Whats the secret to a huge flick?

I would like to get a bigger flick, whats the recepie?
Belle

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Underwater Hockey Rules!

Does anyone else agree that explaining how to flick a puck to someone new, is one of the most difficult things!!!

Belle the only tip I can think of, and what I find myself is having the puck closer to your body, which means your elbow will be bent and shoulder closer to being over the puck. This is obviously a trickier position to get into if your are sprinting with the puck.

I'd be interested to see what a guy has to say about it 'cos they have strength behind them as an advantage. Another tip for newbies would be not to try too hard - as funny as it sounds, you flick further and more consistently if you are relaxed and not thinking of pushing the puck forward!

I'd also like to request someone to post some tips on reverse flicks (from the inside of the bat). This is a move that most women players find difficult to complete successfully, most likely due to less strength in the wrist. Does anyone have any tips?

You have attempted to answer the equalivent of "What is the meaning of life?" type question. There will be so many different people with so many different views I’m sure. There is however a few undeniable principles that we have to follow no matter what.

Physics 101
To hit, throw or flick an object a long distance you must apply the greatest force to the object for the longest possible distance in the shortest possible time. Got that? Apply force (put some muscle behind it)… longest distance (stay in contact with your stick)… shortest time (as quickly as you can)… Make sense?

OK then, how can we use this newly found knowledge to affect the distance the puck travels?
1. Become massively strong. I mean, everyone says that you must be strong and physics 101 confirms that you must apply the most force.
2. Have a stick with a massively long front edge (or back edge if you want to back-flick) on your stick. Remember physics 101… you must apply the force as long as possible. That is, your stick must be in contact with the puck for as long as possible before releasing it out into the aquatic-ether.
3. Do it all extremely quickly.

That covers off the 3 things that the world of physics says must happen for us to hurl the puck for metres. Simple!

Well, not quite. Why does some advice that people give you conflict with the undeniable laws of physics? For a start, each one of them is interdependent. They rely upon, and are affected by one another.

Pure strength will not cut it (good news girls!). To apply this force to an object but especially with an object that has some weight (like a puck) and in an environment where there is resistance (water) you must have what is termed “Power”.

“Power” may be best described as “Speed-Strength”. That is, the ability to apply what strength you have as fast as possible. There are various theories on how to best develop power and they are all rather in-depth (so I won't talk about them here) but they all generally rely on the principle of building strength first and then teaching your body to apply that strength quickly. This is somewhat controlled by genetics but ignore that and assume that everybody can increase their power significantly.

By just increasing the length of the front edge of your stick you will immediately decrease your ability to move the puck along it because it will take more strength and power. So, all that good work that you did in the gym has just been neutralised by the increase in the stick length. Increase your playing edge length only to the point at which you can still apply the same amount of force in the same amount of time as before.

Have a think about those things (power & playing edge length) and if you want to know more we can talk about the other two things that have the greatest affect on distance. (1) Technique and (2) Stick design.

Have fun!

Kelly

Hi Alex,

What you say about bringing the puck underneath your body/shoulder more is correct to some degree. This mainly achieves 2 things:
1. It recruits a larger muscle mass (more muscles and more power due to increased length of contraction) and
2. It brings your stick more underneath the puck. What this will generally do is give you extra height... the puck will lift off the bottom more immediately and have a steeper trajectory.

So, using this (and all other things equal) will often give you a higher flick and generally a good distance (not always longer).

As you have recognised however, this is not always a practical position to be able to put yourself in during general play.

All the things discussed here also apply to back-flicks if you think carefully also.

The reason your relaxed flicking style generally works better is that your technique is better than if you are rushing it by trying to apply too much power. By not rushing it you are also ensuring that the maxiimum contact time with the stick is applied.

A back flick can be done with the minimum of strength (you can do it with just a couple of fingers holding the stick) if you have the technique right. This is more important in a back flick than strength. This is not as true with a front flick however.

yeah kellys right about technique thats for sure. the best and biggest flicks feel relatively effortless because you have your timing right and are putting the right amount of spin on the puck etc.

one note about you mentioning bringing the puck under your body... yes it can help, especially for people who have a habit of trying to pass when their arm is too extended (your levers are already straightened can't get much power unless you're swimming and can translate power from your momentum).

but, i've found that often when people do this (maybe mostly beginners) they tend to bring the puck back directly under their chin, ie on the centerline of their body. this means they can put a good flick to their left but a weak flick straight ahead, which is where they are generally trying to pass the puck... i mean, draw a line from your passing shoulder through the puck and thats the strongest direction for a pass... thats why it takes extra effort to pass to the right if you're a right hander, right?

so anyway, my point is bring the puck back but make sure it's under or in line with your right shoulder, ie on the right side of your body, and it'll be far more effective for you.

also, and i guess this is a given, make sure when you practice you give yourself the best chance to make a good pass. set up nice and flat on the bottom, be stable, put the puck in a good starting position as discussed above, or when swimming slowly, pass the thing and stay down.... it takes years of practice to get the technique right without making it hard for your self by changing all the variables each time.

players with good passes who shoot the puck while sitting on their bums or halfway through a turn or as they are going up to the surface have practice and technique and strength to get away with it, but you really need to just concentrate on getting the basic stuff right before you can copy their slack and lazy habits.

last thing, dont let a passing practice session go too long. after 20 mins or depending on you, your muscles are gonna wear out and your pass will go to rubbish. if you go on too long trying to recapture the nice passes you were doing earlier in the session you'll lose the improvements in technique you made, or just get annoyed. go home and rest. in my experience anyway.

liam

Good advice everyone! Thanks heaps!
as a beginner I have had about 10 different people try and explain how to flick the puck so I’ve tried to take the best bit of advice from each one and now, for me I guess it comes down to practice!
might try that NZ trist/armyroll while i'm at it!
cheers, Linda

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I have always been a lazy one at heart so I found the easiest way to flick using the backside of your stick, without going through the strength/weight training issue, is to rotate the stick in your hand so that your thumb is on the top of the stick and your fore finger is on your regular shooting edge. Then you can throw the puck the same way you would throw a ball. It allows for an easy way to get speed on the puck. If you don't rotate the stick in your hand then you have to deal with less mobility in your hand movement so more strength is needed to get the same result.

Keep in mind that it depends on the surface and puck combination, as do all shots, and that the best way to get better is to make very small adjustments in how you angle your stick, the speed of your extension, the rotation of your hand. Even where align your stick on the puck (from bottom to top) will alter your shot.

good stuff, bet you are 1 of those players that just make it look effortless!
Guess it you use your head it can be
Cheers
Belle

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Underwater Hockey Rules!

Probably looks easy to some, some of the time. But other times I feel like I'm using a lefty stick to shoot righty as I did in one game in Calgary where none, and that is not an exaggeration, of my shots got off. Tuck said it looked like I was playing with a left handed stick at some point in the game but I assured him I wasn't. Then after the game someone handed me my spare and it was a lefty. So I must have grabbed the wrong sets.

Anyway, it looks easy coming from anyone if they have put in the time to get the feel. And once you have the feel, you can make corrections/adjustments easier when you are having an off day.

Duck

The links are to a short movie
http://edgar.sidaan.nl/esp/Filmpjes/OWH/EdgarSchot3.mpg


It is very easy. Ask your trainer the basic and go train it.


You can not learn it from somebody you have to feel it. It is a feeling and a technic, total not a power technick at basic. Just to do it. And then when you feel itself how it works then the trainer can help to make it more differcult to shoot.
First schoot/flick over some stones. Then over the gool. Schooting/flicking thouch a shootting bord (so you can place the puck exact were you want. (round hole in the bord) We go 1 step ahead. Schooting/flicking thouch a bord with a small hole in it. Were the puck can only co trouch in one way.(controlling the puck in the schoot/flicking.)

The Dutch B-Selection have had from us 4 bords with a hole with a diameter off 12 cm. We our self train with a hole off 9 cm. The last bord is the hole 9 by 4 cm (not a round hole)