View Full Version : Why does it seem that all Canadians......
boxlaxman
05-21-2007, 12:02 PM
are lefties?? Is there are reason for this??
LacrosseDan
05-21-2007, 12:19 PM
Im Canadian and im a righty.
Canadian Lax
05-21-2007, 12:43 PM
What made you come to this conclusion?? I have about 2 people on my team that are left handed thats it, from what ive seen barley anyone is a lefty. Maybe it jsut seems that theres alot of lefties becuase you should always have a leftie on the floor, so they get alot of shifts.
slinkyspine
05-21-2007, 01:53 PM
I have 5 righties out of 20 on my team.
And I'm proud to not be one of them
It may stem from hockey?
CTwiltongoalie1
05-21-2007, 03:26 PM
Yeah I was just wondering the same thing. It seems as if most prominent DI Canadian field players are lefties: Illija Gajic of Denver (sp?), Zack Greer of Duke, and Alex Peaty of Loyola are all lefties. But I don't think Gajic played hockey did he?
Stonewall35
05-21-2007, 03:39 PM
The last time I checked, Alex Peaty of Loyola is a right-handed goalie.
Storm21
05-21-2007, 03:49 PM
ima righty son
you can never be wrong when your right
I have 5 righties out of 20 on my team.
And I'm proud to not be one of them
It may stem from hockey?
I think you're right about stemming from hockey. My old hockey coach told us in Canada alot of parents try to start their kids out playing hockey left handed, since most of the general population is right hand dominate and if you are a lefty there tends to be less competion. Now that might be the case since this was apparently a fairly widespread philosophy. That coach played hockey lefty and did everything else righty, and so did his son. So that'd be my theory on the reasoning behind it.
MaKiMaKi13
05-21-2007, 05:19 PM
isnt Jordan Hall(University of Delaware) a lefty aswell?? but i think it might be due to hockey rockstar posted something about it
Lacrostitute
05-21-2007, 05:31 PM
Ilija meddled in hockey, but didn't play as much as his bros.
LAX#16
05-21-2007, 06:44 PM
every one on my team is right except for 3 other people
boxpimp66
05-21-2007, 07:20 PM
my team has 20 kids and 3 lefties me being one of them and im not canadian so only 2 canadian lefties outa about 17 canadian players
redbirds07
05-21-2007, 10:17 PM
every team i've ever played for is short lefties.. theres probably an avg of like 7 or 8 lefties on every lacrosse team.. from what i've whitnessed i know there is some teams with 14 lefties and 3 righties.. this is just my experience
Ollywood
05-22-2007, 01:21 AM
Im a righty in lacrosse and lefty in hockey as a goalie. Either way when I played out.
Olly
dugout
05-22-2007, 07:14 AM
How would one know someone is a lefty or a righty if they have developed their stick skills with both hands. Isn't that the goal? I had a coach ask me which was my dominate hand. I took it as the ultimate compliment at the time but maybe he was saying I was equally terrible with both hands, now that I think about it... :concerned
CanuckLax
05-22-2007, 10:54 AM
I believe it stems from hockey but not intentionally, let me explain...
While not all hockey players in Canada play lax, most laxers have played hockey at some point and the hockey in many cases started first.
As a hockey lefty, which I am, I am right hand dominant, that is i write with my right hand, throw a baseball with my right hand. If you are like me you SHOULD be a lefty in hockey as the top hand on a hockey stick SHOULD be your dominant hand. (think of yourself skating hard with one hand on the stick, your one hand WILL/SHOULD be the hand you write with.
In lax the same is true, your top hand SHOULD be your dominant hand. However you hold a lax stick up where a hockey stick is Down, so technically a person that writes with their right hand SHOULD be a hockey lefty and a lacrosse righty as you one hand your lasx stick with your right hand which SHOULD be your top hand.
HOWEVER since most laxers start out in hockey and lefties dominate hockey as right handed people dominate the population, parents that don't know the sport assume that little johnny should be holding the lax stick on the same side of the body that they hold the hockey stick on.
callum123
05-22-2007, 12:12 PM
I am right and I am canadian. We only have 4 lefties.
lax_dad
05-22-2007, 04:57 PM
I'm a lefty and both my kids are righties. IMO if you shoot right you are shooting the wrong way :) However I do believe that there are a few more lefties than righties in our world population.
#15Roadies
05-22-2007, 05:32 PM
20 players, 5 lefties. No over-abundance here.
ET5057
05-22-2007, 05:42 PM
I think you're right about stemming from hockey. My old hockey coach told us in Canada alot of parents try to start their kids out playing hockey left handed, since most of the general population is right hand dominate and if you are a lefty there tends to be less competion. Now that might be the case since this was apparently a fairly widespread philosophy. That coach played hockey lefty and did everything else righty, and so did his son. So that'd be my theory on the reasoning behind it.
yeah that's the reason for the lefties for my team.
mat1989
05-22-2007, 05:48 PM
im lefty, but i think our league is mostly balanced
livinglegend
05-22-2007, 06:44 PM
i think its very much a coincedence.. on my box team we run a strong right everytime were on the floor due to lack of lefties. i HIGHLY doubt it comes from some weird hockey thing with parents or something like that.
attack27
05-22-2007, 08:21 PM
I don't think it came from hockey or deals with the parents. A kid will hold there stick were ever they fell comfortable doing so. I think there is less lefties than righties in lacrosse. look at MOST teams they are right hand strong. Maybe thats why you noticed these players is, that at young ages they get more playing time so they advance at a faster rate as the righties.
Everyone should take a "push test" which is what I apply to a lot of young players who seem to be struggling with their pass/shot mechanics.
First, stand behind the player. Tell him or her you are going to give them a gentle push just below the shoulder blades. If the player steps forward with their left foot, they are likely to shoot right. If it's the right foot they are likely to be a lefty. It's more about the way you naturally transfer weight as you step into a shot.
It's interesting to try this on older players. Without telling them why you are doing it, give them a push then tell them which way you think they shoot. You will be right almost every time.
slinkyspine
05-23-2007, 12:20 AM
Everyone should take a "push test" which is what I apply to a lot of young players who seem to be struggling with their pass/shot mechanics.
First, stand behind the player. Tell him or her you are going to give them a gentle push just below the shoulder blades. If the player steps forward with their left foot, they are likely to shoot right. If it's the right foot they are likely to be a lefty. It's more about the way you naturally transfer weight as you step into a shot.
It's interesting to try this on older players. Without telling them why you are doing it, give them a push then tell them which way you think they shoot. You will be right almost every time.
Hahha not me. My natural reaction is backwards, but righty feels uncomfortable
It's not that the majority of players are lefties... just that it seems like there are more standout lefties than there are standout righties.
There definitely appears to be a tendency that way. 4 of the NLL's top 5 scorers this year were lefties. You look at the most dominant players in recent memory: the Gaits, Tavares, Grant, Doyle - all lefties. I just wikipedia'd the scoring history, and a right hasn't won the scoring race since at least 1990 - and I'm not sure which hand Terry Martinello was, so it may have been longer than that.
Hahha not me. My natural reaction is backwards, but righty feels uncomfortable Just to clarify a few points. If a player is stationary and you as a Coach tell him to step in to his pass or shot you would want him to do it with the foot opposite to the side he shoots with for proper weight transfer and therefore more power. If a player is on the run he would more often step with the foot of the same side he shoots with.
bird#1
05-23-2007, 12:25 PM
It's not that the majority of players are lefties... just that it seems like there are more standout lefties than there are standout righties.
There definitely appears to be a tendency that way. 4 of the NLL's top 5 scorers this year were lefties. You look at the most dominant players in recent memory: the Gaits, Tavares, Grant, Doyle - all lefties. I just wikipedia'd the scoring history, and a right hasn't won the scoring race since at least 1990 - and I'm not sure which hand Terry Martinello was, so it may have been longer than that.
Part of this may be a reflection that with more righties then lefties the plays will be fed from the left side of the floor more often.
CanuckLax
05-24-2007, 10:25 AM
Just to clarify a few points. If a player is stationary and you as a Coach tell him to step in to his pass or shot you would want him to do it with the foot opposite to the side he shoots with for proper weight transfer and therefore more power. If a player is on the run he would more often step with the foot of the same side he shoots with.
Not trying to be mean at all but this just isn't true, even when running at the point when you crank and start your follow-through you thrust forward your opposite leg, if running you will obviously continue onto the next foot but it's after release.
callum123
05-24-2007, 11:41 AM
Yeah I was just wondering the same thing. It seems as if most prominent DI Canadian field players are lefties: Illija Gajic of Denver (sp?), Zack Greer of Duke, and Alex Peaty of Loyola are all lefties. But I don't think Gajic played hockey did he?
Ya, He did
callum123
05-24-2007, 11:42 AM
The last time I checked, Alex Peaty of Loyola is a right-handed goalie.
Ya, hes a righty
Not trying to be mean at all but this just isn't true, even when running at the point when you crank and start your follow-through you thrust forward your opposite leg, if running you will obviously continue onto the next foot but it's after release.
We're splitting hairs here. I agree that you thrust forward your opposite leg but the release is almost simultaneous with planting your foot on your shooting side. Follow through of the "stick" to me is after the ball has been released. Maybe one of us just runs faster than the other (lol).
mat1989
05-24-2007, 05:47 PM
a lot of ppl say that ur writing hand should be on top but mines on the bottom
BoxLaxGoalie
05-27-2007, 03:07 PM
im a lefty, but every team ive been on for the past 9 years have always lacked leftys. ive had seasons where as little as 2 players have been leftys and the rest rightys
titans 43
05-27-2007, 10:14 PM
we're actually way short on lefts lol iu'm one of them i jsut think that us ppl think most canadians are lefties because most of the ppl from canada who go play in the states are left becasue they're aren't as many skilled lefty attackman as there is right handed becasue it seems most americans are righties look at the us field team...
CanuckLax
05-28-2007, 10:55 AM
We're splitting hairs here. I agree that you thrust forward your opposite leg but the release is almost simultaneous with planting your foot on your shooting side. Follow through of the "stick" to me is after the ball has been released. Maybe one of us just runs faster than the other (lol).
hehe well that definately ain't me, if you're upright you're likely faster than me :)
lacrossedude4
05-29-2007, 04:31 PM
I have 5 righties out of 20 on my team.
And I'm proud to not be one of them
It may stem from hockey?
maybe and maybe not.cause i know a few people that are lest in hockey and right in lacrosse
bluedevil23
05-30-2007, 05:26 AM
Here's what I always wondered, look at John Grant and Gary Gait the two best players ever they are both right handed people who play left, putting the dominant hand on the bottom, does that make it easier to control the stick? I notice that when I move my stick a lot of the time the bottom hand initiates the movement, like in an indian pick-up or a hard shot, is having your good hand on the bottom help?
CanuckLax
05-30-2007, 10:36 AM
Here's what I always wondered, look at John Grant and Gary Gait the two best players ever they are both right handed people who play left, putting the dominant hand on the bottom, does that make it easier to control the stick? I notice that when I move my stick a lot of the time the bottom hand initiates the movement, like in an indian pick-up or a hard shot, is having your good hand on the bottom help?
good question, when cradling the top hand does the work, in a 2 handed cradle the bottom hand does nothing, the shaft just spins in the hand, when you go to one hand it's your top hand instinctively that takes the stick and your bottom hand guards. Therefore the top hand should be the strong hand as it's going all that work, no?
That's where americans have it correct. The majority of the population writes with the right hand therefore when they play lax Americans have their strong hand up top and therefore there are way more American righties. Americans are doing it all correctly.
Bringing it back to Canadians, we are basically split at lax roughly between lefty and righty, yet we have the same population demographic as the US where we predominatley write with our right, so why do a good chunk of us hold are lax stick left? I bring it back to my hockey post, I picked up a hockey stick in my life BEFORE a lax stick. In hockey a righty SHOULD be a hockey lefty as my strong hand SHOULD be at the top of the hockey stick. When I started lax I was just used to having my playing stick on the left and did so with the lax stick, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IMPROPER MECHANICS.
I say again, it's because of hockey.
Lax4Ever
06-04-2007, 01:05 PM
Man, there is no prper or improper mechanics based on what hand you are. It's how your hands work. My left wrist moves on way better then the other and my right wrist is the same but backwards.
Saying someone is right to be shooting one way or the other is just dumb. It's a skill and as a skill, it can be developed in any way for either hand. There is no way you can say that John Grant is shooting the wrong way and the same with Gait. Seriously think this through man. You are saying some of the most skilled players in the world are wrong because they don't hold their stick the same way you would?
When you look at the hockey post...it's still not right at all either. Again, these are skills. When a young child starts in hockey, they should be given a strait stick and then see which way they tend to shoot. Then the players mindset kicks in. They either copy the person teaching them, or mirror them. Saying that I am right to be a righty at LaX and wrong for being a righty in hockey is just silly. My wrists do the same movements. The only difference is that in LaX my right arm is above my left and I have to do more movements.
Drop this garbage about what SHOULD be...because it's just silly. Yes, the reason most players are one hand or the other is from hockey...but that doesn't make it right or wrong...just different.
As for the original question, I've noticed that most teams in Canada are overloaded with one hand or the other. Most times, it would seem to me that there are more righty's then leftys. I have never played for a team any different. I find it very odd that rights and lefts arent spread out more. I think it has a very strong roots in the coaching. We were all taught to throw like we were throwing a football so that would be with our right hand, which is how most throw footballs...other coaches may have taught it a different way which would have your strong hand on the bottom.
Just something different to toss out there.
mat1989
06-06-2007, 06:47 AM
on our travel team, we have mostly righties and like maybe 5-6 lefties out of 18 players
LI Lacrosse
06-11-2007, 10:24 AM
good question, when cradling the top hand does the work, in a 2 handed cradle the bottom hand does nothing, the shaft just spins in the hand, when you go to one hand it's your top hand instinctively that takes the stick and your bottom hand guards. Therefore the top hand should be the strong hand as it's going all that work, no?
That's where americans have it correct. The majority of the population writes with the right hand therefore when they play lax Americans have their strong hand up top and therefore there are way more American righties. Americans are doing it all correctly.
Bringing it back to Canadians, we are basically split at lax roughly between lefty and righty, yet we have the same population demographic as the US where we predominatley write with our right, so why do a good chunk of us hold are lax stick left? I bring it back to my hockey post, I picked up a hockey stick in my life BEFORE a lax stick. In hockey a righty SHOULD be a hockey lefty as my strong hand SHOULD be at the top of the hockey stick. When I started lax I was just used to having my playing stick on the left and did so with the lax stick, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS IMPROPER MECHANICS.
I say again, it's because of hockey.
I am a righty... But I use my Left Hand to hold, cradle throw etc lacrosse.... Trying to teach my son and he is righty normally and hold stick with Right hand.... I guess I am the oddball not him????
fitzy_nb_11
06-21-2007, 06:28 PM
It's weird how sports are like, I'm an avid basketball fan and I'm a lefty in it, and in the NBA there is a very few amount of left handed players. And in lacrosse I'm a righty with very few lefties around.
CanuckLax
06-22-2007, 08:27 AM
No offense lax4ever but your post is just wrong.
Here are some basic facts:
*about 90% of the world's population is right handed
*the above percentage is reflected fairly accuratley in the sport of lacrosse in the US where the majority of players are right handed.
*human beings are born with a pre-disposition to a hand, it's NOT a skill as you suggest. YES I agree that people can work on their off hand and make it pretty good, but EVERYONE has a natural strong hand that is predetermined in their genetic code and relates to how the hemispheres of their brain process info.
*If I am predisposed to be a right, i.e. I write and throw a baseball with my right hand but have chosen to be a lefty in lax that my choice but yes it IS unnatural.
This is basic human physiology we are all born with a natural hand. More Canadians appear to ignore there natural hand more than Americans, this IS a fact you can't dispute as 90% of the worlds population is a righty yet that percentage does not carry-over to Canadian lax players this can't be disputed. If ever box team has 15 runners there should not be more than 1-2 lefties per team based on world averages, but off COURSE THERE is more lefties than 1-2 per team, so the question is now WHY do Canadians ignore their natural hand more than Americans?? I have proffered an answer, what's your answer?
The above makes good sense to me. As an aside, can you imagine how different the game would be if 90% of the players were in fact right handed and we only had a few lefties on each team? One box team I coached last year had 12 lefties and only 4 righties and it was a nightmare to coach. Two of the righties only made the team BECAUSE they were righties. All play making, picks, rolls, fast breaks, etc. were left dominent and it really wasn't a fun team to coach simply because of the right / left split.
D3Goalie9
06-26-2007, 07:30 PM
The Canadians posting here seem to think that about 5 lefties on a team isn't a lot, but on u.s. high school teams I've only ever seen 1 or 2 true lefties on a varsity team.
I believe it has everything to do with the fact that a lot of Canadian laxers play hockey because it's true that a right handed hockey player would play lefty down. But I (not being a hockey player) being a righty would play righty down in hockey because that's how I play all sports. Lefty to the butt of the stick.
UKLaxFan
06-27-2007, 09:10 AM
I agree with Canucklax
In the Czech Republic another Hockey playing nation lacrosse is on a much smaller scale but the percentage of left handed players is higher than US or UK.
I think mechanics do have something to do with it, on ground ball in box lacrosse in Czech Republic they tend to hit with left shoulder and try Indian pickup one handed with dominant hand ie Right this then becomes bottom hand when playing with two hands on the stick ie Left handed.
I also believe having the dominant hand as the bottom hand aids development of stick handling, as you play more pull/push than push/pull. So you can throw/shoot with more power as you are pulling with your strong/dominant side (Right).
As for top scorers being predominantly left handed, that is natural as they have a competitive advantage because most players are right handed there is more space for the left handed finisher, as well as being on the end of fastbreaks.
At Club level in England we played a couple of seasons with a left handed fastbreak as we had two good lefty attackmen. Our top goal scorer became the righty attack man because of this.
AHS_laxer
06-01-2008, 03:21 PM
I don't think its hockey.
I don't play hockey and I'm a lefty.
im lefty in soccer, golf, and lacrosse.
but im right handed when I write and when im using tools. im just lefty for sports:thumbsup:
LaxIntegrity
06-02-2008, 01:15 PM
are lefties?? Is there are reason for this??
Because they live on the left side of the border! :naughty:
oviedolax
06-02-2008, 03:57 PM
this is probably a stupid idea, but wouldnt it be better to start off with your off hand so that later it will be easier to learn your regular hand?
LaxIntegrity
06-03-2008, 02:58 PM
Everyone should take a "push test" which is what I apply to a lot of young players who seem to be struggling with their pass/shot mechanics.
First, stand behind the player. Tell him or her you are going to give them a gentle push just below the shoulder blades. If the player steps forward with their left foot, they are likely to shoot right. If it's the right foot they are likely to be a lefty. It's more about the way you naturally transfer weight as you step into a shot.
It's interesting to try this on older players. Without telling them why you are doing it, give them a push then tell them which way you think they shoot. You will be right almost every time.
How can you tell which foot they step forward with if they are behind your back? :lol:
How can you tell which foot they step forward with if they are behind your back? :lol: Read before you chirp. I said ... "stand BEHIND the player" and give them a push. It's a well known test that's used in other sports too like snowboarding.