Skater Hop — Stick It
How to Do It
From a single-leg athletic stance, push off explosively sideways and bound onto the opposite leg, swinging the arms for momentum. Land softly on the outside leg with a bent knee and the hips back, and “stick” the landing — holding balanced for a moment before the next bound. Absorb the landing quietly. Alternate sides.
Why It Works
Trains lateral (frontal-plane) power via the glutes and the stretch-shortening cycle, while the stuck landing develops eccentric deceleration strength and single-leg landing control — the ability to absorb and stabilize force.
Hockey Transfer
Directly mirrors the lateral push-off of the skating stride and crossovers; sticking the landing trains the deceleration and single-leg stability used to stop, change direction, and balance on an edge after a hard push.
Coaching Cues
- "Push sideways, land soft"
- "stick it, hold the landing"
- "knee out, hips back"
Common Mistakes
Landing stiff or loud; knee caving inward; not holding the stick (rushing the next hop)
Progression / Regression
bound farther or add a hold/load
smaller bound or step between hops
Primary Muscles
Energy System
Alactic/ATP-PC
Put it to work
on the ice.
This exercise is part of a fully periodized 12-week off-ice program — built by a sport scientist who coaches at the national level.
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