Flicking the puck is a valuable skill that allows players to pass the puck past opponents more reliably and further.
Body position:
The first step when flicking the puck is to set up in a good body position with the hips low and shoulders raised up slightly in the cobra position. If a player's hips float up off the bottom, they will not have the range of motion in their arm to properly perform the flick motion.
Once the player has their hips down and their shoulders slightly raised, they should draw back their stick hand with the puck to just in front of their shoulder. As they do that, they should draw their knee on the same side up towards their elbow. When they extend their arm for the flick, they will extend that leg while bringing their other knee up towards the elbow on that side. This full body explosive movement gives maximal power to the flick. For flicks to the side, this full body motion is difficult to use, so these flicks will in general be smaller than straight forward flicks.
The arm:
A lot of power comes from the arm as well as the body when flicking. The puck should start a few inches in front of the playing hand shoulder. Players may lift their elbow when in this position, which can make passes bigger, but will make the release time slower. Leaving the elbow low will allow for a faster release. When players flick the puck, they should explosively extend their arm as if they are punching something. If their elbow was raised, it should drop as they extend their arm.
If players are flicking the puck to the side, they should be aware that the puck will travel straight outward from the shoulder. This means that if a player wishes to flick the puck sideways, they should move their arm at the shoulder to the side until a line drawn from the shoulder to the puck points in the direction they wish to pass the puck.
The wrist:
When the player begins to extend their arm, the puck will lift slightly off the bottom of the pool. The player can then snap the stick forward while rotating their wrist to lift the puck further off the bottom. The wrist rotation brings the stick from pointing straight sideways at the beginning of the motion to pointing up and forward in the direction the puck is traveling. This rotation should lift the puck further up off the bottom, making the puck go higher. The arm extension, wrist snap and wrist rotation all occur as one motion so that the arm reaches full extension and the wrist completes the twist and forward snap of the stick at the same time.
Flicks are used anytime to get the puck to a teammate or into the goal. Often players will flick the puck past an opponent as a way to get past them. While knocking down flicks is not uncommon, it is much harder than blocking sliders.
Flicks can also be used in a “flick and chase” which consists of the player flicking the puck past an opponent and chasing the puck. Since the opponent has to turn to get the puck, they will often be slower getting to the puck than the player that shot it.
It is extremely important that players consider the risk of the puck hitting another player whenever they flick the puck. Not only is it an unsportsmanlike conduct foul to flick the puck into the other player, it can be dangerous and painful.
Hitting another player with the puck often occurs because a player's flick is inconsistent and unpredictable. The best way to avoid this is to practice flicking outside of the game until it becomes reliable.
Black team player #2 drives up the wall and flicks the puck to a forward teammate.
Black team player takes the puck off the advantage and flicks forward.
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