that – no question.
Sig-na...ture
Interesting topic
I sent a question regarding this same thing to Darren Dreger of TSN.ca, of course he didn’t bother to answer it. I’m a born and bred lefty, so it just seemed the right way to play when I started with roller hockey. I had no one to tell me differently. To me, the feel had more to with the use of the legs/lower body; like in golf. Trying to shoot/swing in the opposite direction was unnatural.
Oh what a terrible post!
Now you have me thinking about all this and freaking out!
Some things I’m left dominant and others I’m right dominant. Hockey stick is either way, don’t really care and will switch to reach a puck.
Baseball, basketball, javelin, shot-put were all right.
Soccer, long jump, start from sprint blocks – left.
I shoot right but am left eye-ear dominant. Always hold phone to left ear or I have trouble understanding the conversation and tilt my head slightly right when driving to feed that info to the left eye.
Dammit, I’m weird.
by Cirtes on Mar 31, 2011 7:20 AM PDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
tip of the iceberg
my wife — who is a brain development specialist — would say that the right brain (instinctive, creative) is connected to behaviors of the left hand (the entire left side of the body, actually) while the left brain (logical, higher functions, reasoning, literal) is connected to the right hand (side, etc.).
In addition to handedness, there is the notion of right-brain or left-brain dominance. The ideal, of course, is a synthesis, or balance between the two, but most people favor one over the other naturally.
The theory behind why left-handed people tend to be more creative is that the left hand taps into the right-brain (the creative, free-flowing, associating, instinctive) more readily.
She (my wife) would also argue that it would make a huge difference if you picked up a hockey stick at two (when your brain is still actively self-wiring) or at 7 (when most of the wiring is set) or at 30 (when you’re screwed for so many reasons — insert smiley face).
I’m sure someone has written a good book on the neuroscience of athleticism and/or sports. Any recommendations out there?
Wait till this year.
It’s written for non-specialists, but “How We Decide” has long sections on sports. Not entirely sure, but I think I mentioned it a while ago.
It meshes with the “Inner Game of Tennis” kind of theory in that too much left-brain critical chatter effs up the execution of moves you’ve put many hours of practice into developing.
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I Blame Baseball Bats
And I assume American kids pick up baseball bats before they pick up hockey sticks (vice versa for Canadian kids) and it goes from there.
As a Canadian, I think you’re right. We seem to have a lot more people playing baseball who hit left, or people playing golf who hit left, than Americans do. I think it’s because of hockey. I’m pretty sure that’s why I both bat and golf left – because I was so used to shooting left in hockey, despite being right handed, than everything else just felt weird to me when I went to play the other sports.
I think it depends on wether your dominant arm is also your strong arm. My left arm is my precise arm (left handed) but my right arm is my strong arm (I used to shovel stuff a lot). But if my left arm was my precise arm and my strong arm maybe I’d be switched.
For every moment of triumph, for every instance of beauty, many souls must be trampled.
I shoot right, throw right, bat right...
I wanted to avoid any type of prejudice when I got my kids into sports though so I put a straight bladed stick in their hands when they were 5 and let them figure it out. They all throw right but only one of the three shoots right.
All of my kids played street hockey before they played baseball so when it came time for them to learn to swing a bat, I did the same thing, let them figure it out. The two who play hockey left also bat left.
I’m right handed and I shoot right, and it’s definitely because I thought it was supposed to be that way. At a young age I just figured I would hold a stick the way you hold a golf club.
I totally think it’s an American thing. Look at the last US Olympic team and how many right shots were on the roster. A lot.
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by Great Ice-Pectations on Mar 31, 2011 10:12 AM PDT reply actions
I started with a straight blade as a tyke
Initially shooting it right, then eventually migrating to left without thinking about it. I’m right-handed in non-hockey life. Oh, and I’m American.
This made picking up golf as a teenager pretty confusing. I swing a bat righty, but shoot a puck lefty, and in golf it doesn’t matter what the hell I do, it still ends up in the woods.
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