THE EVER ELUSIVE PERFECT FLICK

There are many ways to teach this and it seems to be a different point impacts each player differently. Here is a couple of versions to get you started.

1. Chest up knees down
2. Start with the puck pulled back to your shoulder
3. Make sure the stick has good contact with the puck, the stick face needs to be vertical so it has full contact with the side of the puck, so cock the wrist forwards to make the front edge of the stick the same shape as the side of the puck
4. First learn to spin the puck, it doesn’t have to go far
5. Next try a wrist flick so the puck flips over
6. Before starting the flick, angle the stick back towards your opposite hip, right handed angle the stick back towards left hip, this lifts the elbow a bit and makes it easier to load the puck on the front edge of the stick, as you bring your elbow down and start the flick the puck will become balanced vertically on the front edge of your stick, your thumb is pointing back towards your face, now point your thumb forward spinning/launching the puck whilst looking where you want it to go
7. The higher your shoulders the more room there is for your elbow to come under the puck before you launch it, so the higher it will go.
8. Once you’ve learned to flick high you’ll realise that high flicks are easily caught and accidentally hit, So don't admire the high shot but learn to flick a little lower and flat and far

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Video by Liam Watson with a pretty solid introduction to how to flick

Shooting/Flicking            (Roger kemp)
Shooting is the skill that everyone wants to learn but is also the hardest skill to teach. Almost all of the distance on the puck comes from the wrist flick. I believe that the rest of the motion of the shot (shoulders, arms, etc.) contributes to changing the "pitch" of the puck (like an airplane taking off). There are a few key elements to good shooting technique.

• The puck should roll along the length of the blade during the shot such that it is near the end of the stick when you snap your wrist. This seems obvious, yet some experienced players who have trouble shooting do not do this. If the puck leaves the stick from near your knuckle you just end up using your shoulder to shoot the puck.
• Some people find it helpful to concentrate on starting with their elbow high off the bottom. The resulting motion causes the lower end of the forearm to turn upwards.
• It is useful to note that on really long shots the stick ends up pointing forward with the blade facing downward along the pool bottom.

Distance will come if you can become effective at getting the puck off the pool bottom. The best way to practice shooting for height is to use a barrier. Turn a goal trough upside down so that it forms a barrier (start with a lower barrier if necessary). For most people there is a "sweet spot", a distance where it is easy to get the puck over the barrier. Usually this distance is about a metre or so. Start by moving the puck closer to the barrier and shooting over it. Eventually you will be just a few centimetres from the barrier with no room for any wind up. Shooting over the barrier from so close emphasizes the wrist flick.
When you can shoot the puck over the barrier from very short distances, choose distances farther than the sweet spot. This will concentrate on the arm and shoulder mechanics and add height to your shot.
Another difficulty to add to your shooting practice is to start your shot with your arm extended to your side and shoot sideways. It's a flick we often want to use in a game but don't often succeed.