by Cameron Scott

Created on: February 10, 2009   Last Updated: October 19, 2009

As anyone who has ever played any version of stickball knows, balls bounce right off wooden sticks. Hockey sticks are also made of wood. Left untaped, the puck would bounce right off, making it extremely difficult to control the puck. Hockey tape adds a give to the blade, causing the puck to lose enough of its momentum so that it doesn't bounce right off. It also protects the stick from the moisture of the ice surface.

Hockey sticks are taped in two places, the blade and the top part of the stick where the upper hand will hold it. This gives a grip for the upper hand, leaving the lower hand free to slide up and down the stick as needed for control.

Ice hockey players tape all the way around the blade of the stick. If you plan on also using the same stick for roller hockey, keep in mind that roller hockey players usually prefer to leave the bottom of the blade untapped, so that the blade does not accidentally stick to the floor.

To tape the blade of your stick, begin by placing a strip of tape along the bottom of the blade. Push the edges of the strip up on both sides until they lie flat.

Next, take your roll of tape and start wrapping the blade around and around, starting at the heel of the stick and the backhand side of the blade, until most of the blade is covered. (Experienced players may prefer to tape off only the middle of the blade.) Overlap each turn by about half the width of the tape. Keep your tape as smooth as possible throughout.

When you are within an inch of the toe end of the blade, rip off the tape so it ends on the backhand side of the blade. Use the roll of tape to smooth down your tape job.

To tape the handle of your stick, take your roll of tape and start wrapping the handle around and around, starting at the very top of your stick. In contrast to taping the blade, this time you want to twist the tape as you go, so that you get a cordlike effect. Finish off your wrapping approximately as far down as your wrist to the elbow, and tape it off. (Experienced players may prefer to tape off only the very top of the stick, or rarely to tape almost the entire stick.)

After you have completed this part of the wrapping, use the tape to make a small knob at the very top of the hockey stick. Make it big enough that you can feel the bulge at the end, but not so big that you have difficulty hanging onto the stick. This will keep the stick from sliding out of your hand. Those playing defense often prefer a larger knob.

Continue wrapping the tape around the stick from the knob down, in the same way as you did for the blade. Because you are wrapping over the twisted tape, you will now have a cord-like feel to the stick.

A final easy taping customization for the hockey stick is to convert a regular stick into a grip stick. Take a loose piece of wood about the length of your palm and a roll of one-sided duct tape. Starting from the top of this piece of wood, wrap the tape a couple of times around the stick, then give it a half-twist so that the sticky side is on the outside. Keep winding the tape around the stick until you reach the bottom, then give it another half-twist to finish it off. You should now have a very sticky piece of wood. Rub this up and down along your hockey stick until you have the grip at your desired level of stickiness.

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