For field hockey, the stick should reach about 2 inches below the hip bone — roughly a 34 inch stick at 4’7″–5′ tall, and 36 to 36.5 inches at 5’4″–5’9″. For ice hockey, stand the stick upright in front of the player wearing skates: the top should land between the chin and the nose.
These are two different sports with two different sizing systems, and most guides only cover one. If your child plays field hockey, the ice hockey chart will send you badly wrong — and vice versa.
Field hockey stick size chart by height
Field hockey sticks are sized by the player’s height and measured in inches. Junior sticks run from 24 to 34 inches in 2-inch steps; senior sticks run 35 to 37.5 inches.
| Player height | Stick length |
|---|---|
| Under 4′ | 24″–26″ |
| 4’–4’3″ | 28″ |
| 4’4″–4’6″ | 30″ |
| 4’7″–5′ | 34″ |
| 5’1″–5’3″ | 35″ |
| 5’4″–5’9″ | 36″–36.5″ |
| 5’10″–6’1″ | 37″–37.5″ |
| 6’2″ and taller | 37.5″ |
The hip-bone check beats the chart. Stand your child upright with the stick alongside them, head on the ground. The top of the handle should sit about two inches below the hip bone. Too long and they cannot get low enough to control the ball; too short and they are bent double all game.
Ice hockey stick size by age and height
| Category | Player height | Typical age | Stick length | Flex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth | Up to 4’4″ | 5–8 | 45″–49″ | 20–30 |
| Junior | 4’4″–5’1″ | 7–12 | 50″–54″ | 30–50 |
| Intermediate | 5’2″–5’8″ | 11–14 | 55″–58″ | 55–70 |
| Senior | 5’7″ and taller | 14+ | 58″–63″ | 75+ |
The chin-to-nose test
Stand the stick upright, blade on the floor, with your child in their skates. The top of the shaft should reach somewhere between the chin and the nose. Measured in shoes instead, aim for the nose to the eyebrows — skates add roughly two inches, and forgetting that is the single most common sizing mistake in ice hockey.
What flex means, and why it matters for kids
Flex is how much the shaft bends, and a lower number bends more easily. The usual guideline is roughly half the player’s body weight in pounds — a 60 lb child is around a 30 flex. A stick too stiff for a young player simply will not load, so the shot has no power no matter how hard they swing. If you cut a stick down to shorten it, you make it stiffer, so drop a flex level when you do.
Goalie sticks are sized differently
Goalie sticks go by the paddle length rather than total length, and are sized to the goalie’s height in their stance rather than standing. If your child is playing net, size that stick separately — the player chart above does not apply.
Sources and verification
Field hockey lengths follow published stick sizing guides measured against player height; ice hockey categories and flex ranges are the standard youth/junior/intermediate/senior bands used across hockey retail. Manufacturers vary by an inch or so within each band, and leagues may have their own rules — check the specific stick and your league before buying.
Last verified: 6 August 2026. Spotted a number that looks wrong? Tell us — corrections get the chart re-checked and re-dated.
More charts: every kids size chart in one place.
