The STX Outlet goalie shaft is rounded in the front where your fingers wrap around towards the ball and tapered towards the back where the palm of you hand sits. This shape helps goalies of all ages get a better grip on the shaft and prevents the effect of ball twist. This happens when a save is not made directly in the center of the mesh and the head twists with the force of the save. STX was also genius enough to shorten the length of this shaft to 30".