Quick answer
Plyometric exercises build explosive power by training your muscles to produce maximum force in minimum time. For hockey players, that translates directly to harder starts, faster crossovers, and more powerful shot transfers. The best plyos for hockey are lateral bounds, skater jumps, squat jumps, and reactive lateral bounds — but only after you have solid landing mechanics in place. Start with landing mechanics, then progress through the level system below based on age and training history.
- Key takeaways
- Landing mechanics must come before any jumping — master soft, quiet landings first
- Progress by level (intro → developing → advanced), not by age alone
- Limit total jump volume: 20 jumps/session for beginners, up to 80 for advanced athletes
- 2–3 sessions per week is the ceiling — more is not better with plyometrics
- Lateral plyos transfer more directly to skating than vertical-only work
- Always do plyos at the start of a session, not when fatigued
Why plyometrics transfer to skating
Skating power comes from a specific type of muscle action: a rapid stretch followed immediately by a powerful contraction. Every push-off on the ice starts with the glute and quad loading under your weight, then firing explosively to drive you forward. That stretch-shortening cycle is exactly what plyometric training develops.
Most players I train have adequate strength when I test them on a squat rack — they can move weight. What they lack is the ability to convert that strength into speed quickly. Plyos bridge that gap. A player who can squat 1.5x bodyweight but has never done explosive training will be slower on the ice than a player with less absolute strength but a trained stretch-shortening cycle.
The lateral component matters most. Straight-ahead box jumps have their place, but skating is a side-to-side sport. Skater jumps and lateral bounds train the exact movement pattern of a skating stride: single-leg push, flight, single-leg landing, load, repeat. When you add a slide board (€165.96) to your training, you extend that lateral loading pattern with continuous resistance — a complement to explosive plyo work.
For a broader look at how plyos fit into your overall development, see the ultimate off-ice hockey training guide.
Landing mechanics first — the safety anchor
The first thing I check before any player starts a plyometric program is how they land. A bad landing is how you blow a knee. A good landing is how you load the next rep. These are not separate concerns — landing IS the first half of plyometric training.
Before you jump from anything, practice this landing pattern from a standing position. Step off a 10 cm step (not a jump — a step), and focus entirely on the landing:
- Soft knees, hips back — absorb through the hips and knees, not the knees alone. If your shins stay vertical on landing, you are not loading your hips. Drive the hips back on contact.
- Chest forward, not collapsed — a forward chest keeps the load distributed through quads and glutes, not dumped into the lower back.
- Full foot contact — the whole foot lands, not just the toes. Toe-only landing concentrates force at the ankle and removes the ability to absorb properly through the calf-quad chain.
- No knee cave — knees track over the second toe. If your knees fall inward on landing, stop. This is the most common path to ACL injury in young athletes.
- Reset before the next rep — stand tall, take a breath, confirm your position. Do not bounce into the next jump. Bouncing without reset becomes a habit, and habits under fatigue become injuries.
Cue: "Land quiet — if you can hear yourself landing, you are not absorbing. A quiet landing means the muscles are working." Practice this on a soft surface. If you are training at home, flooring tiles designed for training use give you a consistent, forgiving surface. The 10-pack flooring tile set (€116.16, 2 m², Made in Europe) covers a jump-and-land zone and is worth having under any jump training setup.
Coach Erik's tip: Spend the first two sessions of any plyo program doing nothing but landing practice. Step down from a low box, stick the landing, hold 2 seconds, check your position. Players who skip this step always end up back here after their first knee complaint.
Age guidance — when to start and how much
Plyometrics are not a free-for-all at any age. The loading forces are real, and developing growth plates respond differently than adult bone. Here is the framework I use:
Under age 8: No structured plyometrics. Free play, running games, and general movement are the right stimulus at this age. The nervous system is developing rapidly, and unstructured movement covers that need without adding programmed impact loading.
Ages 8–11 (intro level): Bodyweight only, no added box height above 15 cm, 1–2 sessions per week, maximum 20 total jumps per session. The goal at this age is pattern development — landing mechanics, bilateral coordination, basic jumping rhythm. Two-foot landings only.
Ages 12–14 (developing level): Can begin using boxes at 15–30 cm of height. Two sessions per week, 30–40 total jumps. Single-leg work can begin once bilateral mechanics are solid. This is the age range where lateral plyos start making a real difference in skating development.
Ages 15 and up (advanced level): Full plyo program, 2–3 sessions per week, up to 60–80 total jumps for experienced athletes. Can progress to reactive work (minimal ground contact time), depth drops, and loaded jumps. Still requires proper mechanics as the baseline — advancing age does not override bad form.
Note that "level" and age often do not match. A 15-year-old who has never done structured training should start at intro level regardless of age. Progress is earned by mechanics and volume tolerance, not by birthday.
The 10-exercise progression
These exercises are organised by training level. Within each level, the order listed is a reasonable progression — master earlier exercises before adding new ones. Work through intro before developing, developing before advanced.
| Exercise | Level | Reps / Sets | Hockey benefit | Key coaching cue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two-foot jump | Intro (ages 8–11) | 5 reps × 3 sets | Basic power production, bilateral coordination | Land quiet, both feet simultaneously |
| Box step-up | Intro (ages 8–11) | 6 reps per leg × 2 sets | Single-leg strength base, knee tracking | Drive through the heel, don't push off the back foot |
| Broad jump | Intro (ages 8–11) | 4 reps × 3 sets | Horizontal power — mirrors first-step explosion | Swing arms, stick the landing for 2 seconds |
| Lateral bound | Developing (ages 12–14) | 5 reps per side × 3 sets | Directly mimics skating push-off pattern | Push from the hip, not the ankle |
| Single-leg hop | Developing (ages 12–14) | 4 reps per leg × 3 sets | Single-leg stability under impact load | Absorb with the hip, knee stays over toes |
| Squat jump | Developing (ages 12–14) | 5 reps × 3 sets | Vertical power, quad and glute explosiveness | Land in the same depth you jumped from |
| Skater jump | Developing (ages 12–14) | 6 reps per side × 3 sets | Most sport-specific: replicates full skating stride | Load the landing leg fully before the next push |
| Depth drop landing | Advanced (ages 15+) | 4 reps × 3 sets | Trains deceleration and rapid force absorption | Step off — do not jump off — then stick it |
| Reactive lateral bound | Advanced (ages 15+) | 5 reps per side × 3 sets | Minimises ground contact time, builds reactive power | Touch and go — aim for less than 0.2 seconds on the ground |
| Continuous box jump | Advanced (ages 15+) | 6 reps × 3 sets | Power endurance — multiple explosive efforts with short recovery | Absorb on top, explode down, land soft below |
For lateral bounds and skater jumps, a slide board extends the training stimulus by adding friction resistance through the entire lateral movement — not just the explosive push but the glide phase too. That combination trains both power and stability across the full stride pattern.
Weekly dosing by training phase
Volume management matters as much as exercise selection. Too much volume is the fastest way to accumulate fatigue that blunts the speed gains you are training for. Here is how to structure plyo volume across the year:
| Training phase | Frequency | Volume (total jumps) | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-season | 1× per week | 20–30 jumps | Maintenance — preserve power without adding fatigue |
| Early off-season | 2× per week | 30–40 jumps | Rebuild base, re-establish mechanics after season |
| Peak off-season | 2–3× per week | 50–80 jumps | Maximum adaptation — primary power development window |
| Pre-season | 2× per week | 30–40 jumps | Convert power to speed, reduce volume as ice time increases |
Rest between sets should be long enough that quality does not drop: 90 seconds minimum for intro work, 2–3 minutes for advanced exercises. If your jumps are getting shorter or landings are getting louder across a set, that is a sign the rest is too short or the session volume has exceeded your current capacity.
See the weekly off-ice hockey program for how to integrate these plyo sessions with strength work, conditioning, and stick handling in a full week structure.
Coach Erik's tip: Always do plyos at the start of your session, after a thorough warm-up but before any strength work. A fatigued nervous system cannot recruit muscle fibers fast enough to get the power adaptation you want. Plyos done at the end of a hard training session are just injury risk — they are not training.
Combining plyos with speed and resistance work
Plyometrics pair well with sprint resistance training. The combination creates what coaches call a "contrast effect" — explosive jump work sensitises the nervous system, and immediately following with resisted sprints transfers that activation directly to running mechanics. Sprint chutes and resistance bands are the standard tools for this approach.
A simple pairing: 3 sets of 5 broad jumps, then immediately into 3 resisted 20 m sprints with a speed chute. The Speed and Power Combo (€48.97) is built for exactly this pairing, covering sprint resistance and band work in one package. For sprint resistance training in isolation, the speed chute (€33.16) adds drag that forces the same hip drive and acceleration mechanics you are training with broad jumps.
For more on how sprint work and plyos combine in a speed-focused program, see hockey speed training. For agility-specific drill progressions that use similar lateral plyo patterns, hockey agility drills covers the movement variety side of off-ice development.
Common mistakes
- Skipping landing mechanics practice. Players want to jump. Coaches who let them jump before landing is learned are setting up future injuries. Two sessions of landing-only work is not wasted time — it is the foundation everything else runs on.
- Too much volume too soon. The adaptation from plyos comes from precise, high-quality efforts, not from grinding out high-rep sets. Twenty perfect jumps beat 60 sloppy ones in every meaningful way.
- Bouncing between reps instead of resetting. Bouncing trains the wrong reflex. You want deliberate load, deliberate push. Reset to athletic stance, check your position, then go again.
- Doing plyometrics when fatigued. This is the single highest-risk mistake in the list. A tired athlete cannot control landing mechanics, cannot recruit fast-twitch fibers properly, and is the most likely to make the small technical errors that lead to joint stress. If you are too tired to do them right, do not do them.
- Ignoring age guidelines. The guidelines exist because developing bone structure responds differently to impact loading than adult bone. An 8-year-old doing depth drops is not training — it is loading growth plates inappropriately. Age-appropriate progressions protect long-term development.
Cue: "Reset every rep" — make this a habit from the first session. Players who bounce become bouncers under pressure. Players who reset become athletes who can stick any landing in a game situation.
FAQ
What are the best plyometric exercises for hockey players?
The most hockey-specific plyos are lateral bounds, skater jumps, and reactive lateral bounds — all three directly replicate the skating stride pattern. For overall power development, add squat jumps and broad jumps. If you can only do two exercises, do skater jumps and broad jumps. They hit the lateral push pattern and the horizontal explosion pattern that matter most for first-step speed.
At what age should hockey players start plyometrics?
Structured plyometrics can begin at age 8, with strict limitations: bodyweight only, no box height above 15 cm, maximum 20 jumps per session, two-foot landings only. Under age 8, free play and general running provide the right stimulus without programmed impact loading. The 8-11 intro level is about learning landing mechanics and building coordination — not about performance output.
How many plyometric sessions per week for hockey?
In-season: 1 session per week to maintain power without adding fatigue. Off-season: 2–3 sessions per week for peak development. Never go above 3 sessions per week, and always allow at least 48 hours between sessions. Quality of each session matters more than frequency — 2 excellent sessions beat 4 rushed ones every time.
Do plyometrics improve skating speed?
Yes, when programmed correctly. Skating power requires a fast stretch-shortening cycle — the same physical quality plyos develop. Research consistently shows that 6–8 weeks of lateral-focused plyo training produces measurable improvements in first-step quickness and skating stride power. The key word is "lateral" — bilateral vertical jumps help less than single-leg and lateral variations that match the actual movement pattern of skating.
Can I do plyometrics at home without equipment?
Most of the intro and developing exercises need nothing but a clear floor space. Two-foot jumps, broad jumps, lateral bounds, squat jumps, and skater jumps require zero equipment. For landing surface, any firm, non-slip floor works — though dedicated training flooring tiles (Made in Europe) give you consistent cushioning and better grip than hardwood or concrete. Box exercises require a box (any stable platform 15–45 cm high works), but can be substituted with step-ups on a staircase for the intro level.
How do plyometrics differ from regular strength training?
Strength training builds the maximum force your muscles can produce. Plyometrics train how fast that force can be produced. Both matter, but they develop different physical qualities. A player who only does strength training will be strong but may still be slow — they have the engine but not the throttle response. Plyos develop the stretch-shortening cycle, which is the mechanism that converts strength into explosive speed. The best programs combine both: strength work builds the base, plyos teach the nervous system to use that base at game speed. For a resistance-band complement to plyo work, see resistance band hockey workout.
Summary
Plyometric training is one of the highest-return investments a hockey player can make in the off-season. The transfer to skating is direct: lateral bounds, skater jumps, and reactive work all train the exact push-and-land mechanics that generate stride power on ice. But the system only works if you build it correctly — landing mechanics first, progressive volume, age-appropriate exercise selection, and sessions placed at the start of training when the nervous system is fresh.
Start with the intro exercises, master the landing cues, then progress through the levels based on quality not urgency. Two months of properly dosed plyo work before the season will show up in your first stride every time you step on the ice. Better Hockey is a Swedish brand, and our gear is used by many well-known NHL ambassadors, including Swedish pros — follow us @betterhockeysweden for off-ice drills and training ideas.
