[Dynamic characteristics of hockey sticks and efficacy of shooting in ice hockey].

Previous studies have established that efficiency in shooting is influenced partly by the dynamic characteristics of the stick being used and partly by the morphology of the player. The purpose of the present study was therefore to verify the hypothesis stating that flexible sticks were superior to rigid ones in respect to the proficiency of shooting of pee-wee hockey players. This study has confirmed the superiority of the flexible stick over the rigid one in terms of speed and accuracy of shooting among pee-wee hockey players. Moreover morphological parameters and muscular strength were found to play a determining role in efficiency of shooting. In fact, it was suggested that the smaller and weaker the player the more advantageous is the use of a flexible stick. Through the use of strain gages fixed to the experimental hockey sticks, it was possible to determine that the speed of shooting is directly related to the acceleration imparted to the stick during the forward phase of the movement. It was also possible to demonstrate that for a given speed of the puck the more flexible stick required a smaller force than the rigid one.