There are certain situations in a game where it is both appropriate and inappropriate to use your stick. Again this is simple, when you can save the ball with your feet, body or hands. Too often young and inexperienced keepers use a stick like a field player to stop a ball. With all the keeping gear on, this is nearly impossible, when a player smashes a ball at you. It is important to keep in mind that a stick is only about 1 inches wide so we should not use it as a major factor in saving the ball when we have gear that is much larger.
People hold the stick differently in separate situations.
I hold my stick in a comfortable position about mid way down the handle nearing where the grip stops. This allows me to have good control of the stick and stops the stick hitting me in the rib cage when I move it. When intercepting a ball or taking on attacker one on one I extend my stick to allow me to utilise the whole length of it. This is especially important when you are wanting to cover as much ground as possible during the intercept. Keepers also use their sticks for assisting to clear the ball where kicking isn't appropriate at all.