Kick vs. Release Point
If you’ve ever played ice hockey or enjoyed a round of golf before, you’ve probably heard of the phrase “kick point.” A product of flex (which itself is a product of carbon fiber), kick point refers to where the flex actually occurs in a stick/shaft. For example, a kick point in a hockey stick might be situated close to the blade of the stick. Again, that location is the vertex of the flex, so to speak: that’s the exact spot where the stick/shaft bends. The logic behind the kick point says that once contact is made with the ball or puck, the stick will bend back at that point and then snap forward, giving you more velocity on your shot.
You may be thinking: since we have flex in lacrosse sticks now, shouldn’t we have a kick point too? Contrary to what you may think, the answer is no.
A kick point in a lacrosse shaft is actually irrelevant for a couple of reasons. First, there are fundamental differences between the actions of shooting in lacrosse and, say, hockey. In ice hockey, the puck is relatively stationary in the sense that you have to move the stick to hit it. But in lacrosse, the ball is in motion – it’s actually moving with your stick as you throw. Because of that, the physics of a shot differ between the two sports and affect the role of a kick point.
Second, a kick point is inconsequential in lacrosse because of your hands. No, seriously – your hand placement on the shaft has a large influence on what would have been a kick point. To explain: the sudden force that you apply to the head as you shoot, and the subsequent movement of the ball, head and shaft, means that the would-be kick point in your shaft occurs right above your top hand every single time, regardless of where that hand is on the stick. If your hand is low, the kick point occurs right above it. If your hand is high, same thing – the kick point is right above it. So, there is no point to putting a permanent kick point into a shaft since it’s just going to move anyways – if the kick point is in the bottom of the shaft but your hand is above that point, the intentional kick point isn’t going to do anything.
That’s where the concept of the uniform release point comes in. In a stick with this technology, the very bottom of the shaft is engineered to be stiff for a consistent performance when shooting. But, as you move up towards the top of the shaft and the head, the flex is designed to provide you with a uniform release point: wherever you place your hand, the stick will consistently flex right above it as you shoot. Thanks to the dependable and innovative release point that responds to the way you play, your shot gains velocity and power every single time.