I recently did on-ice testing for some young hockey players and asked them to perform a variety of jumps over the lines and over their sticks.

One of the players asked: “Why do I have to be able to jump? I never jump on the ice.”

If you want to be fast, you have to be able to jump

Watch the most basic progression of lower body power development for hockey players below:

When performing any jumping exercises, remember these three key points:

1) LAND QUIETLY - Bend your knees and sit your hips back as you land.

2) STAY LOW - Avoiding standing up in between jumps - you’ll lose both time and power.

3) KEEP UPPER BODY STILL - Keep your chest up throughout by looking straight ahead (instead of looking down)

Remember, developing lower body power off the ice is critical to building break-away speed on the ice.

To be fast, you must be able to jump.

Until next time,

Kim