Sizing Goalie Sticks

In hockey, the goalie plays an important role in defending the goal from the other team scoring. To do this, a goalie uses both his body, with pads and mask, a glove and a hockey stick. Using the right sized stick is important, as a stick that is sized wrong for a specific goalie may be too heavy, too tall or even too light.

Things You'll Need

  • Hockey skates
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Head to a sporting goods store with your hockey skates in hand. Ask a sales person for assistance if you are new to the sport, or if you have a child in the game but don't know much about it yourself.

    • 2

      Put on the skates and select a number of different goalie sticks to try. Wearing the skates while trying out sticks gives you a more accurate idea about which stick will work for you in game play, as skates add a fair amount of height to the equation.

    • 3

      Assume your goalie's stance that you would take in game play. The first thing to consider is the height of the stick. Select a stick that at least comes up to your chin, but go no higher than eye level.

    • 4

      Pay attention to how the blade of each stick sits on the ground as you hold them in your goalie's stance. You want the blade's entire bottom edge touching the ground. Discard any blades that don't fit in this manner. An example of a poor-fitting blade would be one in which the heel rests on the ground, but the tip is raised while in the goalie stance.

    • 5

      Feel the weight of each stick once you have narrowed the selection down by height and how they sit. A goalie stick should have a little weight to it, but it should not be so heavy that you can't hold it out in front of you a few inches off the ground for at least a minute. If you feel a blade is too heavy to maneuver or you can't make fast movements due to its weight, discard it. Repeat until you have narrowed the field to one stick.