By Chris Goldberg
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/16/16
At 6-foot-3 and a wiry 165 pounds, 2018 midfielder Dillon Sanzari knows he needs to gain strength as he gears for his third year as a varsity starter at Holy Cross High (CT).
Sanzari, like most teens, is lifting weights to build his chest, arms and legs. But one of the major parts of his regular training regimen is using the stik, a potent device created to help athletes build strength, flexibility and elasticity in the arms, hands, wrist and grip.
“When I am playing, I can feel my grip and wrist are stronger and that my stickhandling is getting better,” said Sanzari, who had 25 goals and 25 assists last year as a sophomore. “I use it for 5 minutes a day; it doesn’t take a lot of time to use and it’s so easy to use.”
The Stik, priced at $39.99 (1 pound), $49.99 (2 pounds) and $59.99 (3 pounds), has been endorsed by Haverford School (PA) coach John Nostrant, a Hall of Famer who has guided his team to two undefeated national championships since 2011; and Johns Hopkins strength and conditioning coach Jay Dyer; as well as Jim McCrossin, the highly-regarded trainer and strength and conditioning coach for the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Stik also has been endorsed by Philly Face-Off League and its co-director John Bodnar, who coaches numerous Division I players and said his top athletes have found benefits from using the tool regularly.
Using The Stik for only minutes a day could help lacrosse players build strength in their forearms, upper arms, hands and wrist to improve the speed of their shot, fend off players, improve their strength at the face-off X, tighten their cradle and strengthen their check.
The Stik is easy to use in any location and convenient to carry. It has been a regular training tool for the Flyers and now is being employed by more and more lacrosse players as well as other athletes that rely on the use of a stick, club, racket or other piece of equipment in their hands.
To learn more about the Stik or place an order, click here to access thestik.com. For instructional videos using the Stik, click here.
The Stik was re-introduced to lacrosse consumers in the past six months with positive feedback in many forms. Sanzari, who has been using it for three months, said the Stik is effective but also convenient to use, extremely portable, and easy to adjust. Its knobs allow users to quickly adjust the resistance to many levels of difficult.
THE STIK is an extremely user friendly way (simply turn the dial to access 10 different weights) to strengthen the muscles of the lower arm, wrist and hand in a full pain free manner. Its light weight and portability allows it to be packed in a travel bag and taken on the road, on the beach or just used in front of the TV.
All three versions of the Stik provide a wide variety of resistance. The increased weight on the larger Stiks add a greater degree of difficulty due to the addition of weight to control. The larger Stiks have been used by pro football, hockey players and baseball players (every member of the Toronto Blue Jays 1992-93 World Series championship teams used The Stik) and the 1-pound version has been used by rehab patients to recover from arthritis, tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome.
See The Stik video page on how to use and its benefits
Sanzari, who plays for Team Connecticut L.C., is looking mostly at Division II or Division III colleges with some thought to Division I. His father, Joe, saw some promotions on The Stik and said that most young players are more focused on building only their chests or bragging about their squat totals.
“I was thinking what he needs to do to step up his game, and he really was not doing anything to increase strength in his hands and wrist,” said Sanzari. ‘It looks like the perfect match; it’s affordable, easy to use anywhere, and you can use it every day. The price tag was right. He has been using it for three months – he even brought it on our cruise vacation.”
Dillon believes he has noticed other benefits from using The Stik.
“I have seen results as a righty while working on my left hand,” he said. “I have noticed passes are easier with a flick of the wrist. I would recommend it to anybody in any sport.”
Sanzari said his attributives besides his height are his lacrosse IQ and strong academics. He admits he still must get stronger and gain a lot more bulk, but with the help of The Stik he is confident his physical skills will continue to develop.
His father said The Stik has helped his son’s skills. “He’s now not afraid to go left,” said Joe Sanzari. “He keeps it (The Stik) right on his dresser so before he goes to bed there is a reminder right there.
“Some kids just train with barbells and they have to go back and forth to a gym,” said Joe Sanzari. “This is so convenient. You don’t have to change the weight, you just turn the dial. You can us it anywhere, any time.”
Follow The Stik on Twitter at @GetTheStik
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The Stik Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the “Stiks”?
The Power-Stik is a patented training device specifically designed to improve the strength, flexibility and elacticity of the fingers, wrist, hand, forearm and upper arm.
2. Are they easy to use?
Absolutely. A set of easy to follow instructions comes with each Stik. View Instructions
3. Can they be used by both males and females?
Most definitely. The Stik comes in 3 models. All models are adjustable so they can be precisely tuned to fit each individual athlete, male and female, from age 5-95.
4. Do you have any professional recommendations?
Yes, we have several. Please go to our Testimonials page to see all of them.
5. How long should I work out each day with the “Stik?”
Just a few minutes each day. You will actually feel the results in your arms and hands after working out and following the exercises in the instruction sheet.
6. How can the “Stiks” help my arthritis?
Arthritis is a disease that attacks the joints. It is human nature for people who are experiencing joint pain to use the effected joint as little as possible. While this might relieve the joint pain, it also causes joint subluxation, which actually causes more pain. A conscientiously applied program of exercise with one of the “Stiks” will help to keep the effected joint more stable.
7. How will the “Stiks” help me to play my game better?
Power starts with the legs and hips and all of the big muscle groups associated with them. The “Stiks” will take that initial power and transfer it to the arms, elbows, wrists, hands, fingers and thumbs, the parts of the body that develop arm and hand speed. A thorough program of exercise with the “Stiks” will enable you to hit the ball or puck harder, throw the ball faster and longer, shoot the ball from a greater distance on the court, and control the speed and accuracy of a bowling ball.
8. Will the “Stiks” benefit me if I do not play a sport or have trauma to my arms, hands or fingers?
Absolutely. If you are a carpenter, work at a computer, work as a cashier in a super market, automobile mechanic, do a lot of work in the garden, knit or crochet or work at any job in which you use your arms, elbows, wrists, hands, fingers or thumbs extensively the “Stiks” can help you guard against the onset of repetitive stress syndrome injuries.
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