I am not a pro hockey player, I am just a dad.
I have never played the pro or minor hockey level before and so I never knew the correct way of using a stick. I learned to shoot right when I was young and thought that right handed people shot right. My son is right handed and when he first handled a stick at the age of two he shot left. However, because I shot right I thought that he needed to do so as well and after a bit of persuasion I broke him of the habit and had him shooting right-handed. Just like dad.
After that we played road hockey, broke a few lamps in the house, watched lots of hockey and learned to skate. He became a pretty good skater for his age but when I put him into hockey I noticed some problems. He had a hard time stick handling when skating and I often saw him skate oddly when using his stick. He fell more and missed the puck when it came near him. He just seemed off balance and as far as I knew he was just a beginner and that it took time before you got better. It was like with all things.
The season went on like this without much progress in his stick handling and I just thought that he didn't have a knack for the game as some kids do. Near the end of the season I saw a brochure for a power skating class and thought that I would give them a call to see how much it was and what it was all about. That day after practice I called and spoke with Mike Rivard for the first time and was invited out that evening for a free skate so that we could get a look at his program before making a decision. Tyler went out, skated that night, and had a great time. I loved what I saw and I decided right then that we were going to sign up for a complete session. As Tyler skated off the ice at the last whistle Mike came over to talk to me about the session and get my thoughts on it. One of the first things that Mike asked me was if Tyler was right handed and I told him that he was. He said that I needed to get Tyler shooting left handed right away, and then we spoke at length on the mechanics of shooting and stick handling. He gave me the reasons as to why I needed to get Tyler shooting properly. I told him I would switch Tyler and let him know how it went when we met at the next skating class.
So for the last few weeks of ice hockey and all of floor hockey I had my son shooting left. It was hard at first but we got it down without much trouble. At the time he was using a flat stick so I bought him one with a curve and from that moment on he had no choice as to which way he shot. What I saw after changing his stick to a lefty was un-believable. Right away Tyler began skating better and moving the puck better. The awkward balance he had had before was gone and his skating became smoother, more fluid and faster. He skated as he did when he didn't carry a stick. To this day he is a better player because of the change and as soon as I saw the difference in his play I threw my stick out and went and bought a left handed stick. It took me a few days to get it down, I had to relearn how to slap a puck and the shooting felt different. However, with a little time and practice I felt a change. I saw how much better my hockey game could be.
Thanks Mike, you made a huge change in our lives and possibly Tyler's hockey career. We thank you for caring enough to say something and making it clear enough for us to understand what needed to be done and why.
- Shawn Carron |
